2012 AUDI A8 spare wheel

2 58 What do I do n ow ?
Space-saving spare tire (compact spare
tire)*
Applies to vehicles: with space-saving spare tire
The spare tire/wheel is located in the luggage
compartment under the cargo floor cover. It
is intended for short-term use only.
Fig. 194 Spare tire
Tak ing out th e spar e tir e
• Lift the cargo floor by the plastic handle
¢fig. 194.
• Hook the handle into the luggage compart­
ment weather strip.
• Turn the large screw¢
fig. 194 counter­
clockwise.
• Take out the spare tire .
• Always store the vehicle too l kit, the jack*
and the repla ced ti re in the l uggage com­
partment~
page 130.
• Unhook the cargo floor before clos ing the
rear lid.
Using the spare tire (compact spare tir e)
The compact spare tire is on ly intended for
emergenc ies until you can reach a repair shop.
Replace it as quickly as poss ible with a stand­
ard wheel and tire.
There are some restrictions on the use of the compact spare tire. The compact spare t ire
has been des igned specifically for your type of
vehicle.
It must not be swapped with a com­
pact spare tire from another type of vehicle .
Snow chains
Fo r technical reasons, the use of snow chains
on the compa ct spare tire is
not p ermitt ed .
If you do have to dr ive with snow cha ins and a
front tire fails, mount the spare whee l w ith ti
re instead of a rear tire. Install the snow
chains on the rear tire and use it to replace
the defect ive front t ire.
A WARNING
=
- Never use the spare tire if it is damaged
or if it is worn down to the tread wear in­
d icators.
- If the spare tire is more than 6 years old,
use it only in an emergency and with ex­
treme caution and careful driv ing.
- The spare tire is intended only for tem­
porary and short-term use. It should be
replaced as soon as poss ible with the
normal whee l and tire.
-Afte r mounting the compact spare tire,
the t ire pressure must be checked as
soon as possible. The tire pressure of the
compact spare t ire must be 4. 2 bar; oth­
e rwise, you risk having an a cciden t.
- D o not dr ive faste r th an 50 mph (80 km/
h). Yo u ris k havi ng a n accident.
- Avoid full-thrott le acceleration, heavy
b rak ing, and fast corne ring. You risk hav­
i n g a n accident.
- Neve r d rive using more than one spa re
wheel and ti re. You r is k having an acci­
dent.
- Normal summer or win ter t ires must not
be mou nte d on the compa ct spare wheel
rim.
- For technical reasons, the use of t ire
chains on the spare tire is not permit ted .
If it is necessary to drive with t ire chains,
the spare wheel must be mounted on the
front ax le in the event of a flat in a rear
tire. The new ly available front wheel
must then be installed in place of the
rear whee l with the flat tire. Installing
the t ire chain before mounting the whee l
and tire is recommended.
- Loose items in the passenger compa rt­
ment can cause se rious personal injury
du ring hard b raking or in an accident.
Never store the i nflatable spare tire or
jack and tools in the passenger compart­
men t.

Spare wheel
Applies to vehicles: with spare wheel
The spare wheel is stored in the wheel well
underneath the floor panel in the luggage
compartment.
F ig. 1 95 Luggag e compartment: spare wheel
Taking out the sp are whee l
• Lift the cargo floor by the plast ic handle
c:> fig . 195.
• Hook the hand le into the luggage compart ­
ment weather strip .
• Turn the large screw
c:> fig. 195 counter­
clockwise.
• Take out the spare tire.
• Always store the vehicle tool kit, the jack*
and the replaced tire i n the luggage com­
partment
c:> page 130 .
• Unhook the ca rgo floor before closing the
rear lid.
& WARNING
Loose items in the passenger compa rt­
ment can cause serious pe rsonal in jury
during hard braking or in an accident.
- Never store the spare wheel or jack and
tools in the passenger compartment.
