
206 Tires and wheels
and handling under a variety of driving condi
tions. Ask your authorized Audi dea ler for
more details.
The low aspect ratio of these tires is indicated
by a numeral of
55 or less in the tire's size
designation. The numeral represents the ratio
of the tire's sidewall height in relation to its
tread width expressed in percentage . Conven
tional tires have a height/width ratio o f 60 or
more .
The performance of low-aspect-ratio tires is
particularly sensitive to improper inflation
pressure. It is therefore important that low
aspect ratio tires are inflated to the specified
pressure and that the inflation pressure is regularly checked and maintained . Tire pres·
sures should be checked at least once a
month and always before a long trip
~ page 195, Checking tire pressure.
What you can do to avoid tire and rim
damage
L ow aspect ratio t ires can be damaged more
ea5i ly by impact with potho le5, curb5, gullie5
or ridges on the road, particularly if the tire is
underinflated .
In order to minimize the occur rence of impact
damage to the tires of your vehicle, we recom
mend that you observe the following precau
tions :
- Always maintain recommended inflation
pressures. Chec k your tire pressure every
2.000 miles (3.000
km) and add air if neces
sary .
- Drive carefu lly on roads with potholes, deep
gullies or ridges. The impact from driving
t h ro ugh or over such obstacles can damage
yo ur tir es. Impact with a curb may also
cause damage to your tires.
- After any impact, immediately inspect your
tir es or have them inspected by the nearest
authorized Aud i dealer. Replace a damaged
t ir e as soon as possible.
- Inspect your t ires every 2.000 miles (3.000
km) for damage and wear. Damage is not al
ways easy to see . Damage can lead to loss of
air and underinflation, wh ich could eventu- ally cause
tire failure. If you believe that a
tire may have been damaged, replace the
tire as soon as possible.
- These tires may wear more quickly than oth
ers.
- Please also remember that, while these tires
deliver responsive handling, they may ride
less comfortably and make more noise than
other choices.
Reduced performance in winter/cold
season conditions
All tires are designed for certain purposes.
The low aspect ratio, ultra h igh performance
t ir es or iginally installed on your vehicle are in
tended for maximum dry and wet road per
fo rmance and handling . They are not suitable
for cold, snowy or icy weather conditions. If
you drive under those circumstances, you
sho uld equ ip your vehicle with all-season or
winter tires, which offer better traction unde r
those conditions. We suggest you use the rec
ommended snow or all-season t ires specified
for your vehicle, or their equivalent .
Refer to~
page 203 for more de tailed infor
mation regarding winter tires.
Tire pressure
monitoring system
General notes
Each tire, including the spare (if provided),
sho uld be checked monthly when co ld and in
flated to the inflation pressure recommended
by the veh icle manufact urer on the vehicle
placard or tire inflation pressure label (If your
vehicle has tires of a different size than the
s ize indicated on the vehicle placard or tire in
flat io n pressure label, you should dete rmine
the proper t ire inflation pressure for those
t i r es.).
As an added safety feature, your veh icle has
been equipped with a tire pressure monitoring
system ( TPMS) that illum inates a low tire
pressure telltale when one or more of you r
t ir es is significantly under-inflated. According -
ly, when the low tire pressure telltale ..,.

illuminates, you should stop and check your
tires as soon as possible, and inflate them to
the proper pressure. Driving on a significantly under- inflated tire causes the tire to overheat
and can lead to tire failure. Under-inflation a l
so reduces fuel efficiency and tire tread life,
and may affect the ve hicle's handling and
stopping ab ility .
Please note that the TPMS is not a substitute
for proper t ire maintenance, and it is the dr iv
e r' s responsib ility to ma inta in correct t ire
p ressure, even if under- inflation has not
reac hed the level to t rigge r illumination of the
TPMS low tire pressure telltale .
Your veh icle has also been equ ipped with a
TPMS malfunction indicator to indicate when
the system is not operating properly. The
TPMS malfunction indi cato r i s combined wi th
the low ti re pressure tell ta le . When the sys
tem detec ts a malf unction, the te lltale will
flash for approximately one minute and t hen
remain cont inuo usly illuminated. This se
quence will continue upon subsequent vehicle
start-ups as long as the malfunction ex ists.
