2011 AUDI A3 service

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Occupant loading and distribution for vehicle normal load for various designated seat ing capacities
Designated seating capacity, num- Vehicle normal load, number of Occupant distribution in a nor­
mally loaded vehicle
ber
of occupants occupants
5 3 2 in front, 1 in back seat
Co ld tire inf lation pressure
Tire pr essur e affects the overall handling, performance and safety of a vehicle .
Fig . 171 Ti re pre ssure
label : loca te d e ithe r on
drive r's side B -pillar or
i ns ide th e fuel fille r
flap
T ire pressure generally refers to t he amo unt of a ir i n a tire tha t it
needs it to do its job and safe ly carry the comb ined load of t he entire
vehicle and its contents . Tire p ressure is measured in kilopasca ls
(kPa), the inte rnationa l measur ing unit and in poun ds per square i nch
(PSI). Tire press ure is based in part on the ve hicle 's design and load
limit -the greatest a mount of weight that the vehi cle can c arry safe ly
and the tire s ize. The proper tire pressure is frequently refer red to as
the "re commended cold t ire inflation p ressure. " Air in t he tires
expands when the tire heats up because of internal friction when it
flexes in use. T he tire press ure is hig her w hen the tir e h as warme d up
than whe n it is "cold." It is the inflation pressure in a "cold" tire that
c o unts. The refo re, you sho uld never let air o ut of a warm t ire to
match "cold ti re inflation pressure " recommendations . The t ires
wou ld then be under in flated and could fail s uddenly.
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SUOWN'EA'S MANUAl F AO:DrTIONAL
INFORMATION
VOIR U MANUEL DU PROJl'RIETAIRE
POUR PLUS OE
RENS£1Gf\1£MENTS Fig .172 Tire pre ssur e
label
Ma intain ing prope r tire pressure is one o f the most importa nt things
you can do to he lp avoid sudde n tir e fa il u re . Under inflated tires are a
majo r ca use of sudden tire fa ilure . Keeping t ires at the rig ht pressure
is a lso important for safe and responsive vehicl e ha nd ling , traction,
braki ng an d load ca rryi ng.
Tire pressures are particularly impo rtant
when the vehicle is being driven at higher speed s, and then espe·
cially when heav ily loaded even within the permissible load ·
carrying capacities approved for your vehicle .
The recommended tire pressures for your Audi depend on the kind of
t ires on your vehicle and the num be r of passengers and/or amou nt o f
luggage you will be tra nspo rt ing .
On USA vehicles, the t ire pressure label is located on driver 's s ide B·
pillar. O n Canad a vehicles, t he tire pressure label is locate d eithe r on
the dr iver's side B-pillar or inside the fue l fi ller flap. The tire pressure
•
label lists the recommen ded cold t ire in flation pressures for the _,,,
Vehicle OP-eration Vehicle care Do-it-yourselt service iTechnical data

Tires and wheels -________________ l'fFI
• The tire p ress ure s s ho uld onl y be chec ked and adjus ted whe n the
ti res are col d. T he sli ghtly rais e d pre ssu res o f w arm t ires must not b e
r e d uced .
• Adju st the tire p re ssu re to t he lo ad you are ca rry ing .
• Reinstall the valve stem cap o n the valve .
When should I check the tire pressure?
The corre ct tire press ure is especially importa nt at high speeds. The
pressu re s ho uld t heref ore be chec ked at least onc e a month an d
always be fore start ing a journey . Do not fo rget to check t he t ire p res­
s u re for the spar e w hee l~
pag e 2 71.
When should I adjust the tire pressures?
Ad jus t the tire pr ess ur e to th e load you ar e carry ing . Af ter chang ing a
w hee l
or replac ing w heels yo u have to adjust the t ire press ures on all
w heels. In addi tion, you must th en ini tia lize the ne w tire press ures in
the t ire pressure monito ring system *~
page 264 .
& WARNING
Incorrect tire pressures and/or underinflation can lead sudden tire
failure, loss of control, collision, serious personal injury or even death.
• When the warning symbol{__, appears in the instrument
cluster , stop and inspect the tires.
• Incorrect tire pressure and/or underinflation can cause
increased tire wear and can affect the handling of the vehicle and
stopping ability.
• Incorrect tire pressure s and/or underinflation can also lead to
sudden tire failure, including a blowout and sudden deflation,
causing loss of vehicle control.
• The driver is responsible for the correct tire pressures for all
tires on the vehicle. The applicable pressure values are located on
a sticker on the driver 's side 8-pillar or on the inside of the fuel
filler flap .
Safety first
& WARNING (cont inued )
• Only when all tires on the vehicle are filled to the correct pres­
sure, the tire pressure monitoring system* can work correctly.
• The use of incorrect tire pressure values can lead to accidents or
other damage . Therefore it is essential that the driver observe the
specified tire pressure values for the tires and the correct pres­
sures for the function of the tire pressure monitoring system*.
• Always inflate tires to the recommended and correct tire pres­
sure before driving off .
• Driving with underinflated tires bend more, letting them get
too hot resulting in tread separation, sudden tire failure and loss
of control.
• Excessive speed and/overloading can cause heat build-up,
sudden tire failure and loss of control.
• If the tire pressure is too low or too high, the tires will wear
prematurely and the vehicle will not handle well.
• If the tire is not flat and you do not have to change a wheel
immediately, drive at reduced speed to the nearest service station
to check the tire pressure and add air as required .
0 Note
Driving witho ut valve stem caps can cause damage to the tire valves.
T o preven t this, always ma ke sure that fa ctor y in sta lled val ve s te m
caps on all wheels a re secure ly mounted on the va lve.
c£> For the sake of the environment
Under infla ted ti res will also increase t he fue l cons umption .•
Tires and vehicle Load Limits
T he re are limits to the amo unt of load or weight that a ny vehicle and
any tire c an car ry. A veh icle t hat is ove rload ed w ill not handle well and ..,_
Vehicle care Technical data

