262 Tire s and wheels
Speed rating (letter code)
The speed rating letter code on the wheels in
dicates the maximum pe rmissib le road speeds
¢ & in Winter tires on page 265 .
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)
V up to 149 mph (240 km/h)1l
z over 149 mph (240 km/h)1l
w up to 168 mph (270 km/h)1l
y up to 186 mph (298 km/h)1l
Your vehicle is normally factory equipped with
tires, which possess excellent driving charac
teristics and give your Audi optimum driving
comfort. An electronic speed limiter
<=> page 29 will normally prevent your vehicle
from go ing faster than the tire speed rating
<=> & .
U.S . DOT Tire Identification Numbe r (TIN)
and tire manufacture date
This is the t ire's "serial number". It begins
with the letters "DOT" and indicates that the
tire meets all federal standards. The next two
numbers or letters indicate the plant whe re it
was manufactured, and the last four numbers
represent the week and year of manufacture.
F or example, the numbers 2212 mean the tire
was produced in the 22nd week of 20 12. The
other numbers are marketing codes that may
or may not be used by the t ire manufacturer.
This information is used to contact consumers
if a tire defect requires a recall.
Audi original tire
Tires with the identification "AO" or "RO" have
been specially matched with your Audi. We
recommend using only these tires because
they meet the highest standards regarding
ll For tires wit h a max imum speed capab ility over 149
mph (240 km/h), tire man ufactur ers sometimes use
the letters "ZR."
safety and driving characterist ics when used
correct ly . Your authorized Audi dealer will
gladly provide you w ith more information.
Tire ply composition and materials used
The number of plies indicates the number of
layers of rubber-coated fabric in the tire. In
genera l, the greater the number of plies, the
more weight a tire can support. Tire manufac
turers also must indicate the materials in the
tire, which include steel, nylon, polyester, and
others.
Maximum Load Rating
This number indicates the maximum load in
kilograms and pounds that can be carried by
the tire.
Tire quality grading for treadwear,
traction , and temperature resistance
Tread wear, traction and temperat ure grades
<=> page 2 63.
Maximum Permissible Inflation Pressure
Th is number is the greatest amount of air
pressure that should ever be put in the tire
under normal driving conditions.
A WARNING
-Using incorrect or unmatched tires and/
or wheels or improper tire and wheel
comb inat ions can lead to loss of control,
coll is ion and serious personal injury.
- Always use tires, rims and wheel bolts
that meet the specif ications of original
factory- installed tires or other combina
tions that have been specifically ap
proved by the vehicle manufacturer.
- T ires age even if they are not being used
and can fail suddenly, especially at high
speeds. Tires that are more than 6 years
old can only be used in an emergency
and then with specia l care and at lower
speeds.
26 6 T ire s and whee ls
- Remove snow chains before driving on
roads not covered with snow to avoid
damaging t ires and wearing the snow
chains down unnecessarily.
- Snow chains, which come into d irect con
tact with the wheel rim, can scratch or
damage it. Therefore, make sure that the
snow chains are suitably covered . Check
the position of the snow chains after
driving a few yards and correct if neces
sary. Follow the instructions from the
snow chain manufacturer when doing so.
- If the Adaptive Air Suspension should
malfunction, do not mo unt or use snow
cha ins beca use the veh icle will be ex
tremely low. If you do drive with snow
chains on while the vehicle is at this lev
el, the snow chains might severely dam
age the wheelhouse and other parts of
the veh icle.
Where snow chains are mandatory oncer
tain roads, this normally also applies to
veh icles with All Wheel Drive.
Wheel bolts
Wheel bolts must always be tightened to the
correct torque.
The design of whee l bolts is matched to the
factory installed rims. If different rims are fit
ted, the correct wheel bolts with the r ight
length and correctly shaped bolt heads must
be used. This ensures that wheels are fitted
securely and that the brake system functions
cor rectly .
In certain circumstances, you may not use
wheel bolts from a different vehicle - even if it is the same model
~ page 298.
