278 Tires and wheels
you have stored. The system does not recog
nize the load condition of your vehicle.
The effectiveness of the tire pressure monitor
ing system w ill be impaired if yo u store nor
mal load pressures but then operate the vehi
cle at its maximum load¢.&. .
See the illustration¢
fig. 249 for the location
of the label on driver's side 8-pillar (color of
the actua l label and exact location on the ve
hicle wi ll vary slightly).
Note that the following table is accurate at
the time of going to press and is subject to
Model/ Tire designation
change. In the event of discrepancies, the tir e
pressure label located on the driver's side 8-
pillar always takes precedence.
T he table below lists the recommended cold
ti re inflation pressures for the Audi mode l
covered by your Owner's Literature at the vehi
cle's capacity weight and the t ire sizes instal
l ed on the respective models as original
equipment, or as a factory option.
Tire pressure
Engine normal load condition full load condition
front rear
front rear
PSI kPA PSI kPA PSI kPA PSI kPA
255/55 Rl8 109H XL
35 240 35 240 44
300 49 340 All Season
265/50 Rl9 llOH XL
35 240
35 240
44
300 49 340 All Season
Q7: 275/45 R20 llOH XL
3 .0 liter
35 240
35 240 44
300 49 340 All Season
6-cylinder
275/45 R20 llOYXL
35 240 35 240 44 300 49 340 High Performance
295/35 R21 107V XL
36 250 35 240 44 300 49 340
High Performance
XL= reinforced or extra load tire. It may also appear as xl, EXTRA LOAD, or RF on the tire side-
wall.
The correct tire pressure for the spare wheel is
located on a label on the driver's side 8-p illar .
Because technical changes may be made to
vehicle equipment dur ing the model year, al
ways compare the tire size designation on the
tire pressure label on your vehicle w ith the
tires on your vehicle. Make sure that the tire
size info rmation on the vehicle label is the
same as the size of the tires on the vehicle.
This is especially important if the vehicle be
l ongs to someone else or you bought the vehi
cle with different rims/tires or you bought the
vehicle as a previously owned vehicle.
Remember, your safety and that of yo ur pas
sengers also depends on making s ure that load
limits are not exceeded . Veh icle load in
cludes everybody and eve ryth ing in and on the
vehicle. These load limits are techn ica lly refer
red to as the veh icle's Gross Vehicle Weight
Rating ("GVWR"). The Gross Axle We ight Rat
ing ("GAWR") is the maximum load that can
be applied at each of the vehicle's two ax les.
The Gross Vehicle Weight Rating and the Gross Axle Weight Rating are listed on the
safety comp liance sticker label located on the
driver's side 8-pillar . The tire pressure label on
your Audi lists the maximum combined
weight of all of the occupants and luggage or
other cargo that the veh icle can carry . For the
location of the tire pressure label¢
fig. 249. ..,_
& 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 yo ur vehicle
was designed to carry will prevent the
vehicle from handling properly and in crease the risk of a loss of veh icle con
trol.
- The brakes on a veh icle 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 causing loss of con
tro l and a crash .
- Always make sure that the tota l load be
ing transported -including the we ight of
a tra ile r hi tch and the tongue weight of a
loaded trailer -does not make the veh i
cle heav ier than the veh icle's Gross Vehi
cl e Weight Rating.
& WARNING
- Incorre ct tire pressures and/or underin
fla tion can lead to a serious o r fatal acci
dent.
- Incorrect tire pressures and/or underin
flation cause increased tire wear and can
affect the handling of the vehicle .
- Incorre ct tire pressures and/or underin
fla tion can also lead to sudden tire fa il
ure, incl uding a blowo ut and sudden de
flation, causing loss of vehicle control.
Checking tire pressure
-
The correct tire pressure for the tires original
ly installed on your vehicle is listed on the tire
pressure label located on driver's side 8-pil lar.
