2015 AUDI Q3 load capacity

Instrument s and warnin g/indic ator ligh ts 11
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& WARNING
-Always observe the wa rning in
¢
page 179, before opening the hood
and checking the engine coolant level.
- Never open the engine hood if you see or
hear steam, or if you see engine coolant
dripping from the engine compartment.
You could burn yourself. Let the engine cool off first so that you cannot hear or
see any steam or engine coolant.
(D Note
- Mounting additional lights or accessories
in front of the air inlets reduces the cool­
i ng effect of the rad iator. At h igh outside
temperatures or high eng ine load, the
engine could overheat.
- The front spo iler has been designed to
proper ly distr ib ute the cooling air when
the veh icle is moving.
If the spoiler is
damaged, this cou ld redu ce the cooling
effect and the engine co uld then over­
heat. Ask yo ur autho rized Aud i de aler f or
assistance.
Tachometer (engine rev counter)
The tachometer indicates the engine RPM
(revolutions per minutes).
If engine R PM drops be low 1,500, you should
downshift to the next lower gear. The red area
at the e nd of the sca le ind icates maximum
permissible engine RPM after the break- in pe­
riod. Before reaching this area, move these­
l ector lever to position D/S or ease your foot
off the accelerator peda l.
(D Note
The tachometer needle@¢ page 10,
fig. 3 sho uld only briefly be in the red
zone: you could damage your engine! The
beg inning of the red zone varies depend­
ing on the engine.
@) For the sake of the environment
Upshift ing early saves fue l and reduces en-
~ gine noise. ,....,
Fuel gauge
T he fuel gauge wo rks only when the ignition is
o n.
When the needle reaches the red a rea, the
warning light
Ii] in the instrume nt cluster
will illuminate
¢ page 18. Time to refuel!
The tota l tank capacity of your ve hicle is listed
i n
¢ page 235.
(1) Note
Never run the ta nk completely dry! An ir­
regular supply of f uel can cause engine
misfiring and fuel could enter into the ex­
haust system . The catalytic converter
could t hen ove rheat and be damaged.
Warning/indicator
Lights
Description
T he ind icator lights in the instrument cluster
blink or tur n on. They indica te funct io ns or
malfu nctions ¢
.&,..
Messages may appea r with some indicato r
lights. A warning signal may sound at the
same time. The indicato r lights and messages
in the disp lay can be replaced by othe r d is­
plays. In the dr iver informa tion system, you
can display the messages aga in
¢ page 21 .
Some indica tors lig hts in the d isplay can turn
on i n severa l colors.
& WARNING ~
- Failure to heed warning ligh ts and other
important vehicle information may res ult
in ser ious personal inj ury or vehicle dam­
age.
- Whenever stalled or stoppe d for repair,
move the vehicle a safe d istance off the
road, stop the engine, and turn on the
emergency flasher ¢
page 43.
-The engine compartment o f any motor
ve hicle is a potentially hazardous area.
Before you check anything in the engine

58 Seat s a nd s tor ag e
attached to it to fall off the roof onto the
road .
- Objects falling from the roof of a vehicle
can cause a crash and persona l injury.
- Only mount the roof rack on the desig­
nated locations on the roof¢
fig. 64 .
- The roof rack system must be insta lled
exactly according to the instructions pro­
vided.
- When driving with a roof rack system,
changes to the center of gravity and wind
resistance can change the vehicle han­
dling and lead to a collision . Always
adapt your driv ing and your speed to the
current conditions .
(D Note
-Your vehicle warranty does not cover any
damages to the veh icle caused by using
roof racks or mount ing structures not
approved by Audi for your vehicle . The
same applies to damage resulting from
i nco rrect roof rack installation .
-Always check the roof rack mountings
and hardware before each trip and dur­
i ng a tr ip to make sure eve rythi ng is se­
cu rely tightened. If ne cessary, retighten
the mo unt ings and check the ent ire sys­
tem from time to time.
- After mounting a roof rac k system, or
when you transport objects on the roof
of your vehicle, the height of the vehicle
is natura lly increased . Be careful when
driving under low br idges or in parking
garages for examp le. This could cause
damage to the load and even the vehicle
i tself .
- Make sure that the open rear lid and the
sunroof do not come into contact w ith
objects on the roof .
Loading the roof rack
Always distribute loads evenly. Make sure
any thing on the roof rack is securel y tied
down.
.. Always distrib ute the loads on the roof rack
even ly.
