2013 AUDI A6 wheel alignment

Unbalanced whee ls must be rebalanced to
avoid excessive wea r on steering, suspension
and tires. A wheel must a lso be rebalanced
when a new tire is installed .
Incorrect wheel alignment
Incorrect whee l alignment can cause exces­
sive tire wear, impairing the safety o f the vehi­
cle. If tires show excess ive wear, have the
wheel alignment checked by an authorized
Audi dealer or qualified workshop .
All-wheel d rive
Vehicles w ith quattro ® must always have tires
of the same size, construction and tread type .
F or detai ls see
r=!:> page 196 .
A WARNING
Sudden tire failure can lead to loss of con­
trol, a crash and serious persona l injury!
- Never drive a veh icle 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"hydrop lan ing" and loss of
co ntrol.
- Always keep chemicals that can cause
tire damage, such as grease, oil , gasoline
and brake fluid away from t ires.
- Tires age eve n if they are not be ing used
and can fail suddenly, especially at high
speeds. T ires that are more than 6 years
o ld can only be used in an emergency
and then with spe cial care a nd at lower
s peeds.
- Never mount used ti res on yo ur vehicle if
yo u a re not s ure of their "prev ious histo­
ry." Old used ti res may have been dam­
aged even though the damage cannot be
seen that can lead to s udden tire failure
and loss of vehicle control. Tires and wheels 251
New tires and replacing tires and wheels
New tires and wheels have to be broken in
.
Fig. 19 5 Tir e spec ificat io n codes on t he s idewall o f a
tire
No. De sc ription
CD Passenger car tire (where applicable)
@ Nomina l w idth of t ire in mill imeters
® Ratio of height to width (aspect ratio)
© Rad ial
® Rim diameter code
® Load index and speed rating
(f) U.S. DOT tire identification number
® Aud i Origina l tire
® Sever snow conditions
@ T ire ply composition and mater ials
used
@ Maximum load rating
@ Treadwear, traction and temperat ure
grades
@ Maximum permissible inflation pres-
sure
T he tires and rims are essential parts o f the
vehicle's design . The ti res and rims app roved
by Audi a re spec ia lly matched to the charac­
teris tic s of the ve hicl e and can m ake a major .,.
•

262 What do I do now?
Vehicle tool kit
Vehicle tool kit and jack
The vehicle tool kit is located in the luggage
compartment under the cargo floor cover .
Fig. 200 Luggage compartment: cargo floor cover
folded upward/spare t ire
Fig . 201 Trunk lid: Vehicle tool kit
• Lift the cargo floor by the plastic handle
c:>fig. 200.
• Hook the handle into the luggage compart­
ment weather strip.
• Turn the handwheel counter-clockwise
c:> fig. 200 and remove the spare tire to
reach the vehicle tool kit.
• Unhook the cargo floor before closing the
rear lid.
The onboard tool kit includes:
- Hooks to remove the wheel covers*
- Plastic hook to remove wheel bolt covers*
- Wheel bolt wrench
-Alignment p in for changing wheels
- Screwdr iver w ith reve rsible blade
- T owing 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 personal 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 accident.
- The factory-supplied jack is intended on­
ly for your vehicle model. Under no c ir­
cumstances should it be used to lift
heavy vehicles or other loads; you risk in­
juring yo urself.
- 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.
- Never use the jack supplied with your
Audi on another vehicle, particu larly on a
heavier one. The jack is only suitable for
use on the vehicle it came with.
(D Tips
- Some of the onboard items listed above
are provided on certain models only or
are optional extras .
- Before you can raise your vehicle using
the jack, you must activate the jacking
mode
c::> page 266.
Space-saving spare tire (compact 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.
Taking out the spare tire
.,. Lift the cargo floor by the p lastic handle
c::>fig. 200.
.,. Hook the handle into the luggage compart­
ment weather strip.
.,. Turn the large screw
c:> fig. 200 counte r­
clockw ise.
.,. Take out the spare tire .

