flat tire AUDI A3 2016 Owner´s Manual

,....,
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0 > co ,...., Trailer mode Driving with a trailer
General information
Your Audi was designed primarily for passenger
transportation .
If you plan to tow a trailer, please remember that
the additional load will affect durability, econo­
my and performance.
T railer towing not only places more stress on the
vehicle, it also calls for more concentration from
the driver.
For this reason, always follow the operating and
driving instructions provided and use common
sense.
Technical requirements
Trailer hitch
Use a weight-carrying hitch conforming to the
gross trailer weight. The hitch must be suitable
for your vehicle and trailer and must be mounted
securely on the vehicle's chassis at a technically
sound
location . Use only a trailer hitch with a re­
movable ball mount . Always check with the trail­
er hitch manufacturer to make sure that you are
using the correct hitch.
Do not use a bumper hitch.
The hitch must be installed in such a way that it
does not interfere with the impact -absorbing
bumper system . No modifications should be
made to the vehicle exhaust and brake systems .
From time to time, check that all hitch mounting
bo lts remain securely fastened.
When you are not towing a trailer,
remove the
tra iler hitch ball mount . This prevents the hitch
from causing damage should your vehicle be
struck from beh ind
~ ,&. .
Trailer brakes
If your trailer is equipped with a braking system,
check to be sure that it conforms to all regula­
tions .
Trailer mode
The trailer hydraulic brake system must not be
directly connected to the vehicle's hydraulic
brake system.
Safety chains
Always use safety chains between your vehicle
and the trailer.
Trailer lights
T ra iler lights must meet all regulations . Be sure
to check with your Aud i dea ler for correct wiring,
switches and relays .
Mirrors
If you are unable to see the traffic behind you us­
ing the regular outside mirrors, then you
must in­
stall extended mirrors . It is important that you
always have clear vision to the rear.
,8. WARNING
After removing the trailer hitch, do not store
it in your vehicle. In case of sudden braking,
the hitch could fly forward and injure you or
your passengers.
Operating instructions
Maximum trailer weight
A trailer for your vehicle is limited to a typical
class 1 or class 2 trailer.
Trailer load distribution Be sure the load in the trailer is held securely in
place to prevent it from shifting forward, back­
ward or sideways.
Never allow a passenger to ride in a trailer~.&.
in Driving instructions on page 128.
Engine cooling system
Towing a trailer makes the engine work harder. It
is important that the cooling system's perform ­
ance is up to the additional load. Make sure that
the cooling system has enough fluid.
Tire pressure
When towing a trailer, inflate the tires of your
vehicle to the cold tire pressure listed under "Full ..,.
127

Trailer mod e
load" on the la bel located on the driver's side B ­
pillar (visib le when the door is open) . Inflate
tra iler tires to trailer and tire manufacturers'
specif ications.
Lights
Check to make sure both vehicle and t railer lights
are working p roper ly.
Safety chains
Be sure t railer safety chains are properly connect­
ed from the trai le r to the hi tch on the veh icle.
L eave enough sla ck in the cha ins to permi t turn­
ing corners. When yo u install safety chains, ma ke
sure they wi ll not drag on the road when yo u are
driving .
The cha ins s hou ld cross under the trailer tongue
t o prevent it from dropping in case of separation
from the h itch .
Driving instructions
Driving with a trailer always requires extra care
and consideration .
To obtain t he best poss ible handling of vehicle
and traile r, please note the fo llow ing :
.,. Do not tow a loaded trailer when your car itself
is not loaded.
.. Be especi ally ca ref ul when pass ing othe r
vehicles.
.. Observe speed limi ts .
.. Do not d rive at the maximum permissible
speed.
.. Always apply brakes early.
.. Monitor the temperature gauge .
Weight distribution
Towing a loaded t railer w ith an empty car res ults
in a high ly unstable distribution of weight . If this
cannot be avoided, drive at very low speeds on ly
to avoid the risk of losing steering control.
A "balanced" rig is easie r to operate and cont rol.
This means that the tow vehi cle should be loaded
to the extent possible and permissible, while
keep ing the tra iler as light as possib le under the
circumstances. Whenever possible, transfer
some cargo to the l uggage compartment of the
128
tow veh icle wh ile observing tong ue load require ­
ments and vehicle loading considerations.
Speed
The higher the speed, the mo re diff icu lt i t be­
comes for the driver to con trol the r ig. Do not
drive at t he maxim um permissible speed. Reduce
you r speed even more if load, weather or wind
con dit ions are unfavorab le - partic ularly when
go ing downh ill.
Reduce vehicle speed
immediately if the trailer
shows the slightest sign of swaying.
Do not try
to stop the swaying by accelerating.
Observe speed limi ts. In some areas, s peeds fo r
vehicles towing trailers are lower than for regular
vehicles .
A lways apply bra kes early. Whe n driving down­
hill, shift in to a lower gea r to use the engine
b raki ng effect to slow the vehi cle. Use of the
brakes alone ca n cause them to over heat and fai l.
Coolant temperature
The coolant temperature gauge 9 page 12 must
be obse rved caref ully. The coolant temperature
c a n incre ase if yo u drive o n long incl ines in a low
gear a t high engine speeds . Red uce your speed
immediately if the LE Ds in the top part of the dis­
play turn on .
Fo r more info rm ation abou t indicator lights, re­
fer to . ¢
page 20 .
A WARNING
-
Anyone not prope rly restrai ned in a moving
vehicle is at a much greate r risk in an acci ­
dent. Never let anyone ride in your car who is
not properly wear ing the restraints provided
by Aud i.
Trailer mode notes
Important to know
Your vehicle handles differen tly when towing a
trailer because o f the additiona l weight and di f­
ferent weight distribution. Safety, performance
and economy will g reatly depend on how caref ul-
l y you load your trai ler and operate you r rig. ..,_