When the malfunctio n indicator is ill uminat
ed, the system may not be able to detect or
signal low t ire pressure as intended . TPMS
malfunct ions may occur for a variety of rea
sons, includi ng the installat io n of rep lace
ment or alternate tires o r wheels on the veh i
cle that prevent the TPMS from funct ion ing
p roperly . Always chec k the TPMS malfunct ion
t ellt ale after replacing one o r more t ires or
wheels on your veh icle to ensure that the re
p lacement or a lternate tires and wheels allow
the TPMS to continue to function properly .
Introduction
T he tire pressure monitoring system monitors
oir pressure in all four road wheels while the
vehicle is moving .
As soon as the tire pressure monitoring sys
tem senses a significant loss of air pressure in
one or several ti res, text messages and yellow
symbo ls appear in the instr ument cluster d is
p lay to alert the driver. T he
RE warning light
Tire s an d wheel s 207
in the instrument cluster comes on when the
tire is significant ly underinflated .
T he wa rni ng lig ht
RE also ill umi nates in the
case of a system malfun ct ion.
Be awa re that t ire pr essure is a lso dependent
o n the tempe ratu re of the t ire. For eve ry 18 ° F
(10 °C) incre ase in tire temper ature, tire pres
s ur e increases by about 1.5 psi (0 .1 bar). The
ti re warms up while the vehicle is moving and
tire press ure rises . So you sho uld ad just tire
pressure only when they a re
cold, when the
temperature of the tires is ro ughly the same
as the ambient a ir temperature.
In order to keep the tire p ress ure monitoring
system p roperly ca librated, t ire pressu re on
a ll four tires sho uld be checked at regu lar in
terva ls.
The tire pressure is shown on the label located
on the dr iver's side B-pillar (v is ible when the
door is open).
A WARNING
When t he tire pressure mo nitoring system
war ning light is lit, one o r more of your
tires is s ignificantly under-infla ted . You
should stop and check you r tires as soon as
possib le, and in flate t hem to the proper
p re ssur e a s in di cate d on the ve hicle's tir e
press ure label
¢page 19 3. D riving on a
significantly under -inflated ti re causes the
tire to over heat and can lead to tire failure.
Under-inflat ion also is like ly to impair the
vehicle's handling and stopping ab ility.
@ For the sake of the environment
D riving wit h un der -inflated tires red uces
fuel efficiency an d tire t read life.
(D Tips
- Ea ch tire should be chec ked monthly
w hen the temperature of the tires is
about the same as ambient a ir tempera
t u re and set to the recommended infla
tion press ure as specified on the tire
pressure label
¢ page 193.
•
•

208 Tire s and whee ls
- The tire pressure monitoring system
helps the driver to keep an eye on tire
pressures. But the driver st ill has the re
sponsibility for maintaining the correct
tire pressure.
- Tire pressure must only be adjusted
when the temperature of the tires is
about the same as ambient air tempera
ture.
- When tires are replaced, the sensors and
valves should not be exchanged . The
valve core, nut, valve sealing and seal
washer (rep lacement kit) needs to be re
placed. If necessary, the valve and the
whee l electronics have to be rep laced.
- The tire pressure monitoring system on
your Audi was calibrated us ing tires w ith
"RO" identification. We recommend us
ing these tires.
- If you should put different whee ls and
ti res on yo ur vehicle (e.g. w inter wheels
and tires), yo u m ust be certain that the
whee ls and tires are compatible with the
tire pressure monitoring system . Other
wise the system w ill reg ister a ma lf u nc
tion and a fault message will be d is
played . For more information, contact
your authorized Audi dealer .
- For Declaration of Compliance to United
States FCC and Industry Canada regula
tions ~
page 230 .
Programming a new set of tires
Applies to vehicles: with tire pressure monitoring system
When driving with a new set of ti res, you can
program them to the t ire pressure monitoring
system using the menu disp lay.
