2012 AUDI Q7 inflation pressure

-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.
Glossary of tire and loading terminology
Accessory weight
means the comb ined weight (in excess of
those standard items wh ich may be rep laced)
of automa tic tra nsmission, power steering,
power br akes, power w indows, power sea ts,
radio, and heater, to the ex tent that these
items are avai lab le as factory -installed equip ­
ment (whether installed or not).
Aspect ratio
means the rat io of the height to the w idt h of
the tire in percent. Numbers of 55 or lower in ­
d icate a low sidewall fo r improved s teer ing re ­
sponse and better overall handling on dry
pavement.
Bead
means the pa rt of the t ire t hat is made o f
s teel wires, wrapped o r rein force d by ply cor ds
and that is shaped to fit the r im.
Bead separation
means a b reakdown of the bond between
components in the bead.
Cord
means the strands forming the plies in the
tire.
Cold tire infl ation pressure
means t he tire pressure recommended by the
vehicle manufacturer for a t ire of a designated
size that has not been dr iven for more than a
couple of miles (kilometers) at low speeds in
the three hour period before the tire pressure
i s measu red or adjusted.
Tire s an d wheel s 275
-If you notice un usua l vibration or if the
veh icle pulls to one side when driv ing, a l­
ways stop as soon as it is safe to do so and check the wheels and tires for dam­
age.
Curb weight
mea ns the we ight of a motor ve hicle w it h
standard equipment in cl ud ing t he maximum
capa city of fuel, o il, and coolant, ai r cond i­
tion ing a nd addi tional weig ht o f optiona l
equipment .
Extra load tire
means a t ire design to operate at h igher loads
and at higher inflation pressures than the cor­
respondi ng s tanda rd tire. Extra load tires may
be identified as "X L", "xl", "EXTRA LOA D", or
"R F" on the sidewall .
Gross Axle Weight Rating ("GAWR ")
mea ns the load-carry ing capac ity of a s ingle
axle system, measured at the tire-ground in­
te rfaces.
Gross Vehicle Weight Rating ( "GVWR ")
means the maximum total loaded we ight of
t h e ve hicle.
Groove
means the space between two adjacent tread
ribs.
Load rating (code )
means the maximum load tha t a t ire is rated
to carry for a given inflation pressure. Yo u
may not find this information on all tires be­
ca use it is not required by law.
Maximum load rating
me ans the loa d ra ti ng f or a t ire at the maxi­
mum pe rm issi ble inflat ion pressure for that
ti re .
•
•
...

2 76 Tires and wheels
M aximum loaded vehicle weight
means t he sum of:
(a) Curb weight
(b) Accessory weight
( c ) Vehicle capacity we ight, and
(d) P rod uction options weight
Maximum (permissible) inflation pressure
means t he max imum co ld inflation pressu re
to which a tire may be in flate d. Also called
"maxim um inflation p ress ure."
Normal occupant weight
means 150 lbs. (68 kilog rams) times the
nu mbe r of o ccupants seated in t he vehicle up
to the tota l sea ting capaci ty of yo ur vehicle .
Occupant distribution means dist ribution of occupants in a veh icle .
Outer diameter means t he overa ll diameter of a n inf lated new
tire.
Overall width
means t he linear dis tan ce between the ex ter i­
ors o f th e sidewalls of an inflated tire, in cl ud­
ing e levations due to labeling, decorations, or
p rotective bands o r ribs.
Ply
mea ns a laye r of r ubber-coate d parall el c ords.
Production options weight
means t he comb ined we ight of those installed
regular produc tion options weigh ing ove r 5
l bs . (2 .3 kg) in excess of t hose standard items
which they repla ce, no t previously considered
in cur b weight o r acc essory weig ht, incl uding
h eavy duty brakes, r ide leve le rs, roof ra ck,
h eavy duty ba ttery, a nd specia l trim .
