wheel AUDI A3 2012 Owner´s Manual

You will find the compact spare wheel under
the floor in the luggage compartment . It is
secured w ith a large nut.
Using the compact spare wheel
The compact spa re wheel is only intended for
emergenc ies until you can reach a repair shop .
Replace i t as quickly as possible with a normal
wheel.
There are some restrictions on the use of the
compact spare wheel~ &. . The compact spare
wheel has been developed especially for your
type of vehicle . It must not be exchanged for
the compact spare whee l from another type of
vehicle.
Normal summer or winter tires must not be
installed on the compact spare whee l rim.
Snow chains
For technica l reasons, the use of snow chains
on the compact spare wheel is
n ot permitted .
If you do have to dr ive w ith snow cha ins and
have a t ire failure on a
front wheel, insta ll the
spa re wheel in place of a rear wheel. Install
the snow chains on the rear wheel and use it
to replace the defective front whee l.
Using the spare wheel
The spare wheel is only intended for emergen­
cies until you can reach a repair shop. Replace
it as qu ickly as possib le with a no rmal wheel.
There are some restrict ions on the use of a
spare wheel
Q &. . The spare wheel has been
developed especially for your type of vehicle.
It m ust not be exchanged for the spare whee l
from anot her type of vehicle.
Normal summer or winter tires must not be
i nstalled on the spare wheel rim.
Snow t ires
For technical reasons, the use of snow chains
on the spare whee l is
not p erm itte d.
If you do have to drive with snow chains and
have a t ire failure on a
front wheel, insta ll the
spare wheel in place of a rear wheel. Install
What do I do now? 235
the snow chains on the rear whee l and use it
to replace the defective front wheel.
A WARNING -
A lways store jacking equipment, spare
wheel in the luggage compartment. Tight­
en screw for the spare wheel secure ly. Un­
der no circumstances should you store the
spa re wheel o r jack and tools unsecured in
the passenger compartment . This could
cause ser ious persona l inju ry to passen­
gers in the veh icle in case of a collision .
- The compact spare tire is for temporary
use only and is so marked on the side­
walls .
- Do not dr ive at speeds exceeding SO mph
(80 km/h) wi th the compact spare whee l
mounted . A lso rapid acce lerat ion, ha rd
braking and hard cornering must be
avoided to he lp prevent loss of vehicle
contro l.
- Any continuous road use of the compact
spare tire may result in tire failure, loss
of vehicle control and injury to vehicle
occupants.
- Do not put a snow chain on your compact
spare tire. Due to the smaller t ire size,
the chain will not fit properly and can
thus damage your vehicle. You cou ld also
lose the chain, as well as contro l of the
veh icle .
- If you have a flat front t ire in road condi­
tions which require snow chains, first re­
move the undamaged rea r whee l and
mount the compact spare wheel in its
place. Then remove the damaged front
wheel, take the snow cha ins off it and at­
tach them to the whee l taken from the
rear. This wheel can now be mounted on
the front with its snow chains. Check and
adjust t ire pressure promptly .
- Never use two or more compact spare
tires at the same time.
(D Note
When using the compact spare wheel, note the fo llowing: •
•

236 What do I do now?
-After installing the compact spare wheel,
the tire inflation pressure should be
checked and, if necessary, increased to
60 psi (4.2 bar).
- The load carrying capacity is marked on
the tire sidewalls and must not be ex ­
ceeded.
- After installing the compact spare wheel,
make sure that you remount the flat tire
in its storage area properly.
- The compact spare tire should be proper­
ly remounted in its storage area as soon
as the standard road tire can be re­ placed .
- Because the compact spare tire was spe­
cifically designed for your vehicle, it must not be used on any other vehicle .
Likewise, compact spare wheels from
other vehicles must not be used on your
vehicle.
- The compact spare tire must not be
mounted on any other wheels, nor must
standard tires, snow tires, wheel covers
or trim rings be used with the compact
spare wheel. If such use is attempted,
damage to these items or other vehicle
components may occur .
(D Tips
Check the inflation pressure of the com­
pact spare tire (60 psi/4.2 bar) periodically
to keep the tire ready for use.
Wheel change
Before changing a wheel
Observe the following precautions for your
own and your passenger's safety when chang­
ing a wheel .
.. After you experience a tire failure, pull the
car well away from moving traffic and try to
reach
level ground before you stop c:> ,&. .
.. All passengers should leave the car and
move to a safe location (for instance, behind
the guardrail)
c:> _&. .
.. Apply the parking brake firmly c:> _&. .
.. Move selector lever to position Pon an au­
tomatic transmission ; put manual transmis­
sion in
first gear c:> _&..
.. If you are towing a trailer : unhitch the trail­
e r from your vehicle.
.. Take the
tool and the spare tire c:> page 234
out of the luggage compartment .
.&, WARNING
You or your passengers could be injured
while changing a wheel if you do not fol­
low these safety precautions:
- If you have a flat tire, move a safe dis­
tance off the road. Turn off the engine,
turn the emergency flasher on and use
other warning devices to alert other mo­
torists.
- Make sure that passengers wait in a safe place away from the vehicle and well
away from the roadway 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 wheel diagonally opposite
the wheel being changed. When one
front wheel is lifted off the ground, plac ­
ing the automatic transmission in "P"
(Park) , or engaging a gear in a manual
transmission 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.
- After installing the spare wheel, make
sure that you remount the flat tire/wheel
in its storage area properly and tighten
the knurled retaining screw securely.
Changing a wheel
-
When you change a wheel, follow these­
quence described below step-by-step and ex­
actly in that order .
1. Remove the decorative wheel cover*. For
more details see also
c:> page 23 7, Deco­
rative wheel covers
or c:> page 238,
Wheels with cap-covered wheel bolts.