"'Turn the ign ition on .
"' Select the menu :
Set > Tir e pr essu re >
Wheel cha ng e.
"'Confirm that you wo uld like to begin the
programming process. The message
Wh eel
s en sors a re being in it ia lised. Thi s ma y ta ke
a fe w minut es ...
appears in the instrument
clus te r disp lay. You can switch between programmed tire sets
at any time without r einitializing the system .
(D Tips
-If the programm ing process was no t
completed s uccessfully, the message
Wheel senso rs could not be init ialised
appears in the disp lay and the 119;~, in
dicator light turns on. If this happens,
repeat the procedure.
- Do not store the tire pressure if there are snow chains on the tire.
' TPMS Tire pressure monitoring system
malfunction
A malfunction can have various causes .
If the (Bl warning light in the instrument clus
ter flashes for app roximate ly one minute and
then remains cont inuously illumin ated and
additionally the
lliiff1 symbol appears in the
display, the tire pressure monitor ing system is
not availab le . The text
Ti re pre ssure! S ystem
malfun ction
appears in the d isplay. This can
have various ca uses .
- A wheel sensor or other component may
have fai led.
- Dur ing init ialization the system has detect
ed more than 4 wheels on the vehicle, for
examp le w hile d riving next to anothe r ca r
w ith a t ire press ure monitoring system.
- Aud i rep lacement parts were not used .
- If snow cha ins are be ing used, system func -
tion can be compromised due to the sh ield
ing prope rties of the chains.
- The tire pressure mon itoring system may
not be ava ilab le because of a radio malfunc
tion.
- Transm itters w ith the same frequency, such
as radio headphones in the vehicle o r radio
equipment, can cause a temporary disrup
t ion of the system through excessive elec
tromagnetic fie lds .
- Eliminate the interference if yo u can and
then proceed as fo llows: T urn off the eng ine
for 20 minutes . Then drive another 10 mi
nutes .
If the warning light comes on again, ll-

you should contac t you r authorized Audi
dealer imme diate ly to have the problem co r
rected.
- Do not use comme rcially ava ila ble tire seal
ants. Otherw ise, the electrical components
of the tire pressure monitoring system w ill
no l onger wor k properly and the sensor for
t h e tire pressure mo nitoring system will
hav e to b e replaced by a qualified wor kshop .
Tires and wheels 209
•
•

210 What do I do now?
What do I do now?
Trunk escape handle
Appl ies to vehicles: wit h tru nk escape hand le
In case of an emergency, the front lid can be
opened from the inside using the trunk es
cape handle .
.,. To
open the front lid pu ll the handle.
The trunk escape handle inside the luggage
compartment is made of fluorescent material
to g low in the dark.
A WARNING
The trunk escape handle is to be used only
in an emergency.
Vehicle tool kit
The tools are stored underneath the floor
panel in the luggage comportment.
Fig. 153 Luggage compartment: ve hicle tool k it
.,. Swing the luggage compartment floor up-
wards .
.,. Remove the vehicle tool kit.
The onboard tool kit includes:
- Hook for removing hub cap
- Lug wrench
- Alignment pin for changing wheels
- Screwdriver with reversible blade
- T owing eye
- Jack* (not a vehicle component; contact your
authorized Aud i dealer if needed)
Some of the on board items listed above are provided on certain models only or are option
a l extras. Before
returning the jack* to its place, retract
t h e jack arm fully.
A WARNING
-
Improper use of the vehicle jack can cause
serious personal injuries.
- Never use the screw driver hex head to
tighten wheel bolts, since the bolts can
not attain the necessary tightening tor
que if you use the hex head, potentially
causing an accident.
- The factory-supplied jack is intended on
ly for your vehicle model. Under no cir
cumstances should it be used to
lift
heavy veh icles or other loads; you risk in
juring yourself.
- Never start the engine when the vehicle
is raised, which could cause an acc ident.
- Support the vehicle securely with appro
priate stands if work is to be performed
underneath the vehicle; otherwise, there
is a potential risk for injury.
