Wheels and Tyres
228
Wheels and TyresWheelsGeneral information
New tyres do not offer optimal grip at first and should therefore be run in for about
500 km at a moderate speed and an appropri ately cautious style of driving. You will
also profit from longer tyre life.
The tread depth of new tyres may differ be cause of design features and the config-
uration of the tread (depending on the type of tyre and the manufacturer).
Drive over curbs on the side of the road and other such obstacles slowly and,
where possible, at a right angle in order to avoid damage to tyres and wheel trims.
Inspect your tyres from time to time for damage (punctures, cuts, splits and
bulges). Remove foreign bodies from the tyre profile.
Damage to tyres and wheels is frequently not visible. Unusual vibrations or pulling
of the vehicle to one side coul d be a sign of tyre damage. Please reduce your speed
immediately and stop if you su spect that a wheel is damaged. Inspect the tyres for
signs of damage (bulges, splits, etc.). If no visible damage is present, please drive at an
appropriately slow speed and carefully to the nearest specialist garage in order to have
your vehicle inspected.
Also protect your tyres from contact with oil, grease and fuel.
Immediately replace any dust caps of the valves which have got lost.
Mark wheels before removing them so that their previous direction of running can
be maintained when mounted them again.
Always store wheels or tyres which been removed in a cool, dry and, where
possible, dark place. Tyres which are not fixed to a wheel trim should be stored upright.
Unidirectional tyres*
The direction of rotation of the tyres is mark ed by arrows on the wall of the tyre. This
indicates the direction of rotation of the tyre, and it is essential that the tyres are fitted
on to run in this direction. Only then are the tyres able to provide the optimal proper-
ties in terms of grip, low nois e, wear-and-tear and aquaplaning.
Further information concerning th e use of unidirectional tyres page 232.
WARNING
New tyres during the first 500 km do not offer optimal grip and should
therefore be run appropriately - risk of accident!
Never drive with damaged tyres - risk of accident!Note
Please observe the various differing legal requirements regarding tyres.Ty re l i feThe life of your tyres very much depends on the following points:
Tyre pressure
The working life of tyres will be shortened considerably if the tyres are insufficiently or
over-inflated and this will have an adverse effect on the handling of your vehicle.
Correctly inflated tyres are of particular importance when travelling at high speeds. It
is therefore good to check the pressure at least once a month and also before setting
off on a long trip. Please do not forget the spare wheel when checking the tyres.
The tyre inflation pressures for summer tyres are indicated on the inside of the fuel
filler flap fig. 189 . The inflation pressures for winter tyres are 20 kPa (0.2 bar) higher
than those for summer tyres page 232.
Fig. 189 An opened fuel filler flap with a
tyre size and tyre inflation pressure table
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Wheels and Tyres229
Using the system
Safety
Driving Tips
General Maintenance
Breakdown assistance
Technical Data
The tyre inflation pressure for tyres of the tyre size 205/50 R17, which are intended to
be used with snow chains, is identical to the tyre inflation pressure for tyres of the tyre
size 225/45 R17, see
page 228, fig. 189 .
The tyre pressure should be at the highest pressure specified for your vehicle at all
times.
The tyre inflation pressure of the emergency spare wheel R 18 is 420 kPa (4.2 bar).
Always check the inflation pressure of tyres when cold. Do not reduce the higher pres-
sure of warm tyres. Adapt the inflation pressure of the tyres accordingly if your vehicle
is carrying a significantly higher payload.
Driving style
Fast cornering, sharp acceleration and brak ing (squealing tyres) increase wear-and-
tear on your tyres.
Balancing wheels
The wheels of a new vehicle are balanced. There are a wide range of influences when
driving which may result in an imbalance and which makes themselves felt through
vibration in the steering.
You should have the wheels rebalanced si nce any imbalance increases wear-and-tear
on the steering, the suspension and tyres. A wheel must also be rebalanced when a
new tyre is fitted and each time a tyre is repaired.
Wheel alignment errors
Incorrect wheel alignment at the front and re ar will not only increase wear-and-tear on
the tyres but will also has an adverse effect on vehicle safety. Contact your specialist
garage if you notice any unusual tyre wear.
WARNING
If the inflation pressure is too low, the tyre must perform a greater flexing
work. At higher speeds the tyre will warm up as a result of this. This can result
in tread separation and even a tyre blowout.
Immediately replace the damaged rims or tyres.
Tyres which are 6 years old or more should only be fitted in exceptional
cases and when adopting an approp riately cautious style of driving.
For the sake of the environment
Tyres which are insufficiently inflated increase your fuel consumption.Wear indicatorsThe base of the tread of the original tyres has wear indicators 1.6 mm high, installed at
right angles to the direction of travel. These wear indicators are located at 6 - 8 points
depending on the make and are evenly spaced around the circumference of the tyre
fig. 190 . Markings on the walls of the tyres through the letters “TWI”, triangular
symbols or other symbols identify th e position of the wear indicators.
