2012 AUDI A5 COUPE Owners Manual

A WARNING
Sudden tire failure can lead to loss of con­
trol, a crash and serious personal injury!
- Never drive a vehicle when the tread on
any tire is worn down to the wear indica­
tors.
- 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 t ires.
- Tires age even if they are not be ing used
and can fail suddenly, especially at high
speeds . Tir es 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 histo ­
ry ." Old used tires may have been dam­
aged even though the damage cannot be
seen that can lead to sudden tire failure
and loss of vehicle control.
Tires and wheels 263
New tires and replacing tires and wheels
New tires and wheels have to be broken in .
Fig. 214 Tir e specificat ion codes on t he s idewall o f a
tire
No. Description
CD Passenger car tire (where applicable)
@ Nominal width of tire in millimeters
® Ratio of height to width (aspect ratio)
© Radial
® Rim diameter code
® Load index and speed rat ing
(f) U.S. DOT tire identification number
® Audi Original tire
® Sever snow conditions
@ Tire ply composition and materials
used
@ Maximum load rating
@ Treadwear, traction and temperature
grades
@ Maximum permissible inflation pres-
sure
The tires and rims are essential parts of the
vehicle's design . The tires and rims approved
by Audi are specially matched to the charac­
teristics of the vehicle and can make a major .,.
•

264 Tire s and wheel s
contribution to good road ho lding and safe
handling when in good condition and properly
inflated ¢
,&.
We recommend that all work on tires and
wheels be perfo rmed by an authorized Audi
dea ler. They are familiar with recommended
proced ures and have the necessary spec ial
too ls and spare parts as well as the proper fa­
cilities for disposing of the old tires.
Authorized Audi dealers have the necessary information about techn ica l requ irements for
installing or changing tires and r ims.
R eplacing t ires and whe els
Tires sho uld be rep laced at least in pairs and
not individua lly (for examp le both front tires
or both rear tires together).
Be sure to read and heed the information to
the tire pressure monitoring system*
¢page 270.
Always buy rep lacement radial tires that have
the same specifications as the tires approved
for your vehicle by Audi. Replacement t ires
must always have the same load rating speci­
fication as the original equipment or approved
optional tires listed in the table
c:> page 256.
Aud i-approved specification ti res are specially
matched to your vehicle and its load limits,
and can contribute to the important road ho ld­
ing, driving characteristics, and safety of the
vehicle. The table
(<:>page 256) lists spec ifica­
tions of the tires approved for the Audi mod­
els covered by your Owner's Literature .
The tire pressure labe l (On USA vehicles, the
tire pressure label is located on the driver's
side B-pillar. On Canada veh icles, the tire pres­
sure label is located either on the driver's s ide
B-pillar or inside the fuel filler flap)
(¢page 256, fig. 211) lists the spec ificat ions
of the origina l equipment ti res installed on
your ve hicle a t the time it was manufactured.
Federal law requires t ire manufacturers to
p lace standard ized information on the s ide­
wall of all tires
c:> fig. 214. This information
ident ifies and describes the fund amental characteristics, the q
uality grade of the ti re
and also provides a tire identification n umber
for safety standard certification and in case of
a reca ll.
Tire specification s
Knowledge of ti re specif ications makes it eas­
ier to choose the co rrect tires. Radial tires
have the tire specifications marked on the
sidewa ll, for examp le:
P255 / 35 R1 9 96Y XL
This conta ins the following information :
P Indicates the tire is for passenger cars
(where app licab le)
2 55 Nom inal tire w idth in mm of the tire
from sidewall edge to sidewall edge. In
general, the larger the number, the wider
the tire
35 Height/w idt h ratio in percent (aspect ra-
t io)
R Tire construct ion: Radial
19 Rim diameter code (in inches)
96 Load rating code
Y Speed rating letter code
XL (or "xl", "E XTRA LOAD", or "RF" Indica tes
that the t ire is a"Re in forced" or an "Extra
Load" ti re
M+S (or "M/5") Indicates that the tire h as
some mud and snow capability
T he tires could also have the information of
direction of rotat io n ¢
page 252.