lffll __ T_ i_ r _e _s_ a_n_ d_ w_ h_ e_e_ l_ s _______________________________________________ _
Tire service Life
The servi ce life of tires depends on a lot of different
things including proper installation and balancing,
correct tir e pressure and driving style.
(r
l \._ _____ ;)
Tread Wear Indicator (TWI)
Fig. 173 Tire tread:
t rea d w ear in di cato rs
(TW I)
Fig . 174 Rotati ng
tires f or m ore e ven
w ea r
The original t ires o n your veh icle have 1/16 inch ( 1.6 mm) h igh "wear
ind icators"~ fig. 173 running across the tread . Depending on the
ma ke, there w ill be six to eight of them even Ly placed around the ti re.
Marks on the t ire sidewall (for examp le "TWI " or other symbols) indi­
cate the positions of the tread wea r indicators . Worn t ires must be
replaced. Differe nt figu res may apply in other countries ~ & .
Tire pressure
Incorrect tire pressure causes premature wea r and can cause sudden
tire blow-o ut. Fo r th is reason, tire pressu re must be checked at least
once a month~
page 252.
Driv ing style
Driving fast aro und curves, heavy accele ration and hard b raking
increase tire wear .
Rotating tires for more even wear
For all four tires o n your ve hicle to have the same se rvice life, we
recommend that the fron t and rear t ires are rot ated according to the
tire manufact urer's suggested tire rotat ion intervals . Please
remember the fo llow ing :
• Tir e ro tat ion inte rvals may d iffe r from the vehicle serv ice intervals
out lined in your Warranty
& Maintenance Booklet.
• The longer one tire is used in one locat ion on the vehicle, the more
it wears at certain points; therefore, we recommend that you follow
the t ire manufacture r's sugges ted tire rotation interva ls .
• Vehicles with front-whee l drive experience more tread wea r on the
front wheels compa red to a ll-wheel dr ive (quattro ®).
• Please ro ta te tires as shown~
page 256, fig. 174.
• Extra care must be taken when rotating direction -specific t ires
~ page 279 .
Wheel balancing
The wheels on new vehicles are balanced. However, var ious si tuatio ns
dur ing everyday driving can cause them to become unbalanced,
resu lting in v ibr ations yo u can us ua lly fee l throug h the stee rin g
w heel.
Unbalanced whee ls mus t be rebalanced to avoid excessive wea r on
steeri ng, suspension and tires . A wheel must also be rebalanced
when a new tire is installed.
~

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Incorrect wheel alignment
In correct whee l al ignme nt can ca use excessive tir e wea r, impairing
th e sa fety o f the vehicl e. If t ires show excessive w ear, hav e the w heel
alignment checked by a n authorized A udi dea ler or qualifie d work­
shop.
All Wheel Drive
Vehicles wi th quattro® must always have tires of the same size ,
con st ruct ion an d tread type . For details see~
page 194.
& WARNING
Sudden tire failure can lead to los s of control, a cra sh 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 t ire 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
even though the damage cannot be seen that can lead to sudden
tire failu re and loss of vehicle control. •
Vehicle OP-eration
New tires and replacing tires and wheels
New t ires an d w hee ls have to be brok en in .
Fig. 175 Tire specificat ion codes on th e sidewall of a tire
No.
©
®
®
©
©
©
Description
Passenger car tire (where applicable)
Nom inal wid th of ti re in mil limeters
Ratio of hei9ht to width (aspect ratio)
Radial
jj Rim diameter code
L oa d index and speed rating
Vehicle care Do-it-yourselt service iTechnical data

