254 Tires and wheels
Unbalanced wheels must be rebalanced to
avoid excessive wear on steering, suspension
and tires. A wheel 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 vehi
cle. If tires show excessive wear, have the
wheel alignment checked by an authorized Audi dealer or qualified workshop.
All-wheel drive
Vehicles with quattro must always have tires
of the same size, construction and tread type .
For details see
~page 201.
A WARNING
Sudden tire failure can lead to loss of con
trol, a crash and serious personal injury!
- Never drive a vehicle when the tread on
any tire is worn down to the wear indica
tors.
- Worn tires are a safety hazard, they do
not grip well on wet roads and increase
your risk of"hydroplaning" and loss of control.
- Always keep chemicals that can cause
tire damage, such as grease, oil, gasoline
and brake fluid away from t ires.
- Tires 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 special care and at lower
speeds.
- Never mount used tires on your 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.
New tires and replacing tires and wheels
New tires and wheels have to be broken in .
Fig. 204 Tire specificat ion codes on the s idewall of a
tire
No. Description
® Ratio of height to width (aspect ratio)
© Radial
® Rim diameter code
® L oad index and speed rating
(J) U.S . DOT tire identification number
® Audi Original tire
® Sever snow conditions
@ Tire ply composition and materials
used
@ Maximum load rating
@ Treadwear, traction and temperature
grades
@ Maximum permissible inflation pres-
sure
The tires and rims are essential parts of the
vehicle 's design . The tires and rims approved
by Audi are spec ially matched to the charac
teristics of the vehicle and can make a major .,..
Consumer Information
Warranty coverages
Your Audi is covered by the following war
ranties :
- New Vehicle Limited Warranty
- Limited Warranty Against Corrosion Perfo-
ration
- Emissions Control System Warranty
- Emissions Performance Warranty
- California Emissions Control Warranty (USA
vehicles only)
- California Emissions Performance Warranty
(USA vehicles only)
Detailed information regarding yo ur warran
ties can be found in your
Warranty & Mainte
nance booklet .
Operating your vehicle
outside the U.S.A. or
Canada
Government regulations in the United States
and Canada require that automobiles meet
specific emission regulations and safety
standards. Therefore, veh icles built for the
U.S.A. and Canada differ from vehicles sold in
other countries .
I f you p lan to take your vehicle outside the
continental limits of the United States or Can
ada, there is the possibility that:
- unleaded fuels for vehicles with cata lytic
converter may not be available;
- fuel may have a considerably lower octane
rating . Improper fuel may cause engine
damage;
- service may be inadequate due to lack of
proper service facilities, tools or testing
equipment;
- replacement parts may not be readily availa
ble.
- Navigation systems for vehicles built for the
U.S.A. and Canada will not necessari ly work
in Europe, and may not work in other coun
tries outside North America .
Consumer Information 285
@ Note
Audi cannot be responsible for mechanical
damage that could result from inadequate
fuel, serv ice or parts availab ility.
Audi Service Repair
Manuals and Literature
Audi Offic ial Factory Service Manuals and Lit
erature are published as soon as possible after
model introduct ion. Service manuals and lit
erat ure are available to order from the Audi
T echnical Literature Ordering Center at:
www.audi.techliterature.com
Maintenance
' General
Your vehicle has been designed to help keep
maintenance requirements to a m inimum.
However, a certain amount of regular mainte
nance is still necessary to assure your vehicle's
safety, economy and reliability . For detailed
vehicle maintenance consult your Warranty
&
Maintenance booklet.
Under difficult operating conditions , for ex
ample at extremely low outside temperatures,
in very dusty regions, when towing a trailer
very frequently, etc., some serv ice work
shou ld be pe rformed between the intervals
specified. This applies particularly to:
- oil changes, and
- cleaning or replacing the air filter.
® For the sake of the environment
By regularly maintaining your veh icle, you
help make sure that emission standards
are maintained, thus min imiz ing adverse
effects on the environment .