Tire manuf acturing date
The manufacturing date is also indicated on
the tire sidewall (possibly only on the
inner
side of the wheel):
"DOT ... 2209 ... "means, for example, that
the tire was produced in the 22nd week of
2009.
Speed rating (letter c ode )
The speed rating letter code on the whee ls in­
dicates the maximum permiss ible road speeds
c:> & in Winter tires on page 268 .
P up to 93 mph (150 km/h)

Q up to 99 mph (158 km/h)
R up to 106 mph (170 km/
h)
s up to 1 10 mph (180 km/ h)
T up to 118 mph (190 km/h)
u up to 124 mph (200 km/h)
H up to 130 mph (210 km/h)
V up to 149 mph (240 km/h)1
)
z over 149 mph (240 km/h)ll
w up to 168 mph (270 km/h)1l
y up to 186 mph (298 km/h)1l
Your veh icle is normally factory equipped with
tires, which posse ss excellent driving charac ­
ter ist ics and give your Audi opt imum dr iving
comfort. An electronic speed limiter
q page 27 w ill normally p revent your vehi cle
from go ing faster than the tire speed ra ting
Q .&. .
U.S. DOT Tire Identification Number (TIN)
and tire manufa ctur e date
This is the t ire's "serial number". It begins
with the lette rs "DO T" and indicates that the
tire meets all federal standards . The next two
numbers or letters indicate the p lant where it
w as manufactured, and the last four numbers
represen t the week and ye ar of manufacture .
For example, the numbers 2209 mean that
the t ire was produced in the 22nd week of
2009 . The othe r numbe rs are marketing co­
des that may or may not be used by the t ire
manufacturer. This informa tion is used to con ­
t act consume rs if a tire defect requires a re ­
call.
Audi Original tir e
Tires with the ident ificat ion "AO" or "RO " have
been spec ially matched with your Aud i. We
recommend using only t hese tires because
they meet the highest standards regard ing
safety and driving characteristics when used
correctly. Your authorized Audi dealer will
g lad ly p rovide you with mo re info rmation .
ll Fo r tires wit h a m ax im um s pee d ca pabil ity over 149
mph (2 4 0 k m/h) , tire ma nufa cturers some times use
t h e le tters "Z R."
Tire s an d wheel s 265
Tire ply composition and material s used
The number o f plies indicates the number o f
l aye rs of r ubber-coated fabric in the tire. In
genera l, the greater the number of plies, the
more weight a tir e can support . Tire manufac­
turers also must indicate the materials in the
tire, which include steel, nylon, po lyester, and
others.
Maximum Load Rating
T his number indicates the maximum load in
ki lograms and po unds that can b e carried by
the tire.
Tire quality grading for treadwear,
tract ion , and temperature resistance
Tread w ear, traction and t emperat ure grades
q page 266.
Ma ximum Permissible Inflat ion Pre ssure
T his number is the greatest amount of a ir
pressure that should ever be put in the tire
u nder normal dr iving conditions.
A WARNING
- Using incorrect or unmatched tires and I
or wheels or improper tire and wheel
comb inat ions can lead to loss of control,
col lis ion and serious personal injury.
- Always use t ires, rims and whee l bolts
that meet the specifications of original
factory- installed tires or other combina ­
tions that have been specifically ap­ proved by the vehicle manufacture r.
- Tires age even if they are not being used
and can fail sudden ly, especially at high
speeds. Tires that are more than 6 yea rs
old c an only be used in an emerge ncy
an d then w ith special care and at lower
spee ds.
•
•

26 6 T ire s and whee ls
- Never mount used tires on yo ur vehicle if
you are not sure of their "previous histo­
ry." Old used tires may have been dam­
aged even though the damage cannot be
seen that can lead to sudden tire failure
and loss of vehicle control.
