2013 AUDI A7 wheel bolts

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)1l
Y up to 186 mph (298 km/h)
1 )
Your veh icle is norma lly factory equipped with
t ires, which posses s excellen t driving charac­
ter istics and give your Audi opt imum driving
comfort . An electronic speed limiter
~ page 30 w ill normally prevent your vehicle
from go ing faste r th an the tire speed rating
~ &. -
U.S. DOT T ire Identification Number (TIN )
and tire manufactur e date
This is the t ire's "serial numbe r" . It begins
with the le tters "DOT" and indicates that the
tire meets all federal standards . The next two
numbers or letters indicate the p lant where it
was manufactured, and the last four numbers represent the week and year of manufactu re.
Fo r example, the numbers 2212 mean the tire
was produced in the 22nd week of 2012. The
other numbers are market ing codes that may
or may not be used by the t ire manufacturer.
This informat ion is used to contact consumers
if a t ire defect requires a reca ll.
Aud i Original tire
Tires with the iden tifica tion "AO" or "RO" have
been spec ially matched with your Aud i. We
recommend using only these tires because
they meet the highest standards regard ing
safety and d riving charac ter istics when used
correctly . Yo ur au thori zed Audi dealer w ill
g lad ly provide you with more information.
Tire ply composition and materials used
The numbe r of p lies ind icates the n umber of
l ayers of rubber-coated fabric i n the t ire. In
gener al, the grea ter the numbe r of p lies, the
more weig ht a tire can s upport. Tire man ufac­
turers a lso must indicate the materials in the
tire, wh ich include ste el, nylon, polyest er, and
others.
ll Fo r tires wit h a m ax im um s pee d ca pabil ity over
1 4 9 m ph (24 0 k m/h) , tire m an ufa ctur ers somet ime s
use the let ters "ZR."
Tire s an d wheel s 259
Maximum Load Rating
This number indicates the max imum load in
k ilograms and po unds t hat can be ca rr ied by
the tire.
Tire quality grading for treadwear ,
traction, and temp eratu re resistance
T read wear, t raction and tempe ra tu re grades
¢ page
260 .
Maximum Permissible Inflation Pressure
This number is the greatest amount of a ir
pressure that should ever be put in the tire
u nder norma l dr iv ing cond itions .
_& WARNING ~
- Using incorrect o r unmatched tires and I
or wheels or improper tire and wheel
comb inat ions can lead to loss of control,
coll is ion and serious personal in jury.
- 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 sp ecifically ap­
proved by the vehicle manufacture r.
- Tires age even if they are not being used
and can fai l sudden ly, especially at high
speeds . Tires that are more than 6 yea rs
old can only be used in an emergency
and then w ith special 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 though the damage cannot be
seen that can lead to sudden tire fai lure
and loss of vehicle control.
-All four whee ls must be fitted with radial
tires of the same type, size (rolling cir­ cumference) and the same tread pattern .
Driving with different tires reduces vehi­
cle handling and can lead to a loss of
control.
•
•

@ 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 291.
.&_ 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 263
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 2 52, 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>-
•
•

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.