The recommended tire pressures are on the
tire pressure label and in the tab le
c:::> page 277, Cold tire inflation pressure .Th is
means that the pressure must be checked and
adjusted when the tire has not been driven for more than a couple of m iles (kilometers) at
low speeds during the p revious three hours .
Tires an d wheel s 2 79
Air in the tires expands when the tire heats up
as a result of internal friction as it flexes in
u se . The tire pressure is h igher when the tire
has warmed up than when it is "cold."
It is the inflation pressure in a "co ld" t ire that
counts . The refore, you should never let air o ut
of a warm tire to match "Cold t ire in flat ion
pressure" recommendat ions ¢
page 277 . The
tires wo uld then be underinf lated and could
fail suddenly .
The t ire pressure label on your Audi lists the
recommended co ld tire inflation pressures at
maximum capacity for the new, orig inal
equipment tires that were on your ve hicle at
the time it was ma nufactured . For the loca
tion of the labe l
¢page 277, fig . 249 .
Most tires lose air naturally over t ime . They
can a lso lose some air if you drive over a pot
hole or hit a curb while park ing.
It is usually
not poss ible to see whethe r the rad ia l tires
u sed today are under inflated just by loo kin g
at them.
T herefo re, be su re to check t ire pressu res at
l east once a mo nth and a lways befo re go ing
o n a long tr ip. Ma ke s ure to ta ke t he number
of peop le and the amount of luggage in to ac
count when ad justing tire pressu re for a trip -
even one that yo u wo uld not conside r to be
"long." See¢
page 281, Tires and vehicle
load limits
for more important information .
A lways use an acc ura te tire pressu re ga uge
when checking and adj usting inf lation pres
s ur es . Check a ll of the tires and be sure not to
forget the spare tire. If the pressure in any t ire
is too high when the tire is "cold," let a ir o ut
of the t ire s low ly w ith the edge of the tire
gauge and keep checking the pressure until
yo u reach the pressure that is correct for the
load (passengers and luggage) and k ind of
driv ing you plan to do.
If the pressure in any tire is too low, note the
difference between the pressure i n the cold
t ir e and the pressu re you need and add the air
t h at you need to reach the cor re ct pressure for
the ve hicle load (passengers and luggage) for
the tires on your vehi cle as listed on the on •
•
28 0 T ire s and wheel s
your veh icle and in this manua l and the kind
of driving yo u plan to do .
Neve r e xcee d the m ax imum inflati on pres
s u re list e d on th e tir e s ide wall f or a ny r ea
s on.
Remember that the vehicle manufacturer, not
the tire manufacturer , determ ines the co rrect
tire pressure for the t ires on your veh icle .
It is important to check the tire pressure when
the tires a re cold .
- Read the required t ire pres sure from the tire
pressure label. The ti re pressure label is lo
cated on the driver's side 8-p illar . The t ire
pressure label lists the recommended cold
t ire inflat ion p ressu res for the veh icle at its
maximum capacity we ight and the tires that
were on you r vehicle at the time it was man
ufactured . For recommended tire pressures
for normal load condit ions, please see chap
ter
c:> page 2 77.
- Turn the valve stem cap counter-clockwise
to remove it from the tire valve.
- Place the a ir pressure gauge on the valve.
- T he tire pressures should on ly be checked
and adjusted when the tires are cold. The
s li ghtly raised pressures of warm tires must
not be reduced.
- Adjust the tire pressure to the load you are
carrying .
- Reinsta ll the va lve stem cap on the valve.
When should I check the tire pressur e?
The correct tire pressure is especially impor
tant at high speeds. The pressure should
therefore be checked at least once a month
and always befo re starting a journey. Do not
forget to check the tire pressure for the spare wheel.
When should I ad ju st th e tire p re ss ures?
Adj ust the tire p ressure to the load you are
carry ing . After chang ing a wheel
or replacing
wheels you have to adjust the tire pressures
on all wheels . In addition, you must then
store the new tire press ures in the tir e pres
sure monito ring system
c:> page 293.
