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 KG OR XXX LBS"on your vehi
cle's placard (tire inflation pressure label)
¢ page 200,
fig . 142 .
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
¢ page 200 , fig. 142.
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.
Tires and wheels
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 50
(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.
6. If your vehicle will be towing
a trailer, load from your trail
er will be transferred to your
vehicle. Consult this manual
to determine how this reduces the available cargo
and luggage load capacity of
your vehicle.
,... Check the tire sidewall
(¢ page 207, fig. 146) to de
termine the designated load rating for a specific tire.
205
•
•
'
206 Tires and wheels
Tire service life
The service life of tires depends on a lot of
different things including proper installation
and balancing, correct tire pressure and driv
ing style.
Fig. 144 Tire tread: tre ad wea r ind icators (TWI)
l --------- ---
Fig. 145 Rotating t ires for more ev en wea r
Tread Wear Indicator (TWI)
The original tires on your vehicle have
1/16 inch (1.6 mm) high "wear indicators"
c::> fig . 144 running across the tread. Depend
i ng on the make, there will be six to eight of
them evenly p laced around the tire. Marks on
the tire sidewa ll (for example "TWI" or other
symbols) indicate the positions of the tread
wear ind icators . Worn t ires must be replaced .
Different figures may apply in other countries
c::> & .
Tire pressure
Incorrect tire pressure causes premature wear
and can cause sudden t ire blow-out. For th is
reason, tire pressure must be checked at least
once a month
c::> page 202 .
Driving style
Driving fast around curves, heavy acceleration
and hard braking increase tire wear.
Rotating tires for more even wear
For all four tires on your vehicle to have the
same service life, we recommend that the
front and rear tires are rotated according to
the tire manufacturer's suggested tire rota
tion intervals. Please remember the follow
ing :
- Tire rotation intervals may differ from the
vehicle service interva ls outlined in your
Warranty
& Maintenance Booklet.
- The longer one tire is used in one location
on the vehicle, the more it wears at certain
points; therefore, we recommend that you
follow the tire manufacturer's suggested
tire rotation intervals .
- Vehicles with front-wheel drive experience
more tread wear on the front wheels com
pa red to all-wheel drive (quattro ®).
- Please rotate tires as shown
c::> fig. 145.
-Extra care must be taken when rotating di-
rection-specific tires
c::> page 22 7 .
Wheel balancing
The wheels on new vehicles are balanced.
However, various situations during everyday
driving can cause them to become unbal
anced, re sulting in vibrat ions you can usually
feel through the steer ing wheel.
Unbalanced wheels must be rebalanced to
avoid excessive wear on steering, suspension
and tires. A whee l must also be rebalanced
when a new tire is installed.
Incorrect wheel alignment
Incorrect wheel alignment can cause exces
sive tire wear, impairing the safety of the veh i
cle. If tires show excessive wear, have the
whee l alignment checked by an authori zed
Audi dealer or qualif ied workshop.
all-wheel drive
Vehicles with quattro ® mus t always have tires
of the same size, construction and tread type .
For details see
c::> page 155. ..,.
208 Tires and wheels
handling when in good condition and properly
inflated ¢
.&..
We recommend that all work on tires and
wheels be perfo rmed by an authorized A udi
dealer. They are familiar with recommended
procedures and have the necessary special
tools and spare parts as well as the proper fa
cilities for disposing of the old tires .
Authorized Audi dealers have the necessary information about technica l requirements for
installing or changing tires and r ims.
Replacing tires and wheels
Tires should be rep laced at least in pairs and
not individually (for example both front tires
or both rear tires together).
Be sure to read and heed the information to
the tire pressure monitoring system
¢ page 214.
Always buy rep lacement radial tires that have
the same specifications as the tires approved
fo r your vehicle by Audi. Replacement tires
must always have the same load rating speci
fication as the original equipment or approved
optional tires listed in the table ¢
page 200.