Changing a wheel
Before changing a wheel
Observe the following precautions for your
own and your passenger's safety when chang­
ing a wheel .
.,. After you experience a tire fai lure, pull the
car well away from moving traffic and try to
reach
le vel gro und before you stop¢.&_ .
.. All passengers shou ld
leav e the car and
move to a safe location (fo r instan ce, be hind
the guardra il)¢ .&_.
.. Engage the
parking br ake to prevent your
vehicle from ro lling unintentionally¢ .&_.
.. Move
selecto r leve r to posi tion P ¢ .&_ .
.. If you are tow ing a trai ler, unh itch the trai l­
er from your veh icle.
.,. Take the
jack and the spare tire out of the
luggage compartment ¢
page 267,
¢page 268.
.8, WARNING
You or your passengers cou ld be injured
w hile changing a whee l if yo u do not fol­
low t hese safety precautions:
- If you have a flat t ire, move a safe dis ­
t a nce off the ro ad. Tur n off the eng ine,
turn the emergency f lashers on an d use
other warning dev ices to alert other mo­
torists.
- Make sure that passengers wait in a safe
place away from the ve hicle and well
away from the road and traff ic.
- To help p revent the vehicle from moving
sudden ly and possibly slipping off the
jack, always fu lly set the parking brake
and block the wheel diagonally opposite
the wheel being changed. Whe n one
front wheel is lifted off the ground, plac­ ing the A utomat ic Transm iss ion in P
(Park) will
not p revent the vehicle from
moving.
- Before you change a wheel, be su re the
ground is level and fi rm. If necessa ry,
use a sturdy board under the jack.
-
What do I do now? 269
- Always store the vehicle tool kit, the jack
and the replaced tire in the luggage com­ partment
¢page 136.
(D Tips
Before changing the whee l, you must acti­
vate the jacking mode, so that the auto­ matic controls for the Adaptive Air Sus­
pension* do not make it more d iff icult to
lift the vehicle with the jack
¢ page 271 .
Changing a wheel
When you change a wheel , follow these­
quence described below step-by-step and in
exactly that order .
l. Activate the vehicle jack mode*
¢page 271 .
2. Remove the decorativ e whee l cover* . For
more details see also¢
page 2 70, Deco­
rative wheel covers
or ¢ page 2 70,
Wheels with wheel bolt caps .
3. Loosen the wh eel bolt s ¢page 271.
4. Loca te the p roper moun ting poin t for the
jack and align the jack be low that point
¢ page 271 .
5. Rais e the car with the jack ¢ page 271.
6. Remove the wheel with the flat tire and
then install
the spare ¢page 273.
7. Tighten all whee l bolts lightly .
8.
Lo wer the vehicle with the jack .
9 . Use the wheel bolt w rench and
firmly
t ighten al l wheel bolts¢ page 2 71.
10. Rep lace the deco ra ti ve whe el c ove r*.
11. Deactivate the vehicle jack mode* in the
MMI:
ICARI f u nction button > (Car )* sy s­
tems
contro l button > S ervici ng & check s
> Air s usp.: jack mod e > Off.
The vehicle jack mode * switches off automati­
ca lly at speeds above 6 mph (10 km/h) .
.8, WARNING
-Always read and fo llow all WARNINGS and
i nformat ion¢
A in Raising the vehicle on
page
272 and ¢ page 274.
•
•

2 70 What do I do now ?
After changing a wheel
A wheel change is not complete without the
doing the following .
.. Always store the vehicle too l kit, the jack*
and the replaced ti re i n the luggage com­
partment ¢
page 136.
.. Check the tire pres sure on the spare w heel
i m media tely after mount ing it .
.,. As soo n as po ssible, have the
tightening
torques
on a ll w heel bol ts checked with a
tor que wrench . The correct tightening tor ­
que is 90 ft lb ( 120 Nm) .
.. Have the flat tire
replaced as soon as poss i­
ble.
@ Tips
- If you notice t hat the whee l bolts are
corroded and difficult to t urn while
changing a t ire, they should be replaced
bef ore yo u check the tighten ing torque .
- Drive at reduced speed unt il y ou have the
tightening torques checked .
- After changing a wheel, the tire pressure
i n a ll four tires must be checked/cor rect­
ed and t he tire pressure mo nitor ing indi­
cator must be stored in the MMI
¢page 266 .
Decorative wheel covers
Applies to vehicles: with decorative wheel covers
T he decora tive wh eel covers must be removed
first to access the wheel bolts .
Fig. 206 Changing a w hee l: Re movin g the w heel cove r
Removing
.,. Inse rt the hook (provided with the ve hicle
tool kit ) in t he hole in the wheel hub cove r. ..
Pull off the
decorative wheel cover
¢fig . 206.
Wheels with wheel bolt caps
Applies to veh icles: w it h w heel bolts with caps
The ca ps must be removed first from the
wheel bolts before the bolts can be un­
screwed.
Fig . 20 7 Cha ng ing a w heel: re m oving t he w hee l b o lt
caps
Removing
.. Push t he plastic clip (provided with the ve­
hicle tool kit) over t he wheel bolt cap u nti l
the inner reta iners on the clip a lign with the
edge of the cover.
.,. Remove the cap wit h the
plastic clip (veh i­
cle tool kit)
¢ fig . 207 .
Refitting
.. Place the caps over the whee l bolts and
push them back o n.
The caps are to protect and keep the wheel bo lts clean .

