
250 Tires and wheels
and luggag e loa d cap acit y
c alcul ated in St ep 4.
6 . If your v ehi cle will b e towing
a trail er, load fro m your trail
er will b e tr ansferr ed to your
vehi cle. Con sult thi s manual
to determin e how thi s re
d uces the available cargo
and luggage lo ad capacity of
y our vehicle.
..,.Che ck the tire sidewall
(q page 251, fi g . 199) to de
termine the d esignated lo ad
rating f or a specific tire.
Tire service life
The service life of tires depends on a lot of
different things including proper installation
and balan cing, correct tire pressure and driv
ing style.
Fig. 1 97 Tire tread: trea d wea r in di cators (TWI)
Fig. 1 98 Rotat ing t ires for more even wear
Tread Wear Indicator (TWI)
The or ig inal tires on you r vehicle have
1/ 16 inch ( 1.6 mm) hig h "wear indica tors"
¢ fig. 197 ru nning across the tread . Depend
ing on the ma ke, there will be six to eight of
them even ly placed aro und the tire. Marks on
the tire sidewall (for example "TWI" or other
symbols) ind icate the positions of the tread
wear indica to rs. Wor n tires must be replaced .
Different figures may apply in other countr ies
¢ .&_ .
Tire pressure
Incorrect t ire pressure causes premature wea r
and can cause sudde n tire blow-out . For this
reason, tire pressu re must be checked at least
o nce a month
¢ page 246 .
Driving style
Driving fast around c urves , heavy accelerat ion
and hard braking increase tire wear .
Rotating tires for more even wear
F or all four tires on your ve hicle to have the
same service life, we recomme nd that the
front and rear tires are rotated accord ing to
the tire manufact urer's suggested tire rota
tion intervals. Please remembe r th e follow
i ng:
- T ire rotation intervals may differ from the
veh icle service intervals o utli ned in your
Warranty
& M ain tena nce booklet.
- The longer one tire is used in one location
on t he vehicle, the more it wears at certain
points; the refore , we recommend that you
follow the tire man ufac turer's suggested
tir e rotat ion intervals.
- Ve hicles w ith front -wheel dr ive experience
more trea d wear on the fro nt wheels com
pa red to all-wheel d rive (q uattro).
- Please rotate tires as shown ¢
fig. 198 .
-Extra care must be taken when rotating di-
rection -spec ific tires ¢
page 268 .
Wheel balancing
The wheels on new ve hicles are balanced .
However, various s ituations during everyday
driv ing can cause them to become
...

2 7 4 Emergency situations
Emergency situations
General
This chapter is intended for trained emer
gency crews and working personnel who
have the necessary tools and equipment to
perform these ope rations.
Starting by pushing or
towing
Q;) Note
Vehicles w ith an automatic transmission
cannot be started by pus hing o r tow ing.
Starting with jumper
cables
If necessary, the engine can be started by
connecting it to the battery of another vehi
cle.
If the engine should fail to start because of a
discharged or weak battery, the battery can be
connected to the battery of
another veh icle,
using a
pair of jumpe r cables to start the en
g ine .
Jumper cables
Use only jumper cables of sufficiently large
cross section to carry the starter current safe
ly. Refer to the manufacturer's specif ications.
Use only jumper cables with
insulated termi
na l clamps which are distinctly marked:
plus(+) cable in most cases colored red
minu s(-) cable
in most cases colored black .
A WARNING
Batteries contain electricity, acid, and gas.
Any of these can cause very serious or fatal
inju ry. Follow the instructions below for
safe handling of your veh icle's battery.
- Always shield you r eyes and avoid lean
ing over the battery whenever possible.
- A discharged battery can freeze at tem
peratures just be low 32 °F (0 °C). Before connecting a
jumper cable, you must
thaw the frozen battery complete ly, oth
erwise it could explode.
- Do not allow battery acid to contact eyes
or skin . Flush any contacted area with
water immediately .
- Improper use of a booster battery to start a vehicle may cause an explosion.
- Vehicle batteries generate explosive gas
es. Keep sparks, flame and lighted ciga
rettes away from batteries.