A WARNING
Imprope rly tightened o r maintained wheel
bolts can be come loose caus ing loss of control, a col
lision and serio us personal in
jury.
- Always keep the wheel bo lts and the
threads in the whee l hubs clean so the
wheel bo lts can turn easily and be prop
erly tightened.
- Never grease or oil the wheel bolts and
the threads in the wheel hubs. They can become loose while driv ing if greased or
oiled, even if t ightened to the specified
torque.
- Only use wheel bolts that belong to the rim being installed .
- Never use different wheels bolts on your
veh icle.
- Always ma intain the correct tightening
torque for the whee l bolts 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 mov ing. If the tig htening torq ue is
too high, the wheel bolts and threads
can be damaged and the whee l can be
come loose .
(D Note
The specified torque for the whee l bolts is
90
ft l b (120 Nm) with a tolerance of± 7,4
ft lb(± 10 Nm) . Torque whee l bolts diago
nally . After changing a whee l, the torque
must be checked as soon as possible with a
torque wrench -preferably by an author
i zed Audi dealer or qualif ied workshop.
Low aspect ratio tires
Your Audi is factory-equ ipped w ith low aspect
ratio tires . These tires have been thoroughly
tested and been se lected specifically fo r your
model for their superb perfo rman ce, road fee l
and hand ling under a variety o f driving condi
tions. Ask your authorized A udi dealer for
more details .
T he low aspect ratio of these tires is ind icated
by a numera l of
55 o r less in the tire's s ize
designation. The numeral rep resents the ratio
of the tire's sidewa ll height in relation to its
ll-
Vehicle tool kit
Vehicle tool kit and jack
The vehicle tool kit is located in the luggage
compartment under the cargo floor cover.
Fi g. 213 Luggage compartme nt: cargo floor cover
folded upward
Fig. 214 Trunk lid: Vehicle too l kit
.. Lift the cargo floor by the plastic handle.
.. Hook the handle into the luggage compart
ment weather strip¢
fig. 213.
.. Remove the spare wheel to reach the veh i-
cle tool kit .
.. Remove the foam p iece.
The onboard tool kit includes:
- Hooks to remove the wheel covers* or whee l
hub covers
- Plastic hook to remove wheel bolt covers*
- Wheel bolt wrench
- Al ignment p in for changing wheels
- Screwdriver with reversible blade
- Towing loop
- Jack
Before storing the jack, make sure it is wound
back down as far as it will go.
What do I d o now ? 271
A WARNING
Im proper use of the vehicle jack can cause
serious personal injur ies.
- Never use the screw driver hex head to
tighten wheel bolts, since the bolts can
not attain the necessary tighten ing tor
que if you use the hex head, potentially
causing an accident.
- 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 veh icles or other loads; you risk in
ju ring yo urself.
- Never start the engine when the vehicle
is raised, wh ich could cause an acc ident.
- Support the vehicle securely with appro
priate stands if work is to be performed
underneath the vehicle; otherwise, there
is a potentia l risk for injury.
- Never use the jack supplied wit h your
Audi on another vehicle, particularly on a
heavier one. The jack is only s uitable for
use on the vehicle it came with.
(D Tips
- Some of the onboard items listed above
are provided on certain models only or
are optional ext ras .
- Before yo u can raise your vehicle using
the jack, you must activate the jacking
mode ¢
page 2 76 .
274 What do I do now ?
-Always store the vehicle tool kit, the jack
and the replaced t ire in the luggage com
partment ¢
page 140.
@ Tips
Before changing the wheel, yo u m ust acti
vate t he jac king mode, so t hat the auto
mat ic cont rols fo r the Adaptive Air S us
pens io n do not make it mo re diff ic u lt to
lift the vehicle with the jack
c.';> page 2 76 .
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 276.
2. Remove the decorative wheel cover* . For
more deta ils see also
¢ page 274, Deco
rative wh eel covers
o r ¢ page 275 ,
Wheels with wheel bolt caps.
