-Never leave your vehicle unattended espe
cially w ith the rear lid left open. A chi ld
could crawl into the vehicle through the lug
gage compartment and close the rear lid be
coming trapped and unable to get out . Be
ing trapped in a vehicle can lead to serious
persona l inju ry.
- Never let children play in or around the vehi
cle.
- Never let passengers r ide in the luggage
compartment . Veh icle occupants m ust al
ways be properly restrained in one of the ve
hicle's seat ing pos itions.
-Air c irculation helps to reduce window fog
ging . Stale air escapes to the outside
th rough vents in the trim pane l. Be su re to
k eep the se slots free and open.
- The t ire pressure must correspond to the
l oad. The t ire pressure is shown o n the tire
pres sure label. T he tire pressure l abe l is lo
cated on the d river 's side B-pi llar . The t ire
pressure label lists the recommended cold
tire inflation pressures for the vehicle at its
max imum capacity weight and the t ires that
were on your vehicle at the time it was man
ufactured. For recommended tire pressures
for normal load cond it ions, please see chap
te r
c:> page 215.
Tie-downs
App lies to vehicles: wit h tie-downs
The luggage compartment is equipped with four
tie-downs to secure luggage and other items .
Use the tie-downs to secure your cargo proper ly
¢ page 118, Loading the luggage compartment.
In a collision, the laws of phys ics mean that even
sma ller items that are loose in the vehicle w ill
become heavy missiles that can cause serious in
jury. Items in the vehicle possess energy which
va ry w ith vehicle speed and the weight of t he
item . Vehicle speed is the most s ignificant factor .
For example, in a frontal collis ion at a speed of
30 mph (48 km/h), the forces acting on a 10-lb
(4 .5 kg) object are about 20 times the normal
Dr ivin g s afet y
weight o f the item . This means that the weight
of the item would sudden ly be about
200 lbs. (90 kg) . You can imagine the injuries
that a 200 lbs. (90 kg) item flying freely through
the passenger compartment co uld cause in a col
li sion like this .
A WARNING
-Weak, damaged or imprope r straps used to
secure it ems to tie-downs can fail d uring ha rd
b raking o r in a coll is ion and cause seriou s per
son al injury .
- Always use s uitable mount ing straps and
p roperly se cu re i tems to the tie-downs in
the l ugg age compa rtment to he lp prevent
items from sh ifting or flying forward as dan
ge rous missi les.
- W hen the rear seat backrest is folded down,
always use s uita ble mo unting straps an d
properly secu re items to the tie-downs in
the l uggage compa rtment to he lp prevent
items from f ly ing forward as dangerous mis
siles into the passenger compartment.
- Never attach a chi ld safety seat tether strap
to a tie-down.
Reporting Safety Defects
Applicable to U.S.A.
If you belie ve that your vehicle
has a defect which could caus e a
crash or could cause injury or
death, you should immediately in
form the National Highway Traffic
Safet y Adm ini stration (NHTSA) in
addition to notifying Audi of
America, Inc.
If NHTSA re ceives simila r com
pl aint s, it may open an inve stig a
tion , and if it find s that a safety
d efe cts e xis ts in a group of ""
119
® Mud and snow capability
"M/S" or "M+S" indicates the tire
has characte ris tics that make it
suitable for driving on mud and snow .
& indica tes a winter tire.
@ Composition of the tire cord
and materials
T he number of plies indicates the
number of rubber ized fabric lay
ers in the tire . In general: the
more layers, the more weight a
tire can carry. Tire manufacturers
must also specify the mater ials
used in the ti re. These include
stee l, nylon, polyester and other
materials.
@ Maximum permitted load
This number indicates the maxi
mum load in kilograms and
pounds that the tire can carry .
@ Uniform tire quality grade
standards for treadwear,
traction and temperature resistance
Treadwear , traction and tempera
ture ranges¢
page 221.
@Running direction
The arrows ind icate the running
direction of unidirect ional tires.
You must always follow the speci- fied running direction
¢
page 231.
€3) Ma ximum permitted
inflation pressure
Whe els
This number indicates the maxi
mum pressure to which a tire can
be inflated unde r normal operat
ing conditions .
