brake fluid AUDI RS7 SPORTBACK 2014 Owners Manual

Safet y fir st . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Driving Safely . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
General notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Proper occupant seating posit ions . . . 124
Driver and passenger side footwell . . . 128
Pedal area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
Stowing luggage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
R eport ing Safety Defects . . . . . . . . . . . 13 1
Safety belts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
General notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Why safety bel ts? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
Safety belts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
Safety belt p re tens ioners . . . . . . . . . . 139
Airbag system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
I mpor tant th ings to know . . . . . . . . . . 1 42
Fr ont airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
M onitoring the Advanced Airbag
System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
Knee airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
Side airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
Side curta in a irbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
Ch ild Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
Important things to know .. .. .. .. . .
C hi ld safety seats ............ .... .
Install ing a chi ld safety seat .. .. ... .
L A TC H L ower ancho rages and tethe rs
fo r ch ild ren . ............. .... .. . .
Addit io nal Informa tion
Audi pre sense .......... .. .. . .
Pr even ta ti ve passe nger p rotec tion
Vehicle operation ....... .. .. . .
Intelligent technology .. .. .. . .
N ot ice about da ta re corded by vehi cle
con trol mo dules ... .... ... .. .. .. . .
Electronic Stabilization Control (ESC) .
Rear spoiler . ... ...... ... .. .. .. . .
Braking .. .. ................. .. . .
Electro-mechanical power assist,
dynamic steering .............. .. . 168
174
179
18 2
186
187
18 7
189
189
189
189
192
193
194
Table of contents 3
Driving with your q uattro . . . . . . . . . . 195
Energy management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
Driving and environment . . . . . 198
The first 1,000 miles (1,500 km) and
afterwards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
Avoid damaging the vehicle . . . . . . . . . 199
Driving throug h water on roads . . . . . 199
Warmi ng up and coo ling down . . . . . . 199
Catalytic co nverter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
Sh utting down vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
Operate your vehicle economically a nd
min imi ze poll ution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
Vehicle care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
Vehicle care and cleaning . . . . . 203
Gener al informa tion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
Car washes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
Cleaning and care information . . . . . . 204
Fuel supply and filling your
fuel tank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
208
Gasoline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208
Fuel tank. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
Checking and filling . . . . . . . . . . . 213
Engine hood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
Engine compartment.............. 215
Engine oil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215
Engine cooling system . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220
Brake fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222
Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223
Windsh ie ld/headlight* washer
c ont ainer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227
Tires and wheels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
T ires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
T ire pressure mo nitor ing system 246
Do-it -yourself service . . . . . . . . . 2 50
What do I do now? ............ 250
E mergency warn ing triangle . . . . . . . . 250
Vehicle tool kit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250
Tire repa ir . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251
Changi ng a wheel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254
•
•

Instrument s and warnin g/indic ator ligh ts 13
Yellow indi cator li ght s
•
Engine o il level
Yellow symbols indica te a priority 2 ma lf u nc-
c> page 17
tion -Warning!
