flat tire AUDI A7 2014 Owners Manual

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 because 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 windows,
- Close the power roof*,
- Open all air outlets in the instrument
panel,
- 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
securely 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 es­
pecially with the rear lid left open. A
child could crawl into the vehicle through
the luggage compartment and close the
rear lid becoming trapped and unable to
get out. Being trapped in a vehicle can
lead to serious personal injury.
- Never let children play in or around the
vehicle .
- Never let passengers ride in the luggage
compartment. Vehicle occupants must
always be properly restrained in one of
the vehicle's seating positions.
Gj) Tips
-Air circulation helps to reduce window
fogging. Stale air escapes to the outside
through vents in the trim panel. Be sure
to keep these slots free and open .
-
Driving Safely 137
-The tire pressure must correspond to the
load. The tire pressure is shown on the
tire pressure label. The tire pressure la­
bel is located on the driver's side B-pillar.
The tire pressure label lists the recom­
mended 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 manufactured.
For recommended tire pressures for nor­
mal load conditions, please see chapter
~page 247.
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 prop­
erly~
page 136, Loading the luggage com­
partment.
In a collision, the laws of physics mean that
even smaller items that are loose in the vehi­
cle will become heavy missiles that can cause
serious injury. Items in the vehicle possess en­
ergy which vary with 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 suddenly 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 collision like this.
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 personal injury.
-Always use suitable mounting straps and properly secure items to the tie-downs in
.
•
•

166 Airbag system
experience, informat ion and specia l
too ls necessary to perform the work
safely.
- If the vehicle or the c ircuit interrupter
is scrapped, all applicable safety pre­
cautions must be followed.
@ For the sake of the environment
Undeployed a irbag modu les and preten­
sioners might be classified as Perchlorate Material - special handling may apply, see
www.dtsc.ca.gov/haza rdo uswaste/per­
chlorate. When the vehicle or parts of the
restraint system including airbag modules
and safety bel ts w it h pretens ioners are
s crapped, a ll applicable laws and regula­
tions mus t be observed. Your au thori zed
Aud i dea le r i s familiar with these requ ire­
ments an d we recommend that you have
your dea ler perfo rm this se rv ice for you.
Other things that can affect Advanced
Airbag performance
Changing the vehicle's suspension system can
change the way that the Advanced A irbag Sys­
tem pe rforms in a crash. For example, us ing
tire-r im combina tions not app roved by Aud i,
lowe ring the vehicle, ch anging the stiffness o f
the suspension, incl uding the springs, s uspen ­
sion struts, shock absorbers etc. can change
the forces that are measured by the a irbag
sensors and sent to the electronic control
un it. Some suspension changes can, for exam­
p le, increase the force levels measured by the
sensors a nd make the airbag system deploy in
crashes in w hich it would not dep loy if the
changes had not been made . Other kinds of
ch an ges may reduce the force levels meas ­
u re d by the sensors and prevent the airbag
from deploying when it sho uld .
The senso rs in the safety belt buckle fo r th e
d river a nd front p asse nger sea t tell the elec ­
tronic control module if the safety belt is
l atched or not .
If the safety belt is being used,
the front airbag will dep loy at a slightly high­
er rate of vehicle deceleration than if the safe­
ty belt is not being used. Therefore, in a par- t
icu lar collisio n, it is possible that an airbag
will not dep loy at a seat ing position where the
safety belt is be ing used b ut w ill inflate at the
pos ition where the safety belt is not be ing
used. It is important that nothing interfere
with t he safety be lt buckles so that the sen ­
sors can send the correct info rmation about
safety belt use to the electronic control un it .
_&. WARNING
Changi ng the vehicle's suspension includ ­
i ng use of unapp roved tire-rim combin a­
tions can change Advanced Airbag per­
formance an d increase the risk of serious
pe rsonal injury in a crash .
- Never install s uspension components
that do not have the same pe rformance
characteristics as the components o rigi­
na lly installed on your vehicle.
- Never use tire-rim combinations that
have not been approved by Audi.