Radial ply tire
means a pneumatic t ire in which the p ly co rds
that ex tend to the beads are laid a t sub stan ­
ti ally 9 0 degrees to the ce nt erline o f the
tread . Recommended inflation pressure
see
~
page 2 75, C old tire infla tion pressure.
Reinforced tire
means a t ire design to operate at h igher loads
and at h igher inflation pressures than t he cor­
r espondi ng stan da rd tire. Reinforced tires
may be identifie d as "X L", "xl" , "EX TRA LOAD",
o r "RF " on t he sidewal l.
Rim
means a metal su ppo rt for a tire or a t ire and
tube assembly upon which the tire beads are
seated.
Rim diameter
means nom inal d iameter of the bead seat.
If
you change your wheel s ize, you wi ll have to
purchase new tires to match th e new r im di­
ameter .
Rim size designation
means r im diameter and width.
Rim width
means nom inal d ista nce between rim flanges .
Sidewall
means tha t po rtion of a t ire betw ee n t he
t read and bead.
Speed rating (letter code)
means the speed at which a tire is designed to
be driven for extended periods of time. The
r a ti ngs range from 93 mph ( 150 km/h) to
186 mph (298 km/h)
~ page 286 . You may
not fi nd this information o n all ti res because
it is no t re quir ed by law.
T he speed rating letter code, wh ere applica­
ble , is molde d on the tire sidewall a nd indi­
c ates the max imum pe rmissibl e road speeds
~ A in Winter tire s on page 290 .
Tire pressure monitoring system
mea ns a system that detects when o ne or
more of a ve hicle 's tires are unde rinf lated an d
i lluminat es a low tir e pr essure wa rning t ell-
tal e. ..,_

278 Tires and wheels
Cold tire inflation pressure
Tire pressure affects the overall handling, performance and safety of a vehicle.
I
4
t>
Fig. 2 37 T ire pressure label: located on driver's side B·
pillar
Tire pressure genera lly refers to the amount
of air i n a tire that it needs it to do its job and
safely carry the combined load of the entire
vehicle and its contents. Tire pressure is measured in kilopasca ls (kPa), the inte rna·
tional measuring unit and in pounds pe r
squa re inch ( PSI). Tire pressure is based in
pa rt o n the vehicle's desig n an d load limit­
the greatest amount of weight that the vehi ·
cle can car ry safe ly and the tir e size . The prop·
er tire pressure is freq uent ly referred to as the
"recommended cold tire inflation pressure."
A ir in the tires expands when the tire heats up
because of internal frict ion when it flexes in
use . The t ire p ress ure is higher when the tire
h as warmed up than when i t is "cold ." It is the
in flat io n pressu re i n a "cold" tire that coun ts.
Th erefore, you sho uld neve r let air ou t of a
warm tire to match " co ld tir e infla tion pres­
sure" recommendations . The ti res wo uld then
be un derinflated and could fail su ddenly.
M ain taining p roper t ire pr es su re is one o f the
most impo rtan t thi ngs you can do to he lp
avoid sudden tire failure. Underinfla ted ti res
a re a major ca use of s udden tire failure. Keep­
ing tires at the right pressure is also impor­
tant for safe and responsive vehicle handling,
traction, braking and load carrying .
Tire pres­
sures are particularly important when th e
vehicle is being driven at higher speeds , and
then especially when heavily loaded even
within the permissible load -carrying capaci ­
tie s approved for your vehicle .
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....
-..... ...........
- KPA. a PSI
- KPA.
a PSI
-KPA. a PSI
Fig. 2 38 Tire pressure la bel
SU OWNER'S MANUAl FOR AD0"10NAL l10N VOl!ILEMANU£1. DU _,...,
POUR Pl.US DE
REHSEKi.\'IEME NTS
The recommended tire pressures for your Audi
depend on the kind of tires on your ve hicle
and the numbe r of passengers and/or amount
of luggage you w il l be transporting .
