2011 AUDI A3 airbag

Seats and storage
-Adjust the head restraint so the upper edge is as even as
possible with the top of your head. If that is not possible,
try to adjust the head restraint so that it is as close to this
position as possible=:>
page 77.
& WARNING
Never place any objects in the driver's footwell. An object could
get into the pedal area and interfere with pedal function. In case
of sudden braking or an accident, you would not be able to brake
or accelerate! •
Front passenger's seat
Always move the front passenger seat into the rearmost
position.
To avoid contact with the airbag while it is deploying, do not
sit any closer to the instrument panel than necessary and
always wear the three-point safety belt provided adjusted
correctly. We recommend that you adjust the passenger's
seat in the following manner:
- Move the front passenger seat into the rearmost position
of the fore and aft adjustment range=:>
& in "Why is your
seat adjustment so important?" on
page 73.
- Bring the backrest up to an (almost) upright position. Do
not ride with the seat reclined.
- Adjust the head restraint so the upper edge is as even as
possible with the top of your head. If that is not possible,
try to adjust the head restraint so that it is as close to this
position as possible=:>
page 77.
- Place you r feet on the floor in front of the passenger's
seat .•
Adjusting front seats manually
Applies to veh icles: w ith manual seat ad justment
Adjustment controls
Various controls on the manual seats provide a wide
range for individual adjustments.
(D Moving the seat forward or backward
@ Adjusting the seat height
® Adjusting the seatback angle
© Adjusting head restraint height
Fig. 69 Adjustment
controls: locations on
driver's seat
Some of the controls are fitted on certain models only or they are
optional equipment. •
Applies to veh icles: with manual seat ad justment
Adjusting the manual seats
Position, angle and shape of the manual seats can be
adjusted to provide safe and comfortable seating.
Read and heed all WARNINGS =:> & before you adjust your
seat .
~

Moving the front seats forward or backward
-Lift the lever => page 74, fig. 69 (D and slide the seat to
the desired posi tion.
- Release the lever and then move the seat f urther until you
feel and hear it engage.
Adjusting the seat height
- Pull th e le ver @up and pu mp i t to raise th e seat .
-Push the lev er down and pum p i t to lo wer the sea t.
Adjusting the seatback angle
- Lean forwa rd to take yo ur weight off the seatback.
Tur n th e ha nd whee l© in the direc tio n you want the seat ­
back to til t.
& WARNING
• Never adju st the driver's or front passenger's seat while the
vehicle is mov ing . If you do this while the veh icle is moving , you
will be out of po sition. Always adjust the driver's or front
passenge r's seat when the vehicle is not moving .
• Be careful when adjusting the seat height . Check to see that no
one is in the way , or serious injury could result!
• To reduce the risk of in jury in the case of sudden braking or
accident , front passengers must never ride in a moving vehicle
with the seatba ck reclined. Safety belt s and the airbag system
only offer max imum protection when the seatback is upright and
the safety belt s are properly positioned on the body . The more the
s e atback is reclined, the greater the risk of personal injury from an
incorrect seating po sition and improperly positioned safety
belts! •
Con tro ls a nd e quip ­
m en t Vehicle
OP-eration
Seats and storage
Adjusting the power seat
Applies to veh icl es: w it h po we r dri ve r se at
Adjustment switches
For an intuitive operation, the switches ©and ® are
distinctly sha ped and position ed to reflect their adjust ­
ment functions.
Fig. 7 0 Adj ustm ent
s wit ches: l ocati ons on
d rive r's s eat
Push or pull e ithe r swi tch in e xa ct ly the s ame d irec tion you like the
co rrespo nding part o f the seat to move .
@ Moving the seat fo rward o r backwa rd
@ Adjusting the angle of the seatback and head restraints
© Adjusting the lumbar support •
Vehicle care Do-it-yourselt service iTechnical data

& WARNING
• Never adjust the seatback while the vehicle is moving. If you
adjust your seatback while the vehicle is moving, you will be out
of position. Always adjust the seatback when the vehicle is not
moving.
• To reduce the risk of injury
in the case of sudden braking or
accident, front passengers must never ride in a moving vehicle
with the seatback reclined. Safety belts and the airbag system
only offer maximum protection when the seatback is upright and
the safety belts are properly positioned on the body. The more the seat back is reclined, the greater the risk of personal injury from an
incorrect seating position and improperly positioned safety
belts! •
App lies to vehicle s: w ith lumba r suppor t
Adjusting the lumbar support
The lumbar support can be adjusted to fit the natural
curvature of the occupant's spine.
~
--ct
L--------------- --,ll:
Adjusting the curvature
Fig. 73 Driver seat:
switch for lumbar
adjustment
- Push the front of the switch plate==> fig. 73 in order to
increase the curvature.
Con tro ls an d equip ­
m en t Vehicle OP-eration
Seats and storage
-Push the rear of the switch plate in order to decrease the
curvature.
Adjusting the height
- Push on the top of the switch plate in order to move the
support higher.
- Push on the bottom of the switch plate in order to move
the support lower.
& WARNING
Never adjust the lumbar support while the vehicle is moving. If
you adjust your seat while the vehicle is moving, you will be out of
position. Always adjust the lumbar support when the vehicle is
not moving. •
Head restraints
Front head restraints
The head restraints must be properly adjusted to the
occupants's height to provide optimal restraint in combi­
nation with the seat restraints.
-
Vehicle care
Fig. 74 Driver's seat
head restra int:
adjusting the height ...
Do-it-yourselt service iTechnical data