@ Tips
Check the inflat io n press ure of the spare
tire periodically to keep the tire ready for
use.
-
What do I d o now ? 259
Changing a wheel
Before changing a wheel
Observe the following precautions for your
own and your passenger's safety when chang­
ing a wheel.
• After you experience a tire failure, pull the
car well away from mov ing traffic and try to
reach
le vel ground before you stop c:> ,&.
• All passengers should leave the car and
move to a safe location (for ins tance, behind
t he guardra il)
c:> ,& .
• Engage the parking brak e to prevent your
vehicle from rolling unintentionally
c:> ,& .
• Move sele ctor lever to po sit ion Pc:> &_ .
• If you are towing a trailer, unhitch the trail­
er from your vehicle.
• Take the
jack and the spare tire out of the
luggage compartment
c:> page 257,
c:> page258 .
& WARNING
You or you r passengers could be i njured
while changing a wheel if you do not fo l­
low these safe ty pre caut ions :
-I f you have a flat tire, move a safe d is­
tance off the road. Turn off the e ngine,
turn the emergency flashers on and use
other warning devices to a lert other mo­
torists .
- Make sure that passengers wait in a safe
place away from the vehicle and well
away from the road and traffic.
- To help prevent the vehicle from moving
suddenly and possib ly slipping off the
jack, always full y set the parking brake
a nd b lock the wheel d iagonally opposite
the wheel be ing changed. When one
front wheel is lifted off the ground, plac­ ing the Au tomatic Transmission in "P"
( P ar k) will
not prevent the vehicle from
mov ing .
- Before you chang e a whee l, be s ure the
g round is level and firm. If necessary,
use a sturdy board un der the jac k.
- After insta lling the spare wheel , make
sure that you replace t he f lat t ire/wheel
-

260 What do I do now ?
in its storage area properly and tighten
the knurled retaining screw securely.
@ Tips
Before changing the wheel, you m ust acti ­
vate t he jacking mode , so that the auto­
matic controls for the Adaptive Air Sus­
pension do not make it more diff icu lt to
lift the vehicle with the jack
q page 262.
Changing a wheel
When you change a wheel, follow these­
quence de scribed below s tep-by-s tep and in
exac tly tha t order.
1. Act ivat e the vehicle jack mod e
¢page 262.
2. Remove the de corat ive wh eel co ver* . For
more details see also¢
page 260, Deco­
rative wheel covers
or ¢ page 261 ,
Wheels with wheel bolt cops.
3 . Loosen the wheel bolts¢ page 261 .
4. Locate the proper mo unt ing po int for the
jack and align the jac k below that point
¢ pag e 262.
5. R ais e the car with the jack¢ page 262.
6. Remove the wheel with the fl at tire and
then in stall
the spare ¢ page 263 .
7. Tigh ten all wheel bol ts ligh tly.
8 .
Lo wer the veh icle with the jack .
9 . Use the whee l bolt wrench and
firml y
tighte n all whee l bolts ¢ page 261.
10. Replace the decorative wheel c over*.
11. De activate the veh icle jack mode in the
MMI:
! CARI function button> Ca r syst em s
control button > Se rv icing & chec ks > Air
sus p.: jack mode > Off.
The vehicle jac k mode sw itches off automati­
cally at speeds above 10 km/h.
A WARNING
Always read and follow all WARNINGS and
information
¢ &. in Raising the vehicle on
page 262
and ¢ page 264.
After changing a wheel
A wheel change is not complete without the
doing the following .
.,. Alw ays store the vehicle tool kit, the jack*
and the repl aced tire in the luggage com­
pa rtment
¢ page 130.
... Check the tir e pres su re on the spare wheel
immed iate ly afte r mounting it.
.,. As soon as possib le, have the
tight ening
torque s
on all whee l bolts checked with a
torque wrench . The correc t tightening tor ­
que is 90 ft lb (120 Nm).
