Driving safety
A WARNING
Heavy loads will influence the way your vehi
cle handles . To help reduce the risk of a loss
of control leading to serious personal injury:
- Always keep in mind when transporting
heavy objects, that a change in the center of
gravity can also cause changes in vehicle
handling:
- Always distribute the load as evenly as
possible.
-Place heavy objects as far forward in the
luggage compartment as possible.
- Never exceed the Gross Axle Weight Rating
or the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating specified
on the safety compliance sticker on th e driv
er's side B-pillar. Exceeding permissible
weight standards can cause the vehicle to
slide and handle differently .
- Please observe information on safe driving
<=) page 252.
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 windows,
- Close the sunroof*,
-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 sunroof* 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.
258
-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 ride in the luggage
compartment . Vehicle occupants must al
ways be properly restrained in one of the
ve
hicle 's seating positions.
@ Note
If you are transporting large items with the
backrest folded down*, you should remove
the Rear Seat Entertainment (RSE)* and its
holder* to avoid damage.
© 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 .
-The tire pressure must correspond to the
load. The tire pressure label lists the recom
mended 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 manufactured. For recommend ed tire pressures for normal load condi
tions, please see chapter
Q page 336 .
Tie-downs
The luggage compartmen t is equipped with four
t ie-downs to secure luggage and o ther i tems.
Use the tie-downs to secure your cargo properly
Qpage 25 7, L oading 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 ene rgy which
vary with vehicle speed and the weight of the
item . Vehicle speed is the mos t significant fac tor .
..,.
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Wheels
Wheels and Ti re s
General information
.,,.Check your tires regularly for
damage (punctures, cuts , cracks
and bulges). Remove foreign ob
jects from the tire tread .
.,,. If driving over curbs or similar
obstacles, drive slowly and ap
proach the curb at an angle.
.,,. Have faulty tires or rims re
placed immediately .
.,,.Protect your tires from oil ,
grease and fuel.
.,,. Mark tires before removing
them so that the same running
direction can be maintained if
they are reinstalled .
.,,.Lay tires flat when storing and
store them in a cool, dry locat ion
with as litt le exposure to light as
possible .
&_ WARNING -
-Never drive faster than the
maximum permitted speed
for your tires. This could cause the tires to heat up too much .
This increases the risk of an
acc ident because it can cause
the tire to burst.
-Always adapt your driving to the road and traffic condi-
Wheels
tions. Drive carefully and re
duce your speed on icy or slip
pery roads . Even winter tires
can lose traction on black ice .
@ N ot e
-Please note that summer and
winter tires are designed for
the condit ions that are typical
in those seasons. Audi recom
mends using winter ti res dur
ing the winter months. Low
temperatures significantly de crease the e lasticity of summ
er tires , which affects traction
and braking ab ility . If summer
tires are used in very cold
temperatures, cracks can form on the tread bars, resulting in
permanent tire damage that
can cause loud driving noise
and unbalanced tires.
-Burnished, polished or chromed rims must not be
used in winter driving condi
tions . The surface of the rims
does not have sufficient corro
sion protect ion for this and
could be permanently dam
aged by road salt or similar
substances.
325
Wheels
Tire designations
Fig. 266 Tire designations on the side
wall
(D Tires for passenger vehicles
(if applicable)
"P" indicates a tire for a passenger
vehicle. "T" indicates a tire desig
nated for temporary use.
@ Nominal width
Nominal width of the tire be
tween the sidewalls in millime
ters. In general: the larger the
number, the wider the tire.
@ Aspect ratio
Height/width ratio expressed as a
percentage.
326
@ Tire construction
"R" indicates a radial tire.
® Rim diameter
Size of the rim diameter in inches.
® Load index and speed rating
The load index indicates the tire's
load-carrying capacity.
The speed rating indicates the maximum permitted speed. Also
see
¢ A in General information
on page 325.
"EXTRA LOAD", "xl" or "RF" indi
cates that the tire is reinforced or
is an Extra Load tire.
Speed rat-
Maximum permitted speed
ing
p
up to 93 mph (150 km/h )
Q up to 99 m ph (1 60 km/h)
R up to 106 mph (170 km /h)
5 up to 11 0 mph (180 km/h)
T up to 118 mph (190 km/h)
u up to 124 mph (200 km /h)
H up to 130 mph (210 km/h)
V up to 149 mph (240 km /h)al
z a bov e 149 mph (240 km/h) al
w up to 168 mph (270 km /h) al
y up to 186 mph (300 km /h) al
a ) For tires above 149 mph (240 km/h),
tire manufacturers sometimes use the
code "ZR" .
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(J) US DOT number (TIN) and
manufacture date
T he manufacture date is listed on
the tire sidewall (it may only ap
pear on the inner s ide of the tire):
DOT .. . 2217 .. .
means , for example, that the tire
was produced in the 22nd week of
the year 2017 .
