@ Tips
Where snow chains are mandatory oncer
tain roads, this normally also applies to
veh icles with all-wheel dr ive.
Wheel bolts
Wheel bolts must always be tightened to the
correct torque .
The design of whee l bolts is matched to the
factory insta lled rims . If different rims are fit
ted, the correct wheel bolts with the right
length and correctly shaped bolt heads must
be used. This ensures that wheels are f itted
securely and that the brake system functions
correctly .
In certain circumstances, you may not use
wheel bolts from a different vehicle -even if it
is the same model
<=> page 287.
.&_ WARNING
Improperly tightened or maintained wheel
bolts can becom e loose caus ing loss of
cont ro l, a co llision and serious persona l in
Jury .
- Always keep the wheel bolts and the
threads in the wheel hubs clea n so the
w heel bolts can t urn 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 while d riving if greased or
oi led, even if tightened to the specif ied
torque.
- Only use whee l bolts that belong to the
rim being installed .
- Never use different whee ls bolts on your
vehicle.
- Always maintain the co rrect tighten ing
torq ue for the wheel bo lts to reduce the
risk of a wheel loss . If the tightening tor
que of the wheel bolts is too low, they
can loosen and come out when the vehi
cle is moving. If the tightening torque is
too high, the whee l bolts and threads
Tire s an d wheel s 257
can be damaged and the whee l can be
come loose.
(D Note
The specified torque for the whee l bolts is
90 ft lb (120 Nm) with a tolerance of± 7,4
ft lb(± 10 Nm) . Torq ue whee l bolts diago
nally. After changing a whee l, the torq ue
must be checked as soon as possible with a
torque wrench -preferably by an author
i zed Audi dealer or qualified workshop.
Low aspect ratio tires
You r Aud i is facto ry-equ ipped w it h low aspect
ra tio tires. These tires have been tho ro ughly
tested and been se lec ted spe cifically for you r
model for their superb perfo rmance, road fee l
and handling under a variety of driving condi
tions. Ask your authorized Audi dealer for
more details .
T he low aspect ratio of these t ires is ind icated
by a numera l of
55 or le ss in the tire's s ize
designation. The numera l represents the ratio
of the t ire's sidewa ll height in relation to its
tread width expressed in percentage. Conven
tiona l tires have a he ight/w idth rat io of 60 or
more .
The performance of low-aspect -ra tio tire s is
particularly sens it iv e to improper inflation
pressure. It is therefore important that low
aspect ratio t ires are inflated to the specified
pre ssure and that the inflation pressur e is
regularly che cked and maintain ed. Tire pre s
s ures should be checked at least on ce a
m onth and alwa ys before a long trip
¢ page 246, Checking tire pressure .
What you can do to avoid tire and rim
damage
Low aspect ratio tires can be damage d mo re
easily by impact w ith potholes, curbs, g ull ies
or ridges on t he road, partic ularly if the tire is
u nderinflated.
Ill>-
•
•
264 What do I do now?
&_ WARNING
You or your passengers could be injured
while changing a wheel if yo u do n ot fol
low t hese safety precautions:
- If you have a flat t ire, move a safe dis
tance
off the road. Turn off the engine,
turn the emergency flashers on and use other warning dev ices to alert other mo
torists.
- Make sure that passengers wait in a safe
place away from the vehicle and well
away from the road and traff ic.
- T o help p revent the veh icle from mov ing
sudden ly and possibly slipping off the
ja ck, always fully set the parking b rake
and bloc k the whee l diagona lly opposite
the whee l being changed. When one
front whee l is lifted off the gro und, plac
ing the Automat ic Transmiss ion in P
(Park) will
not prevent the vehicle from
moving.
- Before you change a wheel, be sure the
ground is level and firm. If necessary,
use a sturdy board under the jack.
- Always store the vehicle tool kit, the jack
and the replaced t ire i n the luggage com
partment
¢ page 132.
Before chang ing the wheel, yo u m ust acti
vate the jacking mode, so that the auto mat ic cont rols for the Adaptive Air S us
pens ion* do not make it more difficult to
lift the vehicle with the jack
c> page 266.
Changing a wheel
When you change a wheel, follow these
quence described below step-by-step and in
exactly that order .
1. Activate the vehicle jack mode*
~page 266.
-
2. Remove the decorative wheel cov er* . For
mo re details see also ¢
page 265, Deco
rative wheel covers
or c> page 265,
Wheels with wheel bolt caps.
3 . L oosen the wheel bolts¢ page 265.
4. Locate the proper mounting point for the
jack and alig n the jack below that point
¢ page 266 .
5.
Raise the car with the jack¢ page 266.
6. Remove the wheel with the flat tire and
then insta ll
the s pare ¢page 267.
7. Tighten all whee l bolts lightly.
8 . Lower the vehicle with the jack .
9. Use the wheel bolt wrench and firmly
t igh ten al l w heel bo lts¢ page 265.
10. Rep lace the decorat ive wh eel co ver* .
11. Deactivate the vehicle jack mode* in the
MMI:
ICARI f u nction button > (Car )* sys
tems
control button > Se rvicing & chec ks
> A ir susp .: jac k mode > Off .
The vehicle jack mode * switches off automati
ca lly at speeds above
6 mph (1 0 km/h) .
&_ WARNING ,.__
Always read and follow all WARNINGS and
i nformat ion¢ &.
in Raising the vehicle on
page 266
and c> page 268.
After changing a wheel
A wheel change is not complete without the doing the following.
.,. Always store the vehicle tool kit, the jack *
and the rep laced tire in the luggage com
partment
¢ page 132.
.,. Check t he ti re pressu re on the spare whee l
immed iate ly after mounting it .
.,. As soon as possib le, have the
tightening
torques
on all whee l bolts checked with a
t o rque wrenc h. The co rrect tighte ning tor
que is 90 ft lb (120 Nm).
.,. Have the flat tire
replaced as soon as possi
b le.
(D Tips
- If you not ice th at the wheel bo lts a re
co rroded and difficult to turn while
changing a tire, they should be rep laced
before you check the tightening torque.
- Drive at reduced speed until you have the
tightening torques checked .
ll-
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. .,..