steering wheel AUDI Q7 2012 Owner´s Manual

-when the weight on the front passenger
seat as sensed by the Advanced Airbag Sys­
tem indicates that the front airbag on the
passenger side has to be turned off by the
electronic control unit (the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on)
A WARNING
Sitting in the wrong position can increase
the risk of serious injury in crashes.
- To reduce the risk of injury when the air­
bags inflate, the driver and passengers
must always sit in an upright position,
must not lean against or place any part
of their body too close to the area where
the airbags are located.
- Occupants who are unbelted, out of posi­
tion or too close to the airbag can be se­
riously injured by an airbag as it unfolds
with great force in the blink of an eye
c> page 181.
A WARNING -
A child in a rearward-facing child safety
seat installed on the front passenger seat
will be seriously injured and can be killed if
the front airbag inflates -even with an Ad­
vanced Airbag System.
- The inflating airbag will hit the child
safety seat or infant carrier with great
force and will smash the child safety seat
and child against the backrest, center
armrest, door or roof.
- Always install rear-facing child safety
seats on the rear seat.
- If you must install a rearward-facing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptional circumstan­
ces and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on and stay on, im­
mediately install the rear-facing child
safety seat in a rear seating position and
have the airbag system inspected by your
authorized Audi dealer .
Airbag system 189
A WARNING
Objects between you and the airbag will
increase the risk of injury in a crash by in­
terfering with the way the airbag unfolds
or by being pushed into you as the airbag inflates .
- Never hold things in your hands or on
your lap when the vehicle is in use.
- Never transport items on or in the area
of the front passenger seat . Objects
could move into the area of the front air­
bags during braking or other sudden ma­
neuvers and become dangerous projec­
tiles that can cause serious personal in­
jury if the airbags inflate.
- Never place or attach accessories or oth­
er objects (such as cupholders, tele­
phone brackets, large, heavy or bulky ob­
jects) on the doors, over or near the area marked "AIRBAG" on the steering wheel,
instrument panel, seat backrests or be­
tween those areas and yourself . These
objects could cause injury in a crash, es­
pecially when the airbags inflate.
- Never recline the front passenger's seat
to transport objects. Items can also
move into the area of the side airbag or
the front airbag during braking or in a sudden maneuver. Objects near the air­
bags can become projectiles and cause
injury, particularly when the seat is re­
clined.
- Never tilt the front passenger seat back­
rest forward when the vehicle is moving.
An inflating airbag will force the back­
rest backward and can injure rear seat oc­
cupants.
A WARNING
The fine dust created when airbags deploy
can cause breathing problems for people
with a history of asthma or other breath­ ing conditions.
-
- To reduce the risk of breathing problems,
those with asthma or other respiratory
.___ c_ o_ n_ d_ it_ i_o _ ns_ sh_o_ u_ l_ d _:g:_ e_ t _f_re _s_ h_ a_ i_r _ri ..:::g :....h _t __
_J ~
•
•

(D Tips
If the weight-sensing mat in the front pas­
senger seat detects an empty seat, the
front airbag on the passenger side will be
turned off, and the
PASS ENGER AIR B AG
OFF light w ill stay on .
Repair, care and disposal of the airbags
Parts of the a irbag system are installed at
many different places on your Audi. Installing,
removing, serv icing o r repairing a part in an
area of the vehicle can damage a part o f an
ai rbag system and prevent that system from
working properly in a co llision.
There are some important things you have to know to make sure that the effect iveness of
the system will not be impai red and that dis­
carded components do not cause injury or po l­
lute the environment.
A WARNING
-Improper care, servicing and repair proce­
dures can increase the risk of personal in­
jury and death by preventing an airbag from deploy ing when needed or deploying
an airbag unexpectedly:
- Never cover, obstruct, or change the steering wheel ho rn pad or airbag cover
or the instrument pane l or modify them
in any way .
- Never attach any objects such as cu­
pholders or telephone mountings to the
surfaces covering the airbag uni ts.