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Tread wear
The tread wear grade is a compa ra tive ra ting based on the wear rate
of the tire when tested unde r co ntrolled conditions on a specified
government test co urse.
For examp le, a tire g rade d 150 would wea r o ne and one half (1 1/2)
times as well on the government course as a tire graded 100.
Th e relat ive performance o f tires depends upon t he ac tual con ditions
o f their use, however , and may de pa rt s ig ni ficantly from the norm
due to variations in driv ing ha bits, service prac tices an d differences in
roa d characterist ics and climate.
Traction
The traction grades, from highest to lowest, are AA, A, Band C. Those
grades represent the tire's ab ility to s to p on wet pavemen t as
meas ured under controlled condit ions o n spec ified governme nt test
s u rfaces of asphalt and conc rete. A tire mar ked C may have poo r trac­
ti on perfo rma nce => & .
Temperature
The temperature grades are A (t he h ighest), B, a nd C, rep resenting
the t ire's resistance to the gene rat ion of heat and its ab ility to dissi­
pate hea t when test ed unde r co ntro lled condi tions o n a spe cifi ed
indoor laboratory test wheel.
S ust ain ed high te m peratu re can cause t he mate rial of the tire to
degenerate and reduce tire life, and excessive temperatu re ca n lead
t o sudden tire fail ur e=> & .
Th e g rade C cor responds to a leve l of performance which all
passenger car tires m ust meet under the Fede ral Motor Vehicle
Safety Standa rd No. 109. G rades Band A rep resent higher levels of
per formance on the labo ratory test whee l than the minimum
req uired by law .
Safety first
& WARNING
The traction grade assigned to this tire is based on straight -ahead
braking traction tests, and does not include acceleration,
cornering, hydroplaning or peak traction characteristics.
& WARNING
The temperature grade for this tire is established for a tire that is
properly inflated and not overloaded. Excessive speed, underinfla­
tion, or e xcessive loading, either separately or in combination, can
c ause heat buildup and po ssible tire failure .•
Winter tires
W inter tires can improve vehicl e handling on snow and
ic e. A t temper atures belo w 45 °F (7 °C) we recommen d
ch angin g to win ter tires .
In some heavy snow areas , loca l gover nments may requ ire true
wi nte r o r "snow" t ires, those with very deep ly c ut trea d. These tires
should only be use d in pairs and be i nstalled on all fo ur w heels . Mak e
sure you purchase snow tires that are the same size a nd constr uction
t ype as the ot her tir es o n your ve hicle.
If your veh icle is eq uipped with all-wheel drive*, th is will improve
t raction during w inte r drivin g, eve n with t he standard tires . However,
we st rongly recomme nd that you a lways equi p all four w hee ls on your
vehicle with correctly fitte d winter t ires or a ll-season ti res, w hen
wi nter road conditions a re expe cte d. Thi s also improves the vehicle 's
bra king pe rformance and re duces stop ping distances.
S u mme r tir es pro vide less g rip on ice and snow .
Winter tires (snow tires) must always be fi tted on all fo ur whee ls .
Ask yo ur autho rized Audi deale r or qu alified wor kshop for permitted
winter tire sizes . Use only ra dial w inte r tir es. ..
Vehicle care Technical data

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As an added safety feature, your vehicle has been equipped with a tire
pressure monitoring system (TPMS) that ill uminates a low tire pres­
sure telltale when one or more of your tires is signif icantly under­
inflated . Accordingly, when the low tire pressure telltale illuminates,
you should stop and check your tires as soon as possible, and inflate them to the proper pressure. Driving on a significantly under-inflated
ti re causes the tire to overheat and can lead to tire fa ilure. Unde r­
inf lation also reduces fuel efficiency and tire tread life, and may
affect the vehicle's handling and stopping ability.
Please note that the TPMS is not a substitute for proper tire mainte­
nance, and it is the driver's responsibility to maintain correct tire
pressure, even if under -inflation has not reached the level to trigger
illumination of the TPMS low tire pressure te lltale.
Your vehicle has also been equipped with a TPMS malfunction ind i­
cator to indicate when the system is not operating properly. The
TPMS malfunction indicator is combined w ith the low tire pressure
telltale . When the system detects a malfunction, the telltale will
flash for approximate ly one minute and then remain continuously
illuminated. This sequence will continue upon subsequent vehicle
start -ups as long as the malfunction exists.
When the ma lfunction indicator is illum inated, the system may not
be able to detect or signa l low tire pressure as intended. TPMS
ma lfunctions may occur for a var iety of reaso ns, includ ing the instal­
lation of replacement or alternate tires or wheels on the vehicle that
prevent the TPMS from functioning properly. Always check the TPMS
malfunction telltale after replacing one or more tires or wheels on
yo ur vehicle to ensure that the replacement or alternate tires and
wheels allow t he TPMS to continue to funct io n properly .•
Vehicle OP-eration
App lies to vehicl es: wi th t ire p ress ure m onit ori ng syst em
Tire pressure indicator appears
The tire pressure indicator in the instrument cluster
informs you if the tire pressure is too low or if there is a
system malfunction.
Fig. 176 Display:
under inflation
warning
Fig . 17 7 Display:
System malfunction
Using the ABS sensors, the tire pressure monitoring system compares
the tire tread circumference and vibration characteristics of the indi­
vidual tires.
If the pressure decreases in one or more tires, this is indi-
cated in the instrument cluster with a warning symbol and a
message ~ fig. 176 . The driver message in the display goes out after
5 seconds . The driver message can be displayed again by pressing the
I CHECK) button©~ page 8, fig. 2. If on ly one tire is affected, the
display will i ndicate its pos it ion. ._
Vehicle care Do-it-yourselt service iTechnical data

