2016 AUDI A3 inflation pressure

.... N
0 > co .... .... -Please observe information on safe driving
~page 166.
A WARNING
To help prevent poisonous exhaust gas from
being drawn into the vehicle, always keep the
rear lid closed while driving .
- Never transport objects larger than those
fitting completely into the luggage area be­
cause the rear lid cannot be fully closed .
-If you absolutely must drive with the rear lid
open, observe the following notes to reduce
the risk of poisoning:
- Close all w indows,
- Close the power roof*,
- Open all air outlets in the instrument pan-
el,
- Switch off the air recirculation,
- Set the fresh air fan to the highest speed .
A WARNING
-
Always make sure that the doors, all win­
dows, the power roof* and the rear lid are se­
curely closed and locked to reduce the risk of
injury when the vehicle is not being used.
- After closing the rear lid, always make sure
that it is properly closed and locked.
- Never leave your vehicle unattended espe­
cially with the rear lid left open. A child
could crawl into the vehicle through the lug­
gage compartment and close the rear lid be­
coming trapped and unable to get out. Be­
ing trapped in a vehicle can lead to serious
personal injury.
- Never let children play in or around the vehi­
cle.
- Never let passengers r ide in the luggage
compartment. Vehicle occupants must al­
ways be properly restrained in one of the ve­
hicle's seating positions.
(D Tips
- Air circulation helps to reduce window fog­
ging. Stale air escapes to the outside
through vents in the trim panel. Be sure to
keep these slots free and open.
Driving safety
-The tire pressure must correspond to the
load. The tire pressure is shown on the tire
pressure label. The tire pressure label is lo­
cated on the driver's side B-pillar . The tire
pressure label lists the recommended cold
tire inflation pressures for the vehicle at its
maximum capacity weight and the tires that
were on your vehicle at the time it was man­ ufactured. For recommended tire pressures
for normal load conditions, please see chap­
ter
~ page 263.
' 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 properly
~ page 172, Loading the luggage compartment.
In a collision, the laws of physics mean that even
smaller items that are loose in the vehicle will
become heavy missiles that can cause serious in­
jury. Items in the vehicle possess energy which
vary w ith vehicle speed and the weight of the
item. Vehicle speed is the most significant factor.
For example, in a frontal collision at a speed of
30 mph (48 km/h), the forces acting on a 10-lb
(4.5 kg) object are about 20 times the normal
weight of the item. This means that the weight
of the item would sudden ly be about
200 lbs. (90 kg). You can imagine the injuries
that a 200 lbs. (90 kg) item flying freely through
the passenger compartment could cause in a col­
lision like th is.
A WARNING
-Weak, damaged or improper straps used to
secure items to tie-downs can fail dur ing hard
braking or in a collision and cause serious per­
sona l injury.
- Always use suitable mounting straps and
properly secure items to the tie-downs in
the luggage compartment to help prevent
items from shifting or flying forward as dan­
gerous missiles .
- When the rear seat backrest is folded down,
always use suitable mounting straps and
properly secure items to the tie-downs in
173

be happy to provide more infor­
mation.
® Mud and snow capability
"M/5 " or "M+S" indicates the tire
has character istics that make it
suitable for driving on mud and
snow .
& indicates a winter tire .
@Composition of the tire cord
and materials
The number of plies indicates the
number of rubberized fabric lay­
ers in the tire. In general: the
more layers , the more weight a
tire can carry . Tire manufacturers
must also specify the materials
used in the tire. These include
steel, nylon, polyester and other
materials.
@ Maximum permitted load
This number indicates the maxi­
mum load in kilograms and
pounds that the tire can carry.
@ Uniform tire quality grade
standards for treadwear ,
traction and temperature
resistance
Tread wear, traction and temper ­
ature ranges
¢ page 271.
~ @ Running direction
g
~ ...
'° V, ....
'° ....
The arrows indicate the running
direction of unidirect ional tires .
Tires and wheels
You must always follow the speci­
fied runn ing d irection
¢ page 288 .
@ Maximum permitted
inflation pressure
This number ind icates the maxi­
mum pressure to which a tire can
be inflated unde r normal operat ­
ing conditions.
Glossary of tire and loading
terminology
Accessory weight
means the combined weight (in
excess of those standard items
which may be replaced) of auto­
matic transmission , power steer­
ing , power brakes, power win­
dows, power seats, radio, and
heater, to the extent that these
i tems are available as facto ry-in­
stalled equipment (whether in ­
stalled or not) .
Aspect ratio
means the ratio of the height to
the width of the tire in percent .
Numbers of 55 or lower indicate a
low sidewa ll for improved steer­
ing response and better overall
handling on dry pavement. .,.
255