- Never use the jack supplied with your
Aud i on another vehicle, part icularly on a
heav ier one. The jack is only suitable for
use on the vehicle it came with.
Tire repair
General and safety pointers
Applies to veh icles: w it h Tire Mob ility System
Tire repair is intended only for temporary,
short-term use.
Fig . 154 Tire damage for wh ich the Tir e Mob ility Sys
te m is no t suited
Your vehicle is equipped with a tire repair kit,
the
Tire Mobility System (TMS). .,,.

214 What do I do now ?
@ Tips
After a tire repair, have the sealant bottle
rep laced at a dealership. This restores full
functionality to the Tire Mob ility System.
What should I be
aware of when
changing a tire?
Tires with unidirectional tread design
Tires with unidirectional tread design must be
mounted with their tread pattern pointed the
right direction .
A unidirectiona l tire can be ident ified by ar
row s on the sidewall,
which point in the direc
tion of the rotation. You must follow the
specified direction of rotat ion. This is necessa
ry in order for these t ires to develop the ir op·
timum characteristics regarding grip, road noise, wear, and hydroplani ng.
Anti-theft wheel bolts
A special adapter is needed to turn the anti· theft wheel bolts.
Fi g. 1 58 Anti-theft wheel bolts with adapter
., Install the adapter @as far as it wi ll go on
to the ant i-theft wheel bolt(!).
., Push the wheel wrench over the adapter @
as far as it wi ll go.
., Loosen or tighten the wheel bo lt
r=> page 216.
We recommend a lways keeping the wheel
bolt adapter w ith you i n the vehicle. It should
be stored in the veh icle tool k it. T
he re is a
c ode number for the wheel bo lt
locking device , stamped on the face of the
adapter . You can use this n umber to obta in a
replacement adapter at an authorized A udi
dealers hip, if necessary.
(0 Tips
Wr ite down the wheel bolt lock ing device
code number and store it in a safe place,
away from t he vehicle.
Raising the vehicle
Applies to vehicles: with orig inal Audi jack
The vehicle must be lifted with the jack* first
before the wheel can be removed.
•
F ig. 159 Sill panels: ma rk in gs
Fi g. 16 0 Sill: pos it io nin g th e ve hicle jack
The descr ip ti on for using the vehicle jack only
applies to the origina l jack* (not a vehicle
component; contact your author ized A udi
dealer if nee ded) .
., App ly the
parking brake firmly to prevent
your veh icle from rolling unintentionally.
., Shift to
1st gear (manual transmission). In
veh icles with au toma tic tra nsmissions,
make sure t he au tomatic par king lock is se t
as well
r=> page 78 . ..,

.. Find the lifting p oint in the sill on the side
with the affected wheel¢
fig. 159.
.. Extend the ja ck under the lifting point on
the doo r sill unti l its arm is positioned di
rectly under the lifting point¢ &_ .
.. Align the jack so that its arm @¢
fig. 160
engages in the designated lifting point in
the door sill and the movable base @ lies
flat on the ground. The base @ must be
ver
tical
under the lift ing po int @ .
.. Wind the jack up further until the flat tire
comes off the ground¢&_ .
Position the vehicle jack
onl y under the desig
nated lift ing po ints on the sill¢
fig. 159.
There is exactly one location for each side of
the vehicle. The jack must not be pos itioned
at any other location ¢ fri. ¢0 .
An
un sta bl e s urfa ce u nder the jack can cause
the vehicle to s lip off the jack . Always provide
a firm base for the jack on the ground . If nec
essary plac e a sturdy board or similar support
under the jack. On
ha rd, slippe ry surface s
(such as tiles) use a rubber mat or sim ilar to
prevent the jack from slipping¢&. .
A WARNING
-You or your passengers could be injured
wh ile chang ing a wheel if you do not fol
low safety p re ca utions:
- Position the vehicle jack only at the
designated lifting points and align the
jack . Otherwise, the vehicle jack could
slip and cause an injury if it does not
have sufficient ho ld on the vehicle.