Engine oil sensor
• I
US A models : Safety systems c>page 21
c> page 18
• Battery
&1
El
Canad a models : Safety systems c>page 16
c>page 18
Tank system
~
Bl
Electronic Stabilization Control c>page 21
(ESC) ./
c>page 18
•
Windshie ld washer fluid level
c> page 21
Electronic Stabiliza tion Control
I (ESC) ./
m
Windshie ld wipers
c> page 18 c>
page 21
•
Electronic Stabilization Control
Remote control key
( E SC) ./
II c>page 74
c>page 189
rJi3
USA models :
ll
Remote contro l key
Anti-lock braking system (ABS)
c>page 76
defect ive ./
c>page 19
!9
Battery in remote control key
Canada models :
c>page 33
[I] Anti-lock braking system (ABS)
J:I
Defective light bulb warning
defect ive ./
c>page 21
c>page 19
Rear fog lig ht(s)
•
Worn brake pads
II c>page 21
c>page20
•
E lect romechan ica l par king brake
II
Head light range control
c>page 21
c>page
77
[g
Tire pressure monitoring system
Fil
adaptive light*
c> page 21
./
c>page246
m
Light-/rain sensor faulty
mm Tire pressure monitor ing system c> page 22
c:::>page246
•
Audi active lane assist*
Im
Electronic power control./ c>page 91
c:::>page20
B
Adaptive dampers*
Malfunct ion ind icator Lamp (MIL)
c>page22
•
./
c>page20
•
Transmission
c> page 108
.,
Engine speed limitation
c> page20
Ill
Electronic steering column lock
c> page 17

14 Instruments and warning/indicator lights
a
Eng ine start sys tem
¢page 17
Central ind icator light
¢pag e 18
Elect romechan ica l stee ring, dy·
n amic stee ring *./
¢pag e 194
Air s uspension *
c:::;,page 18
Sport different ia l*
c:::;,page22
R ear spoiler
c:::;,poge 192
Other indicator lights
ll
•
•
I
•
T u rn signa ls
c:::;,pog e22
Canada models: Cr uise co nt rol *
¢page 79
Ada pti ve cr uise con tro l*
¢ page 83
Adapt ive cr uise control*
¢page 83
Adapt ive cr uise control*
¢pag e 83
Aud i active lane ass ist *
c::>pag e 91
High beam
c::>page46
BRAKE /((J)) B rake system
T he light illum inates when t he ignition is
switched on. It goes out after the engine has
been started. T his in dicates that the bra ke
war ning light is functioning properly.
If the brake warning light does not light up
when the engine is cranking , there may be a
malfunction in the electrical system . In this
case, contact your Audi dealer.
If the brake system wa rn ing/indica tor light
tu rns on, there is a b rake system ma lfunction.
1111 (USA models)/ . (Canada models)
Stop vehicle and check brake fluid level
If th e i ndicato r ligh t turns on and th e mes ·
sage appe ars, pro ceed as fo llows:
.. Pull off t he road .
.. Stop the vehicle .
.,. Tur n off th e engi ne.
.,. Che ck t he b ra ke fluid level
c:::;, page 2 22.
.,. Conta ct yo ur ne arest au th oriz e d rep air fa -
c ili ty if necess ary.
Warning! Fault in brake system . Contact
dealer
If th e ABS ind icat or light 9 (USA models)/
[IJ (Canada mode ls), the ESC ind icator lig ht
J_j) and t he br ake system ind icator light
1111 ( U SA mode ls)/ . (Canada model s) tur n
o n a nd the mess age app ea rs, the A BS, ESC
and braking distr ibution ar e no t working
c:::;, ,& .
Carefu lly drive to your author iz e d Audi d ealer
i mmedia tely to have the ma lf u n cti on corre ct­
ed¢ _&.
1111 (USA models )/. (Canada models)
Parking brake: system fault! Please contact
dealer
- If the ind icator lig ht and t he message ap·
p ea r
when stationary or after switching the
ignition on ,
check if yo u can re lease the
pa rki ng brake. Afte r relea sing the par kin g
b rak e, car efully drive to y our au thor ized
Aud i dea le r i mmedia tely to have the ma l­
fu nction corrected . If yo u cannot release the
pa rking brake, seek professiona l assistance .
- If the in dicat or lig ht and the mes sage ap ·
pea r
while driving, th e emergen cy b ra ki ng
fu nction may not be availab le. It may not be
possible to set the par king brake or re lease
it once it has been set. Seek profess io na l as­
sistance.

Instrument s and warnin g/indic ator ligh ts 15
(USA models): If the warnin g light 1111 and
the warning light
EiJ appear together, imme­
d iate ly contact your authorized Aud i dea ler or
qua lified workshop to have all brake pads in­
spected
¢ page 20 .
When t he light comes on, an audib le warning
signal is also given .
A WARNING
-Always observe the warnings in
¢ page 213, before opening the hood
and checking the brake fluid.