.. Always attac h it em s to the roof rack securely
before you dr ive off .
T he max im um perm issible roof weight is
165 lb (75 kg ). The roof we ight is the total of
the weigh t of the roof rack, the at tachments
and the cargo you are carrying . You must a lso
not exceed the maximum load we ight for the
r oof rack you are using.
When using a roo f rack system which has a
lower load carrying capacity , you must not use
up the tota l maximum permiss ible load carry­
ing capac ity specified above. Instead, you
shou ld load the roof rack system only to the
maximum capacity specified by the manufac ­
tu rer of the roo f rack sys tem.
A WARNING
=
Weak, damaged or imprope r straps used
to secure items to the roof rack can fail
d uring hard braking or in a coll is ion and
cause ser ious personal injury.
- Make sure the roof rack is installed exact­
ly as specif ied above ¢
page 5 7.
- Always use s uitable mounting straps for
secur ing items to the roof rack to help
prevent items from sh ifting or flying for­
ward .
- Items on the roof rack must always be
securely mounted.
- The use of a roof rack can negatively af­
fect the way a vehicle hand les . Cargo
that is large, heavy, bulky, long or flat
will have a greater negat ive influence on
the vehicle's aerodynamics, center of
g rav ity and overall handling. Always
d rive s lowly, avoid s udden bra king and
maneuvers when transporting ca rgo on
the roof of your vehicle .
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-Never exceed the maximum permissible
load carry ing capacity of the roof of your
vehicle, the perm issible axle weights and
the permiss ible total weight of your veh i­
cle ¢
page 234 , Weights .
(D Note
- Make sure the rear lid does not hit the
cargo on the roof rack when you open it.
On vehicles with automatic rear lid/trunk
lid operation* you may have to adjust the
open position of the rear lid
¢ page 35.
- Remove the roof rack and attachment
before taking your vehicle through an au­
tomatic car wash to avoid damage .
@l For the sake of the environment
As a result of the increased w ind resist ­
ance created by a roof rack, your veh icle is
using fue l unnecessarily . So remove the
roof rack after using it.
Luggage compartment
General information
,& WARNING
Read and heed the importan t safety pre­
cautions on ¢
page 100, Stowing lug­
gage .
Luggage compartment cover
Fig. 65 Inside of re ar lid: Cove r hooked in to pl ace
-
S ea ts a nd s to rage 59
Fig. 66 Lug gage compa rtm en t: Co ver
If any items of luggage do not fit under the
luggage compartment covers when loading
the car, take out the covers @ and @¢,&. .
Remo ving
.,. To remove the cover from the rear lid@,
pull the fasteners
CD off the studs c:> fig. 65 .
You can now pull the cover ou t of the retain­
ers @in the d irection of the arrows .
.,. To remove the cove r in the luggage com­
p a rtment @, pu ll it towards the rear
¢ fig. 66.
Installing
.,. To secure the cover @ on the inside of the
rea r lid, slide it into the reta iners @.
.,. Press the fasteners
CD onto the studs¢,&. .
.,. To sec ure the cover @ in the luggage com­
partment, engage it in the side trim on both
sides. You can now push the cover forwards
until it engages.
,& WARNING
- Make sure that both luggage compart­
ment covers are securely engaged after
loading or unloading the vehicle .
- The luggage compartment cover must
always be fixed properly -risk of acci­
dent!
- The luggage compartment cover shou ld
not be used as a storage shelf. Items
placed on th is cover could cause injury in
an accident o r if the bra kes are applied
suddenly.
-

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to reduce the risk of injury when the vehi­
cle is not be ing used.
- After closing the rear lid, always make
sure that it is properly closed and locked.
- Never leave your vehicle unattended es­
pecially with the rear lid left open . A
child could crawl into the vehicle through
the luggage compartment and close the
rear lid becoming trapped and unable to
get out. Be ing trapped in a vehicle can
lead to serious persona l injury.
- Never let children play in or around the vehicle .
- Never let passe ngers r ide in the luggage
compartment . Ve hicle occupants must
always be properly restrained in one of
the vehicle's seating positions.
(D Tips
- Air c irculation helps to reduce window
fogging. Sta le air escapes to the outside
th rough vents in the trim pane l. Be su re
to keep these slots free and open.
- The t ire pressure must correspond to the
load. The t ire pressur e is shown o n the
tire p ress ure label. The tire pressure la­
bel is loc ated on the d river's s ide B-pi ll a r.