@ Audi Original Tires
Audi Original equipment tires
with the designation
"AO" have
been specially matched to your
Audi . When used correct ly , these
tires meet the highest standards
for safety and handling . An au
thorized Audi dealer or author
ized Audi Service Facility will be
able to provide you with more in
formation .
® 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
Wh eel s
must also specify the materials
used in the tire . These include
steel, nylon, polyester and other
materials.
@ Ma ximum permitted load
This number indicates the maxi
mum load in kilograms and
pounds that the tire can carry .
@ Uniform tire qual ity grade
standards for treadwear,
traction and temperature resistance
Treadwear , tract ion and tempera
ture ranges
r=:>page 341 .
@ Running direction
The arrows indicate the runn ing
direction of unidirectional tires .
You must always follow the speci
fied running direction
Q page 355.
@ Ma ximum permitted
inflation pressure
This number indicates the maxi
mum pressure to which a tire can
be inflated under normal operat
ing cond itions .
327
Wheel s
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
items are available as factory-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 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
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.
328
Cord
means the strands forming the
plies in the tire.
Cold tire inflation pressure
means the t ire 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 w ith standard equipment in
cluding the maximum capacity of
fuel, oil, and coolant, ai r condi
tioning and additional weight of
optional equipment.
E x tra load ti re
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 "X L",
"
l" "EXTRA LOAD" or "RF" on X I I
the sidewall. .,.
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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 vehic le.
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 .
Maximum load rating
means the load rating for a tire at
the maximum permissible infla
tion pressure 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
Ma ximum (permissible )
inflation pressure
Wh eel s
means the maximum cold infla
tion pressure to which a tire may be inflated . Also called "maxi
mum inflation pressure ."
Normal occup ant weight
means 150 lbs . (68 kilograms)
times the number of occupants
seated in the vehicle up to the to
ta l seating capacity of your vehi
cle .
Occupant distribut ion
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.
Ply
means a layer of rubber-coated
parallel cords.
329
Wheels
Production options we igh t
means the combined weight of
those installed regular production
options weighing over 5 lbs.
(2.3 kg) in excess of those stand
ard items which they replace, not previously considered in curb
weight or accessory weight, in
cluding heavy duty brakes, ride levelers, roof rack, heavy duty
battery, and special trim.
Radial pl y tir e
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.
R ecomm ended in flation
pressure
see¢ page 328 , Cold tire infla
tion pressure.
R einforced tire
means a tire designed to operate
at higher loads and at higher in
flation pressures than the corre
sponding standard tire . Rein
forced tires may be identified as
"XL" "xl" "EXTRA LOAD" or "RF" , , ,
on the sidewall.
330
Rim
means a metal support for a tire
or a tire and tube assembly upon
which the tire beads are seated.
Rim diam eter
means nominal diameter of the
bead seat . If you change your
wheel size, you will have to pur
chase new tires to match the new rim diameter .
Rim size designation
means rim diameter and width.
Rim width
means nomina l distance between
r im
flanges .
Sidewall
means that portion of a tire be
tween the tread and bead .
Speed rating (letter code )
means the speed at which a tire is
designed to be driven for extend
ed periods of time. The ratings range from 93 mph (150 km/h)
to
186 mph (298 km/h) ¢ table
on page 326 .
You may not find
this information on all tires be
cause it is not required by law .
The speed rating letter code,
where applicable, is molded on
the tire sidewall and indicates the
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maximum permissible road
speeds. See
also ¢.& in General
information on page 325.
Tire pre ssure mon itoring
system
means a system that detects
when one or more of a vehicle's
tires are underinflated and illumi
nates a low tire pressure warning
telltale.
Tread
means that portion of a tire that
comes into contact with the road .
Tread separation
means pulling away of the tread
from the tire carcass.
Treadwea r indicators (TWI )
means the projections within the
principal grooves designed to give
a visual indication of the degrees
of wear of the tread. See
¢ page 334, Treadwear indicator
for more information on measur
ing tire wear .
Uniform Tire Quality Grading
is a tire information system devel
oped by the United States Nation
al Highway Traffic Safety Admin
istration (NHTSA) that is designed
to help buyers make relat ive com-
Wheels
parisons among tires . The U TQG
is not a safety rating and not a
guarantee that a tire will last for
a prescribed number of miles
(kilometers) or perform in acer
tain way . It simply gives tire buy
ers additional information to
combine with other considera
tions, such as price, brand loyalty and dealer recommendatio ns. Un
der UTQG, tires are graded by the
tire manufacturers in three areas :
treadwear, tract ion, and tempera
ture resistance. The UTQG infor
mation on the tires, molded into
the sidewalls.
U.S. DOT Tire Identification
Number (TIN)
T his is the tire's "se ria l number" .
It begins with the letters "DO T"
and indicates that the tire meets all federal standards. The next
two numbers or letters indicate
the plant whe re it was manufac
tured, and the last four numbers
represent the week and year of
manufactu re . For example,
DOT .. . 2217 ...
means that the tire was produced
in the 22nd week of 2017 . The
other numbers are marketing co des that may or may not be used
.,.
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