snagitseven

It's on page 246 in my 2013 manual.

manishaudi

What year is yours?

uberwgn

It's law in the USA (2003) and applies to all cars. It doesn't apply to other countries and you'll see their tire pressure labels look very different when compared to ours.

Director: here's the page from my Owner's Manual for a 2011 4 cyl A4 car:



The Owner's Manual for our 2006 Avant is essentially identical. Always found towards the rear of the Owner's Manual.

uberwgn

The the door jamb sticker from a car sold in Europe, I think it is an A5:



You'll notice they display Normal Load and Max Load conditions, just as we have always done in the past and most of you seem to be unaware of.

You'll notice that the Max Load condition = 5 adult passengers* and their suitcases. (This is the value displayed on the B pillar label for cars sent to the USA market.)

How often do we drive with 5 adults and their related luggage?

*American passengers weigh 150lbs each

Rush2112

So I've had my car for a little over a month now, and today I decided to check my tire pressure. Yup.. you guessed it, mine were set for Max Load. So I dug out my owners manual and set mine for 36 front and 33 rear, and boy can I tell a difference.

The question I have is... my TPMS never went off.
I dropped 3-4#'s in each tire and never "saved" my new settings in the MMI.

Shouldn't I have gotten a warning??
Or I didn't because I dropped the pressure equally among all 4 tires??

Should I save the new settings in the MMI ??

Thanks

snagitseven

The TPMS system is designed for a larger amount of PSI loss, not just a few lbs of pressure difference. I seem to remember I was down about 5-6 lbs when my alert was displayed due to a slow leak. Also, as you noted, the passive system used these days by Audi vs. the individual active sensors (last used in 2009 models) provide alerts if the rolling circumference of a wheel is different from the others as set in the MMI.

You should always reset the TPMS whenever you adjust the tire pressures.

Rush2112

Snagit.... so what you're saying is it takes 5-6#'s before the system warns you, correct??

If I didn't want to wait for my tires to get that low.. I should over in flate them by 5#'s (36front/33rear = 41/38), set the TPMS, and then put them back to the correct pressure. This way, by the time they are 1-2#'s low you'll get a warning and can take care of the problem.

snagitseven

Rush - The warning is really designed mostly for a tire failure. I don't depend on the TPMS as I check my tire pressures every couple of weeks. With the passive system used, if all tires went down a few lbs at the same time, the warning might not come on as it also depends on the rotational difference of the four wheels.

I wouldn't try to "game" the system. Just fill your tires with the pressures to what you like, reset the TPMS and check all of them with an accurate tire gauge periodically, refill and reset as needed. Consider the TPMS alert as a warning that a tire may be going flat, not just as a sign to normally check the pressures.

dcmetro

I've been meaning to ask this question too...glad there's a thread already. So most have set the pressure as...35/36 front and 33 rear? Why not 35 all over? Something wrong with that?

snagitseven

35 vs 32 in the rear will feel firmer in the ride, whereas, in the front, there's usually more weight unless you have max load in the car and then as the max load as indicated, would be used instead. Too little in the front will affect steering response.

As has been recommended, start with the normal load PSI in the manual and adjust up a bit from there as desired. A couple of pounds up from the manual won't really hurt, however, going lower could cause uneven wear, possible tire failure and would certainly affect performance.