3 . Loosen the wheel bolts¢ page 275.
4. Locate the proper mo unt ing po in t for the
j ack and align t he jack be low tha t poi nt
¢ page 276 .
5. Raise the car with the jack¢ page 276.
6. Remove the wheel with the flat tire and
then install
the spare ¢ page 2 77.
7. Tighten all wheel bo lts light ly .
8 .
Low er th e ve hicle w ith the jack .
9 . Use t he wh eel bolt wren ch a nd
firmly
tig hte n all whee l bolts c.';> page 2 75.
1 0 . Repl ace t he decor ative wheel cover* .
11. Deactivate t he ve hicle jack mode in the
M MI:
!CARI fu nction button > Car systems
control b utton > Servicing & checks > Air
susp.: jack mode
> Off .
The vehicle jack mode sw itches off automati
cally at speeds above 10 km/h .
A WARNING
Always read and follow all WAR NINGS and
information
¢ .&. in Raising the vehicle on
page 2
76 a n d ¢ page 2 78.
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
pa rtment
¢ page 140.
... Check the tir e pr essure on the spa re whee l
immed iate ly afte r mounting i t.
.,. As soon as possib le, have the
tightening
torques
on all whee l bolts che cked with a
torque wre nch. The correc t tig hten ing tor
que is 90 ft l b (120 Nm).
... Have the flat tire
replaced as soon as possi
ble.
@ Tips
- If you not ice that the w heel bo lts a re
co rroded and difficult to turn while
chang ing a tire, t hey shou ld be rep laced
before you check the tig htening to rque.
- Dr ive at reduced speed until you have the
t ightening torques checked.
- After changing a whee l, the t ire p ress ure
in all four tires must be chec ked/co rrect
ed and the tire p ress ure monito ring in di
cator must b e sto red in th e MMI
¢ page 269 .
' Decorative wheel covers
Applies to vehicles: w ith decorative whee l covers
The decorative wheel covers must be removed
first to access the wheel bolts.
Fig. 217 C ha ngin g a w hee l: Remov ing th e w heel cove r
Removing
.,. In sert the hook (p rov ided with t he vehicle
t oo l ki t) in the hole in the whee l hub cover . .,..
.. Pull off the dec orati ve wheel cover
r=>fig. 217.
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. 218 Changing a wheel: remov ing the wheel bolt
caps
R em oving
.. Push the
pla stic clip (provided with the ve
hicle tool kit) over the wheel bol t cap until
the inner retainers on the clip alig n with the
edge of the cover.
.. Remove the cap with the
plast ic clip (vehi
cle tool kit)
r:!> fig. 218.
Refitting
.. Place the caps over the wheel bo lts and
push them back on.
The caps are to protect and keep the wheel
bol ts clean.
What do I d o now ? 275
Loosening and tightening the wheel
, bolts
The wheel bolts must be loosened before rais
ing the vehicle.
F ig . 219 Changing a whee l: loosening the wheel bolts
Loosen ing
.. Slide the
wheel wrench onto the wheel bo lt
as far as it will go .
.. Take tight hold of the
end of the wrench
handle and turn the wheel bolts
counter
cloc kwi se
about one single turn in the direc
tion of arrow
r:!> fig. 219.
T ight enin g
.. Sli de the wheel wrench onto the wheel bolt
as far as it will go.
.. Take tight hold of the
end of the wrench
handle and turn each wheel bolt
clock wi se
until it is seated .
A WARNING
-Do not use fo rce or hurry when changing
a wheel - you can ca use the vehicle to slip
off the jack and cause ser ious pe rsonal
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 the hexagona l soc ket in the
hand le of the screwdr iver to loosen or
t igh ten the wheel bolts.
- If a wheel bolt is very tight, you may find
it eas ier to loosen by carefully pushing
down on the end of the wheel bolt
wrench with
one foot only. As you do so, Ill>-
CD Note
Do not lift the vehicle by the sill. Position
the vehicle jack only at the designated lift
ing points on the sill. Otherwise , your vehi
cle will be damaged.
