New tires and replacing tires and wheels
New tires and wheels have to be broken in.
Fig. 199 Tir e speci fication codes on the s idewall of a
t ire
No . Description
CD Passenger car tire (where applicable)
@ Nominal width of tire in m illimeters
® Ratio of height to width (aspect ratio)
@ Radia l
® Rim diameter code
® Load index and speed rating
0 U.S. DOT tire identification number
® Audi Or iginal tire
® Sever snow condit ions
@ T ire p ly composi tion a nd materia ls
used
@ Max imum load rat ing
@ T readwear, traction and temperature
grades
@ Max imum pe rm iss ible inflation pres-
sure
The t ires and rims are essential parts of the
vehicle's design . The tires and r ims approved
by Aud i are specia lly matched to the charac
ter istics of the veh icle and can make a majo r
Tires and wheels 239
contribution to good road holding and safe
handling when in good condition and properly
inflated
~ .&. .
We recommend that a ll work on tires and
whee ls be per formed by an authorized Audi
dealer. They are familiar with recommended procedures and have the necessary special
tools and spare parts as well as the proper fa
cilities for disposing of the old t ires.
Authorized Audi dea lers have the necessary
information about technical requirements for
i nstalling or changing tires and rims .
Replacing tires and wheels
Tires should be replaced at least in pa irs and
not individually (for examp le both front tires
or both rear tires together) .
Be sure to read and heed the info rmation to
the tire pressure mo nitoring system
¢ page 246.
Always b uy replacement radia l tires that have
the same spe cifica tions as t he tires app rove d
for yo ur vehicle by Audi . Replacement tires
must a lways have the same load rating speci
ficatio n as the origina l equipment or approved
optiona l tires listed in the table¢
page 232 .
Audi-approved specif ication t ires a re spec ial ly
matched to your vehicle and its load limits,
and can contr ibute to the impo rtant roadho ld
ing, driv ing characteristics, and sa fety of the
vehicle. The table(¢
page 232) lists specifica
tions of the tires approved for the Audi mod
els covered by your Owner's Literature.
The tire pressure label located on driver's s ide
B-pillar (¢
page 232, fig. 196) lists the speci
ficat ions of the original equipment tires in
stalled on you r vehicle at the time it was man
ufactu red .
Federal law requires tire manufacturers to
place standardized information on the side
wall of all tires¢
fig. 199. This information
i dentifies and descr ibes the fundamenta l
c haracteristics, the q uality grade of the t ire
and also provides a t ire identification numbe r
IJi,,-
manufacturers also must indicate the materi
als in the tire, which include steel, nylon, pol
yester, and others.
M ax imum Load R atin g
This numbe r indicates the maximum load in
kilograms and pounds that can be carried by
the tire.
Tire qualit y gra ding for treadw ear,
t ract ion , and temp erature r esistanc e
Tread wear , traction and temperature g rades
¢ page 242.
Maximum Permissible Inflation Pressur e
This number is the greatest amount of air
pressure that sho uld ever be put in the ti re
under normal driving conditions.
_& WARNING ,...__._
- Using incorrect or unmatched tires and/
or whee ls or improper tire and whee l
combinations can lead to loss of contro l,
co llision and serious persona l injury.
- Always use tires, rims and wheel bo lts
that meet the specifications of original
factory-installed tires or other combina t ions that have been spec ifically ap
proved by the vehicle manufacturer.
- 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
you are not su re of their "previous histo
ry." Old used ti res may have been dam
aged even though the damage cannot be
seen that can lead to s udden tire failure
and loss of vehicle control.
- All four wheels must be fitted with radia l
tires of the same type, size (rolling cir c u mference) and the same tread pattern.
Driving with different tires red uces veh i
cle handling and can lead to a loss of
control.
Tire s an d wheel s 241
-If the replacement tire is not the same as
the t ires that are mounted on the veh icle
- for example with winter tires - only use
the replacement tire for a short per iod of
time and drive with extra care . Refit the
normal road whee l as soon as safely pos
sible.
