
212 Trailertowing
If you move the selector lever of the auto
mat ic transm ission to P before app lying
the park ing brake and before blocking the
wheels, you may have to use mo re force
later to move the lever out of the P posi
tion .

252 Tires and wheels
This is especia lly important if the vehicle be
longs to someone else or you bought the vehi
cle with different rims/tires or you bought the
vehicle as a previously owned vehicle.
Remember, your safety and that of your pas
sengers also depends on making sure that
load limits are not exceeded. Vehicle load in
cludes everybody and everything in and on the
vehicle. These load limits are technically refer
red to as the vehicle's Gross Vehicle Weight
Rating (' 'GVWR"). The Gross Axle Weight Rat
ing ("GAWR") is the maximum load that can
be applied at each of the vehicle's two axles.
The Gross Vehicle Weight Rating and the
Gross Axle Weight Rating are listed on the
safety compliance sticker label located on the
driver's side 8-pillar. The tire pressure label on
your Audi lists the maximum combined
weight of all of the occupants and luggage or
other cargo that the vehicle can carry. For the
location of the tire pressure labe l
¢fig . 196.
A WARNING
Overloading a vehicle can cause loss of ve
hicle control, a crash or other accident, se
rious personal injury, and even death.
- Carrying more weight than your vehicle
was designed to carry will prevent the
vehicle from handling properly and in crease the risk of a loss of vehicle con
trol.
- The brakes on a vehicle that has been
overloaded may not be able to stop the
vehicle within a safe distance.
- Tires on a vehicle that has been overload
ed can fail suddenly causing loss of con
tro l and a crash.
- Always make sure that the total load be
ing transported -including the weight of
a trailer hitch and the tongue weight of a
loaded trailer - does not make the vehi
cle heavier than the vehicle's Gross Vehi
cle Weight Rating.
A WARNING
- Incorrect tire pressures and/or underin
flation can lead to a serious or fatal acci
dent.
- Incorrect tire pressures and/or underin
flation cause increased tire wear and can affect the handling of the vehicle.
- Incorrect tire pressures and/or underin
flation can also lead to sudden tire fail
ure, including a blowout and sudden de
flation, causing loss of vehicle control.
Checking tire pressure
The correct tire pressure for the tires original
ly installed on your vehicle is listed on the tire
pressure label located on driver's side 8-pil lar.
The recommended tire pressures are on the
tire pressure label and in the table
¢ page 250, Cold tire inflation pressure.This
means that the pressure must be checked and
adjusted when the tire has not been driven for
more than a couple of miles (kilometers) at
low speeds during the previous three hours.
Air in the tires expands when the tire heats up
as a result of internal friction as it flexes in
use. The tire pressure is highe r when the tire
has warmed up than when it is "cold ."
It is the inflation pressure in a "cold" tire that
counts. Therefore, you should never let air out
of a warm tire to match "Cold tire inflation
pressure" recommendations¢
page 250. The
tires would then be underinflated and could
fail suddenly.
The tire pressure label on your Audi lists the
recommended cold tire inflation pressures at
maximum capacity for the new, original
equipment tires that were on your vehicle at
the time it was manufactured. For the loca
tion of the label¢
fig. 196.
Most tires lose air naturally over time . They
can also lose some air if you drive over a pot
hole or hit a curb while parking. It is usually
not possible to see whether the radial tires ..,.

the vehicle can carry. For the location of the
label
~ fig. 196.
A WARNING
Overloading a vehicle can cause loss of ve
hicle control, a crash or other accident, se
rious personal injury, and even death.
- Carrying more weight than your vehicle was designed to carry will prevent the
vehicle from handling properly and in
crease the risk of the loss of vehicle con
trol.
- The brakes on a vehicle that has been
overloaded may not be able to stop the
vehicle within a safe distance.
- Tires on a vehicle that has been overload
ed can fail suddenly, including a blowout
and sudden deflation, causing loss of
control and a crash.