... Hav e the flat tire
repl aced as soon as possi­
ble .
@ Tips
-If you notice that the wheel bo lts are
corroded and difficult to turn while
changing a tire, they should be rep laced
before you check the tightening torque.
- Dr ive at reduced speed until you have the
tightening torques checked.
- After changing a whee l, the t ire press ure
in all four tires must be checked/correct­
ed and the tire pressure monitoring ind i­
cator must be stored in the MMI
¢ page 255.
' Decorative wheel covers
Applies to vehicles: w ith decorative whee l covers
The decora tive wheel covers mus t be removed
first to access the wheel bolts.
Fi g. 1 96 Chang ing a whee l: Re mov ing th e w hee l cov er
Removing
.,. Insert the hook (prov ided with the vehicle
too l kit) in the ho le in the whee l hub cover . .,..

CD Note
Do not lift the vehicle by the sill. Position
the vehicle jack only at the designated lift­ ing points on the sill. Otherwise, your vehi­
cle will be damaged.
(D Tips
The vehicle jack mode switches off auto ­
matically at speeds above 10 km/h.
Taking the wheel off/installing the spare
Follow these instructions step-by-step for
changing the wheel.
Fig . 201 Chang ing a whee l: using the screwdrive r han ­
dle (with the blade removed) to turn the bolts
Fi g. 202 Ch anging a wheel: alignment pin inside the
top hole
After you have loosened all wheel bolts and
raised the veh icle off the ground, remove and
replace the wheel as follows:
Re moving th e wh eel
.. Use the hex agon al so cket i n the s cre wdr iv ­
e r handle
to completely remove the top­
most wheel bolt and set it aside on a
clean
surface ¢fig. 201.
What do I d o now ? 263
.. Sc rew the threaded end o f the alignment
pin
from the tool kit hand-tight into the
empty bolt hole¢
fig. 202 .
.. Then remove the other wheel bolts as de­
scribed above.
.. Take off the wheel leaving the alignment
pin in the bolt hole
¢ (D .
Putting o n the spare w heel
.. Lift the spare wheel and carefully slide it
over the alignment p in to guide it in place
¢(]) .
.. Use the hexagonal socket in the screwdriver
handle to screw in and tighten all wheel
bolts
slightly.
.,. Remove the a lignment pin and insert and
tighten the rema ining wheel bolt slightly
like the rest .
.. Turn the jack hand le counter-clockwise to
lower the vehicle until the jack is fully re ­
leased .
.. Use the wheel bolt wrench to tighten all
wheel bolts firmly¢
page 261. Tighten
them
crosswise, from one bolt to the (ap­
proximately) opposite one, to keep the
wheel cente red.
CD Note
When removing or installing the wheel,
the r im cou ld hit the b rake rotor and dam­
age the rotor. Wor k carefully and have a
second pe rson help you.
@ Tips
Neve r use the hexagonal socket in the han­
dle of the screwdr iver to loosen or tighten
the wheel bo lts.
- Pull the reversible blade from the screw­
dr iver before you use the hexagonal
socke t in the hand le to turn the wheel
bolts.
- Whe n mount ing tires w ith
unidire ctional
t read de sign
make sure the tread pat ­
tern is pointed the right way
¢page 264.
- The wheel bo lts s hou ld be clean and ea sy
to turn . Check for dirt and corrosion on
the mating surfaces of both the wheel

264 What do I do now?
and the hub. Remove all dirt from these
surfaces before remo unting 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 spare tire with a tread pattern
intende d fo r use in a specific direction
When using a spare tire with a tread pattern
intended for use in a specific direction, p lease
note the fo llowing:
- T he direction o f rotation is marked by an a r­
row on the side of the tire.
- If the spare t ire has to be installed in the in ­
correct di rection, use the spare tire only
temporarily since the tire will not be able to achieve its optimum performance character­
ist ics with regard to aquaplaning, noise and
wear.
