2012 AUDI A3 run flat

226 Tires and wheels
and drive with extra care. Refit the nor­
mal road wheel as soon as safely possi­
ble.
- Never drive faster than the maximum
speed for which the tires on your vehicle
are rated because tires that are driven
faster than their rated speed can fail
suddenly.
- Overloading tires cause heat build-up,
sudden tire failure, including a blowout
and sudden deflation and loss of control.
- Temperature grades apply to tires that are properly inflated and not over or un­
derinflated .
- For technical reasons it is not always
possible to use wheels from other vehi­
cles -in some cases not even wheels
from the same vehicle model.
- If you install wheel trim discs on the ve­
hicle wheels , make sure that the air flow
to the brakes is not blocked. Reduced air­
flow to the brakes can them to overheat,
increasing stopping distances and caus­
ing
a collision.
- Run flat tires may only be used on vehi­ cles that were equipped with them at the
factory. The vehicle must have a chassis designed for run flat tires and a factory­
installed tire pressure monitoring sys­
tem* that indicates a loss of tire pres­
sure . Incorrect use of run flat tires can
lead to vehicle damage or accidents .
Check with an authorized Audi dealer or
tire specialist to see if your vehicle can be
equipped with run flat tires . If run flat
tires are used, they must be installed on
all four wheels. Mixing tire types is not
permitted .
(D Note
-For technical reasons, it is not generally
possible to use the wheel rims from oth­
er vehicles. This can hold true for wheels
of the same vehicle type.
- If the spare ti re is different from the
tires that you have mounted on your ve­
hicle (for example winter tires or wide
profile tires), then use the spare tire for a short period of time only and
drive with
extra care. Replace the flat tire with the
tire matching the others on your vehicle
as soon as possible.
- If you put different wheels and tires on
your vehicle (e .g. winter wheels and
tires), you must be certain that the
wheels and tires are compatible with the
tire pressure monitoring system* . Other ­
wise the system will register a malfunc­
tion and a fault message will be dis­
played. For more information, contact
your authorized Audi dealer.
- Never drive without the valve stem cap .
The valves could get damaged .
@ For the sake of the environment
Dispose of old tires in accordance with the
local requirements.
Uniform tire quality grading
- Tread wear
- Traction AA A B C
- Temperature ABC
Quality grades can be found where applicable
on the tire side wall between tread shoulder
and maximum section width
¢ page 223,
fig. 171 .
For example: Tread wear 200, Traction AA,
Temperature A.
All passenger car tires must conform to Feder­
al Safety Requirements in addition to these
grades .
Tread wear
The tread wear grade is a comparative rating
based on the wear rate of the tire when tested
under controlled conditions on a specified
government test course.
For example, a tire graded 150 would wear
one and one half (11/2) times as well on the
government course as a tire graded 100.
The relative performance of tires depends
upon the actual conditions of their use, how-
ever, and may depart significantly from the
ll-

232 Tires and wheels
maneuvers. Stop as soon as possible and
check the tires and their pressures. In­
flate the tire pressure to the proper pres­
sure as indicated on the vehicle's tire
pressure label ¢
page 216. Driving on a
significantly under-inf lated tire causes
the tire to overheat and can lead to tire
failure. Under-inflation also is likely to
impair the vehicle's handling and stop­
ping ability.
- T he driver is responsible for maintain ing
the correct tire pressures. You must
check the tire pressures regularly.
- Under certain cond itions (such as a spor­
ty driving style, winter conditions or un­
paved roads), the pressure monitor indi­
cator may be delayed.
- Ask your authorized Audi dealer if run­
flat tires may be used on your vehicle .
Your vehicle registration becomes invalid
if you use these tires when not permit­
ted. Damage to your veh icle or acc idents
could also result .
(D Tips
- The tire pressure monitoring system
stops working when there is an ESP/ABS malfunction .
- Using snow chains may result in a system
malfunction.
- Tires with the identification "AO" or "RO"
have been specially matched with your
Audi. We recommend using only these
tires because they meet the highest
standards regarding safety and driving
characteristics when used correctly. Your
a uthorized Audi dea ler will g ladly pro­
v ide you w ith more information.
Reset tire pressure monitoring system
(Stepl)
Applies to veh icles: w ith tire pressure monitoring system
If the tire pressure is adjusted, wheels ore ro­
tated or changed, the TPMS must be reset in
the menu display.
----- ®
Fig. 174 Wipe r lever: Contro ls fo r the menu d isplay
Fig. 175 Disp lay: S ta rt m enu
I Rese t I button @ and rocker switch @
¢ fig. 17 4 functions:
To open the menu
" Press the I Reset ! button @ unt il the menu
disp lay¢
fig. 175 appears
Selections and settings
" Press the rocker switch @ to reach a menu
d isp lay. The switch is operated the same as
the display (up/down) .
Entering and confirming
" Press the I Reset I button @.
Returning to the Start menu
" Press the I Rese t I button longer than 2 sec­
onds to return from any menu level to the
Start menu.