- For cleaning the horn pad or instrument
pane l, use only a soft, d ry clo th or one
moistened w ith plain water. Solvents or
cl eaners co uld damage the airbag cover
or change the stiffness o r strength of the
material so that the airbag cannot de­
ploy and protect properly.
- Never repa ir, adjust, or change any parts
of the airbag system.
- All wo rk on the stee ring wheel, inst ru ­
ment pane l, front seats or electrical sys­
tem (incl uding the installation of aud io
equipment, cellular telephones and CB
A irbag system 193
radios, etc.) must be performed by a
qualif ied technic ian who has the training
and specia l equipment necessary.
- For any work on the airbag system, we
strongly recommend that yo u see your
authorized Audi dealer or qualified work­
shop.
- Never modify the front bumper or parts
of the vehicle body.
- Always make sure that the s ide a irbag
can inflate without interference:
- Never install seat covers or rep lace­
ment upholste ry over the front se at­
backs tha t have not been specifically
approved by Audi.
- Never use addi tional seat c ushions that
cover the areas where the side ai rbags
inflate.
- Damage to the orig inal seat covers or
to the seam in the area of the side ai r­
bag module must a lways be repaired
i mmediately by an author ized Audi
dealer.
- The airbag system can be activated only
once . After an airbag has inflated, it
must be replaced by an authorized Aud i
dea ler or qualified technician who has
the technical information, training and
specia l equipment necessary .
- The airbag system can be deployed only once . After an airbag has been deployed,
it must be replaced with new replace­
ment pa rts designed and approved espe­
cially fo r you r A udi model version . Re­
placement of complete airbag systems
or airbag components must be pe r­
formed by qualified workshops on ly .
Make sure that any airbag serv ice action
is entered in your Audi Warranty
& Main­
tenance booklet unde r
AIRBAG REPLACE­
MENT RECORD .
-For safety reasons in severe accidents,
the alternator and starter are separated
from the veh icle ba ttery with a pyrotech­
nic circuit inte rrupte r.
- Work on the pyrotechnic circuit inte r­
r upter m ust only be performe d by a
qualified dea ler -risk of an accident! •
•

-Always install rear-facing child safety
seats on the rear seat.
- If you must install a rearward facing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat in exceptional circumstances and
the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not come on and stay on, immediately
install the rear-facing child safety seat in
a rear seating position and have the air­
bag system inspected immediately by
your Audi dealer.
_& WARNING
If, in exceptional circumstances, you must
install a forward-facing child restraint on
the front passenger's seat:
- Always make sure the forward-facing
seat has been designed and certified by its manufacturer for use on a front seat
with a passenger front and side airbag.
- Always follow the manufacturer's in­
structions provided with the child safety
seat or carrier.
- Always move the passenger seat into its
rearmost position in the seat's fore and
aft adjustment range, as far away from
the airbag as possible before installing
the child restraint. The backrest must be adjusted to an upright position .
- Always make sure that the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays
on all the time whenever the ignition is
switched on.
(D Tips
Always replace child restraints that were
installed in a vehicle during a crash. Dam­
age to a child restraint that is not visible
could cause it to fail in another collision
situation.
Advanced front airbag system and children
Your vehicle is equipped with an "Advanced
Airbag System" in compliance with United
States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
Child Safety 201
(FMVSS) 208 as applicable at the time your
vehicle was manufactured.
The Advanced Airbag system in your vehicle
has been certified to meet the "low-risk" re­
quirements for 3- and 6-year old children on
the passenger side and small adults on the driver side. The low risk deployment criteria
are intended to reduce the risk of injury
through interaction with the airbag that can
occur, for example, by being too close to the
steering wheel and instrument panel when
the airbag inflates . In addition, the system
has been certified to comply with the "sup­
pression" requirements of the Safety Stand­
ard, to turn off the front airbag for infants up
to 12 months who are restrained on the front
passenger seat in child restraints that are list­
ed in the Standard.
