238 Tire s and whee ls
The speed rating letter code( ¢ page 225) is
on the side wall of the tire¢ page
233.
A WARNING
Winter tires have maximum speed limits
that may be lower than your vehicle's max
imum speed . Always know the maximum
speed before driving off . Never drive faster
than the speed permitted for your specific
w inter t ires. This will cause damage to the
tires leading to an accident and serious
personal inj ury to you and your passen
gers.
A WARNING
t"'----
Driving faster than the maximum speed
for which the winter tires on your vehicle
were designed can cause tire fai lure in
cluding a blowout and sudden deflation,
loss of control, crashes and serious per
sonal injuries. Have worn or damaged tires
replaced immed iately .
- Winter tires have maximum speed rat ing
that may be lower than your veh icle's
maximum speed .
- Never drive faster than the speed for
w hich the winter or other tires installed
on your vehicle are rated.
A WARNING
Always adjust your d riving to the road and
traffic conditions. Neve r let the good ac
celeration of the wi nte r t ir es and all whee l
drive temp t you in to taking extr a ris ks. A l
ways remember :
- Whe n bra king, an a ll whee l drive vehicle
hand les in the same way as a front drive
vehicle.
- Drive caref ully and reduce your speed on
icy and slippery roads, even winter tires
cannot he lp under black ice conditions.
@) For the sake of the environment
Use summe r ti res when weathe r cond i
tions perm it. They are quieter, do not wea r
as quickly and red uce fue l consumption.
Snow chains
S now cha ins may be fitted only to the front
whee ls, and o nly to certain ti re sizes . Ask your
authorized Aud i dea ler on which tire sizes
snow chains can be used.
T he snow chains must have low-p rofile links
and mus t not be th icker than 0.41 inch
(10.5 mm), in cl ud ing the lock .
Remove whee l center covers and t rim discs
before putt ing snow chains on your veh icle
¢ Q) . For safety reasons cove r caps must then
be fitted over the wheel bo lts. These are avail
able from authorized Audi dealers .
_& WARNING
Using the wrong snow chains for your vehi
cle or insta lling them incorrect ly can in
crease the risk of loss of control leading to
serious personal injury.
- Snow chains are available in different sizes . Always make sure to follow the in
structions prov ided by the snow chain
manufacturer .
- When driving with snow cha ins never
drive faster than the speed permitted for
your specific snow chains .
- Always observe local regulations.
(D Note
- Remove snow chains before driving on
roads not covered with snow to avoid
damaging tires and wearing the snow
chains down unnecessa rily.
- Snow chains, which come into direct con
tact with the whee l rim, can scratch or
damage it . Therefore, make sure that the
snow chains are suitably covered. Check
the pos ition of the snow chains afte r
dr iving a few yards and co rrect if neces
sary. Follow the instruct ions from the
snow chain man ufactu rer when doing so .
(D Tips
Where snow chains are ma nda tory on cer
tain roads, th is normally also applies to
vehicles with a ll whee l drive .
Wheel bolts
Wheel bolts must always be tightened to the
correct torque .
The design of wheel bolts is matched to the
factory installed r ims. If differen t rims are fit
ted, the correct wheel bolts with the right l ength and correctly shaped bolt heads must
be used. This ensures that wheels are fitted
securely and that the brake system functions
correctly .
In certain circumstances, you may not use
wheel bo lts from a different vehicle -eve n if it
i s the same model
¢ page 266.
_&. WARNING
Improperly tig htened or maintained whee l
bolts can become loose ca using loss of
contro l, a co llision and serious persona l in
jury.
- Always keep the wheel bolts and the threads in the wheel hubs clean so the
whee l bolts can turn easily and be prop
erly t ightened.
- Never grease or oil the wheel bo lts and
the threads in the wheel hubs. They can become loose wh ile driving if greased or
o iled, even if tightened to the specif ied
torque .
- Only use wheel bolts that belong to the
rim being installed.
- Never use different whee ls bolts on your
vehicle .
-Always maintain the correct tighten ing
torque 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
cl e is moving.
If the tightening torque is
too high, the whee l bolts and threads
can be damaged and the wheel can be
come loose.
Q;) Note
The spec ified torque fo r the wheel bo lts is
90 ft lbs. (120 Nm) with a tolerance of
± 7,4 ft lbs.(± 10 Nm). Torque wheel bo lts
Tire s an d wheel s 239
diagonally. After changing a wheel, the
torque m ust be checked as soon as possi
ble with a torque wrench -preferably by an
a uthori zed Audi dea ler or qualified work
shop.