- Do not try to jump start any vehicle with a low acid level in the battery.
- The vo ltage of the booster battery must
also have a 12-volt rating. The capacity
(Ah) of the booster battery should not be
lower than that of the discharged bat
tery . Use of batteries of d ifferent voltage
or substantially different "Ah" rating
may cause an exp losion and personal in
jury.
- Never charge a frozen batte ry. Gas trap
ped in the ice may cause an explosion.
- Never charge or use a battery that has
been frozen. The battery case may have
be weakened.
- Use of batter ies of different voltage or
substantially different capacity (Ah) rat
ing may cause an exp losion and injury.
The capacity (Ah) of the booster battery
should not be lower than that of the dis
charged battery.
- Before you check anything in the engine
compartment, always read and heed a ll
WARNINGS¢
page 224.
(D Note
- App lying a higher voltage booster bat
tery will cause expensive damage to sen
sitive electronic components, such as
contro l units, relays, radio, etc .
- Th ere must be no electrical contact be
tween the vehicles as otherwise current cou ld already start to f low as soon as the
positive(+) terminals are connected. .,.

heavy components such as the engi ne
b lock or transmiss ion are removed.
- W hen removing heavy components like
these, ancho r vehicle to hoist o r add cor
respond ing weig hts to ma inta in the cen
ter of g ravity . Otherwise, the vehicle
m ight tilt o r sli p off the hoist, causi ng
ser ious p erso na l in ju ry.
([) Note
-Be awa re of the fo llowing points befo re
li fting t he vehicle:
- The vehicle should never be lifted or
jacked up from underneath the engine oil pan, the transmission housing, the
front or rear axle or the body side
members. This could lead to serious
damage.
- To avoid damage to the underbody or
chassis frame , a rubber pad must be
i nserted between the floor jack and
the lift points.
- Before driving over a workshop hoist,
check that the veh icle weight does not
exceed the permissible lifting capacity
of the hoist.
- Before driving over a workshop hoist,
ensure that there is sufficient clear
ance between the hoist and low parts
of the vehicle.
Emergency situations 2 79
•
•

Gros s Axle Wei ght Rati ng
The G ross Axle Weight Rating is the maximum
l oad that can be applied at each axle of the
vehicle
c::> &. .
Vehicle capacit y weight
The vehicle capacity we ight (max. load) is list
ed eithe r on the dr iver's side B-pillar or inside
the fue l filler flap.
& WARNING
-
- The actual Gross Axle Weight Rating at
the front and rear axles shou ld not ex
ceed the perm iss ible weights, and their
combination must not exceed the Gross
Vehicle Weight Rat ing.
Dimensions
Length in (mm)
Width in
(mm)
Width (across mirrors) in (mm)
He ight (unloaded)a) in (mm)
Turning circle diameter
ft (m)
T e chn ic a l da ta 281
- Exceeding permiss ible weight ratings can
result in vehicle damage, accidents and
personal injury.
([) Note
-The vehicle capacity weight figures apply
when the load is d istr ibuted evenly in the
vehicle (passengers and luggage). When
transport ing a heavy load in the luggage
compartment, carry the load as near to
the rear axle as poss ible so that the vehi
cle's handling is not impaired.
- Do not exceed the maximum permissible axle loads or the maximum gross veh icle
we ight. Always remember that the vehi
cle's handling w ill be affected by the ex
tra load. Therefore, ad just yo ur speed ac
co rdingly.
- Always observe local regulat ions.
A6 S6
193.9 (4925) 193.9 (4925)
73.8 (1874) 73 .8 (1874)
82.1 (2086) 82.1 (2086)
57.8 (1468) 57.8 (1468)
39.0 (11.9) 39.0 (11. 9)
•
•
aJ The he ight of the veh icle depen ds on the t ires and the suspe nsion .