Even though your vehicle is equipped with an
Advanced Airbag system, all children, espe­ cially those 12 years and younger, should al­
ways ride in the back seat properly restrained
for their age and si ze. The airbag on the pas­
senger side makes the front seat a potentially dangerous place for a child to ride . The front
seat is not the safest place for a child in a for­
ward-facing child safety seat. It can be a very
dangerous place for an infant or a larger child
in a rearward-facing seat .
Advanced Airbags and the weight­
sensing mat in the front seat
The Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle
detects the presence of an infant or child in a
child restraint on the front passenger seat us­
ing the weight -sensing mat in the seat cush­
ion and the sensor below the safety belt latch
on the front passenger seat that measures the
tension on the safety belt.
The weight -sensing mat measures total
weight of the child and the child safety seat
and a child blanket on the front passenger seat. The weight on the front passenger seat
is related to the design of the child restraint
and its "footprint", the size and shape of the
bottom of the child restraint as it sits on the ..,.
•
•

Intelligent technology Notice about data
recorded by vehicle
control modules
Your vehicle is not equipped with an Event Da­
ta Recorder (EDR), installed by some manu­
facturers for the express purpose of capturing
data for retrieval after an accident or crash
event. EDRs are sometimes called "crash re­
corders".
Some state laws restrict the retr ieval or down­
loading of data stored by EDRs that were in­
stalled in a vehicle for the express purpose of
retrieving data after an accident or crash
event without the owner's consent.
Although your vehicle is not equipped with an
EDR, it is equipped with a number of electron­
ic control modules for various vehicle systems
such as, for example, engine function, emis­
sion control, as well as for the airbags and
safety belts.
These electronic control modules also record
vehicle-related data during norma l vehicle op­
eration for diagnostic and repair purposes.
The recording capacity of the electronic con­
trol modules is limited to data (no sound is re­
corded) and only a small amount of data is ac­
tually recorded over a very limited period of
time and stored when a system fault or other
condition is sensed by a control unit. Some of
the data then stored may relate to vehicle
speed, direction, braking as we ll as restraint
system use and performance in the event of a
crash or other condition. Stored data can only be read and downloaded with special equip­
ment.
Intelligent technology 219
Electronic Stability
Control (ESC)
General information
The ESC improves the vehicle stability.
. ..---------..
------- -
Fig. 218 Center console with ESC sw itch
ESC is designed to help you maintain vehicle
control in situations where the car approaches
the limits of "grip", especially when accelerat­
ing and cornering. ESC reduces the risk of
skidding and improves stability under all road
condit ions .
The system operates across the entire speed range in combination with the ABS system. If
the Anti-Lock Brake System (ABS) malfunc­
tions, the ESC will also shut down.
How the system works
The Anti-Lock Brake System (ABS), Electronic
Differential Lock (EDL) and the Anti-Slip Regu­
lation System (ASR) are integrated in the Elec­
tronic Stability Control. In addition to the da­
ta provided by these functions, the ESC con­
trol unit requires additional measurement da­
ta provided by high performance sensors. The
rotational speed of the vehicle about its verti­
cal axis, vehicle acceleration in the fore-and­
aft and lateral directions, the brake pressure and the steering angle are all measured.
T he direction in wh ich the driver wishes to
travel is determined with the aid of the steer­
ing angle and vehicle speed and is continually
compared with the actua l behavior of the ve­
hicle. If the two do not match, for example,
when the vehicle starts hydroplaning on a wet
road, ESC will automatically brake the appro-
priate wheel to correct the problem. ..,_
•
•

220 Intellig ent technol ogy
The vehicle is then stabilized by the forces act­
ing on the whee l during braking. If the vehicle
is
oversteering (rear tends to sk id out of the
turn), the brakes are ma inly applied on the
wheel that is on the outside of the curve. In
the case of a vehicle that is
understeering
(tendency to slide out of the curve), the
brakes are applied as needed on the whee l
that is on the ins ide of the curve or addit ional­
l y on the o ther wheels. An acoustic s ignal indi­
cates when ESC b rake app lication cuts in
¢ A .
