
24 4 T ire s and wheel s
-Never mount used tires on yo ur vehicle if
you 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 t ire failure
and loss of vehicle control.
- If you notice unusual vibration or if the
vehicle pulls to one side when driving, 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 summer and winter tires
are designed for the cond itions that are
Glossary of tire and loading terminology
Accessory weight
means t he comb ined we ight (in excess of
those sta ndard items which may be rep laced)
of au toma tic tra nsmission, power steer ing,
power brakes, power windows, power seats,
radio, and heater, to the extent that th ese
items are availab le as factory -installed equip
ment (whether installed or not) .
Aspect ratio
means t he ratio of the he ight 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 overall handling on dry pavement .
Bead
means the part of the ti re that is made of
steel wires, wrapped or reinforced by ply cords
and that is shaped to fit the rim.
Bead separation
means a b reakdown of the bond between
components in the bead.
Cord
means the strands forming the plies in the
tire . typ
ica l in those seasons . Audi recommends
using winter tires during the winter
months . Low temperatures signif icant ly
decrease the e lasticity of summer tires,
which affects tract ion and brak ing ability.
If summer tires are used in very co ld tem
peratures, cracks ca n form on the tread
bars, res ulting in permanent tire damage
that can cause loud driving no ise and un
balan ced t ires. Audi is not responsible for
th is type of damage .
Cold tire inflation pressure
means the tire p ressu re recommended by t he
vehicle manufacturer fo r a tire of a des igna ted
s iz e that has not bee n driven for more than a
coup le of miles (k ilometers) at low speeds in
t h e three hour period before the tire pressure
is measured or adjusted.
Curb weight
mea ns the we ight of a motor ve hicl e w ith
standard equipment including the max imum
capacity of fuel, oil, and coolant, air condi
tioning and additional weight of optiona l
equipment.
Extra load tire
me ans a t ire design to operate at higher loads
and at h igher inflation pressures than the cor
responding standard tire . Extra load tires may
be identified as "XL", "x l" , "EXTRA LOAD", or
"RF" on the sidewall.
Gross A xle Weight Rating ("GAWR ")
means the lo ad -c a rry ing c apac ity of a s ingle
axle system , measured a t the tire-ground in
terfaces.
Gross Vehicle Weight Rating ("GVWR ")
mea ns the maximum total loaded we ight of
t h e ve hicl e. .,.

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 information on all tires be
cause it is no t 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 weight, 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 diamete r of an inflated new
tire.
Overall width
means the linear distance between the exteri
ors of the sidewalls of an inflated tire, includ
in g elevations due to labeling, decorations, or
protective bands or ribs.
Ply
means a layer of rubber-coated parallel cords.
Tires and wheels 245
Production options weight
means the combined weight of those installed
regular production options we ighing over 5
lbs. (2.3 kg) in excess of those standard items
which they replace, not previously considered
in curb weight or accessory weight, including
heavy duty brakes, ride levelers, roof rack,
heavy duty battery, and spec ial tr im .
Radial ply tire
means a pneumatic tire in which the ply cords
that extend to the beads are laid at substan
tia lly 90 degrees to the center line of the
tread .
Recommended inflation pressure
see ¢ page 244, Cold tire inflation pressure.
Reinforced tire
means a t ire design to operate at higher loads
and at h igher inflation pressures than the cor
re sp onding standard tire. Reinforced tires
may be identified as "XL", "xl", "EXTRA LOAD",
or "RF" on the sidewa ll.
Rim
means a metal support for a tire or a t ire 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.
•
•

252 Tires and wheels
the vehicle can carry. For the location of the
label
c::> page 247, fig. 200.
A WARNING
Overloading a vehicle can cause loss of ve
hicle control, a crash or other accident, se
rious personal injury, and even death.
- Carrying more weight than your vehicle
was designed to carry will prevent the
vehicle from handling properly and in
crease the risk of the loss of vehicle con
trol.
- The brakes on a vehicle that has been
overloaded may not be able to stop the
vehicle within a safe distance.
- Tires on a vehicle that has been overload
ed can fail suddenly, including a blowout
and sudden deflation, causing loss of
control and a crash.
-Always make sure that the total load be
ing transported -including the weight of
a trailer hitch and the tongue weight of a
loaded trailer -does not make the vehi
cle heavier than the vehicle's Gross Vehi
cle Weight Rating.
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 ve
hicle's placard (tire inflation
pressure
label)¢
page 247,
fig. 200.
2. Determine the combined
weight of the driver and passengers that will be riding in
your vehicle.
3. Subtract the combined weight of the driver and passengers from
"XXX" kilo
grams or
"XXX" pounds
shown on the sticker
¢ page 247, fig. 200.
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.
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.