Audi-approved specification tires are specially
matched to your vehicle and its load limits,
and can contribute to the important road hold
ing, driving characteristics, and safety of the
vehicle. The table
( q page 200) lists specifica
tions of the tires approved for the Audi mod
els covered by your Owner's Literature .
The tire pressure labe l located on driver's side
B-pillar
( q page 200, fig. 143) lists the speci
f ications of the orig inal equipment tires in
stalled on your veh icle at the time it was man
ufactured .
Federal law requires tire manufacturers to
place standardized information on the s ide
wall of all tires
¢ fig. 146. This information
identifies and describes the fundamental
characterist ics, the quality grade of the tire
and also provides a tire ident ificat ion number
fo r safety standard certificat ion and in case of
a recall.
Tire specifications
Knowledge of tire specifications makes it eas
ier to choose the correct tires. Radial ti res
have the tire specifications marked on the
sidewa ll, for examp le:
P245/45R1795H
This conta ins the following information :
P Indicates the tire is for passenger cars
245 Nominal tire width in mm of the tire
from sidewall edge to sidewall edge. In
general, the larger the number, the wider
the tire
45 Height/w idt h ratio in percent (aspect ra-
t io)
R Tire construct ion: Radial
17 Rim diameter code (in inches)
95 Load rating code
H Speed rating letter code
XL (or "xl", "EXTRA LOAD", or "RF") indicates
t h at the t ire is a"Reinforced" or an "Extra
Load " tire
M+S (or "M/5") Indicates that the ti re has
some mud and snow capability
The tires could also have the information of
direction of rotat ion
q page 196.
Tire manufacturing date
The manufact uring date is also indicated on
the tire sidewall (possibly only on the
inner
side of the wheel):
"DOT ... 2211 ... "means, for examp le, that
the tire was produced in the 22nd week of
2011.
Speed rating (letter code)
The speed rating letter code on the whee ls in
dicates the maximum permissible road speeds
¢.&. in Winter tires on page 212 .
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)l)
Z over 149 mph (240 km/h)
1
)
W up to 168 mph (270 km/h)ll
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 31 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 2211 mean that
t he t ire was produced in the 22nd week of
2011. The other numbers are marketing co
des that may or may not be used by the t ire
manufacturer . This information is used to con
tact consume rs if a tire defect requires a re
call.
Audi Original tire
Tires with the ident ificat ion "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 driving charac ter istics whe n used
correctly. Yo ur authorized Audi dealer will
g lad ly provide you with more informat ion.
Tire ply composition and materials used
The numbe r of p lies ind icates the numbe r of
l ayers of rubber -coa ted fabric in the t ire. In
general, the greater the number of p lies, the
mo re weight a tire can support . Tire manufac
turers also must indicate the materials in the
1) F o r tires wit h a m ax im um s pee d ca pabil ity over 149
mph (2 4 0 k m/h) , tire ma nufa cturers some times use
t h e le tters "Z R."
Tire s an d wheel s 209
tire, which include stee l, nylon, po lyester, and
others .
Maximum Load Rating
This number indicates the max imum load in
kil ograms and po unds that can be ca rr ied by
the tire.
Tire quality grading for treadwear ,
tract ion , and temperature resistance
T read wear, t raction and tempe ra tur e grades
¢page 210 .
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 unm atc hed tires and/
or wheels or improper tire and wheel
comb inat ions can lead to loss of control
,
collision and serio us personal inj ury .
- Always use t ires, rims and whee l bolts
that meet the specifications of original
factory- insta lled tires or other combina
tions that have been specifically ap proved by the vehicle manufacturer.
- Tires age even if they are not being used
and can fai l sudden ly, especially at hig h
speeds. Tires that are more than 6 years
old can only be used in an emergency
and then w ith special care and at lower
speeds .
- Never mount 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
a ged even thoug h the damage cannot be
seen tha t can lead to sudden tire fai lure
and loss of vehicle control.
.
