Page 193 of 262

This reduces energy consumption and main
tains starting capability over a longer period
c::>
page 156. Some of the convenience func
tions may not operate, such as the interior
lights or power seat adjustment. The conven
ience functions will be ava ilable again when
you switch on the ignition and start the en
g ine .
Winte r oper ati on
During the winter months, battery capacity
tends to decrease as temperatures drop. This
i s because more power is also consumed while
start ing, and the headlights, rear window de
fogger, etc., are used more often .
Avoid unnecessary power consumption, par
ticularly in city traffic or when traveling only
short distances . Let your authorized Audi
dealer check the capac ity of the vehicle bat
tery before winte r sets inc::>
page 193. A we ll
charged ba tte ry w ill no t only prevent starting
prob lems when the weathe r is cold, but will
a lso last longer .
Replacing battery
The new battery must have the same capaci
ty, vo ltage ( 12 volts), amperage, cons truction
and p lug sealing, as the origina l ba tte ry. Spec
if ications are listed on the batte ry housing.
Batteries specially developed by A udi fulfill
the maintenance, output, and safety require
ments.
When insta lling the battery, make sure the ig
nition and all electrica l cons umers are switch
ed off c::>
(i).
We recommen d that yo u use ma intenance
free or
cy cle- re sis tant /leak-pr oof batteries
according to the standards TL 825 06 (from
April 2008) and VW 7 SO 73 (from Apri l
2010).
Replacing the batte ry should be carried by a
q ua lified workshop. P lease follow the instruc
tions on the battery cover.
Checkin g and fillin g 191
@ Note
-All work on the battery requires techni
cal know ledge. Please contact an Audi
dealership or another authorized fac ility
for questions about the battery - danger
of ac id burns and exp losion hazard!
- The battery must not be opened! Do not
try to change the battery 's liquid level,
otherwise detonating gas will escape
from the battery - explosion hazard!
- The AGM battery in the luggage com
partment cannot leak, because the elec
t ro lyte for this batte ry is abso rbed into a
special glass mat. This lea k-proof battery
must not be replace with a convent iona l
bat tery.
- Make su re the ventilation hose on t he
side of the ba ttery is connected, othe r
w ise fumes or battery ac id can leak out.
- Batte ry holder and termin als always
have to be sec ured correc tly.
- Before all work on the batte ry follow the
warning s below c::> .&. in Working on the
battery on page
192 .
@ For the sake of the environment
Because of the p rob lem of proper disposal
of a ba ttery, we recommend your author
i zed Audi dealer change the bat tery fo r
you. Batteries contain sulfuric acid and l ead and must always be disposed of prop
erly in comp liance with a ll environmental
regulat ions. Disposing of vehicle batter ies
i mproperly is very dangerous to the envi
ro nment. Make sure that the removed bat
tery cannot overbalance, othe rwise sulfu
r ic acid might escape!
@ Tips
If your vehicle is left standing for several
weeks at extremely low temperatures, the
vehicle battery shou ld be removed and
stored w here it w ill not freeze. This will
p revent it from be ing dam aged and h aving
to be replaced .
•
•
Page 194 of 262

192 Checking and filling
Working on the battery
Be especially careful when working on or near
the battery!
The battery is located in the luggage compart
ment under the floor. Before you work on or
near the battery,
read and heed all WARN
INGS ~.&. -
Always heed the safety warnings, when work
ing on the vehicle battery or the vehicle elec
tr ical system to prevent injury .
The following WARNINGS are very
important when working on the battery:
Always heed the following WARNING SYM· BOLS and safety precautions when working
on the battery.
@ Always wear eye protection .
b,. Battery acid contains sulfuric acid. Al
~ ways wear gloves and eye protection.
~~-
No
@ -sparks
-flames
-smoking.
When a battery is charged , it produces
hyd rogen gas which is explosive and
could cause personal injury.
I ~ Always keep the battery well out of
V;!J/ reach of children .
A WARNING
=
Whenever working on the battery or on
the electrical system, there is the risk of
injury, accident and even fire. Read and
heed the following WARNINGS:
- Always wear eye protection. Do not let
battery acid or any lead particles get on
your sk in or cloth ing. Sh ield your eyes.
