
________________________________________________ T_ i_ re _ s_ a_ n_d_ w_ h_ e_ e_l _s _ ....... JIII
Tire service Life
The service life of tires depends on a lot of different
things including proper installation and balancing,
correct tire pressure and driving style.
_/l
l '-------- ,)
Tread Wear Indic ator (TWI )
Fig. 2 54 T ir e t read :
t rea d we ar i ndicators
( T WI)
Fig . 255 Rotati ng
t ir e s fo r mo re e ve n
w ea r
Th e or iginal t ires on your veh icle have 1/16 inch ( 1.6 mm) high "wear
ind icators"=> fig . 254 running across the tread . Depending on the
make, there w ill be six to e ight of them evenly placed around the tire.
Marks on the t ire sidewall (for example "TWI" or other symbols) indi
cate the posit ions of the tread wear indicators . Worn tires must be
replaced. Different fig ures may apply i n other countr ies => ,& .
Vehicle OP-eration
Tire pres sur e
Incorrect tire pressure ca uses premature wear and can cause sudden
tire blow-out . For this reason, tire pressure m ust be checked at least
once a mo nth =>
page 313.
Driv ing style
Driving fast around curves, heavy acceleration and hard braking
increase tire wear .
Rotating tires for more even wear
For all four tires on your vehicle to have the same service life, we
recommend that the fron t and rear tires a re rotated accord ing to the
t ire manufact urer's suggested tire rotation intervals . Please
remember the follow ing:
• T ire ro tat ion interva ls may differ from the ve hicle service in tervals
outlined in your Warranty
& Maintenance book let.
• The longer one tire is used in one location on the veh icle, the more
i t wears at certain points; therefore, we recommend that you follow
the t ire manufacturer's suggested tire rotation intervals.
• Vehicles with front-whee l drive experience more tread wear on the
front wheels compared to all-wheel dr ive (quattro
® ).
• Please rotate tires as sh own => fig. 255.
• Extra care must be taken when rotat ing d irection-spec ific tires
=:> page 341.
Wheel balancing
The w heels on new vehicles are balanced . H oweve r, various sit uat ions
dur ing everyday dr iving can cause them to become unbalanced,
resulting in vibrations yo u can usu a lly fee l through the s teering
wheel.
Unbalanced whee ls must be rebalanced to avoid excessive wear on
steering, suspension and t ires . A wheel must also be rebalanced
when a new tire is installed. _,,
Vehicle care Do-it-yourselt service iTechnical data

-What do I do now? ..._ __________________________________________ _
& WARNING (conti nued)
Tra nsmissi on i n " P" ( Park) wi ll not preve nt th e vehicle from
m ov ing.
• Befor e you chan ge a wh eel, be s ure th e grou nd i s lev el and
firm . If n ece ssa ry , us e a s turdy board under th e j ack .
• Afte r in stalling the sp are whee l, make su re that you r eplace
the flat tire /wh ee l i n it s storage are a properly and t ight en th e
knu rled ret ain in g sc rew s ecu rely .
[ i J Tips
Before changing the wheel, you must activate the jacking mode, so
that the automatic contro ls for the Adaptive A ir Suspension do not
make it more difficult to
lift the vehicle with the jack=> page 179. •
Changing a wheel
When you change a wheel, follow the sequence described
below step-by-step and in exactly that order.
1. Activate the vehicle jacking mode==> page 179.
2 . Remove the decorati ve wheel cover* . For more details see
also ==>
page 33 7, "Decorative wheel covers" or
==>
page 337, "Wheels with wheel bolt caps".
3 . Loosen the
wh eel bolts ==> page 338.
4. L ocate the proper mounting point for the jack and align
the jack below that point==>
page 338 .
5. Lift the car with the jack==> page 338.
6. Remove the wheel with the flat tire and then install the
spare ==>
page 340.
7. Tighten all wheel bolts lightly . 8
.
Lower the vehicle with the jack.
9. Use the wheel bolt wrench and
firmly tighten all wheel
bolts==>
page 338.
10. Replace the decorative wheel cov er*.
11. Deactivate the vehicle jacking mode==> page 179.
& WARNING
A lw ays rea d and f ollow all W ARNING S and inf ormation => & in
" Rai sing th e vehicl e" on
page 33 8 and => pag e 341. •
After changing a wheel
A wheel change is not complete without the doing the
following .
-Store and secure the whe el you rep laced in the spare
wheel well.
- Replace the tools and the jack in their proper location.