- All fo ur whee ls must be fitted wit h ra dial
tires of the same type, size (rolling cir
cumference) and the same tread pattern . ..,
•
•
210 Tire s and wheel s
Driving with different tires reduces vehi
cle handling and can lead to a loss of
co ntrol.
- If the spare tire is not the same as the
t ires that are mounted on the veh icle -
for example with winter tires - on ly use
the spare tire for a short period of time
and dr ive with extra ca re. Refit the nor
ma l road whee l as soon as safely possi
ble.
- Never drive faste r than the maximum
speed for which the tires o n your veh icle
are ra ted because ti res th at are driven
faster than their rated speed can fail
sudden ly .
- Over loading t ires c ause heat b uild- up,
sudden tire failure, including a blowout
and sudden deflation and loss of control.
- T emperature grades app ly to tires t hat
are properly inflated and not over o r un
derinflated.
- F or technical reasons it is not a lways
possible to use wheels from other
vehicles -in some cases not even w heels
from the same vehicle model.
- If you insta ll wheel trim discs on t he ve
hicle whee ls, make sure that the air f low
to the brakes is not blocked. Reduced air
flow to the brakes can them to overheat, increasing stopping distances and caus
ing a collision.
- Run flat t ires may on ly be used on
vehicles that were equ ipped w it h them
at the facto ry. The vehicle must have a
chassis des igned for run f lat t ires and a
fac to ry-installed t ire p ress ure moni to r
ing system that ind ic a tes a loss of tire
pressure. Incorrect use of run flat tires
can lead to vehicle damage or accidents .
Check with an a uth orized Audi dea ler or
t i re spec ialist to see i f your vehicle can be
equipped with run flat tires. If r un flat
t ires a re used, they must be installed on
all four wheels . M ixing tire types is not
permitted . (D Note
-For technical reasons, it is not generally
poss ible to use the w heel rims from oth
er ve hicles. T his can hold tr ue for wheels
of the same vehicle type.
- If the spare tire is diffe rent from the
tires that you have mounted on your ve
hicle (for example winter tires or wide
profi le tires), then use the spare tire for a
short period of time only and drive w ith
extra care. Replace the flat tire w it h the
ti re mat ching the othe rs on your vehicle
as soon as possi ble.
- N ever d rive without the valve stem cap.
T he v alves co ul d get damaged.
@ For the sake of the environment
Dis pose of o ld tires in accordance w ith the
l ocal requirements.
Uniform tire quality grading
- Tread wear
- Tra ction AA A B (
- Temperature ABC
Quality grades can be found where applicab le
o n the tire s ide wall between tread shoulder
and maximum section width
¢ page 207,
fig. 146.
For example: Tread wear 200 , Traction AA,
Temperature A.
All passenger car ti res must conform to Feder
al Safety Req uirements in add ition to these
grades .
Tread wear
The tread wear g rade is a comparative rating
based on the wear rate of the tire when tested
u nder contro lled conditions o n a specified
government test course.
F o r example, a tire gra ded 150 wo uld wear
one and one ha lf (11/2) times as well on the
government course as a ti re graded 100.
snow c hains are suitably cove red . Check
the position of the snow chains after
driving a few yards and correct if neces
sary. Follow the instructions from the
snow cha in manufacturer when doing so.
Where snow cha ins 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 r ims . If different rims are fit
ted, the correct wheel bo lts with the right
length and correctly shaped bolt heads must
be used. This ensures t hat 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 -even if it
i s the same model
¢ page 245.
A WARNING
Imprope rly tig htened or maintained wh eel
bolts can become loose ca using loss of
con trol, a collision and serious person al in
jury.
- Always keep the w heel bolts and the
threads in the wheel hubs clea n so the
wheel bolts can tu rn easily and be p rop
er ly tightened .
