
________________________________________________ T_ i _r_e _s_ a_n_ d_ w_ h_ e_e _ l_s __ _
•
make, th ere w ill be six to ei ght of them evenly placed around the
t ire. Ma rks o n th e tir e s idewall (f or e xam ple "TWI " or oth er symbo ls)
indicate the positions of t he tread wear indicators . Worn tires must
be re placed. Diffe re nt fig ure s may a ppl y in other countr ies=>& .
Tire pressure
Inc orr ect t ire p ressure causes prema ture wea r and ca n cause
sudden tire blow -out. For this reason, tire pressure must be checked
at leas t on ce a mont h=>
pag e 24 1.
Dri ving style
Dr ivi ng fa st aro und curves, heavy accele ration a nd hard bra king
increase tire wea r.
Rotating tires for more even wear
F or all four tires on your vehicle to have the same service life, we
r ec om men d that t he fr ont a nd rear ti res are rota ted acco rd ing to the
tire manufacturer 's suggested tire ro tation interva ls. Please
r eme mber the fo llo wi ng:
• Ti re rotation interva ls may differ from the vehicle servic e int er
va ls ou tlined in y our Wa rranty
& M ain te n ance Booklet .
• T he longer one tire is used in one location on the vehicle, the
mo re it wears a t ce rtai n poi nts ; th erefore, we recom men d th at you
follow t he tire manufac turer's su ggested t ire rotation interv als .
• Vehi cles w ith front -w hee l d rive ex per ience more trea d wea r on
the front wheels compared to all -wheel drive (quattro®l .
• Ple as e rota te tires as shown=>
page 244, fi g. 15 1.
• Extra care must be ta ken when rotating direction -specific tires
=>
p age 2 73 .
Wheel balancing
The w heels on new vehic les are balanced. However, various situa
tions du ring everyday dr iving can cause them to become unbal
anc ed, resu lt in g in v ibrat io ns y ou can usual ly fe e l throu gh th e
steering whee l. U
nba lanc ed wheels must be r eba lanced to avoid excessive wear on
ste erin g, sus pen sion and tire s. A wh ee l mu st als o b e re b ala nce d
when a new tire is insta lled.
Incorrect wheel alignment
I ncorrect wheel alignment can cause excess ive tire wear, impairing
t he sa fety of the v ehicle. If t ire s s how e xcess ive wear, hav e t he
whee l a lignment chec ked by an authoriz ed Aud i d eal er o r qua lif ied
wo rk shop.
All Wheel Drive
V eh icles w ith q uattro ® must alwa ys ha ve tire s of the same siz e,
construction and t read t ype . For detai ls see=>
page 189 .
& 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.
• 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 chemicals 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,
espe cially 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 .
• Never mount used tires on your vehicle if you are not sure of
their "previous history ." Old used tires may have been damaged
even though the damage cannot be seen that can lead to sudden
tire failure and loss of vehicle control. •
Vehicle care
I t •

-L~W~h~a~t:_:d~o~I ~d~o~n~o~vv~? __________________________________________ _
What do I do now?
Vehicle tool kit
The tools are stored underneath the floor panel in the
luggage compartment.
-5
i
Fig. 156 Luggage
compartment: vehicle
tool kit
Swing the luggage compartment floor upwards.
- Remove the vehicle tool kit.
The onboard tool kit includes:
• Hook for removing wheel covers*
• Plastic clip to remove wheel bolt covers*
• Wheel bolt wrench
• Alignment pin for changing wheels
• Screwdriver with reversible blade
• Replacement bit (reversible Torx bit for changing lamps)
• Open ended wrench 10 x 13
• Towing eye
Note: some of the on board items listed above are provided on
certain models only or are optional extras.
& WARNING
• Using a bumper jack to raise the vehicle will damage the
bumper system. The jack may slip, causing injury .
• Never support your vehicle on cinder blocks, bricks or other
objects. These may not be able to support the load and could
cause injury when they fail.
• Never start or run the engine while the vehicle is supported by
the jack.
• If you must work under the vehicle, always use safety stands
specifically designed for this purpose .
• Never use the hexagonal socket in the handle of the screw
driver to loosen or tighten the wheel bolts . •
Tire repair
Appl ies to vehicles: with T ire Mob ili ty System
Gen eral and safety pointers
Tire repair is intended only for temporary, short-term use.
®
Fig. 157 Tire damage
for which the Tire
Mobility System is not
suited ...

-What d o I do novv ? P'cV:IL--.....:...:..:....:....:.:...:..::......;..;____ ___________ _
Taking the vvheel off
Follow these instructions step-by-step for changing the
wheel.
Fig. 166 Wheel
c han ge: usi ng th e
screwdriver handl e
!w ith t he b lade
re move d) to tu rn th e
bolts
F ig . 16 7 W hee l
c h a ng e: a lig nm ent p in
in side th e top ho le
After you have lo ose ned all wheel bolts and raised the
vehicle off the gro und , pe rform the following steps to
remove and replace the wheel :
Removing th e vvh eel
- Use t he
he xagonal sock et in th e sc rewdriver handle to
completely turn out the topmost wheel bo lt and set it
aside on a
clean surface => fig. 166. -
Screw the t hreaded en d of the
alignm ent pin from the
tool kit hand -tight into t he now vacant bo lt hole
=> fig . 167.
- Then comple tely unscrew the other wheel bolts as
described above .
- Take off the whee l leaving the alignment pin in the bolt
hole .
Putting on the vvhe el
- Lift the spare wheel and carefully s lide it over the align
ment p in to gu ide it in place.
- Use t he he xag onal socket in the sc rewdriver hand le t o
screw in and tig hten all whee l bolts
slightly.
Unscrew the alignment p in and insert and tighten t he
remai ning wheel bol t slightly like the rest.
- Tu rn the jack handle counter -c lockw ise to lower the
ve hicle until the jack is fully released.
- Use the whee l bolt w rench to tighten all wheel bolts
firmly =>
page 270. Tighten them crosswise , from one
bolt to the (approximately) opposite one, to keep the
wheel centered .
[ i ] Tip s
Never use the hexagonal socket in the handle of the screwdriver to
loosen or tighten the wheel bolts .
• Pull the reversible blade from the screwdriver before you use the
hexagonal socket in the handle to turn the wheel bolts.
• When mounting tires with
unid ire cti on al t re ad de sign make sure
the tread pattern is pointed the right way=>
page 273. ~