2012 AUDI A7 wheel alignment

Tire service life
The service life of tires depends on a lot of
different things including proper installation
and balancing, correct tire pressure and driv­
ing style.
F ig. 178 Tire tread: tread wea r ind ica tors (TWI)
Fi g. 179 Rotat ing t ires fo r m ore even wea r
Tread Wear Indicator (TWI)
The origina l tires on your veh icle have
1/16 in ch (1.6 mm) high "wear ind icators"
r::!;> fig . 178 run ning across the tread. Depend ­
ing on the make, there will be six to eight of
them evenly p laced around the t ire . Marks on
the t ire s idewall (for example "TWI" or other
symbols) indicate the positions of the tread
wear ind icators . Worn t ires must be replaced.
Different fig ures may apply in other countries
r::!) & .
Tir e pressure
Incorrect tire pressure causes premat ure wear
and can cause sudden tire blow-out . For th is
reason, tire pressure must be checked at least
once a month
r::!;> page 23 7.
Dri ving sty le
Driving fast around curves , heavy acceleration
and hard braking increase tire wear. Tires and wheels 241
Rotating tires for more even wear
For all four tires on your ve
hicl e to have the
same service life, we recomme nd that the
front and rear tires are rotated according to
the tire manufacturer 's suggested tire rota­
tion inte rvals. Please remember the follow ­
ing :
- Tire rotation intervals may differ from the
veh icle service inte rva ls o utlined in your
Warranty & Maintenance booklet.
- The longer one tire is used in one location
on the vehicle, the more it wears at certain
points ; therefore, we recommend that you
follow the tire manufactu rer 's suggested
tire rotation intervals .
- Vehicles w ith front-wheel dr ive exper ience
more tread wear on the front wheels com­
pared to all -wheel d rive (quattro ®).
- Please rotate tires as shown
r::!;> fig. 179.
-Extra care must be taken when rotat ing di-
rection-specific tires
r::!;> page 258 .
Wheel balancing
The wheels on new veh icles are balanced .
However, various situations during everyday
driving can cause them to become unba l­
anced, resulting in vibrat ions you can usually
feel through the steer ing wheel.
Unbalanced wheels must be rebalanced to
avoid excessive wear on steering, s uspension
and t ires. A whee l must also be reba lanced
when a new tire is insta lled.
Inco rrect wheel alignment
Incorrect wheel alignment can cause exces­
sive tire wear, impair ing the safety of the vehi­
cle . If tires show excessive wear, have the
whee l alignment checked by an authori zed
Audi dealer or qualified workshop.
All-whe el drive
Vehicles wi th quattro ® mus t always have tires
of the same size, construction and tread type. For details see
r::!;> page 189.

252 What do I do n ow ?
What do I do now?
Emergency warning
triangle
App lies to vehicles: with emerge ncy warning triangle
The warning triangle is located on the inside
of the trunk lid .
-
"' M ~ 0 6
~ ~
Fig. 183 Trunk lid: Warning triang le
.,. To open the cover, turn the locking mecha ­
nism and pull the cover downward .
" m
.,. Remove the warning triangle from its hold­
er.
The rear lid is only designed to hold the warn ­
ing triangle offered by the original accessories
program. If you would like to retrofit your ve­
hicle with a warning triangle, p lease contact
your authorized Audi dealer.
Vehicle tool kit
Vehicle tool kit and jack
The vehicle tool kit is located in the luggage
compartment under the cargo floor cover.
Fig . 184 Luggage compartment: cargo floor cover
folded upward/spa re t ire
Fig. 185 Trunk lid: Veh icle tool kit
.,. Fold the floor to the seatback with the help
of the handle .
.,. Tu rn the handwheel counter-clockwise
~ fig. 184 and remove the spare t ire to
reach the vehicle tool kit.
The onboard tool k it includes:
- Hooks to remove the wheel covers*
- Plastic hook to remove wheel bolt covers*
- Wheel bolt wrench
-Alignment pin for changing wheels
- Screwdriver with reversib le b lade
- Towing loop
-Jack
Before storing the jack, make sure it is wound
back down as far as it will go.
A WARNING
Improper use of the vehicle jack can cause
serious pe rsonal injuries.
- Never use the screw driver hex head to
tighten wheel bolts, since the bolts can­
not attain the necessary tighten ing tor­
que if you use the hex head, potentially
causing an acc ident.
- The factory-supplied jack is intended on­
ly for your vehicle model. Under no c ir­
cumstances sho uld it be used to
lift
heavy veh icles or other loads; you risk in­
juring yo urself.
- Never start the engine when the vehicle
is raised, which could cause an accident.
- Support the vehicle securely with appro­ priate stands if work is to be performed
underneath the vehicle; otherwise, there
is a potentia l risk for injury. .,.

