___ T_ ir_e _ s_ a_ n
_ d_ w_ h_ e_ e_ls _________________________________________________ _
make, there w ill be six to eight of t hem evenly p laced around the
tir e. M arks o n the tire s idewall ( for example "TWI " or oth er sy mb ols)
indicate th e positions of the tread wear indicators. Worn tires must
b e re placed . Di fferen t fig ure s m ay apply i n other
c ountr ies=> & .
Tire pressure
Incorr ect tir e p ress ure c auses prematu re wear a nd can ca use
sudden tir e blow -out . For th is r eason, tir e pressur e must b e check ed
at leas t once a month
=> pa ge 299 .
Dri ving style
Drivi ng fa st aro und curv es, heavy acce le ra ti on and ha rd bra kin g
increase tire wear .
Rotating tires for more even wear
For all four tires on your vehic le to have the same service life, we
r ecom mend t hat the front a nd rea r tires ar e rotate d accord ing to the
tire manufacturer 's suggested tire rotation interva ls. Please
r e m emb er t he fo llo wi ng :
• Ti re rotation interva ls m ay d iffer from th e vehic le servic e inter
vals outl ined in y our M aintenance and Warran ty Boo kle t.
• T he longer one tire is used in one location on the vehicle, the
mor e it wea rs a t ce rtain points ; the re fo re, we rec omm end that yo u
fo llow t he ti re manufactu rer's su ggested tir e rotat ion int ervals .
• Vehi cle s with front -wh eel d rive e xper ience mo re trea d wea r on
the front wheels compared to al l-wheel drive (quattro®l .
• Ple as e ro tat e ti res as
sh ow n=> page 303, fig. 220.
• Extra care must be taken when rotating direction -specific tires
=> pag e 32 4.
Wheel balancing
T he wheels on n ew vehic les are bala nced. However, various situa
tions during eve ryday driving can cause them to become unba l
ance d, res ulting i n vi brat ions you ca n us ual ly f eel thro ugh t he
steering whee l. U
nba lanc ed wh eels must be rebalanced to avoid excessive wear on
s tee ring, s uspen sio n an d tir es. A w heel m ust also be reba la nced
when a new tire is install ed.
Incorrect wheel alignment
Incorrect whee l alignment can cause excessive tire wear, impairing
t he sa fety o f the vehicl e. If ti res sh ow ex cessiv e w ear, h av e the
whee l al ignm ent check ed by an autho riz ed Aud i d eal er or qualifi ed
w ork shop.
All Wheel Drive
Ve hicl es wi th qu attr o® must alw ays h ave t ires of t he sa me siz e,
construction and tread type . For deta ils
see=> page 242 .
& WARNING
Sudden tire failure can lead to loss of control , a crash and serious
personal injury!
• Never drive a vehicle when the tread on any tire is worn down
to the wear indicators .
• Especially in wet and slick driving situations , a preferably large
profile depth of the tires is necessary , and an approximately
similar profile depth of the front and rear axle tires.
• The diminished driving safety , caused by too small of a tire
profile, is negatively perceivable especially in handling , in danger
of hydroplaning when driving through deep puddles and ponds,
when driving around curves , and in braking behavior.
• Worn tires are a safety hazard , they do not grip well on wet
roads and increase your risk of "hydroplaning" and loss of control.
• Always keep chem icals that can cause tire damage , such as
grease, oil, gasoline and brake fluid away from tires .
• Tires age even if they are not being used and can fail suddenly ,
especially at high speeds. Tires that are more than 6 years old can
only be used in an emergency and then with special care and at
lower speeds .
~
lllffll....__W_ h_ a_ t_d_ o_ l _d _o_ n_ o_ vv_ ? ______________________________________________ _
What do I do now?
Jack, tools and spare wheel
Jack and tools
The tools and jack are stored underneath the floor panel
in the luggage compartment.
F ig. 222 Tool case and
ve hicle jack
Fi g. 223 O pen too l
case
The tool case @ and the vehicle jack@ are stored under
neath the floor panel in the luggage compartment
=> fig. 222.
- For access, raise t he floor panel at the plastic ha ndle @ .
- Securely engage the handle in the luggage compartment
seal as illustrated to keep the floor panel up.
- Take out tool case and/or jack.
- Disengage and lower the floor panel before you close the
luggage compartment lid again.
The onboard tool kit inc ludes:
• Hook for removing wheel covers*
• Plastic hook to remove wheel bolt covers
• Wheel bo lt wrench
• Alignment pin for changing wheels
• Screwdriver with reversible blade
• Towing eye
Before storing the jack, make sure it is wound back down as far as it
will go.
Afte r use, th e ja c k a nd tools m us t b e put bac k in pl ace u nderneath
th e floor p an el in th e lu g gage c omp artment .
Note: some of the on -board items listed above are provided on
certain models only or are optional extras.
& WARNING
Improper us e of th e vehi cle ja ck ca n ca use se rious pe rso nal inju
r ies.
What do I do now? -
------------------'
Taking the wheel off /putting the spare on
Follow these instructions step-by-step for changing the
wheel
Fig . 230 Wheel
change : using the
screwdriver handle
(with the blade
removed) to turn the
bolts
Fig . 231 Wheel
change : alignment pin
inside the top hole
After you have loosened all wheel bolts and jacked the
vehicle off the ground, perform the following steps to
remove and replace the wheel:
Removing the wheel
-Use the hexagonal socket in the screwdriver handle to
completely turn out the topmost wheel bolt and set it
aside on a
clean surface => fig. 230.
-Screw the threaded end of the alignment pin from the
tool kit hand -tight into the now vacant bolt hole
=> fig. 231 .
-Then completely unscrew the other wheel bolts as
described above.
-Take off the wheel leaving the alignment pin in t he bolt
hole.
Putting on the spare
-Lift the spare wheel up and carefully slide it over the
alignment pin to guide it in place.
-Use the hexagonal socket in the screwdriver handle to
screw in and t ighten all wheel bolts
slightly .
-Unscrew the alignment pin and insert and tighten the
remaining wheel bo lt slightly like the rest.
-Turn the handle on the jack counter-clockwise to lower
the vehicle until the jack is fully released.
-Use the wheel bolt wrench to tighten all wheel bolts
firmly =>
page 327. Tighten crosswise, from one bolt to
the (approximately) opposite one, to keep the wheel
centered.
[ i] Tips
Never try and use the h exagonal socket in the handle of the screw -
driver to loosen or tighten the wheel bolts.
.,
Do-it-yourse lf service irechnical data