Low aspect ratio tires
Your Aud i is factory -equ ipped w ith low aspect
ratio tires . These tires have been tho roughly
tested and been se lected specifically fo r your
model for their superb perfo rmance, road fee l
and hand ling under a var iety o f driving cond i
tions. Ask your authorized Audi dealer for
more details .
T he low aspect ratio of these t ires is ind icated
by a numeral of
55 or l ess in the tire's s ize
designation. The numera l rep resents the ra tio
of the tire's sidewa ll height in relation to its
tread width expressed in percentage . Conven
tiona l tires have a he ight/w idth ratio of 60 or
more.
T he performance of low-a spe ct- ra tio tire s is
p ar tic ul ar ly se nsi tiv e to i mprop er i nfl ation
pre ssure. It is the refo re important that low
a spect ratio t ires are inflated to the specified
pr ess ure and that th e inflation pr essur e is
r e gula rly ch ecked and maintain ed. Tir e pre s
s ure s should b e check ed at l east once a
m onth and alwa ys befo re a long trip
¢ page 228, Checking tire pressure.
What you c an do to avo id tire and rim
damage
Low aspect ratio tires can be damaged mo re
easily by impact w ith potholes, curbs, g ull ies
o r ridges on the road, pa rticularly if the tire is
u nderinflated.
In orde r to minimize the occurrence of impact
damage to the tires of your vehicle, we recom
mend that you observe the following p reca u
tions:
- Always ma inta in recommended inflation
pressu res. Check your tire pressure eve ry
2,000 miles (3,000 km) and add air if neces-
sary . .., •
•
replacement or alternate tires and wheels a l
l ow the TPMS to continue to function proper
l y.
Tire pressure indicator appears
Applies to vehicles: with tire pressure monitoring system
The tire pressure indicator in the instrument
cluster informs you if the tire pressure is too
low or if there is a system malfunction.
F ig. 190 Display: underinflatio n warn ing
Using the ABS sensors , the t ire pressure mon i
toring system compa res the t ire tread circum
fe rence and v ibration characteristics of the in
d iv idual tires. If the pressure decreases in one
or mo re tires, th is is indicated in the instru
ment cluster with a
ti] warn ing symbol and a
message ¢
fig. 190. The driver message in the
disp lay goes out after S seconds. The driver
message can be d isplayed again by pressing
the
! S ET ! button. If only one tire is affected,
the display will indicate its pos ition .
T he t ire pressure monitoring system must be
reset via radio or MMI* each t ime the pres
sures are adjusted (e.g . when sw itching be
tween partia l and full load pressure) or after
changing o r replacing a t ire on your vehicle
¢
page 242. The TPMS indicator only moni
tors the tire p ressure that you have prev iously
stored . Yo u ca n find the recommended tire
p ress ures for you r vehi cle on the labe l on dr iv
er's side B -pi llar ¢
page 226 .
T ire tread c ircumfe rence and vibration c harac
ter ist ics can ch ange and ca use a ti re pressure
warn ing if:
- the tire pressure in one o r more t ires is too
low,
Tire s an d wheel s 241
- the t ire has struc tural damage,
- t he t ire press ure w as c hanged, wheels ro ta t-
ed or rep laced but the TPMS was not reset
¢ page 242.
Warning symbols
ti] Loss of pressure in at least one tire¢& .
Check the t ire o r tires and rep lace or repa ir if
necessary. The
ti] indi ca to r li ght in the inst ru
ment cluster a lso illuminates
¢ page 13.
Check/cor rect the press ures of all fo ur tires
and reset TPMS via radio or MMI*.
11il~1 (T ir e Pressure Monitoring System) Tire
pre ssure: Sy stem m alfunction!.
IfllilB appears after switching the ignition
o n or while d rivi ng and the
ti] ind icator l ight
i n the instr ument cluster blinks for app roxi
mately one minute and then stays on, there is
a system malfunct ion .
Attempt to sto re the co rrect tire pressu re
¢
page 242. If the ind ic a tor lig ht does not
turn off or i f it turns on sho rtly the rea fter, im
med iate ly dr iv e your vehicle to an authorized
A udi dealer or authorized repair faci lity to
have the malfunct ion corrected.