The system operates across the entire speed
range in combination with the ABS system
¢ page 223. If the Anti-Lock Brake System
(ABS) malfunctions, the ESC wi ll be out of ac­
tion as well .
Activating
When you turn on the engine, ESC w ill auto­
mat ica lly be act ivated and will perform a se lf­
test. As soon as the test is comp leted, the sys­
tem is in normal operating mode.
Offroad mod e
ESC should normally be ope rated in normal
mode because this ensures maximum vehicle
stability. If necessary, you can act ivate the
ESC offroad mode by pressing the but to n
¢ fig . 218 to obtain maximum traction and
braking ability when driving
off paved roads at
l ow speeds. In ESC offroad mode, the indica­
tor light
fi illuminates and the message Off ­
road control Warning! Red uced t ract ion
ap­
pears briefly in the display .
The ESC offroad mode can be usefu l in the fo l­
low ing except iona l situations when slip or a
h ighly effective differentia l locking function is
desirable . Examples:
- when driving with tire chains,
- when driving in deep snow or on loose
ground,
- when driving on uneven surfaces with the
wheels severe ly unloaded (articulation), and
- when rocking the vehicle loose after it has
become stuck.
When the unusua l situat ion is past, you
should shift back to the normal ESC operating mode by pushing the button again
. The mes­
sage
S tabilit y prog ram on then appears brief­
l y in the display.
H ill descent control
T he hill descent con trol is swi tched on in ESC
offroad mode . When slowly descending steep
gradients on loose gro und or when the axles
are articulated, hill descent control provides
ass istance by automatically applying the
brakes to keep vehicle speed constant. The ve­
hicle is also rendered easier to steer by selec­
t ive d istr ibut ion of braking force . H ill descent
control intervenes when:
- the acce lerator pedal is not pressed,
- the vehicle is travelling less than 12 mph
(20 km/h),
- a steep gradient is detected,
- wheel behavior indicates loose ground or
conditions with poor adhesion (e.g . a lso axle
articu lation).
Hill descent con tro l operates both d riving for­
ward and in reverse. Active hill descent con­
trol is deactivated by pressing the accelerator
pedal unti l the conditions for activation al­
ready listed are met again.
A WARNING
- The Electronic Stability Control is never­
theless subject to the laws of phys ics. It
is part icu larly important to pay attention
to this fact on wet and slippery roads. It is therefore impo rtant that you a lways
a dapt your d riving to the condit ion of the
road and traffic cond itions. Do not allow
the increased safety provided by the Electron ic Stability Control system to lull
you into accepting additional safety
risks.
- Please be aware that in ESC offroad
mode, particularly on a smooth and s lip­
pery road, the wheels may have an in­
creased tendency to spin and the vehicle
may break away - danger of skidding!
- Stability is limited in the ESC offroad
mode.

224 Intellig ent technol ogy
8_ WARNING
Although the ABS is very effective, always
remember that bra king capability is limit­
ed by t ire traction . Always adjust your dr iv­
ing spee d according to the road and t raffic
co nditions. Do no t let t he extra sa fety af­
forded by the ABS tempt you into ta king
extra risks. The ABS cannot overcome the
laws of physics.
@ Tips
- If ABS is not functioning prope rly, a
warning light will come on. See
¢page 18 .
-If a fault occurs in the ABS, the EDL is al­
so not functioning. This is indicated by
the ABS warning light .
Brake assistant
The brake assistant is designed to achieve the
optimum braking effect .
The brake assistant helps to increase the ef­
fective b rak ing power and thus to achieve a
shorter stopp ing distance. If the driver
presses the brake pedal very quickly, the brake
assistant automatica lly boosts the braking
force to the maximum level, up to the point where the anti-lock brake function (ABS) inter­
venes to stop the wheels from locking. You
should then keep the brake pedal pressed un­
til the veh icle has braked to the required
speed . The brake assistant sw itches itself off
as soo n as you re lease the brake pedal.
