2010 AUDI S3 airbag

________________________________________________ D_r_iv _ i _n_ g~ S_ a_ fe_ ly __ !II
& WARNING (continued)
• Always hold the steering wheel on the outside of the steering
wheel rim with your hands at the 9 o'clock and 3 o'clock positions
to help reduce the risk of personal injury if the driver's airbag
inflates.
• Never hold the steering wheel at the 12 o'clock position or with
your hands at other positions inside the steering wheel rim or on
the steering wheel hub. Holding the steering wheel the wrong way
can cause serious injuries to the hands, arms and head if the
driver's airbag deploys .
• Pointing the steering wheel toward your face decreases the
ability of the supplemental driver's airbag to protect you in a colli­
sion.
• Always sit in an upright position and never lean against or
place any part of your body too close to the area where the airbags
are located.
• Before driving, always adjust the front seats and head
restraints properly and make sure that all passengers are properly
restrained .
• Never adjust the seats while the vehicle is moving. Your seat
may move unexpectedly and you could lose control of the vehicle .
• Never drive with the backrest reclined or tilted far back! The
farther the backrests are tilted back, the greater the risk of injury
due to incorrect positioning of the safety belt and improper
seating position.
• Children must always ride in child safety seats~
page 167.
Special precautions apply when installing a child safety seat on
the front passenger seat~
page 145. •
Controls and equip­ ment Safety first
Vehicle operation
Proper seating position for the front
passenger
The proper front passenger seating position is important
for safe, relaxed driving.
For your own safety and to reduce the ris k of injury in the
event of an accident, we recommend that you adjust the
seat for the front passenger to the following pos ition:
- Adjust the angle of the seatback so that it is in an upright
position and your back comes in full contact with it
whenever the vehicle is mov ing.
- Adjust the head restraint so that the upper edge is as
even with the top of your head as possible but not lower
than eye level and so that it is as close to the back of your
head as possible::::;,
page 129.
Keep both feet flat on the floor in front of the front
passenger seat.
- Fasten and wear safety belts correctly::::;,
page 139.
For detailed information on how to adjust the front passenger's
seat, see
~ page 72.
& WARNING
Front seat passengers who are unbelted, out of position or too
close to the airbag can be seriously injured or killed by the airbag
as it unfolds. To help reduce the risk of serious personal injury :
• Passengers must always sit in an upright position and never
lean against or place any part of their body too close to the area
where the airbags are located.
• Passengers who are unbelted, out of position or too close to the
airbag can be seriously injured by an airbag as it unfolds with
great force in the blink of an eye. ..
Vehicle care Do-it-yourself service Technical data

........ _o_ r_iv _i_ n""' g::;._ S_ a_f _e _ly =---------------------------------------------------
& WARNING (continued)
• Always make sure that there are at least 10 inches (25 cm)
between the front passenger's breastbone and the instrument
panel.
• Each passenger must always sit on a seat of their own and
properly fasten and wear the safety belt belonging to that seat.
• Before driving, always adjust the front passenger seat and
head restraint properly.
• Always keep your feet on the floor in front of the seat . Never
rest them on the seat, instrument panel, out of the window, etc.
The airbag system and safety belt will not be able to protect you
properly and can even increase the risk of injury in a crash.
• Never drive with the backrest reclined or tilted far back! The
farther the backrests are tilted back, the greater the risk of injury due to incorrect positioning of the safety belt and improper
seating position.
• Children must always ride in child safety seats~
page 167.
Special precautions apply when installing a child safety seat on
the front passenger seat~
page 145. •
Proper seating positions for passengers in
rear seats
Rear seat passengers must sit upright with both feet on
the floor consistent with their physical size and be prop­
erly restrained whenever the vehicle is in use.
To reduce the risk of injury caused by an incorrect seating
position in the event of a sudden braking maneuver or an
accident, your passengers on the rear bench seat must
always observe the following:
- Make sure that the seatback is securely latched in the
upright position =>
page 81.
-Adjust the head restraint so that the upper edge is as
even with the top of your head as possible but no lower
than eye level=>
page 129.
-Keep both feet flat in the footwell in front of the rear seat .
- Fasten and wear safety belts properly=>
page 139.