A WARNING
- If the tire pressure ind icator appears in
the instrument cluster display, one or more of your t ires is sign ificant ly unde r
inflated . Reduce you r speed immediately
a nd avoid any hard steer ing or b rak ing
maneuvers. Stop as soon as possib le and
check the tires and their pressu res . In
f late the tire pressure to the prope r pres
sure as indicated o n the vehicle's tire
pressure labe l
¢page 226. D riving on a
sign ificantly under-inflated tire causes
the t ire to overheat and can lead to tire
fa ilure. Under-inflation also is likely to
impair the vehicle's ha ndling and stop
ping ab ility .
- The drive r is responsib le for maintaini ng
the co rrect tire pressures . You must
check the tire pressures regu larly. .,..
•
•
What do I do now?
Vehicle tool kit
The tools ore stored underneath the floor
panel in the luggage comportment.
F ig . 191 Lug gage compartment: tool kit
When you need access to the veh icle tool kit
or jack*, you will need to take o ut the cover.
The vehicle tool kit includes:
- Tire repair kit (Tire Mobility System)
- Plastic cl ip for removing wheel bo lt caps*
- Al ignment p in for ch anging the whee l
- Screwdriver with reversible blade
- Tool for chang ing light bulbs
- Reversible bit (reversible Torx bit for chang-
ing light bulbs)
- Rod for jack
- Jack *
- Lug wrench
- T owing eye
Some of the vehicle items listed above a re
prov ided o n certain models on ly o r are option
a l extras.
Before returning the jack * to its place, retract
the jack arm fully.
..&, WARNING
-
- Never use the screw d river hex head to
t igh ten whee l bol ts, si nce the bolts can
not at tain the necessary tightening tor
que if you use the hex head, poten tially
causing an accident.
- T he factory -supp lied jac k is intended on
ly for your vehicle model. Under no cir
c u mstances should it be used to lift
What do I d o now ? 243
heavy veh icles or other loads; yo u risk in
juring yourself.
- Never start the engi ne when the vehicle
is raised, which could cause an acc ident.
- Support the vehicle secure ly wit h appro
priate stands if wor k is to be performed
underneath the vehicle; otherwise, there
is a pote ntia l risk for injury.
Tire repair
General and safety pointers
Tire repair is intended only for temporary,
short-term use.
F ig . 1 9 2 Tire damage fo r wh ich the Tire Mob ility Sys
tem is not suited
Your vehicle is equipped with a tire repa ir k it,
the
Tir e Mobility Sy stem (TMS ).
In the event of a tire failure, the TM S is in the
luggage compartment under the floor. It con
s ists of the tire sealant and an electric air
pump .
Using
TM S, tire damage caused by foreign
bodies up to about
0.1 6 inch (4 mm ) in diam
eter can be sea led reliably.
The foreign object must stay in the tire .
The tire sealant must not be used:
-for cu ts or punctures in t he tire w hich a re
large r th an 0. 16 inc h (4 mm) <=>fig. 192
©
-for damage to the rim @
- if you have been driving with very low t ire
pressu res or tires with no air@
Using the
TMS is descr ibed in the section
<=> page 244.
244 What do I do n ow ?
TMS can be used at temperatures down to
-4°F(-20°C).
.&_ WARNING
Take the following precautions after re
pairing the tire:
- Do not d rive faster than 50 mph (80 km/
h)!
- Avoid full-throttle acce leration, heavy
braking and fast cornering.
- The veh icle's road behav ior can be affect
ed.
- Tires sealed with
T M S are intended only
for
temporar y, short-te rm use . Dam
aged tires must be replaced . Drive care
fully to the next professional repair fa
cility.
- After using the tire sea lant the tire pres
sure monitoring system may no longer
work properly. Drive carefully to the next
professional repair fac ility.
- TM S must NOT be used,
- for cuts or punctures in the tire which
are larger than 0.16 inch (4 mm)
- for damage to the r im
- if you have been dr iv ing with very low
tire pressures or t ires with no air
- Seek professional assistance if it is not
poss ible to repair the tire with the tire
sealant.
- The tire sealant must not come into con
tact with sk in, eyes or clothing.
- If you get any tire sealant in your eyes or
com e into contact with i t, rinse the af
fected area tho roughly w ith clean wate r.
Find a physician immediate ly!
- Change any clothing contaminated w ith
t ire sealant immed iate ly.
- Do not inhale t he vapo r!
- If you have swallowed t ire sealant , rinse
yo ur mouth thorough ly r ight away and
dr ink p lenty of water.
- Do not induce vomiting! Find a physi
cian immediate ly!
- If you have a llergic reactions, f ind a
physician immediate ly.