A remaining tread of just 1.6 mm, measured in the grooves of the tread next to the wear
indicators, means that your tyres have reached their legally permissible minimum
tread depth.
WARNING
You must have your tyres replaced with new ones at the latest when the
wear indicators have been worn down . The legally permissible minimum tread
depth should be observed.
Worn tyres do not provide the necessary adhesion to the road surface at
high speeds on wet roads. One could experience “aquaplaning” (uncontrolled
movements of the vehicle - “swimming” on a wet road surface).
Fig. 190 Tyre tread with wear indicators
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Breakdown assistance237
Using the system
Safety
Driving Tips
General Maintenance
Breakdown assistance
Technical Data
The spare wheel lies in a well under the floor covering of the luggage compartment and
is fixed in place using special screws
page 236, fig. 195 .
Before removing the spare wheel, you must take out the box with the vehicle tool kit
box page 236, fig. 194.
One should check the inflation pressure in the spare wheel (at best when generally
checking the tyre air pressures - see sign on the fuel filler flap page 228) to ensure
that the spare wheel is always ready to use.
Temporary spare wheel
A warning label displayed on the rim of the temporary spare wheel indicates that your
vehicle is equippe d with a temporary spare wheel.
Please observe the following notes when driving with a temporary spare wheel:
The warning label must not be covered after installing the wheel.
Do not drive faster than 80 km/h with this spare wheel and pay particular attention
while driving. Avoid accelerating at full throttle, sharp braking and fast cornering.
The inflation pressure for this spare wheel is identical to the inflation pressure of
the standard tyres. The temporary spare wheel R 18 must have an inflation pressure of
420 kPa (4.2 bar)!
Use this spare wheel only to reach the nearest specialist garage as it is not intended
for continuous use.
No other summer or winter tyres must be mounted on the rim of the spare wheel
R 18.
Changing a wheelPreliminary workThe following steps should be carried ou t before actually changing the wheel.
– If it is necessary to change a wheel, park the vehicle as far away as possible from
the traffic flow. The place you choose should be level.
–Have all the occupants get out. While changing a wheel, the occupants of the
vehicle should not stand on the road (e.g. behind a crash barrier).
– Apply the handbrake firmly. –Engage
1st gear or if your vehicle is fitted with an automatic gearbox, position the
selector lever into position P .
– If a trailer is coupled, uncouple it.
–Take the vehicle tool kit page 236 and the spare wheel* page 236 out of the
luggage compartment.
WARNING
If you find yourself in flowing traffic switch on the hazard warning lights
system and place the warning triangle on the side of the road at the prescribed
distance from your vehicle while observin g all national legal provisions. In this
way you are protecting not only yourself but also other road users.
Never start the engine with the vehicle si tting on the raised jack - danger of
suffering injury.Caution
If you have to change a wheel on a slope fi rst block the opposite wheel with a stone or
similar object in order to secure the vehicle from unexpectedly rolling away.
Note
Comply with the national legal regulations.Changing a wheelAlways change a wheel on a level surface as far as possible.
– Take off the full wheel trim* page 238 or the wheel trim cap page 239 or the
caps page 239.
– In the case of light alloy wheels remove the wheel trim cap page 239.
– First of all slacken the safety wheel bolt * and afterwards the other wheel bolts page 239.
– Jack up the vehicle until the wheel to be changed is clear of the ground
page 240.
– Unscrew the wheel bolts and place them on a clean surface (cloth, paper etc.).
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Index
282
Sun . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Sun screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Switching lights on and off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Switching off the engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123TTaking care of your vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
Taking out the lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
TCS
Warning light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Telephone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145, 152
Temperature outside . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
the first 1 500 kilometres . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
The roof luggage rack system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Thickness of brake pads Warning light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Through-loading bag . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Tilting roof . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Tiptronic automatic gearbox DSG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236
Top Tether . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
Towing a trailer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
Towing device . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204
Towing protection monitoring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
towing vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242
Tow-starting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242
Tow-starting and towing vehicle Automatic gearbox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
Traction control system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188 Traction control system (TCS)
Warning light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Trailer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202 General Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
Transporting children . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
Tread depth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229
Turn signal lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 Warning light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Twindoor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Two-way radio systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Tyre . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
Tyre inflation pressure Warning light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Tyre repair kit Tyre repair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236
Tyres Winter tyres . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232
UUnderbody protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
Unlocking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38Remote control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Uphill Start Assist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192VVanity mirror . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Vehicle tool kit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236
Ventilation Auxiliary ventilation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Visors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
WWarning lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Warning symbols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Warning triangle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
Washing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205 with a high-pressure cleaner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
Washing the vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
Washing vehicle by hand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
Wax treatment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
Wheel Changing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237
Spare . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236
Wheel bolts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
Wheel trim . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228, 238
Wheels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 de-icing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207
Windscreen Heater . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Windscreen heater . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Windscreen washer nozzles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Windshield washer fluid reservoir . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226 Warning light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Windshield washer system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226
Windshield wiper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Winter tyres . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232
Wiper blades Replacing the wiper blades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76XXenon headlights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251
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