aghahary

Hello,

I have a 2009 A4 Cabriolet 2.0T Quatro. Recently, I had a problem with the rear passenger tire where it has to be replaced. Normally I would replace two tires either front or back. The tire shop says, since this is all-wheel drive, all the tires need to be within 2/32 of each other, and replacing just two tires would make the 2 new tires be different from the old tires by more than 2/32 of an inch. This would cause a problem with my transmission. So, they will either replace all 4 tires, or would send me to another shop who doesn't have this policy. Does this make sense, or can I get away with replacing just 2 tires? My existing tires have about 5/32 left on the tread.

Thanks for any feedback, Ali

KLF

Those tire shop guys are correct. Your 4WD system is essentially steel rods with gears between them, if tires are different size it would force one wheel to spin slower than the other. When they are connected with a steel rod, it just won't work in the long run, something will break and then it will cost a lot more than three extra tires.

david9999

I agree that they are correct. It will put extra stress on the system.