2016 AUDI A3 flat tire

Tires a nd wh eels
Occupant loading and distri­
bution for vehicle normal load
for various designated seating
capacit ies
Refer to the tire inflation pres­
sure label¢
page 263, fig . 205
for the number of seating posi­
tions . Refer to the table¢
table
on page 265
for the number of
people that correspond to the ve­
hicle normal load .
New tires or wheels
Audi recommends having all work
on tires or wheels performed by
an authorized Audi dealer or au­
thorized Audi Service Facility .
These facilities have the proper
knowledge and are equipped with
the required tools and replace­
ment parts.
.,. New tires do not yet have the
optimum adhesion properties .
Drive carefully and at moderate
speeds for the first 350 miles (500 km) with new tires .
.,. Only use tires with the same de­
sign, size (rolling circumference)
and as close to the same tread pattern as poss ible on all four
wheels .
260
.,.Do not replace tires individually .
At least replace both tires on the
same axle at the same time.
.,. Audi recommends that you use
Audi Original equipment tires . If
you would like to use d ifferent
tires, please note that the tires may perform differently even if
they are the same size ¢
,&.
.,. If you would like to equip your
vehicle with a tire/rim combina ­
t ion that is different from what
was installed at the factory, con­
sult with an authorized Audi dealer or authorized Audi Service
F acility before making a pur­
chase ¢&, .
The spare tire* is different from
the regular tires installed on the
vehicle -for example, if winter
tires or wide tires are installed -
then only use the spare tire* tem­
porarily in case of emergency and
drive carefully while it is in use. It
should be replaced with a regular
tire as soon as possible.
On
all wheel drive vehicles, all
four wheels must be equipped
with tires that are the same brand and have the same construction
and tread pattern so tha t the
drive system is not damaged by .,.

different tire speeds. For this rea­son, in case of emergency, only
use a spare tire* that is the same
circumference as the regular
tires.
&_ WARNING -
-Only use tire/rim combina­ tions and suitable wheel bolts
that have been approved by
Audi. Otherwise, damage to
the vehicle and an accident could result.
-For technical reasons, it is not possible to use tires from oth­
er vehicles - in some cases,
you cannot even use tires from
the same vehicle model.
-Make sure that the tires you
select have enough clearance
to the vehicle . Replacement
tires should not be chosen
simply based on the nominal
size, because tires with a dif­
ferent construction can differ
greatly even if they are the
same size. If there is not
enough clearance, the tires or
the vehicle can be damaged and this can reduce driving
safety and increase the risk of
an accident.
Tires and wheels
-Only use tires that are more
than 6 years old when abso­ lutely necessary and drive
carefully when doing so.
-Do not use run-flat tires on
your vehicle. Using them when
not permitted can lead to ve­
hicle damage or accidents.
-If you install wheel covers on the vehicle, make sure they al­low enough air circulation to
cool the brake system. If they
do not, this could increase the
risk of an accident.
Tire wear/damage
Fig. 203 Tire profile: tread wear indica ­
tor
Tire wear
Check the tires regularly for wear .
- Inflation pressure that is too low
or high can increase tire wear
considerably.
-Driving quickly through curves, rapid acceleration and heavy
braking increase tire wear. ..
261

Tires and wheels Model/ Tire designation
Tire pressure
Engine Normal load
Maximum load
(up to 3 people)a>
front rear front rear
PSI kPA PSI kPA PSI kPA PSI kPA
A3 Sportb 225/45 Rl 7 91 Y ack: High Performance
30 210 28 190 36 250 36 250
2.0L
225/40 Rl8 92Y XL
4 cylinders High Performance
35 240 32 220 36 250 36 250
(Diesel en-
225/45 Rl7 91H
gine) All Season
33 230 30
210 41 280 41 280
225/40 Rl8 92H XL
All Season
36 250 33 230 41
280 41
280
A3 Sportb 205/55 Rl6 91 V
ack e-tron: High Performance
35 240 35 240 36 250 39 270
1.4 liters
225/40 Rl8 92Y XL
4 cylinders High Performance
33 230
33 230
36 250 39 270
(Gasoline/
225/45 Rl 7 91H
electric en- All Season
33 230 33 230 38 260 38 260
gine)
225/40 Rl8 92H XL
All Season
33 250 33 250 41 280 41 280
XL= reinforced or extra load tire. It may also appear as xi, EXTRA LOAD, or RF on the tire sidewall.
a) 2 people in the front, 1 person in the rear
A WARNING
Please note the important safe­
ty precautions regarding tire pressure ¢
page 263 and load
limits ¢
page 266.
Tires and vehicle load limits
There are limits to the amount of
load or weight that any vehicle
and any tire can carry. A vehicle
that is overloaded will not handle
well and is more difficult to stop. Overloading can not only lead to
loss of vehicle control, but can al-
266
so damage important parts of the
vehicle and can lead to sudden
tire failure, including a blowout
and sudden deflation that can
cause the vehicle to crash.
Your safety and that of your pas­ sengers also depends on making
sure that load limits are not ex­
ceeded. Vehicle load includes ev­
erybody and everything in and on
the vehicle. These load limits are
technically referred to as the vehi­ cle's
Gross Vehicle Weight Rat-
ing
("GVWR"). ..,