Knee airbags
Description of knee airbags
App lies to vehicles : wi th knee airbags
The knee airbag system can provide supple­
mental protection to properly restrained
front seat occupants .
Fig. 1 65 Driver 's knee a irbag
T he dr iver knee airbag is in the ins trument
pane l underneath the steering wheel
~ fig. 165, the airbag for the passenger is at
about the same height in the instrument pan-
el underneat h the glove compartment. .,.

210 Trailer towing
Make sure that the cooling system has eno ugh
fluid .
Tire p res sure
When tow ing a trai le r, inflate the t ires of your
vehi cle to the co ld tire pressure listed under
"Full load" on the label located on the driver's
side B-pillar (visible when the door is open) .
Inflate trailer t ires to trai ler and tire manufac­
turers' specifications.
Lights
Chec k to make s ure both veh icle and trailer
lights are working properly.
Safety chains
Be sure tra iler safety cha ins are properly con­
nected from the trailer to the hitch on the ve­
h icle. Leave enough slack in the chains to per ­
mit turn ing corners . When you install safety
cha ins, make su re they wi ll not drag on the
road when yo u are driving.
The chains shou ld cross under the tra iler
tongue to prevent it from dropping in case of
separation from the hitch.
Adjusting the Audi drive select
Make sure the vehicle is on a level su rface be­
for e
hitching up the tra ile r and b efor e adjust­
ing the tongue weight. The vehicle must be in
auto or comfort dr iving mode and no t raised
qpage 102, q(D _
Make sure that the vehicle is lowered. In Info­
tainment , se lect:
ICARI f u nction button> Low­
e r
control b utton .
I f you m ust dr ive under poor road co ndit ions,
you can raise the veh icle
aft er coup ling the
tra iler or
after adjusting the tong ue weig ht
q page 104.
-Changes in tempe ratu re or load can af­
fect the heig ht of the veh icle.
- Always se lect
auto or comfort mode.
Otherwise, the tongue load spec ified for
your vehicle will no longer be applicable.
Driving instructions
Driving with a trailer always requires extra
care and consideration .
To obtain the best possible handling of vehicle
and trailer, please note the fo llow ing:
.,. Do not tow a loaded t railer when yo ur car it­
self is not loaded.
.,. Be especially careful when passing other
veh icles.
.,. Observe speed limits .
.,. Do not dr ive at the max imum permissib le
speed.
.,. Always app ly brakes early .
.,. Mon itor the tempe ratu re ga uge.
Weight distribut ion
T owing a loaded trailer with an empty car re­
su lts in a highly unstable distribution of
we ight. If this cannot be avoided, drive at very
low speeds on ly to avoid t he risk of losing
steering con tro l.
A "ba lanced " rig is easier to ope rate and con­
t ro l. This means that the tow vehicle should
be loaded to the extent possible and permissi­
ble , while keep ing the trai ler as light as possi ­
ble under the c ircumstances . Whenever poss i­
ble , transfer some cargo to the luggage com ­
partment of the tow veh icle while observing
tong ue load requirements and vehicle load ing
considerations.
Speed
The higher the speed, the more difficu lt it be ­
comes for the driver to control the rig . Do not
drive at the maximum permissib le speed. Re­
duce your speed even more if load, weather or
wind conditions are unfavorable -particularly
whe n going downhill.
Red uce veh icle speed
immediately if the trail­
er shows the slightest s ign of sway ing .
Do not
try to stop the s way ing b y accele rating .
Observe speed limits . In some a reas, speeds
for vehicles tow ing tra ilers are lower than for
regular veh icles . .,.

24 4 T ire s and wheel s
-Never mount used tires on yo ur vehicle if
you are not sure of their "previous histo­
ry." Old used tires may have been dam­
aged even though the damage cannot be
seen that can lead to sudden t ire failure
and loss of vehicle control.
- If you notice unusual vibration or if the
vehicle pulls to one side when driving, al­
ways stop as soon as it is safe to do so
and check the wheels and tires for dam­
age.
