2013 AUDI A7 spare tire

Tires and wheels 251
Bear in mind that the tire pressure monitoring
system* can only monitor the tire pressures
you have stored. The system does not recog­
ni ze the load cond it ion of your vehicle.
The effectiveness of the tire pressure monitor ­
ing system* will be impaired if you store nor­
mal load pressures but then operate the vehi ­
cle at its maximum load
c;, & .
See the illustration c;, fig. 196 for the location
of the label on driver's side B-pillar (co lor of
the actua l labe l and exact location on the ve­
hicle will vary slightly).
Tire designation
Note that the following table is accurate at
the time of going to press and is subject to change. In the event of d iscrepancies, the t ire
pressure label is located on the driver's side B­
pillar always takes precedence.
The table below lists the recommended cold
tire inflat ion pressures for the Audi mode l
covered by your Owner's Literature at the vehi­
cle's capacity weight and the t ire sizes instal­
led on the respective models as orig inal
equipment, or as a factory option.
Tire pressure
Model/
Engine normal load condition full load condition
fronta> reara>
front rear
PSI kPA PSI
A7: 235/55 Rl 7 99Y
3.0 liter High Performance
6-cylinder
S7:
4.0 liter a-cylinder 255/45 R18 99H
All Season
255/45 R18
99Y
High Performance
255/40 R19 l00H XL
All Season
255/40 R19100YXL
High Performance
265/35 R20 99H XL
All Season
265/35 R20 99Y XL
High Performance
255/40 R19
l00Y XL
High Performance
265/35 R20 99Y XL
High Performance
32 220
32 220
32 220
35 240
36 250
240
36 250
39 270
41 280 29 200
35 240 38 260
29 200 35 240 38 260
29 200 35 240 38 260
32 220 38 260 41 280
32 220 38 260 41 280
32 220 38 260 4
1
280
32 220 38 260 41 280
33 230
42 290
42 290
35 240
44 300 44
300
XL= reinforced or extra load tire. It may also appear as xl, EXTRA LOAD, or RF on the tire side-
wall.
al no rmal load condition c:;,page 250.
The correct tire pressure for the spare wheel is
located on a label on the driver's side B-pillar.
Because technical changes may be made to
vehicle equ ipment dur ing the model year, al­
ways compare the tire size designation on the
tire pressure label on your vehicle w ith the tires on your vehicle.
Make sure that the tir e
s ize informat ion on the vehicle label is the
same as the size of the tires on the vehicle .
'
I
'
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•
•

used today are underinflated j ust by looking
at them.
Therefo re, be sure to check tire pressures at
l eas t once a mon th and always before going
on a long trip. Make sure to take the number
of people and the amount of luggage into ac­
count when adjusting tire pressure for a trip -
even one that you would not consider to be
"long." See¢
page 254 , Tires and vehicle
load limits
for more important information .
A lways use an accurate tire pressure gauge
when check ing and adjusting inflation pres­
sures . Check all of the tires and be sure not to
forget the spare t ire . If the pressure in any tire
i s too high when the tire is "cold," let air out
of the tire slowly with the edge of the t ire
gauge and keep checking the pressure until
you reach the p ress ure th at is cor re ct for the
l oad (passengers and luggage) and kind of
d riving you plan to do .
I f the p ressu re in any tire is too low , note the
d ifference between the pressure in the cold
tire and the pressure yo u need and add the ai r
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 veh icle and in this manual and the kind
of dr iving you p lan to do.
Never e xceed the m aximum inflation pre s­
su re li sted on th e tir e sidewall for any rea ­
son.
Remember that the vehicle manufacturer, not
the tire manufacturer, determines the co rrect
tire p ressure for the tires on your vehicle .
It is important to check the tire pressure when
the tires are cold .
- Read the requ ired ti re p ressu re from the tire
pressure label. The ti re pressu re labe l is lo­
cated on the drive r's side 8-p illar.
- T urn the valve stem cap counter-clockwise
to remove it from the tire valve .
- Place the air pressu re gauge on the valve.
- T he tire pressures should only be checked
and adjusted when the tires a re cold . The
Tire s an d wheel s 253
slightly raised pressures of warm tires must
not be reduced.
- Adjust the tire pressure to the load you are
car rying.
- Reins tall the valve stem cap on the va lve.
When should I check the tire pr essure?
The correct tire pressure is especially impor­
tant at h igh speeds . T he p ressure should
therefore be chec ked at least once a month
and always before sta rting a jo urney. Do not
f orge t to chec k the ti re p ressu re fo r the spare
whee l¢
page 268.