- We recommend that you pay particular at­
tent ion to this fact during wet weather and
that you adjust your speed to matc h road
condit ions .
- Replace the flat tire w ith a new one and
have it installed o n your ve hicle as soon as
poss ible to restore the handling advantages
of a un id irect iona l tire .
Notes on wheel changing
Please read the information i:> page 246, New
t ires and repla cing tires and wheels
if you are
going to use a spare tire which is differen t
from the tires on your ve hicle.
Afte r you cha nge a tire :
-Check the t ire pressure on the spare imme ­
diately after installation .
- Have the wheel bolt tightening torque
checked with a torqu e wrench as soon as
possib le by your authorized Audi dealer or
a qualified servi ce station .
- With st eel and alloy wheel rims , the wheel
bolts are correctly tightened at a torque of
90 ft lb (120 Nm) . -
If you notice that the wheel bolts are cor­
roded and difficult to turn while chang ing
a tire , they should be repl aced before you
check the t ightening torque.
- Repl ace the flat ti re w ith a new one and
have it installed on your vehicle as soon a s
possible. Remount the wheel cover .
Until then , dri ve with extra care and at re­
duced speeds.
A WARNING
- I f you are going to equip your vehicle
with tires or rims which differ from those
which were factory installed, then be
sure to read the information
i:> page 246,
New tires and replacing tires and
wheels.
- Always make sure the damaged wheel o r
even a flat tire and the jack and tool ki t
are properly secu red in the luggage co m­
p ar tment and are no t loo se in the pas­
senger compartment .
- I n an accident or sudde n maneuver they
could fly forward, injuring anyone in the
veh icle.
- Always s to re dam aged wheel, j ack a nd
t oo ls sec urely in the l uggage compa rt­
men t. Othe rwise, in an accident or s ud ­
den maneuver they could fly forwa rd,
causing injury to passengers in the vehi­
cle.

2 76 Genera l in formati on
General information
Explanation of
technical data
Some of the technical data listed in this man ­
ual requires further explanation .
The technical data for your vehicle is listed in
the charts starting on
r:::> page 2 78. This sec·
tion provides general information, notes and restrictions wh ich apply to this data .
Vehicle identification
The key data is given on the vehicle identifica·
tion number (VIN) plate and the vehicle data
sticker .
Fig. 2 17 Veh icle Ide ntific atio n Number (V lN) p late: lo­
cation on driver's sid e das h panel
Fig . 2 18 The ve hicle identi fication label -inside the
luggage co mpa rtmen t
The Vehicle Iden tification Numb er (VIN )
is located on the driver's side so that it is vis i­
b le from the outside through the windshield
r:::> fig . 217 . You can a lso display the Vehicle
Identification Number of your vehicle in the
MMI. Select: Function button
I CAR ! > Car s ys­
t e ms
> V IN numb er. The
vehicl e identification labe l
is located in the luggage compartment in the
spare wheel wel l.
T he labe l¢
fig. 218 shows the fo llowing vehi­
cl e data :
(D Product ion control No .
@ Vehicle identification No.
® Type code number
@ Type designation/engine output in K ilo·
wat ts
® Engine and transmission code letter
@ Paint No./Interior
(f) Optional equipmen t No.'s
Vehicle data 2 to 7 are also found in your War·
ran ty
& Ma intenance booklet.
The safety compliance stick er
is your assurance that your new vehicle com­
plies with all applicable Federal Motor Vehicle
Safety Standards which were in effect at the
time the vehicle was manufac tured . You can
find this sticker on the left door jamb .
It
shows the month and year of production and
the ve hicl e ident ificat ion number of yo ur vehi ·
cle (perforation) as well as the G ross Vehicle
Weight Rating (GVWR) and the Gross Axle
Weight Rating (GAWR) .
The high volta ge warning label
is loca ted on the lock ca rr ier .