Loosening and tightening the wheel
bolt s
The wheel bolts must be loosened before rais­
ing the vehicle.
F ig. 208 Changing a whee l: loos enin g the wh eel bo lt s
Loo sening
.. Slide the whe el w re nch onto the wheel bolt
as far as it wi ll go .
.. Take tight hold of th e
end of the wrench
hand le and turn the whee l bolts
counte r­
clock wis e
abou t one single turn in the direc­
tion of arrow c:>
fig. 208 .
Tightening
.. Slide the wheel wrench onto the whee l bolt
as far as it will go.
.. Take tigh t hold of the
end of the wrench
handle and turn each wheel bolt
cl ockw ise
unt il it is seated .
A WARNING
-Do not use force or hurry when changing
a whee l -you can cause the vehicle to s lip
off the jack and cause ser ious persona l
injuries.
- Do not loosen the wheel bolts more than
one turn
before you ra ise the veh icle w ith
the jack. -You risk an injury.
(D Tips
- Never use the hexagonal socket in the
handle of the screwd rive r to loosen or
tighten the wheel bo lts.
- If a whee l bolt is very tight, you may find
i t easier to loosen by c arefully p ushi ng
down on the end of the whee l bolt
wrench with
one foot only . As you do so,
What do I d o now ? 271
hold on to the car to keep your balance
and take care not to slip .
Raising the vehicle
The vehicle must be lifted with th e jack first
before the wheel can be removed.
F ig . 209 Sill panels : ma rki ngs
Fig . 210 Sill : p os it ion ing t he ve hicle jack
.. Act iv ate the vehicle jack mode* in the MMI:
!CAR I function button> (Car) * sy stems con­
trol button>
S e rv icing & ch ecks > Air su sp .:
jack mode > On .
.,. Engage the park ing brake to prevent your
veh icle from rolling unintentionally .
.,. Move the
s elect or le ver to p osition P .
.,. Find the marking (imp rint) on the sill tha t
is nearest the wheel that wi ll be changed
r=> fig. 209 . Behind the marking, there is a
lifti ng p oint on the sill for the veh icle jack .
.. Veh icles wi th a s ill: remove the cover from
the sill before lift ing the veh icle wi th a vehi­
cle jack
c:> page 272 .
.,. Turn the vehicl e ja ck located under the lift­
ing point on the sill to ra ise the jack unti l its
arm @ c:>
fig. 210 is located under the des­
ignated p lastic moun t c:> &, c:>(D .
.. Align the jack so that its arm@c:>
fig. 210
engages in the designated lifting point in
the door sill and the movable base @ lies
~