Explosive gases can cause blindness or
other injury .
- Battery acid contains sulfur ic acid. Sulfu
ric acid can cause blindness and severe
burns.
- Always wear gloves and eye protection.
Do not tilt the battery because ac id
-
could leak out of the ventilation open
ings.
- If you get battery acid in your eyes or
on your skin, immediately rinse with cold water for several minutes and get
med ical attention.
- If you shou ld ingest any battery acid,
seek medical attention immediately.
- Do not expose the battery to an open
flame, e lectr ic sparks or an open light.
- Do not smoke .
- Do not interchange the positive and neg -
ative cables .
- When working on the battery, be sure
not to short-circuit the terminals with
too ls or othe r metal objects . This would
cause the battery to heat up very quickly,
which could lead to damage or explosion
and personal injury.
- When a battery is charged, it produces
hydrogen gas which is explosive and
could cause personal injury.
- Always keep the battery well out of the
reach of children.
- Before work is done on the electrical sys tem, disconnect the negat ive ground ca
ble.
- Before performing any work on the e lec
tr ical system, switch off the engine and
ignit ion as well as any electrical equip
ment. The negative cable on the battery
must be disconnected .
If you are just go
ing to replace a light bulb, then it is
enough to switch off the lights.
- Before disconnecting the battery, switch
off the anti-theft alarm system! Other
wise you will set off the alarm.
- When disconnecting the battery, first disconnect the negative cable and then
the positive cab le .
- Before reconnecting the battery, make
sure all electr ica l consumers are switch
ed off . Reconnect the positive cable first
and then the negative cable. Never inter
change the cables - this could start a fire!
- Never charge a frozen or a thawed-out
battery. It could exp lode! If a battery has
frozen, then it must be replaced. A
llll-
Page 195 of 262

dischar ged battery can freeze over at
32 °F (0 °C).
- Make sure the vent hose is alw ays attach
ed to the opening on the side of the bat
tery.
- Never use batteries which are damaged .
Danger of explosion! A lways rep lace a
damaged battery.
A WARNING
California Propos ition 65 Warning:
- Battery posts, terminals and related ac
cessories contain lead and lead com pounds , chemicals known to the State of
Californ ia to cause cancer and reproduc
t ive p roblems. Wash ha nds after han
dling .
CD Note
-Do not d isconnect the vehicle battery
when the ignition is switched on or when
t h e engine is running, otherwise, you will
damage e lectronic components in the
ele ctr ical sy stem.
-If your vehicle is goi ng to stand for a
l ong pe riod of time wit ho ut being d riven,
p rotec t the battery from "freezing ", o th
erwise it will be d amaged and w ill t hen
h ave to be replaced.
Checking the battery acid level on magic
eye batteries*
Th e battery acid level in the batt ery can be
checked through the clear inspection window.
F ig. 140 Lu ggag e co mpart ment : Bat te ry w it h m agi c
eye.
Checkin g and fillin g 193
On top o f the battery , there is a round "win
dow" . This window (magic eye) changes co lor
as the battery charge and ac id leve l change .
.. Read and heed all WARN INGS
c::> .&_ in
Working on the battery on page 192
.. Read the acid level from the window on the
battery c:>fig .140.
Air bubb les in the window can cause an inac
cu rate reading. Carefu lly tap on the s ide of
t h e window .
- If the window is green , the batte ry acid level
is cor rect .
- If the w indow h as
no color or is bright yel
low ,
the batte ry a cid level is too low. Have
the ba ttery tested by your authori zed Audi
dea ler or a qua lified workshop .
- If the window is black , then the ba ttery is
insufficiently charged. Recharge the battery
as soon as possib le
c::> page 193.
CD Note
Do not overfill the bat tery, otherwise b at
tery ac id will ove rflow through the vent
ope ning . This ca n damage the paint and
cause corrosion .
Charging of battery
Starting the engine requires a well charged
battery.
.. Alway s read and heed all WARNINGS be
low
c::> .&. and c::> .&. in Working on the bat
tery on page 192 .
