symbols) indicate the positions of the tread
wear indicators. Worn tires must be replaced.
Different fig ures may apply in other co untries
c:> .&. .
Tir e pres sure
Incorrect tire pressure causes premature wear
and can cause sudden tire blow -out. For this
reason, tire pressure must be checked at least
once a month
<=:> page 237.
Driving sty le
Driving fast around curves , heavy acceleration
and hard braking increase tire wear .
Rotating tires for mo re even wear
For all four t ires on your vehicle to have the
same se rvice life, we recommend that the
fro nt and rea r tires are rotated according to
the t ire manufacture r's suggested tire rota
tion intervals. Please remember the follow
ing:
- T ire rotat ion inte rva ls may differ from the
vehicle service intervals outlined in your
Maintenance and Wa rranty Booklet .
- T he longer one tire is used in one location
on the vehicle, the more it wears at certa in
points; therefore, we recommend that you
fo llow the t ire manufacturer's suggested
t ire rotation intervals .
- Vehicles with front -wheel drive experience
more tread wear on the front wheels com
pared to all whee l drive (quattro).
- Please rotate tires as shown
<=:> fig. 192.
-Extra care must be taken when rotating di-
rection-specific tires
c:> page 259 .
Wheel balancing
The wheels on new vehicles are balanced .
H oweve r, va rio us situations d uring eve ryday
driving can cause them to be come unbal
anced, resu lting in vibrations you can us ually
feel through the steering wheel.
Unba lanced whee ls must be rebalanced to
avoid excessive wea r on s teer ing , suspens ion
and tires. A wheel must a lso be rebalanced
when a new tire is installed.
Tire s an d wheel s 241
Incorrect wh eel alignment
Incor rect wheel alignment can cause exces
sive tire wear, impairing the sa fety of the vehi
cle . If tires show excessive wear, have the
whee l alignment checked by an authorized
Audi dealer or qualified workshop.
All wheel drive
Vehicles wi th quattro must always have tires
of the same size, construction and tread type.
For details see
<=:> page 192.
_8 WARNING
Sudden tire fa ilure can lead to loss o f con
trol, a crash and serio us personal in jury!
- Never drive a vehicle when the tread on
any tire is worn down to the wear indica
tors.
- Worn ti res are a safety hazard, they do
not grip well on wet roads and increase
your r isk of "hydroplaning" and loss of
control.
- Always keep chemicals that can cause
tire damage, such as grease, o il, gasoline
and brake fluid away from tires.
- Tires age even if they are not being used
and can fail sudden ly, especially at high
speeds. T ires that are more than 6 years
old can only be used in an emergency
and then w ith special care and at lower
speeds.
- Never mount used tires on your veh icle if
you are not sure of thei r "previo us histo
ry ." O ld used tires may have been dam
aged even thoug h the damage cannot be
seen that can lead to sudden tire fai lure
and loss of vehicle control. •
•
252 What do I do now?
What do I do now?
Vehicle tool kit
The tools ore stored underneath the floor
panel in the luggage comportment.
Fig. 195 Sedan Luggage compartment: tool kit
Fig. 196 allroad Luggage compartment: too l kit
When you need access to the vehicle tool kit
or jack*, you will need to take out the spare
tire and cover
Q page 2 52.
Depending on your vehicle's equipment, the
tool kit may also be located under the cargo
floor cover @
Q fig. 196 behind the seat back
rest .
The vehicle tool kit includes:
- Hook for removing wheel covers*
- Alignment pin for changing the wheel
- Screwdriver with reversible blade
- Tool for changing light bulbs
- Reversible bit (reversible Torx bit for chang- ing light bulbs)
- Rod for jack
- Jack*
- Lug wrench
- Towing eye Some of the vehicle
items listed above are
provided on certain mode ls only or are option
al extras.
Before returning the jack* to its p lace, retrac t
the jack arm fully.
A WARNING
-
- 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 acc ident.
- The factory-supplied jack is intended on
ly for your vehicle model. Under no cir
cumstances should it be used to lift
heavy vehicles or othe r loads; you risk in
juring yourself.
- Never start the engine when the vehicle
is raised, wh ich could cause an accident.
- 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.
Space-saving spare tire
(compact spare tire)
Appl ies to veh icles : w ith space -sav ing spare tire
The spore tire/wheel is located in the luggage
comportment under the cargo floor cover . It
is intended for short-term use only.
Fig . 197 Spare tire
Removing the spare tire
., lift the cargo floor by the plastic handle
Qfig. 197.
., Hook the handle into the luggage compart
ment weather strip.
2 58 What do I do n ow ?
c:> fig. 203 . Behind the marking, there is a
lifting p oint on the sill for the veh icle jack.
• Turn the
veh icle j ack located under the lift
ing point on the si ll to raise the jack until
the jaw
c:> fig. 204 ® covers the notch on
the vehicle
c:> &_ c:>(D .
• Align t he vehicle jack so the jaw ® covers
the notch and the base plate @ is flat on
the floor. The base plate @ must be
vertical
under the lifti ng point @.
• Install the rod on the vehicle jack: Insert the
rod into the opening on the handwheel. Turn
the rod left or right to secure it .