- Never grease or oil the wheel bo lts and
the threads in the wheel hubs. They can become loose w hile d riving if greased or
o iled, even if tig htened 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 maintai n the co rrect tig htening
torq ue fo r the wheel bo lts to reduce the
risk of a wheel loss. If the tightening tor-
Tire s an d wheel s 213
que of t he whee l 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 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 tor que
must be checked as soon as possible with a
torq ue w rench -prefe rably by an au thor
iz ed A udi de aler or qu alified workshop .
Low aspect ratio tires
Your Audi is factory -eq uipped w ith low aspect
r atio tires . These tires have been tho roughly
tested and been se lected specifically for your
model for their superb performance, road fee l
and handli ng under a var iety of driving condi
tions . Ask your authorized Audi dealer for
more d etails.
The low aspect ratio of these t ires is ind icated
by a numeral of
55 or less in the tire's s ize
designation . The numeral represents the ratio
of the t ire's sidewa ll height in relation to its
t read width exp ressed in pe rce ntage. Conven
t iona l tires have a he ight/w idth rat io of 60 or
more.
The performanc e of low-a spect-ratio tire s is
particularly sensitive to impr oper inflation
pre ssure .
It is therefore important that low
a spect ratio tire s are inflated to the specified
pres sure and that the inflation pressure is
regularly checked and maintained. Tire pre s
sures should be checked at least once a month and always befo re a long trip
¢ page 202, Checking tire pressure.
What you can do to avoid tire and rim
damage
Low aspect ratio tires can be damaged mo re
easily by impact w it h potholes, curbs, gul lies ..,.
•
•
214 Tire s and wheel s
or ridges on the road, part icu larly if the tire is
u nderinflated.
I n o rder to m inim ize the o ccurrence of impact
damage to the t ires of your vehicle, we recom
mend that you observe the following precau
tions:
- Always maintain recommended infla tion
pressures. Check your t ire pressure every
2,000 miles (3,000
km) and add air if neces
sary .
- Drive carefu lly on roads with potholes, deep
gullies or ridges. The impact from driving
t h rough or over such obstacles can damage
your tires. Impact with a curb may also cause damage to your tires.
- After any impact, immediately inspect your
tires or have them inspected by the nearest
authorized Aud i dealer. Replace a damaged
t ire as soon as possible .
- Inspect your t ires every 2,000 miles (3,000
km) for damage and wear . Damage is not al
ways easy to see . Damage can lead to loss of
air and underinflation, wh ich could eventu
ally cause t ire failure . If you be lieve that a
t ire may have been damaged, replace the
t ir e as soon as possible.
- T hese tires may wea r mo re quick ly than oth
ers.
- Please a lso remember that, wh ile these t ires
deliver respons ive handling, they may ride
l ess comfortably and make mo re no ise than
other choices.
Reduced performance in winter /co ld
sea son condit ion s
All ti res a re des igned for certa in pu rposes.
The low aspect ratio, ultra high performance
tires originally installed on your vehicle are in
tended for max imum dry and wet road per
formance and handling. They are not suitable
for cold, snowy or icy weather condit ions. If
you dr ive under those circumstances, you
should equip your vehicle with all -season or
winter tires, which offer better traction under
those cond it ions. We suggest you use the rec
ommended snow or all-season tires specified
fo r your vehi cle, or their eq uivalent. Refer to
q page 211
for more detailed infor
mation regarding winter tires.
Tire pressure monitoring system
General notes
Applies to veh icles: w ith tire pressure monitoring system
Each tire, incl uding the spare ( if provided),
sho uld be checked monthly when co ld and in
flated to the inflation pressure recommended by the veh icle manufacturer on the veh icle
placard or tire inflation pressure label. (If your
vehicle has tires of a different size than the
s ize indicated on the vehicle placard or tire i n
flat ion p ressure label, you should dete rmine
the p roper t ire infla tion p ress ure fo r th ose
t i res.)