.. Switch off the ignition and a ll electr ical con
sumers .
.. Make sure the area is well ven tilated when
you cha rge the battery .
.. Connect charger cables.
ALWAYS conne ct
charger cable s POSITIVE
G) to POSITIVE
G) ; NEGATIVE Oto NEGATIVE Q .
.. Swit ch o n the charge r .
.. Tu rn off the charger
c::> .&_ .
.. Disconnect the charger cab les.
.. Connect both battery cab les to the battery
if necessary -
first plus, then minus. II>-
Page 196 of 262

194 Checking and filling
When charging at low voltages (e.g . w ith a
tri ckle charger ), the battery cables do not
have to be d isconnected first. Be fore charging
at
high voltages, i.e. " fast charging ", you
must disconnect both cables. In e ither case,
follow the instruct ions from the ma nufacturer
of the charger .
Fastcharging a battery is
dangerous c:> .&. in
Working on the battery on page 192 .
It re
qu ires specia l charg ing equipment a nd the
k nowledge to go wi th it. We recomme nd hav
ing your battery fast charged on ly by a quali
fied workshop.
A discharged batte ry can
freeze at tempera
tures of on ly 32 °F (0
°(). A llow a frozen bat
tery to thaw completely befo re attempt ing to
cha rge it
c:> ,&. . Howeve r, we re comme nd not
usi ng a thawe d batt ery again bec ause t he bat
tery cas ing ca n be cracked d ue to ice forma
tion and can lea k bat tery aci d.
D o not open the batte ry caps whe n charg ing
the ba ttery.
_&. WARNING
-
Cha rging a batte ry can be dange rous.
- N ever charge a fro zen b att ery .
It may ex
plode beca use o f gas t rappe d in t he i ce.
Allow a frozen battery to thaw o ut first .
- D o no t reu se batte ries which we re fr o
zen . The batte ry housing m ay h ave
c rac ked an d weakened whe n the battery
froze .
- C harge the b attery in a we ll ven tilated
area . Kee p away from open flame o r elec
trical spa rk. Do not smoke. Hydrogen gas
generated by the battery is exp losive.
- To reduce the danger o f explosion, never
co nnect or disconnect charger cables
wh ile the charger is operating .
- Fast charg ing a battery is dangerous and
shou ld on ly be attempted by a compe
tent technician w ith the proper eq uip
me nt.
- Battery acid that may spill d uring charg
ing should be washed
off wit h a so lution
of warm water and baki ng soda to neu
t raliz e the aci d.
(D Note
Neve r use a fast charger as a booster to
start the eng ine. Th is w ill seriously dam
age sensit ive e lectronic components, such
as cont ro l units, re lays, radio, etc. , as well
as the battery charge r.
(D Tips
The vehicle batte ry must not be charged
with a standard small charger that plugs in to the c igarette lighter or outlet.
Windshield/headlight
washer container
Fi g. 141 Fen der, left: cove r o n th e w inds hield a nd
h ead lig ht• wa sher fl uid re se rvoir
T he was her fluid co nta iner is mar ked w it h the
symbol
Q o n its c a p<=> page 182, fig . 134.
""' Before yo u check anything in the engine
compa rtme nt,
always read and heed all
WARNINGS c:> ..&. in Wor king in the engine
c ompartment on page 18 0.
""' Lift th e fill er ca p tongue to ad d washer flu
id . You can f ill the containe r to the top .
""' Press the cap back o nto the fi ller neck after
fi lling the container.
You can find the reservo ir
capacity in t he table
in
<=> page 24 0
Clean wa ter should be used when filling up. If
poss ible, use so ft wat er to preven t sc aling o n
t h e washer jets . A lways ad d a glass clea ner
solution (with frost protection in the winter) . ..,.
Page 197 of 262
(D Note
-Do not mix engine coolant antifreeze or
any other additives to fill up the
windsh ield washer rese rvoir.
- Do not use glass cleane rs contain ing
paint solvent; you r isk damaging the
paint.
