176 Check ing and filling
Have the battery checked when you take your
vehicle in for service. You are well advised to replace a battery that is older than S years .
Disconn ect ing the battery terminals
Some veh icle functions (power w indow regu
lators, for example) are lost if the battery ter
minals are disconnected . These functions have
to be re learned after the battery terminals are
connected again. To prevent this, the battery
should only be d isconnected from the vehicle
electr ical system when absolutely necessary
for repairs .
V ehicles not dri ven for l ong period s
If you do not drive your vehicle over a period
of several days or weeks, electrical compo nents are gradually cut back or switched off .
This reduces energy consumption and main tains starting capab ility over a longer period
c:::>
page 147. Some of the convenience func
tions may not operate, suc h as the inte rior
l ights or power seat adjustme nt. The conven
i ence functions wi ll be ava ilable aga in whe n
you switch on the ignition and start the en
gine.
Winter operati on
During the winter months, batte ry capacity
tends to decrease as tempe ratu res d rop . This
is because more powe r is also consumed while
start ing , and the headlights, rea r window de
fogger, etc., are used more often.
Avoid unnecessary power consumption, par
ticularly in c ity traffic or when t rave ling on ly
short distances. Let you r authorized Aud i
dea ler check the capacity of the vehicle bat
tery before winter sets inc:::>
page 179 . A we ll
charged battery w ill not only prevent starting
prob lems when the weather is cold, but will
a lso last longer .
Replacing battery
The new battery must have the same capaci
ty, vo ltage (12 volts), amperage, construction
and p lug sealing, as the origina l battery. Spec
if ications are listed on the battery housing.
Batteries specially developed by Audi fulfill the maintenance, outp
ut, and safety require
ments .
When install ing the battery, m ake su re the ig
ni tion and a ll ele ct rical consumers are switch
ed off
c:::> (i) .
We recommend that you use maintenance
free or
cy cle-re si stant /leak -proof b atter ies
accord ing to the s tanda rds TL 825 06 (from
Apri l 2008) and VW 7 SO 73 (from April
2010) .
Rep lac ing the bat tery shou ld be car ried by a
qualified wo rkshop. Please fo llow the instruc
tions on the battery cover .
(D Note
- All wo rk on the ba tte ry req uire s techn i
c al know ledge . Please con ta ct an Aud i
dealership o r another authorized faci lity
for questions abo ut the batte ry -danger
o f ac id burns and exp losion hazard!
- The battery must not be opened! Do not
try to change the battery's liquid level,
otherwise detonating gas will escape
from the battery - explosion hazard!
- The AGM battery in the l uggage com
partment cannot leak, because the elec
tro lyte for this battery is absorbed into a
special glass mat. This leak-proof battery
must not be replace with a convent ional
battery.
- Make sure the ventilation hose on the
side of the battery is connected, other
w ise fumes or battery ac id can leak out .
- Batte ry holder and termina ls always
have to be secured correctly .
- Before all work on the battery follow the
warnings be low c:::> .&. in Working on the
battery on page 177.
@ For the sake of the environment
Because of the prob lem of proper disposal
of a battery, we recommend your author
iz ed Audi dealer change the battery for
you. Batteries contain sulfur ic acid and
l ead and must a lways be disposed o f prop-
erly in compliance wi th al l envi ronmental ..,.
-If the tire pressure is too low or too high,
the tires w ill wear prematurely and the
vehicle will not handle we ll.
- If the tire is not flat and you 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.
([) Note
Driving without va lve stem caps ca n cause
damage to the tire va lves . To prevent this ,
always make su re that facto ry installed
valve stem caps on all wheels a re secure 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 t he amount of load or
weight that any veh icle and any t ire can carry.
A veh icle that is overloaded w ill no t handle
well and is more diff icult to stop. Overloading
can not on ly lead to loss of veh icle contro l,
but can a lso damage important parts of the
ve hicle and can lead to sudden tire failure, in
cluding a blowout and sudden deflation that
can cause the veh icle to crash .
Your safety and that of yo ur passengers a lso
depends on making sure that load limits are
no t exceeded. Vehicle load includes everybody
and everyth ing in and on the vehicle . These
load limits a re techn ica lly refer red to as the
ve hicle's
Gro ss Vehicl e W eight Rat ing
(" GVWR ").
