Wheels
differently even if they are the
same size
c::> .,&..
~ 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
c::> ,& .
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.
Applies to: vehicles with all wheel
drive: 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 dam
aged by different wheel speeds. For this reason, in case of emer
gency, only use a spare tire that has the same circumference as
the regular tires.
174
A 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.
-Do not use run-flat tires on
your vehicle. Using them when ...
0 co ......
"' ,....
"' ...... 0 0 :::,
00
and a special procedure. You must not repair or
disassemble them ¢.&. .
A WARNING
Wheel bolts that are tightened or repaired in
correctly can become loose and result in loss
of vehicle control, which increases the risk of
an acc ident. For the correct tightening specifi
cation, see ¢
page 192, After changing a
wheel .
- Always keep the wheel bolts and the
threads in the wheel hub clean and free of grease.
- Only use wheel bo lts that fit the rim .
- Always have damaged r ims repa ired by an
authorized Audi dealer o r autho rized Aud i
Service Facility . Never repair or d isassemble
r ims yourself, because this inc reases the risk
of an accident.
Winter tires
W inte r ti res s ignificantly improve the vehicle's
h andling when driving in win ter condit ions . Be
cause of the ir constr uction (width, compound,
tread pattern), summer tires provide less trac
tion on ice and snow .
... Use w inter t ires on all fo ur wheels .
... Only use winter t ires that are approve d for your
v ehicl e.
... Please note that the maximum permitted
speed may be lower with winter tires¢.&.
in
General information on page 166.
An au thor
ized Audi dealer or author ized Audi Service Fa
c ili ty can inform you about the maximum per
mit ted speed for you r tir es .
... Check the tire press ure after installing w heels
¢ page 176.
The effec tiveness of winter tires is reduced great
l y when the t read is worn down to a depth of
0 .1 57 in ( 4 mm). The char acter istics of win ter
tires a lso dec rease great ly as t he tire ages, re
gardless of the remaining tread .
@) For the sake of the environment
Reinstall s umme r ti res at the a ppro pria te
t ime, bec ause they provide bet ter hand ling
Wh eel s
when roa ds a re free o f snow and ice . Summer
tires cause less road noise, tire wear and fue l
consumpt ion .
(D Tips
You can also use a ll season tires instead of
winter tires . Please note that in some coun
tries where winter tires are required , on ly
winter tires w it h the
& symbo l may be per
mitted.
Snow chains
S now cha ins not only improve the drivi ng in win
te r road condit ions, but also the braking .
... On ly ins tall snow chains on the front wheels.
T his applies a lso to vehicles with a ll wheel
drive*.
... Check and correct the seating of the snow
chai ns after d riving a few feet, if necessary. Fol
low the instr uctions from the manufac turer.
... Note the maximum permitted spee d when dr iv
ing with snow chains . Do not exceed 30 mph
(SO km/h).
U se fine-me sh snow chains . They must no t add
more than 0.53 inch (13. S mm) in height, incl ud
ing t he chain lock .
You m ust remove the snow chains on roads with
o ut snow . O therwise, you co uld impair d riving
abili ty and damage the t ires .
Use of snow c hains is only permitted with certa in
r im/tire comb inat io ns due to technical reasons .
C heck wi th an au thorized Audi dea ler or author
ized Audi Service Facility to see if you may use
snow chains .
A WARNING
Using incor rect snow chains or installing snow
cha ins incor rect ly can resu lt in loss of veh icle
control, which increases the risk of an acci·
dent.
(D Note
Snow cha ins can damage the rims/whee l cov-
ers * if the chains come into direct contact
liJJ,
181
Emergency assistance
& WARNING
You or your passengers could be injured while changing a wheel if you do not follow these
safety precautions :
- If you have a flat ti re, move a safe d ista nee
off the road . Turn off the engine, turn the
emergency flashers on and use other warn·
ing devices to alert other motorists.
- Make sure that passengers wait in a safe
place away from the vehicle and well away
from the road and traffic.