Checkin g and fillin g 195
•
•
Page 198 of 262

196 Tire s and wheel s
Tires and wheels
Tires
General notes
Tires may be the least appreciated and most
abused parts of a motor vehicle .
Tires may be the least appreciated and most
abused parts of a motor vehicle . Tires are,
however, one of the most important parts of a
vehicle, particularly considering the compara
tive ly small patch of rubber on each tire that
assures that a ll-impo rtant contact between
you, your vehicle and the road.
Maintaining the correct tire pressure, mak ing
sure that your vehicle and its tires do not have
to carry mo re weight than they can safe ly han
d le, avoiding damage from road hazards and
reg ularly inspecting t ires for damage includ
ing cuts, slashes irregu la r wear and ove rall
condition are the most important things that
you can do to he lp avoid sudden tire failure in
cluding tread separation and blowouts.
Avoiding damage I f you have to drive over a curb or similar ob
stacle, drive very s low ly and as close as possi
b le at a right angle to the curb.
A lways keep chem ica ls includ ing gre ase, o il,
gasoline and b rake fluid off the ti res .
Inspect the t ires regularly for damage (cuts,
cracks or b listers, etc.). Remove any fo reign
bod ies embedded in the treads.
Storing tires Mark tires when you remove them to indicate
the direction of rotation . Th is ensures you to
be ab le to mount them correctly when you re
install t hem.
When removed, the whee ls or t ires should be
stored in a cool, d ry and preferably dark place .
Store tires in a vertical pos ition if they are not
mounted on rims, in a horizontal pos it ion if
they are mounted on rims. New tire
s
New t ires have to be broken in¢&,. .
T he tread depth of new t ires may vary, accord
ing to the type a nd make of t ire and the tread
pa tte rn .
Hidden damage
Damage to tires and r ims is ofte n not readily
vis ible . If you notice unusual v ibrat ion or the
vehicle p ulls to one side, th is may ind icate
t h at one of the t ires has been damaged . Th e
t ir es m ust be checked immed iate ly by an au
tho rized Aud i dea le r or q uali fied wor ks hop.
Unidirectional t ires
A un idirectional tire can be identified by ar
rows on the sid ewa ll, that po int in the direc
t ion the t ire is desig ned to rotate. You mus t
f ol low the specified d irection of rotation . This
is necessary so that these tires can develop
their optimum characterist ics regarding grip,
road no ise, wear and hyd rop laning resistance.
For more information
¢page 227.
A WARNING
-New tires or tires that are old, worn or
damaged cannot provide maximum con
trol and braking ability .
-
-New tires tend to be slippery and must
be broken in . To reduce the risk of losing
control, a co llision and ser ious personal
in jur ies, d rive w ith special ca re fo r the
fi rst 350 m iles (560 km).
- Driving with worn or damaged tires can
le ad to loss of control, sudden tire fail
ure, including a blowou t and sudden de
fl ation, c rashes and seriou s personal in
juries . Have wo rn or damaged t ires re
p laced immediate ly .
- T ires age even if they are not being used
an d can fai l sudden ly, especially at high
speeds. Tires that are more than 6 years
old can only be used in an emergency
and then w ith specia l care and at low
speed.
Page 199 of 262

-Never mount used tires on yo ur vehicle if
yo u are not sure of their "previous histo
ry." Old used tires may have been dam
aged even though the damage cannot be
seen that can lead to sudden tire failure
and loss of vehicle control.
- If you notice unusual vibration or if the
vehicle pulls to one side when d riving, al
ways stop as soon as it is safe to do so
and check the wheels and tires for dam
age .
(D Note
Please note that summe r and wi nte r tires
are designed for the cond itions that are
Glossary of tire and loading terminology
Accessory weight
means the comb ined weight (in excess of
those sta ndard items which may be rep laced)
of au toma tic transmission, power steer ing ,
power brakes, power windows, power seats,
radio, and heater, to the extent that these
items are availab le as factory-installed equip
ment (whether installed or not) .
Aspect ratio
means the rat io o f the height to the w idth of
the tire in percent . Numbers of 55 or lower in
dicate a low sidewall for improved steering re
sponse and better overa ll handling on dry
pavement .