The t ire pressure label lists the recom­
mended cold ti re inflat ion pressu res for
the vehicle at its maximum capacity
weig ht and the tires that were on you r
vehicle at the time it was manufactured.
For recommended t ire pressures fo r nor­
mal load conditions, please see chap ter
c:>page 199.
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 prop­
erly
c:> page 100, Loading the luggage com­
partment.
In a coll is ion, the laws of phys ics mean that
even smalle r items that are loose in the vehi­
cle will become heavy missiles that can cause
Dr iving S afel y 101
serious injury. Items in the ve hicle possess en ­
ergy which vary with vehicle speed and the
weight o f the item . Vehicle speed is the most
s ignificant factor.
Fo r example, in a fronta l collision at a speed
of 30 mph (48 km/h), the forces acting on a
10 -lb (5 kg) object a re about 20 times the
no rmal weight of the item. This means that
the weight of the item would sudden ly be
about 200 lbs. (90 kg) . You can imag ine the
i njur ies that a 200 lbs . (90 kg) item flying
fr eely th ro ugh the passenger compar tme nt
c ould cause in a co lli sion like this.
A WARNING
We ak, dam aged or improper str aps used
to secure items to tie -downs can fail dur­
ing hard braking or in a collision and cause
serious personal injury .
-Always use s uita ble mount ing stra ps and
properly secu re items to the tie-downs in
the l uggage compa rtme nt to he lp pre­
vent items from shift ing or f ly ing fo r­
ward as dangerous missiles .
-When the rea r seat backrest is folded
down, a lways use suitable mounting
straps and properly secure items to the
tie-downs in the luggage compartment
to hel p prevent items from fly ing for­
ward as dangerous missiles into the pas­
s enger compartment.
- Never attach a chi ld safety seat te th er
strap to a t ie- down .
Reporting Safety
Defects
Applicable to U.S.A.
If you b elieve that your v ehi cle
has a d efe ct whi ch could cause
a crash or could cause injury or
d eath, you should imm ediately
inform the National Highway
Tr affic Safet y Admini stration ..,.
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Tires and wheels 197
Gross Vehicle Weight Rating ("GVWR") Ply
means the maximum total loaded weight of
the vehicle .
Groove
means the space between two adjacent tread
ri bs.
Load rating (code)
means the maximum load that a tire is rated
to carry for a given inflat ion pressure . You
may not find this informat ion on all tires be­
cause it is not requ ired by law.
Maximum load rating
means the load rating for a t ire at the max i­
mum permissible inflation pressure for that
tire .
Maximum loaded vehicle weight
means the sum of:
(a) Curb weight
(b) Accesso ry weight
(c) Vehicle capacity weight, and
(d) Production opt ions we ight
Maximum (permissible) inflation pressure
means the maximum co ld inf lation pressure
to which a tire may be inflated . Also called
"maximum inflation pressure."
Normal occupant weight
means 150 lbs . (68 kilograms) times the
number of occupants seated in the vehicle up
to the tota l seating capacity of your vehicle.
Occupant distribution
means distribution of occupants in a veh icle.
Outer diameter
means the overall diameter of an inflated new
tire .
Overall width
means the linear distance between the exteri­
ors of the sidewalls of an inflated tire, includ­
ing e levations due to labeling, decorations, or
protective bands or ribs. means a layer of
rubber-coated parallel cords.
Production options weight
means the combined weight of those installed
regular production opt ions we ighing over 5
lbs. (2.3 kg) in excess of those standa rd items
which they replace, not previously considered
in curb weight or accessory weight, including
heavy duty brakes, ride levelers, roof rack,
heavy duty battery, and spec ial trim.
Radial ply tire
means a pneumatic tire in which the ply cords
that extend to the beads are laid at substan­
tially 90 degrees to the centerline of the
tread.
Recommended inflation pressure
see r::!;> page 196, Cold tire inflation pressure .
Reinforced tire
means a tire design to operate at higher loads
and at higher inflation pressures than the cor­
responding standard tire. Reinforced tires
may be identified as "XL", "xl", "EXTRA LOAD",
or "RF" on the sidewal l.
Rim
means a metal support for a tire or a t ire and
tube assembly upo n which the tire beads are
seated .
Rim diamete r
means nominal diameter of the bead seat. If
you change your wheel s ize, you wi ll have to
purchase new tires to match the new r im di­
ameter .
Rim size designation
means rim diameter and width.
Rim width
means nominal distance between rim flanges.
Sidewall
means that portion of a t ire between the
tread and bead .