A WARNING
Incorrect tire pressures and/or underinfla
tion can lead sudden tire fa ilure, loss of
control, collision, serious personal injury
or even death .
- When the warn ing symbol
[I] appears in
the instrument cluster, stop and inspect
the t ires.
- Incorrect tire pressure and/or underinfla
tion can cause increased tire wear and
can affect the hand ling of the vehicle and
stopping abi lity.
- I nco rrect tire pressures a nd/or underin
f lation can a lso lead to sudden t ire fail
ure, including a blowout and sudden de
flation, ca using loss of vehicle contro l.
- The drive r is responsible for the correc t
tire pressures for all tires on the veh icle.
The applicable pressure values are locat
ed on a sticker on the driver's side B -pil
lar.
- On ly when all tires on the vehicle are fil
led to the correct pressure, the tire pres
sure mon itoring system can work cor
rectly.
- The use of incorrect tire pressure va lues
can lead to acc idents or other damage.
Therefore it is essential that the driver
observe the spec ified t ire pressure values
for the tires and the correct pressures for
the function of the t i re press ure monitor
ing system.
- Always inflate t ires to the recommended
and correct t ire p ressure before dr iv ing
off.
- Driving with underinf lated tires bend
mo re, letting them get too hot resulting
in tread sepa ration, s udde n tire failure
and loss of cont ro l.
- E xcessive speed and/overloadi ng can
cause heat b uild- up, sudden tire failure
and loss of cont ro l.
- I f the tire pressure is too low or too high,
the t ires will wear prema turely and the
vehicle wi ll not handle well. ..,
-If the ti re is not flat and y ou do not have
to change a wheel immed iate ly, drive at
reduced speed to the nearest service sta
t ion to check the tire pressure and add
air as required.
(D Note
Dr iving without va lve stem caps can cause
damage to the t ire va lves. To prevent this,
always make sure that factory installed
valve stem caps on all wheels are secu re ly
mounted on the va lve.
@) For the sake of the environment
Underinflated tires will a lso increase the
fue l consumption.
Tires and vehicle load limits
There are limits to the amount of load or
weight t hat any veh icle and any t ire ca n car ry.
A vehicle that is overloaded w ill not handle
well and is more difficult to stop. Overload ing
can not on ly lead to loss of vehicle contro l,
but can a lso damage important parts of the
vehicle and can lead to sudden tire failure, in
cluding a blowout and sudden deflation that
can cause the ve hicle to crash.
Your safety and that of yo ur passenge rs a lso
depends on making sure that load limits are
not exceeded. Vehicle load includes everybody
and everyth ing in and on the vehicle. These
load limits a re tech nica lly referred to as the
ve hicle's
Gross Veh icle Weight Rating
("GVWR").
The "GVWR" includes the we ight of the basic
ve hicle, all factory installed accessories, a full
tank of f uel, oil, coo lant and othe r fluids plus
max imum load. The maximum load includes
the number o f passenger s that the ve hicl e is
intended to carry ("se ating capacity") w it h an
assumed weig ht o f 150 lbs (68 kg) for each
passenger at a designated seating position
and the tota l weight of any luggage in the ve
h icle. If you tow a trailer, the weight of the
trailer hitch and the tong ue weight of the
Tire s an d wheel s 281
loaded tra ile r must be included as part of the
vehicle load .
T he
Gro ss Ax le Weight Rating (" GAWR") is
the max imum load th at can be applied at each
of the vehicle's two axles .
T he Gross Vehicle Weight Rat ing and t he
G ross Ax le Weig ht Ra ting are l iste d on the
s af ety comp liance s tic ke r la bel lo cated on the
driver's side 8 -pillar . Your Audi has 5 seating
positions, 2 in the front and 3 in the rear fo r
total seating capacity of 5. On vehicles with
s ix seats*, your vehicle has two front seats,
two seats in the second row seat ing and two
seats in the th ird row seati ng. On veh icles
with seven seats*, your vehicle has two front
seats, t hree seats in the second row s eating
and two seats in t he third row seating. Ea ch
seat ing pos itio n has a se at belt
~page 174,
Safety be lts .