- Always make sure that the total load be
ing transported -including the weight of
a trailer hitch and the tongue weight of a
loaded trailer -does not make the vehi
cle heavier than the vehicle's Gross Vehi
cle Weight Rating.
Determining correct load limit
Use the example below to cal
culate the total weight of the
passengers and luggage or oth
er things that you plan to trans
port so that you can make sure
that your vehicle will not be
overloaded.
Steps for Determining Correct Load Limit
1. Locate the statement "THE
COMBINED WEIGHT OF OC
CUPANTS AND CARGO
SHOULD NEVER EXCEED XXX
Tires and wheels 255
KG OR XXX LBS" on your ve
hicle's placard (tire inflation
pressure label)
¢ fig. 196.
2. Determine the combined weight of the driver and pas
sengers that will be riding in
your vehicle.
3. Subtract the combined
weight of the driver and pas
sengers from
"XXX" kilo
grams or
"XXX" pounds
shown on the sticker
¢ fig. 196.
4. The resulting figure equals
the available amount of car
go and luggage load capaci
ty. For example, if the "XXX"
amount equals 1400 lbs.
and there will be five 150
lbs. passengers in your vehi
cle, the amount of available
cargo and luggage load ca
pacity is 650 lbs. (1400-7 SO
(5
X 150) = 650 lbs.)
5. Determine the combined
weight of luggage and cargo
being loaded on the vehicle.
That weight may not safely
exceed the available cargo
and luggage load capacity
calculated in Step 4.
•
•

256 Tires and wheels
6. If your vehicle will be towing
a trailer, load from your trail
er will be transferred to your
vehi cle. Consult thi s manual
to determine how this re
duces the available car go
and luggage lo ad capacity of
yo ur vehicle .
.,. Check the tire sidewall
(9 fig . 200 ) to de termine the
de signated load rating for a
s pe cifi c tir e.
Tire service life
The s ervi ce life of tires dep ends on a lot of
different things including proper installation
and balancing, correc t tire pressu re and driv
ing style.
Fig. 198 Tire tread: tread wea r ind icators ( TWI)
Fi g. 1 99 Rotat ing t ires fo r m ore eve n wear
Tread W ear Indicator (TWI)
The o rigi na l t ires on your ve hicle have
1/16 inch (1.6 mm) high "wear indicators" ¢
fig. 198 r
u nning across the tread. Depend
ing on the make, t here will be six to eight of
them even ly placed aro und the tire. Marks on
the tire sidewall (for examp le "TWI" or other
symbols) ind icate the positions of the tread
wear indicato rs . Wor n tires must be rep laced.
D iffere nt f igures may apply in othe r countr ies
Q ,&. .
Tire pressure
Incorrect t ire pressure ca uses premature wear
and can cause sudde n tire blow-out. For this
reason, tire pressure must be checked at least
o nce a month ¢
page 2 52.
Driving style
Driving fast around c urves, heavy acce lerat ion
and hard braking increase tire wear .
Rotating tires for more even wear
Fo r all four tires on your ve hicle to have the
same service life, we recommend that the
front and rear t ires a re rotated according to
the tire manu fact urer's suggested tire rota
tion intervals. Please remember the follow
ing :
- Tire rotation intervals may differ from t he
veh icle service interva ls outlined in your
Warranty
& M aintenance booklet.
- The longer one tire is used in one location
o n t he vehicle, the more it wears at certain
points; theref ore, we recommend t hat y ou
follow the tire manufacturer's suggested
tire rotation int ervals .
- Veh icles w ith front-wheel dr ive experience
more tread wear on the fro nt wheels com
pa red to a ll-wheel drive ( quattro ®).
- Please rotate tires as shown¢
fig. 199.
- Extra care must be taken when rotating di-
rection-specific tires ¢
page 274.
Wheel balancing
The wheels on new ve hicles are balance d.
