2017 AUDI A4 Owners Manual

® Mud and snow capability
"M/5" or "M+S" indicates the tire
is 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 ti re . These inc lude
stee l, nylon, polyester and other
materials.
@ Maximum permitted load
This number indicates the maxi­
mum load in kilograms and
pounds that the tire can carry.
@ Un iform tire quality grade
standards for treadwear,
traction and temperature resistance
Treadwear, traction and tempera ­
ture ranges
¢page 333.
@ Running direction
T he arrows indicate the running
direction of unidirectional tires.
You must always follow the speci­
fied running direction
¢page 348.
Wheels
~ Maximum permitted tire
pressure
T his number indicates the maxi­
mum pressure to which a tire can
be inflated under 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 t ransmission, power steer ­
ing, power brakes, power win­
dows , powe r seats, radio, and
heater, to the extent tha t these
items are avai lab le as factory- in­
stalled equipment (whether in­
s t alled or not).
Aspect ratio
means the ratio of the height to
the w idth of the tire in percent.
Numbers of 55 or lower indicate a
low sidewall for improved steer­
ing response and better overall
handling on dry pavement .
Bead
means the part of the tire that is
made of steel wires, wrapped or
reinfo rced by ply cords and that is
shaped to fit the rim. ...
319

Wheel s
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 vehicle 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 additional weight of
optional equipment.
E x tra load tire
means a tire designed to operate
at higher loads and at higher in­
flation pressures than the corre­ sponding standard tire . Extra load
tires may be identified as "XL",
"xl", "EXTRA LOAD", or "RF" on
the sidewal l.
320
Gross Axle 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 maximum total loaded
weight of the vehicle .
Groove
means the space between two ad­
jacent tread ribs .
Load rating (code )
means the maximum load that a
tire is rated to carry for a given in ­
flation pressure. You may not find
this information on all tires be­
cause it is not required by law.
Ma ximum load rating
means the load rating for a tire at
the maximum permissible infla­ tion pressure for that tire.
Ma ximum loaded vehicle
weight
means the sum of :
(a) Curb weight
(b) Accessory weight
(c) Vehicle capacity weight, and
(d) Production options we ight

Maximum (permissible )
inflat ion pressure
means the maximum cold infla­
tion pressure to wh ich a t ire may
be inflated . Also called "maxi ­
mum inflation pressure ."
Normal occupant weight
means 150 lbs . (68 kilograms)
times the numbe r of occupants
seated in the veh icle 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 dis ta n ce be­
tween the exteriors of the side ­
walls of an inflated tire, inc luding
e levations due to labeling, deco­
rations, or protect ive bands or
ribs.
Ply
means a layer of rubber-coated
parallel cords .
Wheels
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 d uty ba tte ry , and
special trim .
Radial ply tire
means a pneumatic tire in which
the ply cords that extend to the
beads are laid at substantia lly 90
degrees to the centerline of the
tread .
Recommended inflation
pressure
see ¢ page 320, Cold tire infla­
tion pressure .
Reinforced tire
means a tire designed to operate
at higher loads and at higher in ­
fl at ion pressures than the corre­
sponding standard tire. Rein­
forced tires may be identified as
"X L", "x l", "EXTRA LOA D", or "RF"
on the s idewa ll. ..,
321

Wheels
Rim
means a metal support for a tire
or a tire and tube assembly upon
which the t ire beads are seated .
Rim diameter
means nominal diameter of the
bead seat . If you change your
wh eel size, you will have to p ur­
chase new tires to match the new
rim d iameter .
Rim size designation
means rim diameter and w idth.
Rim width
means nomina l distance between
r im flanges .
Sidewall
means that portion of a t ire be­
twee n the tread and bead .
Speed rating (letter code)
means the speed at which a t ire is
designed to be driven for extend­
ed periods of ti me. The ratings
range from 93 mph (150 km/h)
to 186 mph (298 km/h)
¢ table
on page 318 .
You may not find
this information on all tires be­
cause it is not required by law.
The speed rating letter code,
wh ere applicable, is molded on
the tire sidewall and ind icates the
322
maximum permissible road
speeds
¢ A in Winter tires on
page 332 .
Tire pressure monitoring
system
means a system that detects
when one or mo re of a vehicle 's
tires a re underinflated and illumi ­
nates a low tire pressure war ning
telltale .
Tread
means that portion of a tire tha t
comes into contact wi th the road.
Tread separation
means pulling away of the tread
from the tire carcass .
Treadwear indicators (TWI)
means the projections wi thin the
pr inc ipal grooves designed to g ive
a visua l indication of the degrees
of wear of the t read . See
¢ page 326, Treadwear indicator
for mo re information on meas ur­
ing tire wear.
Uniform Tire Quality Grading
is a tire informa tion system devel ­
oped by the Unite d States Nation ­
a l Highway Traffic Safety Admin­
is tration (NHTSA) that is designed
to help buyers make re lat ive
..