-Make sure that children are always properly restrained in
a child restraint that is appropriate for their size and age
=>
page 167.
& WARNING
Passengers who are improperly seated on the rear seat can be
seriously injured in a crash.
• Each passenger must always sit on a seat of their own and
properly fasten and wear the safety belt belonging to that seat.
• Safety belts only offer maximum protection when the seatback
is securely latched in the upright position and the safety belts are
properly positioned on the body. By not sitting upright, a rear seat
passenger increases the risk of personal injury from improperly
positioned safety belts!
• Always adjust the head restraint properly so that it can give
maximum protection. •

Because the passengers of this vehicle are not using safety belts
=:> page 136, fig. 129, they will keep moving at the same speed the
vehicle was moving just before the crash, until something stops
them -here, the wall
=:> page 136, fig. 130.
The same principles apply to people sitting in a vehicle that is involved in a frontal collision. Even at city speeds of 20 to 30 mph
(30 to 50 km/h), the forces acting on the body can reach one ton
(2,000 lbs. or 1,000 kg) or more . At greater speeds, these forces are
even higher.
People who do not use safety belts are also not attached to their
vehicle. In a frontal collision they will also keep moving forward at
the speed their vehicle was travelling just before the crash. Of course, the laws of physics don't just apply to frontal collisions, they
determine what happens in all kinds of accidents and collisions. •
What happens to occupants not wearing
safety belts?
In crashes unbelted occupants cannot stop themselves
from flying forward and being injured or killed. Always
wear your safety belts!
Safety first
Fig . 131 A driver not
wearing a safety belt is
violently thrown
forward
Safety belts
Fig . 132 A rear
passenger not wearing
a safety belt will fly
forward and strike the
driver
Unbelted occupants are not able to resist the tremendous forces of
impact by holding tight or bracing themselves. Without the benefit
of safety restraint systems, the unrestrained occupant will slam
violently into the steering wheel, instrument panel, windshield, or
whatever else is in the way=:> fig. 131. This impact with the vehicle
interior has all the energy they had just before the crash.
Never rely on airbags alone for protection. Even when they deploy,
airbags provide only additional protection. Airbags are not
supposed to deploy in all kinds of accidents. Although your Audi is
equipped with airbags, all vehicle occupants, including the driver,
must wear safety belts correctly in order to minimize the risk of
severe injury or death in a crash.
Remember too, that airbags will deploy only once and that your
safety belts are always there to offer protection in those accidents
in which airbags are not supposed to deploy or when they have
already deployed. Unbelted occupants can also be thrown out of the
vehicle where even more severe or fatal injuries can occur.
It is also important for the rear passengers to wear safety belts
correctly . Unbelted passengers in the rear seats endanger not only
themselves but also the driver and other passengers=:> fig. 132. In a
frontal collision they will be thrown forward violently, where they can hit and injure the driver and/or front seat passenger. •
Vehicle care I I Technical data

__ __::S~a ~f ~e ~ty ~ b~ e~ l~ t ~s ____________________________________________ _
Safety belts protect
People think it's possible to use the hands to brace the
body in a minor collision. It's simply not true!
Fi g. 133 Driver is
co rrec tly res trai ned in
a sudden braking
m an euver
Safety belts used properly can make a big difference . Safety belts
help to keep passengers in their seats, gradually reduce energy
levels applied to the body in an accident , and help prevent the
uncontrolled movement that can cause serious injuries. In addition,
safety be lts reduce the danger of being thrown out of the vehic le.
Safety belts attach passengers to the car and g ive them the benefit
of being s lowed down more gently or "softly" through the "give" in
the safety belts, crush zones and other safety features engineered
into today's vehicles . By "absorbing" the kinetic energy
over a
longer period of time, the safety belts make the forces on the body
more "tolerable" and less like ly to cause injury.