T he "GVWR " includes the we ight of the basic
vehicle, all factory installed accesso ries , a full
tank of fue l, oil, coo lant and other fluids pl us
maximum load. The maximum load includes
the number of passengers th at the ve hicl e is
i ntended to carry ("seating capacity") with an
assumed weight of 150 lbs (68 kg) for eac h
passenger at a designated seating position
Tire s an d wheel s 189
and the total weight of any luggage i n the ve
hicle .
T he
Gro ss Ax le Weight Rating ( " G AWR ") 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 the
G ross Ax le Weig ht Ra ting are l iste d on the
s af ety comp liance s ticke r label lo cated on the
driver's side 8-pillar . Your Audi has 2 seating
positions. Each seating position has a safety
belt ~
page 101, Safety belts.
The fac t that there is an upper limit to yo ur
vehicle's G ross Vehicle Weight Rating means
that the total weight of whatever is being car ried in the vehicle is lim ited . The more passen
gers in the vehicle or passengers who are
heavier than the standard we ights assumed
mea n that less we ight can be carried as lug
gage .
The tire pressure label on your Audi also lists
the maximum combined weight of a ll of the
occupants and luggage or other cargo that
t h e ve hicle can ca rry . Fo r th e locat ion of the
label
~ page 185, fig . 138 .
_&. WARNING
Overloading a veh icle can cause loss of ve
h icl e co ntro l, a crash or o ther accide nt, se
rio us pe rsonal inj ury, and even dea th.
- Ca rrying more we igh t tha n your ve hicle
was des igned to carry wi ll prevent the
veh icle from handling properly an d in
crease the risk of the loss of vehicle con
trol.
- T he b rakes on a vehicle that has been
overloaded may not be able to stop the
veh icle w ith in a safe distance .
- Tires on a vehicle that has been over load
ed can fail suddenly, incl uding a blowo ut
and sudden deflation, causing loss of
control and a crash.
•
•
198 Tire s and wheel s
snow cha ins a re suitab ly covered. Check
the position of the snow chains after driving a few yards and correct if neces
sary. Follow the instr uctions from the
snow cha in manufacturer when doing so.
{O) Tips
Where snow cha ins are mandatory oncer
tain roads, this norma lly also applies to
veh icles with all-wheel dr ive.
Wheel bolts
Wheel bolts must always be tightened to the
correc t torque .
The design of whee l bolts is matched to the
factory installed r ims . If different rims are fit
ted, the correct wheel bolt s with the r ight
length and correctly shaped bol t heads mus t
be used . This ensures that wheel s are fitted
securely and that the brake system functions
correctly .
In certain circumstances, you may not use
wheel bolts from a d iffe rent vehicle -even if it
i s the same model
Q page 228.
A WARNING
Imprope rly tig htened o r maintained whee l
bolts can be come loose ca using loss of
cont ro l, a co llision and serious person al in
jury .
- Always keep the w heel bol ts and the
t h reads in t he wheel hubs clean so the
wheel bolts can t urn easily and be p rop
er ly t ightened .
- N ever grease or oil the wheel bo lt s an d
the threads in the wheel h ubs. They can
become loose w hile d riving if greased or
oi led, even if tightened to the specif ied
torque.
- Only use whee l bolts that be long to the
rim being installed.
- Never use different whee ls bolts on your
vehicle .
- Always mai ntai n the co rrect tighte ning
torq ue for the wheel bolts to reduce the
risk of a wheel loss. If the tightening tor- que of the whee
l bolts is too low, they
can loosen and come out when the vehi
cle is mov ing. If the tig hte ning torq ue is
too high, the w heel bolts a nd threads
can be damaged and the whee l can be
come loose.
(D Note
The specified torque for t he whee l bolts is
90 ft lb (120 Nm) with a tolerance of± 7,4
ft lb(± 10 Nm). Torque whee l bolts diago
nally . After changing a whee l, the to rq ue
must be checked as soon as possible with a
torque w rench - prefe rably by an author
iz ed A udi dealer or quali fied workshop .
