2015 AUDI Q3 flat tire

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was manufactured. Please see ¢ page 207,
Speed rating (letter code) for a listing of the
speed rat ing letter codes and the maximum
speed at which the tires can be driven .
The speed rating letter code(¢
page 198) is
on the side wall of the tire
c::> page 206.
A WARNING
Winter tires have maximum speed limits
that may be lower than your vehicle's max­
imum speed. Always know the maximum
speed before driving off . Never drive faster
than the speed permitted for your specific
w inte r tires . This will cause damage to the
tires leading to an ac cident and serious
pe rsonal inj ury to you and yo ur passen­
gers .
A WARNING
Driving faster than the maximum speed
for which the winter tires on your vehicle
were designed can ca use tire fai lure in­
cluding a blowout and sudden deflat ion,
loss of control, crashes and serious per­
sonal injuries . Have worn or damaged tires
rep laced immed iate ly.
- Winter tires have maximum speed rat ing
that may be lower than your veh icle's
maximum speed .
- Never drive faster than the speed for
w hich the winter or other tires installed
on your veh icle are rated .
A WARNING
Always adjust your d rivi ng to the road and
traffic conditions. Neve r let the good ac­
c eleration of the w inte r ti res and all whee l
drive temp t you in to taking extra r is k s . A l­
ways remember:
- When bra king, an a ll whee l dr ive vehicle
hand les in the s ame way as a front drive
vehicle.
- Drive carefu lly and reduce your speed on
icy and slippery roads, even winter tires
cannot he lp under blac k ice conditions.
Tire s an d wheel s 211
'
@) For the sake of the environment
Use summer tires when weather condi­
tions permit. They are qu ieter, do not wear
as quickly and reduce fuel consumpt ion.
Snow chains
Snow cha ins may be fitted only to the front
wheels, and o nly to certain tire sizes . Ask your
autho rized Aud i deale r on which tire sizes
snow cha ins can be used .
The snow chains must have low-prof ile links
and must not be th icker than 0.53 inch
(13.5 mm) , includ ing the lock .
Remove wheel center covers and trim discs
before putt ing snow cha ins on your vehicle
c::> Q) . For safety reasons cover caps must then
be fitted over the wheel bolts. These are ava il­
able from autho rized Aud i dealers.
A WARNING
Using the wrong snow chai ns for your vehi­
cle o r insta lling them incorrect ly can in­
crease the risk of loss of cont ro l leading to
serious personal injury.
- Snow chains are available in different
sizes. A lways make sure to follow the in­
structions p rov ided by the snow chain
manufacturer.
- When driving with snow chains never
drive faster than the speed permitted for
your specif ic snow chains.
- Always observe local regulations .
(D Note
-Remove snow chains before dr iv ing o n
roads not covered with snow to avoid
damaging tires and wea ring the snow
chains down unnecessarily.
- Snow chains, which come into direct con ­
tact with the whee l rim , can scratch or
damage it . Therefore, make sure that the
snow chains are suitably covered. Check
the pos ition of the snow chains after
•
•

212 Tire s and wheel s
driving a few yards and correct if neces­
sary. Follow the instructions from the
snow cha in manufacturer when doing so.
(D Tips
Where snow chains are mandatory oncer ­
tain roads, this normally also applies to
veh icles with all wheel drive .
Wheel bolts
Wheel bolts must always be tightened to the
correct torque.
The design o f whee l bolts is matched to the
factory insta lled rims . If different rims are fit ­
ted, the correct wheel bolts with the right l ength and correctly shaped bolt heads must
be used. This ensures that wheels are f itted
securely and that the brake system functions
correctly .
In certain circumstances, you may not use
wheel bolts from a different vehicle -even if it
is the same model¢
page 239.
.&_ WARNING
Improperly tig htened or maintained wheel
bolts can become loose ca using loss of
cont ro l, a co llision and serious p ersona l in­
Jury.
- Always keep the wheel bolts and the
threads in t he wheel hubs clea n so the
wheel bolts can tu rn easily and be prop­
erly tigh tened.
- N ever grease or oil the wheel bo lts and
the threads in the wheel h ubs. They can
become loose w hile d riving if greased or
oiled, even if tightened to the specified
torq ue.
- O nly use wheel bo lts that be long to the
rim being installed.
- N ever use different whee ls bolts on your
vehicle.
- Alw ays mai nta in the co rrec t tighte ning
tor que fo r the wheel bo lts to reduce the
risk of a wheel loss . If the tightening tor­
que of the wheel bo lts is too low, they
can loosen and come out when the veh i- cle is moving.
If the tig
hte ning torq ue is
too high, the wheel bolts and threads
can be damaged and the wheel can be­
come loose.
(D Note
The specified torque for the whee l bolts is
105 ft lbs. (140 Nm) with a tolerance of
± 7,4 ft lbs. (± 10 Nm). Torque whee l bolts
diagonally . After changing a wheel, the
torque must be checked as soon as poss i­
ble with a to rque wrenc h - preferab ly by an
a uthorized Aud i dea le r or qualified wor k­
shop.
Low aspect ratio tires
Your A udi is factory -eq uipped w it h low aspect
ratio tires. These tires have been thoroughly
tested and been se lected specifically for your
model for their superb performance, road fee l
and handling under a variety of driving condi­
t ions . Ask your authorized Audi dealer for
more details .
The low aspect ratio of these tires is ind icated
by a numeral of
55 or less in the tire's s ize
designation . The numeral represents the ratio
of the tire's sidewall height in relation to its
t read width exp ressed in percentage. Conven­
tiona l tires have a he ight/w idth rat io of 60 or
more.
The performanc e of low-a spect-ratio tire s is
pa rticularly sen sitive to improp er inflation
pre ssure. It i s therefor e important that low
a spe ct ratio tir es are inflated to the spe cified
pre ssure and that the inflation pre ssure i s
regula rly checked and mainta ined. Tire pre s­
sure s should be checked at lea st once a
month and always befo re a long trip
¢ page 201, 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 potholes, curbs, gul lies
or ridges on the road, particularly if the tire is
underinflated . ..,.

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In o rder to minimize the occurrence o f imp act
damage to the tires of y our vehicle, we recom­
mend that you observe the following precau­
tions :
- Always maintain recommended inflation
pressures. Check your tire pressure every
2,000 miles (3,000 km) and add a ir if neces­
sary.
- Drive carefu lly on roads with potholes, deep
gullies or 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, immediately inspect your
tires or have them inspected by the nearest
authorized Aud i deale r. Replace a damaged
t ire as soon as poss ible .
- In spect 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 unde rinflation, wh ic h could eventu­
ally cause ti re fa il ur e.
If yo u be lieve that a
t ir e may have been damaged , replace the
tire as soon as possible.
- These tires may wea r more q uick ly than oth ­
ers.
- Please a lso remembe r that, whi le these t ires
deliver respons ive handling, they may ride
l ess comfortably and make more noise than
other c hoices.
Reduced p erformance in winter /cold
s ea son condit ion s
All ti res are designed for certain purposes .
The low aspect ratio, ultra hig h pe rformance
tires orig inally installed on your veh icle are in­
tended for max imum dry and wet road per­
formance and handling . They are not suitable
for cold, snowy or icy weather cond it ions . If
you dr ive under those circumstances, you
should equip your vehicle with all-season or
winter tires, whi ch offe r better trac tion under
t hose cond itions . We suggest yo u use the rec­
ommended snow or all -season tires specified
for your ve hicle, or their equiva lent .
Refe r to
~ page 210 for mo re deta iled info r­
mat io n regarding w in ter t ires.
Tire s an d wheel s 213
Tire pressure
monitoring system
ill General notes
App lies to vehicles : wi th tire p ress ure mo nito rin g system
Each tire, incl uding the spa re (if provided),
sho uld be checked monthly when co ld and in ­
flated to the inflation pressure recommended
by the veh icle manufacturer on the veh icle
placard or tire inflation pressure label. (If your
vehicle has tires of a d ifferent size than the
s iz e indicated on the vehicle placa rd o r tire in­
flat io n pressu re labe l, you s hou ld dete rm ine
the p roper t ire inflation p ress ure fo r those
ti r es).
As an added safety featu re, your veh icle has
been equipped with a tire p ressure monitoring
system ( TPMS) tha t illum inates a low ti re
pressure te lltale whe n one or more o f you r
ti res is significant ly under -inflated . Acco rding ­
ly, when the low tire pressure te lltale i llumi­
nates, yo u shou ld stop and check you r tires as
soon as possib le, and inf late them to the
proper pressure. Driving on a sign ificantly un­
der- inflated t ire causes the tire to overheat
and can lead to tire fa ilure . Under-inflation al­
so reduces fuel eff ic iency and tire tread life,
and may affe ct the vehicle 's hand ling and
stopp ing abil ity.
Please note that the TPMS is not a subst itute
fo r proper tire ma intenanc e, and it is the d riv­
er's respo nsibility to maintain co rrect tire
pressure, even if under -inflation has not
reached the leve l to tr igger illum inat ion o f the
T PMS low ti re p ressu re tellta le .
You r vehicle has also been equipped with a
T PMS ma lf u nction indicator to ind icate w hen
t he sys tem is not oper ating prope rly . T he
T PMS ma lfunction indicator is combined w ith
the low tire pressure te lltale. When the sys ­
tem detects a malfunction, the telltale wi ll
flash for approximate ly one min ute and then
rema in con tinuously i llum inated . T hi s se­
quence will continue upon subsequent vehicle
start-ups as long as the malfunct ion exists . ..,.
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•

214 Tire s and wheel s
When the malfunction indicator is illuminat­
ed, the system may not be able to det ect or
signal low t ire pressure as intended . TPMS
malfunct ions m ay occur for a variety of re a­
sons, including the installa tion of replace­
ment or a lternate tires or wheels on the vehi ­
cle that prevent the TPMS from funct ioning
properly . Always check the TPMS malfunct ion
tellta le afte r replacing one or 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.
Tire pressure indicator appears
Applies to vehicles: with tire pressure monito ring system
The tire pressure indicator in the instrument
cluster informs you if the tire pressure is too
low or if there is a system malfunction.
F ig. 157 Display : under inflatio n warning
Using the ABS sensors, the tire pressure moni­
toring system compares the t ire tread circum­
ference and vibration characteristics of the in­
d iv idual tires . If the pressure decreases in one
or more tires, th is is indicated in the instru­
ment cluster w ith a warning symbo l
RE and a
message¢
fig. 157 . If on ly one ti re is affect ­
ed, the location of that tire will be indicated .
The t ire p ressu re monito ring system must be
reset each t ime the press ures a re adjusted (e.
g . when switching between partia l and full
l oad pressure) or after changing or replacing a
tire on your vehicle ¢
page 215. The TPMS in­
dicator only monitors the tire p ressu re that
you have previously s tored. You can find the
recommended tire pressures for your vehicle
on the label on dr iver 's side B -pillar
¢ page 199.
Tire tread circumference and vibration charac­
teristics can change and cause a tire pressure
warning if:
- t he t ire press ure in one or more tires is too
low,
- t he t ire has s tructural damage ,
- the t ire p ressure was changed, wheels rotat -
ed or replaced but the TPMS was not reset
¢ page 215,
-the spare t ire is mou nted.
Warning symbo ls
RE Loss of pressure in at least one tire¢.& .
Check the tire or tires and replace or repa ir if
necessary . Check/correct the pressures of all
four t i res and reset TPMS
¢ page 215 .
Ill (T ire Pressure Monitoring Sys tem) T ire
pr ess ure: S y ste m m alfun ction -If l!I ap ­
pears after switching the ignition on or wh ile
driv ing and the indicator light
RE in the in­
strument cluster b links for app rox imately one
minute and then stays on , the re is a system
malfunction . Attempt to sto re the correct tire
pressure
¢ page 215 . If the indicator light
does not turn off or if it turns on shortly
thereafter, immediately drive yo ur vehicle to
an authori zed Aud i dea ler or authori zed repa ir
facility to have the malfunction corrected .
A WARNING
--- If the tire pressure indicator appears in
the instrument cluster display, one or mo re of your t ires is sign ifi cantly unde r­
i n flated. Reduce yo ur speed immedi ately
and avoid any hard steer ing or b raking
maneuve rs. Stop as soon as possib le and
check the tires and their pressures. In­
f late the tire pressure to the proper pres­
sure as indicated on the vehicle's tire
pressure labe l
¢page 199. Driving on a
significantly under-i nflated tire causes
the t ire to overheat and can lead to ti re
fa ilu re. Unde r-inflation also is likely to
impair the vehicle's handling and stop­
p ing ability.

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-The driver is responsible for maintaining
the correct tire pressures. You must
check the tire pressures regularly.
- Under certain conditions (such as a spor­
ty driving style, winter conditions or un­
paved roads), the pressure monitor indi­
cator may be delayed.
- Ask your authorized dealer if run-flat
tires may be used on your vehicle. Your
vehicle registration becomes invalid if
you use these tires when not permitted .
Damage to your vehicle or accidents
could also result.
- The tire pressure monitoring system may
stop working when there is an ESC mal­
function.
- Using snow chains may result in a system
malfunction.
- The tire pressure monitoring system on
your Audi was developed using tires with
the "AO" or "RO" identification on the
tire sidewall
¢page 206. We recom ­
mend using these tires.
Reset tire pressure monitoring system
Applies to vehicles: with tire pressure monit oring sys te m
If the tire pressure is adjusted, wheels are ro­
tated or changed, the TPMS must be reset.
"'Before storing the new tire pressures, check
that the current pressures on all four tires correspond to the specified values and
adapt the pressures to the current load
¢ page 199.
"'Sw itch on the ignition.
"' Select: the
I CAR I function button > Car* sys­
tems
contro l button > Servicing & checks >
Tire pressure monitoring > Store tire pres­
sures > Yes, store now .
(D Tips
Do not store the tire pressure if there are
snow chains on the tire. Otherwise, a sys­
tem malfunction may occur.
Tires and wheels 215
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•

216 What do I do now?
What do I do now?
General information
.. Park the vehicle as far as possible from mov­
ing traffic in the event of a flat tire. In the
event of a flat tire, park the vehicle on a lev­
el surface . It you are on a steep incline, be
especially careful.
.. Set the parking brake .
.. Switch the emergency flashers on .
.. Put on a reflective vest, if ava ilable .
.. Set up the warning triang le, if available .
.. Have the passengers exit the vehicle. They
should move to a safe place, for example
behind a guard rai l.
A WARNING
Pay attention to the steps above. They are
for your protection and the for the safety
of other drivers.
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-suppl ied jack is intended on­
ly for your vehicle model. Under no cir­
cumstances should it be used to lift
heavy vehicles or other loads; you risk in­
jur ing yourself.
- Never start the engine when the vehicle
is raised, which 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
heavier one . The jack is only suitable for
use on the vehicle it came with .
Vehicle tool kit with
lifting jack
Fig. 158 Under the cargo floo r cover : Too l kit , auxiliary
too l and jack
The veh icle tool kit is stored under the cargo
floor cover behind the seat backrest
Q fig . 158 .
The vehicle tool kit includes :
- Hook for removing wheel covers
- Alig nment pin for changing the wheel
- Screwdriver with reversible blade
- Reversible bit (reversible Torx bit for chang-
ing light bulbs)
- Jack
- Auxil iary tool for selector lever emergency
release
- Lug wrench
-Towing eye
Some of the vehicle items listed above are
provided on certain models only or are option­
al extras.
Before returning the jack to its place , retract
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 tighten ing 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. ~

218 What do I do no w?
checked as soon as possible and, if necessary,
replaced by an Audi dea ler or qualified work­
shop.
P lease no te the following restr ictions when
using the spare tire . The spa re tire is designed
specifica lly for this model. For t his reason, do
not use a spare tire from a different type of
vehicle.
Re moving the spare tire
.. Take out the floor pane l.
.. Remove the wing screw ¢
fig. 161 and take
out the retainer underneath .
.. Remove the bass box* ¢
page 217.
.. Take out the spare tire.
Snow cha in s
For technica l reasons, snow chains must not
be used on the spare tire .
Should you have a flat tire on one of the front
wheels when using snow chains, fit the spare
tire in place of one o f the rear whee ls. You can
then attach the snow chains to the whee l tak­
en from the rear and use this wheel to replace
the flat front twheel.
A WARNING
- Never use the spare tire if it is damaged
or if it is worn down to the tread wear in­
dicato rs .
- If the spare tire is more than 6 years o ld,
use it only in an emergency and w ith ex­
t reme caution and careful d riving .
- The spare tire is intended only for tem­
porary and short-term use. It should be
replaced as soon as possib le w ith the
normal wheel and t ire.
- After mounting the compact spare tire,
the tire pressu re must be checke d as
soon as poss ible. The tire pressure of the
c om pac t spa re tire must be 4.2 bar; oth­
erwise, you risk hav ing an accident .