Wheels
comparisons among tires. The by the tire manufacturer. This in-
UTQG is not a safety rating and formation is used to contact con-
not a guarantee that a tire will sumers if a tire defect requires a
last for a prescribed number of recall.
miles (kilometers) or perform in a
Vehicle capacity weight
certain way . It simply gives tire
means the rated cargo and lug-
buyers additional information to
gage load plus 150 lbs. (68 ki lo -
combine with other considera -
tions, such as price, brand loyalty grams) times the vehicle's desig-
na
ted seating capacity.
and dealer recommendations. Un-
der UTQG, tires are graded by the
Vehicle maximum load on the
tire manu facturers in three areas: tire
treadwear, traction, and tempera -
means that load on an individual
ture resistance. The UTQG infor- tire that is determined by dist rib-
mation on the tires, molded into
uting to each ax le its share of the
the sidewalls. maximum loaded vehicle weight
U.S. DOT Tire Identification an d div id in g by two.
Number (TIN)
Vehicle normal load on the tire
This is the tire's "seria l number" .
means that load on an individual
It beg ins with the letters "DO T"
tire that is determined by distrib-
and indicates that the tire meets uting to each axle its share of the
all federal s tandards. The next
curb weight, accessory weight,
two numbers o r letters indicate
and normal occupant weight (dis-
the plant where it was manufac- tributed in accordance with ¢
ta-
tu red, and the last four numbers ble on page 3 29) and divid ing by
represent the week and year of two.
manufactu re . For example,
Occupant loading and distri -
DOT ... 2215 ... bution for vehicle normal load
means that the tire was produced for various designated seating
in the 22nd week of 2015 . The capacities
~
"' other numbers are marketing co- Refer to the tire
inflation pres -..-< N ..... N des that may or may not be used sure
label¢ page 32 7, fig. 256 ..-< ... 0
0
3'; a:,
323

Wheels
for the number of seating posi­tions. Refer to the table ¢
table
on page 329
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 gripping properties.
Drive carefully and at moderate
speeds for the first 350 miles
(500 km) with new tires.
.. use tires of the same construc­
tion, size (rolling circumference)
and as close to the same tread pattern as possible on all four
wheels.
11>D0 not replace tires individually.
At least replace both tires on the
same axle at the same time.
11>Audi recommends that you use
Audi Original Tires. If you would like to use different tires, please
note that the tires may perform
324
differently even if they are the
same size ¢
&.-
.,. If you would like to equip your
vehicle with a tire/rim combina­
tion that is different from what
was installed at the factory, con­
sult with an authorized Audi
dealer or authorized Audi Service Facility before making a pur­
chase¢ &,.
If 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 that the
drive system is not damaged by
different tire speeds . For this rea­
son, in case of emergency, only
use a spare tire that has 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.
-Only use tires that are more than six years old when abso­
lutely necessary and drive
carefully when doing so.
-If you install wheel covers on
the vehicle, make sure they al­ low enough air circulation to
Wheels
cool the brake system. If they
do not, this could increase the
risk of an accident.
Tire wear/damage
Fig. 254 Tire profile: treadwear 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.
-Have an authorized Audi dealer or authorized Audi Service Facili­
ty check the wheel alignment if
there is unusual wear.
-Have the wheels rebalanced if an imbalance is causing noticeable
vibration in the steering wheel.
If you do not, the tires and other
vehicle components could wear more quickly. .,..
325

Wheels
Treadwear indicator
Original equipment tires contain
treadwear indicators in the tread
pattern, which are bars that are 1/16 in (1.6 mm) high and are
spaced evenly around the tire per­ pendicular to the running direc­
tion
c::> fig. 254 . The letters "TWI"
or triangles on the tire sidewall indicate the location of the tread­
wear indicators.
The tires have reached the mini­
mum tread depth
l) when they
have worn down to the treadwear
indicators. Replace the tires with
new ones
c::> A .
Tire rotation
Rotating the tires regularly is rec­
ommended to ensure the tires
wear evenly. To rotate the tries,
install the tires from the rear axle
on the front axle and vice versa.
This will allow the tires to have
approximately the same length of
service life.
For unidirectional tires, make
sure the tires are installed accord­
ing to the running direction indi-
1> Obey any applicable regulations in your
country.
326
cated on the tire sidewall
c::> page 348.
Hidden damage
Damage to tires and rims can of­
ten occur in locations that are
hidden. Unusual vibrations in the
vehicle or pulling to one side may indicate that there is tire damage .
Reduce your speed immediately.
Check the tires for damage. If no
damage is visible from the out­
side, drive slowly and carefully to
the nearest authorized Audi deal­
er or authorized Audi Service Fa­
cility to have the vehicle inspect­
ed.
A WARNING
Tread that has worn too low or different tread depths on the
tires can reduce driving safety.
This can especially have a nega­
tive effect on handling, on the risk aquaplaning when driving
through water, when driving
through curves and when brak­ ing, which increases the risk of
an accident.