VOLKSWAGEN CC 2009 Owners Manual

Tread depth and tread wear indicators

Fig. 113 Tread pattern: Wear indicator.

WARNING
Worn tires are dangerous and can cause loss of vehicle control
including serious personal injuries.
Never drive a vehicle when the tread on any tire is worn down
to the wear indicators, replace them sooner.
Worn tires do not grip the road properly, especially on wet
roads, increasing your risk of “hydroplaning” and loss of con-
trol.
Worn tires reduce the ability of your vehicle to handle well in
normal and difficult driving situations and increase braking dis-
tances and the risk of skidding.
Tire wear and damage

Driving style.
Unbalanced wheels.
Wheel alignment.
Driving style – Fast cornering, hard acceleration and braking increase
tire wear. If you experience increased tire wear under normal driving
conditions, have the vehicle suspension checked by an authorized
Volkswagen dealer or an authorized Volkswagen Service Facility.
Unbalanced wheels – The wheels on a new vehicle are balanced.
When driving, however, various conditions can cause a wheel to be-
come unbalanced. Unbalanced wheels can cause wear to the steer-
ing and suspension systems. Have all wheels rebalanced. A wheel
must always be rebalanced if a new tire has been mounted.
Wheel alignment – Incorrect wheel alignment causes excessive and
uneven tire wear, impairing vehicle safety. If you notice excessive or
uneven tire wear, have the wheel alignment checked by an author-
ized Volkswagen dealer or an authorized Volkswagen Service Facili-
ty.
WARNING
Unusual vibrations or pulling to one side can indicate tire dam-
age.
Reduce speed immediately and stop when it is safe to do so.
Check tires and wheel rims for damage.
Never drive with a damaged tire or rim. Get expert assistance
instead.
If no external damage is visible, slowly and carefully drive to
the nearest authorized Volkswagen dealer, authorized
Volkswagen Service Facility, or other qualified workshop and
have the vehicle checked.

Spare wheel or compact spare wheel

Fig. 114 In the luggage compartment: Handwheel holding the spare
wheel in place.

Fig. 115 In the luggage compartment: Compact spare wheel.

Put the wheel you took off the vehicle into the spare wheel well so
that the center hole of the rim is aligned with the threaded pin.
Turn the handwheel clockwise until the wheel is securely in place.
If necessary, return the vehicle tool kit to its location in the luggage
compartment.
Unhook the floor covering and fold it back down onto the floor of
the luggage compartment.
Close the luggage compartment lid.
If the spare wheel is different from the road wheels
If the spare is different from the road wheels, a compact spare wheel,
for example, or if the road wheels are winter tires, the spare wheel
must be used only in the event of a flat tire, only for a brief time, and
only when driving with extra caution ⇒ .
Replace it with a tire matching the others on your vehicle as soon as
possible.
Please heed the following:
Do not drive faster than 50 mph (80 km/h)!
Avoid full-throttle acceleration, hard braking, and fast cornering!
Do not use snow chains on the compact spare wheel ⇒Snow
chains.
After installing the spare wheel or compact spare wheel, check the
tire pressure as soon as possible ⇒ Tire inflation pressure.
Check the tire inflation pressure of the spare or compact spare when-
ever you check the tire pressure of the road wheels, at least once a
month. Inflate a spare wheel to the cold tire pressure specified for
the vehicle's road wheels on the tire pressure label; inflate a compact
spare wheel to the cold tire pressure specified for the compact spare
on the tire pressure label or on a separate label for the compact
spare, if there is one.

WARNING
Improper use of a spare wheel or a compact spare wheel can
cause loss of vehicle control, a crash or other accident, and se-
rious personal injury.
Never use a spare wheel or compact spare wheel if it is dam-
aged or worn down to the wear indicators.
In some vehicles, the spare wheel or compact spare wheel is
smaller than the original tire. A smaller compact spare wheel is
identified with a sticker and the words “50 mph” or “80 km/h”.
This is the maximum permissible speed when driving with this
tire.
Never drive faster than 50 mph (80 km/h) with a compact
spare wheel. Avoid full-throttle acceleration, heavy braking, and
fast cornering!
Never drive more than 125 miles (200 km) if a compact spare
wheel is installed on the front axle (drive axle).
Replace the compact spare with a normal wheel and tire as
soon as possible. Compact spare tires are designed for brief
use only.
Regularly check the U.S. DOT Tire Identification Number (TIN)
to determine the age of the compact spare wheel ⇒  Tire label-
ing. Tires age even if they are not being used and can fail sud-
denly, especially at higher speeds.
Tires that are more than 6 years old can only be used in an
emergency and then with special care and at lower speeds.
The compact spare wheel must always be secured with the
wheel bolts provided by the factory.
Never drive using more than one compact spare wheel.
After installing the compact spare wheel, the tire pressure
must be checked as soon as possible ⇒  Tire inflation pressure.
Snow chains cannot be used on the compact spare wheel. If
you must use snow chains and have a compact spare wheel
mounted, move the compact spare wheel to the rear axle if a
front tire has to be replaced. The tire taken off the rear axle can
then be used to replace the flat front tire. Be sure you do not
change the tire's direction of rotation. Install the snow chains
on the full-sized road tire.