2. Loosen the w hee l bol ts ¢ page 238.
3. Locate the proper mounting point for the
jack and align the jack below that point
¢ page 239.
4. Lift the car with the jack¢ page 239.
5. Take the flat wheel off and then put the
spare on
¢ page 240 .
6. Tighten all wheel bo lts light ly .
7 .
Low er the veh icle w ith the jack.
8 . Use the wheel bolt wrench and
firml y
tighten all whee l bolts ¢ page 238.
9. Put the decorative wh eel cov er* back on.
A WARNING -
Always read and head all WARNINGS and
information
¢ A in Raising the vehicle on
page 240
and ¢ page 241.
After changing a wheel
A wheel change is not complete without the
following actions .
.. Store and secu re the replaced wheel in the
spare wheel we ll.
.. Put the tool case and the jack back in place
in the luggage compartment .
.. Check the
tir e pres su re on the spare wheel
immediately after mounting it .
.. As soon as possible, have the
tightening
torqu es
on all wheel bolts checked with a
torque wrench. The correct tightening tor­
que is 90 ft lb (120 Nm).
.. Have the flat tire
repl aced as soon as possi ­
ble.
@ Tips
- If yo u n otice wh ile chang ing a tire tha t
the wheel bo lts a re cor roded and diffi ­
cult to turn, then they should be re­ placed before you check the tightening
torque.
- Drive at reduced speed until you have the
tightening torques checked .
What do I do now ? 237
Full wheel covers
App lies to vehicles : with ful l wheel cove rs
T he wheel covers must be removed to access
the wheel bolts.
Remo val
.. Pull the full whe el cover off manua lly.
Installation
.. First press the full w hee l cover on to the rim
a t the cut-o ut prov ided for the va lve . Then
engage the outer edge of the
full wheel cov ­
er
in the steel rim.
Decorative wheel covers
App lies to vehicles: with decorat ive w hee l covers
The decorative wheel covers must be removed
first to access the wheel bolts .
Fig. 181 Whee l cha nge : removing the whee l cover
Remo ving
.. Insert the hook provided with the on board
tool kit into the hole on the center hub
piece.
.. Pull off the
decorati ve wh eel cover
¢ fig . 181 .

238 What do I do now?
Wheels with cap-covered wheel bolts
Applies to vehicles: wit h cap-cove red w hee l bo lts
The caps must be removed first from the
wheel bolts before the bolts can be un­
screwed.
Fig. 182 Whee l change : removing the wheel bo lt caps
Removing
.,. Push the plastic clip provided w ith the on­
board tool kit down over the wheel bolt cap
u nt il it engages .
.. Pull on the properly engaged
plastic clip to
extract the cap
¢ fig. 182 .
Refitting
.. Place the caps over the wheel bolts and
push them back in .
The caps are there to p rotect and keep the
wheel bolts clean.
Anti-theft wheel bolts
Applies to vehicles : wit h ant i-t heft wheel bo lts
To tighten or untighten the anti-theft wheel
bolts you must use a special adapter.
(~
'
Fig. 183 Anti-theft w hee l bo lt w it h cap and adapter
.. Remove the cap* ¢fig. 183 @using the
plastic clip found in the vehicle tool kit. ..
Insert the adapter @ as far as it will go into
the anti -theft wheel
CD bolt.
.. Push the socket wrench over the adapter
@ .
.. Loosen or tighten the wheel bolt
¢page 238.
To remove the cap* @, make sure the plastic
clip is pushed in as far in as possible until it
lines up with the edge of the cap .
We recommend you keep the whee l bolt
adapter in the tool kit.
T he
code number of the wheel bolt lock is
stamped on the front side of the adapter . You
will need this number in order to get a re­ placement from your authorized A udi dealer.
Q) Tips
Write down the code number and keep it
in safe place. Do not keep it in the vehicle.
Loosening and tightening the wheel
bolts
The wheel bolts must be loosened before rais­
ing the vehicle.
Fig. 184 W hee l change : loosen ing the wheel bolts
Loosening
.,. Fit the wheel bolt wrench over the wheel
bolt and push it down as far as it will go .
"' ... <O
-cL a, a,
.,. Close your g rip around the end of the
w rench handle for maximum torque and
turn the wheel bolts
counter-clockwise
about one single turn in the direction of ar-
row ¢
fig. 184. .,.