- Check the
tire pre ssure on the spare wheel immediately
after mounting it .
- As soon as possible, have the
tighten ing torques on all
wheel bolts checked with a torque wrench . The correct
tightening torque is 90 ft lb (120 Nm).
- Have the flat tire
re placed as soon as possible .
[ i J Tips
• If you notice that the wheel bolts are corroded and diff icult to turn
wh ile chang ing a tire, they shou ld be rep laced before you check the
tightening torque. .,_

________________________________________________ F_ u_s _e_ s_ a_ n_ d_ b_u_ lb_ s _ __.lftll
No. Equipment
9
10
11
13
14
15
16
17
Climate control front/rear, dash panel buttons
Suspension level control system
(Adaptive Air Suspension)
Light and rain sensor
Display-/control unit
Roof electronics control unit
CD/DVD drive Energy management
Vacant
Radiator fan electronics
Airbag front passenger recognition (weight sensor)
19 Vacant
20 Heated/ventilated seats
21 Engine control module
22 Vacant
23 Parking brake (switch)
24 Vehicle electrical system
25
26 Automat
ic transm ission
Air conditioning water valves water pump, rear climate control
27 Sunroof
28 Engine control module
29 Fuel injectors
30 Ignition coils
31 Fuel pump, r ight/fuel pump e lectron ics
Amps
5
10
5
5
10
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
10
15
10
20
5
15
30
20/40
-
Vehicle OP-eration
No ... Equipment
32
33
34
35
36
39
40
41
Automatic transmission
Right rear foo twell heater
Heated/ventilated seats, rear
Heated/venti lated seats, front
Cigarette lighter, front
Cigarette lighter, rear/socket, rear
Auxiliary cooler fan Door cont rol un it, front r ight
Brake booster
Door control un it, rear right
42 Vacant
43 Headlight washer system
Air conditioning heater fan
Amps
5
25
20
20
20
20/25
20
7.5
15
7.5
30
30
•
Fuse Location , Luggage Compartment left
0
Fig . 28 0 Fuse pan el
l a yo ut ..
Vehicle care Do-it-yourself service iTechnical data

Emergency situations --------------=---:.-----JftFI
Loading the vehicle onto a flat bed truck
Front hook up
"' .... N
Fig. 288 Vehicle on
flat bed truck
- Align the vehicle with the centerline of the car carrier
ramp.
- Attach the winch hook to the front towline eye previously
installed.
Re ar hoo k up
Align the vehicle with the centerline of the car carrier
ramp .
- Attach the winch hook to the rear towline eye previously installed .
[ i ] Tips
Check carefully to make sure the hook-up is secure before moving the
car up the flatbed truck ramp .•
Vehicle OP-eration
Vehicle transport
Whenever you have your vehicle transported, be sure to
note the following:
0 Note
Mount the tie-down chains/cables over the running surface (circum
ference) of the tires. Never secure the vehicle by the axle , the suspen
sion struts or the front or rear towline eye . For technical reasons, the
pressure in the suspension struts may change during the transport
and this will adve rsely affect veh icle handling. •
Lifting vehicle
Lifting with workshop hoist and with floor
jack
The vehicle may only be lifted at the lifting points illus
trated.
--1------------- ~
'-l.=c==;;;;;;;;;;===-cl i
Fig. 289 Fron t li fting
p oint
~
Vehicle care Do-it-yourself service iTechnical data

___ A_ l_,, p_ h _ a_b_ e_ t_ic _a_ l_ in_ d_e _ x ____________________________________________ _
A
Accessories ..... ...... ............. 363
Adaptive Air Suspension ............. 176
automatic mode ................. 177
Description .. ................... 176
dynamic mode ............ .... ... 1 77
Jacking mode when changing a flat tire . ..
179
lift mode ....................... 177
Setting the driving modes ......... 179
Sport Chassis Controls . ........ ... 178
standard mode ................ .. 177
Tr ailer towing mode ...... ...... .. 17 9
Warning/ind icator lights . .......... 18
Adaptive Cruise Control ............ .. 128
Changing speed ......... ......... 131
Driver information ............... 135
Dr iving in traff ic .......... ....... 129
Error messages ... .. .. .. .. ... .... 137
Open road ..... .. .... .. ... ...... 129
Override ................ .. .... .. 129
Request for driver to assume control 129
Save speed ... .. .. .. ............. 131
Setting distance . ... .......... ... 133
Sett ing time interval .............. 133
Settings ..................... ... 138
Special driving situations .......... 139
Status messages ................. 137
Switching on and off .............. 130
System limitations ........ ....... 139
Temporarily turning off ........... 132
warning/ind icator lights ........... 135 Adaptive Light .