- Driv ing with low brake fluid is a safety
hazard . Stop the car and get professional
assistance.
- If the 1111 (USA models)/ . (Canada
mode ls) brake system indicator light
tu rns on together with the ABS and ESC
indicator lights, the ABS/ESC regu lating
function may have failed. Functions tha t
stabilize the ve hicl e are no longer availa­
ble. This cou ld cause the vehicle to
swerve and increase the risk of sliding .
Drive carefully to the nearest a uth orized
Audi dealer or other qualified workshop
and have the malfunction corrected.
- If the brake warning/indicator light does
not go out after a few seconds and the
park ing brake is released, or lights up
wh ile you are drivi ng, the fluid level in
the brake fluid reservoir is too low .
If you
b elieve that it is safe to do so, proceed
immediately at low speed to the nearest
autho riz ed Au di d ealer o r qualifie d re pair
f acili ty and have the bra ke system in­
spected.
- Always kee p in m ind tha t afte r several
brake applicat ions, yo u will nee d greater
pressure on the brake peda l to stop your
vehicle. Do not re ly on strained brakes to
respond w ith maxim um stopping power
in critical situations. You must allow for
increased braking distances . The extra
distance used up by fad ing brakes could
lead to an acc ident.
PARK!< ®> Electromechanical parking brake
The warning/indicator light monitors the
electromechanical parking brake .
If the indicator light- (USA models)/ .
(Canada models) turns on, the parking brake
was set . If the park ing brake is set when the
ignition is off, the indicator light turns off af­
te r abo ut 20 seconds.
The warning/indic ator light will go out when
the parking brake is re leased .
-(USA models ) ,. (Canada models )
Caut ion: Vehicle parked too steep
If the indicator light b links and the message
appears, there is not enough braking power to
keep the vehicle from roll ing. The brakes have
overheated. The vehicle could roll away even
o n a small incl ine .
Press brake pedal to release parking brake
To re lease the par king brake, press the brake
peda l and press the button ~ or start driv ing
with starting assist at the same time
¢ page 78.
Pl eas e r elease parking brake
To re lease the park ing b rake manually , press
the b rake peda l and press the button~ at the
same time. The parking b ra ke only releases
a ut omat ica lly if the d river 's sa fe ty belt is fas­
tened.
Ill Parking brake!
If the DI indicator lig ht turns on and th is
message appears, there is a parking brake
malfu nction . D rive to your authorized Audi
deal er or qualified workshop immediately to
have the malfun ct io n corrected.
-L Engine cooling system malfunction
A malfunction in the engine cooling system
must be repaired as soon as possible .
• Switch off engine and check coolant lev el liJI,

Braking
General information
What affects braking efficiency?
Operating condit ions and d riv ing hab it s
The brakes on today's automobi les are sti ll
subject to wear, depending largely on operat­
ing conditions and dr iving habits
c:> A . On
vehicles that are either driven mostly in stop­
and-go city traffic or are driven hard, the brake pads should be checked by your author­
i zed Audi dealer more often than specified in
the
Warr ant y & Maint enan ce bookle t. Failure
to have your b rake pads inspected can res ult
i n red uced brake performance.
On steep slopes, you should use the brak ing
effect of the engine. This way, you p revent un­
necessa ry wea r on the brake system.
If you
must use yo ur brakes, do not ho ld the brakes
down continuously. Pump the brakes at in ter ­
va ls.
Moistu re or road salt
Unde r ce rtain conditions, for example, when
driving through wate r or very heavy rain, or
even after washing your vehicle, the braking
effect can be reduced d ue to moisture (or in
freezing conditions ice) on the brake pads . A
few careful brake app lications should dry
off
the brake pads or remove any ice coatings.
When you are driving at higher speeds with
the windshield wipers on, the brake pads will
briefly touch the brake discs in regular inter­
vals so as to improve reaction t ime when brak­
ing on wet surfaces . You the driver w ill not no­
tice anything .