- All four wheels must be fitted with radial
tires of the same type, size (roll ing c ir­
cumference) and the same tread pattern.
Driv ing with different ti res reduces veh i­
cle handling and can lead to a loss of
control.
- If the spare t ire is not the same as the
t ires that are mounted on the veh icle -
f or example with winte r tires -on ly use
the spare tire for a short period of time
and dr ive with extra care. Refit the nor­
ma l road whee l as soon as safely possi ­
ble.
- Never drive faster than the maximum speed for which the tires on your veh icle
are rated because tires that are driven
faster than their rated speed can fail
suddenly.
- Overloading t ires 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
poss ible to use wheels from other vehi­
cles -in some cases not even whee ls
from the same vehicle model.
- If you install wheel tr im discs on the ve­
hicle whee ls, 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.
0 Note
- For technical reasons , it is not general ly
possib le to use the whee l rims from oth­
er vehicles . This can ho ld true for wheels
of the same vehicle type.
- If the spare tire is different from the
tires that you have mounted on your ve- hicle (fo
r example winter tires or wide
profi le tires), then use the spare tire for a
short period of time only and drive w ith
extra care. Replace the flat tire with the
tire matching the others on your vehicle
as soon as possib le.
- Never drive without the valve stem cap.
The va lves could get damaged.
@ For the sake of the env ironment
D ispose of o ld tires in accordance with the
l ocal requirements.
Uniform tire quality grading
- Tread wear
- Traction AA A B C
- Temperature ABC
Quality g rades can be found where applicab le
on the tire side wall between tread sho ulder
and maximum section width
~ page 263,
fig . 214.
For exampl e: Tread wear 200, Trac tion AA ,
Tempe rature A.
All passenge r car t ires must conform to Feder­
al Safety Requirements in add ition to these
grades .
Tread w ear
The tread wear grade is a comparative rating
based on the wear rate of the t ire when tested
under controlled conditions o n a specified
government test course.
For example, a tire graded 150 would wear
one and one ha lf (1 1/2) times as well on the
gover nment course as a ti re g raded 100 .
The relative performance of tires depends upon the actual conditions of their use, how­
ever, and may depart s ignificantly from the
no rm due to va riations i n driving hab its, se rv ­
ice practices and differences in road charac ter­
istics and cl imate.
Traction
The traction grades, from highest to lowest,
are AA, A, Band
C. Those grades represent the ..,.

tire's ability to stop on wet pavement as measured under controlled conditions on
specif ied government test surfaces of asphalt
and concrete. A tire marked C may have poor
t raction performance¢ .&,.
Temp eratu re
The temperature grades are A (the highest),
B, and
C, representing the tire's resistance to
the generation of heat and its ability to dissi­ pate heat when tested under controlled condi­
tions on a specified indoor laboratory test
wheel.
Sustained high temperature can cause the material of the tire to degenerate and reduce
tire life, and excessive temperature can lead
to sudden tire failure ¢.&, .
T he grade
C corresponds to a level of perform­
ance which all passenger car tires must meet
under the Federa l Motor Veh icle Safety Stand­
ard No.
109 . Grades Band A represent higher
levels of performance on the laboratory test
wheel than the m inimum required by law.
.8, WARNING
The trac tion grade assigned to this t ire is
b ase d on stra ight-ahead brak ing t raction
t ests, and does not inclu de acceleration,
co rnering, hydrop laning or peak traction
characteristics .
.8, WARNING
The temperature grade for this tire is es ­
tablished for a t ire that is properly inflated
and not overloaded . Excessive speed, un­
derinflation, or excessive loading, either
separate ly or in combination, can cause
heat buildup and possible ti re fa ilu re.
Winter tires
Winter tires can improve vehicle handling on
snow and ice . At temperatures below 45 °F
(7 °C) we recommend changing to winter
tires.