Taking the wheel off/installing the spare
Follow these instructions step-by-step for
changing the wheel.
Fig. 2 12 Changing a wheel: using the screwdriver han ­
dle (with the blade removed} to turn t he bo lts
F ig . 2 13 Changing a wheel: alignm en t pin ins ide the
top hole
After you have loosened a ll wheel bolts and
ra ised the veh icle off the ground, remove and
replace the wheel as follows:
R emoving the wheel
.. Use the hex agon al so ck et in th e scr ew dr iv­
e r handle
to comp letely remove the top­
most wheel bo lt and set it aside on a
clean
s u rface Q fig. 212 .
.. Screw the threaded end of the alignm ent
pin from the tool k it hand -tight into the
empty bolt hole
Qfig . 213.
.. Then remove the other wheel bo lts as de­
scribed above .
.. Take off the wheel leaving the alignment
pin in the bolt hole
Q (D.
Putting on the spar e wheel
.. Lift the spare wheel and carefully slide it
over the alignment pin to guide it in place
Q (D.
What do I d o now ? 273
.. Use the hexagonal socket in the screwdriver
handle to screw in and tighten all wheel
bolts
slightly.
.. Remove the alignment pin and insert and
tighten the remaining wheel bolt slightly like the rest.
.. Turn the jack handle counter-clockwise to
lower the veh icle until the jack is fully re­
leased .
.. Use the wheel bo lt wrench to tighten all
wheel bo lts firm ly
Q page 271. Tighten
them
crosswise, from one bolt to the (ap­
proximately) opposite one, to keep the
wheel centered.
(D Note
When removing or installing the whee l,
the rim could hit the brake rotor and dam­
age the rotor. Work carefully and have a
second person help you.
@ Tips
Never use the hexagonal socket in the han ­
dle of the screwdriver to loosen or tighten
the w heel bolts.
- Pull the reversible blade from the screw­
dr iver before you use the hexagonal
socket in the hand le to turn the wheel
bolts.
- When mounting tires w ith
unidi rectional
tread design
make sure the tread pat­
tern is po inted the right way
~page 274.
-The wheel bo lts shou ld be clean and easy
to turn . Check for dirt and corrosion on
the mating surfaces of both the wheel
and the hub. Remove all d irt from these
surfaces before remounting the whee l.

274 What do I do now? Tires with unidirectional tread design
Tires with unidirectional tread design must be
mounted with their tread pattern pointed in the right direction .
Using a spare tire w ith a tread pattern
intended for use in a specific direction
When using a spa re tire w ith a t read patte rn
i n tended fo r use in a specific direction, please
note t he followi ng:
- The direction of rotation is marked by a n ar­
r ow on the side of the tire.
- If the spare t ire has to be installed in the in­
correct direction, use the spare tire only
tempora rily si nce the t ire will not be a ble to
achi eve its optimum perfo rm anc e cha racter­
i st ics w ith reg ard t o aqu aplani ng, noise and
we ar.
- W e reco mmend t hat you pay pa rticular at­
te nti on t o this fact d uring wet we ather and
t h at you a dju st yo ur spee d to m atc h ro ad
con ditions.
- R epl ace the fla t tire w ith a n ew one an d
have it ins talled o n your ve hicle as soon as
p oss ible to restore the handlin g ad vantages
of a uni direct io na l tire .
Notes on wheel changing
Please rea d the informati on c> page 257 , New
t ires and replacing tires and wheels
if you are
go ing t o u se a spare tire which is d ifferent
from the tires on your ve hicle.
Afte r you chan ge a t ire :
-Check the tire pressure on the spare imme­
diately after installation.
- Have the wheel bolt tightening torque
checked with a torque wrench as soon as possible by your authorized Audi dealer or
a qualified service station.
- With steel and alloy wheel rims , the wheel
bolts are correctly tightened at a torque of
90 ft lb (120 Nm ).
- If you notice that the wheel bolts are cor­
roded and difficult to turn while changing
a tire, they should be replaced before you
check the tightening torque . -
Replace the flat tire with a new one and
have it installed on your vehicle as soon as
possible. Remount the wheel cover .
Until then , drive with extra care and at re­
duced speeds.
A WARNING
-
- If you are going to e quip your ve hicl e
with tires or rims which differ from those
which were facto ry installed, then be
sure to rea d the informati on
9 page 257,
New tir es and replacing tires and
w he els .
- Always ma ke sure the damag ed wheel o r
even a flat tire and the jack a nd tool ki t
ar e prop erly s ecu red in the luggage co m­
p artm ent and are not lo ose in the pas ­
s e ng er c ompa rtm ent .
- I n an acci dent or sudd en man euve r they
could fly forwa rd, inju ring anyon e in the
v eh icle.
- Always store d amag ed wh eel, jack and
too ls secur ely in the lugg age c ompart ­
ment. Otherwi se, in an accident or su d­
de n maneuve r they co uld fly forw ard,
causing inj ury to passe ngers i n the ve hi­
cle.