- Never drive faster than the max imum
speed for which the tires on you r vehicle
a re rated because tires that are dr iven
faster than thei r rated speed ca n fa il
suddenly .
- Ove rloading tires ca use heat build-up,
sudden tire fa ilure, including a blowou t
and sudden deflation and loss of cont ro l.
- Temperature grades apply to ti res that
are properly inflated and not over or un
derinf lated .
- F or technical reasons it is not always
possible to use whee ls from other
vehicles -in some cases not even whee ls
from the same veh icle mode l.
- If you install wheel trim discs on the ve
hicle wheels, make sure that the air flow
to the brakes is not b locked. Reduced air
flow to the brakes can them to overheat, increas ing stopping d istances and caus
ing a co llision.
- Run flat tires may only be used on
veh icles that were equipped with them
at the factory . The veh icle must have a
chassis designed for run flat tires . Incor
rect use of ru n flat ti res can lead to vehi
cle damage or accide nts. Che ck with an
author ized Audi dealer or tire spe cialist
to see if your vehicle can be eq uipped
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.
@ Note
- For technical reasons, it is not generally
possible to use the wheel rims from oth
er veh icles. Th is can hold tr ue for wheels
of the same vehicle type. .,..
•
•
risk of a wheel loss . If the tightening tor
que of the wheel bolts is too low, they
can loosen and come out when the vehi
cle is moving. If the tightening torque is
too high, the whee l bolts and threads
can be damaged and the wheel can be
c ome loose.
(D Note
The spec ified torque for the wheel bo lts is
90 ft lb (120 Nm) w ith a tolerance of ± 7,4
ft lb(± 10 Nm) . Torque wheel bo lts d iago
na lly . After chang ing a wheel, the torque
m ust be che cked as soon as possib le w it h a
t orque wrenc h -preferab ly by an a utho r
ized Audi dealer or qualified workshop.
Low aspect ratio tires
Your Audi is factory-equipp ed with low aspect
ratio t ires. These t ires have been thorough ly
tested and been selected spec ifically for your
model for the ir superb performance, road feel
and handling unde r a va riety of driving condi
tions. Ask your a uthorized Aud i dea le r fo r
mo re deta ils.
T he low aspect ratio of these tires is indicated
by a nume ral of
55 or less in the tire's size
des ignation . T he numeral represents the rat io
of the ti re's sidewall height in relat io n t o its
tread wid th expressed in per cen tage . C o nven
tional t ires have a height/width ra tio of 60 or
mo re.
Th e performan ce of low -aspe ct-ratio tir es is
parti cularl y se nsitive to improper inflation
pressure . It is therefore impor tant that low
a s pect ratio tire s are inflated to the specified
pressure and that the inflation pre ssure is
regularly checked and maintained. Ti re pres
sures should be checked at least once a
month and always before a long trip
c::> page 234, Checking tire pressure .
What you can do to avoid tire and rim
damage
Low aspect ratio tires can be damaged more
eas ily by impact with potho les, curbs, gu llies
Tire s an d wheel s 245
or r idges on the road, partic ularly if the tire is
u nderinflated.
In orde r to minimize t he occ urren ce of impact
dam age to the tires o f your vehi cle, we recom
mend that you observe the following p reca u
tions:
- Always ma int ain re commended inflation
pressu res . Check your tire pressu re eve ry
2,000 miles ( 3,000 km) and add air if neces
sary.
- Dr ive ca re fu lly on roads with potholes, deep
gullies o r ridges. The impact from driving
through or over such obstacles can damage
your tires. Impact with a curb may also cause damage to your tires .
- After any impact, immed iate ly inspect your
tires or have them inspected by the nearest
au thor ized Audi dealer. Replace a damaged
tire as soon as possible .
- Inspect your tires every 2,000 m iles (3,000
km) for damage and wear. Damage is no t al
ways easy to see . Damage can lead to loss of
air a nd under inflat ion, which could eventu
ally cause tire failure .