-
In some heavy snow a reas, loca l governme nts
may require t rue winter or "snow" tires, those
Tires an d wheel s 267
with very deeply cut tread. These tires should
o nl y be used in pairs and be installed o n all
fo ur wheels. Make sure you purchase snow
tires that are the same si ze and construction
type as the other tires on your vehicle.
Your vehicle is equipped with a ll-wheel drive,
th is w ill imp rove traction d uring winter driv ­
ing, even with the standard tires. However, we
strong ly rec ommend that you always equip all
fou r wheels on you r vehicle with correctly fit­
ted w inter t ires or al l-season t ires, when win­
te r road cond itions ar e expected . This also im­
proves the veh icle's b ra ki ng perfo rman ce and
reduces stopping d ista nces .
Summe r tires p rovide less grip on ice and
snow .
Winter tires (snow tires) must always be fitted
o n all four wheels .
Ask your authorized A udi dealer or qualified
workshop for permitted
winter tire sizes . Use
only rad ial winter t ires.
Winter tires lose their effectiveness whe n the
tread is worn down to a depth of
0.157 inch
(4 mm).
Only drive with winter tires under winte r con ­
ditions. S ummer t ires handle better when
there is no snow or ice on the roads and the
temperature is above 45 °F (7 °().
If you have a flat t ire, see no tes on spare
whee l ¢ page 263.
P lease alway s remember tha t win ter tire s m ay
have a lowe r speed ra ti ng than the tires orig i­
nally installed on your vehi cle at the time it
was man ufactured. Please see ¢page 264,
Speed rating (letter code) for a listing of the
speed rating letter codes and the max imum
speed at which the tires can be driven.
T he spee d rating letter code (¢ page 254) is
on the side wall of the t ire ¢page 263.
.8, WARNING
Winter t ires have maximum speed limits
that may be lower than yo ur vehicle's max-
imum speed . Always know the max imum
~
•
•

268 Tire s and wheel s
speed before driving off . Never drive faster
than the speed permitted for your specific
winter t ires. This will cause damage to the
tires leading to an accident and serious
personal injury to you and your passen­
gers .
A WARNING
Driv ing faster than the maximum speed
for which the w inter t ires on your vehicle
were designed can cause tire fa ilu re in­
cluding a blowout and sudden deflat ion,
loss of control, crashes and serious per ­
sonal injuries. Have worn or damaged tires
rep laced immed iate ly.
- Winter tires have maximum speed rating
that may be lower than your vehicle's
maximum speed .
- Never drive faster t han the speed for
which the winter or other tires installed
on your vehicle are rated.
A WARNING
Always adjust your driving to the road and
traffic conditions. Never let the good ac­
celeration of the winte r tires and all -wheel
drive tempt you into taking extra r is ks. Al­
ways remembe r:
- When brak ing, an all -wheel drive vehicle
handles in the same way as a front drive
vehicle .
- Drive carefu lly and reduce your speed on
icy and slippery roads, even winter tires
canno t he lp under black ice condit io ns.
@ For the sake of the environment
Use summer tires when weather cond i­
tions permit . They are quieter, do not wea r
as quickly and reduce fue l consumption .
Snow chains
Snow chains may be fitted on ly to the front
wheels, a nd only to certa in tire sizes. Ask yo ur
author ized Audi dealer on wh ich tire sizes
snow chains can be used. The snow chains must have
low -profile links
and must not be thicker than 0 .53 inch
(13.S mm), includ ing the lock.
Remove whee l cen ter cove rs and t rim discs
before putting snow chains on your vehicle
¢ 0 . For safety reasons cover caps m ust then
be fitted over the wheel bolts. These are avail ­
a ble from authori zed Aud i dealers.
A WARNING
Using the wrong snow chains for your veh i­
cle o r instal ling them incorrectly can in ­
crease the risk of loss of cont rol leading to
serious pe rsonal injury .
- Snow chains are available in different
sizes . Always make sure to follow the in­
structions p rov ided by t he snow cha in
manufac turer.