Bead
means the part of the t ire t hat is made o f
steel wires, wrapped or reinforced by ply cords
and that is shaped to fit the r im.
Bead separation
means a b reakdown of the bond between
components in the bead .
Cord
means the strands forming the plies in the
tire.
Tire s an d wheel s 197
typica l in those seasons . Aud i recommends
using winter tires during the winter
months . Low temperatures signif icant ly
dec rease the e lasticity of summer t ires,
which affects tract ion and brak ing ability.
If summer t ires are used i n very co ld tem
peratures, cracks ca n form o n the tread
bars , res ulting in perma nen t tire damage
that can cause loud driving noise and un
bala nced ti re s. Audi i s not respon sible for
th is type of damage .
Cold tire inflation pressure
means the tire p ress ure recommended by t he
vehicle manufacture r fo r a tire o f a des ignated
s ize t hat has not bee n driven for more than a
coup le o f miles (k ilometers) at low speeds in
the three hour period before the tire press ure
is m easured or adjusted.
Curb weight
me ans the we ight of a motor ve hicle with
st andard equipmen t incl ud ing the max imum
capacity of fuel, oi l, and coolant, air condi
tioning and additional weig ht of optiona l
equipment.
Extra load tire
means a t ire designed to operate a t higher
loads and at higher inflat ion p ress ures than
the corresponding standar d tire. Extra load
ti res may be ident ified as "XL", "xl", "EXTRA
LOAD", or "RF" on the sidewall.
Gross Axle Weight Rating ("GAWR")
me ans the lo ad-ca rry ing capa city of a si ngle
axle system, measured a t the tire -ground in
te rfaces.
Gross Vehicle Weight Rating ("GVWR ")
mea ns the maximum total loaded we ight of
the ve hicl e. .,.. •
•
Page 200 of 262

198 Tires and wheels
Groove
means the space between two adjacent tread
ribs .
Load rating (code)
means the maximum load that a tire is rated
to carry for a given inflation pressure. You
may not find this informat ion on all tires be
cause it is not req uired by law.
Maximum load rating
means the load rating for a t ire at the max i
mum permissible inflation pressure for that
tire.
Maximum loaded vehicle weight
means the sum of:
(a) Curb weight
(b) Accessory weight
(c) Vehicle capacity we ight, and
(d) Production options weight
Maximum (permissible) inflation pressure
means the maximum cold inflation pressure
to which a tire may be inflated. Also called
"maximum inflation pressure ."
Normal occupant weight
means 150 lbs. (68 kilograms) times the
number of occupants seated in the vehicle up
to the total seating capacity of your vehicle .
Occupant distribution
means distribution of occupants in a vehicle.
Outer diameter
means the overa ll diameter of an inflated new
tire.
Overall width
means the linear distance between the exteri
ors of the sidewalls of an inflated tire, includ
ing elevations due to labeling, decorations, or
protective bands o r ribs .
Ply
means a layer of rubber-coated parallel cords.
Production options weight
means the combined weight of those insta lled
regular production options weighing over 5
lb s. (2 .3 kg) in excess of those standard items
which they replace, not previously considered
in curb weight or accessory we ight, including
heavy duty brakes, ride levelers, roof rack,
heavy duty battery, and special tr im .
Radial ply tire
means a pneumat ic tire in which the ply cords
that extend to the beads are laid at substan
t ia lly 90 degrees to the center line of the
tread .
Recommended inflation pressure
see <=> page 19 7, Cold tire inflation pressure.
Reinforced tire
means a t ire designed to operate at higher
loads and at higher inflation pressures than
the cor responding standard tire. Reinf orced
ti res may be identified as "XL" , "xl", "E XTRA
LOAD", or "RF" on the sidewall.
Rim
means a metal support for a tire or a tire and
tube assembly upon which the tire beads are
seated.
Rim diameter
means nom inal diameter of the bead seat. If
you change your wheel s ize, you will have to
purchase new tires to match the new rim di
ameter.
Rim size designation
means r im diameter and width .
Rim width
means nominal distance between rim flanges.
Sidewall
means that portion of a tire between the
tread and bead.