Tires and wheels 283
been driven for more than a It is usually not possible to see •
couple of miles (kilometers) at whether the radial tires used • '
low speeds during the previous today are underinflated just by
three hours . Air in the tires ex- looking at them.
pands when the tire heats up as Therefore, be sure to check tire
a result of internal friction as it pressures at least once a month
flexes in use. The tire pressure and always before going on a
is higher when the tire has long trip. Make sure to take the
warmed up than when it is number of people and the
"cold." amount of luggage into ac-
It is the inflation pressure in a count when adjusting tire pres-
"cold" tire that counts. There- sure for a trip - even one that
fore, you should never let air you would not consider to be out of a warm tire to match "long. " See ¢
page 286 , Tires
"Cold tire inflation pressure" and vehicle load limits for more
recommendations ¢
page 2 78. important information.
The tires would then be under- Always use an accurate tire
inflated and could fail sudden- pressure gauge when checking
ly. and adjusting inflation pres-
The tire pressure label on your sures. Check all of the tires and
Audi lists the recommended be sure not to forget the spare cold tire inflation pressures at tire . If the pressure in any tire is
maximum capacity for the new, too high when the tire is "cold,"
original equipment tires that let air out of the tire slowly
were on your vehicle at the time with the edge of the tire gauge it was manufactured. For the and keep checking the pressure
location of the label until you reach the pressure
¢
page 278, fig. 250. that is correct for the load (pas-
Most tires lose air naturally sengers and luggage) and kind
over time. They can also lose of driving you plan to do
.
....
M N some air if you drive over a pot-0 ..J
'SI:
hole or hit a curb while parking . .... \!) 1.1'1
.... 1.1'1 ....
M N
0 ..J
'SI: ,...., \!) ..,.,
,...., ..,., ,....,
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 experience a tire fa ilure, pull the
car well away from moving traffic and try to
reach
level gro und before you stop¢.&_ .
.. All passengers should
leav e the car and
move to a safe location (fo r instan ce, be hind
the guardra il)¢ .&_.
.,. Engage the
parkin g brake to prevent your
vehicle from ro lling unintentionally¢ .&_.
.. Move
selecto r le ver to p osition P ¢ .&_ .
1> Ifyou are towing a trai ler: unhitch the trail
er from your veh icle.
.,. Block the diagonally opposite wheel with
the folding chocks or other objects.
.. Take the
jack and the inflatab le spare tire
out of the luggage compartment
¢page 304.
& WARNING
You or your passengers cou ld be injured
while changing a whee l if yo u do not fol
low these safety precautions:
- If you have a flat t ire, move a safe dis
tance off the road . Turn off the eng ine,
t ur n the emergency flashers o n 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 he lp prevent the veh icle from mov ing
sudden ly and possibly slipping off the
jack, always fully set the parking b rake
and block the whee l diagonally opposite
the wheel being cha nged with the fo ld
ing chocks or othe r objects. When one
front whee l is lifted off the g ro und, plac
ing the A utomat ic Transm iss ion in P
(Park) wi ll
not prevent the vehicle from
moving .
-
What do I do now? 307
-Before you change a whee l, 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 169 .
Changing a wheel
When you change a wheel, follow these
quence described below step-by-step and in
exactly that order.
1. Activate the vehicle jack mode (only
vehicles with Adaptive Air S uspension)
¢ page 161 .
2. Remove the decorati ve wheel co ver* . For
more details see also <=:>
page 308, Deco
rative wheel covers
or <=:> page 308,
Wheels with wheel bolt caps.
3. Loosen the wh eel bolt s¢ page 308 .
4. Loca te the p roper mounting point for the
jack and align the jack be low that point
¢ page 309.
5. Lift the car with the jack Q page 309 .
6. Remove the wheel with the flat ti re and
then install the
inflatable spare tire
¢ page 310.
7. Tig hte n all wheel bolts lightly.
8.
L owe r the vehicle with the jack .
9. Use the wheel bolt w rench and
firmly
t ighten all wheel bolts¢ page 308.
10. Replace the decora tive whe el co ver* .
11. Deactivate the vehicle jack mode (on ly
vehicles with Adaptive Air S uspension)
¢ page 161 .
A WARNING
Always read and follow all WARNINGS and
informat ion<=:>
& in Raising the vehicle on
page 310
and <=:> page 311.
•
•