When should I adjust the tire pressures ?
Adjust the tire pressure to the load you are
carrying. After chang ing a whee l
or replacing
whee ls yo u have to adj ust the ti re press ures
on all whee ls. In addition, yo u m ust then
store the new tire pressures in the tire pres ­
s u re monitoring system*¢
page 264.
A WARNING
-
Incorrect tire pressures and/or underinfla­
tion can lead sudden tire fa ilure, loss of
control, collision, serious personal injury
or even death.
- When the warning symbol
[IE appears in
the instrument cluster, stop and inspect
the t ires.
- Incorrect tire pressure and/or underinfla­
tion can cause increased tire wear and can affect the handling of the vehicle and
stopping ability .
- Inco rrect tire pressures and/or underin­
flation can a lso lead to sudden t ire fail­
ure, including a blowout a nd sudden de­
flation, ca using loss of veh icle cont ro l.
- The drive r is respons ib le for the correct
tire pressures for all tires on the ve hicle.
T he appli cable pressure values are locat­
ed on a sticker on the dr iver's s ide B-pil­
lar .
- On ly when all tires o n the vehicle are fil­
led to the correct pressu re, the t ire pres ­
sure monitor ing * system can work cor­
rectly. •
•

258 Tires and wheels
contribution to good road ho lding and safe
handling when in good condition and properly
inflated
¢ ,& .
We recommend that all work on tires and
wheels be performed by an authorized Audi
dealer. They are familiar with recommended
procedures and have the necessary spec ial
too ls and spare parts as well as the proper fa­
cilities for disposing of the old tires.
Authorized Audi dealers have the necessary information about technical requ irements for
installing or changing tires and rims.
Replacing tires and wheels
Tires should be rep laced at least in pairs and
not individually (for example both front tires
or both rear tires together).
Be sure to read and heed the information to
the tire pressure monitoring system*
¢pa ge 264.
Always buy rep lacement radial tires that have
the same specifications as the tires approved
for your vehicle by Audi. Replacement t ires
must always have the same load rating speci­
fication as the original equipment or approved
optional tires listed in the table
c:> page 250.
Aud i-approved specification ti res are specially
matched to your vehicle and its load limits,
and can contribute to the important road hold­
ing, driving characteristics, and safety of the
vehicle. The table
(c:>page 250) lists specifica­
tions of the tires approved for the Audi mod­
els covered by your Owner's Literature .
The tire pressure label located on driver's side
B-pillar
(c:> fig. 197) lists the specifications of
the orig inal equipment tires installed on your
vehicle at the time it was manufactured.
Federal law requires tire manufacturers to
place standardized information on the s ide­
wall of all tires
c:> fig. 200. This information
identifies and describes the fundamental
characterist ics, the quality grade of the tire
and also provides a tire ident ificat ion number
fo r safety standard certificat ion and in case of
a recall.
Tire specifications
Knowledge of tire specifications makes it eas­
ier to choose the correct tires. Radial ti res
have the tire specifications marked on the
sidewa ll, for examp le:
255/40 R 19 100 H XL
This conta ins the following information:
P Indicates the tire is for passenger cars
(where app licable)
255 Nominal tire width in mm of the tire
from sidewall edge to sidewall edge. In general, the larger the number, the wider
the tire
40 Height/w idth ratio in percent (aspect ra-
t io)
R Tire construct ion: Radial
19 Rim diameter code (in inches)
100 Load rating code
H Speed rating letter code
XL (or "xl", "E XTRA LOAD" or "RF") Indica tes
that the tir e is a "Reinforced" or an "Ext ra
Load" t ire
M+S (or "M/5") Indicates that the tire has
some mud and snow capability
The tires could also have the information of
direction of rotat io n
¢ page 246.
Tire manufacturing date
The manufacturing date is also indicated on
the tire sidewall (possibly on ly on the
inner
side of the wheel):
"DOT ... 2212 ... " means, for example, the tire
was produced in the 22nd week of 2012.
Speed rating (letter code)
The speed rating letter code on the whee ls in ­
dicates the maximum permissible road speeds
c:> & in Winter tires on page 262.
p up to 93 mph (150 km/h)
Q up to 99 mph (158 km/h)
R up to 106 mph (170 km/h)
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)

260 Tires and wheels
-If the spare tire is not the same as the
tires that are mounted on the vehicle -
for example with winter tires - only use
the spare tire for a short period of time and drive with extra care. Refit the nor­
mal road wheel as soon as safely possi­
ble.
- Never drive faster than the maximum
speed for which the tires on your vehicle
are rated because tires that are driven
faster than their rated speed can fail
suddenly.