.... N
0 > co .... .... -Please observe information on safe driving
~page 166.
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 w indows,
- Close the power roof*,
- 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 power roof* 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.
- 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 r ide in the luggage
compartment. Vehicle occupants must al­
ways be properly restrained in one of the ve­
hicle's seating positions.
(D 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.
Driving safety
-The tire pressure must correspond to the
load. The tire pressure is shown on the tire
pressure label. The tire pressure label is lo­
cated on the driver's side B-pillar . The tire
pressure label lists the recommended 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 man­ ufactured. For recommended tire pressures
for normal load conditions, please see chap­
ter
~ page 263.
' Tie-downs
The luggage compartment is equipped with four
tie-downs to secure luggage and other items.
Use the tie-downs to secure your cargo properly
~ page 172, Loading 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 energy which
vary w ith vehicle speed and the weight of the
item. Vehicle speed is the most significant factor.
For example, in a frontal collision at a speed of
30 mph (48 km/h), the forces acting on a 10-lb
(4.5 kg) object are about 20 times the normal
weight of the item. This means that the weight
of the item would sudden ly be about
200 lbs. (90 kg). You can imagine the injuries
that a 200 lbs. (90 kg) item flying freely through
the passenger compartment could cause in a col­
lision like th is.
A WARNING
-Weak, damaged or improper straps used to
secure items to tie-downs can fail dur ing hard
braking or in a collision and cause serious per­
sona l injury.
- Always use suitable mounting straps and
properly secure items to the tie-downs in
the luggage compartment to help prevent
items from shifting or flying forward as dan­
gerous missiles .
- When the rear seat backrest is folded down,
always use suitable mounting straps and
properly secure items to the tie-downs in
173

,..., N 0 > 00 ,..., \D Ln ,..., \D ....
Tires and wheels
Wheels
General information
... Check your tires regularly for
damage (punctures, cuts, cracks
and bulges). Remove foreign ob­
jects from the tire tread.
.,. If driving over c urbs 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.
(D Note
-Please note that summer and winter tires are designed for
the conditions that are typical in those seasons. Audi recom­
mends using winter tires dur­
ing the winter months. Low
temperatures significantly de­
crease the elasticity of summ ­
er tires, which affects traction
Tires and wheels
and braking ab ility. If summer
tires are used in very cold
temperatures, cracks can form on the tread bars, result ing 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 protection for this and
could be permanently dam­
aged by road salt or sim ilar
substances.
Ti re designations
Fig. 202 Tire specification codes on the
sidewall of a tire .,.
253

be happy to provide more infor­
mation.
® Mud and snow capability
"M/5 " or "M+S" indicates the tire
has character istics that make it
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
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 tire quality grade
standards for treadwear ,
traction and temperature
resistance
Tread wear, traction and temper ­
ature ranges
¢ page 271.
~ @ Running direction
g
~ ...
'° V, ....
'° ....
The arrows indicate the running
direction of unidirect ional tires .
Tires and wheels
You must always follow the speci­
fied runn ing d irection
¢ page 288 .
@ Maximum permitted
inflation pressure
This number ind icates the maxi­
mum pressure to which a tire can
be inflated unde r normal operat ­
ing conditions.
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
i tems are available as facto ry-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 sidewa ll for improved steer­
ing response and better overall
handling on dry pavement. .,.
255