The fact that ther e is a n upper limit to you r
vehicle's G ross Vehicle Weigh t Rati ng means
that the to tal weig ht of whatever is bei ng car
ried in the vehicle ( in cl ud ing the weight of a
trailer hitch and the tongue weight of the l oa ded trai le r) is limite d. The more passen
gers in the vehicle or passengers who are heavier than the standard we ights assumed
mean that less we ight can be carried as lug
gage.
The tire pressure label on your Audi also lists
the max imum combined weight of all of the
occupants and luggage or other cargo that
t h e ve hicle can carry. Fo r the locat ion of the
label
~page 277, fig . 249.
A WARNING
Overloading a veh icl e can cause loss of ve
h icl e cont ro l, a crash or o ther accide nt, se
rio us pe rson al inj ury, a nd eve n death .
- Ca rrying more we ight tha n your ve hicle
was des igned to carry w ill prevent the
veh icle from h andling proper ly and in
crease the risk of the loss o f vehicle con
trol.
•
•
282 Tires and wheels
-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 vehi
cle's placard (tire inflation pressure label)
¢ page 2 77,
fig. 249.
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 277, fig. 249.
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.
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 re duces the available cargo
and luggage load capacity of
your vehicle. ..,
314 Technical Dat a
designated seating position) and luggage
weight¢ .&,.
Gross Axle W eight Rating
The Gross Axle Weight Rating is the maximum
l oad that can be applied at each axle of the
vehicle ¢Lr!, .
Vehicle capacit y weight
The vehicle capac ity we ight (max. load) is list
ed on the driver's side B-p illar.
A WARNING
- T he Gross Vehicle Weight Rat ing for your
vehicle, fo und on the safety compliance
label on the driver's side B -pillar, must
never be exceeded under any circumstan
ces. Exceeding the Gross Vehicle We ight
Rating of your vehicle is likely to damage
your vehicle, and such damage will not
be covered by your Lim ited New Vehicle
Warranty. Exceeding the Gross Vehicle
We ight Rating will also change the per
formance and handling cha racte rist ics of
yo ur vehicle, which cou ld cause a crash
result ing in se rious in jury or death.
- T he Gross Veh icle Weight Rat ing fo r yo ur
vehicle would be exceeded if yo ur vehicle
is simultaneo us ly equipped with Panor
amic sliding sunroo f; th ird-row seating;
Dimensions
Length
Width
Width (across mirrors) Height (unloaded) al
Turning circle diamete rbl trailer towing
equipment (factory or
dea le r-installed), and running boards
(dealer-installed). UNDER NO CIRCUM
STANCES MAY ALL SUCH ITEMS BE IN
STA LLED ON THE SAME VE HICLE .
- The actual Gross Ax le Weig ht Rating at
the front and rear ax les should not ex
ceed the permissible weights, and the ir
comb inat io n must not exceed the Gross
Vehi cle Weight Rating.
- Exceeding permiss ible weight ratings can
result i n ve hicl e damage, a ccidents and
personal inj ury.
....--
CD Note
- The vehicle capacity weight figu res apply
when the load is d istr ibuted evenly in the
vehicle (passenge rs and luggage). When
t ransport ing a heavy load in the lugg age
compar tment, carry the load as near to
t he rear ax le as possible so that the vehi
cle's handling is not impaired.
- Do not exceed the maximum permissib le
ax le loads or the maximum gross vehicle
we ight . A lways remember that the vehi
cle's handling w ill be affected by the ex
tra load. Therefore, ad just your speed ac
cordingly.
