Get Wheels and tires -> Maintaining wheels and tires Guide for Volkswagen Atlas SUV Second Generation (2024-2025)

Rims with a bolted rim ring or accent element consist of multiple pieces. These pieces are connected together with special

bolts. Damaged rims must be replaced and may only be repaired by suitably qualiﬁed professionals. Volkswagen

recommends contacting an authorized Volkswagen dealer or authorized Volkswagen Service Facility.

Rim identiﬁcation

In some countries, new rims must include information about certain properties. The following information may be on the rim:

Seal of conformity

Rim size

Manufacturer or brand name

Production date (month/year)

Country of origin

Serial number

Raw material batch number

Commodity code

WARNING

Using unsuitable or damaged rims can impair driving safety and cause accidents and serious injuries.

Only use rims permitted for the vehicle.

Check the rims regularly for damage and replace them if necessary.

WARNING

Loosening and tightening bolts incorrectly on rims with bolted rim rings can cause severe accidents and death.

Never loosen the bolts on rims with a bolted rim ring.

Have all procedures on rims with bolted rim rings performed by an authorized Volkswagen dealer or authorized

Volkswagen Service Facility. Volkswagen recommends contacting an authorized Volkswagen dealer or authorized

Volkswagen Service Facility.

Maintaining wheels and tires

Checking the tire pressure

Incorrect tire pressures negatively affect vehicle handling and can cause increased tire wear or even a ﬂat tire ⇒

. Above

all, the correct tire pressure is especially important when driving at high speeds.

Check the tire pressure at least once a month.

Check the tire inﬂation pressure of the spare wheel or compact spare wheel at least once a month.

Check the tire pressure only when tires are cold. The speciﬁed tire pressure only applies to a cold tire. The tire pressure

on warm tires is higher than on cold tires. Therefore, never release air from a warm tire to adjust the tire pressure.

Always adjust the tire pressures to the vehicle load ⇒

.

After adjusting tire pressures, always screw the caps on the valves and note the information about the tire pressure

monitoring system.

Always use the tire pressures speciﬁed on the label. Never exceed the maximum tire pressure speciﬁed on the side of th

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tire.

If the size of the tires installed at the factory differs from the details on the identiﬁcation label or on the tire pressure label,

the correct tire pressure must be determined.

Fig. 179 On the driver door pillar: Tire inflation pressure label.

The tire inﬂation pressure label indicates the correct tire inﬂation pressure for approved tires and is located on the driver door

pillar ﬁg. 179. The factory-installed tires can be winter, summer or all-season tires.

An incorrect tire pressure can cause increased tire wear, negatively affect driving behavior and damage tires. Compliance with

the correct tire pressure is very important, particularly when driving at high speeds.

The speciﬁed tire pressure is given for a cold tire. For warm tires, the pressure is higher.

Never reduce the pressure of a warm tire in order to reach the speciﬁed value. This will cause the actual pressure when the

tire is cold to be too low.

WARNING

A tire pressure that is too low can result in a sudden loss of air, separation of the tire tread or bursting of the tire while

driving. An incorrect tire pressure shortens the service life of the tire and negatively affects driving behavior.

An incorrect tire pressure can cause accidents and fatal injuries.

Check the tire pressures regularly, at least once a month and also before driving long distances.

Always adjust the tire pressure according to your load.

Never reduce the tire pressure when tires are warm.

WARNING

Excessive speeds and vehicle overloading can cause overheating, sudden tire damage (including tire blow-outs) and

separation of the tread.

This can cause accidents and fatal injuries.

Never exceed the maximum load for the tires ﬁtted ⇒ Tire labeling and tire classiﬁcations .

Never exceed the maximum permitted speed for the tires ﬁtted ⇒ Tire labeling and tire classiﬁcations .

NOTICE

Careless handling of the tire pressure gage may damage the valve.

When positioning the tire pressure gauge, make sure it is not tilted at the valve stem.

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Tire pressures that are too low increase fuel consumption.

Tire inﬂation pressure for cold tires

Tire pressure

Size designation

psi/kPa

245/60 R 18

255/60 R 18

36 / 250

60 / 420

255/50 R 20

265/45 R 21

T165/80 R 17 (spare wheel)

Details of the correct tire pressure are located on the tire pressure label on the driver's door pillar. If the details on the tire

pressure label differ from the details in the Manual, the details on the tire pressure label apply.

Monitoring the tightening torque

The correct wheel bolts must always be used for each vehicle model, and these bolts must always be tightened to the correct

torque. The wheel bolt tightening torque must be checked regularly with a functional torque wrench. In addition, the tightening

torque must be checked immediately after each wheel change with a functional torque wrench. If the wheel bolts are not

tightened enough to meet the speciﬁcation, the wheel bolts and consequently the wheel could come loose while driving.