The effectiveness of the brakes can be reduced
when the vehicle is dr iven on a salt-covered
road and the brakes are not used . Here too,
you should clean
off accumulated salt coat ing
from b rake discs and pads with a few careful
applications of the brake
c:> ,&. .
Cor ro sion
There may be a tendency for dirt to build up
on the brake pads and corrosion to form on
Int ellig ent technolog y 193
the d iscs if the car is not driven regu larly or
only for short trips with litt le use of the
brakes.
If the brakes a re not used frequently, o r if cor­
rosion has formed on the discs, it is adv isable
to clean
off the pads and discs by braking
firmly a few times from a moderately high
speed
c:> ,&. .
Fault s in the brak e syste m
If you shou ld notice a sudden increase in
brake pedal trave l, then one of the two brake
circuits may have fai led ¢
A.
Low brake fluid lev el
Malfunctions can occu r in the bra ke system if
the b rake fluid level is too low. The brake flu id
level is monitored elec tronica lly.
Brake booster
The brake booster works with vacuum pres­
su re which is created only whe n the engine is
runn ing ¢,&. .
Brake lining we ar s tatus
Brake lining wear may be checked by visual in­
spection of the condition of the brake pads
through the open ings in the w heel. If neces­
sary, the wheel may be removed fo r thi s in­
spe ction ¢
page 2 54, Changing a wheel.
_& WARNING
-You should perform braking maneuvers
for the purpose of cleaning the brake system only if road conditions permit .
Other road users must not be put at risk -
you may ca use an accident!
- Before descend ing a steep grade, reduce
speed and sh ift transmission into a lower
gear or lower dr iving range. Do not ride
the brakes or hold the pedal down too long or too often . Th is could cause the
brakes to get hot and diminish braking
efficiency.
- Do not " ride the brakes" by rest ing your
foot on the pedal when you do not intend
to b rake. This may cause the brakes to
•
•

Checking and filling Engine hood
Releasing the engine hood
The engine hood is released from inside the
vehicle .
Fig. 186 Dr iver footwell: release lever
Fig. 187 Rocker switch under the hood
Make sure the wiper arms are not raised up
from the w indshield. Otherw ise the paint
could be damaged.
.. Pull the lever under the instrument panel in
the d irect ion of the arrow~
fig. 186.
.. Raise the hood slightly~ &-
.. Press the rocker switch under the hood up­
ward
~ fig. 187. This re leases the catch .
.. Open the hood .
A WARNING
Hot engine coo lant can burn you.
- To reduce the r isk of being burned, never
open the hood if you see or hear steam
or coolant escaping from the engine
compartment . Wait until no steam or
coolant can be seen or heard before care­
fully opening the hood.
Checkin g and fillin g 213
Working in the engine compartment
Be especially careful whenever you work in
the engine compartment.
W hen ev er y ou must p erform an y wor k in the
en gine com pa rtm ent , for e xample checking
a nd filling diff ere nt fluid s, th ere is a risk of
inju ry, burn s and accid ents. To pr eve nt p er­
so nal inju ry always observ e the foll owing
W ARNING S. The engin e compartm ent of any
v e hicle i s a haza rdou s area
~ ,& .
h WARNING
To help avoid injury, before yo u check any ­
thing under the hood:
- Turn off the engine.
- Sw itch off the ignition.
- Apply the parking brake.
- Move selector leve r to P (Park).
- Always let the engine cool down. Hot
components w ill burn skin on contact .
- To reduce the risk of being burned, never
open the hood if you see or hear steam
or coo lant escaping from the engine
compa rtment. Wait unt il no steam or
coolant can be seen or heard before care­
fu lly opening the hood.
- Keep ch ildren away from the engine com­
pa rtment.
- Never sp ill fluids on hot engine compo­
nents . They can cause a fire .
- Never touch the rad iator fan. The auxili­
ary electric fan is temperat ure controlled
and can switch on suddenly .
- Never open the coolant reservoir cap
when the engine is still warm. The cool­
ant system is p ressu rized and hot cool­
a nt cou ld spray o ut.