- Always observe local regulat ions.
in (mm)
200 .3 (5089)
in (mm) 78.1 (1983)
in (mm) 85 .7 (2 177)
in (mm) 68.4 (1737)
ft (m) 39 .4 ( 12)
al The he ight of t he ve hicle depends on the tires and t he su spension.
b l The turning radius dep ends on th e tir es.
When driv ing up steep ramps, on rough roads,
over curbs, etc. it is important to remembe r
that some parts of your ve hicle, such as spoil- ers or exhaust
system components, may be
close to the ground . Be careful not to damage
them .
1
_______________________________ ___:I~n ~d ~e:.::x 327
Fuel gauge .... ... ...... ... .. .. .... 12
Gasoline ... ................ ... ... 249
Gasoline additives ....... .... ... .. . 250
Low fuel level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12, 35
Octane rating ............ .... .. ... 249
Recommendation .............. .... 249
Refuelling .. ... .. .. ...... .. .. .. .. . 252
Reserve .. ............ ...... .... ... 12
Tank capacity ............ .. .. .. .. . 315
Un loc kin g the fue l filler flap by hand . . 254
Fue l economy messages (efficiency pro-
gram) . .. .. .. .. ........ ... .. ... ... .. 27
Fuse arrangement ............ ... .. . 302
G
Garage door opener (Homelink) . ... .. . 16 1
Gas discharge lamps ........... .... .. 305
Gauges Engine coolant temperature .. .. .. .. .. 10
Fuel gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Speedometer . .............. ... ... . 12
Tachometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Trip odometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
General illustration Instruments and controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
General rules and driving tips .... .. .. . 237
Before driving off road ........ ... .. . 23 7
Driving offroad ........... .. .. .. .. . 237
Glossary of t ire and loading te rmino logy 274
Glove compartment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Cooling box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Va let key function ............... ... 41
Glove compartment - emergency unlock-
ing ... .. .. .. .. .. ........... .. .. .. .. 89
Glow plug system Indicator light .............. ... .. .. 15
Gradient angle ... ......... .... .. .. . 237
Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) .. . 313
Ground clearance 237
H
Headlights .. .... ......... .... .. .. .. 57
Adapt ive light ............ .. .. .. .. .. 59
C leaning ... .. .............. ... ... 245
Defective .. .. .............. ... .... 23
Fr ont fog lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 Headlight range control
............. 36
Switching off .. .. .. .............. .. 57
Switching on ... .. .. ................ 57
Washer system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Xenon headlights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 7
Headlight washer reservoir ......... .. 272
Head restraints .. ... ............... . 167
Adjust ing . .. .. .. ... .. .......... .. 16 7
Front seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Rear seats . .. .. .. .. . ... ........... . 78
Heated Exterior mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Front seats .. .. .. .. .. .... ....... .. 101
Rear seats . .. .. .. .. .. ........... .. 102
Rear seats (four-zone automat ic comfort
air conditioning) .. .. .............. . 102
Steering wheel ..... .............. . 102
Washer je ts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Heating Climate controls .. .... ......... .. .. . 92
Heavy clothing and safety belts ........ 177
High beam... ..... .............. 57 , 60
Warning/ind icator lights . ....... .. .. . 18
High voltage warning label ....... .. .. 313
Hill descent control . . . . . . . . . . . . 140, 225
Hill ho ld
Starting on hills .... .............. . 110
Homelink (remote control)
Hood Opening 161
25 7
Release lever .. .. .. . .. ... ... ...... 257
Horn ........ .. .. .... ............. .. 8
How are child restraint system anchors re-
lated to child safety .... ...... ....... 217
How many a irbags does my vehicle have? 190
How often should I ch eck my tire pres-
sures? 280
How safety belt pretens ioners work .. .. 181
Hydroplaning ....... .......... ..... 284
I
Ignition key . .. .. .. ... ..... ....... .. 105
Ignition lock . ....... ............... 105
Malfunction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34, 37
Ign it ion lock posit ions .......... .... . 105
Important things to do before driving .. 164
•
•