The tire pressure label is located on the driv­
er's si de B-pillar . T he tire pressure label lists
t h e recommended cold tir e inflat io n pressu res
for the vehicle at its maxim um capac ity
we ight and tires that were on your veh icle at
t h e time it was man ufa ctu red.
If you wish to improve comfort when operat­
ing the vehicle at normal load (up to 3 occu­
pants), you can adjust tire pre ssure s to tho se
specified for normal vehicle lo ad. Before op­
erating the vehicle at maximum load, you
mu st increase the tire pres sures to those
specified for maximum vehicle load
c::> .&, .
Bear in mind that the tire pressure mon itor ing
system can only moni to r th e tire pressures
yo u have s to red. The sys tem does not recog­
nize the load condition of your vehicle.
T he effectivene ss of the t ire p ress ure monitor­
ing system will be impaire d if you store nor­
m al loa d press ures b ut t hen o pe ra t e the ve hi­
cl e a t its ma ximum load
c::> .&. .
See the ill ustration c::> fig. 23 7 fo r the lo cat ion
of the label o n driver's s ide B-pill ar (color o f
t h e actu al lab el and exa ct lo cat ion on the ve­
hicle will vary sligh tly).
Note t hat the f ollowing ta ble is ac curate at
th e time of goi ng to press and i s sub ject to

28 0 T ire s and wheel s
-Always make su re that t he tota l load be­
ing t ransp orted -includ ing the we ight of
a tra ile r hitch a nd the tongue weight of a
loaded trailer -does not make the veh i­
cle heav ier than the veh icle's Gross Vehi­
cl e Weight Rating.
A WARNING
- Incorrect tire pressures and/or underin­
flation can lead to a serious or fatal acci­
dent .
- Incorrect tire pressures and/o r underin­
flation cause increased tire wear and can affect the handling of the vehicle.
- Incor rect tire pressures and/or underin­
fla tion can also lead to sudden tire fa il­
ure, incl uding a b lowo ut and sudden de ­
flation, causing loss of vehicle control.
Checking tire pressure
The correct tire pressure for the tires original­
ly installed on your vehicle is listed on the tire
pressure label loc;ated on driver's side 8-pil­
lar.
The recommended t ire p ress ures are o n the
tire pressure label and in the tab le
¢ page 278, Cold tire inflation pressure.This
means that the pressure must be checked and
ad justed when the tire has not been driven for
more than a couple of m iles (kilometers) at
l ow speeds during the previous three hours.
A ir in the tires expands when the tire heats up
as a result of internal fr iction as it flexes in
use . The t ire pressure is higher when the tire
has wa rmed up than when it is "cold ."
It is the inflat ion pressure in a "cold" tire that
counts. Therefore, you should never let air out
of a warm t ire to match "Cold tire inflation
p ressu re" recommendations ¢
page 2 78. The
tires would then be under inflated and cou ld
fa il suddenly .
The t ire pressure label on you r Audi lists the
r ecommended cold t ire inflat io n pressu res at
maximum capacity fo r the new, o rigi na l
eq uipment t ires that were on your vehicle at the time
it was man ufactu red. Fo r the loca ­
tion of the labe l
~page 278, fig . 237.
Most tires lose air natur ally over t ime. They
can a lso lose some air if yo u drive over a pot­
hole or hit a curb while park ing.
It is usually
not possible to see whether the radial tires
u sed today are underinflated just by looking
at them.
The re fore, be sure to check ti re p ress ures at
least once a mo nth and a lways before going
on a long trip . Make s ure to take the n umber
of peop le and the amount of luggage into ac­
count when adjust ing tire pressure for a trip -
even one that you wou ld not consider to be
"long. " See
~ page 2 82, Tires and vehicle
load limits
for mo re important information .
Always use an accurate tire pressure gauge
when checking and adjusting inflat ion pres ­
s ur es. Check all of the tires and be sure not to
forget the spare tire .