- Keep the t ire sealant away from chi ldren.
(D Note
Do not use commercially avai lab le tire
sea lants. The electr ica l components of the
tire pressure monitoring system will no
l onger work properly.
«!) For the sake of the environment
Used sealant bottles ca n be dropped off at
a recycling facility .
(D Tips
-If sea la nt has run out, allow it to dry .
Then you can peel it off .
- Have the t ire sea lant rep laced eve ry 4
years at a dealersh ip.
Making a tire repair
Fig . 19 3 Mak ing a t ire repa ir
Preliminary steps
"' If you have a flat tire, park the vehicle as far
as poss ible from moving traffic.
"' App ly the par king b rake firmly.
"' Move the se lector lever to the P position
"' Check whether a repair using the Tire Mobili
ty System is possible
c:::> page 243.
"'Have all passengers leave the vehicle and
stay away from the danger zone
c:::> _&..
"'Take the sealant bottle and the electric air
pump from the luggage compartment under
the floo r<=;>
page 243.
"' Remove the "max . SO mp h" (80 km/h) s tick
er from the sea lant bottle and affix i t to the
instr ument clus ter in the drive r's view .
Filling a tire
"' Shake the bott le thoroughly before filling. Ill>
~ Screw the accompanying filling hose com
pletely onto the bottle. This breaks through
the foi l seal automat ically at the connec
t ion.
~ Remove the valve cap from the tire valve and
unsc rew the valve insert us ing the accompa
nying valve insert tool¢
fig. 193 .
~ Lay the valve insert on a clean surface .
~ Remove the sealing plug from the filling
hose and connect the hose to the tire v alve.
~ Hold the bottle with the bottom fac ing up
ward and emp ty the entire contents into the
tire .
~ Then pu ll out the hose and screw the valve
insert tightly back into the tire valve.
Inflating a tir e
~ Screw the filling hose for the electric a ir
pump onto the tire valve and insert the con
nector into the cigarette lighter .
~ Inflate the t ire between 2.0 and 2.5 bar and
read the pressure from the gauge.
~ If this tire pressure is not reached, drive
your vehicle approximate ly 10 meters for
ward or backwa rd so that the sealant can be
redistributed i nside the tire . If at th is time
the req uired air p ressu re still cannot be
reached, the t ire is too badly damaged and
cannot be repa ired with the tire sea lant.
Final check
~ After dr iving for about 10 minutes, stop and
chec k the t ire p ressure.
~ If tire pressure is less than 1.3 bar, the tire
is too seve rely d amaged. Do not contin ue to
dr ive . Seek pro fessional assistance.
& WARNING
- Turn on the emergency flashers and set
up the emergency triangle if you have
flat tire while in mov ing traffic. This is
for your protection and the for the safety
of other drivers.
- Have all passengers leave the vehicle and
stay away from the danger zone (for ex
amp le, beh ind a guard rail) .
What do I do now? 245
-Read and follow the manufacturer's safe
ty precautions on the compressor and in
the instructions on the bottle of sealant!
- If a tire pressure of 2.0 bar cannot
reached after inf lating for six minutes,
then the tire is too severely damaged. Do not continue driving!
- Obta in qua lified help if it is not possible
to pe rform the repair wit h the t ire seal
a nt.
- If the tire pressure is less than 1.3 bar
after 10 m inutes of driv ing, then the the
tire is too seve rely damaged. Do not con
tinue dr iving . Seek profess iona l assis
tance .
(D Note
Particular care is necessary if you are mak
i ng a tire repa ir on a steep incl ine .
(D Tips
-Do not operate the electric air pump for
more than 6 minutes without stopping,
otherwise it can over heat. When the a ir
pump has coo led down, you can continue
t o use it.
- If sea lant has spilled out, let it dry and
then you can remove it by peeling it away
like a foil.
- Remember to obtain a new bott le of
sealant from yo ur autho rized Aud i dea le r
afte r repairing a tire. After this, the func
tionality of the tire repa ir set is restored.
- Obey all laws.
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 failure, pull the
car we ll away from moving traffic and try to
reach
le vel ground before you stop ¢ ,&..
~ All passengers should lea ve the car and
move to a safe location (for instance, behind
the guardrail) ¢
,&.. ..,.
•
•
24 6 What do I do no w?
• Engage the par king br ake to prevent your
vehicle from rolling unintentionally
c> _&..
• Move the sel ector le ver to the P po sition.
• Take the jack c> page 243 out of the luggage
compartment.