(D Note
Please note that summer and winter tires
are designed for the cond itions that are
Glossary of tire and loading terminology
Accessory weight
means t he comb ined we ight (in excess of
those sta ndard items which may be rep laced)
of au toma tic tra nsmission, power steer ing,
power brakes, power windows, power seats,
radio, and heater, to the extent that th ese
items are availab le as factory -installed equip­
ment (whether installed or not) .
Aspect ratio
means t he ratio of the he ight to the w idth of
the tire in percent . Numbers of 55 or lower in ­
dicate a low sidewall for improved steering re­
sponse and better overall handling on dry pavement .
Bead
means the part of the ti re that is made of
steel wires, wrapped or reinforced by ply cords
and that is shaped to fit the rim.
Bead separation
means a b reakdown of the bond between
components in the bead.
Cord
means the strands forming the plies in the
tire . typ
ica l in those seasons . Audi recommends
using winter tires during the winter
months . Low temperatures signif icant ly
decrease the e lasticity of summer tires,
which affects tract ion and brak ing ability.
If summer tires are used in very co ld tem­
peratures, cracks ca n form on the tread
bars, res ulting in permanent tire damage
that can cause loud driving no ise and un­
balan ced t ires. Audi is not responsible for
th is type of damage .
Cold tire inflation pressure
means the tire p ressu re recommended by t he
vehicle manufacturer fo r a tire of a des igna ted
s iz e that has not bee n driven for more than a
coup le of miles (k ilometers) at low speeds in
t h e three hour period before the tire pressure
is measured or adjusted.
Curb weight
mea ns the we ight of a motor ve hicl e w ith
standard equipment including the max imum
capacity of fuel, oil, and coolant, air condi ­
tioning and additional weight of optiona l
equipment.
Extra load tire
me ans a t ire design to operate at higher loads
and at h igher inflation pressures than the cor­
responding standard tire . Extra load tires may
be identified as "XL", "x l" , "EXTRA LOAD", or
"RF" on the sidewall.
Gross A xle Weight Rating ("GAWR ")
means the lo ad -c a rry ing c apac ity of a s ingle
axle system , measured a t the tire-ground in­
terfaces.
Gross Vehicle Weight Rating ("GVWR ")
mea ns the maximum total loaded we ight of
t h e ve hicl e. .,.

Groove
means the space between two adjacent tread
ribs.
Load rating (code)
means the maximum load that a tire is rated
to carry for a given inflation pressure. You
may not find this information on all tires be­
cause it is no t req uired by law.
Maximum load rating
means the load rating for a t ire at the max i­
mum permissible inflation pressure 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 pressure
means the maximum cold inflation pressure
to which a tire may be inflated. Also called "maximum inflation pressure."
Normal occupant weight
means 150 lbs. (68 kilograms) times the
number of occupants seated in the vehicle up
to the total seating capacity of your vehicle.
Occupant distribution
means distribution of occupants in a vehicle.
Outer diameter
means the overa ll diamete r of an inflated new
tire.
Overall width
means the linear distance between the exteri­
ors of the sidewalls of an inflated tire, includ ­
in g elevations due to labeling, decorations, or
protective bands or ribs.
Ply
means a layer of rubber-coated parallel cords.
Tires and wheels 245
Production options weight
means the combined weight of those installed
regular production options we ighing over 5
lbs. (2.3 kg) in excess of those standard items
which they replace, not previously considered
in curb weight or accessory weight, including
heavy duty brakes, ride levelers, roof rack,
heavy duty battery, and spec ial tr im .
Radial ply tire
means a pneumatic tire in which the ply cords
that extend to the beads are laid at substan­
tia lly 90 degrees to the center line of the
tread .
Recommended inflation pressure
see ¢ page 244, Cold tire inflation pressure.
Reinforced tire
means a t ire design to operate at higher loads
and at h igher inflation pressures than the cor­
re sp onding standard tire. Reinforced tires
may be identified as "XL", "xl", "EXTRA LOAD",
or "RF" on the sidewa ll.
Rim
means a metal support for a tire or a t ire and
tube assembly upon which the tire beads are
seated.