If the pressure in any t ire
i s too high when the t ire is "cold," let air out
of the t ire s low ly w ith the edge of the tire
gauge and keep checking the pressure until
yo u reach the pressure that is correct for the
l oad (passengers and l uggage) and kind of
driv ing you plan to do.
If the pressure in any ti re is too low, note the
difference between the pressure in the co ld
tire and the pressure you need and add the air
that you need to reach the correct pressure for
the vehicle load (passengers and luggage) for
the tires on your vehicle as listed on the on
your vehicle and in this ma nual and the kind
of d riving you plan to do.
Ne ver e xceed the ma ximum infl ation pres­
sure listed on the ti re sidewall for an y rea ­
son .
Remember that the vehicle manufacturer, not
the tire manufact urer, determines the correct
t ire press ure for the tires on your vehicle.
It is important to check the ti re pressure whe n
the tires are co ld.
- Read the required tire pressure from the t ire
pressure labe l. The tire pressure label is lo -
cated o n the driver's side B-pillar . T he tire
liJJ>

other things that you plan to
transport so that you can make sure that your vehicle will not
be overloaded.
Steps for Determining Correct Load Limit
1. Locate the statement "THE
COMBINED WEIGHT OF OC­
CUPANTS AND CARGO
SHOULD NEVER EXCEED XXX KG OR XXX LBS"on your vehi­
cle's placard (tire inflation
pressure label)
¢ page 2 78,
fig. 237.
2.
Determine the combined
weight of the driver and pas­ sengers that will be riding in
your vehicle.
3. Subtract the combined weight of the driver and pas­sengers from
"XXX" kilo­
grams or
"XXX" pounds
shown on the sticker
¢ page 278, fig. 237 .
4. The resulting figure equals
the available amount of car­
go and luggage load capaci­
ty . For example, if the
"XXX"
amount equals 1400 lbs.
and there will be five 150
lbs. passengers in your vehi­
cle, the amount of available
cargo and luggage load ca-
Tires and wheels 283
pa city is 650 lbs. (1400-7 so
(5 X 150) = 650 lbs.)
5. Determine the combined
weight of luggage and cargo
being loaded on the vehicle .
That weight may not safely exceed the available cargo
and luggage load capacity
calculated in Step
4.
6. If your vehicle will be towing
a trailer, load from your trail ­
er will be transferred to your
vehicle. Consult this manual
to determine how this re­
duces the available cargo
and luggage load capacity of
your vehicle.
~ Check the tire sidewall
( ¢ page 285 , fig. 241) to de­
termine the designated load rating for a specific tire.
•
•
'

S up to 110 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)1
)
W up to 168 mph (270 km/h)1
)
Y up to 186 mph (298 km/h)1>
Your vehicle is no rma lly facto ry equipped with
tires , which possess excellent driving cha rac­
ter istics and give yo ur Audi opt imum driving
comfort . An e lectronic speed limiter
¢ page 28 wi ll normally prevent your vehicle
from going faster than the tire speed rating
¢ A .
U.S. DOT Tir e Identification Numbe r (TIN )
a nd tir e m anufactur e date
T his is the t ire's "serial number". It begins
with the letters "DOT" and indicates that the
t ire meets all federal s tandards. The next two
numbers or letters indicate the plant where it
was manufactured, and the last four numbers
represent the week and year of manufacture .
F or example, the numbers 2211 mean that
the t ire was produced in the 22nd wee k of
20 11. The othe r numbe rs a re mar ke ting co­
des that may or may not be used by the tire
manufacturer . This informat ion is used to con­
tact consumers if a tire defect requi res a re ­
call.
Audi Original tir e
Tires with the identi fication "AO" or "RO" have
been specia lly matched w ith your Audi . We
recommend using only t hese tires because
they meet the highest standards rega rd ing
safety and driving character istics when used
correctly . You r authorized Audi dealer will
g lad ly provide you with more information .