- A soft or unstable surface under the
jack may cause the vehicle to slip off the jack. Always provide a firm base for
the jack on the ground . If necessary,
use a sturdy boa rd under the jack.
- On ha rd, slippery surface (such as tiles)
use a rubber mat o r similar to prevent
the jack from slipping .
- To help prevent injury to yourself and
your passenge rs:
- Do not raise the vehicle unti l yo u are
sure the jack is securely engaged .
What do I do now ? 215
-Passengers must not remain in the ve
hicle when it is jacked up .
- Make sure that passengers wait in a
safe place away from the veh icle and
well away from the road and traffic .
- Make sure jack position is correct, ad
just as necessary and then cont inue to
raise the jack .
(D Note
A floor jack or the pads on the hoist arms
must
not be positioned at the points
shown
-arrow -.
Removing the wheel
Follow these instructions step -by-step for
changing the wheel .
Fig . 1 61 W hee l change: us ing the sc rewdr iver hand le
(w it h th e blade r emov ed) to t urn th e bolts
F ig . 1 62 Whee l change: alignmen t pin inside the top
h ol e
After you have loosened all wheel bo lts and
raised the vehicle off the grou nd, perform the
follow ing steps to remove and replace the
whee l: ..,.

216 What do I do now?
Removing the wheel
.. Use the hexagonal socket in the screwdriv
er handle
to comp letely turn out the top
most wheel bolt and set it aside on a
clean
sur face .
.. Screw the threaded end of the
alignment
pin
from the tool kit hand-tight into the
now vacant bolt hole
o fig. 162.
.. Then completely unscrew the other wheel
bolts as described above .
.. Take off the wheel leav ing the alignment pin
in the bolt hole
o(D .
Putting on the wheel
.. Lift the spare wheel and carefully slide it
over the alignment pin to guide it in place
o@.
.. Use the hexagonal socket in the screwdr iver
handle to screw in and tighten all wheel
bolts
slightly .
.. Unscrew the alignment pin and insert and
tighten the remaining whee l bolt slig htly
like the rest.
.. Turn the jack handle counter-clockw ise to
lower the vehicle until the jack is fully re
leased .
The wheel bolts must be clean and turn easily.
Check the contact surfaces of wheel and hub. Remove contaminants on these surfaces be
fore installing the wheel.
The hexagonal socket in the screwdriver han
dle makes it easier to handle the wheel bolts.
The reversible blade should be removed.
When mounting
unidirectional tires, observe
the direction of rotation
o page 214.
«I) Note
When removing or installing the wheel,
the rim could hit the brake rotor/ceramic
brake rotor* and damage the rotor. Work
carefully an have a second perso n he lp
you .
1l You need the appropriate adapte r to tigh ten the anti
theft whee l bo lts
c:> page 214.
(D Tips
Never use the hexagonal socket in the han
dle of the screwdriver to loosen or tighten
the wheel bo lts.
Tightening wheel bolts
.. Fit the wheel bolt wrench over the wheel
bolt and push it down as far as it will go
ll.
.. Close your grip around the end of the
w rench handle for maximum torque and
turn each wheel bolt
clockwise until it sits
tight .
Have the
tightening torque of the wheel bolts
checked as soon as possible with a to rque
wrench. It should be 120 Nm .
Check the
tire pressure as soon as possible.
Return the veh icle tool k it to its proper place.
A WARNING ..,___
Loosening the wheel bolts is prohibited;
danger of an acc ident!
(D Tips
- Never try and use the hexagonal socket
in the handle of the screwdriver to loos
en or t ighten the wheel bo lts.
- If you have determined that wheel bolts are corroded and difficult to turn, the
bolts must be replaced before check ing
the torque .
- Until the t ightening torque is checked,
dr ive at reduced speeds as a precaution.
Notes on wheel change
-
Please read the information o page 199, New
tires and replacing tires and wheels,
if you are
go ing to use a spa re tire wh ich is different
from the tires on your vehicle.
After you change a tire: