
M N
M N
0 ::i co ,...., \!) ..,.,
,...., ..,., ,....,
A WARNING ,~
Overloading a vehicle can cause loss of ve
hicle control, a crash or other accident, se
rious personal injury, and even death.
- Carrying more weight than your vehicle
was designed to carry will prevent the
vehicle from handling properly and in crease the risk of a loss of vehicle con
trol.
- The brakes on a vehicle that has been
overloaded may not be able to stop the
vehicle within a safe distance.
- Tires on a vehicle that has been overload
ed can fail suddenly causing loss of con
trol and a crash.
- Always make sure that the total load be
ing transported -including the weight of
a trailer hitch and the tongue weight of a
loaded trailer -does not make the vehi
cle heavier than the vehicle's Gross Vehi
cle Weight Rating.
A WARNING
- Incorrect tire pressures and/or underin
flation can lead to a serious or fatal acci
dent .
- Incorrect tire pressures and/or underin flation cause increased tire wear and can
affect the handling of the vehicle.
- Incorrect tire pressures and/or underin
flation can also lead to sudden tire fail
ure, including a blowout and sudden de
flation, causing loss of vehicle control.
Checking tire pressure
-
The correct tire pressure for the tires original
ly installed on your vehicle is listed on the tire
pressure label located on driver's side 8-pil lar .
The recommended tire pressures are on the
tire pressure label and in the table
c::;, page 199, Cold tire inflation pressure . This
means that the pressure must be checked and
adjusted when the tire has not been driven for more than a couple of miles (kilometers) at
low speeds during the previous three hours.
Tires and wheels 201
Air in the tires expands when the tire heats up
as a result of internal friction as it flexes in
use. The tire pressure is higher when the tire
has warmed up than when it is "cold."
It is the inflation pressure in a "cold" tire that
counts. Therefore, you should never let air out
of a warm tire to match "Cold tire inflation
pressure" recommendations
c::;, page 199 . The
tires would then be underinflated and could
fail suddenly .
The tire pressure label on your Audi lists the recommended cold tire inflation pressures at
maximum capacity for the new, original
equipment tires that were on your vehicle at
the time it was manufactured . For the loca
tion of the label
¢page 199, fig . 152 .
Most tires lose air naturally over time . They
can also lose some air if you drive over a pot
hole or hit a curb while parking.
It is usually
not possible to see whether the radial tires
used today are underinflated just by looking
at them.
Therefore, be sure to check tire pressures at
least once a month and always before going
on a long trip. Make sure to take the number
of people and the amount of luggage into ac
count when adjusting tire pressure for a trip -
even one that you would not consider to be "long." See
c::;, page 203, Tires and vehicle
load limits
for more important information .
Always use an accurate tire pressure gauge
when checking and adjusting inflation pres
sures. Check all of the tires and be sure not to
forget the spare tire. If the pressure in any tire is too high when the tire is "cold", let air out
of the tire slowly with the edge of the tire gauge and keep checking the pressure until
you reach the pressure that is correct for the load (passengers and luggage) and kind of
driving you plan to do.
If the pressure in any tire is too low, note the
difference between the pressure in the cold
tire and the pressure you need and add the air
that you need to reach the correct pressure for
the vehicle load (passengers and luggage) for
the tires on your vehicle as listed on the on .,.. •
•

M N
M N
0 ::i co ,...., \!) ..,.,
,...., ..,., ,....,
-If the ti re is not flat and y ou 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.
(D Note
Dr iving without va lve stem caps can cause
damage to the t ire va lves . To prevent this,
always make sure that factory installed
valve stem caps on all wheels are secu re 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 the amount of load or
weight t hat any veh icle and any t ire ca n car ry.
A vehicle that is overloaded w ill not handle
well and is more difficult to stop. Overload ing
can not on ly lead to loss of vehicle contro l,
but can a lso damage important parts of the
vehicle and can lead to sudden tire failure, in
cluding a blowout and sudden deflation that
can cause the ve hicle to crash.
Your safety and that of yo ur passenge rs a lso
depends on making sure th at load limits are
no t exceeded. Vehicle load includes everybody
and everyth ing in and on the vehicle. These
load limits a re tech nica lly referred to as the
ve hicle's
Gross Veh icle Weight Rating
("GVWR").
The "GVWR" includes the we ight of the basic
ve hicle, all factory installed accessories, a full
tank of f uel, oil, coo lant and othe r fluids plus
max imum load. The maximum load includes
the number o f passenger s that the ve hicl e is
intended to carry ("se ating capacity") w it h an
assumed weig ht o f 150 lbs. (68 kg) for each
passenger at a designated seating position
and the tota l weight of any luggage in the ve
h icle. If you tow a trailer, the weight of the
trailer hitch and the tong ue weight of the
Tire s an d wheel s 203
loaded tra ile r must be included as part of the
vehicle load .
T he
Gro ss Ax le Weight Rating (" GAWR") 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 t he
G ross Ax le Weig ht Ra ting are l iste d on the
s af ety comp liance s tic ke r la bel lo cated on the
driver's side 8 -pillar . Yo ur Audi has 5 seating
positions, 2 in the front and 3 in the rear fo r
total seating capacity of 5. Eac h seating posi
tion has a seat be lt
c::> page 104, Safety bel ts.
T he 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 ( includ ing the weight of a
trai ler hitch and the tongue weight of the
l oaded tra ile r) is lim ited . The more passen
gers in the vehicle or passe ngers w ho are
heavi er than the standard we ights assumed
mea n that less we ight can be ca rried as lug
gage.
T he t ire pressure label o n your Aud i also lis ts
the max imum combined weight of a ll of the
occupants and l uggage or o ther cargo t hat
the ve hicl e can carry . Fo r th e lo cat ion of the
l abel
c::> page 199, fig . 152.
A WARNING
-=
Overloading a vehicle can cause loss of ve -
h icle cont ro l, a c rash or other accide nt, se
rious pe rsonal injury, and even death.
- Ca rrying more we ight than your vehicle
was des igned to carry wi ll prevent the
veh icle from handling pr oper ly and in
crease the risk of the loss of vehicle con
trol.
- The brakes on a vehicle that has been
overloaded may not be able to stop the
ve hicle w it hi n a safe distance.
- Tires o n a vehicle that has been over load
ed can fail s uddenly, incl uding a blowout
a nd sudden defla tion, causing loss of
con trol an d a crash . ..,.
•
•