Tightening
• Fit the wh eel b olt wren ch over t he wheel
bolt and push it down as far as it will go .
• Close your gr ip aro und the
end of the
wrench handle for maximum torque and
turn each whee l bolt
cl ock wise until it sits
tight.
A WARNING
- Us ing force without control to speed the
wheel change up can cause the veh icle to
slip off the jack and cause serious pe r­
sonal inj uries.
- Do not loosen the wheel bolts more than
one turn
before you ra ise the veh icle with
the jack. -Risk of inj ury!
@ Tips
- Never t ry and use the hexagonal socket
i n the handle of the screwdriver to loos­
en o r tighten the wheel bolts .
- If a wheel bolt sits very t ight, you may
find it easie r to loosen by carefully push­
i ng down on the end of the whee l bolt
wre nch w ith
one foot only. As you do,
ho ld on to the ca r to keep yourse lf stable
and ta ke care not to slip .
Raising the vehicle
The vehicle must be li~ed with the jack first
before the wheel can be removed .
Fig. 185 W heel c hange: mo untin g po ints for the lift ing
j ac k
What do I d o now ? 239
Fig. 1 86 Close -up: p roper pos ition ing o f lift in g jack
• Act ivate the parking brak e so the vehicle
w il l not roll u nintentionally .
• Shift into
1st gear on vehicles with manual
transm iss ion, or move the
se lecto r l ev e r to
the P p ositio n
on vehicles with automatic
transm ission .
• Pos it ion the jack be low the door sill under
the
mounting point that is closest to the
wheel to be changed
r=> fig. 185.
• Turn the jack handle clockwise unt il the jack
arm just fits underneath the rib running
along the underbody
c::> & ..
• Align the jack so that the jack arm claw
c:;, fig. 186 @fits snugly around the unde r­
body rib and the movab le base plate ® sits
flat on the ground. The base @ must be
ver­
tical
under the lifting point @.
• Wind the jack up further until the flat wheel
comes off the ground
c::> . & ..
Recesses at the front and rear of the under­
body rib mark the proper mo unting locations
for the jack
c:;, fig. 185 . There is only one des­
ignated jack mounting po int for each wheel.
Do not apply the jack anywhere else c::> .&. .
The jack shou ld be positioned approximate ly
6 in. (15 cm) behind the front wheel or 10 in.
(25 cm) in front of the rear wheel.
An
unstable surfa ce under the jack can cause
the vehicle to slip off the jack . Always provide
a firm base for the jack on the ground . If nec­
essary place a sturdy board or sim ilar support
under the jack. On
hard , slipper y su rf a ces
(such as tiles) use a rubber mat or similar to
prevent the jack from slipp ing
c::> .&. . .,.