- When driving with snow cha ins never
d rive faster than the speed permitted for
your specifi c snow chains.
- Always observe local regulations.
@ Note
-Remove snow chains before dr iv ing o n
roads not covered with snow to avoid
damaging tires and wea ring the snow
chains down un necessa rily .
- Snow chains, which come into direc t con­
tact with the whee l rim, can scratch or
damage i t. Therefo re , make sure tha t the
snow chains are s uitably covered. Check
t he pos ition of t he snow chains after
driving a few yards and correct if neces ­
sary. Follow the inst ructions from the
snow chain man ufacturer when do ing so.
(I) Tips
Where snow chains are mandatory on cer ­
tain roads, th is normally a lso applies to ve ­
hicles w ith all whee l dr ive .

Wheel bolts
Wheel bolts must always be tightened to the
correct torque .
The design of wheel bolts is matched to the
factory installed r ims. If differen t rims are fit­
ted, the correct wheel bolts with the right l ength and correctly shaped bolt heads must
be used. This ensures that wheels are fitted
securely and that the brake system functions
correctly .
In certain circumstances, you may not use
wheel bo lts from a different vehicle -eve n if it
i s the same model
¢ page 295.
_&. WARNING
Improperly tig htened or maintained whee l
bolts can become loose ca using loss of
contro l, a co llision and serious persona l in­
jury.
- Always keep the wheel bolts and the threads in the wheel hubs clean so the
whee l bolts can turn easily and be prop­
erly t ightened.
- Never grease or oil the wheel bo lts and
the threads in the wheel hubs. They can become loose wh ile driving if greased or
o iled, even if tightened to the specif ied
torque .
- Only use wheel bolts that belong to the
rim being installed.
- Never use different whee ls bolts on your
vehicle .
-Always maintain the correct tighten ing
torque for the wheel bo lts to reduce the
risk of a wheel loss . If the tightening tor ­
que of the wheel bolts is too low, they
can loosen and come out when the vehi­
cl e is moving.
If the tightening torque is
too high, the whee l bolts and threads
can be damaged and the wheel can be­
come loose.
Q;) Note
The spec ified torque fo r the wheel bo lts is
90 ft lbs. (120 Nm) with a tolerance of
± 7,4 ft lbs.(± 10 Nm). Torque wheel bo lts
Tire s an d wheel s 269
diagonally. After changing a wheel, the
torque m ust be checked as soon as possi­
ble with a torque wrench -preferably by an
a uthori zed Audi dea ler or qualified work­
shop.
Low aspect ratio tires
Your Aud i is factory -equ ipped w ith low aspect
ratio tires . These tires have been tho roughly
tested and been se lected specifically fo r your
model for their superb perfo rmance, road fee l
and hand ling under a var iety o f driving cond i­
tions. Ask your authorized Audi dealer for
more details .
T he low aspect ratio of these t ires is ind icated
by a numeral of
55 or l ess in the tire's s ize
designation. The numera l rep resents the ra tio
of the tire's sidewa ll height in relation to its
tread width expressed in percentage . Conven­
tiona l tires have a he ight/w idth ratio of 60 or
more.
T he performance of low-a spe ct- ra tio tire s is
p ar tic ul ar ly se nsi tiv e to i mprop er i nfl ation
pre ssure. It is the refo re important that low
a spect ratio t ires are inflated to the specified
pr ess ure and that th e inflation pr essur e is
r e gula rly ch ecked and maintain ed. Tir e pre s­
s ure s should b e check ed at l east once a
m onth and alwa ys befo re a long trip
¢ page 258, Checking tire pressure.
What you c an do to avo id tire and rim
damage
Low aspect ratio tires can be damaged mo re
easily by impact w ith potholes, curbs, g ull ies
o r ridges on the road, pa rticularly if the tire is
u nderinflated.