Low aspect ratio tires
Your Audi is factory-eq uipped w ith low aspect
ratio tires. These tires have b een tho ro ughly
tested and been se lected specifically for your
model for their supe rb performance, road fee l
and hand ling under a variety of driving condi
t ions . Ask your author ized Audi dealer for
more de tails .
The low aspect ratio of these t ires is ind icated
by a numeral of
55 or less in the tire 's s ize
designation . The numera l rep resents the ratio
of the tire 's s idewa ll height in relation to its
t read width exp ressed in percentage. Conven
tiona l tire s have a he igh t/w idth rat io of 60 or
more.
The p erformance of low-a spect-ratio tire s is
particularly sensitiv e to improper inflation
pre ssure. It i s ther efore important that low
aspect ratio tires are inflated to the specified
pre ssure and that the inflation pre ssure i s
regularly checked and maintained. Tire pre s
sures should be checked at least once a month and always before a long trip
Q page 187, Checking tire pressure.
What you can do to avo id tire and rim
damage
Low aspect ratio tires can be damaged mo re
easily by impact w ith po tholes, curbs, gul lies ..,.
What do I do now? Trunk escape handle
In case of an emergency, the rear lid can be
opened from the inside using the trunk es
cape handle .
Fig. 148 Luggage compa rtment: Tr unk escape handle
"' To open the trunk lid pu ll the handle down
as indicated by the -arrow-~
fig. 148.
The trunk escape handle inside the storage
compartment is made of fluorescent materia l
to g low in the dark.
& WARNING
The trunk escape handle is to be used only
in an emergency .
Vehicle tool kit
The tools ore stored underneath the floor
panel in the luggage compartment.
F ig. 1 49 Luggage co mpa rt ment : veh icle tool ki t
"'Swing the luggage compartment floor up
wards.
"' Remove the vehicle tool k it.
The onboard tool kit includes:
What do I d o now ? 205
- Hook for removing wheel covers*
- Plastic clip to remove wheel bo lt covers*
- Wheel bolt w rench
- Alignment pin for changing wheels
- Screwdriver with reversible blade
- Replacement bit (reversible Torx bit for changing lamps)
- Open ended wrench 10 x 13
- Towing eye
- Jack*
Some of the on board items listed above are
provided on ce rtain mode ls only or are option
al ext ras.
Before returning the jack* to its place, retract
the jack arm fu lly.
& WARNING
Improper use of the vehicle jack can cause
serious pe rsonal injuries .
- Never use the screw drive r hex head to
tighten wheel bo lts, since the bolts can
not attain the necessary tighte ning tor
que if you use the hex head, potentially
causing an accident.
- The factory-supplied jack is intended on
ly for yo ur vehicle model. Under no ci r
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, 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.
- Never use the jack supplied with your Audi on another vehicle, particularly on a heav ier one . The jack is only suitable for
use on the veh icle it came with .
212 What do I do now?
When removing or installing the wheel,
the rim could hit the brake rotor and dam
age the rotor. Work carefully and have a
second person help you.
Never use the hexagonal socket in the han
dle of the screwdriver to loosen or t ighten
the wheel bolts.
- Pull the reversible b lade from the screw
driver before yo u use the hexagonal
socket in the handle to turn the whee l
bo lts.
- When mounting tires with
unid irectional
tread design
make sure the tread pat
tern is pointed the r ight way
~page 212.
- The wheel bolts should be clea n and easy
to tu rn . Check for d irt and corrosion on
the mat ing su rfaces of both th e whee l
and the h ub. Remove a ll dirt from these
su rfaces before remo unti ng the wheel.
Notes on wheel change
Pl ease read the informa tion ~ page 192, New
tires and replacing tires and wheels,
if you are
going to use a spare t ire which is different
from the tires on your vehicle.
After you change a tire :
-Check the tire pressure on the spare imme
diately after mounting .
- Have the wheel bolt tightening torque
che ck e d with a torqu e wrench a s soon as
possible b y your auth orized Audi dealer or
a qualified ser vice station .
- With steel and alloy wheel rims , the wheel
bolts are correctly tightened at a torque of
90 ft lb (1 20 Nm ).