•
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198 Tires and wheels
Speed rating (letter code)
means the speed at wh ic h a tir e is des igned to
be d riven for extended per io d s o f time. The
ratings range from 93 mph (150 km/h) to
186 mph (298 km/h) ¢ page 207 . You may
not find this in format ion on all tires because
it is not required by law.
The speed rating letter code, w here a pplica­
b le, is molded on the tire s idewa ll and indi­
cates the maxim um permissible road speeds
¢ &. in Winter tires on page 211.
Tire pressure monitoring system*
means a system tha t d etects when one or
mo re of a vehicle's t ires are under inflated and
i llum ina tes a low t ire p ress ure warn ing te ll­
tale .
Tread
means t hat port ion of a tire tha t comes into
con tact w it h t he road.
Tread separation
means pull ing away of the t read from the t ire
car cass .
Treadwear indicators (TWI)
means t he projections withi n the pr inc ipal
g rooves designed to give a v isua l ind ication of
the deg rees of wea r of the tre ad . See
¢ pag e 205, Tread W ear Indicator (TWI) for
mo re inf ormat io n on measu ring tire we ar.
Uniform Tire Quality Grading
is a tire i nfo rmation system developed by the
United States Nat io nal Highway Traffic Safety
Admin istration (N HTSA) that is designed to
h e lp buye rs make re lative compa risons among
tires. The UT QG i s no t a safety r ating an d no t a
g uar antee that a t ire will las t fo r a presc ribed
n umber of m iles (kilome ters) or pe rform in a
certain way. It s imply gives ti re bu ye rs addi­
tional informat ion to combine with other con -s
iderations, such as p rice , brand loya lty and
dealer recommendations. Un der UTQ G, tires
are grade d by the t ire manufacturers in three
areas : treadwea r, traction, and temperature
resistance. The UTQG informat ion on the tires,
molded into the sidewalls .
U.S. DOT Tire Identification Number (TIN )
This is the tire's "se ria l numbe r" . It be gins
with the letters "DOT" and ind icates that the
t ir e meets all federa l standards . The next two
numbers or letters ind icate the plant where it
was ma nufactu red, and the last four numbe rs
r eprese nt the week and year of ma nufact ure.
Fo r exampl e,
DOT ... 2214 ...
means that the tire was produced in t he 22nd
wee k of 2014. The ot her numbers are market­
ing codes that may or may not be used by the
t ire manufacturer . This information is used to
contact consumers i f a tire defect requires a
r ecall .
Vehicle capacity weight
means the rated cargo and luggage load p lus
150 lbs. (68 k ilograms) times the vehicle's to­
ta l seating capacity as listed on the label lo­
cated on the driver's side B-pilla r.
Vehicle maximum lo ad on the tire
means that load on an individua l tire that is
determined by distrib uting to eac h axle its
share of the maxim um loaded vehicle weight
and divid ing by two .
Vehicle normal load on the tire
means that load on an individua l t ir e that is
determined by distrib uting to eac h ax le its
share of the curb weight, accessory weight,
and normal occ upant weig ht (d istr ibuted in
accorda nce wit h tab le below¢ page 199)
and divid ing by two .

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Tires and wheels 199
Occupant loading and distribution for vehicle normal load for various designated seating
capacities
Designated seating capacity, Vehicle normal load, number Occupant distribution in a nor-
number of occupants of occupants mally loaded vehicle
5 3 2 in front, 1 in back seat
Cold tire inflation pressure
Tire pressure affects the overall handling, performance and safety of a vehicle.
Fig. 152 Tire press ure label: located on driver 's s ide B·
p ill ar
Tire pressure generally refers to the amount
of air in a tire that it needs it to do its job and
safely carry the combined load of the entire
vehicle and its contents . Tire pressure is
measured in kilopasca ls (kPa), the interna­
tional measuring unit and in pounds pe r
square inch (PSI). Tire pressure is based in
part on the vehicle 's design and load limit -
the greatest amount of weight that the vehi­
cle can carry safe ly and the t ire size . The prop­
er tire pressure is frequent ly referred to as the
"recommended cold tire inflation pressure."
Air in the tires expands when the tire heats up
because of internal friction when it flexes in
use . The tire pressu re is higher when the tire
has warmed up than when it is "cold ."
It is the
in flat ion pressure i n a "cold " tire that counts.
Therefo re, you shou ld neve r let air out of a
warm tire to ma tch "cold tire inflat ion pres­
sure" recommendations. The tires would then
be underinflated and could fail suddenly .
