AUDI A3 SEDAN 2018 Owners Manual

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-Inspection or oil change reminder: after a cer ­
tain distance driven, a message appears in the i nst rument cluste r display each time the ign i­
t ion is switched on or off. The rema ining dis­
tance or time is displayed briefly .
-Inspection or oil change due: if your vehicle
has reached an inspection or o il change interval
or bot h intervals at t he same time, the mes­
sage
Inspection due! or Oil change due! or Oil
change and in spection due!
appears briefly a f­
te r swi tc h ing t he ignition on/off.
Checking service intervals
You can check the rema ining distance or time un­
til the nex t oil change o r next inspection in the
Info tainmen t sys tem. Select in the Infotainmen t
sys tem: th e
I MENU I button > Vehicle > left con­
tro l button
> Service & checks > Service inter ­
vals .
Resetting the indicator
An author ized A udi dealer or author ized A udi
Serv ice Fac ility will reset the serv ice inte rval dis­
p lay after pe rforming serv ice .
If you have changed t he oil you rself, you must re ­
set t he oil change interva l.
To reset the display, se lect in the Infotainment
system: the
I MENU I button > Vehicle > left con­
tro l button
> Service & checks > Service intervals
> Reset oil change interval.
@ Note
- Only reset the oil c hange indicato r if the oil
was c hanged.
- Fo llow ing the service inte rvals is c ritical to
maintai ning the fu nction, serv ice li fe, and
va lue of yo ur ve hicle , es pecially the eng ine.
Eve n if th e m ile ag e on the v ehicle is low, do
not exc eed t he ti me f or th e next ser vic e.
Checking and Filling
329

Wheels
Wheels
Wheels and T ires
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 location
with as little 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
accident because it can cause
the tire to burst .
-Always adapt your driving to the road and traffic condi-
330
tions . Drive carefully and re­
duce your speed on icy or slip­
pery roads . Even winter tires
can lose traction on black ice.
(@ Note
-Please note that summer and
winter tires are designed for
the conditions that are typical
i n those seasons . Aud i recom­
mends using winter tires dur­
ing the winter months . Low
temperatures significantly de­
crease the elasticity of summ­
er tires, which affects traction
and braking ability. 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
t ions. The surface of the r ims
does not have sufficient corro­
sion protection for this and
could be permanently dam ­
aged by road salt or similar
substances.

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Tire designations
Fig. 275 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 .
Wheels
@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
¢ &. in General information
on page 330.
"EXTRA LOAD", "xl" or "RF" indi­
cates that the tire is reinforced or
i s an Extra Load tire.
Speed rat-
Maximum permitted speed
ing
p up to 93 mph (150 km/h)
Q up to 99 mph (160 km/h)
R up to 106 mph (170 km/h)
s up to 110 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)a)
z above 149 mph (240 km/h)a)
w up to 168 mph (270 km/h)a)
y up to 186 mph (300 km/h)a)
a) For tires above 149 mph (240 km/h),
tire manufacturers sometimes use the
code "ZR".
331

Wheel s
0 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 side 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 correctly, 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
T he 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
332
must also specify the materials
used in the tire. These include
steel, nylon, polyester and other materials.
@ Maximum permitted load
This number indicates the maxi­
mum load in kilograms and
pounds that the tire can carry.
@ Uniform t ire quality grade
standards for treadwear ,
traction and temperature resistance
Treadwear, traction and tempera­
ture ranges
q page 347 .
@ Running d ir e ction
The arrows indicate the running
direction of unidirectional tires.
You must always follow the speci­
fied running direction
q page 368 .
@ Maximum permitted
inflation pressu re
This number indicates the maxi­
mum pressure to which a tire can
be inflated under normal operat ­
ing condit ions.

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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 a re available as factory- in­
stalled equipment (whether i n­
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 s idewall 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 .
Wheel s
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 eq uipm ent .
Extra load tire
means a tire designed to operate
at higher loads and at highe r in­
flation pressures than the corre­
sponding standard tire . Extra load
tires may be identified as "X L",
"xl", "EXTRA LOAD", or "RF" on
the sidewall.
.,.
333

Wheel s
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 .
Max imum 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 weight
33 4
Maximum (permissible)
inflation pressu re
means the maximum cold infla ­
tion pressure to which a t ire may
be inflated. A lso called "maxi­
mum inflat ion pressure."
Normal occupant weight
means 150 lbs. (68 kilograms)
times the number of occupants seated in the vehicle up to the to­
tal seating capacity of your vehi­
cle.
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 distance be­
tween the exteriors o f the side­
walls of an inflated tire , includ ing
elevations due to labeling, deco­ rations, or protective bands or
ribs .
Ply
means a layer of rubber-coated
parallel cords .