• Contin ue raising the jack with the rod until
the wheel lifts off the ground slightly.
Position the vehicle jack
onl y under the desig
nated lifting points on the sill
c:> fig. 203 .
There is exactly one location for each wheel.
The jack must not be positioned at any other location
c:> ,&. c:>(D .
Soft ground under the jack can cause the ve
hicle to slip off the jack. Always place the jack
on firm ground. Use a flat, stable support if necessary . Use a non-slip surface such as a
rubber mat on a
slipp ery surfac e such as tile .
A WARNING
-You or your passengers could be injured
wh ile chang ing a wheel if you do not fol
low these safety precautions :
- Position the vehicle jack only at the
des ignated lifting points and align the
jack. Otherwise, the vehicle jack could slip and cause an injury if it does not
have sufficient hold on the veh icle .
- A soft or unstable surface under the
jack may cause the veh icle to slip off
the jack . A lways provide a firm base for
the jack on the ground.
If necessary,
use a sturdy board under the jac k.
- On hard, slippery surface (such as tiles)
use a rubber mat or similar to preven t
the jack from s lipping.
- T o help p revent injury to yourself and
yo ur passengers: -
Do not raise the vehicle until you are
sure the jack is securely engaged.
- 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 pos ition is correct, ad
j ust as necessary and then cont inue to
raise the jack.
(D Note
Do not lift the vehicle by the sill. Position
the veh icle jack only at the designated lift
i ng points on the sill. Otherwise, your vehi
cle will be damaged.
Taking the wheel off/installing the spare
tire
Follow these instructions step-by-step for
changing the wheel .
Fig. 205 C ha nging a w hee l: us ing t he screwd rive r han
dle (w it h th e blade re m oved) to turn the bolts
Fig . 206 Ch ang ing a w hee l: alignment p in in side t he
top hole
After you have loosened all wheel bo lts and
raised the vehicle off the g round, remove and
replace the wheel as follows: .,..
Removing the wheel
"' Remove the topmos t wheel bolt completely
with the
he xagonal socket in t he screwdriv
er hand le (vehicle tool kit)
c::> fig. 205 and
set it aside on a
clean surface.
"' Screw the threaded end of the
alignment
pin
from the tool k it hand-tight into the
empty bolt hole
c::> fig. 206.
"'T hen remove the other wheel bo lts as de
scribed above .
"'T ake off the wheel leav ing the alig nment pin
i n t he bolt hole
c::> CJ).
Putting on the spare tire
"' allroad : Inflate the inflatable spare tire
c::> page 254
"' Push the spare tire over the a lignment pin.
"' Screw o n the w heel bolts and tighten them
slightly using the hexagonal socket.
"' Remove the alignment pin and insert and
t ighten the remaining whee l bo lt s light ly
Li ke the rest.
"' Turn the jack handle counter-clockw ise to
lower the vehicle unt il the jack is f ully re
l eased .
"' Use the wheel bolt w rench to t ighten all
whee l bolts firmly
c::> page 25 7. Tig hten
them
in a crisscross pattern, from one bo lt
to the (approx imately) opposi te o ne, to keep
t h e whee l cen te red.
"'P erfo rm the steps req uired after changing
t h e whee l
c::> page 256, After changing a
wheel .
The hex agonal so cket m akes it easier to re
move the w heel bo lts from the r im . Care
should be taken when removing the reversible
b lade .
@ Note
When removing or ins tal ling the wheel,
the rim could hit the brake rotor and dam
age the rotor . Wor k carefully and have a
second person to he lp you.
@ Tips
- When mounting tires with unidirectional
tread design
ma ke s ure the tread pat-
What do I do now? 259
'
tern is po inted the righ t way
c::>page 259.
- The w heel bolts shou ld be clean an d easy
to t urn . Check fo r dirt an d corrosion on
the mating surfaces of both the w heel
and the hub. Remove all d irt from these
surfaces before remounting the whee l.
- Do not use the hexagonal socket in the
sc rewd river handle to loosen or t ighten
the whee l bolts.
Tires with unidirectional tread design
Tires with unidirectional tread design must be
mounted with their tread pattern pointed in
the right direction.
U si ng a spa re tire with a tread pattern
intended for use in a specific di rection
When using a spare t ire with a tread patter n
intended for use in a spec ific d irection, please
note the following :
- The d irect ion of rotation is marked by an
ar
row on the side of the t ire .
-If the spare tire has to be insta lled in the in
correct d irect ion, use the spare tire only
temporarily s ince the tire will not be able to
achieve its optimum performance cha racte r
istics w it h regard to aquap la ni ng, no ise and
wear .
- We recommend that you pay part icu lar at
t en tion to th is fact during wet weather and
that you adjust your speed to match road
condi tions.
- Replace the flat t ire wi th a new one a nd
have it insta lled o n you r vehicle as soo n as
pos sible to res to re the hand ling advant ages
o f a u nidirec tional tire.
Notes on wheel changing
Please read t he info rmation c::> page 242 , New
tires and replacing tires and wheels
if yo u a re
going to use a spare tire wh ich is different
from the tires on your vehicle.
After yo u change a tire:
IJI,-
•
•