Rim diameter
means nom inal diameter of the bead seat. If
you change your wheel s ize, you will have to
purchase new tires to match the new rim di­
ameter.
Rim size designation
means r im diameter and width .
Rim width
means nominal distance between rim flanges .
Sidewall
means that portion of a tire between the
tread and bead.
•
•

246 Tires and wheels
Speed rating (letter code)
means the speed at wh ic h a tir e is des igned to
be d riven for extended per io d s of t ime. The
ratings range from 93 mph (150 km/h) to
186 mph (298 km/h)
¢ page 255. You may
not find this in format ion on all tires because
it is not required by law.
The speed rating letter code, w here a pplica­
b le, is molded on the tire s idewa ll and indi­
cates the maxim um permissible road speeds
¢ &. in Winter tires on page 259.
Tire pressure monitoring sy stem*
means a system tha t d etects when one or
mo re of a vehicle's t ires are under inflated and
i llum inates a low t ire p ress ure warn ing te ll­
tale.
Tread
means t hat port ion of a tire tha t comes into
con tact w it h t he road.
Tread separation
means pull ing away of the t read from the t ire
car cass .
Treadwear indicators (TWI)
means t he projections withi n the pr inc ipal
g rooves designed to give a v isua l ind ication of
the deg rees of wea r of the tre ad . See
¢
pag e 253, Tread W ear Indicator (TWI) for
mo re inf ormat io n on measu ring tire we ar.
Uniform Tire Quality Grading
is a tire i nfo rmation system developed by the
United States Nat io nal Highway Traffic Safety
Admin istration (N HTSA) that is designed to
h e lp buye rs make re lative compa risons among
tires. The UT QG i s no t a safety r ating and no t a
g uar antee t hat a t ire will las t fo r a presc ribed
n umber of m iles (kilome ters) or pe rform in a
certain way. It s imply gives ti re bu ye rs addi­
tional information to combine with other con -s
iderations, such as p rice , brand loya lty and
dealer recommendations. Un der UTQ G, tires
are grade d by the t ire manufacturers in three
areas : treadwea r, traction, and temperature
resistance. The UTQG informat ion on the tires,
molded into the sidewalls .
U.S. DOT Tire Identification Number (TIN )
This is the tire's "se ria l numbe r" . It be gins
with the letters "DOT" and ind icates that the
t ire meets all federa l standards . The next two
numbers or letters ind icate the plant where it
was ma nufactu red, and the last four numbe rs
r eprese nt the week and year of ma nufact ure.
Fo r exampl e,
DOT ... 2213 ...
means that the tire was produced in t he 22nd
wee k of 2013. The ot her numbers are market­
ing codes that may or may not be used by the
t ire manufacturer. This information is used to
contact consumers i f a tire defect requires a
r ecall .
Vehicle capacity weight
means the rated cargo and luggage load plus
150 lbs. (68 k ilograms) times the vehicle's to­
ta l seating capacity as listed on the label lo­
cated on the driver's side B-pilla r.
Vehicle maximum lo ad on the tire
means that load on an individua l tire that is
determined by distributing to eac h axle its
share of the maxim um loaded vehicle weight
and divid ing by two .
Vehicle normal load on the tire
means that load on an individua l t ir e that is
determined by distributing to eac h ax le its
share of the curb weight, accessory weight,
and normal occ upant weig ht (d istr ibuted in
accorda nce wit h tab le below ¢
page 247)
and divid ing by two .

Tires and wheels 247
Occupant loading and distribution for vehicle normal load fo r various d esignated seat ing
capaci tie s
Designated seating capacity , Vehicle normal load , number Occupant distribution in a nor-
number of occupants of occupants mally loaded vehicle
4 2 2 in front
5
3 2 in front, 1 in back seat
Cold tire inflation pressure
Tire pressure affects the overall handling, performance and safety of a vehicle.