.. ...... ....... .. .. .. 63
defect ive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Adding Engine coolant ................ .. 298
Engine oil ........... ... ......... 294
W indshield washer flu id ........... 305
Additiona l accessories ............... 363
Additives Engine oil ........ .... .... .. ..... 294
Adjustable steering col1Umn ........... 117
Adjusting Front seats .................... .. 76
Instrument cluster illum ination ..... 13
Steering column ................. 117
Advanced Parking System with rear view cam-
era
Adjusting the ch imes -option 1 ..... 171
Adjusting the ch imes -option 2 ..... 172
front and back with visual disp lay and rear-
view camera ................... 161
General information .............. 161
No tes on distance iniformation ..... 170
Parking next to obstacles .......... 169
Rear-v iew camera -parking mode 1 .. 166
Rear-v iew camera -parking mode 2 .. 167
Rear-v iew camera (Rear View) ...... 164
Rear-v iew camera coverage area .... 165
Rear-v iew camera tips ............ 17 4
Special parking sit ua tions .. .. ..... 169
Switching the rear-view camera on and off
173
switching the visual disp lay on and off
173 System error message
. . . . . . . . . . . . 173
T owing hitch ... .. .. ............. 171
Air conditioning
See Climate controls .............. 103
Airbag system ... .. .......... ... 206, 226
Advanced Airbag System .......... 210
Advanced Airbag System components 213 Care .. .. ................. ...... 220
Child restraints .................. 233
Children ..... ...... .. . .. .. .. .. .. 232
Components (front a irbags) ........ 213
Danger of fitting a child seat on the front passenger seat .... ............. 208
Disposal ................. ... .. .. 220
Front airbags ................ 210,211
How do the front airbags work? ..... 215
How many airbags does my vehicle have? .
213
How the Advanced Airbag System compo -
nents work together ............ 214
Important safety instructions on the knee
airbag system ................ .. 224
Important things to know ....... .. 206
Indicator light ................... 217
Knee airbags ....... ............. 222
Monitoring .. .. ................. 217
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light ..... 218
Repa irs ... ........ .. . .. .. .. .. .. 220
Safety instructions ............... 219
Side airbags .. .. .... ............. 225
Side cu rtain airbags . ............. 228
Wa rning/indicator lights ... ........ 17

-Alphabetical inde x _ ___,_ ______ .::..:....=.:..:..__ __________________________ _
C
California Proposition 65 Warning ..... 290
Battery spec ific . .. .. .. .. .. .. ... .. 303
Capacities .... ................... .. 360
Car care .. .. .. .. .. ............... .. 270
Interior ..... ............. .... .. 277
Plastic and viny l ................. 274
Weatherstrips ................ ... 275
Car carrier Transporting your veh icle ........ .. 353
Care of exterior .. .... ............. .. 270
Cargo area
See Loading the luggage compartment ..
193
Cargo net .................. .... .... 90
Catalyt ic converter ... ...............
262
Center armrest
adjusting ....... ... .............. 83
Storage compartment . ............ 83
Centra l locking
Emergency locking ............ ... . 46
Cert ification .... .. .. .. .... ......... 364
Changing a flat tire .. .. .. .. ...... ... 330
Changing a wheel ............ .... ... 335
Changing engine oil .. .. .. .. ......... 295
Chassis Undercoating . ................... 276
See also Adaptive Air Suspension . .. 176
CHECK button ... .................... 13
Checking Engine coolant level ........... ... 297 Checking tire pressure ......
.. .. .. .. . 313
Child restraint system anchors ........ 244
Child restraints Danger of us ing child restraints in the front
seat ................... .. .... . 208
Where can I get additional information about child restra ints and their use? .. .
251
Child safety ............ ... . ... .... . 231
Convertible locking retractor ....... 241
Guidance fixtures for lower anchorages
246
Important safety instructions for using
child safety seats ........ .. .. .. . 234
Important things to know when driving with children ............ .. .. .. . 231
Insta lling a child restraint using the LATCH
system .... .... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .
248
Mounting and releasing the anchorage
hook ......................... 248
Tether anchors ....... .. .. .. ..... 249
Tether straps ........... .. .. .. .. . 249
Child safety lock Rear doors (mechanical) ............ 49
Rear doors (power) ................