If you believe that a
t ire may have been damaged, rep lace the
t ire as soon as possib le.
- These tires may wear more quickly tha n oth
ers.
- Please also remember that, while these tires
de live r respon sive handling, they may ride
less comfo rtably and m ake more noise tha n
other choi ces .
Reduced performance in winter /cold
season conditions
A ll ti res are designed for cer ta in p urposes.
T he low aspect ratio, ult ra h igh performance
tires originally installed on your vehicle are i n
tended for maxim um dry and wet road per
f ormance and handling. They are not suitable
for cold , snowy or icy weather condi tions. If
you drive under those circumstances, you
shou ld equ ip your vehicle w it h all -season or
winter tires, which offer bette r traction under
those conditions. We suggest you use the rec
ommended snow o r all-season t ires specified
f o r yo ur vehicle , or t hei r equivalent . .,..
•
•
246 Tires and wheels
Refer to ¢page 243 for mo re detailed infor
mation regarding winter tires .
Tire pressure
monitoring system
(D General notes
Each tire, including the spare (if provided) ,
should be checked monthly when cold and in
flated to the inflation pressure recommended by the vehicle manufacturer on the vehicle
placard or tire inflation pressure label. (If your
vehicle has tires of a different size than the
size indicated on the vehicle placard or tire in
flation pressure label, you shou ld determine
the proper tire inflation pressure for those
tires).
As an added safety feature, your vehicle has
been equipped with a tire pressure monitor ing
system (TPMS) that illuminates a low tire
p ressure telltale when one or more of your
tires is significantly under-inflated. According
ly, when the low tire pressure telltale illumi
nates, you should stop and check your tires as
soon as possible, and inflate them to the proper pressure. Driving on a significantly un
der-inflated tire causes the tire to overheat
and can lead to tire failure . Under -inflation al
so reduces fuel efficiency and tire tread life,
and may affect the vehicle's handling and
stopping ab ility.
Please note that the TPMS is not a subst itute
for proper tire maintenance, and it is the driv
e r's responsib ility to ma inta in correct tire
pressure, even if under-inflation has not
reached the level to trigger illumination of the
TPMS low tire pressure telltale.
Your veh icle has also been equ ipped w ith a
TPMS malfunction indicator to indicate when
the system is not operating properly. The
TPMS malfunction indicator is combined with
the low tire pressure telltale . When the sys
tem detects a malfunction, the te lltale will
flash for approximately one minute and then remain continuously illuminated. This se- quence will continue upon subsequent vehicle
start-ups as
long as the malfunction exists.
When the malfunction indicator is illum inat
ed, the system may not be ab le to detect or
signal low tire pressure as intended . TPMS
malfunctions may occur for a variety of rea
sons, including the installation of replace
ment or alternate tires or wheels on the vehi
cle that prevent the TPMS from functioning
properly. Always check the TPMS malfunction
telltale after replacing one or more tires or
wheels on your vehicle to ensure that the re
placement o r alternate ti res and wheels allow
the TPM S to cont inue to function properly.
Description
The tire pressure monitoring system monitors
the pressure in the four tires when driving.
The system uses sensors that measure the
temperature and pressure in the tires. Theda
ta is sent from these sensors to the control
module by radio frequency.
The tire pressure monitoring system shows
the current pressures and temperatures of the
tires in the Infotainment system
¢page 247.
It also compares the current tire pressures
with the stored pressures and gives a warning in the driver information system if the tire
pressure is different from what is stored
¢ page 247.
The system does not detect if the stored tire
pressures match the recommended tire pres
sures. You must resave the tire pressures
¢page 248:
- eve ry time the tire p ressu res change, for ex
ample when the load in the vehicle changes,
- after replacing a t ire, or
- if wheels w ith new wheel sensors are used .
_&. WARNING
-The tire pressu re monitoring sys tem as
sists the driver in monitoring tire pres
sures. The driver is responsible for having
the tires inflated to the correct pressure. ..,.
-Do not change the tire pressure when the
temperature of the tire is high. This
could result in serious damage to the tire
and even cause the tire to burst, increas
ing the risk of an accident.