Glossary of tire and loading
terminology
Accessory weight
means the combined weight (in
excess of those standard items
which may be replaced) of auto matic transmission, power steer
ing, power brakes, power win
dows, power seats, radio, and
heater, to the extent that these
items are available as factory-in
stalled equipment (whether in
stalled or not).
Aspect ratio
means the ratio of the height to
the width of the tire in percent. Numbers of 55 or lower indicate a
low s idewall for improved steer
ing response and better overall
handling on dry pavement . .,.
207
Wheels
Bead
means the part of the tire that is
made of steel wires, wrapped or
reinforced by ply cords and that is
shaped to fit the rim .
Bead separation
means a breakdown of the bond
between components in the bead.
Cord
means the strands form ing the
plies in the tire.
Cold tire inflation pressure
means the tire pressure recom
mended by the vehicle manufac
turer for a tire of a designated
size that has not been driven for
more than a coup le of miles (kilo
meters) at low speeds in the three
hour period before the tire pres
sure is measured or adjusted .
Curb weight
means the weight of a motor ve
hicle with standard equipment in
cluding the maximum capacity of
fuel, oi l, and coolant , air condi
tioning and additional weight of optional equipment.
E x tra load tire
means a tire des igned to operate
at higher loads and at higher in-
208
flation pressures than the corre
sponding standard tire . Extra load
tires may be identified as "XL",
"xl", "EXTRA LOAD", or "RF" on
the sidewall.
G ross A xle Weight Rating
("GAWR ")
means the load-carrying capacity
of a single axle system , measured
at the tire-ground interfaces .
Gross Vehicle Weight Rating
( "GVWR" )
means the max imum total loaded
weight of the vehicle .
Groove
means the space between two ad
jacent tread ribs .
Load rating (code )
means the max imum load that a
tire is rated to carry for a given in
flation pressure . You may not find
this information on all tires be cause it is not required by law.
Ma ximum load rating
means the load rating for a tire at
the maximum permissible infla
tion pressure for that tire .
Maximum loaded vehicle
w eight
means the sum of: ...
(a) Curb weight
(b) Accessory weight
(c) Vehicle capacity weight, and
(d) Product ion options weight
Maximum (permissible)
inflation pressure
means the max im um cold infla
tion pressu re to which a tire may
be inflated . Also called "ma xi
mum inflation pressure ."
Normal occupant weight
means 150 lbs . (68 kilog rams)
times the number of occupants
seated in the veh ic le up to the to
tal seating capacity of yo ur vehi
c le.
Occupant distribution
means d istr ibution of occupants
in a vehicle.
Outer diameter
means the overall diameter of an
inflated new tire .
Overall width
means the linear dis tance be
tween the exter iors of the side
walls of an inflated tire , including
elevations d ue to labe ling, deco
rations , or protective bands or
ribs .
Whee ls
Ply
means a layer of rubbe r-coated
parallel cords .
Production options weight
means the comb ined weight o f
those installed regular production
options weighing over 5 lbs . (2 .3
kg) in excess o f those s tandard
items which they re place , not pre
viously conside red in c urb weight
or accessory weight, including heavy duty brakes, ride levelers,
roof rac k, heavy d uty batte ry, and
specia l trim .
Radial ply tire
means a pneumat ic t ire in which
the ply cords that ex tend to the
beads are la id at substantially 90
degrees to the centerli ne of the
tread .
Recommended inflation
pressure
see ~ page 208, Cold tire infla
tion pressure .
Reinforced tire
means a tire designed to operate
at higher loads and at h igher in
flat ion pressures than the corre
spon ding standard tire . Rein
f orced tires may be identified as
2 0 9
Wheels
Occupant loading and distri
bution for veh icle normal load
for various designated seat ing
capacit ies
Refer to the tire inflation pressure
label
c:> page 215, fig . 171 for
the number of seating positions .
Refer to the table
c:> page 216 for
the number of people that corre
spond to the vehicle normal load .
New tires or wheels
Audi recommends having all work
on tires or wheels performed by
an authorized Audi dealer or au
thorized repair facility. These fa
cilities have the proper knowledge
and are equipped with the re
quired tools and replacement
parts .
.,.N ew tires do no t yet have the
optimum adhesion properties.
