
256 Tires and wheels
-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 251,
fig. 205.
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 251, fig. 205.
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 SO
(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 ..,

-All four wheels must be fitted with radial
tires of the same type, size (rolling cir
cumference) and the same tread pattern .
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
derinflated .
- 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.
Tires and wheels 261
@ Note
- For technical reasons, it is not generally
possible to use the wheel rims from oth
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
- Traction AA A B C
- Temperature ABC
Quality grades can be found where applicable
on the tire side wall between tread shoulder
and maximum section width
¢ page 258,
fig. 209.
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 1S0 would wear
one and one half (1 1/2) times as well on the
government course as a tire graded 100. •
•

-----------------------------~I~n~d~e~x 299
Audi Service Repair Manuals and Litera-
ture ...... .. ................. .. ... 293
Auto-Check Control ........ .. .. .. .. .. 27
Auto locking ... ........... .. .. .. .... 38
Automatic belt retractor ....... ... .. . 1S2
Automatic driving light control ... ... ... 49
Automatic Shift Lock (ASL) ... ... .. .. . 124
Automatic transmission .............. 123
Automatic Shift Lock (ASL) ... .. .. .. . 124
Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Emergency mode ............ ... .. . 128
Emergency release .............. .. . 128
Hill descent control ................ 126
Kick-down
. . ............. .... .. ... 127
Manual shift program .............. 127
Removal lock (ignition key) . .. .. .. .. .. 83
Selector lever ..................... 123
Shift buttons ............ .... .. ... 127
Automatic wipe/wash system . . . . . . . . . . 54
Auto Safety Hotline .............. .. . 146
AUTO (climate control) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Average speed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Avoid damaging the vehicle .. .. .. .. .. . 207
B
Bass box .......................... 269
Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242
Battery location inside the luggage com-
partment ................ ...... .. 242
Charging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105 , 244
Important warnings when working on
the battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242
Jump starting . ........... .. .. .. ... 283
L ow ............................. 203
Replacing the battery ........ ... .. . 245
State of charge .............. ... ... 203
Voltage ........................... 34
Winter operation .................. 242
Working on the battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242
Before driving ................. .. ... 139
Bio-ethanol (Fuel) ........... ... ... .. 223
Blended gasoline .......... .. .. .. .. . 222
Blow er (climate control) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Booster seats .............. ...... .. 186 Brake fluid
Changing the brake fluid ............ 241
Checking the brake fluid level ...... .. 241
Reservoir . .. .. .. ................. 241
What is the correct brake fluid level? .. 241
What should I do if the brake fluid warn-
ing light comes on? .. .. .. ..... ..... 241
Brake system . ... .. .. ............... 241
Anti-lock brake system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Brake assist system ................ 197
Brake booster .. .. ................. 200
Brake fluid .. .. .. .. . .. ... .... .... . 241
Brake fluid specifications for refill and re-
placement .. .. .. ................. 241
Brak e light defective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Brak e pads . ... .. .. ............... 205
Electromechanical parking brake ..... . 88
General information .............. . 200
How does moisture or road salt affect the
brakes? ... .. .. .. .... ........... .. 200
Malfunc tion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Warning/indicator lights ............. 18
Worn brake pads symbol . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Braking guard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107, 113
Messages . .. .. .. ............... . .
Settings .. .. .. .. ................ .
Switching on and off .............. .
Break-in period . ..... .............. .
Brake pads . ... .. .. .............. .
Tires
B reakover angle ... ............... . .
Bulbs ......... ... .. .............. .
C
California Proposition 65 Warning ... . .
Battery specific ... ............... .
Capacities
Carbon parts 114
114
114
205
205
205
210
282
232
244
290
Cleaning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219,220
Care .............................. 217
Cargo area
refer to Load ing the luggage compart
ment
..... .. .. .. .. .. ........... .. 145
Cargo floor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Catalytic converter ... .............. . 206
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