Automatic full braking a ssist
This funct ion allows full brak ing in spite of
h igh brake pedal forces (e .g . when the brakes
a re severely stressed because the vehicle is
fully loaded) . The driver notices th is function
throug h a reduction of pedal force and in­
creased pedal trave l. When the brake peda l is
r e leased, fu ll braking assis t switc hes off again
automatically.
I f the re is an ABS fa il ur e, the brake ass ista nt
and automatic full b rak ing ass ist are not avai l­
ab le . The brake assistant wi
ll not be operative if
there is a ma lfunction in the ABS .
8_ WARNING
-Please remember that the accident risk a l-
ways increases if you drive too fast, espe­
cially in corners or on a slippery road, or if
you follow the veh icle ahead of you too
closely. Increased r isk of an accident can­
not be compensated for even by the brake
assistant, so always maintain a safe speed.
Servotronic ® -
advanced power
steering system
The power steering systems uses the power of
the running engine to allow precise steering
with little effort.
The advanced Servotronic ® power steering
system senses the road speed and electron i­
cally adjusts power assistance to provide com­
fortab le and safe steering response exact ly
matched to the vehicle speed .
Power steer ing will not work if the engine is
off . As a result, the steering wheel will be hard
to turn .
The power steering fluid level is checked dur­
ing the scheduled maintenance services .
d) Note
If there is an electronic malfunction, ser­
votronic
will still function like a conven­
tiona l powe r steering system, providing a
constant steering support force that is no
l onger proportionate to the vehicle speed .
This is most not iceable when turning the
stee ring wheel at low speeds (fo r example
when pa rking), - more effort w ill be re­
q uired than us ua l.
- Be aware o f the different than usual
steering response and adjust your steer ­
ing force accordingly.
- Have the problem checked and set r ight
by an Audi dealer as soon as possible .

@ Tips
- When the engine is running, never hold
the steer ing whee l turned a ll the way to
the right or t o the left f or longer than 15
seconds . The power steering pump w ill
overheat the hydraulic f lu id if you keep
hol ding the steer ing wheel turned all the
way . This is likely to damage the power
steering system .
- If the power steer ing system should fail
ent irely, or if the engine is not running
(fo r example , while being towed), you
will still be able to steer the vehicle .
However ,
considerably more effort will
be required to do so.
- If the power s teer ing system should
have a leak, or is not f unct ioning proper ­
l y, contact yo ur authorized Audi deale r
immediately.
- The power stee ring system requires a
spec ially formulated hydraulic fl uid. The
power steer ing reservo ir is the one locat­
ed farthest to the rear on the left side of
the engine compartment
c> page 260.
The co rrect flu id leve l in the reservoi r is
i mportant for p roper functioning of the
power steer ing .
Driving with your
quattro ®
With all-whe el drive , oil four whe els ore driv ­
en.
General information
W ith all -whee l dr ive , power is dis tr ibuted to
a ll fo ur wheels. This happens automatica lly
dep ending on yo ur driving sty le and the road
conditions at th e time . See a lso
¢ pag e 221,
Electronic differential lock ( EDL) .
Winter tires
When driv ing in the w inter , your ve hicl e w it h
all -wheel drive has an advan tage, even with
regu lar tir es. In wint er road conditions it may
be adv isable to mount wint er tires (o r all -sea­
son t ires) for improved driveability and b rak-
Int ellig ent technolog y 225
ing: t h ese tires must be mounted on all four
wheels. See also ¢
page 289, Winter tires .
Tire chains
Where tire chains a re ma ndatory o n cer tain
roads, this no rma lly also app lies to veh icles
with all-wheel drive¢
page 290, Snow
chains.
Replacing wheels/tires
Vehicles with all-wheel drive must always have ti res of t he same s ize. A lso avo id tires
with different t read dep ths. For det ails see
page
c!;> pag e 285, New tir es and replacing
tires and wheels .
