254 T ire s and w heel s
vehicle with diffe rent rims/ti res or you bought
the vehicle as a previously owned vehicle.
Remembe r, your safety and that of your pas-
sengers also depends on mak ing sure that
load limits are not exceeded . Vehicle load in-
cludes everybody and everything in and on the
ve hicle. These load limits are technically refer-
red to as the vehicle's Gross Vehicle We ight
Rating ("GVWR"). The Gross Axle Weight Rat-
ing ("GAWR") is the maximum load that can
be applied at each of the veh icle's two axles.
The Gross Vehicle Weight Rating and the
Gross Axle Weight Rat ing a re listed on the
safety compliance st icker labe l located on the
driver's side B-pillar. The tire pressure label on
your Audi lists the maximum combined
weight of a ll of the occupants and luggage or
othe r cargo that the vehicle can carry. For the
locat ion of the tire pressure labe l ¢
fig. 208.
A WARNING
Overloading a vehicle can cause loss of ve-
hicle control, a cras h or other accident, se-
rious personal inj ury, and even death.
- Carrying more weight than your vehicle
was designed to carry will prevent the
vehicle from handling properly and in-
crease the risk of a loss of veh icle con-
tro l.
- The brakes on a veh icle that has been
overloaded may not be ab le to stop the
vehicle within a sa fe distance.
- Tires on a vehicle that has been ove rload-
ed can fail suddenly causing loss of con-
tro l and a crash .
- Always make su re that the tota l load be-
ing t ransported - including the we ight of
a tra ile r hit ch and the tongue weight of a
loaded t ra iler - does not make the veh i-
cle heavier than the vehicle's Gross Vehi-
cle Weight Rating.
A WARNING
- Incorrect tire pressures and/or underin-
flation can lead to a serious or fatal acci-
dent .
-
'
- Incorrect tire pressures and/or underin-
f lation cause increased tire wear and can
affect the handling of the vehicle .
- Incorrect tire pressures and/or underin-
flation can a lso lead to sudden t ire fail-
ure, including a blowout and sudden de-
flation, caus ing loss of veh icle control.
Checking tire pressure
The correct tire pressure for the tires original-
ly installed on your vehicle is lis ted on the tire
pressure label located on driver's side 8-pil-
lar .
The recommended tire pressures are on the
t ire pressure label and in the table
¢ page 252, Cold tire inflation pressure. This
means that the pressure must be checked and
adjusted when the t ire has not been dr iven fo r
more than a couple of miles (kilomete rs) at
low speeds during t he prev ious t hree ho urs.
Air in the tires expands when the tire heats up
as a result of interna l friction 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 "co ld" t ire that
counts . Therefore, you should never let air out
of a warm tire to match "Cold tire inflation
pressure" recommendat ions ¢
page 252 . The
t ires wou ld t hen be underinflated and could
fail suddenly .
The tire pressure label on your Audi lists the
recommended cold tire inflation pressures at
maximum capacity for the new, orig inal
equipment tires that were on your vehicle at
the time it was ma nufactu red . For the loca -
t ion of the label ¢
page 252, fig . 208 .
Most tires lose air naturally over t ime . They
can a lso lose some air if you drive over a pot-
hole or hit a curb while park ing . It is usually
not possible to see whether the rad ial tires
used today are unde rinflated just by loo king
at t hem.
Therefo re, be sure to check t ire pressures at
least once a month and always befo re going
on a long trip. Make su re to ta ke the numbe r II>-
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