a firm base for the jack on the ground. If nec­
essary place a sturdy board or similar support
under the jack. On
hard, slippery surfaces
(such as tiles) use a rubber mat or sim ilar to
prevent the jack from slipping¢ .&.
A WARNING
-You or your passengers could be injured
wh ile chang ing a wheel if you do not fol­
low these safety precautions:
- Positioning the jack under the vehicle
at any other place than those indicated
above may damage the vehicle or may
result in personal injuries.
-A soft or unstab le surface under the
jack may cause the vehicle to slip off the jack. Always provide a firm base for
the jack on the ground. If necessary, use a sturdy board under the jack.
- On hard, slippery surface (such as tiles)
use a rubber mat or similar to prevent
the jack from slipping.
- To help prevent injury to yourself and
your passengers:
- Do not raise the vehicle until you are
sure the jack is securely engaged.
- Pa ssenge rs must not remain in the
ve­
hicle when it is jacked up.
- Make sure that passengers wait in a
safe place away from the vehicle and
well away from the road and traffic.
- Make sure jack position is correct , ad­
just as necessary and then continue to
raise the jack .
- Changes in temperature or load can af­
fect the height of the vehicle .
What do I do now? 257
Taking the wheel off /installing the spare
Follow these instructions step-by-step for
changing the wheel.
F ig . 191 Changing a wheel: u sin g the screwd river han­
dle (with the blade removed) to turn the bolts
Fig. 192 Changing a whee l: alignment pin inside the
top ho le
After you have loosened all wheel bolts and
raised the vehicle off the ground, remove and
replace the wheel as follows:
Removing the wheel
.., Use the hexagonal socket in the screwdriv­
er handle
to completely remove the top·
most wheel bolt and set it aside on a
clean
surface ¢fig. 191.
.., Screw the threaded end of the alignment
pin
from the tool kit hand-t ight into the
empty bolt hole
¢fig. 192 .
.., Then remove the other wheel bolts as de­
scribed above .
.., Take off the wheel leaving the alignment
pin in the bolt hole ¢(D.
Putting on the spare wheel
.., Lift the spare wheel and carefully slide it
over the alignment pin to guide it in place
¢(D.

258 What do I do no w?
• Use the hexagonal socket in the screwdriver
hand le to screw in and tighten all wheel
bolts
slightly .
• Remove the alignment pin and insert and
t ighten the remaining wheel bolt slightly
Like the rest .
• Turn the jack handle counter-clockw ise to
lower the vehicle unt il the jack is fully re­
leased .
• Use the whee l bolt wrench to t ighten al l
wheel bolts firmly¢
page 255 . Tighten
them
crosswise, from one bolt to the (ap­
proximate ly) opposite one, to keep the
whee l centered.
@ Note
When removing or installing the wheel,
the rim could hit the brake rotor and dam­
age the rotor. Work carefully and have a
second person help you.
@ Tips
Never use the hexagonal socket in the han­
dle of the screwdriver to loosen or tighten
the wheel bolts .
- Pull the reversible b lade from the screw­
driver before you use the hexagonal
socket in the handle to turn the whee l
bo lts.
- When mounting tires with
unid irectional
t re ad design
make sure the tread pat­
tern is pointed the right way
~ page 258.
- The wheel bolts should be clean and easy
to turn . Check for d irt and corrosion on
the mat ing surfaces of both the whee l
and the hub. Remove all dirt from these
s ur faces before remo unt ing the wheel.
Tires with unidirectional tread design
Tires with unidirectional tread design must be
mounted with their tread pattern pointed in the right direction .
Using a sp are t ire w ith a tre ad pattern
intended for use in a specific direction
When using a spare t ire with a tread patter n
intended for use in a spec ific d irection , please
note the following :
- The direct ion of rotation is marked by an ar­
row on the side of the ti re .
- If the spare tire has to be installed in the in­
correct direct ion, use the spare tire only
temporarily s ince the tire will not be able to
achieve its optim um performance cha racter­
is tic s wit h regard to aquap la ni ng, no ise and
wear .
- We recommend that you pay part icu la r at­
t en tion to th is fact d uring wet wea ther and
t ha t you adjust you r speed to match road
conditions .
- Replace the fl at tir e with a new o ne an d
have it insta lled on you r vehicle as soon as
possible to restore the handling advantages
of a u nidirectional tire .
Notes on wheel changing
Please read the information ¢ page 242, New
tires and replacing tires and wheels
if you a re
going to use a spare tire which is different
from the ti res on your vehicle .
After you change a tire:
- Check the tire pre ssure on the spare imme­
diately after install ation.
- Have th e whe el bolt tight ening torqu e
c hecked with a torque wrench as soon a s
possible by your author ized Audi dealer or
a qualified service stat ion.
- With steel and alloy wheel rims, the wheel
bolt s are cor re ctl y tightened at a torque of
90 ft lb (120 Nm ).
- If you noti ce that the wheel bolts are cor­
roded and diffi cult to turn while changing
a ti re , they should be replaced before you
check the t ightening torque. .,..