-On hard, slippery surface (such as tiles)
use a rubbe r mat or similar to prevent
the jack from slipping .
- To he lp prevent injury to yourself and
your passengers:
- Do not raise the vehicle until yo u are
sure the jack is secu rely engaged.
- Passengers must not remain in the ve­
h icle when it is jac ked up.
- Make sure that passengers wa it in a
safe p lace away from the vehicle and
well away from the road and t raffic.
- Make sure jack position is correct , ad­
just as necessary and then continue to
r ai se the jack.
- Changes in temperatur e or load can af­
fect the height of the ve hicl e.
(D Note
Do not lift the ve hicle by the s ill. Position
the vehicle jack only at the des ignated
lift­
ing points on the sill. Othe rwis e, your vehi­
cle will be damaged.
(D Tips
The vehicle jack mode* switches off auto­
mat ica lly at speeds above 6 mph (10 km/
h).
Removing and installing the sill cover
Applies to vehicles : wit h sill
Fig. 207 Sill: remov ing t he cover
.,. Pull the cover down to remove it c::> fig . 207.
.,. To install the cover again, inse rt it into the
retainers and then sw ing it upward unt il it
cl icks into place . T he cover m ust be flush
with the sill.
What do I d o now ? 267
@ Tips
Some models may also have a cover for the
rear vehicle lift po int.
Taking the wheel off/installing the spare
Follow these instructions step-by-step for
changing th e wheel.
Fi g. 208 Cha ngi ng a w heel: us ing th e screwd rive r ha n­
d le (w it h th e blade re m oved) to turn the bo lts
F ig . 209 Chang ing a whee l: a lig nment p in in sid e the
top hole
After you have loosened all wheel bo lts and
raised the vehicle
off the ground, remove and
replace the wheel as follows :
Removing th e wheel
.,. Use the hexagonal socket in the screwd riv ­
er handle
to complete ly remove the top­
most wheel bolt and set it aside on a
clean
surface c::> fig. 208 .
.,. Screw the threaded end of the alignment
pin
from the tool kit hand-t ight into the
empty bolt hol e
c::> fig. 209 .
.,. Then remove the other wheel bolts as de­
scribed above .
.,. Take
off the whee l leaving the alignment
pi n in the bolt hole
c::> (l).

268 What do I do no w?
P uttin g on the spare wheel
.. Lift the spare wheel and ca refully slide it
over the alignment pin to guide it in place
¢ (D .
.. Use the hexagonal socket in the screwdriver
handle to screw in and tighten all wheel
bolts
slightly.
.. Remove the alignment pin and insert and
t ighten the remaining wheel bolt slightly
L ike the rest .
.. Turn the jack handle cou nter -clockw ise to
lower the vehicle unt il the jac k is fully re­
leased.
.. Use the wheel bolt wrench to tighten all
wheel bolts firmly¢
page 265 . Tighten
them
crosswise, from one bolt to the (ap­
proximately) opposite one, to keep the
wheel centered.
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 .
(j) Tips
Never use the hexagonal socket in the han­
dle of the screwdriver to loosen or t ighten
the wheel bolts .
- Pull the reversible blade from the screw­
driver before you use the hexagonal
socket in the handle to turn the wheel bo lts.
- When mounting tires with
unid irectional
tread design
make sure the tread pat­
tern is pointed the right way
¢ page 268.
-The wheel bolts should be clean and easy
to tu rn . Check for d irt and corrosion on
the mat ing su rfaces of both the whee l
and the h ub. Remove al l 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 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 tire .
- 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 optimum performance cha racter­
isti cs wit h regard to aquap lan ing, no ise and
wear .
- We recommend that you pay part icu la r at­
t ention 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 one and
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 251, 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 spar e imm e­
diately after install ation.
- Have th e whe el bolt tight ening torqu e
c hecked with a torque wrench as soon a s
pos sible by your author ized Audi de aler or
a q ualified service stat ion.
- With steel and allo y wheel r im s, the wheel
bolt s ar e cor re ctl y tightened at a torque of
90 ft lb (1 20 Nm ).
- If you noti ce th at the wheel bolts are cor­
roded and diffi cult to turn while changing
a ti re , they should be repl aced before you
check the t ightening torque. .,..