2012 AUDI A5 COUPE traction control

~ Then wipe the MMI contro l conso le with a
clean, soft, slightly damp cloth.
The MM I control console shou ld be cleaned
with a brush first so that no dirt is trapped be ­
tween the buttons and the housing . We rec­
ommend giving the MMI contro l console a fi­
na l wipe with a cloth moistened with water
and d ish washing detergent.
(D Note
To prevent damage, make sure that no flu ­
id ever gets into the MMI control console .
Aluminum trim
Use only neutral-pH products to remove spots
and depos its from alum inum surfaces.
Ch rome care products and alkaline cleaners
will attack alum inum su rfaces and can dam­
age them ove r time.
A WARNING
Always read and heed a ll WARNINGS and
other information
¢ page 2 2 1.
Fabrics and fabric coverings
Fabrics and fabric coverings (e .g. seats, door
trim panels, etc.) should be cleaned at reg ular
interva ls with a vacuum cleaner. Th is removes
surface dirt particles which could become em­
bedded in the fabr ic through use. Steam
cleane rs should not be used, because the
steam tends to push the dirt deeper into the
fabric and lock it there.
Norm al cleaning
Generally, we recommend using a soft sponge
or a lint-free microfiber cloth to the clean fab­
ric. Brushes should o nly be used for carpets
and floor mats, s ince other fab ric su rfaces
could be harmed by b rushes .
Normal surface sta ins can be cleaned using a
commercially available foam cleaner . Spread
the foam on the surface of the fab ric with a
soft sponge and work it in gently. Do not satu­
r ate the fabric. Then pat the foam d ry using
Cleaning and protec tion 22 7
absorbent, dry cloths (e .g . m icrofiber cloth)
and vac uum it after it has dried completely .
Cleaning stains
Stains caused by beverages (e.g. coffee, fr uit
j u ic e, etc.) ca n be treated w ith a mild de ter­
gen t solu tion. Apply the detergent sol ution
with a sponge. In the case o f stubborn stains,
a detergent paste can be applied directly to
the stain and worked into the fabric . After­
wards, use copious amounts of clean water to remove the rema ining detergent. Apply the
water wit h a damp cloth or sponge and pat
the fabr ic dry with an absorbent, dry clot h.
Stains from choco late or makeup should have
detergent paste rubbed into them . After­
wards, remove the soap with water (damp
sponge) .
Alcohol can be used to treat stains from grease, o il, lipstick or a ballpoint pen. Melted
grease or dye must be patted off using ab ­
sorbent mater ial. It may be necessary to re­
treat the areas with detergent paste and wa­
te r.
In the case of general soiling of the up hols ­
te ry and cover material, we recommend hir ing
a spec ia list t hat has the equipment to clean
the seat cove rs and othe r fabr ic surfa ces by
shampooing a nd spray extraction.
A WARNING ~ -
Always read and heed all WARN INGS and
the information
~ page 221 .
(D Tips
Open Ve lcro fas teners on yo ur clothing can
d am age the sea t cover. Please m ake su re
that Ve lcro fasteners are closed .
Plastic parts and instrument panel
Always use a clean cloth moistened in clear
water to clean these areas. For persistent d irt
use an Aud i approved
sol vent -free p lastic
cleaner/protectant. ..,. •
•

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 .,.
•

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
~
•
•