Howeve r, various s ituations during everyday
dr iv ing can cause them to become unba l
anced, resulti ng in vibrations you can usually
feel th rough the steer ing wheel.
liJJ,-

(upholde r . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Curve l ight ................... ... ... 102
Cylinder on demand System . .. .. .. .. .. 27
D
Data . ... .. .. ... .. .. ..... ... .. .. ... 287
D ata recorder ............. .... .. ... 196
Date display . .. .. ......... .. .. .. .... 27
D aytime running lights ... ... .. .. .. .. .. 4 3
Declaration of compliance Adapt ive cruise control ........ . ... . 292
Aud i side assist .......... .. .. .. .. . 29 2
Cell phone package ....... .. .. .. .. . 29 2
Conven ience key ....... ... .. .. .. .. . 292
E lectronic immobilizer .. ... .. .. .. .. . 29 2
Homelink ® universal remote contro l .. 292
Remote control key ....... .. .. .. .. . 292
DE F
What does th is mean when it appears in
the trip odometer display? ... .. .. .. .. 27
Defective light bulb warning . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Defrosting (w indows)
au toma tic cl imate con trol .. .. .. ... ... 72
climate control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
D etermining cor rect load limit ... .. .. . 255
D imensions .. .. .............. ... ... 286
Dimming the rearview mirror . . . . . . . . . . 50
Di stance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Door/rear lid warning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Doors Power child safety lock .... .. .. .. .. .. 40
Dr iver information system
CD/radio display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
D oor/rear lid warning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Efficiency program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
E xterior temperature d isp lay . .. .. .. .. 23
On-board computer ....... .. .. .. .. .. 25
D river seating posi tion ... ... .. .. .. .. . 13 1
drive select ............ ...... .... .. 102
adapt ive a ir suspension/spo rt . .. ... .. 102
Adap tive dampe rs ........ .. .. .. .. . 10 2
Curve ligh t ..... ......... .... .. .. . 102
E ng ine sound ... .. .... ... .. .. .... . 102
Safety belt tensioner ... ... .. .. .. .. . 10 2
Sport different ia l ...... ... .. .. .. .. . 102
Dr iving safe ly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
Inde x 297
Driving through water . .. ..... ... .. .. 206
Drivi ng time ...... .. ................ 25
D uplicate key . .. .. ... ............ .. . 32
D ust fil ter
refer to P oll utant fi lter . ..... ... .. .. . 68
E
Easy entry fea ture .. .. .. ......... .. .. . 75
Efficiency program . ............. .. .. . 26
Fuel economy messages ............. 26
Other equipment . .. .......... .... .. 26
E lectr ica l accessories (sockets) . . . . . . . . . 58
El ectro-mecha nical power ass ist ... .. .. 201
E lectromechanical parking brake
E mergency brak ing ........... .... .. 80
Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Pa rking . .. .. .. .. ... .. .......... .. . 79
Re le a sing and closing .......... .. .. . 78
St art ing ass ist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Star ting from res t . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Starting off with a trailer ..... ... .. .. . 80
Warning/ind icator lights .......... .. . 16
El ec tronic differenti al lock ( EDL) ... .. .. 196
Wa rning/ind ica tor lights .......... .. . 20
E lectronic immob ilizer . . . . . . . . . . . . 27, 33
E lectronic power contro l (EPC)
warning/indicator light ......... .. .. . 21
El ec tronic s peed limi ter .......... .. .. . 30
E lectronic Stabilization Cont ro l (ESC) ... 196
Warning/ind icator lights ........... .. 19
Emergency act uat ion
Doors .... .. .. .. ................. . 38
Power sunroof . .. .. ........... .... . 42
Rear lid ... .. .. .. .. . .. .... .... .. .. . 40
Emergency brak ing ... . .. .. ..... ... .. . 80
E mergency flashe r ..... ......... .. .. . 44
W arning/ind icator lights ........ .. .. . 23
Emergency re lease
Se lector lever . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Emergency starting . .. .. .. ..... ... .. 279
E mergency towing . .... ......... .. .. 281
Emergency warning triangle ........ .. 267
E nergy management .. .. .. ..... ... .. 202
Engine Compartment .. .. .. ........... .... 232
Coolant ... .. .. .. .... ............. 237
•
•

for using safety belts ..... ... .. .. .. . 143
Mo nitoring the Advanced Airbag Sys-
tem ... .. .. .. ... ....... ... .. .. .. . 164