D rive carefu lly and at moderate
speeds fo r the first 350 miles
(500 km) with new tires.
.,. Use tires of the same construc
tion, size (rolling circumference)
and as close to the same tread
pattern as possib le on all four
wheels.
.,. Do not replace tires individually.
At least replace both tires on the same axle at the same time .
212
.,.A udi recommends that yo u use
Aud i O rig ina l equipment tires . If
you would like to use different t ir es, please note that the ti res
may pe rform differently even if
they are the same size
c:> A -
.,. If you would li ke to equ ip your
vehicle with a tire/rim combina
t ion tha t is different from what
was installed at the facto ry, con
sult with an authorized Audi
dea ler or authorized repair facili
ty before making a purchase
¢ ,&. .
The spare tire* is different from
the regular tires installed on the
vehic le - for examp le, if winter
tires or wide t ires are insta lled -
then only use the spare tire* tem
porarily in case of eme rgency and
drive carefully wh ile it is in use. It
s h o ul d be rep laced wi th a regular
tire as soon as poss ib le .
On
all wheel drive vehic les, all
four wheels must be equipped
with tires that are the same brand
and have the same construction
and tread pattern so that the
dr ive system is not damaged by
diffe rent tire speeds. For this rea
son, in case of emergency, only
use a spa re tire* that is the same
circumference as the regular tires . .,.
_& WARNING -
-Only use tire/rim combinations and suitable wheel bolts
that have been approved by
Audi. Otherwise, damage to
the vehicle and an accident
could result.
- For technical reasons, it is not
possible to use tires from oth
er vehicles -in some cases,
you cannot even use tires from
the same vehicle model.
- Make sure that the tires you
select have enough clearance
to the vehicle. Replacement
tires should not be chosen simply based on the nominal
size, because tires with a dif
ferent construction can differ
greatly even if they are the
same size. If there is not
enough clearance, the tires or
the vehicle can be damaged
and this can reduce driving
safety and increase the risk of
an accident.
-Only use tires that are more
than 6 years old when abso
lutely necessary and drive
carefully when doing so.
-If you install wheel covers on
the vehicle, make sure they al low enough air circulation to
Wheels
cool the brake system. If they
do not, this could increase the
risk of an accident.
Tire wear/damage
Fig. 169 Tire profile: Treadwear indica
tor
Tire wear
Check the tires regularly for wear.
- Inflation pressure that is too low
or high can increase tire wear
considerably.
-Driving quickly through curves,
rapid acceleration and heavy
braking increase tire wear.
- Have an authorized Audi dealer
or authorized repair facility
check the wheel alignment if
there is unusual wear.
-Have the wheels rebalanced if an imbalance is causing noticeable
vibration in the steering wheel. If you do not, the tires and other
vehicle components could wear more quickly.
213
...
M N
i? co ,...., \!) 1.1'1
N 1.1'1 ,....,
Determining correct load
limit
Use the example below to calcu
late the total weight of the pas
sengers and luggage or other
things that you plan to transport
so that you can ma ke sure that
your vehicle will not be overload ed .
Steps for Determining Correct
Load Limit
1 . Locate the statement "THE
COMBINED WEIGHT OF OCCU PANTS AND CARGO SHOULD
NEVER EXCEED XXX KG OR XXX
LBS"on your vehi cle's pla card
(tire inflation pressure label)
¢ page 215 , fig. 170.
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 passengers
from
"XXX " kilograms or "XXX"
pound s shown on the sticker
¢ page 215 , fig. 170 .
4. The resulting figure equals the
available amount of cargo and luggage load capacity. For ex
ample, if the
" XXX" amount
equals 1400 lbs. and there will
Wheels
be five 1 SO lb s. passenger s in
your vehicle, the amount of available cargo and luggage load capa city is 650 lb s.
(1400-750 (5 X 150) = 650
lb s.)
5. Determine the combined
weight of luggage and cargo
being loaded on the vehicle .
That weight may not safely e x
c eed the available cargo and
luggage load capa city cal culat
ed in Step 4 .
6. If your vehicle will be towing a trailer, load from your trailer
will be transferred to your vehi
cle. Con sult thi s manual to d e
termine how this redu ce s the
available cargo and luggage load capacity of your vehicle .