A WARNING
You or your passengers could be injured
wh ile cha nging a wheel if you do not fol
low these safety precautions:
- If you have a flat t i re, move a safe dis
tance off the road . Turn off the engine,
tu rn the emergen cy flashers on and use
other wa rning dev ices to alert other mo
torists.
- Make su re that passengers wait i n a safe
pla ce away from the vehicle and well
away from the road and traff ic.
- T o help prevent the veh icle from mov ing
sudden ly and possibly slipping off the
jack, a lways fully set the parking brake
and block the whee l diagona lly opposite
the whee l being changed with the fo ld
ing chocks or other objects. When one
front whee l is lifted off the ground, plac
ing the Automat ic Transmiss ion in "P"
(Pa rk) w ill
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 unde r the jack.
- Always store the vehicle tool kit, the
jack* and the replaced tire in the luggage
compartment
c> page 124.
(D Note
If you are chang ing the wheel on a steep
incline, use a rock or similar object to
b loc k the opposite wheel to prevent the
veh icle from mov ing.
Obey all laws.
-
Changing a wheel
When you change a wheel, follow these
quence described below step-by-step and in
exactly that order .
l. Remove the wheel bolt caps* . For more
details see also
c> page 247, Wheels with
wheel bolt caps.
2. Loosen the wh eel bolts c>page 247.
3. Locate the p roper mounting point fo r the
ja ck a nd align the jack below that point
c>page248 .
4. Lift the car with the jack c> page 248 .
5. Remove the wheel with the flat tire and
then insta ll the other wheel
c> page 249.
6. Tighten all wheel bolts lightly.
7.
Lower the vehicle with the jack .
8. Use the wheel bolt w rench and
firmly
t ighten all wheel bolts in a crisscross pat
te rn
c> page 247.
9. Replace the wheel bolt cap s*.
A WARNING
Always read and fo llow all WARN INGS and
informat ion c> .&. in Raising the vehicle on
page 248
and c> page 250 .
After changing a wheel
A wheel change is not comple te without the
doing the following .
• Always store the vehicle tool kit, the jack*,
and the rep laced tire in the luggage com
partment
c> page 124.
• As soon as possib le, have the t ightening
torque s
on all whee l bolts checked with a
torque wrench. The correct tightening tor
que is 90 ft lbs. (120 Nm).
• Have the flat tire
re plac ed as soon as possi
ble.
(D Tips
- If you not ice that the wheel bolts are
corroded and difficult to turn while
chang ing a tire, they should be replaced
before you check the tightening torque .
-Drive at reduced speed until you have the
tightening torques checked.
Wheels with wheel bolt caps
Applies to vehicles: with wheel bolts wit h caps
The caps must be removed first from the
wheel bolts before the bolts can be un
screwed .
Fig. 194 C hangin g a whee l: removing the wheel bo lt
caps
R em oving
.,. Push the
pla stic clip provided w it h the vehi
cle tool kit over the wheel bolt cap until it
engages.
.,. Pull on the
pl as tic clip to remove the cap
¢fig . 194 .
Refitting
.,. Place the caps ove r the wheel bo lts and
push them back on .
The caps are to protect and keep the wheel bolts clean.
What do I d o now ? 24 7
Loosening and tightening the wheel
, bolts
The wheel bolts must be loosened before rais
ing the vehicle.
F ig . 1 95 Changing a whee l: loosen ing t he wheel bolts
Loos en ing
.,. Insta ll the
w heel bolt wre nch over the
wheel bo lt and push it down as far as it will
go .
.,. Take tight hold of the
end of the wrench
handle and turn the wheel bo lts
counter
clockwi se
about one single turn in the direc
tion of arrow ¢
fig. 195 .
Tightening
.,. Insta ll the
wheel bolt w ren ch over the
wheel bo lt and push it down as far as it will
go .
.,. Take tight hold of the
end of the wrench
handle and turn each wheel bolt
clockw ise
until it is seated .
.&_ WARNING
- Do not use fo rce or h urry whe n chang ing
a wheel - you can ca use the vehicle to slip
off the jack and cause serious personal
inj uries.
- Do not loosen the wheel bo lts more than
one turn
befo re you raise the vehicle with
the jack . - Yo u risk an injury .
{D Tips
- Never use t he hexagona l so cket in the
hand le of the screwdr iver to loosen or
tighten t he wheel bolts .
- If a wheel bo lt is very tigh t, you may find
it eas ier to loosen by carefully pushing ..,.