NOTICE
When the spare wheel or compact spare is being used, the TPMS
indicator light can come on after a couple of minutes ⇒ Tire
Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS).
If possible, attach the spare wheel, compact spare wheel, or the
wheel you took off the vehicle securely in the luggage compartment.
Tire labeling

Fig. 116 International tire labeling.

Tire labeling
(example)
Meaning
Brand, Logo Manufacturer
Tire name Individual tire designation of the manufac-
turer.
P255 / 55 R 18
Dimensions:
P Tire application: Passenger car
255 Nominal sidewall-to-sidewall width of
tire in millimeters.
55 Ratio of height to width (aspect ratio)
R Tire belt design letter code for radial.
18 Rim diameter (in inches)
109 H Load rating code and speed rating code
XL Indicates “reinforced” tire (heavy-duty)
M+S or M/S Indicates Mud and Snow capability (also
M/S) ⇒  Winter tires.
RADIAL TUBELESS Tubeless radial tire.
E4 ... Labeling according to international regula-
tions (E) including number of the approving
country. The multi-digit approval number is
listed next.
DOT BT RA TY5 1709
Tire identification number (TIN)3 – In some
cases the manufacturing date is only on one
side of the tire:
3 TIN represents the serial number of the tire.

Tire labeling
(example)
Meaning
DOT
The tire complies with the require-
ments of the United States Depart-
ment of Transportation, responsible
for issuing safety standards.
BT Identification letter of the manufactur-
ing site.
RA Manufacturer information regarding
tire dimensions.
TY5 Tire characteristics provided by the
manufacturer.
1709 Manufacturing date: 17th week in
2009.
TWI Marks the position of the treadwear indicator
Made in Germany Country of manufacture.
MAX LOAD 615 KG
(1356 LBS)
United States maximum load rating per
wheel.
MAX INFLATION
350 KPA (51 PSI)
United States maximum permissible inflation
pressure.
ROTATION Rotation direction (unidirectional tires)
SIDEWALL 1 PLY
RAYON
Tire ply composition and materials used:
1 layer of rayon.
TREAD 4 PLIES
1 RAYON + 2 STEEL
+ 1 NYLON
Tire tread composition and materials used:
In this example there are 4 layers under the
tread: 1 layer of rayon, 2 layers of steel belt
and 1 layer of nylon.

Tire labeling
(example)
Meaning
Consumer information regarding comparison to specified base
tires (standardized test procedure) ⇒  ⇒ page 284:
TREADWEAR 220 Relative service life expectancy of the tire
referenced to a U.S.-specific standard test.
TRACTION A Traction rating under wet conditions (AA, A,
B or C).
TEMPERATURE A Temperature stability of the tire at increased
test bench speeds (A, B or C).
Additional numbers found on the tire could either be tire manu-
facturer internal labels or country-specific labels (such as for
Brazil and China).

Unidirectional tires
Unidirectional tires are designed to rotate only in one direction. Unidi-
rectional tires have arrows on the sidewalls that show the direction of
rotation. Make sure you mount the tire so that it rotates in the proper
direction. The tire's performance with regard to hydroplaning, traction,
noise, and wear is worse if it is not mounted in the proper direction of
rotation.
If you have to mount a tire opposite to its proper direction of rotation,
you must drive more carefully, since the tire is no longer being used
as designed. This is particularly important on wet roads. You must
replace or remount the tire as soon as possible in order to restore the
correct direction of rotation.
Load rating code
The load index indicates the maximum permissible load per individual
tire in pounds (kilograms).
91 1356 lbs (615 kg)
92 1388 lbs (630 kg)
93 1433 lbs (650 kg)
95 1521 lbs (690 kg)