- Protect your face, hands and arm from
steam or hot engine coolant by plac ing a
thick rag ove r the cap when you open the
coo lant rese rvoir.
- Do not remove the engine cover under
any circumstances. This inc reases the
ris k of burns.
- If work on the fue l system o r the elec tri ­
cal system is necessary:

222 Checking and filling
pressure relief valve in the cap when the en ­
gine becomes hot.
.&_ WARNING
- The cooling system is under pressure and
can get
very hot. Reduce the risk of
sca lding from hot coolant by following
these steps .
- Turn off the eng ine and a llow it to cool
down.
- Protect your face, hands and arms from
escap ing flu id and steam by cover ing
the cap with a large , thick rag .
- Tu rn the cap slowly and
very carefully
in a counter -clockwise direction while
applying light, downward pressure on
the top of the cap .
- To avo id being burned, do not sp ill an­
tifreeze or coolant on the exhaust sys­
tem or hot engine parts. Under certain
conditions, the ethylene glycol in en­
g ine coolant can catch fire.
- Antifreeze is poisonous. Always store an­
t ifreeze in its original container and well
out of the reach of children.
- If you drain the coolant, it must be
caught and safely stored in a proper con­
ta iner clearly marked "poison".
(D Note
- Coolant po llutes the environment and
could cause an engine fire. Excess coo l­
ant will be forced out through the pres­
sure relief valve i n the cap when the en­
gine becomes hot .
- If, in an emergency, only water can be
added, the correct ratio between wate r
and antifreeze ~
page 220 must be re­
stored as soon as possib le.
@) For the sake of the environment
Dra ined coolant should not be reused . Al­
ways dispose of used coolant while
observ­
ing all environmental regulations .
Radiator fan
The radiator fan switches on automatically by
itself .
An auxilia ry electric r adiator fan switches on
and off depending on coolan t tempera ture
and other vehicle operat ing condit ions .
After you switch the engine off, the aux iliary
fan can continue running for up to 10 minutes
- even w ith the ignition off . It can even swi tch
on aga in later by itself
c> .&. , if
- the temperature of the engine coo lant rises
due to the heat build-up from the engine in
the engine compartmen t, or
- the engine compartment heats up because
the vehicle is parked in intense sunlight.
.&_ WARNING ,_
- To reduce the risk of personal injury nev­
er touch the radiator fan .
- The auxiliary electric fan is temperature
controlled and can sw itch on suddenly
even when the engine is not running .
- The auxiliary radiator fan sw itches on au­
tomatically when the engine coo lant
reac hes a certain t emperature and wi ll
continue to run until the coolant temper­
a ture drops.
Brake fluid
Checking brake fluid level
Fi g. 19 2 Engin e compart ment: cover on t he bra ke fluid
re servoir
Ill>

Before you check anything in the engine com­
partment,
always r ead and heed all W ARN­
ING S ~ A in Working in the engine compart­
ment on page 213.
.. Read the brake fluid level from the brake
fluid reservoir ¢
fig. 192, ~ page 215,
fig . 188.
The brake fluid level must be be ­
tween the "MIN" and "MAX" markings.
The location of the brake fl uid reservoir can be
seen in the engine compartment illustration
¢page 215.
The fluid level may drop slightly after some
time due to the automatic adjustment of the brake pads . This is not cause for alarm .
If the brake fluid level falls considerably be­
l ow the "MIN" mark, the brake wa rning/indi ­
cator light
1111 (U .S . models)/ . (Canadian
models) will come on
~ page 14. Do not con­
tinue to operate the vehicle. The comp lete
brake system shou ld be thoroughly checked
by an authorized Audi dealer or other quali­
f ied fac ility and the cause corrected . If the
b rake fluid level is too low, the brake warn ing/
i ndicator light w ill illuminate . Contact an au­
thor ized Audi dealer
imm ediately .
Changing brake fluid
Have the brake fluid changed by an experi­
enced technician .