Tire ply composition and materi als used
The number of plies indicates the n umber of
l ayers of rubber-coated fabric in the t ire. In
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 l ett ers " ZR."
Tire s an d wheel s 287
genera l, the greater the number of plies, the
more weight a tire can support . Tire manufac­
turers also must indicate the materials in the
tire, which include steel, nylon, po lye ster, and
others.
Maximum Load Rating
This number indicates the maximum load in
ki lograms and pounds that can be carr ied by
the tire.
Tir e quality grading for treadwear ,
tract ion, and temp eratu re resis tance
T read wear, t raction and temperat ure grades
¢ page 288.
Ma ximum Permissible Inflation Pressure
This number is the g reatest amount of a ir
pressure that should ever be put in the tire
u nder normal driving conditions.
A WARNING ~
- Using incorrect or unmatched tires and/
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 specif ications of original
factory- installed tires or other combina­
tions that have been specifically ap­
proved by the vehicle manufacture r.
- T ires age even if they are not being used
and can fai l sudden ly, especially at high
speeds . Tir es that are more than 6 yea rs
old can only be used in an emergency
an d then w ith speci al care and at lower
speeds.
- Never mo unt used tires on your veh icle if
you are not sure of the ir "previous histo­
ry." O ld used tires may have been dam ­
aged even thoug h the damage cannot be
seen that can lead to sudden tire fai lure
and loss of vehicle control.
•
•

driving a few yards and correct if neces­
sary . Follow the instructions from the
snow cha in manufacturer when doing so.
- If the Adaptive Air Suspension* should
malfunction, do not mount or use snow
chains beca use the vehicle will be ex­
tremely low. If you do drive with snow
chains on while the vehicle is at this lev­ el, the snow chains might severe ly dam­
age the wheelhouse and other parts of
the veh icle.
(0 Tips
W here snow cha ins are mandatory oncer­
tain roads, this normally also applies to ve­
hicles with all-wheel drive.
Wheel bolts
Wheel bolts must always be tightened to the
correct torque .
The design of whee l bolts is matched to the
factory installed r ims. If different rims are fit­
ted, the cor rect wheel bolts wit h the right
lengt h and correctly s haped bolt heads must
be used. This ens ures t hat w heels a re fitted
secure ly an d that the brake system f unctions
correctly.
I n ce rtain circumstances, you may not use
wheel bo lts from a d ifferent vehicle -even if it
is the s ame mode l~
page 3 21.
& WARNING
Improperly tig htened or maintained whee l
bolts can become loose ca using loss of
cont ro l, a co llision and serious persona l in­
jury.
- Always keep the w heel bolts and the
threads in the wheel hubs clean so the
wheel bolts can turn easily and be prop­ erly t ightened.
- Never grease or oil the wheel bolts and the threads in the wheel hubs. They can
become loose w hile driving if greased or
o iled, even if tig hte ned to the specified
torq ue.
Tire s an d wheel s 2 91
-On ly use whee l bolts that be long to the
rim being installed.
- Never use different wheels bolts on yo ur
veh icle.
- Always maintain the correct t ightening
torque for the whee l bolts to reduce t he
risk o f a wheel loss. If the tightening tor­
que of t he wheel bolts is too low, they
can loosen and come out when t he vehi­
cle is mov ing.
If the tig hte ning torque is
too high, the wheel bolts and threads can be damaged and the whee l can be­
come loose.
(D Note
The specified torque for the whee l bolts is
120
ft l b ( 160 Nm) with a to le rance of
± 7, 4
ft lb( ± 10 Nm). Torque w heel bo lts
d iagon ally . After changi ng a w heel, the
torque m ust be chec ke d as soon as poss i­
b le with a to rque wrench -preferab ly by an
a uthorized Audi dea ler or q ua lified work­
shop .
Low aspect ratio tires
Your Audi is factory-equ ipped with tow aspect
ratio tires. These tires have been thoroughly
tested and been se lected specifically for your
model for their superb perfo rmance, road feel
and handli ng under a var iety of drivi ng condi­
tions. As k your au thori zed A udi dealer for
more de tails.