Although these examples are based on a frontal collision , safety
belts can also substantially reduce the risk of injury in other kinds
of crashes. So, whether you're on a long trip or just going to the
corner store, always buckle up and make sure others do, too. Acci ­
dent statistics show that vehicle occupants proper ly wearing safety
bel ts have a lower risk of being injured and a much better chance o f
surviving an accident . Proper ly using safety belts also greatly
increases the abi lity of the supplementa l airbags to do their job in a
collision. For this reason, wearing a safety be lt is legally required in
most countries including much of the United States and Canada . Although your Audi is equipped with airbags, you sti
ll have to wear
the safety belts provided . Fron t airbags, for example, are activated
only in some frontal collisions . T he front airbags are not activated in
all frontal col lisions, in side and rear collisions, in roll overs or in
cases where there is not enough dece leration through impact to the
front of the vehicle . The same goes for the other airbag systems in
your Audi . So, always wear your safety belt and make sure
every ­
body in your vehic le is properly restrained! •
Important safety instructions about safety
belts
Safety belts must always be correctly positioned across
t he strongest bones of your body.
Always wear safety belts as illustrated and described in
this chapter.
Make sure tha t your safe ty belts are a lways ready for use
and are not damaged .
& WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or w earing them improperl y increas es
the ri sk of s eriou s pers onal inj ury an d death . S afe ty belt s can work
onl y w hen used corre ctl y.
• Alway s fas te n yo ur sa fe ty belt s corre ctl y befo re dri ving off and
mak e sure all p assenger s ar e correctly re strain ed.
• For m aximum protect ion , safet y belt s mu st alway s be p osi­
ti oned properly on the body .
• Never strap more th an one person , includi ng sm all child ren ,
into any belt.
• Never pla ce a sa fety belt ove r a child sitting on your l ap .
• Alway s keep feet in t he foot well
in front of the seat while t he
vehi cle is being dri ven .
~

_______________________________________________ S_a _f _e _t -=-y _ b_ e_lt _s __ ftllll
• With the front seats, the height adjustment of the seat can also
be used to adjust the position of the safety belts. •
Improperly worn safety belts
Incorrectly positioned safety belts can cause severe inju­
ries.
Wearing safety belts improperly can cause serious injury or
death. Safety belts can only work when they are correctly positioned on the body. Improper seating posit ions reduce
the effectiveness of safety belts and w ill even increase the
risk of injury and death by moving the safety belt to critical
areas of the body . Improper seating positions also increase
the r isk of serious injury and death when an airbag deploys
and strikes an occupant who is not in the correct seating position. A driver is responsible for the safety of all vehicle
occupants and especially for children. Therefore:
-Never permit anyone to assume an incorrect sitting posi -
tion in the vehicle while traveling~& .
The following lists only some examples of improperly worn safety
bel ts that will increase the risk of serious injury and death. Our hope
is that these examples will make you more aware of seating posi­
tions that are dangerous.
Therefore, whenever the vehicle is moving:
• never wear the shoulder belt under your arm
• never let the shoulder belt pass over your neck
• never wear the safety belt loosely
• never place the lap belt portion of the safety belt across your
abdomen ~& -
Controls and equip­
ment Safety first Vehicle operation
& WARNING
Improperly worn
safety belts increase the risk of serious personal
injury and death whenever a vehicle is being used.
• Always make sure that all vehicle occupants are correctly
restrained and stay in a correct seating position whenever the
vehicle is being used.
• Always read and heed all WARNINGS and other important infor­
mation
~ page 138. •
Safety belt pretensioners
How safety belt pretensioners work
In front, side and rear end collisions above a particular
severity, safety belts are tensioned automatically.
The safety belts are equipped with safety belt pretensioners . The
system is activated by sensors in front, side and rear -end collisions
of great severity . This tightens the belt and takes up belt slack~ &
in "Service and disposal of safety belt pretensioner " on
page 144.
Taking up the slack helps to reduce forward occupant movement
during a collision.
0 Note
Never let the belt remain over a rear seat back that has been folded
forward.
[ i] Tips
The safety belt pretensioners can only be activated once.
• In minor frontal and side collisions, in rear -end collisions, in a
rollover and in accidents involving very little impact force , the safety
belt pretensioner are not activated . .,_
Vehicle care Do-it-yourself service Technical data

III....__S_a _ fe_ t _y=-- b_ e_ lt_s ________________________________________________ _
• When the safety be lt pretensioners are activated, a fine dust is
released . This is normal and is n ot caused by a fire in the vehicle.
• The relevant safety requirements must be observed when the
veh ic le or components of the system a re scrapped . A qualified
workshop is familiar with these regulations and will be p leased to
pass on the i nformati on to you.
