Tires and wheels -________________ f!:f'II
Tire pressure
Incorrect tire pressure cau se s prema ture we ar and c an cau se sudden
ti re blow-o ut. Fo r this reaso n, tir e press ure must be ch ecked at l eas t
once a mo nth ;:::,
page 320.
Driving style
Driv in g fast aro und curves, heavy a cce le ra ti on and hard bra kin g
increase tire wea r.
Rotating tires for more even wear
Fo r all fou r tir es on your ve hicle to have the same service life, we
re co mm end th at t he fron t and rear tire s ar e rotat ed acco rd ing t o the
tire ma nufact urer's s uggested tire rotation intervals. Please
remem be r th e fo llow ing:
• Tir e ro tat io n in terv als ma y differ from t he ve hicle serv ice in terv als
out lined in your Warranty
& Maintenance bo oklet .
• Th e long er o ne tire is used i n one location on t he veh icle, t he mo re
it wears at certa in po ints; t herefore, we recommend t hat you follow
th e tir e m an ufac ture r's sugges ted tire r ota tion in te rv a ls .
• Vehicles w ith fro nt-w hee l dr ive experience mo re tread wea r on the
fron t w heels compared to all-whe el driv e (qua ttro ®).
• P leas e ro tate tires as sh own ;:::, fig. 242.
• Extra care m ust be ta ken when rotat ing direction-specific tires
=:, p age 3 44 .
Wheel balancing
The w heels on new ve hicl es a re bala nced. However, v ario us sit uatio ns
dur ing everyday driving can cause them to become unba lanced,
re su lt ing in vibra tions yo u can usually fee l throug h the stee rin g
w hee l.
Unbalanced whee ls mus t be rebalanced to avoid excessive wear on
s t eer ing, suspension and t ir e s. A wheel must also b e rebalanced
w hen a new tire is installed.
Safety first
Incorrect wheel alignment
Incorrec t wheel a lignment can c ause excessive t ire wear, im pair ing
t he sa fety o f the ve hicle . If t ires s how exc essive wear, hav e the wheel
alignment checked by an author ized A udi dealer o r qualifie d wo rk
shop.
All Wheel Drive
Vehicles with quattro ® must a lways have tires of the same s ize,
constr uctio n an d trea d type . For details see ;:::,
page 258 .
& 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 ind icators .
• 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,
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.
• Never mount used tires on your vehicle if you are not sure of
their "previous history." Old used tires may have been damaged
eventhoughthedamagecannotbeseenthatcanleadtosudden
tire failure and loss of vehicle control. •
Vehicle care Technical data
lffll.,___W_ h_ a_t _ d_ o_ I_d_ o_ n_o _w_ ? ___________________________________________ _
What do I do now?
Jack, tools and inflatable spare tire
Tools
The tool kit is located in the luggage compartment under
the cargo floor cover .
The onboard tool kit includes:
• Hook for removing wheel covers*
• Plastic hook to remove wheel bolt covers*
• Wheel bolt wrench
• Alignment pin for changing wheels
• Screwdriver with reversible blade
• 10 x 13 open ended wrench
• Towing eye
[ i J Tips
F ig. 2 46 Luggage
compart ment : ve hicle
t ool kit
Some of the onboard items listed above are provided on certain
models only or are optiona l extras. •
Jack and folding chock s
The jack and the folding chocks are located in the luggage
compartment under the cargo floor cover.
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----~ -
Vehicle jack
F ig . 247 Luggage
compartment vehicle
jack and folding chocks
F ig. 248 Open ing
fo lding chocks
The jack is located under the tool kit=> fig. 247 . Before storing the
jack, make sure it is wound back down as far as it will go.
F o ld ing ch ocks
Two unassembled folding chocks are attached to the foam section at
the front with the jack => fig. 247.
~
lffll.___W_ h_ a_t _ d _ o_ I_ d_ o_ n_o _w_ ? ___________________________________________ _
Taking the wheel off/installing the
inflatable spare tire
Follow these instructi ons step-by-step for changing the
wheel
Fig. 256 Ch an ging a
wh eel: alig nm ent pi n
i n si de the to p h ole
After you have loosened all wheel bolts and raised the vehic le
off the gro und, remove and replace the wheel as follows:
Removing the wheel
- Remove the topmost wheel bolt complete ly and set it
aside on a
clean surface.
- Screw the threaded end of the
alignment p in from the
tool kit hand-tight into t he empty bolt ho le~
page 344,
fig . 256.
-Then r emove the other whee l bol ts as describe d above .
- Take off the wheel leaving the a lignm ent pin in the bo lt
hole .
Putting on the inflatable spare tire
-Inflate the inflatable spare tire~ page 339 and push the
wheel over t he alignment pin. -
Screw in and tighten all wheel bolts
slightly .
- Remove the alignment pin and insert and t ighten the
remaining w hee l bolt slightly like the rest .
- Turn the jack handle counter -c lockwise to lower the
vehicle u ntil the jac k is fully released .
Use t he wheel bolt wrenc h to t ighten all w hee l bolts f irmly
~ page 342. Tighten t hem crosswise, from one bolt to
the (approx imately) opposite one, to keep the wheel
cente red .
[I] Tips
• When mounting tires with unid irectional tr ead design make sure
the tread pattern is po inted the r ight way ~
page 344.
• The wheel bolts should be clean and easy to turn. Check for dirt
and corrosion on the mating surfaces of both the whee l and the h ub.
Remove all dirt from these surfaces before remounting the w heel. •
Tires with unidirectional tread design
Tires with unidirectional tread design must be mounted
with their tread pattern pointed in the righ t direction .
Using a spare tire w ith a t read pattern intended for
u se in a specific direction
When usi ng a spare tire w ith a t read pa ttern intended fo r use in a
specific direction, please note the following:
• T he di rec tion of rotation is ma rked by an ar row on the s ide of the
tire.
• If the spare tire has to be installed in the incor rect d irect io n, use
the spare tire only temporar ily since the tire will not be ab le to
a chieve its optim um pe rfo rma nce characteristics with rega rd to
aquaplaning, no ise and wear. _,.