Fig. 2 00 Tire pressu re lab el: located o n drive r's side B­
p ill ar
Tire pressure generally refers to the amo unt
of air in a t ire that it needs it to do its job and
safely car ry the combined load of the entire
vehicle and its contents . T ire pressure is
measured in kilopascals (kPa) , the interna ­
tional measu ring unit and in pounds per
s quare inch (PSI). Tire p ressure is based in
part on the vehicle's design and load limit -
the greatest amount of weight that the vehi ­
cle can carry safely and the t ire size . The prop­
er tire pressure is frequent ly referred to as the
" recommended cold tire inf lation pressure ."
Air in the tires expands when the ti re heats up
beca use of internal fri ct ion when it flexes in
use. The tire p ressure is higher when the tire
has warmed up than when it is "cold ." It is the
inflat ion p ressure in a "cold" ti re that counts.
Therefore, you should never let air out of a
warm tire to match "cold tire inflation p res­
sure" recommendations. The t ires would then
be underinflated and could fail suddenly .
Maintaining proper tire pre ssure is one of the
most important things you can do to help
avoid sudde n tire failure . Underinflated t ires
are a majo r cause of sudden tire failure . Keep­
i ng tires at the r ight pressure is also impor-
-"' --~ -- ,e
• (:::=~. ~: I =: I :,.. I)( ::: ) l3 n,........,..,.__...,~ ........ ....,_...... • ... _ .. , ....................................... ..,_ "" ..
-""u
--
-...........
- KPA. a PSI
-KPA. a PSI
-KPA. a PSI
Fi g. 201 Ti re pres sure label
tant for safe and respons ive ve hicle hand ling,
tra ction, braking and load carrying.
Tir e pre s­
sure s are parti cul arly important when the
v ehicle i s being dr iven at higher sp eed s, and
then e speciall y when hea vily loaded even
withi n the pe rmissible load -carrying capaci­
t ies app roved for your veh icle .
The recommended t ire pressures for your Audi
depend on th e kind of tires on your vehicle
and the n umber of passengers and/or amount
of luggage you will be transporting.
The tire pressure label is located on the driv­
er 's side B-pillar. The tire pressure labe l lists
the recommended cold tire inflat ion pressures
for the vehicle at its maximum capacity
weight and tires that were on your veh icle at
the time it was manufactured .
If you wish to imp ro v e co mfort when operat­
ing the vehicle at normal lo ad (up to 2 /3*
occup ants ), you can adju st ti re pres sures to
those specified for normal v ehicle load . Be­
fore operating the vehicl e at maximum load ,
you must increase th e tire pre ssu res to tho se
spe cified for maximum v ehicl e load
¢ ,&. . IJi,,-

248 Tires and wheels
Bear in mind that the tire press ure monitoring
system* can only monitor the tire pressures
you have stored . The system does not recog ­
n ize the load condit ion of yo ur vehicle.
T he effectiveness of the tire p ressu re monitor ­
ing system * will be impaired if you store nor­
mal load pressures but the n operate the vehi ­
cle at its max imum load
c:> &. .
See the i llustra tion c:> fig. 2 00 for the location
of the la b el on dr iver's side B-pillar (co lor of
the act ua l labe l and exact location on the ve ­
h icle w ill vary slig htly).
Model / Tire designation
Note that the fo llowing ta ble is acc urate at
t h e time of going to press and is s ubject to
c h ange . In the event of d iscrepancies, the t ire
pressure label is located on the d river's side B­
pillar always takes precedence.
T he table below lists t he recommen ded cold
t ir e inflat ion pressu res for the Audi mode l
cove red by your Owner's Lite rat ure at the vehi ­
cle's capacity weig ht and the t ire sizes instal­
l ed on the respective models as or ig inal
equipmen t, or as a factory opt ion.