Tires and wheels
Bead
means the part of the tire that is
made of steel wires, wrapped or
reinforced by ply cords and that is
shaped to fit the rim .
Bead separation
means a breakdown of the bond
between components in the bead.
Cord
means the strands forming the
plies in the tire.
Cold tire inflation pressure
means the tire pressure recom­
mended by the vehic le manufac­
turer for a tire of a designated
size that has not been driven for more than a couple of miles (kilo­
meters) at low speeds in the
three hour period before the tire pressure is measured or adjusted.
Curb weight
means the weight of a motor ve­
hicle with standard equipment in­
cluding the maximum capacity of
fuel, oil, and coolant, air condi ­
tioning and additiona l weight of
op tional equipment.
E x tra load tire
means a tire designed to operate
at higher loads and at h igher in-
2 56
flation pressures than t he corre­
sponding standard tire. Extra load
tires may be identified as "XL",
"xl" , "EXTRA LOAD" , or "RF" on
the sidewall.
Gross A xle Weight Rating
("GAWR" )
means the load-carrying capacity
of a single axle system , measured
at the tire-ground interfaces.
Gross Vehicle Weight Rating ("GVWR")
means the max im um total loaded
weight of the vehicle .
Groove
means the space between two ad­
jacent tread ribs .
Load rating (code)
means the maximum load tha t a
tire is rated to carry for a given in­
flation pressure. You may not find
this informat ion on all tires be­
cause it is not required by law .
Maximum load rating
means the load rating for a tire at
t he maximum permissible infla­
tion p ressure for that tire .
Maximum loaded vehicle
weight
means the sum of:

(a) Curb weight
(b) Accessory weight
(c) Vehicle capacity weight, and
(d) Production options weight
Maximum (permissible )
inflation p ressure
means the maximum cold infla­
tion pressure to which a t ire may
be inflated. Also called "maxi ­
mum inflation pressure."
Normal occupant weight
means 150 lbs. (68 kilograms)
times the number of occupants
seated in the vehicle up to the to­
tal seating capacity of your vehi­
c le.
Occupant distribution
means distribution of occupants
in a vehicle.
Outer diameter
means the overall diameter of an
inflated new tire.
Overall width
means the linear distance be­
tween the exteriors of the side­
walls of an inflated tire, including elevations due to labeling, deco­
rations, or protective bands or
ribs .
Tires and wheels
Ply
means a layer of rubber-coated
parallel cords .
Production options weight
means the combined weight of
those installed regular production
options weighing over 5 lbs. (2.3 kg) in excess of those standard
items which they replace, not pre­
viously considered in curb weight
or accessory weight, including heavy duty brakes, ride levelers,
roof rack, heavy duty battery, and
specia l trim .
Radial ply tire
means a pneumatic tire in which
the ply cords that extend to the beads are laid at substantially 90
degrees to the centerline of the
tread.
Recommended inflation
pressure
see ~ page 256, Cold tire infla­
tion pressure .
Reinforced tire
means a tire designed to operate
at higher loads and at higher in­
flat ion pressures than the corre­
sponding standard tire. Rein ­
forced tires may be identified as .,.
257

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
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