In orde r to minimize the occurrence of impact
damage to the tires of your vehicle, we recom ­
mend that you observe the following p reca u­
tions:
- Always ma inta in recommended inflation
pressu res. Check your tire pressure eve ry
2,000 miles (3,000 km) and add air if neces-
sary . .., •
•

2 70 T ire s and wheel s
- Drive carefu lly on roads with potholes, deep
gullies or ridges. The impact from driving
through or over such obstacles can damage
your tires. Impact with a curb may also
cause damage to your tires.
- After any impact, immediately inspect your tires or have them inspected by the neares t
authorized Aud i dealer. Replace a damaged
t ire as soon as possible .
- Inspect your t ires every 2 ,000 miles (3,000
km) for damage and wear . Damage is not al­
ways easy to see . Damage can lead to loss of
air and underinflation, wh ich could eventu­
ally cause t ire failu re. If you be lieve that a
t ire may have been damaged, replace the
t ire as soon as poss ible.
- T hese tires may wea r more quick ly than oth­
ers.
- Please also remember that, whi le these t ires
deliver respons ive handling, they may ride
less comfortably and make mo re no ise than
othe r choices.
Reduced perf ormance in winter /cold
sea son condit ion s
All ti res are des igned for certa in pu rposes.
The low aspect ratio, u ltra high performance
tires originally installed on your vehicle are in­
tended for max imum dry and wet road per­
formance and handling . They are not suitable
for cold, snowy or icy weather condit ions. If
you dr ive under those circumstances, you
should equip your vehicle with all-season or
winter tires, which offer better traction under
those cond it ions . We suggest you use the rec­
ommended snow or all-season tires specified
for your vehicle, or their equ ivalent .
Refe r to ~
page 267 for more deta iled infor­
ma tion regarding w inter tires.
Tire pressure
monitoring system
(l) General notes
App lies to vehicles: with tire pressure monitoring system
Each tire , includ ing the spare (if provided),
should be checked month ly when cold and in- flated to the inflation pressure recommended
by the vehicle manufact urer on the vehicle
placard or tire inflation pressure labe l. (If your
vehicle has tires of a different si ze than the
s ize indicated on the vehicle placard or tire in­
flat io n pressure labe l, you shou ld determine
the proper t ire inflation pressu re for those
tires) .
As an added safety feature, your veh icle has
been equipped with a tire pressure monitoring
system ( TPMS) that illum inates a low tire
pressure te lltale when one or more of your
t ir es is significantly under-inflated. Acco rding­
ly, when the low tire pressure telltale i llumi­
nates, yo u shou ld stop and check your tires as
soon as possib le, and inflate them to the
proper pressure . Driving on a significantly un­
der- inflated t ire causes the tire to overheat
and can lead to tire fa ilure. Under-inflation al­
so reduces fuel effic iency and tire tread life,
and may affect the vehicle's hand ling and
stopp ing ability .
Please note that the TPMS is not a substitute
for proper tire ma intenance, and it is the driv­
er 's respons ibility to maintain correct tire
pressure, even if under-inflation has not
reached the level to tr igger illum inat ion of the
T PMS low tire p ressu re tellta le.
Your vehicle has also been equipped with a
T PMS malfunction ind icator to ind icate when
the system is not operating prope rly . T he
T PMS ma lfunction indicator is combined w ith
t h e low tire pressure te lltale . When the sys ­
tem detects a malfunction , the telltale will
flash for approximately one min ute and then
remain continuously illuminated. This se­
quence will continue upon subsequent vehicle
start-ups as long as the malfunct ion exists .
When the malfunction indicator is illuminat­ ed , the system may not be ab le to detect or
s ignal low tire pressure as intended. TPMS
malfunctions may occur for a var iety of rea­
sons, including the installa tion of replace­
ment o r alternate tires or wheels on the vehi ­
cle that p revent the TPMS from functioning
properly. Always check the TPMS malfunction
te lltale a fter rep lacing o ne or more tires o r .,.