- Overloading tires cause heat build-up,
sudden tire failure, including a blowout
and sudden deflation and loss of control.
- Temperature grades apply to tires that
are properly inflated and not over or un­
derinflated.
- For technical reasons it is not always
possible to use wheels from other
vehicles -in some cases not even wheels
from the same vehicle model.
- If you install wheel trim discs on the ve­
hicle wheels, make sure that the air flow
to the brakes is not blocked. Reduced air­
flow to the brakes can them to overheat,
increasing stopping distances and caus­
ing a collision.
- Run flat tires may only be used on
vehicles that were equipped with them
at the factory. The vehicle must have a
chassis designed for run flat tires. Incor­
rect use of run flat tires can lead to vehi­
cle damage or accidents. Check with an
authorized Audi dealer or tire specialist
to see if your vehicle can be equipped
with run flat tires. If run flat tires are
used, they must be installed on all four
wheels. Mixing tire types is not permit­
ted.
- For technical reasons, it is not generally
possible to use the wheel rims from oth­
er vehicles. This can hold true for wheels
of the same vehicle type.
- If the spare tire is different from the
tires that you have mounted on your ve- hicle (for example winter tires or wide
profile tires), then use the spare tire for a
short period of time only and drive with
extra care. Replace
the flat tire with the
tire matching the others on your vehicle
as soon as possible.
- Never drive without the valve stem cap.
The valves could get damaged.
@ For the sake of the environment
Dispose of old tires in accordance with the
local requirements.
Uniform tire quality grading
-Tread wear
- Traction AA A B C
- Temperature ABC
Quality grades can be found where applicable
on the tire side wall between tread shoulder
and maximum section width
~ fig. 200.
For example: Tread wear 200, Traction AA,
Temperature A.
All passenger car tires must conform to Feder­
al Safety Requirements in addition to these
grades .
Tread wear
The tread wear grade is a comparative rating
based on the wear rate of the tire when tested
under controlled conditions on a specified
government test course.
Fo r example, a tire graded 150 would wear
one and one half (1 1/2) times as well on the
government course as a tire graded 100.
The relative performance of tires depends
upon the actual conditions of their use, how­
ever, and may depart significantly from the
norm due to variations in driving habits, serv­
ice practices and differences in road character­
istics and climate.
Traction
The traction grades, from highest to lowest,
are AA, A, Band
C. Those grades represent the
tire's ability to stop on wet pavement as ..,.

measured under controlled conditions on
specified government test surfaces of asphalt
and concrete. A tire marked C may have poor
traction performance
c::> & .
Temp erature
The temperature grades a re A (the highest),
B, and C , representing the tire's resistance to
the generation of heat and its ability to dissi­ pate heat when tested under controlled condi­
tions on a specified indoor laboratory test
wheel.
Sustained high temperature can cause the materia l of the tire to degenerate and reduce
tire life, and excessive temperature can lead
to sudden tire fa ilure
c::> & .
The grade C corresponds to a level of perform­
ance which a ll passenger car tires must meet
under the Federal Motor Veh icle Safety Stand­
ard No.
109. Grades Band A represent higher
levels of performance on the laboratory test
wheel than the m inimum required by law .
&, WARNING
The traction grade assigned to this t ire is
based on stra ight-ahead b raking traction
tests, and does not include acceleration,
cornering, hydrop laning or peak traction
character istics .
A WARNING
The temperature grade for this tire is es­
tablished for a tire that is properly inflated
and not overloaded . Excessive speed, un­
derinflation, or excessive loading, either
separate ly or in combination, can cause
heat buildup and possible tire fa ilure.
Winter tires
Win ter tires can improve vehicle handling on
snow and ice. At tempera tures below 45 °F
(7 °C) we recommend changing to winter
tires.
In some heavy snow areas, loca l governments
may require true winter or "snow" tires, those
with very deeply cut tread. These t ires should
Tire s an d wheel s 261
only be used in pairs and be installed on all
fo ur wheels. Make sure you purchase snow
tires that are the same size and construction
type as the other tires on your vehicle.
If your vehicle is eq uipped w ith all -whee l
drive*, this wi ll improve traction during winter
driv ing, even with the standard tires. Howev ­
er, we strongly recommend that you always equip all four wheels on your veh icle w ith cor­
rectly fitted winter tires or all -season t ires,
whe n w inter road cond it ions are expected.
T his also improves the veh icle's brak ing per­
fo rmance and reduces stoppi ng d istances.
Summer tires provide less grip on ice and
snow .
Winter tires (snow tires) must always be fitted
on all four wheels.
