182 Driving and operatingThe figures are provided only for thepurpose of comparison betweendifferent vehicle variants and mustnot be taken as a guarantee for theactual fuel consumption of aparticular vehicle. Additionalequipment may result in slightlyhigher results than the statedconsumption and CO2 figures.Furthermore, fuel consumption isdependent on personal driving styleas well as road and traffic conditions.Trailer hitchGeneral informationOnly use towing equipment that hasbeen approved for your vehicle.Entrust retrofitting of towingequipment to a workshop. It may benecessary to make changes thataffect the cooling system, heatshields or other equipment.The bulb outage detection function fortrailer brake light cannot detect apartial bulb outage, e.g. in case of fourtimes five watt bulbs, the function onlydetects lamp outage when only asingle five Watt lamp remains or noneremain.Fitting of towing equipment couldcover the opening of the towing eye.If this is the case use the coupling ballbar for towing. Always keep thecoupling ball bar in the vehicle whennot in use.Driving characteristics andtowing tipsBefore attaching a trailer, lubricatethe coupling ball. However, do not doso if a stabiliser, which acts on thecoupling ball, is being used to reducesnaking movements.For trailers with low driving stabilityand caravan trailers with a permittedgross vehicle weight of more than1000 kg a speed of 50 mph must notbe exceeded; the use of a stabiliser isrecommended.If the trailer starts snaking, drive moreslowly, do not attempt to correct thesteering and brake sharply ifnecessary.When driving downhill, drive in thesame gear as if driving uphill anddrive at a similar speed.Adjust tyre pressure to the valuespecified for full load 3 250.