- To help prevent the vehicle from moving
suddenly and possibly slipping off the jack,
always fully set the parking brake and block
the front and back of the wheel diagonally
opposite the wheel being changed with the
folding chocks or other objects. When one
front wheel is lifted off the ground, placing
the Automatic Transmission in "P" (Park)
will
not prevent the vehicle from moving.
- Before you change a wheel, 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
c:> page 102 .
(D Tips
Obey all laws.
Changing a wheel
When you change a wheel, follow the sequence
described below step-by-step and in exactly that
order.
1. Remove the decorative wheel cover* or the
wheel bolt caps*. For more details see also
<=:>page 193.
2. Loosen the wheel bolts c:> page 193.
3. Locate the proper mounting point for the
jack and align the jack below that point
<=:>page 194.
4. Lift the car with the jack c:> page 194 .
5. Remove the wheel with the flat tire and then
install the
spare tire <=:>page 195.
6. Tighten all wheel bolts lightly.
7.
Lower the vehicle with the jack.
192
8. Use the wheel bolt wrench and firmly tighten
all wheel bolts in a crisscross pattern
<=:>page 193.
9. Replace the decorative wheel cover* or the
wheel bolt caps*.
& WARNING
Always read and follow all WARNINGS and in
formation
c:> .&. in Raising the vehicle on
page 194
and <=:>page 196.
After changing a wheel
A wheel change is not complete without the do·
ing the following .
.,. Always store the vehicle tool kit, the jack* and
the replaced tire in the luggage compartment
c:>page 102.
.,. Check the tire pressure of the spare tire as soon
as possible .
.,. As soon as possible, have the
tightening tor·
ques
on all wheel bolts checked with a torque
wrench. The correct tightening torque is
10S ft lbs (140 Nm).
.,. Have the flat tire
replaced as soon as possible.
(D Tips
- If you notice that the wheel bolts are cor
roded and difficult to turn while changing a
tire, they should be replaced before you check the tightening torque.
- Drive at reduced speed until you have the
tightening torques checked .
-Make sure jack posit ion is correct , adjust
as necessary and then cont inue to raise
the jack.
- If work has to be done under the vehicle,
ensure that it is safely supported on su ita
ble stands -risk of injury!
- Never start the engine when the vehicle is
on the jack -risk of accident!
CD Note
Do not lift the vehicle by the sill. Position the
vehicle jack on ly at the designated lifting
points on the sill. Otherwise, your vehicle will
be damaged.
Taking the wheel off/installing the spare
tire
F ollow these instructions step-by-step for chang
ing the wheel .
Fig. 154 C hangin g a w heel: using th e hexagonal s oc ket
(w it h the blade removed ) to turn t he bolt s
Fig. 155 Chan gin g a w hee l: a lig nm ent pin in side the to p
h ol e
After you have loosened all wheel bolts and
~ raised the vehicle off the ground, remove and re-....
~ place the whee l as follows:
N .... 0 0 ::, (X)
Em ergen cy a ssis tanc e
Removing the whe el
.,. Remove the topmost wheel bolt completely
with the
he xagona l s oc ket in the screwdriver
handle (vehicle too l kit) ¢
fig. 154 and set it
aside on a
clean surface.
.,. Screw the threaded end of the
alignment pin
from the tool kit hand-tight into the empty bolt
hole ¢
fig. 155 .
.,. Then remove the other wheel bolts as described
above .
.,. Take off the whee l leaving the alignment p in in
the bolt hole
r=.> G) .
Putting on the spare tire
.,. Push the spare tire over the alignment pi n
¢(D .
.,. Screw on the whee l bolts and tighten them
slightly u sing the hexagona l socket .
.,. Remove the alignment pin and insert and t ight
en the remaining wheel bo lt s lightly like the
rest .
.,. Turn the jack hand le count er-clockw ise to lower
the vehicle unti l the jack is fully released .
