wheel bolt torque AUDI A3 2015 Owners Manual

24 2 T ire s and wheel s
Where snow chains are mandatory oncer­
tain roads, this normally also applies to
veh icles with all-wheel dr ive.
Wheel bolts
Wheel bolts must always be tightened to the
correct torque.
The design o f whee l bolts is matched to the
factory installed rims . If different rims are fit­
ted, the correct wheel bolts with the right
length and correctly shaped bolt heads must
be used. This ensures that wheels are fitted
securely and that the brake system functions
correctly .
In certain circumstances, you may not use
wheel bolts from a different vehicle -even if it
is the same model
r=> page 270.
A WARNING
Improperly tightened or maintained wheel
bolts can become loose caus ing loss of
c ont ro l, a co llision and serious persona l in­
Jury .
- Always keep the wheel bolts and the
threads in the wheel hubs clea n so the
wheel bolts can turn easily and be prop­ er ly t igh tened .
- Never grease or oil the wheel bo lts and
the threads in the wheel hubs. They can
become loose while d riving if greased or
oiled, even if tightened to the specified
torque.
- Only use wheel bolts that belong to the
rim being installed.
- Never use different whee ls bolts on your
vehicle.
- Always maintain the co rrect tighten ing
torq ue fo r th e wheel bo lts to reduce the
risk of a wheel loss . If the tightening tor­
que of the wheel bo lts is too low, they
can loosen and come out w hen the veh i­
cle is moving. If the tighteni ng torque is
too high, the whee l bolts and threads can be damaged and the whee
l can be­
come loose.
@ Note
The specified torque for the whee l bolts is
90 ft lb (120 Nm) with a tolerance of± 7,4
ft lb(± 10 Nm) . Torque wheel bolts diago­
nally. After changing a whee l, the torque
must be checked as soon as possible with a
torque w rench -preferably by an author­
i zed Audi dealer or qualified workshop .
Low aspect ratio tires
Your Audi is factory-eq uipped w it h low aspect
ra tio tires. These tires have been tho roughly
tested and been se lected specifically fo r your
model for their superb perfo rmance, road fee l
and handling under a variety of d riving condi ­
t ions . Ask your author ized A udi dealer for
more details.
T he low aspect ratio of these tires is ind icated
by a numera l of
55 or less in the tire's s ize
designation. The n umera l represents the ratio
of the tire's sidewall height in relation to its
tread width expressed in percentage. Conven­
t iona l tires have a he ight/w idth ratio of 60 or
more .
The performance of low-aspect -ratio tires is
particularly sens iti ve to imp roper inflation
pressure. It is therefore important that low
a spect ratio tires are inflat ed to the specified
pre ssure and that the inflation pressure i s
regularly ch ecked and maintain ed. Tire pre s·
sure s should be checked at lea st once a
m onth and always bef ore a long trip
r=> page 231, Checking tire pressure .
What you can do to avoid tire and rim
damage
Low aspect ratio tires can be d amage d more
easily by impact w ith potholes, curbs, gull ies
or ridges on t he road, particularly if the tire is
u nd eri nflated.

-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 wheel diagonally opposite
the whee l being changed. When one
front whee l is lifted off the gro und, plac­
ing the A utomat ic Transm iss ion in P
(Park) wi ll
not prevent t he vehi cle from
moving .
- Before you change a wheel, be su re the
ground is leve l and fi rm.
If necessary,
use a st urdy board under the jack.
- Always store the vehicle tool ki t, the jack
and the replaced ti re in the l uggage com­
partment¢
page 12 7 .
Changing a wheel
When you change a wheel, follow these­
quence described below step-by-step and in
exactly that order.
1. Remove the d ec orative wheel cov er* . For
more deta ils see also
c:>page 249, Deco ­
rative wheel covers
or ¢ page 2 50,
Wheels with wheel bolt caps.
2. Loosen the wheel bolt s c:> page 250.
3. Locate the proper mount ing point for the
jack and align the jack below that point
<=> page 251.
4. Raise the car w ith the jack c:> page 251.
5. Remove the wheel with the flat tire and
then install
the spare ¢ page 252 .
6. Tighten all wheel bo lts light ly.
7 .
Low er the ve hicle with the jack.
8. Use the wheel bolt wrenc h and
firmly
tighten all whee l bolts c:> page 250.
9. Replace the decorative wheel cov er*.
A WARNING
Always read and follow all WARNINGS and
information
c:> .&. in Raising the vehicle on
page251
and ¢page 253.
What do I d o now ? 249
After changing a wheel
A wheel change is not complete without the
doing the following.
.,. Always store the vehicle tool kit, the jack*
and the replaced tire in the luggage com­
partment
c:> page 127.
.,. Check the tir e pr essure on the spare whee l
immed iate ly afte r mounting i t.
.,. As soon as poss ib le, have the
tight ening
torque s
on all wheel bolts checked w ith a
torque wrench . The correct tighten ing tor­
que is 90 ft lb (120 Nm).
.,. Have the flat tire
replaced as soon as possi­
ble.
@ Tips
- If you notice that the wheel bo lts a re
corroded and difficult to turn while
chang ing a tire, they should be replaced
before you c heck the tightening torque.
- Drive at reduced speed until you have the tightening torques checked.
- After changing a whee l, the ti re press ure
in all four tires must be checked/correct­
ed and the tire pressure monitoring indi­
cator must be stored in the M MI
c:>page245.
Decorative wheel covers
App lies to veh icles: w ith decorat ive w hee l cove rs
The decorative wheel covers must be removed
first to access the wheel bolts.
Fi g. 167 Chang ing a whee l: Removing th e w hee l cover
Removing
.,. Insert the hook (provided with the vehicle
t oo l kit) in the ho le in the whee l hub cover .
i,,.

(D Note
When removing or installing the wheel,
the rim could hit the bra ke rotor and dam­
age the rotor . W ork carefully and have a
second person help you.
N ever use the hexa gonal s ocket in the ha n­
d le of the screwdriver to loosen or t ighten
the wheel bolts .
- Pull the reversib le blade from the screw­
drive r before yo u use the hexagonal
socket in t he handle to t urn the whee l
bo lts .
- When mounting tires with
unid irectional
tread design
make s ure the tread pat­
te rn is poi nte d the r ight way
c:> pag e253 .
- The w heel bolts should be clea n and easy
to tu rn . Ch eck for dirt and corros ion on
the mat ing su rfaces of both the whee l
a nd th e hu b. Remove a ll dir t fro m these
s ur fa ces before remo unting the wheel.
Tires with unidirectional tread design
Tires with unidirectional tread design must be
mounted with their tread pattern poin ted in
t he right direction.
Using a spare tire with a tread pattern
intended for use in a specific direction
When using a sp are tire w ith a tr ead p atte rn
i ntended fo r u se in a specific direc tion, p lease
note t he following:
- T he di rection of rotation is ma rked by an a r­
r ow on the side o f the tire.
- If th e spare t i re has to be installed in the in­
c orrec t direction, use the spa re tire only
tem por ari ly si nce the t ire will no t be able to
ac hieve its op timum perfo rmance character­
ist ics with rega rd to aquaplani ng, noise and
wea r.
- We recommend that you pay particular at ­
tent io n to this fact du ring wet weat he r and
that you adjust your speed to matc h road
condit ions .
What do I do now? 253
-Replace the flat t ire with a new one and
have it installed on your vehicle as soon as
possible to restore the han dling advantages
of a un idirectional tire.
Notes on wheel changing
Please read the i nfo rmation c:> page 236, New
tires and replacing tires and wh eels
if you a re
go ing to use a spare tire wh ich is different
from the ti res on you r vehicle.
After you cha nge a tire :
-Check the tire pressure on the spare imme­
diately after installation .
- Have the wheel bolt tightening torque
checked with a torque wrench as soon as
possible by your authorized Audi dealer o r
a qualified service station.
- With steel and alloy wheel r ims, the wheel
bolts are correctly tightened at a torque of
90 ft lb (120 Nm ).
- If you notice that the wheel bolts are cor­
roded and diff icult to turn while changing
a tire, they should be replaced before you
check the tightening torque.
- Replace the flat tire w ith a new one and
have it installed on your vehicle as soon as
possible. Remount the whee l cover.
Until then , dr ive with e xtra care and at re­
duced speeds.
A WARNING
-
- I f you are going to e quip your ve hicle
wit h tires o r rims which differ from those
which were fac to ry inst alled, t hen be
s ure to read t he informa tion
c:> p age 2 36,
New tire s and repla cing tires a nd
wheels .
-Always make s ure th e d am age d wheel o r
eve n a fla t tire an d the jack an d too l ki t
are p rope rly secu red in the luggage com ­
pa rtment an d are not loose in the pas ­
senger compartment .
- In an accident or sudden maneuver they
co uld f ly forwa rd, inj uring a nyone in the
veh icle.
•
•
•

284 Index
Weights .......... ......... ... .... . 265
What happens if you wear your safety belt
too loose? ........................ .
135
What happens to unbelted occupants? .. 132
What impairs driving safety? .......... 122
What should I do after changing a
wheel? .. .... .. .. ...... .... ... .. .. .
232
What should I do after replacing wheels? 232
Wheel bolts
Torque ..... ................ ..... .
242
Wheels ... .. ............ ... .. .. ... 225
A ll wheel drive ......... .... .. .. .. . 190
Checking tire pressure ..... .... .... . 231
cleaning ... ............. .... .. .. . 202
Cold tire inflation pressure .......... 229
General notes ................ .... . 225
Glossary of tire and loading terminolo-
gy .. .. .. ................. .. .. .. .
226
New tires and wheels ...... .... .... . 236
Tires and vehicle load limits .. .... .. . 233
Wheel wrench .............. ... .... . 247
When must a safety belt be rep laced? . .
134
When must the airbag system be inspect-
ed? ..... .. ....................... . 152
When shou ld I ad just the tire pressures?
232
When shou ld I check the tire pressures? . 232
Where are lower anchorages located? ... 181
Where can I find the tire pressu res for my
car? . .. ... .................. ..... .
231
Why safety belts? .......... .. .. .. .. . 132
Windows
cleaning/removing ice
203
W indshield
cleaning ... ................ ..... ..
46
defrosting (automatic climate contro l
system) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
defrosting (manual climate control sys-
tem) .. .. ................. .. .... ..
65
also refer to Windshield . ........ .. .. 46
Windshield washer system ... ... .. .. .. 46
Reservoir capacity .............. .. . 266
Washer reservoir ......... .... .... . 224
Windshield w ipers
C leaning wiper blades ............. . . 47
Folding up ............... ... .... .. 47
Indicator light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
24
Replacing windshield wiper b lades . ... . 47
Switching on and
off ............ ... . 46
Winter operation
Cooling system . .. ............. .. ..
216
Winter tires . .. .. .. .... .... ..... .. .. 240
All -wheel drive ... ..... ..... ... .. .. 240
Winter use
Car washes ................... ....
201
defrosting the windshield (automatic cli­
mate control system) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Removing ice from windows . .. .. .. ..
203
Seat heating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
X
Xenon-lights .. .. .. ... .... ...... .... 258
Xenon headlights . ................. .. 42