The "GVWR" includes the weight
of the basic vehicle, all factory in­stalled accessories, a full tank of
fuel, oil, coolant and other fluids plus maximum load. The maxi­
mum load includes the number of
passengers that the vehicle is in­
tended to carry ("seating capaci­
ty") with an assumed weight of 150 lbs. (68 kg) for each passen­
ger at a designated seating posi­
tion and the total weight of any luggage in the vehicle . If you tow
a trailer, the weight of the trailer
hitch and the tongue weight of
the loaded trailer must be includ­
ed as part of the vehicle load.
The
Gross Axle Weight Rating
("GAWR") is the maximum load
that can be applied at each of the
vehicle's two axles.
The fact that there is an upper limit to your vehicle's Gross Vehi­
cle Weight Rating means that the
total weight of whatever is being carried in the vehicle (including
the weight of a trailer hitch and
the tongue weight of the loaded
trailer) is limited. The more pas­ sengers in the vehicle or passen­
gers who are heavier than the
standard weights assumed mean
Tires and wheels
that less weight can be carried as luggage.
The Gross Vehicle Weight Rating
and the Gross Axle Weight Rating
are listed on the safety compli­
ance sticker label located on the driver's side B-pillar
¢ page 263,
fig. 204.
A WARNING
Overloading a vehicle can cause
loss of vehicle control, a crash
or other accident, serious per­
sonal injury, and even death.
-Carrying more weight than your vehicle was designed to
carry will prevent the vehicle
from handling properly and increase the risk of the loss of
vehicle control.
-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 overloaded can fail sud­
denly, including a blowout and
sudden deflation, causing loss
of control and a crash.
-Always make sure that the to- tal load being transported -,..
267

Tires and wheels
including the weight of a trail­
er hitch and the tongue
weight of a loaded trailer­ does not make the vehicle
heavier than the vehicle's
Gross Vehicle Weight Rating.
Determining correct load
limit
Use the example below to calcu­
late the total weight of the pas­
sengers and luggage or other
things that you plan to transport
so that you can make sure that
your vehicle will not be overload­ ed.
Steps for Determining Correct Load Limit
1. Locate the statement "THE
COMBINED WEIGHT OF OCCU­
PANTS AND CARGO SHOULD
NEVER EXCEED XXX KG OR XXX
LBS"on your vehicle's placard
(tire inflation pressure label)
¢ page 263, fig. 204.
2. Determine the combined
weight of the driver and pas­
sengers that will be riding in
your vehicle.
3 . Subtract the combined weight
of the driver and passengers
from
"XXX" kilograms or "XXX"
268
pounds shown on the sticker
¢ page 263, fig. 204.
4 . The resulting figure equals the
available amount of cargo and
luggage load capacity. For ex­
ample, if the
"XXX" amount
equals
1400 lbs . and there will
be five
150 lbs. passengers in
your vehicle, the amount of available cargo and luggage
load capacity is
650 lbs .
(1400-750 (5 X 150) = 650
lbs.)
5. Determine the combined
weight of luggage and cargo
being loaded on the vehicle.
Tha t weight may not safely ex­
ceed the available cargo and luggage load capacity calculat­
ed in Step 4.
6. If your vehicle will be towing a
trailer, load from your trailer
will be transferred to your ve­ hicle . Consult this manual to
determine how this reduces
the available cargo and lug­
gage load capacity of your vehi­
cle.
~check the tire sidewall
(¢ page 253, fig. 202) to deter­
mine the designated load rating
for a specific tire.