240 What do I do now?
& WARNING
-You or your passengers could be injured
while changing a wheel if you do not fol ­
low safety precautions:
- Mounting the jack under the vehicle at
any other place than indicated above
may damage the vehicle or may result
in personal injuries .
- A soft or unstable surface under the
jack may cause the vehicle to slip off
the jack. Always provide a firm base for
the jack on the ground . If necessary,
use a sturdy board under the jack.
- On hard, slippery surface (such as tiles)
use a rubber mat or similar to prevent
the jack from slipping .
- To help prevent injury to yourself and
your passengers:
- Do not raise the vehicle until you a re
sure the jack is securely engaged.
- Passengers must not remain in the ve­
hicle when it is jacked up.
- Make sure that passengers wait in a
safe place away from the vehicle and
well away from the roadway and traffic.
- Make sure jack position is correct , ad­
just as necessary and then continue to
raise the jack.
Taking the wheel off/putting the spare
on
Follow these instructions step-by-step for
changing the wheel
Fig. 187 Wheel c han ge: using the sc rewdrive r handle
(w ith the blade removed) to turn the bolts
... ,._
"' i
"'
Fig. 188 W hee l change : alignmen t pin inside the top
hol e
M ,._
"' d. 00
"'
After you have loosened all wheel bolts and
jacked the vehicle off the ground, perform the
following steps to remove and replace the
wheel:
Removing the wheel
.,. Use the hexagonal socket in the screwdriv·
er handle
to completely turn out the top­
most wheel bolt and set it aside on a
clean
surface c;, fig. 187 .
.,. Screw the threaded end of the alignment
pin from the tool kit hand-tight into the
now vacant bolt hole <=>
fig. 188 .
.,. Then completely unscrew the other wheel
bolts as described above.
.,. Take off the wheel leaving the alignment
pin in the bolt hole
c;, &,.
Putting on the spare
.,. Lift the spare wheel up and carefully slide it
over the alignment pin to guide it in place .
.,. Use the hexagonal socket in the screwdriver
handle to screw in and tighten all wheel
bolts
slightly .
.,. Unscrew the alignment pin and insert and
tighten the remaining wheel bolt slightly
like the rest.
.,. Turn the handle on the jack counter-clock­
wise to lower the vehicle until the jack is
fully released .
.,. Use the wheel bolt wrench to tighten all
wheel bolts firmly
r:::;, page 238 . Tighten
them
crosswise , from one bolt to the (ap­
proximately) opposite one, to keep the
wheel centered.

A WARNING ,~ -
When removing or install ing the wheel,
the rim could hit the brake rotor and dam­
age the rotor. Work ca refully and have a
second p erson help yo u.
@ Tips
Never try and use the hexagonal socket in
the hand le of the screwdrive r to loosen or
tighten the whee l bolts .
- Pull the reversib le blade from the screw­
drive r bef ore yo u use the hexagonal
socket in the handle to t urn t he whee l
bo lts.
- When mounting tires with
unidirectional
tread design
make su re the tread pat­
te rn is pointed the rig ht way
¢ page 241.
-The wheel bolts should be clea n and easy
to tu rn. Che ck for dirt and corro sio n on
t he mat ing surf aces of both the whee l
and the h ub. Remove a ll dirt from these
su rfaces before remo unt ing the wheel.
Tires with unidirectional tread design
Tires with unidire ctional tread de sign 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
When using a spare tire wit h a tread pa tte rn
intended for use in a specific direction , pl ease
note the following:
- The direc tion o f rota tion is marked by an a r­
r ow on the side o f the tire.
- If the spare tire has to be i nst alled in the in ­
correct di rection in the even t of a flat tire,
use the spare tire on ly tempo rari ly since the
tire will not be ab le to ac hieve its opt imum
per formance characterist ics w ith regard to
aquapla ning, no ise and wear.
- We recommend that particular attent ion be
paid to this fact dur ing wet weather and
t h at you adjust your speed to matc h road
co ndit io ns.
What do I do now? 241
- Replace the flat ti re with a new one and
have it installed on your vehicle as soon as
possible to restore the hand ling advantages
of a properly pointed direction-dependent
tire .
Notes on wheel change
Please read the informat ion ¢ page 223, New
tires and r eplacing tires and wheels
if yo u a re
go ing to use a spa re tire w hich is different
from the ti res on yo ur vehicle.
After you change a tire :
-Check the tire pressu re on the spare imme­
diately after mounting.
- Have the wheel bolt tightening torque
checked with a torque wrench as soon as
possible by your authorized Audi dealer or
a qualifi ed service station.
- On steel and alloy wheel rims, the wheel
bolts are cor rectly tightened with a torque
of 90 ft lb (120 Nm).
- If you notice while changing a tire that the
wheel bolts are corroded and difficult to
turn, then they should be replaced befor e
you check the tightening torque .
- Replace the flat tire with a new one and
have it installed on your veh icle as soon as
possible. Remount the wheel cover.
Until then, dr ive with e xtra care and at re­
duced speeds .
A WARNING
-If you are go ing to e quip your vehicle
wit h tires o r rims whi ch differ from those
whi ch were fac tory inst alled, then be
sure to re ad the inform ation ¢
page 223,
New tires and replacing tires and
wheels.
- Always ma ke sure the damage d wheel o r
even a fla t tire an d the jack and tool ki t
are prope rly secu red in the luggage com­
partment and are not loose in the pas­
senger compartment .
- In an accident or sudden maneuver they
could fly forwa rd, injuring anyone in the
veh icle.
•
•

242 What do I do now?
-Always store damaged wheel, jac k and
tools secure ly in luggage compa rtment.
Otherw ise, in an acc ident or sudden ma­
neuver they could f ly forward, causing in­
jury to passengers in the vehicle .