_& WARNING
A lways adj ust yo ur driv ing to road and traf­
f ic conditions. Do not let the extra safety
afforded by all-wheel drive tempt you into
taking extra risks .
-Altho ugh the all-wheel drive is very ef ­
fective, always remember that braking
capacity is lim ited by tire traction. You
should therefore not drive at excessive
speeds on icy or slippe ry road surfaces .
- On wet road surfaces, be careful not to drive too fast because the front wheels
could begin to slide o n top of the water
(aquaplaning). If th is should occur, yo u
will have no w arning from a s udden in­
cre ase in engine speed as w ith a front ­
wheel drive veh icle. Always drive at
speeds which are su ited to the road con­
ditions -risk of crash.
Energy management
Starting ability is optimized
E nergy management controls the distribution
of electrical energy and thus optimizes the
availability of electrical energy for starting the engine.
If a vehicle with a conventiona l energy system
is not drive n for a long per iod of t im e, the bat­
te ry is discharged by idling cur rent consume rs
(e .g. immobi liz e r) . In cert ain circum stan ces it ..,_
•
•

238 Trailer towing
your vehicle-trai ler combination behaves and
responds.
Backing up is difficult and requires practice.
Backing up with a trailer genera lly requi res
steering action opposite to that when backing
up your vehicle without a trailer .
Maintain a greater distance between your ve­
hicle and the one in front of you. You will need
mo re room to stop. To compensate for the
trai ler, you will need a larger than norma l
turning radius.
When passing, remember that you cannot ac ­
celerate as fast as you normally would be­
cause of the added load. Make sure you have
enough room to pass. After passing, allow
plenty of room for your trai ler before chang ­
ing lanes again.
Avoid jerky starts, sharp turns or rapid lane
changes.
(D Tips
- Do not tow a trailer during the break-in
period of your vehicle.
- If you tow a trailer, you r A ud i may re­
quire more frequent maintenance due to
the extra load
~page 319.
Parking on a slope
Do not pork on a slope with a trailer. If it can­
not be avoided , do so only ofter doing the fol­
lowing:
When parking:
.. Apply the foot brake .
.. Have someone place chocks under both the
vehicle and the trai ler wheels .
.. With chocks in p lace, slowly re lease the
brakes until the whee l chocks absorb the
load .
.. Turn the wheels towards the curb .
.. Apply the parking brake .
.. Move the selector lever to
P.
When restarting after parking:
.. Apply the foot brake .
.. Start the engine. ..
Move the selector lever to
D.
.. Release the parking brake and s low ly pull
out and away from the wheel chocks .
.. Stop and have someone retrieve the wheel
chocks .
(D Tips
If you move the selector lever of the auto­
matic transmission to
P before applying
the parking brake and before blocking the
wheels, you may have to use more force later to move the lever out of the
P posi­
tion.

-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 tire failure
and loss of vehicle control.
Glossary of tire and loading terminology
Accessory weight
means the comb ined weight (in excess of
those standard items wh ich may be rep laced)
of automa tic tra nsmission, power steering,
power br akes, power w indows, power sea ts,
radio, and heater, to the ex tent that these
items are avai lab le as factory -installed equip ­
ment (whether installed or not).
Aspect ratio
means the rat io of the height to the w idt h of
the tire in percent. Numbers of 55 or lower in ­
d icate a low sidewall fo r improved s teer ing re ­
sponse and better overall handling on dry
pavement.
Bead
means the pa rt of the t ire t hat is made o f
s teel wires, wrapped o r rein force d by ply cor ds
and that is shaped to fit the r im.
Bead separation
means a b reakdown of the bond between
components in the bead.
Cord
means the strands forming the plies in the
tire.
Cold tire infl ation pressure
means t he tire pressure recommended by the
vehicle manufacturer for a t ire of a designated
size that has not been dr iven for more than a
couple of miles (kilometers) at low speeds in
the three hour period before the tire pressure
i s measu red or adjusted.