(D Tips
The vehicle jack mode switches off auto
matically at speeds above 10 km/h .
Taking the wheel off/installing the spare
Follow these instructions step-by-step for
changing the wheel.
Fig. 222 C h ang ing a w hee l: u sing t he sc rew drive r han
d le (w it h th e blade remov ed) to tu rn th e bolt s
Fig. 223 C h ang ing a w hee l: alig nme nt pin inside the
top hole
After you have loosened all wheel bolts and
raised the vehicle off the ground, remove and
replace the wheel as follows:
Removing the wheel
.. Use the hexagonal socket in the screwd riv
er handle
to completely remove the top
most wheel bol t and set it aside on a
clean
surface ¢ fig. 222 .
What do I do now? 27 7
.. Sc rew the threaded end o f the alignment
pin
from the tool kit hand-tight into the
empty bolt hole
¢ fig. 223 .
.. Then remove the other wheel bolts as de
scribed above.
.. Take off the wheel leaving the alignment
pin in the bolt hole
¢(D .
Putting on the spare wheel
.. Lift the spare wheel and carefully slide it
over the alignment p in to guide it in place
¢ (]).
.. Use the hexagonal socket in the screwdriver
handle to screw in and tighten all wheel
bolts
slightly.
.,. Remove the a lignment pin and insert and
tighten the rema ining wheel bolt slightly
like the rest .
.. Turn the jack hand le counter-clockwise to
lower the vehicle until the jack is fully re
leased .
.. Use the wheel bolt wrench to tighten all
wheel bolts f irmly
¢ page 2 75. Tighten
them
crosswise, from one bolt to the (ap
proximately) opposite one, to keep the
wheel cente red.
CD Note
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.
@ Tips
Never use the hexagonal socket in the han
dle of the screwdriver to loosen or tighten
the wheel bolts.
- Pull the reversible blade from the screw
driver before you use the hexagonal
socket in the hand le to turn the wheel
bolts.
- When mount ing tires with
unidirectional
tread design
make sure the tread pat
tern is pointed the right way
¢page 278.
- The wheel bolts shou ld be clean and easy
to turn. Check for dirt and corrosion on
the mating surfaces of both the wheel
278 What do I do now?
and the hub. R emove a ll dirt from these
su rfaces before remo unt ing 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 spare tire with a tread pattern
intended for use in a specific direction
When using a spa re tire with a t read patte rn
i n te nded fo r use in a specific direction, please
note the fo llowing:
- T he direction o f rotation is marked by a n ar
row on the side of the tire.
- If the spare t ire has to be in stalled i n the in
corre ct d irection, use the sp are tire on ly
temporarily since the t ire will not be a ble to
achieve its optimum perfo rmance character
ist ics with rega rd t o aquaplaning, noise and
wea r.
- We recommend t hat you pay pa rticular at
tent ion to this fact during wet weat her and
t h at y ou adjust your speed to matc h road
condit ions .
- Replace the flat tire w ith a new one and
have it installed o n your ve hicle as soon as
poss ible to restore th e handli ng a dvantages
of a un id irect iona l tir e.
Notes on wheel changing
Pl ease re ad the informa tion i:> page 260, New
t ires and repl acing tires and wheels
if you are
goin g to use a spare tire which is differen t
from the tires on your ve hicle.
Afte r you cha nge a tire :
-Check the t ire 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
- I f you are going to eq uip your vehicle
wit h tires or rims which differ from those
which were factory installed, then be sur e to r ead the information
i:> page 260,
New tir es and replacing tir es and
wheels.
- Always ma ke sure th e damag ed wh eel o r
e v en a flat tir e and th e jack a nd tool ki t
a re pr operly se cu red in the lugga ge co m
p art me nt a nd a re not l oo se in the pas
sen ger com partment .