Tire pressure
Engine normal load condition full load condition
fronta > reara
>
front rear
PSI kPA PSI kPA PSI kPA PSI kPA
A7 : 235/55 Rl 7 99Y
32 220 29 200 35 240
38 260 3.0 liter High Performance
6-cylinder 255/45 R18 99H
All Season
3 2 2 20 29 200 35 24 0 3 8 260
255/45 Rl8 99Y 32 220 29 200
35 2
4 0
38 260
High Perfo
rmance
255 /40 R19 lOOH XL
35 240 32 220 38 260 280 All Season 4 1
255/40 Rl9100YXL
36 2 50 32 220 38 260 41 280 High Performance
265/35 R20 99H XL
35 240
32 220 38 260 41
280 All Season
265 /35 R20 99Y XL
36 250 32 22 0 38 26 0 41 280 High Performance
S7: 255/40 Rl9 lOOY XL
39
270
33 230
42 290 42 290 4.0 liter High Performance
a-cylinder 265/35 R20 99V XL
High Performance
41 280 35 240 44 300 44 300
XL= reinforced or extra load tire. It may also appear as xl, EXTRA LOAD, or RF on the tire side-
wall.
al no
rm al load co ndi tio n r:::., page 24 7.
The correct tire pressure for the spare wheel is
l ocated o n a label o n the dr ive r's side B -pillar .
Because technical changes may be made to
ve hicle equ ipment dur ing the model year, a l­
ways compare the tire size designation on the
tire pressure labe l on your vehicle w it h the t
ires on you r vehicle. Make sure that the tire
s ize informa tion on the vehicle labe l is the
same as the size o f the tires on the veh icle .

This is especially important if the vehicle be­l ongs to someone else or you bought the vehi­
cle with different rims/tires or you bought the
veh icle as a previously owned vehicle.
Remember, your safety and that of your pas­
sengers also depends on making sure that l oad limits are not exceeded . Vehicle load in­
cludes everybody and everything in and on the
vehicle. These load limits are technically refer­ red to as the vehicle's Gross Vehicle Weight
Rati ng ( "GVWR") . The Gross Axle Weight Rat­
i ng ("GAWR") is the maximum load that can
be applied at each of the veh icle 's two axles.
The G ross Vehicle We ight Rating and the
Gross Axle We ight Rating are listed on the
safety compliance sticker labe l located on the
driver's side B -pillar . The tire pressure label on
your Audi lists the maximum combined
weight of all of the occupants and luggage or
other cargo that the vehicle can carry. For the
locat io n of the tire pressure label¢
fig . 200 .
.,&. WARNING
Overloading a vehicle can cause loss of ve ­
hicle control, a crash or other accident, se­
rious personal inju ry, and even death.
- Carry ing more weight than yo ur vehicle
was designed to ca rry will p revent the
vehicle from hand ling p roperly and in­
crease the ris k of a loss of veh icle con­
t ro l.
- T he bra kes on a veh icle that h as been
overloaded may not be able to stop the
vehicle within a safe distance .
- T ires on a vehicle that has been overload­
ed can fail suddenly causing loss of con ­
tro l and a c rash.
- Always make sure that the tota l load be­
ing transported -includ ing the weight of
a tra iler hitc h and the tongue weight of a
loaded trailer -does not make the veh i­
cle heav ier than the veh icle's Gross Vehi­
cle Weight Rating.
Tire s an d wheel s 249
.,&. WARNING
-Incorrect tire pressures and/or underin­
f lation can lead to a ser ious or fatal acci ­
dent .
- Incorrect tire pressures and/or underin­
f lation cause increased tire wear and can
affect the handl ing of the vehicle .
- Incorrect tire pressures and/or underin ­
f lation can a lso lead to sudden t ire fail­
ure, including a blowout and sudden de­
f lation , causing loss of veh icle cont ro l.
Checking tire pressure
The correct tire pressure for the tires original­
ly installed on your vehicle is listed on the tire
pressure label located on driver's side 8-pil­ lar.
The recommended tire pressures are on the
t ire p ress ure label and i n the table
¢ page 247, Cold tire inflation pressure.This
means th at the pressure m ust be chec ked and
adjusted when the t ire has not been dr iven for
more than a couple of miles (kilometers) at
l ow speeds d uring the previous th ree ho urs .
Air in the tires expands when the tire heats up
as a result of internal frict ion as it flexes in
use. The tire pressure is higher when the tire
has warmed up than when it is "cold."