206 Tires and whe els
& WARNING
Sudden tire failure can lead to loss of con
trol, a crash and serious persona l injury!
- Never drive a vehicle when the tread on
any tire is worn down to the wear indica
tors .
- Worn tires are a safety hazard, they do
not grip well on wet roads and increase
yo ur risk of "hydroplan ing" and loss of
control.
- Always keep chemicals that can cause tire damage, such as grease, oil, gasoline and brake fluid away from t ires.
- Tires age even if they are not be ing used
and can fail suddenly , especially at high
speeds . T ir es that are more t han 6 years
o ld can only be used in an emergency
and then with special care and at lower
speeds.
- Never mount used ti res on yo ur vehicle if
yo u are not sure of their "previous histo
ry." Old used tires may have been dam
aged even though the damage cannot be
seen that can lead to sudden tire failure
and loss of vehicle control.
New tires and replacing tires and wheels
New tires and wheels have to be broken in .
Fig. 156 Tir e specificat ion codes on t he s idew all o f a
t ire
No. De scription
® Ra tio of height to width (aspect ratio)
© Radial
® Rim diameter code
® L oad index and sp eed rating
(J) U.S. DOT tire identifi cation number
® Audi Original tire
® Sever snow cond itions
@ Tire ply compos ition and materials
used
@ Maximum load r ating
@ Treadwear, traction and temperature
grades
@ Maximum permissible inflation pres-
sure
T he t ires and rims are essential parts of the
vehicle 's design . The tires and rims approved
by Audi are spec ially matched to the charac
te ris tics of the vehicle and can ma ke a major .,..

M N
M N
0 ::i co ,...., \!) 1.1'1 ,...., 1.1'1 ,....,
-All four wheels must be fitted with radia l
t ires of the same type, size (roll ing cir
cumference) and the same tread pattern .
Driv ing with different tires reduces veh i
cle handling and can lead to a loss of
control.
- If the spare tire is not the same as the
t ir es that are mounted on the veh icle -
for example with winte r tires -o nl y use
the spare tire for a short period of time and dr ive wi th extra care. Refit the nor
ma l road whee l as soon as safely possi
ble.
- Never drive faster than the maxim um
speed for which the tires on your vehicle
are rated because tires that are driven
faster than their rated speed can fail
sudden ly.
- Overloading tires cause heat build- up,
sudden tire failure, including a blowout
and sudden deflation and loss of control.
- Temperature grades app ly to tires that
are properly inflated and not over or un
der inflated .
- For technical reasons it is not a lways
poss ible to use wheels from other
vehicles -in some cases not even wheels
from the same vehicle model.
- If you install wheel tr im discs on the ve
hicle wheels, make sure that the air flow
to the brakes is not blocked. Reduced air
flow to the brakes can them to overheat,
increasing stopping distances and ca us
ing a collision.
- Run flat t ires may on ly be used on
vehicles that we re equ ipped w ith them
at the facto ry. The vehicle must have a
chassis des igned for run flat t ires and a
facto ry-installed tire p ress ure monito r
ing system* that indicates a loss of tire
pressure. Incorrect use of run flat tires
can lead to vehicle damage or accidents.
Check with an authorized Audi dea ler or
t ire spec ia list to see if your vehicle can be
equipped with run flat tires .
If run flat
t ir es a re used, they must be insta lled on
all four wheels. M ixing tire types is not
permitted.
Tire s an d wheel s 209
@ 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.
- If the spare tire is d ifferent from the
tires that you have mounted on your ve
hicle (for example winter tires or wide
profi le tires), then use the spare tire for a
short per iod of time only and drive w ith
extra care. Replace the flat tire w ith the
tire matching the othe rs on your vehicle
as soon as possib le.
- Never d rive without the valve stem cap .
T he va lves co uld get d amaged.
(® For the sake of the environment
D ispose of o ld tires in accordance with the
l ocal requirements.
Uniform tire quality grading
- Tread wea r
- Traction AA A B C
- Temperature ABC
Quality grades can be found where applicable
o n the t ire s ide wall between tread shoulder
and maximum section width
c:> page 206,
fig. 156 .
For e xample : Tread wear 200 , Traction AA,
Temperature A.
All passenger car t ires must conform to Feder
al Safety Requirements in addition to these
grades .
Tread w ear
T he tread wear grade is a comparative rating
based on the wear rate of the tire when tested
under contro lled conditions on a specified
government test course.
For example, a tire graded 1S0 wo uld wear
one and one ha lf (1 1/2) times as well on the
government course as a tire graded 100.
1JJ>
•
•

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 . ..,.

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. .,.

M N
M N
0 ::i co ,...., \!) ..,.,
,...., ..,., ,....,
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.
•
•