Exceeding the tightening speciﬁcation could damage the wheel bolts and threads.

Wheel bolts that are corroded and difﬁcult to turn must be replaced and the threads in the wheel hub must be cleaned before

checking the tightening torque. Never grease or oil the wheel bolts and the threads in the wheel hub.

Wheel bolt tightening speciﬁcation

The tightening torque of the wheel bolts is speciﬁed in the chapter on replacing wheels → page , Changing a wheel.

WARNING

If the wheel bolts are not tightened enough to meet the speciﬁcation, the wheel bolts and consequently the wheel could

come loose while driving. Exceeding the tightening speciﬁcation could damage the wheel bolts and threads.

Wheel bolts that are tightened incorrectly or missing could cause you to lose control of the vehicle and lead to serious

accidents and fatal injuries.

Always tighten the wheel bolts to the correct tightening torque. If you do not have a torque wrench, tighten the

wheel bolts with the lug wrench and then have the tightening torque checked as soon as possible by an authorized

Volkswagen dealer or authorized Volkswagen Service Facility. Volkswagen recommends contacting an authorized

Volkswagen dealer or authorized Volkswagen Service Facility.

Never drive with missing or loose wheel bolts.

Always use wheel bolts that are correct for the rim and the vehicle model.

Never grease or oil the wheel bolts and the threads in the wheel hub. Even when tightened to the speciﬁcation, the

wheel bolts could become loose while driving.

Ensure the wheel bolts and threads in the wheel hubs are clean, easy to move and free of oil and grease.

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Never loosen the bolts on rims with a bolted rim ring.

Replacing tires

Fig. 180 Diagram for rotating the wheels (general example).

To ensure that the tires wear evenly, rotating the tires regularly according to the diagram is recommended ﬁg. 180. This will

allow the tires to have approximately the same length of service life.

Volkswagen recommends having the wheel replacement carried out by an authorized Volkswagen dealer or authorized

Volkswagen Service Facility. Volkswagen recommends contacting an authorized Volkswagen dealer or authorized

Volkswagen Service Facility.

Monitoring the tread depth

Tread depth

Most driving situations require a tire tread that is as deep as possible. All tires, or at least tires on the same axle, must have an

even tread depth ⇒

. This applies in particular to wet or wintry road conditions.

In most countries, the legal minimum tread depth is 1.6 mm (1/16 of an inch). This is measured in the tread grooves next to

the wear indicators. Observe any legal regulations speciﬁc to the country where you are driving.

Note the legal requirements in the applicable country for minimum tread depths on winter and all-season tires.

Tire wear

Tire wear depends on various factors:

Driving style.

Wheel balancing.

Running gear alignment.

An imbalance can occur while driving, which can be noticed by uneven steering. Tire imbalances also affect tire wear. In these

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situations, have the wheels balanced again.

Incorrect wheel alignment impairs driving safety and increases tire wear. If there is high degree of tire wear, have the wheel

alignment checked by an authorized Volkswagen dealer or authorized Volkswagen Service Facility. Volkswagen recommends

contacting an authorized Volkswagen dealer or authorized Volkswagen Service Facility.

Tire Wear when Driving with a Sporty Driving Style

Driving quickly around curves, rapid acceleration, and heavy braking increase tire wear.

If you drive with a sporty driving style, check the tread depth every 5000 to 10,000 km (approx. 3107 to 6214 miles).

Tread wear indicator in tires

Fig. 181 In the tread grooves: wear indicator.

The tread wear indicator is 1.6 mm (1/16 in) above the base of the tread ﬁg. 181. Markings on the sides of the tire indicate th

location of the tread wear indicator ﬁg. 181.

The tread wear indicator indicates if a tire is worn out. At the latest, the tire must be replaced if the tread depth is worn down to

the tread wear indicator.

When you check the tread depth, you must check the wear indicators of all tread grooves.

WARNING

Worn tires are a safety risk and make it difﬁcult to control the vehicle well. They increase the braking distance and the risk

of skidding.

Worn tires have signiﬁcantly less grip. Particularly on wet roads, the vehicle is more likely to “hydroplane”.

Worn tires could cause loss of vehicle control, serious accidents and death.

Replace tires with new tires when the tires are worn down to the tread wear indicator.

Wheels and tires in snow and ice

Winter tires

Summer tires offer very little holding force on icy or snowy roads. Winter or all-season tires improve vehicle handling and

braking performance in winter road conditions. Volkswagen recommends using winter tires on the vehicle at temperatures

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Wheels and tires -> Maintaining wheels and tires for Your Volkswagen Atlas SUV Second Generation (2024-2025)

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