- If y ou notice while changing a tire that the
wheel bolts are co rroded and difficult to
turn , then the y should be repl aced befo re
you check the t ightening torque . -
Repla ce the flat ti re with a new one and
have it installed on your veh icle a s soon as
possible. Remount the wheel cove r.
Until then , dr ive with extra care and at re
duced speed s.
_& WARNING
-
- If you are going to eq uip your vehicle
wit h tires or rims which differ from those
which were factory installed, then be
sure to read the information
9 page 192,
New tires and replacing tires and
wheels.
- Always store the tools secu rely i n lug
gage compartment. Othe rwise, in a n ac
cident or s udden maneuver they cou ld fly
forwa rd, causi ng injury to passengers in
the vehicle.
Tires with unidirectional tread design
Tires with unidirectional tread design must be
mounted with their tread pattern pointed the
right direction.
A un idirectional tire can be identified by ar
rows on the sid ewall ,
which point in the direc
tion of the rota tion. Yo u m ust follow the
specified direction of rota tion. This is ne ces sa
r y in order fo r these tires to develop t heir op
timum character istics regard ing grip, road
noise, wear, and hydrop laning.
instructions of the jumper cable
manufacturer. If in doubt, call for road
service.
- Jumper cables must be long enough so
that the vehicles do not touch.
- When connecting jumper cables, make
sure that they cannot get ca ught in any
moving parts in the eng ine compart
ment.
- Before you check anything in the engine
compartment, always read and heed all
WARNINGS
Q page 165, Working in the
engine compartment.
(D Note
Improper hook-up of jumper cables can ru
in the generator.
-Always connect POSITIVE(+) to POSI TIVE(+), and NEGATIVE( -) to NEGATIVE
( - ) ground post of the battery manager
control unit.
- Check that all screw plugs on the battery
cells are screwed in firmly . If not, tighten
plugs prior to connecting clamp on nega
tive battery terminal.
- Please note t hat the procedure for con
nect ing a jumper cable as described
above applies spec ifically to the case of
your vehicle be ing j ump started. When
you are giv ing a jump start to anothe r ve
hi cle, do
not connect the negat ive (-) ca
ble to the negative(- ) terminal on the
discharged battery ©- Instead, securely
connect the negative (-) cable to either a
solid metal component that is firmly bo lted to the engine block or to the en
gine block itself. If the battery that is be
i ng charged does not vent to the outside,
es caping ba tte ry gas cou ld ig nite and ex
plo de!
Em erg en cy si tuation s 219
Emergency towing
with commercial tow
truck
General hints
Your Audi requires special handling for tow
ing.
T he following information is to be used by
commercial tow truck operators who know
how to operate their equipment safely.
- Never tow your Audi , towing will cause
damage t o the engine a nd transmi ssion.
- Never wrap th e safet y chain s or winch ca
ble s ar ound the brak e lin es.
- To preven t unne cess ary dam age, your Aud i
mu st be transported with a car carrier
(flatbed truck ).
- To load th e vehi cle on to the fl at bed , use
the towing lo op found in the vehicle to o ls
and attach to the front o r rear anchorage
Q poge 220 and Qpoge 221.
A WARNING
A veh icle being towed is not safe for pas
sengers. Never allow anyone to ride in a
vehicle be ing towed, for any reason.
-
•
•
Remove the towing loop when you are done
using it and place it back in the vehicle tool
kit. A lways keep the tow ing loop in the vehi
cle.
When insta lling the air intake grille, insert the
tabs on the grille in the mounts on the vehicle
first . Then press the gri lle in to secure it.
A WARNING
If the towing loop is not tightened until it
stops when installing, the threads may be
pulled out when tow ing the veh icle and
that could cause an accident.
Rear towing loop
Do not install the rear towing loop until it is
needed.
Fig. 171 Right rea r sect ion
Fi g. 17 2 Rear bumper: screwing in t he tow ing loop
On the r ight side under the rear bumper there
i s a t hreaded hole for the tow ing loop. The
threaded hole is pro tected by a cover.
"' Remove the towing loop from the vehicle
toolkit~
page 205 .
"'Press the right side of the cover i nward
f orcefully to remove it from the b umper.
¢fig. 171.
Emergenc y situ ation s 221
"'Screw the towing loop t ightly into the
threaded ho le as far as it wi ll go.