- I n an a ccide nt or sudde n maneuver they
could fly forward, injuring anyone in the
veh icle.
- Always store dama ged whee l, j ac k and
t oo ls se curely in the l ugg age c omp art
men t. Otherwise, in an acci dent o r sud
de n maneuve r they could fly forwa rd,
causing inj ury to passen gers in the vehi
cle.
_______________________________ I~ n~ d:::: e~x 311
Speed warning system ................ 90
Sport different ial ....... ...... ... ... 109
In dicator light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Start-Stop-System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Eng ine does not switched off . .. .. .. .. 89
Eng ine starts automatically .. .. ... ... 89
Indicator lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Messages .. ............. .... .. .. .. 90
Starting/stopping the engine ... .. .. .. 88
switch ing off/on .......... .. .. .. .. .. 89
START ENGINE STOP button ..... ... ... 83
Starting from rest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Starting off with a trai le r .... .. .. .. .. .. 87
Starting the engine ........ .. .. .. .. .. 83
Steer ing whee l
Adjusting steering column ........... 82
Easy entry feature .................. 82
Indicator light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17, 22
Shift paddles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Steering wheel heating .. ... ... ... ... 81
Steps for determining correct load limit . 258
Stopping the engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Storage ..... ................. .. .... 74
Sunroof ... .. .. ................ ... .. 42
Sun shades Emergency closing (roof) ...... .. .... . 44
Panoramic sunroof ........ .. .. .. .. .. 44
Rear doors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Rear window ............. .... .. .... 51
Sun visors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SO
Symbols
refer to Warning/Indicator lights .. .. .. 11
T
Tachometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11, 23
Technical modifications ....... .. .. .. . 299
Temperature display ........ .. .. .. .. .. 23
Tether anchors ..................... 193
Tether strap ................. .... .. 193
T he first 1,000 miles (1,500 km) and after-
wards ....... ................. .. ... 206
Tie-downs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69, 141
Tips for the environment
Saving fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
tiptronic (automatic transmission) .. .. . 115
Tire pressure . ............. .... .. .. . 255 T
ire pressure monitoring system ...... .
267
Loss of air pressure ............... . 268
Malfunction
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268
Resetting tire pressures ............ .
269
Tires
....... .. .. .. ................. 249
Service life
.. .. .. .. ............... 259
speed rating letter code ........... . 262
Tire manufacturing date ........... .
261
Tire specifications ............. .. . .
261
Tread depth . .. .. ................ .
259
Uniform tire quality grading ........ . 263
Winter tires ... .. .. . .. .... ....... . 264
Tires and vehicle load limits .......... . 257
T ires and wheels
Checking tire pressure .............. 255
Cold tire inflation pressure .......... 253
Dimensions ...... .. ............... 260
General notes .. .. .. ............... 249
Glossary of tire and loading terminolo -
gy ..... .. .. .. .. .. ............... 250
Low aspect ratio tires .... ......... .. 266
New tires and wheels .............. .
Replacing ........ ...... ......... .
Snow chains ... .. .... ........... . .
T ires and vehicle load limits ..... .. . .
Wheel bolts . .. .. .... ............ .
Winter tires
Tire service life
.. .. .. ... ....... .....
Too ls ...... .. .. .. .................
260
261
265
257
266
264
259
271
T orn or frayed safety belts ............ 147
Touch -up paint .. .. .. ... ....... ..... 220
Towing Tow truck procedures .............. . 286
TPMS Tire pressure monitoring system ... .. 268
Trailer towing ...... ................ 211
Operati ng instructions ...... .... .... 211
Parking system ....... ........... .. 131
T echnical requirements . . . . . . . . 211, 212
T ra iler towing tips ............. .. .. 213
Train (transporting your vehicle) ....... 288
Transmission malfunction (indicator
light) ........ .. ...... ............. 119
T ransport Canada .. .. ............... 142
Transporting your vehicle ... .. .... .... 288
Tread Wear Indicator (TWI) ........... 259
•
•