• Be sure to observe al l safety, environmental and other regula ­
t ions if the veh icl e or individual parts o f the syste m, particu lar ly the
safety belt or airbag, are to be disposed . We recommend you have
your au thor ized A udi dea ler pe rform t his se rvice for yo u.•
Service and disposal of safety belt
pretensioner
The safety bel t pre -tens ioners are parts of the safety bel t and
installed at the outboard seating positions on your Audi . Instal ling,
removi ng, servici ng or repair ing o f belt pre -tens ioners can damage
the safety belt system and prevent that system from working prop ­
e rly i n a co llision .
There are some important things you have to know to make sure
t hat the effec tive ness of the system will not be impai red and that
d iscarded components do not cause inju ry or po llute t he environ ­
ment .
& WARNING
Improper care , servicing and repair procedures can increase the
r isk of per sonal injury and death by preventing a safety belt
tensioner from a ctivating when needed or activating it unexpect­
edly:
• The safety belt pre-tensioner system can be activated only
once . If safety belt pre -tensioners ha ve been activated , then they
must be replaced .
• Never repair , ad just , or change any parts of the safety belt
system .
& WARNING (continued )
• Safety belt systems including safety belt pre-tensioners cannot
be repaired. Spec ial procedures are required for removal , installa ­
tion and disposal of this system .
• For any wor k on the safety belt system , we strongly recom ­
mend that you see your authorized Audi dealer or qualified techni­
cian who ha s a Audi approved repair manu al, training and special
equipment necessary .
ffi For the sake of the environment
Undeployed airbag modules and pretensioners might be c lassified
as Perc hlorate Mater ial -specia l handling may apply, see
www.dtsc .ca.gov/hazardouswaste/perchlorate. When the vehicle or
p arts of the restraint system including airbag m odu les sa fety belts
with pretensioners are scrapped, all applicab le laws and regu la ­
t ions mus t be obse rve d. Yo ur authori zed Au di d ea ler is fa miliar with
these requirements and we recommend that you have your dealer p erform this se rv ice for you. •

__________________________________________________ A_ i_ r _b _a...; g::- s_ y=--- s_t _e _m __ llll
Airbag system
Important things to know
Importance of wearing safety belts and
sitting properly
Airbags are only supplemental restraints. For airbags to
do their job, occupants must always properly wear their
safety belts and be in a proper seating position.
For your safety and the safety of your passengers, before
driving off, always:
- Adjust the driver's seat and steering wheel properly
=>
page 126,
-Adjust the front passenger's seat properly=> page 73,
-Wear safety belts properly=> page 138,
- Always properly use the proper child restraint to protect
children=>
page 167.
In a collision, airbags must inflate within the blink of an eye and with
considerable force . The supplemental airbags can cause injuries if
the driver or the front seat passenger is not seated properly. There ­
fore in order to help the airbag to do its job, it is important, both as
a driver and as a passenger to sit properly at all times.
By keeping room between your body and the steering wheel and the
front of the passenger compartment, the airbag can inflate fully and
completely and provide supplemental protection in certain frontal
collisions =>
page 126. For details on the operation of the seat
adjustment controls =>
page 74.
It's especially important that children are properly restrained
=>
page 167.
Controls and equip­ ment Safety first Vehicle operation
There is a lot that the driver and the passengers can and must do to
help the individual safety features installed in your Audi work
together as a system .
Proper seating position is important so that the front airbag on the
driver side can do its job. If you have a physical impairment or
condition that prevents you from sitting properly on the driver seat
with the safety belt properly fastened and reaching the pedals, or if
you have concerns with regard to the function or operation of the
Advanced Airbag System, please contact your authorized Audi dealer or other qualified workshop, or call Audi Customer CARE at 1-
800 -822 -2834 for possible modifications to your vehicle.
When the airbag system deploys, a gas generator will fill the
airbags, break open the padded covers, and inflate between the
steering wheel and the driver and between the instrument panel
and the front passenger. The airbags will deflate immediately after
deployment so that the front occupants can see through the wind ­
shield again without interruption .
All of this takes place in the blink of an eye, so fast that many people don't even realize that the airbags have deployed. The airbags also
inflate with a great deal of force and nothing should be in their way
when they deploy. Front airbags in combination with properly worn
safety belts slow down and limit the occupant's forward movement .