It is the inflation pressure in a "cold" tire that
counts. Therefore, you should never let a ir out
o f a warm tire to match "Cold t ire inflat io n
pressure" recommendat ions ¢
page 247 . The
ti res wou ld then be unde rinflated and co uld
fail suddenly .
The tire pressure label on your Audi lists the recommended co ld tire inflation pressures at
max imum capacity for the new, or ig inal
equipment tires that were on your ve hicle at
t h e time it was ma nufactu red. For the lo ca­
t ion o f the labe l¢
page 247, fig. 200.
Most t ires lose air naturally ove r time . They
can a lso lose some air if yo u drive over a pot­
ho le or hit a curb while par king.
It is usually
not poss ible to see whether the rad ia l t ires ...,
•
•

250 Tire s and wheel s
used today are underinflated just by looking
at them.
Therefore, be sure to check tire pressures at least once a month and always before going
on a long tr ip. Make sure to take the number
of people and the amount of luggage into ac­
count when adjusting tire pressure for a trip -
even one that you would not consider to be
"long." See
c> page 251, Tires and vehicle
load limits
for more important information .
Always use an accurate tire pressure gauge
when checking and adjusting inflation pres­
sures . Check all of the t ires and be sure not to
forget the spare tire . If the pressure in any tire
i s too high when the tire is "cold," let air out
of the tire slowly with the edge of the tire
gauge and keep checking the pressure unt il
you reach the pressu re that is correct for the
l oad (passengers and luggage) and kind of
driving you plan to do.
I f the p ress ure in any tire is too low, note the
d ifference between the pressure in the cold
tire and the pressure you need and add the a ir
that you need to reach the correct pressure for
the vehicle load (passengers and luggage) for
the tires on your veh icle as listed on the on
you r veh icle and in this manual and the k ind
of dr iving you plan to do.
Ne ver e xceed the m aximum inflation pre s­
su re li sted on the ti re sidewall for an y rea ­
son.
Remember that the vehicle manufacturer, not
the tire manufacturer, determines the correct
tire p ressure fo r the t ires on your vehicle .
It is important to check the tire pressu re when
the tires are cold.
- Read the requ ired t ire p ress ure from the tire
pressure label. The ti re pressu re labe l is lo ­
cated on the drive r's side 8-pi llar.
- T urn the valve stem cap counter- clockwise
to remove i t from the tire valve.
- Place the air pressu re gauge on the valve .
- The tire pressures should only be checked
and adjusted when the tires a re cold . The slightly raised pressures of warm tires must
not be reduced.
- Adjust the tire pressure to the load you are
carrying.
- Reins tall the valve stem cap on the va lve.
When sh ould I check the tire pressure?
The correct tire pressure is especially impor­
tant at h igh speeds. The pressure should
the refore be checked at least once a mo nth
and always before starting a jo urney. Do not
f orget to c heck the ti re p ress ure fo r the spare
whee l
i=;,poge 265.
When should I adjust the tire pressures?
Adjust the tire pressure to the load you are
ca rrying. After changing a whee l
or replaci ng
whee ls yo u have to adj ust the ti re press ures
on all whee ls. In addition, you m ust then
store the new tire pressures in the tire pres­
s u re monito ring system*
c> page 261.
A WARNING ~
Incorrect tire pressures and/or underinfla-
tion can lead sudden tire fa ilure, loss of
control, collision, serious personal injury
or even death.
- When the warn ing symbol
RI] appears in
the instrument cluster, stop and inspect
the t ires.
- Incorrect tire pressure and/or underinfla­
tion can cause increased tire wear and can affect the handling of the vehicle and
stopping ability .
- Inco rrect tire pressures and/or underin­
flation can a lso lead to sudden t ire fail­
ure, including a blowou t and sudden de­
flation, ca us ing loss of veh icle cont ro l.
- The drive r is responsible for the co rrect
tire pressures for all tires on the veh icle.
T he applicable pressure values are loca t­
ed on a sticke r on the dr iver's s ide 8-pil­
lar .
- On ly when all tires on the vehicle are fil­
led to the correct pressu re, the t ire pres ­
sure monitoring* system can work cor­ rectly.