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Applies to vehicles : with tir e pressure monitor ing syste m
Reset tire pressure monitoring system
(Stepl)
If the tire pressure is adjusted, wheels are rotated or
changed, the TP MS must be reset in the menu display.
Fig. 1 78 Wip er l ev er:
C ont rol s f or the m enu
display
Fi g. 17 9 Disp la y:
Sta rt me nu
[ Reset) button ® and rocke r switch @=> fig. 178 func ­
tions:
To open the menu
- Press the (Reset] button ® until the menu disp lay
=> fig. 179 appears
Vehicle OP-eration
Selections and settings
-Press the rocker switch @ to reach a menu display. The
swi tch is operated the sa me as the display (up/down).
Entering and confirming
- Press the [ Reset) button®·
Returning to the Start menu
- Press the [Reset) b ut ton longer than 2 seconds to return
f rom any m enu lev el to th e Start menu .
[ i ] Tips
• Before resetting the TPMS, t he cur rent pressures of a ll four tires
must correspond to the specified values. Adjust the tire pressure and
reset the p ressure in the tire pressure mon ito ring system according
to the load you are carrying=>
page 249.
• Do not sto re the ti re press ures if snow chains are i nstalled . Othe r­
wise the system could malfunction .•
App lies to vehicles : w ith t ire pressure monitoring system
Reset tire pressure monitoring system
(Step2)
Fig . 18 0 D ispla y: Ti re
p ress ure
Vehicle care Do-it-yourselt service iTechnical data

What do I do now? -
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& WARNIN G (con tinued )
• Always make sure the spare tire and e ven a flat tire are secured
in place and not loo se , otherwi se they could fly forward , causing
personal injury to pa ssengers in the veh icle in an accident or
s udden maneu ver .
• Never use the jack suppl ied with your Audi on another vehicle ,
particularly on a heavier one . The jack is only suitable for use on
the vehicle it came with .•
A pp lies to vehicles: with compact s pare wheel
Compact spare wheel
The compact spore wheel is only intended to be used for
a short time.
Fig . 184 Compact
sp are w hee l In t he
wh eel well
You w ill find the compa ct spa re wheel unde r the floo r in the luggage
compartment . It is secured with a large nut.
Using the compact spare wheel
The compact spare wheel is on ly intended for emergencies until you
c an rea ch a repair shop . Rep lace it as quick ly as poss ible w ith a normal
wheel.
T here are some restrictions on the use of the compact spare wheel
=> & -The compact spare w heel has been developed especially for
Vehicle OP-eration your type of vehicle.
It must not be exc
hanged for the compact spare
w heel from ano ther type of ve hicle.
No rma l summer or winter tires m ust no t be insta lled on the compact
spare wheel rim.
Snow chains
F or technical reasons, the use of snow chains on t he compact spare
wheel is
not permitted .
If
you do have to drive wit h snow chains and have a tire fail ure on a
front wheel, in stall the spa re whee l in pla ce of a rear wheel. In stall
the snow chains on the rear whee l and use it to replace the defective
front wheel.
Using the spare wheel
Th e spar e whee l is o nly inte nded fo r eme rge ncies unti l you ca n rea ch
a repair shop. Replace it as quick ly as possible with a norma l wheel.
Th ere are some restr ictions on the use of a spare wheel~
&-The
spare whee l has bee n developed especially for your type of vehicle .
It
must not be exchanged for the spare whee l from another type of
vehicle.
Norma l summer or winter tires must not be installed on the spare
wheel r im .
Snow tires
For technical reasons, the use of snow chains on the spare wheel is
not permitted .
If
you do have to drive w it h snow chain s and have a tire fa ilure on a
front wheel, insta ll the spare wheel in place of a rear wheel. Install
the snow chai ns o n the rear whee l and use i t to replace the defec tive
front wheel.
& WARNING
Always store jacking equipment, spare wheel in the luggage compa rtment. Tighten screw for the spare wheel securely. Under ._
Vehicle care Do-it-yourself service iTechnical data