No. Equ ipment
Electronic Stabilization Pro-
14
gram (ESP) (control mod-
u le), shift gate automatic
transmission
15 Interior lights, reading
lights
Diagnostic connector, rain
sensor, air conditioning
16 (control module), t
ire pres-
sure monitor d isplay (con-
trol module)
I 17
Anti-theft alarm warning
system
18 D iagnose Starter
19 All Wheel D rive
20 Audi magnetic ride
Blower fan
23
Driver's
side power window,
front
24 Power outlet front
2S Rear window defogger
26 Power outlet in luggage
compartment
27 Fuel tank control module,
fuel pump
28 Power window, rear
33 Slidi ng/pop-up roof
36 Lumbar support
37 Heated sea ts, front
1 38
Passenger side power win-
dow, front
39 Specia l func tion interface
40 Starter
41 Rear window wiper
43 Body control module
47
Ce ll phone package (V OA in-
terface)
Automatic circuit breakers:
10
10
10
5
5
10
40
30
20
30
20
15
30
20 10
20
30
5
40
15
20 5
The electri c power w in dows and the e lectr ic
seat adjusters are pro tected with circu it
breake rs which reset automatically after the
circuit overload has been corrected.
Fu se s and bulb s 245
@ Tips
-Whenever rep lacing a fuse, always con­
sult the sticker on the inside of the f use
pane l cover. It contains the most up-to­
date information regarding the fuse ar­
rangement. If in doubt, ask your author­
ized Aud i Service adviso r.
- Some of the equipment items listed are
opt ional or only available on certa in
mode l configurations.
Fuse location, left side of engine
compartment
Fig . 192 En gine compar tment : fuse assig nment
,._
-d. a, a>
Check the fuse layout with the f use panel cov­
er removed
¢ page 243, Fuse cover in engine
comportment.
Some of the equipmen t items listed are op­
tiona l or only ava ilab le on certain model con ­
figurations.
Please note tha t the preced ing tab le was ac­
c u rate at the time of pr int ing and is subject to
c h ange.
No. Equipment
F2 Engine compone nts
F3 Battery voltage ESP valves, Anti-lock brake
F4 system (ABS) valves
Transmission control mod­
F5 ule
F6 Steering wheel e lectronics
Amps
20
5
20
15
s

securely connect the minus(- ) cable to
either a massive metal component that
i s firm ly bolted to the eng ine b lock or to
the engine block itself. If the battery
that is being charged does not ve nt to
the outside, escaping battery gas cou ld
i gnite and explode!
Emergency towing
with commercial tow
truck
General hints
Your Audi requires special handling for tow­
ing .
The fol low ing information is to be used by
commercial tow truck operators who know how to ope rate their equipment safe ly.
- Never to w your Audi, towing will cause
damage to the engine and t ransmission.
- Never wrap the safety chain s or winch ca ­
bles around the br ake lines.
- To pre vent unnecessary damage , you r Audi
must be transported with a car carrie r (flat
bed truck ).
- To load the vehicle on to the flat bed, use
the towing loop found in the veh icle tools
and attach to the front or rear anchorag e
¢page 251 and ¢page 252.
..&, WARNING
A vehicle being towed is not saf e for pas­
senge rs. Never a llow anyone to r ide in a
vehicle being towed, for any re ason.
Emergenc y situ ation s 251
Front towing loop
Do not install the front towing loop until it is
needed .
Fig . 194 Fro nt bu mper: re m ov ing t he cover ca p
Fig. 195 Fro nt bump er: s crew ing in t he tow ing loo p
The towing loop fits into the threaded hole lo ­
cated on the right s ide of the front b umper
and covered by a sma ll cover when not in use .
Note that the towing loop has
a left-h and
thread !
.,. Remove the tow ing loop from the vehicle
too lki t¢
pag e 234 .
.. Press on the bottom edge of the cover cap
to disengage and take it out of the bumper.
T he cap rema ins connected to the bumper
¢fig . 194 .
.,. Inser t the tow ing loop into the threaded
hole
<=> fig . 195 and tur n it all the way in un ­
til it is seated securely, then tighten it with
t h e wheel bolt w rench .
When it is no longer needed, unscrew the
towing loop and put it back into the o n-boa rd
toolk it . Make su re to have the towing loop
stored in the vehicle at all times .