Safety systems Warn ing/ indica to r li ghts ... .. .. .. .. .. 19
Seat adjustment Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Dr iver's seat ............. .... .. .. .. 52
F ront passenger's seat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Fr ont sea ts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
H ead rest raints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55, 134
Safety guide lines . ..... ... .. .. .. .. .. 52
Seat belts Why YOU MUST wear them . .. .. .. .. . 140
Seat heating/venti lation (automatic cli-
mate control) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Seat heating (climate control) . . . . . . . . . . 70
Seating position Driver . .. .. .... ........... .. .. ... 13 1
Fr ont passenger ....... ... .. .. .. .. . 132
How to adjus t the front seats . . . . . . . . 132
Incorrect seat position .. ... .. .. .. .. . 134
Occupants .. ............. .... .. .. . 131
Rear passengers .......... .... .. ... 133
Seat memo ry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Seats Comfort seat side view .. ..... .... ... 57
S eat symmetry ........... .... .. .. .. 57
Seats (number) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
Select ive unlock feat ure .. ... .. .. .. .. .. 35
Selector leve r . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Selector lever emergency release
115
Service and disposal Safety belt pre tens ioner ... .. .. .. .. . 14 7
Service interval disp lay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Shift buttons ..... .. .... ... .. .. .. ... 113
Ship (t ransporti ng your ve hicle) . .. .. .. . 283
Side airbags Descr ipt ion .... ........... ... ... .. 169
H owtheywork .................... 170
side assist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Ad justing the brightness ... .. .. .. .. . 100
Sensor range ............ .... .. .. .. 99
Side assist Activating and deactivating ... .. .. .. . 100
C lea ning sensors . ..... ... .. .. .. .. . 216
Inde x 303
Side curtain airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
Description . ... .... . ... ...... ... .. 172
How they wor k . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
Safety instr uctions ................. 173
S ide mar ker lights . ............. .... . 43
Ski sack ...... .. .... .......... ...... 66
also refer to Trunk pass-through ...... 67
Slid ing/tilting s unroof
Emergency clos ing .. ........... .... . 42
Open ing and closing ........... .. .. . 42
Snow chains . ..... .. . .. .. ..... ... .. 262
Socket ........ ... .. ..... ........... 58
Sources of information abo ut child re-
stra ints and their use ................ 193
Space -saving spare tire . .. ..... ... .. .. 268
Spare tire ......... .. ..... .......... 268
Speed limiter . .. .. ................. . 30
Speedometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Speed rat ing letter code ............. . 258
Speed warning system . .. ..... ... .. .. . 83
Sport d iffe rential .. ............. .. .. 102
Ind icator light . .. .. .. ........... .. . 23
Star button . .. .. .. ............... .. . 25
Start -S top -System .... .. ..... ... .. .. . 80
Engine does not switched off . ... .. .. . 82
Engine starts a utomat ica lly ..... .. .. . 82
Ind icator lights .. ................. . 81
Messages . .. .. .. ................. . 83
Starting/stopp ing the engine ......... 81
switching off/on .. .. . .. .. .. ... ... .. . 82
S TAR T ENGIN E STOP button ...... .. .. . 75
Star ting from res t . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Starting off w ith a trailer . .. .. ... ... .. . 80
Starting the engine . .. .. ..... ... .. .. . 75
Steering El ectr ica lly adjus table stee ring wheel . . 74
M anu ally adjus table steering wheel . .. . 74
also refer to E lectro -mechan ica l powe r
ass ist . ... .. .... ... .. .. ..... ... .. 201
Steering wheel Easy entry fea ture ................. . 75
Ind icator lig ht . .. ................. . 18
Steering wheel heat ing . ..... ... .. .. . 73
Steering wheel column Adjusting electrically . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 4
Adjus ting manu ally ............ .. .. . 74
•
•

304 Index
Steering whee l w ith tip tronic ... .. .... . 1 13
Steps fo r determining correct load lim it . 255
Stopping the engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
S to rage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59, 63
S tron ic transm issio n
L aunch Cont ro l Program . ....... ....