When driving up steep ramps, on rough roads,
over curbs, etc. it is important to remember
that some parts of your ve hicle, such as spoil-
Capacities
Fuel ta nk: total capacity
Windshield flu id container
Windsh ield and headlight washer fluid containe r* ers
or exhaust system components, may be
close to the ground. Be careful not to damage
them .
gal (liters) approx. 19.8 (75.0)
quarts (liters) approx. 3.7 (3.5)
quarts (liters) approx. 5.2
(4.9)

Gasoline ... .. .... .... ... .. .. .. ... 215
Gasoline additives ..... ... .. .. .. .. . 2 16
L ow fuel level symbo l .. ... .. .. .. .. .. 22
Octane rating ............ .... .. ... 215
Recommendation ......... .. .. .. .. . 215
Refue lling .. ................ ... ... 218
Reserve . ... ... .. .. ...... .. .. .. .. .. 12
Tank capacity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12, 28 1
Fuses Assig nment ............. .... .. ... 270
Replacing ............ ...... .... .. 270
G
Garage door opener (Homel ink) .. .. .. . 126
Garment hoo ks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Gas discharge lamps ........... .... .. 273
Gauges Engine coolant temperature .. .. .. .. .. 11
F uel gauge . .. .. ......... .. .. .. .... 12
Speedometer ... .... ... .. .. .. .. .. .. 27
Tac hometer .. ........ ...... ... ... . 12
Trip odometer ........ .... ... ... ... 27
Gene ral illustration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
G ene ra to r (wa rn ing/ indic ator lights) .. .. 17
Glossary of t ire and load ing termi no logy 241
Glove com partment (cooled) . . . . . . . . . . . 60
G low plug system
Indicator ligh t . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Gross Veh icle Weight Rating (GVWR) .. . 280
H
Head -up Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
H eadlights
C leaning ... .. ... ..... ... .. .. .. ... 211
C leaning system ... .... ... .. .. .. .. .. 48
Defective . ... .... .... ... .. .. .. .... 23
Headlig ht range contro l . . . . . . . . . 23, 43
Washer reservoir ......... .. .. .. .. . 238
H ead res train ts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 5, 13 2
A dju sting . ... .. ... . .. ... .. .. .. ... 132
Fr ont seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Rear seats .. .. .. ......... .. .. .. .... 56
Removing .. ............. .... .. .. .. 56
H ea ted
exte rior m irrors ... .... ... .. .. .. .. .. 50
rear window (automatic climate cont ro l) 7 1
Index 293
rear w indow (climate cont rol) . ... .. .. . 69
seats (a utomatic climate control) ... .. . 71
seats (climate cont ro l) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
windshield washer spray no zzles ... .. .
48
He ating .... .. .. .. ................. . 67
Heavy clothi ng a nd safety be lts ... .... .
141
High beam . ... .. .... . ... ...... ... .. . 45
Hig h voltage warn ing label ....... .. .. 280
Hill descent contro l .... ............. 110
Homelin k unive rsal remote con trol . ... 126
Hood (re lease lever) .. .............. . 224
Hor n .......... .. .... ............. .. 8
How are child rest raint syste m anchors re-
lated to ch ild safety . .. .. .. ..... ... .. 18 7
How many a irbags does my vehicle have? 155
How ofte n should I check my tire pres -
s u res? ..... .. .. .. .. .. ........... .. 247
H ow safety belt pretens io ne rs wor k . . . . 1 45
Hydrop la ning ..... .. ..... .......... 251
I
Immobilize r . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Impo rtant t hings to do be fore driving . . 128
Improperly worn safe ty belts .. ... ... .. 144
Ind icator lights
refer to Warn ing/ indicator lights . .. .. . 12
Infan t seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 9
Installing child safety seats Safety be lts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
Installing the upper tether strap on the
anchorage .... .. ...... ............. 190
Instruments Adjusting the light ing .. ..... ... .. .. . 46
Instrum ents and controls
Genera l illustration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Instr ument cluster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
11
Interior lighting
Amb ience lighti ng .. .. .. ...... .... .. 46
Front and rear .... ................. 46
Intermittent (w indshie ld wipers) ...... . 48
J
Jack 262
Jump-starting . .. ................... 274
Jumper cables . .. ................... 275
•
•