Tires and wheels
Use of snow chains is o nly pe rmitted with certain
rim/t ire combinations due to tec hnical reasons .
Chec k with an autho rize d Aud i dealer or autho r­
i z ed A ud i Service Fac ility to see if yo u may use
snow chains.
Use
fine-mesh snow chains . They must not add
mo re t han 0 .53 inc h (13 .5 mm) in height, i nclud ­
i n g the chain loc k.
You mus t remove the chains when d riving on
roads that are
free of snow . W hen roads a re free
of snow, snow c hains ca n impair handlin g and
damage the t ires, and the chains w ill quickly be
destroyed.
A WARNING
Us ing inco rrect sno w ch ains or insta lling snow
chains in co rrectly can result in loss o f vehicle
c o ntrol, w hich i ncreas es th e risk of an a cci­
de nt.
(D Note
- Snow cha ins can damage t he rims/whee l
covers* if the chains com e into d ir e ct con ­
tact wi th th em. R emov e th e wh eel covers*
fir st. U se coat ed s now chai ns.
Low aspect ratio tires
Your Aud i is fa cto ry-equippe d wi th low aspec t ra­
tio tires . These ti res have been tho roughly teste d
an d been se lected specifically for yo ur model for
their superb per fo rmance, road f eel and handling
under a variety of d riving conditions . As k yo ur au ­
thor ized Audi dealer for mo re details .
The low aspect ratio of these t ires is indicated by
a nume ra l of
55 or less in the tire's size designa­
tion . The nume ra l r ep resents the rat io o f th e
tire's sidewall he ight i n relat ion to its tread width
expressed in percentage . Conventional tires have
a height/w idt h ratio o f 60 o r more .
The performance of low-aspect-ratio tires is par ­
ticularly sensitive to improper inflation pres­
sure. It is therefore important that low aspect
ratio tires are inflated to the specified pressure
and that the inflation pressure is regularly
c hecked and maintained . Tire pre ssures should
270
be checked at least once a month and always
before a long trip
~ page 263.
What you can do to avoid tire and rim
damage
Low aspect ra tio tires can be damaged more eas i­
l y by impact with potho les, curbs, gullies or
r idges on t he road , particularly if t he tire is un ­
der i n flated.
I n order to min imize the occurrence o f impact
dama ge to the tires o f your veh icle, we recom ­
men d that you observe the following preca u­
tions:
- Always main tain recommende d inf la tion pres ­
sures . Check yo ur tir e pressure eve ry 2,000
m iles (3,000 km) and add a ir if necessary .
- Dr ive ca refully on roa ds w ith potholes, deep
gullies o r ridges . The impact from dr iving
throug h or over such obstacles can damage
your t ires. Impact wit h a curb may a lso cause
damage to your tires.
-After a ny impact, immed iate ly inspect you r
tires or have them inspected by the nearest au­
thorized Aud i dealer. Replace a damaged tire as
soon as poss ible .
- Inspect your tires every 2,000 m iles (3,000 km)
for damage and wear . Damage is no t always
easy to s ee . Damage ca n lead to loss o f air and
unde rin flation, w hich co uld even tually cause
t ire f ailure . If yo u beli eve th at a ti re may have
bee n da mage d, re place the tire as soon as p os­
sible.
- These tires may we ar m ore quick ly th an oth ers.
- Please also rem emb er tha t, whil e the se tires
delive r responsive h andli ng, they may ride less
c omf ortabl y and ma ke m ore noi se th an o ther
choi ces .
Reduced performance in winter/cold season
conditions
A ll ti res are des igned for cert ain pur poses . T he
l ow aspect r atio , ul tra hig h perform ance tires
o rigina lly installed on your vehicle are inten ded
for maximum dry and wet road performance and
handling . T hey a re not suitable fo r co ld, snowy o r
i cy weather conditions. If yo u drive under th ose
c ircumstances, you should equip yo ur vehicle
with all -season o r winter tires, which offer better
11>-