The spark ignition s ystem complies w ith
the Canadian standard ICES -002.
Weights
Gr oss V ehicl e Weight Rating
The Gross Vehicle Weight Rat ing (GVWR), and
t h e Gross Axle Weight Rating (GAWR) for
front and rear are Listed on a sticker on the
left door jamb .
T he Gross Vehicle Weight Rat ing includes the
weight of the bas ic vehicle plus fu ll fuel tank,
oi l and coo lant, plus maximum load , wh ich in·
eludes passenger weight (lSO lbs/68 kg per
Ill>

294 Index
Seats Comfort seat side view . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Seat symmetry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Seats (number) .......... .. .. .. .. .. . 134
Selective unlock feature ........... .. .. 31
Selector lever .............. ... .... . 109
Service and disposal Saf ety belt pretens ioner ... .. .. .... . 141
Service interval display ................ 25
Servotronic (power steering system) ... . 191
Shift paddles . .............. ... .. ... 112
Ship (transporting your vehicle) . .. .... . 274
Side airbags Description ............... ... .... . 160
How they work ............ ... .... . 161
side assist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Adjust ing the brightness . .. .. .. .. .. . 101
Sensor range . ........... .. .. .... . 100
Side assist Activating and deactivating ... .. .. .. . 10 1
Sensoren reinigen ............ .. ... 205
Side curtain airbags ........ .. .. .. .. . 163
Description ................ .. .... . 163
How they work ............ .... ... . 164
Safety instructions ............. ... . 164
Side marker lights .......... ... .... .. 43
Ski sack
refer to Pass-through with ski sack . .... 67
Sliding/tilting sunroof
E l . mergency c osing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
E t· mergency opera ,on . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Opening and clos ing ................ 40
Panoramic sunroof ...... .. .. .. .. .. .. 41
Snow chains ................ .. .. ... 251
Sockets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64, 70
Solar operation (automatic climate con-
trol) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Sources of information about c hild re-
straints and their use ........... .. ... 184
Space-saving spare tire ....... .... ... . 2S8
Spare wheel ... ........... .... .... . 259
Speedometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Speed rating letter code ....... ... ... . 247
Speed warn ing system ........... ..... 84
Sport differential ............ .. .... . 103
Indicator light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 START ENGINE S
TOP button ...... .. .. . 80
Starting from rest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Starting off with a trailer .............. 83
Starting the engine ............. .... . 80
Steering wheel Adjusting steering column ........... 79
Easy entry feature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Indicator light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17, 22
Shift paddles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Steering wheel heating .......... ... . 78
Steps for determining correct load limit . 243
Stopping the engine . ................. 81
Storage .. .. .... .. ............. .... . 71
Sunroof ............................ 40
Sun shades Emergency closing (roof) ............. 42
Panoramic sunroof ............... .. . 42
Rear doors .... .. ............. .... . 47
Rear window . .. .. ... .......... .. .. . 47
Sun visors . ..... .. ............. ..... 47
Symbols
refer to Warn ing/Ind icator lights . .... . 11
T
Tachometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11, 23
T h . l d'f ' .
ec nrca mo , ,cations .......... .... 283
T emperature display ............. .. .. . 23
Tether anchors ... . ... ... .... ... .. .. 182
T ether strap . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
T he first 1,000 miles (1,500 km) and after-
wards ............................. 194
Tie-downs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66, 131
T ips for th e environment
Sav ing fuel . ..... ................ .. 69
t iptron ic (automat ic transmission) . .... 109
Tire pressure .... .. ............. .... 241
T ire pressure monitoring system ....... 253
Loss of air pressure ................ 254
Malfunction ..... ............. .... 254
Resetting tire pressures ............. 255
T ires .............................. 235
Service life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245
speed rating letter code ............ 247
Ti re manufacturing date ............ 247
r ·f · ·
rre spec, 1cat1ons ............. .... 247
Tread depth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245