Ask your authorized A udi dealer or qualified
workshop for permitted
wi nter ti re size s. Use
on ly rad ial winter t ires.
Winter tires lose their effectiveness when the
tread is worn down to a depth of
0 .1 57 inch
(4 mm).
Only drive w ith w inter tires under w inter con­
ditions. S umme r tires handle better when
there is no snow or ice on the roads and the
temperature is above 45
°F (7 ° ().
If you have a flat tire, see no tes on spare
whee l c::> page 257.
Please a lways remember that winter tires may
have a lowe r speed ra ting than the tires o rig i­
nally installed on your veh icle at the time it
was man ufactured. P lease see
c::> pag e 258,
Speed rating (letter code) for a listing of the
speed rating letter codes and the max imum
speed at which the tires can be driven.
The speed rating le tter code
(c::> page 249) is
on the side wall of the tire
c::> page 257.
A WARNING
Winter t ires have maximum speed limits
that may be lower than yo ur vehicle's max­
imum speed. Always know the max imum
speed before dr iv ing off . Never dr ive faster
~
•
•

264 Tire s and wheel s
In o rder to minimize the occurrence 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 tires. Impact with a curb may also cause damage to your tires.
- After any impact, immediately inspect your
tires or have them inspected by the nearest
authorized Aud i dealer . Replace a damaged
t ire as soon as possible .
- In spect 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 underinflation, wh ic h could event u­
ally cause t ire fail ure.
If yo u be lieve that a
ti re may have been damaged, replace the
tire as soon as possible.
- These tires may wea r more qui ck ly than oth­
ers.
- Please a lso remembe r that, whi le these t ires
deliver respons ive handling, they may ride
less comfortably and make more noise than
other choices.
R educed p erformance in winter /cold
sea son conditions
A ll tires are designed for certain purposes .
The low aspect ratio, ultra high performance
tires originally installed on your vehicle are in­
tended for max imum dry and wet road per­
f ormance and handling . They are not suitable
for cold, snowy or icy weather cond it ions.
If
you dr ive under those circumstances, you
should equip your vehicle with all-season or
winter tires, whi ch offe r better traction under
those cond it ions . We suggest you use the rec ­
ommended snow or a ll-season tires specifie d
for your vehicle, or their equiva lent .
Refe r to ~
page 261 for mo re deta iled infor­
ma tion r egarding w in ter ti res.
Tire pressure
monitoring system
ill General notes
Applies to veh icles: w ith tire pressure monito ring system
Each tire, incl uding the spare (if provided),
sho uld be checked monthly when co ld and in ­
flated to the inf lat ion pressure recommended
by the veh icle manufacturer on the veh icle
placard or tire inflation pressure label. (If your
vehicle has tires of a d ifferent size than the
s ize indicated on the vehicle placard o r tire in­
flat io n pressu re label, you sho uld dete rmine
the p roper t ire infla tion p ressure fo r those
t ir es) .
As an added safety featu re, your ve hicle has
been equipped with a tire pressure mon itoring
system ( TPM S) that illum inates a low ti re
pressure te lltale whe n one or more o f you r
tires is signif icant ly under -inflated . Acco rding­
l y, when the low tire pressure te lltale i llumi­
nates, you shou ld stop and check your tires as
soon as possib le, and inflate them to the
proper pressure. Driving on a sign ificantly u n­
der- inflated t ire causes the tire to overheat
and can lead to tire fa ilure . Under -inflation al ­
so reduces fuel eff ic iency and tire tread life,
and may affe ct the vehicle 's hand ling and
stopp ing ability.
Please note that the TPMS is not a substitute
for proper tire ma intenance, and it is the d riv­
er's respo nsibility to maintain co rrect tire
pressure, even if under -inflation has not
reached the leve l to tr igger illuminat ion of the
T PMS low tire p ressu re tellta le .
You r vehicle has also been equipped with a
T PMS ma lf u nction indicator to ind icate when
the sys tem is not oper ating properly . T he
T PMS ma lfunction indicator is comb ined w ith
the low tire pressure te lltale. Whe n the sys­
tem detects a malfunction, the telltale will
flash for approximately one min ute and then
rema in con tinuously i llum inated . T hi s se­
quence will continue upon subsequent vehicle
start-ups as long as t he malfunct ion exists . .,.

What do I do now? Emergency warning
triangle
App lies to vehicles: with emerge ncy warning triangle
The warning triangle is located on the inside
of the trunk lid .
"' M ~
D -~ .. m
!I l
Fig. 203 Trun k lid: Warn ing triang le
.,. To open the cover, turn the locking mecha­
nism and pull the cover downward .
