must replace or remount the tire as soon as possible in order to restore the correct direction of rota-tion.
Rotating tires
To help ensure even wear on all tires, regular tire rotation according to the diagram ⇒ fig. 122 is rec-ommended. In this way all tires can have about the same service life.
Volkswagen recommends that you have your tires rotated by an authorized Volkswagen dealer or authorized Volkswagen Service Facility.
Tires more than 6 years old
Tires age even if they are not being used. Physical and chemical processes reduce tire strength and performance and cause them to harden and become brittle. Old tires can fail suddenly and without warning.
Volkswagen recommends replacing tires that are 6 years and older. This also applies to tires that look new (including the tire on the compact spare wheel) or that seem to still be usable with tread depth
that has not yet reached the legal minimum depth ⇒ .
The age of each tire can be determined with the manufacturing date that is part of the U.S DOT tire
identification number (TIN) ⇒ Tire labeling.
Tire storage
Mark tires before removing them to help make sure that the previous location (left, right, front, rear) and rolling direction can be maintained when remounting them. Store tires in a cool, dry and preferably dark place. Do not store tires mounted on wheels standing up.
Tires not mounted on wheels should be covered to help protect them from dirt and stored vertically (sitting on the tread).
WARNING
Aggressive fluids and materials can cause visible and invisible tire damage that can cause tire blowouts.
x Always keep chemicals, oils, grease, fuels, braking fluids and other aggressive substanc-es away from tires.
WARNING
Tires age even if they are not being used and can fail suddenly, especially at high speeds, causing loss of vehicle control, accidents, and severe personal injuries.
x Tires that are more than 6 years old can be used only in an emergency and even then only with special care and at low speed.
Always dispose of old tires in accordance with legal requirements.
Wheel rims
x Completely unscrew the handwheel in the center of the compact spare wheel ⇒ fig. 128 counter-clockwise and remove the compact spare wheel.
Stowing the replaced wheel
x Hook the floor covering on the upper edge of the luggage compartment.
x Put the wheel you took off the vehicle into the spare wheel well so that the center hole of the rim is aligned with the threaded pin.
x Turn the hand wheel clockwise until the wheel is securely in place.
x If necessary, return the vehicle tool kit to its location in the luggage compartment.
x Unhook the floor covering and fold it back down onto the floor of the luggage compartment.
x Close the luggage compartment lid.
Differences between the road tires and the compact spare
The compact spare is different in design from the road tires and must be used only in the event of a
flat tire, only for a brief time, and only when driving with extra caution ⇒ .
Replace it with a tire matching the others on your vehicle as soon as possible.
Please heed the following:
x Do not drive faster than 50 mph (80 km/h)!
x Avoid full-throttle acceleration, hard braking and fast cornering!
x Do not use snow chains on the compact spare wheel ⇒ Snow chains.
x After installing the compact spare wheel, check the tire pressure as soon as possible ⇒ Tire infla-tion pressure.
Check the tire inflation pressure of the compact spare whenever you check the tire pressure of the road wheels, at least once a month. Inflate a compact spare wheel to the cold tire pressure specified for the compact spare on the tire pressure label or on a separate label for the compact spare, if there is one.