The low asp ect ratio of these tires is ind icated
by a nu mera l of
55 or l ess in the tire's s ize
designation. The n ume ra l rep resen ts the ra tio
of the tire's sidew all height in rel ation to its
tread width exp ressed in percentage . Conven ­
tiona l tires have a he ight/width ratio of 60 or
more.
The performance of low-aspect-ratio tire s is
particularly sensitive to improper inflation
pre ssure. It is therefore important th at low
aspect ratio tires are inflated to the specified pressure and that the inflation pressure is
regularly checked and mainta ined. Tire pres-
sures should be checked at least once a .,..
•
•

292 Tires and wheels
month and alway s before a long trip
~ page 280, Checking tire pressure.
What you can do to avoid tire and rim
damage
L ow aspect ratio tires can be damaged more
eas ily by impact with potho les, curbs, gu llies
or ridges on the road, particularly if the tire is
underinflated.
I n order to minimize the occu rrence o f impact
damage to the tires of your vehicle, we recom­
mend that you observe the following precau­
tions:
- Always maintain recommended inflation pressures. Check your tire pressure every
2,000 miles (3,000 km) and add a ir if neces­
sary.
- Drive carefu lly on roads with potholes, deep
gullies or ridges. The impact from driving
through or over such obstacles can damage
your t ires. Impact with a curb may also
cause damage to your tires.
- After any impact, immediately inspect your
tir es or have them inspected by the nearest
authorized Aud i dealer . Replace a damaged
t ir e 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 unde rinflation, wh ich could eventu­
ally cause tire failure. If yo u be lieve that a
tire may have been damaged, replace the
tire as soon as possible.
- T hese tires may wear more quickly than oth­
ers.
- Please also remember that, while these tir es
deliver responsive handling, they may ride
l ess comfortably and make more noise than
other choices.
Reduced performance in winter/cold
season conditions
All tires are designed for certain purposes .
The low aspect ratio, ultra high performance
tires originally installed on your vehicle are in­
tended for maximum dry and wet road per­
formance and handling . They are not suitable
for cold, snowy or icy weather condit ions . If you drive
under those circumstances, you
shou ld equip your vehicle with all-season or
winter tires , which offer better traction under
those conditions. We suggest you use the rec­ ommended snow or all-season t ires specified
for your vehicle, or their equivalent .
Refer to~
page 289 for more detailed infor­
mation regarding winter tires.
Tire pressure
monitoring system
General notes ill
Each tire, including the spare (if provided),
should be checked monthly when cold and in­
flated to the inflation pressure recommended by the vehicle manufacturer on the vehicle
placard or tire inflation pressure label. (If your
vehicle has tires of a different size than the
s iz e indicated on the vehicle placard or tire in­
flat ion press ure la bel, you should determine
the proper tire inflation pressure for those
ti res.)
As an added safety feature, your ve hicle has
been equipped with a tire pressure monitoring
system ( TPMS) that illuminates a low tire
pressure telltale when one or more of your
tires is significantly under-inflated. According­
l y, when the low tire pressure te lltale illumi­
nates, you should stop and check your tires as
soon as possible, and inflate them to the
proper pressure . Driving on a sign ificantly un ­
der- inflated t ire causes the tire to overheat
and can lead to tire fa ilure. Under-inflation al­
so reduces fuel efficiency and tire tread life,
and may affect the vehicle's hand ling and
stopping ability .
Please note that the TPMS is not a substitute
for proper tire ma intenance, and it is the driv­
er's responsibility to maintain correct tire
pressure, even if under-inflation has not
reached the leve l to trigger illuminat ion of the
T PMS low tire pressure tellta le .
Your vehicle has also been equipped with a
T PMS ma lfunction indicator to indicate when
the system is not operating properly. The
ll>