traction under those conditions. We suggest you
use the recommended snow or all-season tires
specified for your vehicle, or their equivalent.
Refer to
q page 269 for more detai led info rma ­
tion regarding winter tires.
Uniform tire quality grading
- Tr ead wear
- Traction AA A B C
- Temperature ABC
Quality grades can be found where applicable on
the tire side wa ll between tread shoulder and
maximum sect ion w idth
q page 253, fig. 202.
For exampl e: T read wear 2 00 , Traction AA , Tem ­
perature
A .
All passenger car tires must conform to Federal
Safety Requirements in addition to these grades.
Trea d we ar
The tread wear grade is a comparative rating
based on the wear rate of the tire when tested
under contro lled conditions on a specified gov­
ernment test course.
For examp le, a tire graded
150 would wear one
and one ha lf
(11/2) times as well on the govern­
ment course as a tire graded
100.
The relative performance of tires depends upon
the actual conditions of their use, however, and may d epart significant ly from the norm due to
variations in driving habits, service practices and d ifferences in road characteris tics and climate.
Tracti on
The traction grades, from highest to lowest, are
AA, A, B and
C. T hose grades represent the tire's
ability to stop on wet pavement as measured un­
der controlled conditions on specified govern­
ment test surfaces of asphalt and concrete . A tire
marked C may have poor traction performance
q .&. .
,...., Temp eratur e N
0
ii; The temperature grades are A (the h ighest), B,
and C, representing the tire's resistance to the
generation of heat and its ability to diss ipate
Tir es and wheel s
heat when tested under controlled conditions on
a specified indoor laboratory test wheel.
Sustained h igh temperatu re can cause the mate­
ria l of the t ire to degenerate and reduce ti re life ,
and excessive temperature can lead to s udden
tire failure
q .& .
The grade C corresponds to a level of perfo rm­
ance which all passenger car tires must meet un­
der the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standa rd
No.
109. Grades Band A represent higher levels
of performance on the laboratory test wheel than
the minim um requ ired by law.
A WARNING
-
The tract ion grade assigned to this t ire is
based on straight -ahead braking traction
tests, and does not include acceleration, cor­ nering, hyd roplaning or pea k traction cha rac­
terist ics.
A WARNING
The temperature grade for this tire is estab­
lished for a tire that is properly infl,;1ted and
not overloaded . Excessive speed, underinfla­
tion, or excessive loading, either separately or i n combination, can cause heat bui ldup and
possib le tire fai lure .
A WARNING
-
-Temperature grades apply to tires that are
p roperly inf lated and not over or under inflat­
ed.
Tire pressure monitoring system
(l) General notes
App lies to vehicles: wi th tir e pressure mo nito rin g syste m
Each tire, including the spare (if provided),
shou ld be checked monthly when cold and inflat-
ed to the inflat io n pressure recommended by the
vehicle manufacturer on the veh icle placard or
t ir e inflation pressure label. (If your ve hicle has
t ir es of a different size than the si ze ind icated on .,..
271

Tires and wheels
the vehicle placard or tire inflation pressure la­
bel, you should determine the proper tire
inflation pressure for those tires).
As an added safety feature, your vehicle has been
equipped with a tire pressure monitoring system
(TPMS) that illuminates a low tire pressure tell­
tale when one or more of your tires is significant­ ly under-inflated. Accordingly, when the low tire
pressure telltale illuminates, you should stop and
check your tires as soon as possible, and inflate
them to the proper pressure . Driving on a signifi­
cantly under-inflated tire causes the tire to over­
heat and can lead to tire failure. Under-inflation
also reduces fuel efficiency and tire tread life,
and may affect the vehicle's handling and stop­
ping ability.
Please note that the TPMS is not a substitute for
proper tire maintenance, and it is the driver's re­
sponsibility to maintain correct tire pressure,
even if under-inflation has not reached the level
to trigger illumination of the TPMS low tire pres­
sure telltale.
Your vehicle has also been equipped with a TPMS
malfunction indicator to indicate when the sys­
tem is not operating properly. The TPMS mal­
function indicator is combined with the low tire
pressure telltale. When the system detects a
malfunction, the telltale will flash for approxi­
mately one minute and then remain continuously
illuminated. This sequence will continue upon
subsequent vehicle start-ups as long as the mal­
function exists .
When the malfunction indicator is illuminated,
the system may not be able to detect or signal
low tire pressure as intended. TPMS malfunctions
may occur for a variety of reasons, including the
installation of replacement or alternate tires or
wheels on the vehicle that prevent the TPMS
from functioning properly. Always check the
TPMS malfunction telltale after replacing one or
more tires or wheels on your vehicle to ensure
that the replacement or alternate tires and
wheels allow the TPMS to continue to function
properly .
272
· If the Tire Pressure Monitoring System
indicator appears
Applies to vehicles: with tire pressure monitoring 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.
Fig. 206 Instrument cl uster: i ndic ator lig ht with message
Using the ABS sensors, the tire pressure monitor­
ing system compares the tire tread circumfer­
ence and vibration characteristics of the individu ­
al tires . If the pressure changes in one or more
tires , this is indicated in the instrument cluster
display with an indicator light
Rt] and a message
¢fig. 206. If only one tire is affected, the loca­
tion of that tire will be indicated. The message
turns off after a few minutes. You can display the
message again¢
page 30.
The tire pressures must be stored in the menu
display again each time the pressures change
(switching between partial and full load pres­
sure) or after changing or replacing a tire on your
vehicle
¢ page 273. The tire pressure monitor­
ing system only monitors the tire pressure you
have stored . You can find the recommended tire
pressures for your vehicle on the label on the
driver's door pillar¢
page 263.
Tire tread circumference and vibration character­
istics can change and cause a tire pressure warn­
ing if:
- If the tire pressure in one or more tires is too
low,
- the tire has structural damage,
- The tire was replaced or the tire pressure
changed and it was not stored again
¢page 273.
-the spare tire is installed.