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Production options weight
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 we ight, in­
c luding heavy duty brakes, ride
levelers, roof rack, heavy duty
battery, and special trim .
Radial ply tire
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.
Recommended inflation
pressure
see ¢ page 333, Cold tire infla­
tion pressure .
Reinforced tire
means a tire designed to operate
at higher loads and at h igher in ­
flat ion pressures than the corre­
sponding standard tire. Rein­
forced t ires may be identified as
"XL " "xl" "EXT RA LOA D" or "RF" , , ,
on the sidewall.
Wheels
Rim
means a metal support for a tire
or a tire and tube assembly upon
which the tire beads are seated .
Rim diameter
means nominal diameter of the
bead seat. If you change your
whee l 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 nominal distance between
rim flanges .
Sidewall
means that portion of a ti re 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 rat ings
range from
93 mph (150 km/h)
to
186 mph (298 km/h) ¢ table
on page 331.
You may no t find
this info rmat ion on all tires be­
cause it is not required by law.
T he speed rating letter code,
where applicable, is molded on
the tire sidewall and indicates t he
11>
335

Wheels
maximum permissible road
speeds . See also ¢
A in General
information on page 330 .
Tire pressure monitoring
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 co ntact with the road.
Tread separat ion
means pulling away of the tread
from the tire carcass.
Treadwear indicators (TWI)
means the projections within the
pr incipal grooves designed to g ive
a vis ual indication of the degrees
of wear of the tread . See
¢ page 339, Treadwear indicator
for more information on measu r­
ing tire wear.
Uniform Tire Quality Grading
is a tire information system devel ­
oped by the United States Nat ion­
a l Highway Traffic Safety Admin­
istration ( NHTSA) tha t is designed
to he lp buyers make relative com-
33 6
parisons among tires . The UTQG
is not a safety rat ing and not a
guarantee that a tire will last for
a prescribed number of miles (kilo meters) or perform in acer ­
t ain way . It simply g ives tire buy ­
ers add itiona l information to
combine with other considera ­
tions , such as price, brand loyalty
and dealer recommendations. U n­
de r UT QG, tires a re graded by the
tire manufacturers in three areas: treadwear, tract ion, and tempera ­
ture res istance. The UTQG info r­
mation on the tires , molded into
the si dewalls .
U.S. DOT Tire Identification
Number (TIN)
This is the tire's "serial number".
It beg ins with the letters
"DO T"
and indicates that the tire meets
all federal s tandards. The next
two numbers or le tters indicate
the plant whe re it was ma nufac ­
tured, and t he last four num bers
represent the week and year of
manufacture. Fo r example,
DOT ... 2217 .. .
means that the tire was produced
in the 22nd week o f 2017. The
other numbers are ma rketing co­
des that may or may not be used
~

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by the tire manufacturer. This in­
formation is used to contact con­ sumers if a tire defect requires a
recall.
Vehicle capacity weight
means the rated cargo and lug­
gage load plus 150 lbs . (68 kilo­
grams) times the vehicle's desig­
nated seating capacity.
Vehicle ma ximum load on the
tire
means that load on an indiv idual
tire that is determined by distrib­
uting to each axle its share of the
maximum loaded vehicle weight
and dividing by two.
Vehicle normal load on the tire
means that load on an indiv idual
tire that is determined by distrib­ uting to each axle its share of the
curb weight, accessory weight,
and normal occupant weight (dis ­
tributed in accordance
with ¢ ta­
ble on page 342)
and dividing by
two .
Occupant loading and distr i­
bution for vehicle normal load
for various designated seating
capacities
Refer to the tire inflation pres­
s u re
label¢ page 341, fig . 2 78
Wheels
for the n umber of seating posi­
tions . Refer to the table
¢ table
on page 34 2
for the number of
people tha t correspond to the ve­
hicle normal load.
New tires or wheels
Audi recommends having all work
on tires o r wheels performed by
an authorized Audi dealer or au­
thorized Audi Service Facility.
These facilities have the proper
knowle dge and are eq uipped with
the requ ired too ls and replace­
ment parts.
.,. New tires do not yet have the
optimum g ripping properties .
Drive carefully and at mode rate
speeds for the first 350 miles
(500 km) with new tires.
.,. Only use tires with the same de­
s ign , size (rolling circumfer­
ence), and as close to the same
tread pattern as possible on all
four whee ls .
.,. Applies to: RS models : only use
tires with the same design and
the same tread pattern on all
four whee ls.
.,. Do not replace tires indiv idually .
At least replace both tires on the
same axle at the same time .
...
337

Wheels
.,.Audi recommends that you use
Audi Original Tires. If you would like to use different tires, please
note that the tires may perform
differently even if they are the
same size
¢ 11:,. .
.,. 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¢ ,&.
Because the spare tire* is differ­
ent from the regular tires instal­
led on the vehicle (such as winter
tires or wide tires), only use the
spare tire* temporarily in case of
emergency and drive carefully
while it is in use. It should be re­
placed 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
338
is 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.
...