.,. Remove the warning triangle from its hold­
er.
The rear lid is only designed to ho ld the warn­
ing triangle offered by the original accessories
program. If you would like to retrofit your ve­
hicle with a warning triangle, p lease contact
your authorized Audi dealer.
Vehicle tool kit
Vehicle tool kit and jack
The vehicle tool kit is located in the luggage
compartment under the cargo floor cover.
F ig . 204 Luggage compa rtment: cargo floo r cover
folded upward/spa re tire
What do I d o now ? 267
Fig. 20 5 Trunk lid: Veh icle too l kit
.,. Fold the floor to the seatback with the help
of the handle .
.,. Turn the handwheel counter- clockwise
q fig. 204 and remove the spare t ire to
reach the vehicle tool kit.
T he onboard tool k it includes:
- Hooks to remove the whee l covers*
- Plastic hook to remove wheel bolt covers*
- Wheel bolt wrench
-Alignment pin for changing wheels
- Screwdriver with reversib le blade
- Tow ing loop
-Jack
Before storing the jack, make sure it is wound
back down as far as it will go.
A WARNING
Im proper use of the vehicle jack can cause
serious personal injuries.
- Never use the screw driver hex head to
tighten w heel bolts, since the bolts can­
not attain the necessary tighten ing tor­
que if you use the hex head, potentially
causing an ac cident.
- The factory-supplied jack is intended on­
ly for yo ur vehicle model. Under no c ir­
cumstances sho uld it be used to lift
heavy ve hicles o r other loads; yo u risk in­
juring yo urself.
- Never start the engine when the vehicle
is raised, wh ich co uld cause an acc ident.
- Support the vehicle secu rely with appro­
pria te stands if wor k is to be per formed
underneath the vehicle; otherwise, there
is a potentia l risk for injury.

268 What do I do no w?
-Never use the jack s upplied with your
Audi on another vehicle, particularly on a
heavier one. The jack is only suitable for
use on the vehicle it came w ith.
- Some of the on board items listed above
are provided on certain mode ls only or
are optiona l extras.
- Before you can raise your vehicle using
the jack, you must activate the jack ing
mode
Q page 271.
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 sp are tire
,. Fold the floor to the seatback with the help
of the handle.
,. Turn the large screw~
fig. 204 counter ­
clockwise.
,. Take out the spare tire .
,. Always store the vehicle too l kit, the jack*
and the replaced t ire in the l uggage com­
partment
Q page 136.
Using the spare tire (compact spare tir e)
The compact spare tire is only intended for
emergenc ies until you can reach a repair shop.
Replace it as quick ly as poss ible with a s tand­
a rd whee l and tire.
There are some restrictions on the use of the
compact spare t ire. The compact spare t ire
has been des igned specifically fo r yo ur type of
ve hicle . It must not be swapped with a com­
pact spare ti re from another type of ve hicle .
Snow chains
For technica l 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 in s and a
front tire fails , mo unt the spare wheel w ith
tire instead of a rea r tir e . I nstall the snow chains on the rear tire and use it to rep
lace
the defective front tire.
A WARNING
-- Never use the spare t ire if it is damaged
or if it is worn down to the tread wear in­
d icat ors.
- I f 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 sh ort-term use . It s hou ld be
replaced as soo n as poss ible with the
normal wheel and tire.
- After mount ing t he compact spare t ire,
the t ire pressure must be checked as
soon as possible . The tire pressure of the
compact spa re t ire must be
4. 2 ba r; oth­
erwi se, you risk having an a cc iden t.
- Do not dr ive faste r th an
50 mph (80 km/
h). Yo u ris k havi ng a n accident.
- Avoid full-throttle acceleration, heavy
b rak ing, and fast corne ring . You risk hav­
ing ('In accide nt.
- N ever d rive using more than one s pare
wheel and ti re. You r is k having an acci­
den t.
- Normal summer or winter t ires must not
be mounted on the compa ct spare wheel
r im .
- F or technica l reasons, the use of tire
ch ain s on t he sp are tire is not permitted.
If it is ne cessary to drive with tir e c hains,
the spare wheel must be mounted on the
f ront ax le in the event of a flat in a rear
tire. The new ly available front whee l
m ust then be insta lled in place of the
rear whee l w ith the flat tire. Installing
the t ire chain before mounting the whee l
a nd tire is recommended .
- Loose items in the passenger compart­
ment can cause se rious personal injury
du ring hard b rak ing or in an accident.
Never store t he i nflatable spa re tire or
jack and tool s in the passenge r compart­
men t.