114
S tron ic® .. .. ... ... .... ... .. .. .... . 109
Sunroof . .... ............. .. .. .. .. .. 42
Sun shade . .. ... ....... ...... ... .. .. 47
Sun visors ... ... .. ..... ... .. .. .... .. 47
Symbo ls
refer to Wa rni ng/ind icator lig hts ...... 12
T
Tachometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 2, 23
Tec hnical modifications ..... .... .... . 292
Tempe ratu re d isp lay .................. 23
Tether anchors ................. .... 192
Tether strap .... .. ..... ... .. .. .... . 192
The first 1,000 miles (1,500 km) and after-
wards . .. .. ................... .... .
204
Three-zone climate control ...... .... .. 69
Tie -downs 65,137
T ips fo r th e env ironment
Saving fue l ................ .. .. .. . .
tiptronic
6 2
109
tiptronic (au tomatic transmission) .... . 1 13
T ire pressure .... .... ...... ... ... .. . 252
Tire pressure monitoring system .. .. ... 264
Loss of air pressure ................ 265
Malfunct io n ...................... 265
Res ett ing t ire p ressures ......... .... 266
Tires . ..... .. ... .. ..... ... .. .. .... .
Service life .................. .... .
Speed rating letter code ... .. .. .... .
Tire man ufacturing date ....... .... .
r 'f . ire spec, 1cat1ons ......... .... ... .
Tread depth .................. ... .
246
256
258
258
258
256
Unifo rm t ir e quality g rading .. .. .. ... 260
W in te r tir es ...................... 26 1
Tires and vehicle load lim its .... .. .. .. . 254
Tires and whee ls
C hecking tire pressu re ... .. .. .... .. .
2 52
Cold t ire inflat ion pressure ... .. .. .. . 250
Dimensions . ...................... 257
General notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246
G lossary of tire and loading terminolo -
gy .. ... .. .. .. .. .. ... .. ..... ... . .
Low aspect ratio tires . .. ..... ... .. . .
New t ires and wheels ........... ... .
Replac ing . .... .................. .
Snow c ha ins ..................... .
T ires and veh icle load limits ... .. .. . .
Whee l bolts
. ' ............. ...... .
w· t · in er tires ... . .............. .. . .
Tire service life .................... .
T oo ls
. . .. .. .... .. .. ... ..... ... .. ..
T o rn o r frayed safety belts ........... .
247
263
257
258
262
254
263
2 61
256
2 67
143
T h . ouc -up paint ..................... 218
Towing
T ow t ruck p roced ures . .. ..... ... .. ..
2 81
T PMS
T ire pressure mon itoring system .....
265
Trailer tow ing . .... ................. 209
Operating instructions .............. 209
p
k " ar mg system ........ ........... . 127
Technical requirements . . . . . . . . 209,210
Tra ile r tow ing ti ps ................ . 211
Train (transporting your vehicle) ... .... 283
T ra nsmis sion
S tronic ® .. .... .. ... .. ..... .... . ..
109
tipt ronic . ..... .. .. .... .... ... .. .. 109
T ransmission malfunction ( indicato r
li ght) ...... .... ...................
11 4
Transport Canada ................... 138
Transporting yo ur vehicle . ... ... .. .. .. 2 83
Tread Wea r In dicator (TW I) .. ... ...... 256
Tr ip odometer .................... ... 27
What does it mean when DEF appears in
th e tr ip odometer display? ...........
27
Tru nk
refer to Luggage compartment ... .. .. . 63
Tru nk pass -through .................. 67
Turn signals . .... ................... . 45
Warning/indicator lights . .......... .. 23
u
Un dercoating . .. .. ................. 219
U nfastening sa fety belts .... ... .. .. .. 14 5
Un idirec tional tires . ................ . 246
Uniform tire quality grading . ... .. .. .. 260