Brake fluid absorbs moisture from the a ir . If
the water content in the brake fluid is too
hi gh, cor rosion in the brake system may result
after a per iod of t ime . The bo iling po int of the
b rake fluid w ill also decrease considerab ly and
decrease braking performance.
Therefore, the brake flu id must be changed
ev ery two ye ars. A lways use new b rake fluid
which confo rms to Federal Motor Vehicle
Standard "FMVSS
116 DO T 4".
The brake flu id rese rvoi r ca n be difficult to
r each, therefo re , we recommend that yo u
h ave the brake fl uid changed by you r autho r­
i zed
Audi de aler . Your dea le r has the correct
Checkin g and fillin g 223
tools, the right brake fl uid and the know -how
to do this for you .
A WARNING
-Brake flu id is poisonous. It must be stor­
ed only in the closed or iginal container
out of the reach of children!
- Brake failure can resu lt from o ld or inap­
propriate brake f lu id. Observe these pre­
cautions:
- Use only b rake fluid tha t meets SA E
spe cificat ion
J 17 03 and conforms to
Federa l Moto r Ve hicl e Standard
116.
Always check with your authorized Audi
dealer to make sure yo u are using the
correct brake fluid. The correct type of
brake f luid is also ind icated on the
brake f luid reservoir .
- The brake fluid must be new. Heavy use
of the brakes ca n cause a vapor lock if
the brake fluid is left i n the system too
long. This can se riously affect the effi­
c iency of the b rakes as well as your
safety , T his could result in an accident.
(!) Note
Brake fluid will damage the paint of your
vehicle.
@) For the sake of the environment
Because of the prob lem of proper disposal
of brake fluid as well as the spec ial too ls
r equired and the necessary expertise, we
r ecommend that you have th e brake flu id
changed by you r autho rized Aud i dea le r.
Battery
General information
Under normal operating cond itions, the bat­
tery in your Audi does not need any ma inte­
nance . With
high outside temperatu res or
lo ng da ily drives we recommend that you have
the e lectrolyte leve l che cked by a se rv ice fa­
c il ity. The ele ctroly te leve l should also be
chec ked each t ime the battery is cha rged
~ page 226 . Iii>
•
•

236 Tire s and whee ls
including a blowout and sudden deflation that
can cause the vehicle to crash.
Your safety and that of your passenge rs a lso
depends on making s ure that load limits are
not exceeded. Vehicle load includes everybody
and everything in and on the vehicle. These
load limits are techn ically referred to as the
vehicle's
Gr oss Veh icl e W eight R ating
("GVWR").
The "GVWR" includes the weight of the basic
ve hicle, all factory installed accessories, a full
tank of fuel, oil, coolant and other fluids plus
maximum load. The maximum load includes
the number of passengers that the vehicle is
i ntended to carry ("seating capacity") with a n
assumed weight of 150 lbs (68 kg) for each
passenger at a des ignated seat ing pos ition
and the tota l we ight of any luggage in the ve­
h icle.
The
Gro ss Axle Weight Rating ("GAWR") is
the maximum load that can be app lied at each
of the vehicle's two axles .
The G ross Vehicle Weight Rating and the
Gross Axle Weight Rating are listed on the
safety compliance st icker labe l located on the
driver 's side B-p illar. Your A udi has 4 seating
positions, 2 in the front and 2 in the rear for
total seating capacity of 4. Each seating posi­
tion has a safety belt
9 page 133, Safety
belts.
The fact that there is an upper limit to your
vehicle's Gross Vehicle Weight Rating means
that the tota l weight of whatever is being car­
ried in the vehicle is limited. The more passen­
gers in the veh icle or passengers who are
heav ier than the standard weights assumed
mean that less weight can be carried as lug­
gage.
The tire pressure label on your Audi also lists
the maximum combined weight of all of the
occupants and luggage or other cargo that
the veh icle can carry . For the location of the
l abe l
9page 232, fig. 195.
A WARNING
Overloading a vehicle can cause loss of ve­
h icle contro l, a crash or other accident, se­
rious personal injury, and even death.
