Tread depth and Tyre wear ● Worn tyres are easily to slippage (floating) when driving on wet roads. Please refer to at the start of the chapter on page 186. ● Worn tyres are a safety risk and make it diffi- cult to control the vehicle well. They also in- crease the braking distance and the risk of skidding. Tyre damage Please refer to at the start of the chapter on page 186. Damage to tyres and rims is often not easily de- tected. If you notice unusual vibration, or if the vehicle pulls to one side when driving, indicates that a tyre is damaged → . Fig. 149 Tyre tread: tread wear indicators (illustra- tion) Tread depth Most driving situations require the highest possi- ble tread depth.
The tyres should have the same tread depth, at the minimum on each axle. This is especially true in wet or wintry road conditions. – If you suspect that a wheel is damaged, slow down immediately! – Check the tyres and rims for damage. – Do not drive on if a tyre is damaged. In most countries, the minimum tread depth re- quired by law is 1.6 mm, measured in the tread grooves next to the tread wear indicators. Ob- serve any deviating country-specific legal regula- tions. The tyres should have the same tread depth, at the minimum on each axle. → – Changing a damaged wheel → page 198. Seek expert assistance if necessary.
– If there is no visible damage, drive slowly and cautiously to the next correspondingly quali- fied workshop in order to have the vehicle checked. Volkswagen recommends using a Volkswagen dealership. Observe any country-specific legal requirements relating to the permissible minimum tread depths for winter and all-year tyres. Foreign body embedded in the tyre – Leave the foreign body in the tyre if it has en- tered the inner tyre! But foreign bodies that are stuck between the tyre tread blocks can be removed. Tread wear depth indicators in tyres The tread wear indicators show if a tyre is worn down.
The tyre must be replaced at the latest when the tread depth is just down to the tread wear indicator. – Changing a damaged wheel → page 198. Seek expert assistance if necessary. – Check and adjust the tyre pressures. There are 1.6 mm high wear indicators in the tread base of the tyres. → Fig. 149 Wear indica- tors are evenly distributed on the outer circum- ference of the tyre, and markings on the tyre sidewall indicate the position of the tread wear indicator, (e.g.“TWI”or other symbol) → Fig. 149 . – Go to a correspondingly qualified workshop. Volkswagen recommends using a Volkswagen dealership. Tyre wear The tyre wear is affected by several factors: – Style of driving.
WARNING – How well the tyres are balanced. Worn tyres can lead to loss of control over the vehicle, serious accidents and fatal injuries! – Adjustments made to the running gear. 182.5C1.TRO.74 ● Replace the tyres with new tyres at the lat- est when the tyres are worn down to the tread wear indicators. Fast cornering, heavy acceleration and hard brak- ing all increase tyre wear. Wheels and tyres 191