Driving with different tires reduces vehi
cle handling and can lead to a loss of
control.
- If the spare tire is not the same as the
tires that are mounted on the vehicle -
for example with winter tires -only use
the spare tire for a short period of time and drive with extra care. Refit the nor
mal road wheel as soon as safely possi
ble.
- Never drive faster than the maximum
speed for which the tires on your vehicle
are rated because tires that are driven
faster than their rated speed can fail
suddenly.
- Overloading tires cause heat build-up,
sudden tire failure, including a blowout
and sudden deflation and loss of control.
- Temperature grades apply to tires that
are properly inflated and not over or un
deri nflated.
- For technical reasons it is not always
possible to use wheels from other
vehicles -in some cases not even wheels
from the same vehicle model.
- If you install wheel trim discs on the ve
hicle wheels, make sure that the air flow
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 tires may only be used on
vehicles that were equipped with them at the factory . The vehicle must have a
chassis designed for run flat tires. Incor
rect use of run flat tires can lead to vehi
cle damage or accidents. Check with an
authorized Audi dealer or tire specialist
to see if your vehicle can be equipped
with run flat tires. If run flat tires are used, they must be installed on all four
wheels. Mixing tire types is not permit
ted.
(D Note
- For technical reasons, it is not generally
possible to use the wheel rims from oth-
Tires and wheels 257
er vehicles. This can hold true for wheels
of the same vehicle type.
- If the spare tire is different from the
tires that you have mounted on your ve
hicle (for example winter tires or wide
profile tires), then use the spare tire for a
short period of time only and drive with
extra care. Replace the flat tire with the
tire matching the others on your vehicle
as soon as possible.
- Never drive without the valve stem cap .
The valves could get damaged .
(® For the sake of the environment
Dispose of old tires in accordance with the
local requirements.
Uniform tire quality grading
-Tread wear
- Tract ion AA A B C
- Temperature AB C
Quality grades can be found where applicable
on the tire side wall between tread shoulder
and maximum section width
c;, page 254,
fig. 204.
For example: Tread wear 200, Traction AA,
Temperature A.
All passenger car tires must conform to Feder
al Safety Requirements in addition to these
grades.
Tread wear
The tread wear grade is a comparative rating
based on the wear rate of the tire when tested
under controlled conditions on a specified
government test course.
For example, a tire graded ISO would wear
one and one half (11/2) times as well on the
government course as a tire graded 100.
The relative performance of tires depends upon the actual conditions of their use, how
ever, and may depart significantly from the
norm due to variations in driving habits, serv
ice practices and differences in road character-
istics and climate.
ll-
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_______________________________ I~ n~ d:::: e~x 291
AUTO
automatic climate control ... ... .. .. ..
73
Automatic headlights ............... 44
climate control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Auto Lock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Automatic belt retractor . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Automatic climate control
Air vents ... ............. .... .. ....
73
Automatic recirculation ...... .. .. .. .. 74
Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Setup . .. ... ...... ............. ... 74
synchron izing ......... ...... .... ... 73
Automatic Shift Lock (ASL) .. .. .. .. .. . 110
Automatic transmission ....... .. .. .. . 109
Automatic Shift Lock (ASL) .......... 110
Driving .... ................ ... ... 111
Emergency mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
Emergency release ........ .. .. .. .. . 115
Kick-down .. ............. .... .. ... 113
Manual shift program ....... .. .. .. . 113
Selector lever ............... ... ... 109
Automatic wipers .................... 48
Auto Safety Hotline .......... .. .. .. . 138
Average consumption ....... .. .. .. .. .. 25
Average speed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
25
Avoid damaging the vehicle .. .. .. .. .. . 206
B
Bag hooks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Battery ..... .. ................ .... 238
Charging ... ................ ... ... 240
Important warnings ...... .. .. .. .. . 238
Jump starting ............ .... .. ... 276
Location . .. ............. .... .. ... 238
low ..... ... ...... ............. .. 202
Replacing the battery ....... .. .. .. . 241
State of charge ........... .... .. .. . 202
w· t · 1n er operation ......... .. .. .. .. .
Working on the battery .... .. .. .. .. .
Before driving .............. ... ... . .
Blended gasoline 238
238
130
218
Blower (automatic climate control) . . . . . . 73
Blower (climate control) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Booster seats ................ ... ... 184
Brake fluid
Changing the brake fluid ............
237
Checking the brake fluid level ........ 237
What is the correct brake fluid level? .. 237
What should I do if the brake fluid warn-
ing light comes on? . .............. .
237
Brake system
Anti- lock braking system .............
20
Brake assist system .............. .. 196
Brake booster .. .. ................. 200
Brake fluid ...... .. ..... .......... 237
Brake fluid specifications for refill and re-
placement ...... .. ...............
237
Brake light defective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Brake pads .. .. .. .... ........... .. 204
Electromechanical parking brake ..... . 79
Fluid reservoir ..... ............... 237
How does moisture or road salt affect the
brakes? . .. .. .. .. .. ...............
200
Warning/indicator lights ........ .. .. . 15
Worn brake pads symbol ............ . 21
braking guard
Settings ... ..... .. ................
93
Braking guard ... .. .... ........... .. . 86
Messages . .. .. .. .. ............... . 93
Break-in period .. .. ... ... ...... ..... 204
Brake pads ...... .. ............... 204
Tires
Bu lbs
C
...... .. .. .. .................
204
275
California Proposition 65 Warning ..... 228
Battery specific .. .. .............. . 239
Capacities .... .. .. .... ............. 283
Engine oil ... .. .. ................. 229
Carbon parts
Cleaning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
215,216
Car carrier
Transporting your vehicle ......... ..
280
Care ....... .. .. .. ... ............ .. 213
Cargo area ........ .. ............... 136
Cargo net . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Catalytic converter . ............. .. .. 205
Center armrest
Cockpit ... .. .. .. .. . .. .... ........ .
56
Central locking . ..... ................ 34
Emergency locking .... ......... .. .. . 38
•
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