As an added safety feature, your ve hicle has
been equipped with a tire pressure mon itoring
system ( TPM S) tha t illum inates a low ti re
pressure tel ltale when one o r more of your
tires is significant ly under-inflated . Acco rding
l y, when the low tire pressure telltale i llumi
nates, you shou ld stop and check your tires as
soon as possib le, and inflate them to the
proper pressure. Driving on a sign ificantly un
der- inflated t ire causes the tire to overheat
and can lead to tire fa ilure . Under-inflat ion al
so reduces fuel effic iency and tire tread life ,
and may affect the vehicle 's hand ling and
stopp ing abili ty.
Please note that the TPMS is not a substitute
for proper tire ma intenance, and it is the driv
er's respons ibility to maintain co rrect tire
pressure, even if under-inflation has not
reached the leve l to tr igger illum inat ion of the
T PMS low tire pressu re tellta le .
You r vehicle has also been equipped with a
T PMS ma lf u nction indicator to ind icate when
the sys tem is not operating p roperly . Th e
T PMS ma lfunction indicator is combined w ith
t h e low tire pressure te lltale. When the sys
tem detects a malfunction, the telltale will
flash for approximately one min ute and then ..,_
remain continuous ly illuminated . This se
quence will continue upon subsequent vehicle
start-ups as long as the ma lfunction ex ists.
When the malfunct ion indicator is ill uminat
ed, the system may not be able to detect or
signa l low tire pressure as intended. TPMS
malfunct ions may occur for a variety of rea
sons, including the installat ion of replace
ment or alternate tires or wheels on the veh i
cle that prevent the TPMS from funct io ni ng
properly. Always check the TPMS malfunct ion
tellta le afte r replacing one or more t ires or
wheels on your veh icle to ensure that the re
p lacement or a lternate tires and wheels allow
the TPMS to continue to function properly.
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. 1 47 Disp lay : under infla tion warn ing
Using the ABS sensors, the tire pressure moni
toring system compares the t ire tread circum
fe rence and vibration 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 clus ter with a warning symbol
RE and a
message
'* fig. 147. The dr iver message in the
d isp lay goes out after 5 seconds. The driver
message can be d isplayed again by pressing
the
! CHECK I button @¢ page 10, fig . 3 . If on
ly one tire is affected, the display will indicate
its pos ition.
The ti re pressure monito ring m ust be reset in
the menu display each time the pressures are
ad justed (e.g. when switching between parti-
Tire s an d wheel s 215
al and fu ll load pressure) or after changing o r
replacing a tire on your vehicle '*
page 216.
The TPMS indicator on ly mon itors the t ire
pressure that you have previously stored . You
can f ind the recommended tire pressures for
your vehicle on the label on the driver's door
pillar ¢
page 200.
Tire tread circumference and vibration charac
teristics can change and cause a tire pressure
warning if:
- the t ire press ure in one or more tires is too
low,
- the tire has structural damage,
- the t ire press ure was changed, wheels rotat -
ed or rep laced but the TPMS was not reset
¢ page 216.
Warning symbo ls
RE L oss of pressure in a t least one tire ¢ ,&..
Check the tire or tires and rep lace or repa ir if
necessary . The indicator light
RE in the inst ru
ment cluster a lso i lluminates
¢ page 13 .
Check/correct the press ures of all four tires
and reset TPMS in the menu display .
Iii;~, (T ire Pressure Monitoring System) Ti re
pre ssure! System malfun ction .
Ifllilff' ap
pears after switching the ignition on or whi le
driv ing and the indicator light
RE in the in
strument cluster blinks for approx imately one
minute and then stays on, there is a system
malfunction .
Attempt to store the correct tire pressure '*
page 216. If the indicator light does not
turn off or if it turns on shortly thereafter, im
med iate ly dr ive your vehicle to a n author ized
Audi dealer or author ized repair fac ility to
have the malfunct io n cor rected.
.8, WARNING
-
- If the tire pressure ind ic a tor ap pears in
the ins trumen t cluster display, one or
more of your tires is significant ly under
inflated . Reduce yo ur speed immediately
and avoid any hard steer ing or braking
maneuvers. Stop as soon as possible and
check the tires and their pressures.
~
•
•