SO
Child safety seat ......... .... .. ..... 236
Convert ible lock ing retractor ...... .
241
How do I properly install a child safety seat
. h' l ? rn my ve 1c e .......... .. .. .. .. . 234
Installing ...... .. .. .. .. .... ..... 241
Safety instructions .. .. .. .. .. .. ... 234
Child safety seats Booster seats .. .. .... .... .. ..... 239
Convertible child seats ........... . 237 Infant seats
.. .. .... ..... ....... . 236
LATCH system ........ .... ... .. .. 248
Child seats Lower anchorages ... ............. 245
Cigarette lighter ........ ........ .... . 97
Cleaning Alcantara (synthetic suede) ........ 280
Engine compartment ........ ..... 281
Exhaust ta il pipes ... .. .. ... ..... . 276
Fabrics and fabric coverings .. .. .... 277
Inst rument panel . .. .. .. ......... 278
Interior . ............. .... .. .. .. 277
Leather ....... ... ... ... ........ 279
MMI display . ... ................ . 277
MMI terminal . ........... ... ... . 277
Plastic and vinyl ... ............. . 274
Plasti c parts ... .. ............... 278
Safety belts .. ....... .... .. .. .. .. 281
Trim strips ...................... 273
trim strips ..................... . 274
Cleaning and protection ...... ... .. .. 270
Climate controls ................ .. .. 103
Air distribution .... .... ... ... .. .. 109
Air outlets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Air outlets (rear) .. .. ......... .... 111
Air rec irculat ion .. .. ............. 109
AU TO (standard setting) .......... . 106
Basic settings ............ ... .. .. 115
Center air vent ........... ... .. .. 116
Controls ........ .... .. .. .. .. . ... 105
Defrosting/defogging ............ 109
Description .. ...... ............. 103
ECON operation ........ ... .. . ... 115

___ A_ l_. p_ h_a _b_ e_ t_ic _a_ l _ in_ d_e _ x ____________________________________________ _
Operate your vehicle economically and mini-
mize po llution .. .... ......... .. 263
Outside air pollution How to prevent from entering the vehicle .
109
Outside mirrors ............ .. .... ... 74
Outside temperature display . .......... 23
p
Paint
Touch-up 274
Paint No ......................... .. 356
Park ing .. .. .. .. .. .. ...... ......... 124
Automatic transm ission .. ....... .. 154
Caution when parking near a parking barri- er or curb ............. ...... .. 124
Low bumper cover, spoilers and suspension .................... 124
Parking brake
See Electromechan ical parking brake 123
Parking on a decline (downhill) ... ..... 124
Park ing on an incline (uphill) ........ .. 124
Parts replacement . ........ ..... .... 363
PASSENGER AIR BAG OF F light ... .. .. . 218
Passenger's seat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Passenger's seat memory ... .......... 85
Passive safety system ............. ... 186
Pedals . .. . .... .................... 192
Physical principles of a frontal collision . 198
Pockets .. .. ..................... .. 100
Polishing . ....................... .. 273
Power locking switch ................. 45 Power
locking system ...... .... .. .. .. 41
Conven ience open feature .......... S6
Locking and unlock ing the veh icle from
inside ............ ... .. .. .... .. 4S
Opening and closing the windows ... . 56
Rear lid/trunk lid . ................. 46
Remote control ........... .. .. .. .. 40
Selective unlock feature . ........... 44
Settings ..... .... .. .. .. .... .. .. .. 44
Unlocking and lock ing vehicle ....... 43
Power roof ............. .... .. ...... S7
Powe r seat
Contro ls ....... .......... .. .. .... 77
Massage funct ion .. ............... 79
Seat adjustment .................. 78
Upper thigh support ............ ... 78
Power s ide door closer ............ .. .. 45
Power steering . .. .... ............. . 257
Power sunroof
Emergency closing ... ... ... .... 58, 59
Power window switches ........... .. .. S3
In the dr iver's door ............. ... S4
In the front passenger's door ..... ... 5S
Reactivating the system . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Power windows Settings ...... ... .. .. .. .. .. .. .... S6
Pregnant women Special considerations when wearing a safety belt .............. .. .. .. . 203
Programming the HomeLink ® universal re-
mote control ........ .... .. ..... 181
Proper occupant seating positions .. ... 188
Proper sa fety belt position ........... 202 Proper seating position
Front passenger .. .............. .
Occupants ... .. ... ............. .