- Do not drive faster than 50 mph (8 0 km/
h). You risk having an acc iden t.
- Avoid full-throttle acce le rat ion, heavy
braking, and fast corner ing . Yo u r isk hav­
ing an ac ciden t. -
Never drive using more than one spare
wheel and tire. You r isk having an acci­
dent.
- Normal summer or winter t ires must not
be mounted on the compact spare wheel
rim.
- For technical reasons, the use of tire
chains on the spare tire is not permitted.
If it is necessary to drive with tire chains,
the spare wheel must be mounted on the
front ax le in the event of a flat in a rear
tire. The new ly available front wheel
m ust then be installed in place of the
rea r whee l w ith the flat tire. Installing
the tire chain be fore mounting the whee l
and tire is recommended.
- Loose items in the passenger compart ­
ment can cause se rious personal injury
during hard braking or in an accident. Never store the spare tire or jack and
too ls in t he passenger compartment.
Changing a wheel
Before changing a wheel
Observe the following precautions for your
own and your passenger's safety when chang­
ing a wheel.
.. After you experie nce a t ire failure, pull the
car well away from mov ing traffic and try to
reach
level ground before you stop
¢ page 216, ¢,& .
.. All passengers should leave th e car and
move to a safe location ( for ins tance, behind
the guardrail) ¢&, .
.. Engage the
pa rking brake to prevent your
veh icle from rolling unintentionally
c> &, .
.. Move the
selector lever to the P posit ion .
.. If you are towing a trailer : unhitch the trail­
er from your vehicle.
.. Take the
jack ¢ page 216 and the spare tir e
¢page 217 out of the luggage compart-
ment. .,.

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A WARNING 1=
You or your passengers could be injured
while changing a wheel if you do not fol­
low these safety precautions:
- If you have a flat tire, move a safe dis­
tance off the road. Turn off the engine,
turn the emergency flashers on and use
other warning devices to alert other mo­
torists.
- Make sure that passengers wait in a safe
place away from the vehicle and well
away from the road and traffic.
- To help prevent the vehicle from moving
suddenly and possibly slipping off the
jack, always fully set the parking brake
and block the wheel diagonally opposite
the wheel being changed with the fold­
ing chocks or other objects. When one
front wheel is lifted off the ground, plac­ ing the Automatic Transmission in "P"
(Park) will
not prevent the vehicle from
moving .
- Before you change a wheel, be sure the
ground is level and firm. If necessary,
use a sturdy board under the jack.
- Always store the vehicle tool kit, the jack
and the replaced tire in the luggage com­
partment
¢ page 100.
(D Note
If you are changing the wheel on a steep
incline, use the folding chock¢
page 217
to block the opposite wheel to prevent the
vehicle from moving.
(!) Tips
Obey all laws.
Changing a wheel
When you change a wheel, follow the se­
quence described below step-by-step and in
exactly that order .
-
1. Remove the decorative wheel cover* or
the
wheel bolt caps*. For more details see
also
¢ page 220.
2. Loosen the wheel bolts<=:> page 220 .
What do I do now? 219
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Locate the proper mounting point for the
jack and align the jack below that point
¢ page 221.
Lift the car with the jack ¢ page 221.
Remove the wheel with the flat tire and
then install the
spare tire <=:>page 222.
Tighten all wheel bolts lightly.
Lower the vehicle with the jack .
Use the wheel bolt wrench and
firmly
tighten all wheel bolts in a crisscross pat­
tern ¢
page 220.
9. Replace the decorative wheel cover* or
the
wheel bolt caps*.
A WARNING
Always read and follow all WARNINGS and information<=:>
A in Raising the vehicle on
page 221
and <=:> page 223.
After changing a wheel
A wheel change is not complete without the
doing the following.
.,. Always store the vehicle tool kit, the jack4
and the replaced tire in the luggage com­
partment
¢ page 100.
.,. Check the tire pressure of the spare tire as
soon as possible .
.,. As soon as possible, have the
tightening
torques
on all wheel bolts checked with a
torque wrench. The correct tightening tor­
que is 105 ft lbs. (140 Nm).
.,. Have the flat tire
replaced as soon as possi­
ble.
(D Tips
- If you notice that the wheel bolts are
corroded and difficult to turn while
changing a tire, they should be replaced
before you check the tightening torque.
- Drive at reduced speed until you have the
tightening torques checked.
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