When it is no longe r needed, unscrew the
towing loop and put it back into the vehicle
toolkit . Be sure to have the towing loop sto red
in the vehicle at all times.
A WARNING
If t he tow ing loop is not screwed in as far
as it will go, the thread can pull out when
the vehicle is towed -potent ia l risk of an
accident.
loading the vehicle onto a flatbed truck
Fi g. 17 3 Vehicle on flatbed truck
Front hook up
"'Align the vehicle wi th the centerline of the
car carrier ramp.
"' Attach the winch hook to the front towline
eye prev iously insta lled.
Rear hook up
"' Alig n the vehicle wi th the center line of the
car car rier ramp .
"' Attach the winch hook to the rear tow line
eye previously insta lled.
(D Tips
Check caref ully to ma ke s ure the hook-up
i s secure before moving the car up the flat
bed truck ramp.
steadily reduced the scope of maintenance
and repairs which can be carried o ut by vehicle
owners.
Also, safe ty and en vironment al con
cerns p lace very strict limits on the nature of
repairs and adjustments to engine and trans
miss io n parts which an owner can perform .
Maintenance, adjustments and repa irs usua lly
require special tools, testing dev ices and oth
er equipment availab le to specially trained
workshop personne l in order to assure proper
pe rformance, reliab ility and safety of the vehi
cle and its many systems .
Improper ma intenance, adjustments and re
pa irs can impair the operation and reliability
of your vehicle and even void your vehicle war
ranty. Therefore, p roof of servic ing in accord
ance w ith the maintenance schedule may be a
condition for upholding a poss ible war ran ty
claim made within the warranty period .
Above all, operational safety can be adversely
affected, creating unnecessary risks for you
and your passengers .
If in doubt about any serv icing, have it done
by your authorized Audi dealer or any othe r
p roperly equipped and q ualified works hop .
We strong ly urge you to give yo ur auth o rized
Aud i dea ler the opportuni ty to perform all
schedu led maintenance and necessary repairs .
Your dea ler has the facilities, original parts
and tra ined spec ialists to keep your vehicle
running properly.
Performing limit ed ma inten anc e yourself
The fo llow ing pages describe a limited num
ber of proced ures which can be pe rformed on
your vehicle with ordina ry too ls, should the
need arise and trained personnel be unavaila
ble. Before performing any of these proce
dures, always t horoughly read a ll of the app li
cable text and carefully follow the instruc
tions given . Always rigorously obse rve the
WARNINGS provided.
Befo re you check anything in the engine
c ompartm ent, a lway s re ad and heed all
WARN INGS ~
A and ~ A in Working in the
engine compartment on page 165.
Con sumer In formation 22 7
_& WARNING
- Ser ious personal injury may occur as a re
sult of improperly performed mainte
nance, ad justments or repa irs .
- Always be extremely careful when work
ing on the vehicle . Always follow com
monly accep ted safety pract ices and gen
era l common sense. Never r is k personal
inju ry.
- Do not attempt any of the maintenance,
checks or repairs descr ibed o n the fol
lowing pages if you are not fully fam ilia r
with these or othe r procedures with re
spect to the vehi cle, or are uncertain how
to p roceed .
- Do not do any work without the proper
too ls and equipment. Have the necessa ry
wo rk done by your authorized A udi deal
er or another proper ly equipped and
qualified wor kshop.
- The engine compartment of any motor
veh icle is a potentially hazardous area.
Never reach into t he area around or
touch the rad iator fan. It is temperature
contro lled and can switch on suddenly -
even when the engine is off and the igni
tion key has been removed. The rad iator
f a n switches on a utomat ica lly when the
coo lant reaches a certain tempera ture
an d will continue to run until the coo lant
tem perature drops .
- Always remove the ign ition key before
anyone gets under the vehicle.
- Always support your veh icle with safety
stands i f it is necessary to work under
neath the vehicle. The jack s upplied with
the vehicle is not adequate for this pur
pose and cou ld collapse causing serio us
personal injury.
- I f you must work underneath the vehicle
with the wheels on t he ground, a lways
make sure the vehicle is on leve l ground,
that the wheels a re a lways securely
blocked a nd that the engine cannot be
started. •
•