- Carrying more we ight than your veh icle
was des igned to carry will prevent the
veh icle from handling properly and in­
crease the risk of the loss of vehicle con­
trol.
- The brakes on a vehicle that has been
overloaded may not be able to stop the
veh icle w ith in a safe distance.
- Tires on a vehicle that has been overload­
ed can fail suddenly, including a blowout
and sudden deflation, causing loss of
control and a crash.
- Always make sure that the total lo ad be­
ing transpor ted does not make the veh i­
cle heavier than the vehicle's Gross Vehi ­
cle Weight Rating.
Determining correct load limit
U se the exa mple belo w to ca l­
c ula te the t otal weight of the
p ass engers a nd lu ggage or oth­
e r thin gs that yo u plan to tran s­
p o rt so t hat yo u can make sur e
th at yo ur vehi cle w ill n ot be
ove rloa ded.
Steps for Determining
Correct Load Limit
1. Lo cate th e statement "THE
COMBINED WEIGH T OF Q C-
CU PANT S A ND CARGO
SHOULD NE VER E XCEED XXX
KG OR XXX LBS" on your ve­
hicle 's placard (tire inflation
11>

238 Tires and wheels
symbols) indicate the positions of the tread
wear indicators. Worn tires must be replaced. Different figures may apply in other countries
c::> & .
Tire pressure
Incorrect tire p ressure causes premature wear
and can cause sudden tire blow-out. For this
reason, tire pressure must be checked at least
once a month
c::> page 234.
Driving style
Driving fast around curves, heavy acceleration
and hard braking increase tire wear.
Rotating tires for more even wear
For all four tir es on your vehicle to have the
same se rv ice life, we recommend that the
front and rear tires are rotated according to
the tire manufacturer's suggested tire rota­
tion intervals. Please remember the follow­
ing:
- T ire rotation inte rva ls may differ from the
vehicle serv ice intervals outlined in your
Warranty
& Maintenance booklet.
- T he longer one tire is used in one location
on the vehicle, the more it wears at certa in
points; therefore, we recommend that you
follow the tire manufacturer's suggested
tire rotation intervals.
- Vehicles with front-wheel drive experience
more tread wear on the front whee ls com­
pared to all-whee l drive (quattro).
- Please rotate ti res as shown
c::> fig. 198.
-Extra care must be taken when rotating di-
rection-specific tires
c::> page 2 59.
Wheel balancing
The wheels on new vehicles are balanced .
Ho wever, various situations during everyday
driving can cause them to become unbal­
anced, resu lting in vibrations you can usually
feel through the steering wheel.
Unba lanced wheels must be rebalanced to
avoid excessive wea r on steering, suspension
and tires . A wheel must a lso be rebalanced
when a new tire is installed. Incorrect wheel alignment
Incorrect
wheel alignment can cause exces­
sive tire wear, impairing the safety of the vehi ­
cle. If tires show excessive wear, have the
wheel alignment checked by an a uthorized
Audi dealer or qualified workshop.
All-wheel drive
Vehicles with quattro must always have tires
of the same size, construction and tread type.
For details see
c::>page 195.
_8 WARNING
-Sudden tire fa ilure can lead to loss of con-
trol, a crash and serious personal injury!
- Never drive a vehicle when the tread on
any tire is worn down to the wear indica­
tors.
- Worn t ires are a safety hazard, they do
not grip well on wet roads and increase
your risk of "hydroplaning" and loss of
control.
- Always keep chemicals that can cause
tire damage, such as grease, o il, gasoline
and brake fluid away from tires.
- Tires age even if they are not being used
and can fai l suddenly, especially at high
speeds. Tires that are more than 6 yea rs
old can only be used in an emergency
and then w ith specia l care and at lower
speeds.
- Never mount used tires on your veh icle if
you are not sure of their "previous histo­
ry." O ld used tires may have been dam­
aged even though the damage cannot be
seen that can lead to sudden tire fai lure
and loss of vehicle control.