- A tire with low pressure flexes more. This
heats the tire up too much . Th is could
cause the tread to separate and even
cause the tire to burst, increasing the
risk of an accident .
- The tire pressure monitoring system
does not warn about damage or defects
in the tire construct ion that could cause
the tire to burst, for examp le. Inspect
your ti res regularly.
@) For the sake of the environment
Low tire pressure increases fuel consump
tion and tire wear.
(D Tips
-If tires are replaced, the sensors/valves
do not need to be removed or replaced.
Just replace the valve stem and, if neces
sary, the valve and the wheel electronics.
If you have questions, see your author
ized Audi dealer or a qualified workshop.
- Using the tire mobility kit can results in
an incorrect display or a malfunction in
the tire pressure monitoring system.
Have the sensors replaced by an author
ized Audi dealer or a qualified workshop.
Display tire pressures/temperatures
Fig. 200 Infotai nm en t: t ire pres sur e mo nito rin g sys
tem
Tires and wheels 247
Requirement: the ignition must be switched
on .
'" Select: the
I CAR I function button > Car sys
tem s
> Servicing & checks > Tire pressure
monitoring
> Di sp lay tire pressures.
The current tire pressures are shown in green
and yellow numbers:
-green: the current tire pressure and the
specified tire pressure are approximately the
same.
-yellow: the current tire pressure is too low
compared to the specified tire pressure.
The specified tire pressure is the last tire pres
sure that was stored
c::> page 248
Note that the tire pressure also depends on
the temper ature of the tire . Every 50 °F
(10
°() increase in tire temperature results in
the tire pressure increas ing by approximately
0.1 bar . The tire pressure increases as the en
gine becomes warmer while driving .
.&_ WARNING
Read and follow the important informa
tion and notes
c::> page 246 .
© Tips
The t ire pressure or temperature are not
displayed in adaptat ion mode. Dashes--,-
are shown in place of the pressure and
temperature.
ill Tire pressure loss
Fig. 201 Disp lay: in dic ator light w ith a message
-
248 Tires and wheels
If the [fJ] indicator light turns on, the pressure
in at least one tire is too low or new sensors
were not adapted:
[f!l indicator lights turns on after turning
the ignition on
The tire pressure is too low compared to the
specified pressure.
.,. Check and store the tire pressure(s) the next
time it is possible¢
page 248.
[f!l indicator light turns on while driving
Wheels with new sensors were not adapted or
the tire pressure has reached a critical level
compared to the spec ified pressure.
.,. Avoid unnecessary steering and braking ma
neuvers .
.,. Adapt your driving style to the situation .
.,. Stop as soon as possible and check the
ti re(s).
.,. If it is possible to continue driving, see an
authorized Audi dealer or a qualified work
shop immediately and have your tire(s) re
paired or replaced.
A WARNING
Read and follow the important informa
tion and notes
~page 246.
Storing new tire pressures
-
Correctly stored tire pressure specifications
are necessary for reliable tire pressure moni
toring.
.,. Check the tire pressures in all wheels.
.,. If necessary, correct the tire pressure ac
cording to the specifications on the sticker
on the side of the driver's door . Only correct
the pressure in tires whose temperature is
approximately the same as the ambient
temperature. If the temperature of the tire
is higher than ambient temperature, the tire
pressure must be increased approximately
0.2 bar above the value on the sticker.
.,. Switch on the ignition.
.,. Select :
I CARI function button > Car systems
> Tire pressure monitoring > Store tire pressures.
After storing,
the tire pressure
monitoring system measures the current
tire pressures and stores them as the new
specified pressures.
,. If the changed tire pressures are not dis
played in the Infotainment system, drive the
veh icle for approx imately 10 minutes so
that the sensor signal from the wheels is re
ceived aga in .
During this adaptation phase,--,--is displayed
for the pressure and temperature and the tire
pressure monitoring system is only partially
available.