Tires and wheels
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.
Cord
means the strands forming the
plies in the tire.
Cold tire inflation pressure
means the tire pressure recom­
mended by the vehic le 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 additiona l weight of
op tional equipment.
E x tra load tire
means a tire designed to operate
at higher loads and at h igher in-
2 56
flation pressures than t he corre­
sponding standard tire. Extra load
tires may be identified as "XL",
"xl" , "EXTRA LOAD" , or "RF" on
the sidewall.
Gross A xle 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 max im um total loaded
weight of the vehicle .
Groove
means the space between two ad­
jacent tread ribs .
Load rating (code)
means the maximum load tha t a
tire is rated to carry for a given in­
flation pressure. You may not find
this informat ion on all tires be­
cause it is not required by law .
Maximum load rating
means the load rating for a tire at
t he maximum permissible infla­
tion p ressure 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
Maximum (permissible )
inflation p ressure
means the maximum cold infla­
tion pressure to which a t ire may
be inflated. Also called "maxi ­
mum inflation 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
c le.
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 of the side­
walls of an inflated tire, including elevations due to labeling, deco­
rations, or protective bands or
ribs .
Tires and wheels
Ply
means a layer of rubber-coated
parallel cords .
Production options weight
means the combined weight of
those installed regular production
options weighing over 5 lbs. (2.3 kg) in excess of those standard
items which they replace, not pre­
viously considered in curb weight
or accessory weight, including heavy duty brakes, ride levelers,
roof rack, heavy duty battery, and
specia l 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 256, Cold tire infla­
tion pressure .
Reinforced tire
means a tire designed to operate
at higher loads and at higher in­
flat ion pressures than the corre­
sponding standard tire. Rein ­
forced tires may be identified as .,.
257

Tires and wheels
"XL" "xl" "EXTRA LOAD" or "RF" I I I
on the sidewall.
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
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 nominal distance between
rim 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)
c::> table
on page 254.
You may not find
this information on all tires be ­
cause it is not required by law.
25 8
The speed rating letter code,
where applicable, is molded on
the tire sidewall and indicates the maximum permissible road
speeds
c::> .&. in Winter tires on
page 269 .
Tire pressure monitoring
system*
means a system that detects
when one or mo re of a vehicle's
tires are underinflated and illum i­
na tes a low tire pressure warning
telltale .
Tread
means that portion of a tire that
comes into contact w ith the road .
Tread separation
means pulling away of the tread
from the t ire carcass .
Treadwear indicators (TWI)
means the projections within the
principal grooves designed to give
a visua l indication of the degrees
of wear of the tread. See
c::> page 262, Treadwear indicator
for mo re information on measur-
ing tire wear. .,.

Tires a nd wh eels
Occupant loading and distri­
bution for vehicle normal load
for various designated seating
capacit ies
Refer to the tire inflation pres­
sure label¢
page 263, fig . 205
for the number of seating posi­
tions . Refer to the table¢
table
on page 265
for the number of
people that correspond to the ve­
hicle normal load .
New tires or wheels
Audi recommends having all work
on tires or wheels performed by
an authorized Audi dealer or au­
thorized Audi Service Facility .
These facilities have the proper
knowledge and are equipped with
the required tools and replace­
ment parts.
.,. New tires do not yet have the
optimum adhesion properties .
Drive carefully and at moderate
speeds for the first 350 miles (500 km) with new tires .
.,. Only use tires with the same de­
sign, size (rolling circumference)
and as close to the same tread pattern as poss ible on all four
wheels .
260
.,.Do not replace tires individually .
At least replace both tires on the
same axle at the same time.
.,. Audi recommends that you use
Audi Original equipment tires . If
you would like to use d ifferent
tires, please note that the tires may perform differently even if
they are the same size ¢
,&.
.,. If you would like to equip your
vehicle with a tire/rim combina ­
t ion that is different from what
was installed at the factory, con­
sult with an authorized Audi dealer or authorized Audi Service
F acility before making a pur­
chase ¢&, .
The spare tire* is different from
the regular tires installed on the
vehicle -for example, if winter
tires or wide tires are installed -
then only use the spare tire* tem­
porarily in case of emergency and
drive carefully while it is in use. It
should be replaced with a regular
tire as soon as possible.
On
all wheel drive vehicles, all
four wheels must be equipped
with tires that are the same brand and have the same construction
and tread pattern so tha t the
drive system is not damaged by .,.

different tire speeds. For this rea­son, in case of emergency, only
use a spare tire* that 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.
Tires and wheels
-Only use tires that are more
than 6 years old when abso­ lutely necessary and drive
carefully when doing so.
-Do not use run-flat tires on
your vehicle. Using them when
not permitted can lead to ve­
hicle damage or accidents.
-If you install wheel covers on the vehicle, make sure they al­low enough air circulation to
cool the brake system. If they
do not, this could increase the
risk of an accident.
Tire wear/damage
Fig. 203 Tire profile: tread wear indica ­
tor
Tire wear
Check the tires regularly for wear .
- Inflation pressure that is too low
or high can increase tire wear
considerably.
-Driving quickly through curves, rapid acceleration and heavy
braking increase tire wear. ..
261