Rear passengers
Q
189
188
190
Quartz clock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
quattro ®
See All Wheel Drive . ............. 257
Question What happens to unbelted occupants? ...
199
Why safety belts? ... ......... ... . 197
R
Radiator fan ............ ... .. .. .... 299
Rain sensor ................. ...... .. 70
Rain sensor defective . .. .... .......... 34
Reading lights Front . ........................ .. 65
Rear ..... ............. .......... 66
Rear ashtray ..... ................. .. 96
Rear center console .. ...... .... .. .... 98
Rear climate controls . .. ............. 114
Air distribution . ................ . 114
Automatic operation ......... .. .. 114
Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
Heated seats ........ .. .... .... .. 114
PASSIVE .......... ... . .. .. .. .. .. 114
Switching on and off ........ .. .. .. 114
T emperature ......... ... .. .... .. 114
Ventilated seats ... .............. 114

___ A_ l_. p_ h _ a_b_ e_ t_ic _a_ l_ in_ d_e _ x ____________________________________________ _
Driver's seat memory .. ... ..... ... . 84 Side airbags
Front passenger's seat . .. ... ... .... 77 Description . .................... 225
Front seats .................. .... 76 How they work .................. 226
Head restraints . .. .. .. .. .. .... 81, 191 Side assist
Lumba r support .. .. .............. 80 Activating and deactivating . .. ..... 145
Power seat . .. .. .. .. .. .. .......... 77 Description . .. .... ......... .... . 145
Safety guidelines . ...... .......... 76 Informational and alert stage signals 147
Seat belts Messages in instrument cluster display . .
Why YOU MUST wear them ........ 197 152
Seat memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Seat position Inco rrect seat position . .. ......... 191
Seating capacity . .. .. .. .. .. ...... .. . 197
Seating position Driver ............. ...... .... ... 188
Front passenger ................. 189
How to adjust the front seats .. ..... 189
Occupants . ................... .. 188
Rear passengers
Seats Number of seats 190
197
Selective unlock feature ...............
44
Selector lever ... ................... 155
Service and disposal Safety belt pretensioner ........... 205
Service interval display .. .. .... ........ 25
Service position Windshield wipers ............. ... 72
Servotronic MMI
settings ............. .. .. .. . 150
Operation .. ............. .... .. . 147
Safety tips .... ........... .. ..... 152
Sensor detection area ...... .. .... . 146
Side curtain airbags ... .............. 228
Description ... ................. . 228
How they work ...... ...... ..... . 229
Safety instructions ... ..... .. .. ... 229
Side marker l ights ........... .. .. .. .. 60
Ski sack . .. .... ............. ...... .. 91
Snow chains ....................... 324
Sockets ......................... 97, 98
So lar blower fan/solar roof .... .. .... . 112
Sound system disp lay
Dr iver information display ...... .. .. 23
Sources of in formation about child restraints
and their use ................... 251
Spare wheel . ............. .. ... ... . 334
Speed control system
See Adaptive Cruise Control . .. .. .. . 128
Power steering .................. 257 Speed rating letter code ........ .. .. . 320
Shift buttons . .. ..... ... ........ ... 159 Speed warning system .............. .. 35
Ship Speedometer ....
................ ... 12
Transporting you r vehicle ........ .. 353 Sport Suspension
See Adaptive A
ir Suspension ....... 176
Starting off with a trai ler .......... ... 125
Starting the engine ............. 118, 119
What should I do if the engine does not start? .... .... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 119
Steering . .. .. .. ................. .. 117
Adjusting steering column .. ..... .. 117
Easy entry feature ......... ... .. .. 118
Locking the steering .............. 118
Malfunction . ... .. .. .............. 31
Steering wheel heating ...... .. .. .. .. 108
Steps for determining correc t load limit 315
Stopping the engine .... ............. 120
Storage .. .. .. .. ...... ............. . 98
Compartments in the door trim panels ...
100
Compartments in the rear doors .. .. 100
(upholder . .. ...... .............. 94
(upholder rear center armrest ....... 95
Glove compartment .......... ... .. 99
Luggage compartment . .. ... .... .. 102
Ski sack ....... ... .... .. .. .. .. .. . 91
Small objects ....... ...... .... .. 100
Sun shade ................ .... ... ... 68
Sun visors .................. ... .. .. . 68
Switches Emergency flashers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Power sunroof ............. .. .. .. . 57
Rear window defogger ...... .... .. 113
Symbols Red ..... ............. .......... 28
Yellow .................. ... ... .. 32