Maintaining proper tir e pressure is one of the
most impor tant things you can do to help
avoid sudden tire failure. Underinflated tires
are a ma jor cause of s udden tire failure . Keep·
ing tires at the right pressure is also impor­
tant for safe and responsive vehicle handling,
-tD
-
---------------------.. ,;
•(==.: I :::; I :,,. I)@ gi n. ............ .,_____, .... -.ito._.. ____ .... _ ...
&..p0idit,101111-~--.,...,....-- ..... ~ .... ..
-··-­.....
-
-Dlst<:OURS
- KPA.. a PSI
- KPA..
a PS I
- KPA.. a PSI
Fig. 153 Tire pressu re labe l
traction, braking and load carrying. Tire pres­
sures are particularly important when the
vehicle is being driven at higher speeds, and
then especially when heavily loaded even
within the permissible load-carrying capaci­
ties approved for your vehicle.
The recommended tire pressures for your Audi
depend on the kind of tires on your ve hicle
and the number of passengers and/o r amount
of luggage you w ill be transporti ng.
The tire pressure label is located on the driv­
er's side B -pillar . The tire pressure labe l lists
the recommended cold tire inflat io n pressures
for the vehicle at its maximum capacity
weight and tires that were on your veh icle at
t he time it was manufactured.
If you wish to improve comfort when operat­
ing the vehicle at normal load (up to 3 occu­
pants), you can adjust tire pressures to those
specified for normal vehicle load. Before op­
erating the vehicle at maximum load, you
must increase the tire pressures to those
specified for maximum vehicle load
¢ &.
Bear in mind that the tire pressure monitoring
system * can only monitor the tire pressures
II>

200 Tires and wheels
you have stored. The system does not recog­
nize the load condition of your vehicle.
The effectiveness of the tire pressure monito r­
ing system* will be impaired if you store nor­
mal load pressures but then operate the vehi ­
cle at its maximum load¢.&. .
See the illustration¢
fig. 152 for the location
of the label on driver's side 8-pillar (color of
the actua l label and exact location on the ve­
hicle wi ll vary slightly).
Note that the following table is accurate at
the time of going to press and is subject to
Model Tire designation
Engine
Q3: 235/50
Rl8 97H
2.0 liter All Season
4 -cylinder
235/50 Rl8 97V
All Season
255/40 Rl9 96Y
High Performan ce
255/35 R20 97Y xl
High performance
change. In the event of discrepancies, the tir e
pressure label is located on the driver's side 8-
pillar always takes precedence.
T he table below lists the recommended cold
ti re inflation pressures for the Audi mode l
covered by your Owner's Literature at the vehi­
cle's capacity weight and the t ire sizes instal­
l ed on the respective models as original
equipment, or as a factory option.
Tire pressure
normal load condition full load condition (up to 3 occupants)
front rear front rear
PSI kPA PSI kPA PSI kPA PSI kPA
33 220 33 220 34 230 36 250
33 220 33 220 34 230 36 250
34 230 34
230 44
300 47
320
34 230 34 230 44 300 47 320
xl= reinforced or extra load tire. It may also appear as XL, EXTRA LOAD, or RF on the tire side-
wall.
The correct tire pressure for the spare wheel is
located on a label on the driver's side 8 -pillar.
Because technical changes may be made to
vehi cle equipment dur ing the model year, al­
ways compare the tire size designation on the
tire pressure labe l on your vehicle with the
tires on your vehicle . Make sure that the tire
size information on the veh icle label is the
same as the size of the t ires on the vehicle.
This is especially important if the vehicle be­
longs to someone else or you bought the vehi­
cle with different rims/tires or you bought the
vehicle as a previously owned vehicle.
Remember, your safety and that of your pas­
sengers also depends on mak ing sure that
load limits are not exceeded . Vehicle load in- eludes
everybody and everything in and on the
vehicle. These load limits are technically refer­
red to as the vehicle's Gross Vehicle Weight
Rat ing ("GVWR"). The Gross Axle We ight Rat­
ing ("GAWR") is the maximum load that can
be applied at each of the vehicle's two axles.
The Gross Vehicle Weight Rating and the
Gross Axle Weight Rating are listed on the
safety compliance sticker label located on the
dr ive r's side 8-pillar. The tire pressure labe l on
you r Audi lists the max imum combined
weight of all of the occupants and luggage or
other cargo that the ve hicle can carry. For the
location of the tire pressure label
~fig . 152. .,..