.,. Use the wheel bo lt wrench to tighten all wheel
bolts firmly . Tighten them
in a crisscross pa t
tern,
from one bolt to the (approx imately) op
posite one, to keep the wheel centered .
.,. Perform the steps required after chang ing the
wheel ¢
page 192, A~er changing a wheel.
_& WARNING
Do not use the hexagon al soc ket in the screw
driver handle to tighten the wheel bo lts. It is
not possible to tighten the bolts to the re
qu ired torque using the hexagonal socket -
risk of acc ident!
CD Note
When removing or installing the wheel, the
rim could h it the brake rotor and damage t he
rotor. Work carefully and have a second per
son to he lp you.
@ Tips
- When mounting tires with un idirectional
tread de sign
make sure the tread pattern is
pointed the right way
r=.> page 196. 1JJ,,
195
Emergency assistance
- The wheel bolts should be clean and easy to
turn. Check for di rt and cor ros ion on the
mating s urfaces o f both the whee l an d the
h ub. Remove all dirt from t hese surfaces be
fo re remo unt ing t he wheel.
Tires with unidirectional tread design
Tires with unidirectional tread design must be
mounted with their tread pattern pointed in the
right direction.
Using a spare tire with a tread pattern intended for use in a specific direction
W hen us ing a spare ti re with a tread patte rn in
tended for use in a specific d irection, please note
the following:
- The direct ion o f rotat ion is marked by an
arrow
on the s ide of the t ire .
-If the spare tire has to be installed in the incor
rect d irection, use the spare tire only tempora
rily s ince the tire w ill not be ab le to achieve its
optimum pe rformance c haracter istics with re
gard to aq uaplaning, noise and wear .
- We recommend that you pay particular atten
tion to this fact during wet weathe r and that
yo u ad just yo ur speed to match road condi
t ions.
- Replace t he flat t ire with a new one and have it
i ns ta lled on yo ur vehicle as soon as possible to
r esto re t he handling advantages of a unidi re c
t ion al ti re.
Notes on wheel changing
Please read the info rm ation ¢ page 173, New
tires or wheels
i f you are goin g to use a s pare tire
which is d ifferent from the tires on yo ur vehicle.
Afte r you change a tire:
-Check the tire pressure on the spare immedi
ately after installation .
- Have the wheel bolt tightening torque
checked with a torque wrench as soon as pos
sible by your authorized Audi dealer or quali
fied workshop .
196
-With steel and alloy wheel rims, the wheel
bolts are cor rectly tightened at a torque of
105 ft lbs (140 Nm).
- If you notice that the wheel bolts are corroded
and difficult to turn while changing a tire,
they should be replaced before you check the
t ightening torque.
- Replace the flat tire with a new one and have
it installed on your vehicle as soon as poss i
ble. Remount the wheel cover.
Until then , drive with extra care and at reduced
speeds.
A WARNING
- If you are going to equip yo ur vehicle with
tires or r ims which diffe r from those which
we re facto ry insta lled, the n be su re to read
t he informa tion ¢
page 173, New tires or
wheels.
-Always make sure the damag ed wheel or
eve n a flat tire and t he jack and tool kit ar e
prope rly se cured in t he lu ggage comp art
me nt an d ar e no t loose in the passenge r
compa rtment.
- In an accide nt or sudde n maneuver they
co uld fly forw ard, i njuring an yon e in t he ve
h icle.
- Always s to re d amaged w hee l, jack a nd to ols
secure ly i n t he lug gage co m pa rtm ent. O th
erwise, in an a cci den t or sudden maneuve r
they cou ld fly forwar d, causing injury to pas
senge rs in the ve hicle.
(D Note
D o no t use co mm ercia lly availabl e tire se al
a nts . Ot herwise, t he e lectr ic al components of
the tire p ress ure monitor ing system * will no
l onge r wor k properly and t he sensor for t he
tire pressure monitoring system * w ill have to
be replaced by qualifie d wo rks hop.
-