.,.Check the tire sidewall
(¢ page 205 , fig. 168) to deter
mine the designated load rating
for a specific tire.
Wheel bolts and rims
Wheel bolts
W heel bolts mus t be clean and loose n/tighten
easily .
Rims
Rims with a bo lted r im ring* or with bo lted wheel
cove rs* cons ist of multi ple p ieces . These compo
nents were bolted together using specia l bolts
and a spec ia l procedu re . You must not repa ir or
disassemb le th em
i::> Li::,. . ..,.
219
M N
i? co ,...., \!) ..,.,
N ..,., ,....,
damage the t ires, and the c hains will quickly be
destroye d.
A WARNING
Using inco rrect snow cha ins or installing snow
chains incorrectly can resu lt i n loss of vehicle
cont ro l, whic h increases the r isk of an acci
de nt.
(D Note
Snow chains can dama ge the r ims/whee l cov
ers * if th e cha ins come into d irect contact
w it h them. Remove the whee l cov ers* f irst .
Use coat ed snow c hains.
Low aspect ratio tires
Your Au di is factory -equip ped wi th low as pect ra
tio ti res. T hese ti res have bee n thoroughly teste d
a nd been se le cted specific ally fo r your model fo r
t he ir su perb pe rformance, road feel and handling
u nd er a variety o f driving conditions . Ask yo ur au
thor ized A udi dealer for mo re deta ils.
The low aspe ct r atio of these ti res i s indic ated by
a numer al of
55 or les s in th e tire's si ze des igna
tion. The nu mera l represen ts the ra ti o of the
tire's sidewall he ight in relation to its trea d width
e x pressed in percentage. Convent io na l tires have
a he ight/w idth ratio of 60 or mo re.
The performance of low-aspect-ratio tires is par
ticularly sensitive to improper inflation pres
sure . 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 pressures should
be checked at least once a month and always
before a long trip
¢ pag e 215.
What you can do to avoid tire and rim
damage
L ow aspec t rat io t ires ca n be damaged more easi
l y by impact wi th pot ho les, curbs, gulli es or
r idges on the road, par ticularly if the tire is un
de rin fla ted.
In o rder to m inim ize the occu rrence o f impact
damage to the t ires of your v ehicl e, we recom-
Wheels
me nd that yo u observe the follow ing p recau
t ions:
- Alw ays m aintain r eco m me nded infl ation pre s
sures. C heck your tire pressure every 2,000
m iles (3,00 0 km) an d ad d air if necessary .
- Dr ive c arefully on road s wi th pot holes, deep
gu llies o r ridges. The impac t from dr iv ing
through or over s uch obstacles can damage
your tires . Impact with a curb may a lso ca use
damage to your tires .
- After a ny impact, imme diate ly inspect yo ur
tires o r have them inspected by the nearest au
thorized A udi dealer. Rep lace a damaged t ire as
soon as possible.
- Inspect your tires every 2,000 m iles (3,000 km)
for damage and wear . Damage is not always
easy to see. Damage can lead to loss of air and
unde rinflation, w hich could even tually cause
t ire failure .
If you beli eve that a t ire may have
been damaged, re place the t ire as soon as pos
s ible.
- These ti res may wear more quickly tha n oth ers .
- Please also remember that, wh ile these tires
delive r responsiv e han dling, they may r ide less
comfortably and make mo re no ise than other
c h o ic e s.
Reduced performance in winter/cold season
conditions
All t ir e s ar e designed for certa in purpos es. T he
l ow asp ect ra tio, ultr a hig h perfor man ce tire s
o rigi nall y insta lled on y our veh icle are in tende d
f or m aximum dry an d we t road pe rformance and
handli ng. They are not suitab le for co ld , snowy or
icy weather conditions . If you dr ive under those
c ircumstances , you sho uld eq uip your vehicle
with all-season or winter tires, which offer better
t raction unde r those co ndit io ns. We suggest you
u se the recommended snow or all-seaso n tires
spec ified for your veh icle, o r the ir equiva le nt.
Refer to¢
page 220 for more detailed informa
t ion regarding w inte r tir es.
Uniform tire quality grading
- Tread wea r
- Traction AA AB C
- Temperature AB C
221