234 What do I do now ?
What do I do now?
Jack, tools and spare
wheel
Jack and tools
The tools and jack are stored underneath the
floor panel in the luggage compartment.
Fig . 178 Floor panel hung on the bottom of the lug­
gage compartment cover
Fig. 179 Vehicle tool kit and jack
~ Raise the floor panel w ith the loop.
~ Hang the loop on the underside of the lug-
gage compartment cover
Q fig. 178.
~ Remove the too l kit or the jac k.
The onboard tool kit incl udes:
- Hook for removing wheel covers*
- Plastic hook to remove wheel bolt covers
- Wheel bolt wrench
- Alignment p in for changing wheels
- Screwdriver w ith reve rsible blade
- T owing eye
Before storing the jack, make sure it is wound
back down as far as it will go.
After u se , th e jack and tool s mu st be put
b ac k in pl ace under nea th t he floo r pan el in
t he luggag e comp artmen t.
Note: some of the on -board items listed
above are provided on certain mode ls only or
are optiona l extras.
A WARNING
-Improper use of the vehicle jack can cause
serious personal injuries.
- Using a bumper jack to raise the vehicle
will damage the bumper system. The
jack may slip, caus ing injury.
- Never support your vehicle on c inder
b locks, br icks or other objects. These
may not be able to support the load and
could cause injury when they fail.
- Never start or run the eng ine while the
veh icle is supported by the jack.
- If you must work under the veh icle, al­
ways use safety stands specifically de­ signed fo r th is purpose.
- Never try and use the hexagonal socket
in the handle of the screwdriver to loos­
en or tighten the whee l bolts.
- Always make sure the spare tire and even
a flat tire are secured in place and not
loose, otherwise they cou ld fly forward,
causing pe rsonal i njury to passengers in
the vehicle in an accident or sudden ma­
neuver.
- Neve r use the ja ck supplied with your Au­
d i on another vehicle, particularly on a
heav ier one. The jack is only s uitable for
use on the vehicle it came with.
Compact spare wheel
Applies to veh icles: w ith compact spare whee l
The compact spare wheel is only intended to
be used for a short time.
Fig . 180 Compact spare wheel in the wheel well

Tightening
• Fit the wh eel b olt wren ch over t he wheel
bolt and push it down as far as it will go .
• Close your gr ip aro und the
end of the
wrench handle for maximum torque and
turn each whee l bolt
cl ock wise until it sits
tight.
A WARNING
- Us ing force without control to speed the
wheel change up can cause the veh icle to
slip off the jack and cause serious pe r­
sonal inj uries.
- Do not loosen the wheel bolts more than
one turn
before you ra ise the veh icle with
the jack. -Risk of inj ury!
@ Tips
- Never t ry and use the hexagonal socket
i n the handle of the screwdriver to loos­
en o r tighten the wheel bolts .
- If a wheel bolt sits very t ight, you may
find it easie r to loosen by carefully push­
i ng down on the end of the whee l bolt
wre nch w ith
one foot only. As you do,
ho ld on to the ca r to keep yourse lf stable
and ta ke care not to slip .
Raising the vehicle
The vehicle must be li~ed with the jack first
before the wheel can be removed .
Fig. 185 W heel c hange: mo untin g po ints for the lift ing
j ac k
What do I d o now ? 239
Fig. 1 86 Close -up: p roper pos ition ing o f lift in g jack
• Act ivate the parking brak e so the vehicle
w il l not roll u nintentionally .
• Shift into
1st gear on vehicles with manual
transm iss ion, or move the
se lecto r l ev e r to
the P p ositio n
on vehicles with automatic
transm ission .
• Pos it ion the jack be low the door sill under
the
mounting point that is closest to the
wheel to be changed
r=> fig. 185.
• Turn the jack handle clockwise unt il the jack
arm just fits underneath the rib running
along the underbody
c::> & ..
• Align the jack so that the jack arm claw
c:;, fig. 186 @fits snugly around the unde r­
body rib and the movab le base plate ® sits
flat on the ground. The base @ must be
ver­
tical
under the lifting point @.
• Wind the jack up further until the flat wheel
comes off the ground
c::> . & ..
Recesses at the front and rear of the under­
body rib mark the proper mo unting locations
for the jack
c:;, fig. 185 . There is only one des­
ignated jack mounting po int for each wheel.
Do not apply the jack anywhere else c::> .&. .
The jack shou ld be positioned approximate ly
6 in. (15 cm) behind the front wheel or 10 in.
(25 cm) in front of the rear wheel.
An
unstable surfa ce under the jack can cause
the vehicle to slip off the jack . Always provide
a firm base for the jack on the ground . If nec­
essary place a sturdy board or sim ilar support
under the jack. On
hard , slipper y su rf a ces
(such as tiles) use a rubber mat or similar to
prevent the jack from slipp ing
c::> .&. . .,.