Important considerations for you and
your vehicle
The increasing use of electronics, sophistica t
ed fuel injection and emission contro l sys-
tems, and the genera lly increasing technica l ..,_
•
•
29 0 Index
A
Accessories . ...... ..... ... .. .. .... . 28 7
Active lane ass ist ... ... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 95
Activating and deactivating . . . . . . . . . . . 96
C leaning the camera area .. .. .. .. .. . 214
Descr ipt ion ... ........... .. .. .... .. 95
I nstrument cluster indicator light . . . . . 96
Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Notes on instrument cluster display . . . . 96
Setting the steering wheel vibrat ion . . . . 97
AC (automatic cl imate control) . .. .. .. .. 72
AC (climate control) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Adaptive air suspension/sport . ... .. .. . 102
Adapt ive cruise control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
C leaning the senso r ....... .. .. .... . 214
Messages ............... .. .. .. .. .. 93
Request for driver intervention . . . . . . . . 91
Stop-and-go traffic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Adapt ive Lig ht (defective) ... .. .. .... .. 23
AdBlue .. .. .. .. . .......... .. .. .... . 223
F illing . .. .. ............... .. .... . 225
Messages in the instrument cluster dis-
play ... .. .. ... .... .... .. .. .. .. .. . 224
Adding Eng ine coolant ........... .. .. .. .. . 235
Eng ine oil ................. .. .... . 232
W indshield washer fluid . ...... .. .. . 241
Additives Eng ine oi l ............... .. .. .... . 232
Adj usting
A ir dist ribution (au tomatic climate con-
trol) .. ... ... .. .. ..... ... .. .. .... .. 73
ai r distribution (climate control) ... .. . . 70
Front seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Instrument illum inat ion ..... .. .... .. 47
Steer ing column e lectrically .. .. .... .. 75
Steer ing column manually ... .. .. .. . . 75
Temperature (automat ic climate co ntrol) 73
Temperature (climate control) .... .. .. 70
A irbag system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149, 170
Advanced Airbag System ... .. .. .... . 153
Advanced Airbag System components . 157
Care ..... .. ................ ... ... 165
C hi ldren ... ... .... ...... .. .. .. .. . 177
C hil d restra ints ........... .. .. .. .. . 177
Componen ts (front airbags) .. .. .. .. . 157 Danger of fitting a ch
ild seat on the front
passenger seat ... .. ... ..... ... .. .. 151
Disposa l .. .. .. .. ... .. ..... ... .. .. 165
Front a irbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153, 155
How do the front airbags work? .. .... 159
How many a irbags does my vehicle
have? ...... .. .. .. ... ... ... .. .. .. 157
How the Advanced Airbag System com-
ponents work togethe r ......... .. .. 159
Important safe ty instru ct ions on the
knee airbag system .. .. ..... ... .. .. 168
Important things to know .. ... ... . .. 149
Knee airbags ..... .. ... ..... ... .. .. 166
Monitoring .... .. ............. .... 161
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light ... .... 162
Repairs ... .... .. ............. .... 165
Safety instructions ................. 164
S ide a irbags ... .. ... .. .. ... ..... .. 169
S ide curtain airbags ... ...... ... .. .. 172
Warning/ind icator lights ........ .. .. . 19
Warning/Indicato r lights ....... .. .. 161
When must the system be inspected? 161
Aircraft Transporting your vehicle
Alcantara 280
Cleaning .. .... .. ............. .... 216
All -wheel drive .... .. ... ..... ... .. .. 201
Winter tires ..... ... .. ..... ... .. .. 258
Alternator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Amb ience lighting .............. .... . 47
Anti-freeze
refer to Engine coolant . ..... ... .. .. 234
Anti- lock b rak ing system ............ . 196
Wa rning/ind icator lights . . . . . . . . . 19, 20
Anti-slip regulation ............. .. .. 196
Warning/ind icator lights .. ... ..... .. . 19
Anti-theft systems Electronic immobi lizer .. ..... ... .. .. . 33
Asht ray .... .... ................... . 59
Audi braking guard
refer to brak ing guard ............. .. 86
Audi drive select
refer to drive select ............ .... 102
A udi Serv ice Repair Manuals and Litera-
tu re ... .. .. .. .. .. .. .... . ..... ... .. 285