2013 AUDI A4 wheel alignment

symbols) indicate the positions of the tread
wear indicators. Worn tires must be replaced.
Different fig ures may apply in other co untries
c:> .&. .
Tir e pres sure
Incorrect tire pressure causes premature wear
and can cause sudden tire blow -out. For this
reason, tire pressure must be checked at least
once a month
c:> page 241.
Driving sty le
Driving fast around curves , heavy acceleration
and hard braking increase tire wear .
Rotating tires for mo re even wear
For all four t ires on your vehicle to have the
same se rvice life, we recommend that the
fro nt and rea r tires are rotated according to
the t ire manufacture r's suggested tire rota­
tion intervals. Please remember the follow ­
ing:
- T ire rotat ion inte rva ls may differ from the
vehicle service intervals outlined in your
Maintenance and Wa rranty Booklet .
- T he longer one tire is used in one location
on the vehicle, the more it wears at certa in
points; therefore, we recommend that you
fo llow the t ire manufacturer's suggested
t ire rotation intervals .
- Vehicles with front -wheel drive experience
more tread wear on the front wheels com­
pared to all whee l drive (quattro ®).
- Please rotate tires as shown
c:> fig. 194.
-Extra care must be taken when rotating di-
rection-specific tires
c:> page 263 .
Wheel balancing
The wheels on new vehicles are balanced .
H oweve r, va rio us situations d uring eve ryday
driving can cause them to be come unbal­
anced, resu lting in vibrations you can us ually
feel through the steering wheel.
Unba lanced wheels must be rebalanced to
avoid excessive wea r on s teer ing , suspens ion
and tires. A wheel must a lso be rebalanced
when a new tire is installed.
Tire s an d wheel s 245
Incorrect wheel alignment
Incor rect wheel alignment can cause exces­
sive tire wear, impairing the sa fety of the vehi ­
cle . If tires show excessive wear, have the
whee l alignment checked by an a uthorized
Audi dealer or qualified workshop.
All wheel drive
Vehicles wi th quattro ® must a lways have tires
of the same size, construction and tread type. For details see
<=:> page 191.
_8 WARNING
Sudden tire fa ilure 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 ti res are a safety hazard, they do
not grip well on wet roads and increase
your r isk of "hydroplaning" and loss of
control.
- Always keep chemicals that can cause
tire damage, such as grease, o il, gasoline
and brake fluid away from tires .
- Tires age even if they are not being used
and can fail sudden ly, especially at high
speeds. T ires that are more than 6 years
old can only be used in an emergency
and then w ith special care and at lower
speeds.
- Never mount 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 though the damage cannot be
seen that can lead to sudden tire fai lure
and loss of vehicle control. •
•

256 What do I do now?
What do I do now?
Vehicle tool kit
The tools ore stored underneath the floor
panel in the luggage comportment.
Fig. 197 Sedan Luggage compartment: tool kit
Fig. 198 allroad Luggage compartment: too l kit
When you need access to the vehicle tool kit
or jack*, you will need to take out the spare
tire and cover
Q page 256.
Depending on your vehicle's equipment, the
tool kit may also be located under the cargo
floor cover @
Q fig. 198 behind the seat back­
rest.
The vehicle tool kit includes:
- Hook for removing wheel covers*
- Alignment pin for changing the wheel
- Screwdriver with reversible blade
- Tool for changing light bulbs
- Reversible bit (reversible Torx bit for chang- ing light bu lbs)
- Rod for jack
- Jack*
- Lug wrench
- Towing eye Some of the vehicle
items listed above are
provided on certain mode ls only or are option­
al extras.
Before returning the jack* to its place, retrac t
the jack arm fully.
A WARNING
-
- Never use the screw driver hex head to
tighten wheel bolts, since the bolts can­
not attain the necessary tightening 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 cir­
cumstances should it be used to lift
heavy vehicles or other loads; you risk in­
juring yourself.
- Never start the engine when the vehicle
is raised, wh ich 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 potential risk for injury.
Space-saving spare tire
(compact spare tire)
Appl ies to veh icles : w ith space -sav ing spare tire
The spore tire/wheel is located in the luggage
comportment under the cargo floor cover . It
is intended for short-term use only.
Fig . 199 Spare tire
Removing the spare tire
., lift the cargo floor by the plastic handle
Q fig. 199.
., Hook the handle into the luggage compart­
ment weather strip.

Removing the wheel
"' Remove the topmos t wheel bo lt completely
with the
he xagonal socket in t he screwdriv ­
er hand le (vehicle tool kit) ¢
fig. 207 and
set it aside on a
clean surface.
"' Screw the threaded end of the
alignment
pin
from the tool k it hand-tight into the
empty bolt hole ¢
fig. 208.
"' Then remove the o ther wheel bo lts as de­
scribed above .
"' Take off the wheel leav ing the alignment
pin in the bo lt ho le
~ CD .
Putting on the spare tire
"' all road : Inflate the inflatable spare tire
~ page258
"' Push the spare tire over the a lignment pi n.
"' Screw o n the whee l bolts and tighten them
slightly using the hexagonal socket .
"' Remove the alignment pin and insert an d
t ighten the remaining whee l bo lt s light ly
li ke the rest .
"' Turn the jack handle counter-clockw ise to
lower the vehicle unt il the jack is f ully re­
l eased .
"' Use the whee l bolt wrench to t ighten a ll
wheel bolts firmly ¢
page 261. Tighten
them
in a crisscross pattern, from one bo lt
to the (approx imately) opposi te o ne, to keep
t h e whee l cen te red .
"' Perform the steps requ ired after cha nging
the wheel ~
page 260 , After changing a
wheel .
The hex agonal so cket m akes it easier to re­
move the w heel bo lts from the r im . Care
should be taken when removing the reversible
b lade .
@ Note
When removing or ins tall ing the wheel,
the rim could hit the brake rotor an d dam­
age the rotor . Wor k carefully and have a
second person to he lp you .
@ Tips
-When mounting tires with unidirectional
tread design
ma ke s ure the tread pat-
What do I do now? 263
'
tern is po inted the righ t way
¢ page 263.
- The w heel bolts shou ld be clean an d easy
to t urn . Check fo r dirt an d corrosion on
the mating surfaces of both the w heel
and the hub. Remove all d irt from these
surfaces before remounting the whee l.
- Do not use the hexagonal socket in the
sc rewd river handle to loosen or t ighten
the whee l bolts.
Tires with unidirectional tread design
Tires with unidirectional tread design must be
mounted with their tread pattern pointed in the right direction.
Us ing a spa re tire with a tread pattern
intended for use in a specific di rection
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 d irect ion of rotation is marked by an
ar­
row on the side of the t ire .
-If the spare tire has to be insta lled in the in­
correct d irect ion, use the spare tire only
temporarily s ince the tire will not be able to
achieve its optimum performance cha racte r­
istics w it h regard to aquap la ni ng, no ise and
wear .
- We recommend that you pay part icu lar at ­
t en tion to th is fact during we t weather and
that you adjust your speed to match road
condi tions.
- Replace the flat t ire wi th a new one a nd
have it insta lled o n you r vehicle as soo n as
pos sible to res to re the hand ling advant ages
o f a u nidirec tional tire.
Notes on wheel changing
Please read t he info rmation ~ page 24 6, New
tires and replacing tires and wheels
if yo u a re
going to use a spare tire wh ich is different
from the tires on your vehicle.
After yo u change a tire:
IJI,-
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