Together they help to prevent the driver and front seat passenger
from hitting parts of the inside of the vehicle while reducing the
forces acting on the occupant during the crash. In this way they help
to reduce the risk of injury to the head and upper body in the crash.
Airbags do not protect the arms or the lower parts of the body.
Both front airbags will not inflate in all frontal collisions. The trig­
gering of the airbag system depends on the vehicle deceleration
rate caused by the collision and registered by the electronic control
unit. If this rate is below the reference value programmed into the
control unit, the airbags will not be triggered, even though the car
may be badly damaged as a result of the collision. Vehicle damage,
9J),
Vehicle care Do-it-yourself service Technical data

___ A_ ir_ b_ a-g _ s_y _s_ t_ e_ m _________________________________________________ _
repair costs or even the lack of vehicle dama ge is not necessa rily an
in dic ati on of wh ether a n airb ag s hould infl ate or not.
S inc e th e circumsta nces w ill vary considerably b etw een one colli ­
s ion and anothe r, it is not po ssib le to define a range of vehic le
speeds t hat w ill cover eve ry po ssib le kin d a nd a ngle of im pact tha t
wi ll a lwa ys trigger the airbags . Impo rtant facto rs include, fo r
e xa mpl e, the natu re (ha rd o r sof t) o f th e object whic h th e car h its,
the ang le of impact, vehic le speed, etc. The front airbags will also
n o t in flate in s id e or rear co ll is ions, o r in ro ll-ov ers.
Always remember : Airba gs will d ep loy only once, and on ly in c ertain
k inds o f co llision s. Yo ur s afe ty bel ts are a lways the re t o offe r protec ­
ti on i n th ose si tuat io n s in whic h airba gs a re not suppose d to deploy,
or when they have a lready dep loyed; f or examp le, when yo ur veh ic le
str ikes o r is struc k by anot her ve hicle a fte r th e fir st coll isio n.
T his is just one of the reasons why an airbag is a supplementary
res train t an d is not a su bstit u te fo r a sa fe ty belt. T he ai rbag system
works most effectively when used with the safety be lts . T herefore,
a lw ays pro per ly wea r your safe ty be lts ~
page 135.
& WARNING
Sitting too close to the steering wheel or instrument panel will
decrease the effectiveness of the airbags and will increase the risk
of personal injury in a collision.
• Never sit closer than 10 inches (25 cm) to the steering wheel or
instrument panel .
• If you cannot sit more than 10 inches (25 cm ) from the steering
wheel , investigate whether adaptive equipment may be available
to help you reach the pedals and increase your seating distance
from the steering wheel.
• If you are unrestrained , leaning forward, sitting sideways or out
of position in any way, your risk of injury is much higher.
• You will also receive serious injuries and could even be killed if
you are up against the airbag or too close to it when it inflates -
even with an Advanced Airbag .
& WARNING (continued)
• To reduce the risk of injury when an airbag inflates , always
wear safety belts properly=:>
page 139 , "Safety belts".
• Always make certain that children age 12 or younger always
ride in the rear seat. If children are not properly restrained , they
may be severely injured or killed when an airbag inflates.
• Never let children ride unrestrained or improperly restrained in
the vehicle. Adjust the front seats properly .
• Never ride with the backrest reclined.
• Always sit as far as possible from the steering wheel or the
instrument panel=:>
page 126 .
• Always sit upright with your back against the backrest of your
seat.
• Never place your feet on the instrument panel or on the seat.
Always keep both feet on the floor in front of the seat to help
prevent serious injuries to the legs and hips if the airbag inflates.
• Never recline the front passenger's seat to transport objects.
Items can also move into the area of the side airbag or the front
airbag during braking or in a sudden maneuver. Objects near the
airbags can become projectiles and cause injury when an airbag
i nflates .
& WARNING
Airbags that have deployed in a crash must be replaced .
• Use only original equipment airbags approved by Audi and
installed by a trained technician who has the necessary tools and
diagnostic equipment to properly repla ce any ai rbag in your
vehicle and assure system effectiveness in a crash .
• Never permit salvaged or recycled airbags to be installed in
your vehicle. •