It only provides a warning if one or
more tire pressures is be low the min imum
permitted spec ified pressure . If this is the
case, the
[fJ] indicator light appears with a
message.
A WARNING
Read and follow the important informa
tion and notes¢
page 246.
Malfunctions
Fig. 202 Display : indicator light with a message
-
If the tire pressure monitoring system is not
available,
the m indicator light appears in
the driver information system. The
[fJ] indica
tor light also blinks for approximately one mi
nutes each time the ignition is switched on.
The tire pressure monitoring system cannot be selected in the Infotainment system. The
malfunction could be caused by the following
examples:
- If the message appears at the end of the
adaptation phase, the system cannot detect
the wheels installed on the vehicle. This may
resu lt from one or more wheels being ..,.
installed without wheel sensors or with in
compatible wheel sensors.
- A whee l sensor or another component has
failed.
- Using snow cha ins can affect the function of
the system because of the shie lding effect
of the chains.
- Th e tire pressure monitoring system is not
available due to a malfunction .
- Transmitters with the same frequency, such
as headphones or remote -contro lled devi
ces, may cause a temporary system ma l
function due to the strong electromagnetic
field.
The
ffim indicator light turns off once the ti re
press ure monitoring system is avai lab le again.
If you cannot correct the malfunction and the
m i ndicator light stays on, drive to an au
thor ized Audi dealer or a qualified workshop
to have the ma lfunction corrected .
Tires and wheels 249
•
•
Tire repair
General and safety pointers
Tire repair is intended only for temporary,
short -term use .
Fig. 205 Tire damage for w hich the Tire Mobil ity Sys ·
tern is not su ited
Your veh icle is equipped w ith a tire repair kit,
the
Ti re Mob ilit y Sys tem (TM S).
In the event of a tire fai lure, the TM S is in the
luggage compartment under the floor. It con
sists of the tire sealant and an electric air
pump.
Using
TMS , tire damage caused by foreign
bodies up to about
0.1 6 inch (4 mm ) in diam
eter can be sealed reliably.
The foreign object can stay in the tire .
The tire se alant must not be us ed :
- for c uts or punct ures in the tire which are
larger than 0.16 inch (4 mm)
¢ fig. 205 @
- for damage to the rim@
- if you have been driving with very low tire pressures or tires with no air @
Using the
TM S is described in the section
¢ page 252, Preliminary steps.
TM S can be used at temperatures down to
-4°F(-20°C) .
A WARNING
Take the following precautions after re
pairing the tire:
- Do not drive faster than
50 mph (80 km/
h)!
What do I d o now ? 251
-Avoid full-throttle acceleration, heavy
brak ing and fast cornering.
- The vehicle's road behavior can be affect
ed.
- Tires sea led with
T MS are intended only
for
t e mpo rary, sh or t-t erm use.
-After using the tire sealant the tire pres sure mon itoring system may no longer
work properly. Drive carefully to the next
professional repa ir facility.
- TMS must NOT be used,
- for cuts or punctu res in the t ire which
are larger than 0.16 inch (4 mm)
- for damage to the rim
- if you have been driving with very low
tire pressures or tires with no a ir
- Seek professional assistance if it is not
possible to repa ir the tire with the t ire
sealant .
A WARNING
The tire sea lant must not come into con
tact with skin, eyes o r clothing .
- If you get any tire sealant in your eyes or
come into contact w ith it, rinse the af
fected area thoroughly with clean water .
Find a phys ician immed iately!
- Change any clothing contaminated with
tire sealant immediately .
- Do not inha le the vapor!
- If you have swallowed tire sealant, rinse
your mouth thoroughly right away and
drink plenty of water .
- Do not induce vomiting! Find a physi
c ian immediately!
- I f you have allergic react ions, find a
physician immediately .
- Keep the tire sealant away from ch ildren .
- In vehicles with a tire pressure monitor-
ing system, using t ire sealant can results
in an incorrect display or a system mal
fu nction. Drive carefu lly to the neares t
authorized Audi dealer or qualified work-
shop . ..,.