Tire s an d wheel s 275
-If you notice un usua l vibration or if the
veh icle pulls to one side when driv ing, a l­
ways stop as soon as it is safe to do so and check the wheels and tires for dam­
age.
Curb weight
mea ns the we ight of a motor ve hicle w it h
standard equipment in cl ud ing t he maximum
capa city of fuel, o il, and coolant, ai r cond i­
tion ing a nd addi tional weig ht o f optiona l
equipment .
Extra load tire
means a t ire design to operate at h igher loads
and at higher inflation pressures than the cor­
respondi ng s tanda rd tire. Extra load tires may
be identified as "X L", "xl", "EXTRA LOA D", or
"R F" on the sidewall .
Gross Axle Weight Rating ("GAWR ")
mea ns the load-carry ing capac ity of a s ingle
axle system, measured at the tire-ground in­
te rfaces.
Gross Vehicle Weight Rating ( "GVWR ")
means the maximum total loaded we ight of
t h e ve hicle.
Groove
means the space between two adjacent tread
ribs.
Load rating (code )
means the maximum load tha t a t ire is rated
to carry for a given inflation pressure. Yo u
may not find this information on all tires be­
ca use it is not required by law.
Maximum load rating
me ans the loa d ra ti ng f or a t ire at the maxi­
mum pe rm issi ble inflat ion pressure for that
ti re .
•
•
...

284 Tires and wheels
Tire service life
The service life of tires depends on a lot of
different things including proper installation
and balancing, correct tire pressure and driv­
ing style.
Fi g. 2 39 Tire tread: tre ad wea r ind icators (TWI)
F ig. 240 Rotat ing t ires for more ev en wea r
Tread Wear Indicator (TWI)
The o rigi na l tires on your veh icle have
1/16 inch (1.6 mm) high "wear indicators"
.... N M
c::> fig . 239 running across the tread. Depend ­
i ng on the make, there will be six to eight of
them evenly p laced around the t ire. Marks on
the tire sidewa ll (for example "TWI" or other
symbols) indicate the positions of the tread
wear ind icators . Worn t ires must be replaced .
Different fig ures may apply in o ther countries
c::> & .
Tire p res sure
Incorrect tire pressure causes premature wear
a nd can cause sudden t ire blow-out. For th is
reason, tire pressure must be checked at least
once a month
c::> page 280.
Driving style
Driving fast aro und curves, heavy acce leration
and hard braking increase tire wear.
Rotating tires for more even wear
F or all four tires on your ve hicl e to h ave the
same service life, we recommend that the
front and rear t ires are rotated according to
the tire manufacturer's suggested tire rota­
tion intervals. Please remember the follow­
ing :
- Tire rotation intervals may differ from the
vehicle service inte rva ls o utlined in your
Warranty
& Maintenance booklet .
- The longer one tire is used in one location
on the vehicle, the more it wears at certain
points; therefore, we recommend that you
follow the tire manufact urer's suggested
tire rotation intervals .
- Vehi cles w ith front-wheel dr ive experience
more tread wear on the front wheels com­
pa red to all-wheel drive (quattro ®).
- Please rotate tires as shown
c::> fig. 240.
-Extra care must be taken when rotating di-
rection-specific tires
c::> page 302 .
Wheel balancing
The wheels on new ve hicles are balanced .
However, various situations during everyday
driving can cause them to become unbal ­
anced, re sulting in vibrat ions you can usually
feel through the steer ing wheel.
Un balanced whee ls must be rebalanced to
avoid excessive wear on steering, suspension
and t ires. A whee l must also be reba lanced
when a new tire is insta lled.
Incorrect wheel alignment
Incor rect wheel alig nment can cause exces ­
sive tire wear, impairing the safety of the veh i­
cle . If tires show excessive wear, have the
whee l alignment checked by an authori zed
Audi dealer or qualif ied workshop .
All-wheel driv e
Vehicles with q uattro ® mus t always have tires
of the same size, construction and tread type .
For details see
c::> page 225. ..,.