- Plug in appliance to be used.
The outlet may be used for 12-volt app liances w ith maxim um
cons umption of up to 100 watts, such as a flash light, small vacuum
cl eaner, e tc.
Before you purchase any accessor ies, always read and fo llow the
info rm ation in::::,
page 301, "Add it io na l acc essories and p arts
re placemen t".
& WARNING
The outlet plus any appliances plugged into it remain functional
even if the ignition is switched off or the ignition key is removed. Never leave children inside the vehicle without supervision .
0 Note
To avoid damaging the socket, only use plugs that fit properly.
(I) Tips
When the engine is off and accessor ies are st ill plugged in and are on,
the ve hicle battery can sti ll be drained .•
Storage
General overview
There are numerous pl aces to st ore items in your vehi cle .
Storage in t he center armrest
Storage in the rear armrest
::::, page 79
Glove com partment (Ai r ven tila tion in t he ::::, page 92
glove compartment*, CD changer*)
Controls and equip ·
ment Safety first
Seats and storage
Center console ::::,
page 92
Compartments in the door tr ims ::::, page 93
Storage in the footwell ::::, page 93
Compartments in luggage compartment ::::, page 94
Coat hooks
Some of the storage locations are only fo und o n specific vehicle
mode ls o r are op tio nal equ ipme nt.
& WARNING
• Always remove objects from the instrument panel. Any items
not put away could slide around inside the vehicle while dri ving or
when accelerating or when applying the brakes or when dri ving
around a corner.
• When you are driv ing make sure that anything you may have
placed in the center console or other stor age locations cannot fall
out into the footwells. In c ase of sudden braking you would not be
able to b rake, depres s the clutch or accelerate .
• Any pieces of clothing that you have hung up must not inter­
fere with the driver's view. The co at hooks are designed onl y for
lightweight clothing . Never hang any clothing with hard, pointed
or hea vy objects in the pockets on the coat hooks. During sudden
braking or in an accident· especially if the airbag is deployed ·
the se objects could injure any passengers inside the vehicle. •
Vehicle care Technical data

Compartments in the door trims
There are storage compartments in the door trims.
& WARNING
Fig. 96 Storage
compartment in the
door trim
Always read and heed all WARNINGS => page 163, "Important
safety instructions on the side airbag system". •
Applies to vehicles : with sto rage net in footwe ll
Storage net in footwell
There is a storage net in the passenger's footwell.
Con tro ls a nd e quip ­
m en t
Fig . 97 Storage net in
passenger's footwell
Vehicle OP-eration
Seats and storage
(I) Tips
Do not keep any sharp or pointed objects in the storage net -they are
a personal injury risk.•
Applies to vehicles: w ith storage net in the front seatbacks
Storage net in the seatbacks
There is a storage net behind both front seatbacks.
(I) Tips
Fig. 98 Storage net on
the driver's seatback
Do not keep any sharp or pointed objects in the storage net -th is
increases the risk of personal injury .•
Vehicle care Do-it-yourselt service iTechnical data

Seats and storage
Applies to veh icles : with storage net in luggage compartment
Side storage in the luggage compartment
T here is a compartment with a n et on the right side of th e
luggage compartment .
•
Fig. 99 S id e c ompart ·
me nt in the lugg age
c om partm ent
The compa rtment is suitab le for holdi ng sma ll items. •
Coat hooks
There is a coat hook above each rear door.
Fig. 100 C oat h ook
The coat hooks a re located in the headliner above each rear door.
& WARNING
• Hang clothes in such a way that they do not impair the driver 's
vision.
• The coat hoo ks must only be used fo r light weight clothing. Do
not leave any heavy or sharp edged objects in the pockets whi ch
may interfere with the side curta in airbag deployment and can
cause personal injury in a cra sh.
• Do not use coat hangers fo r hanging clothing on the coat hooks
as this can interfere with proper deployment of the side curtain
airbags in an accident .
• Do not hang heavy objects on the coat hooks , as they could
cause personal injury in a sudden stop. •

___________________________________________________ O_ n_ t_h _e_ r_o _a_ d __ _
On the road
Steering
Adjustable steering wheel
The height and reach of the steering wheel con be
adjusted .
First, adjust t he dr iver's seat correct ly.
Fi g. 106 Leve r und er
the s tee ring column
-Pu sh t he lever~ fig. 106 down as far as it wi ll go~ &.
- Move th e st eeri ng wheel to t he desire d position.
- Push t he lever back up as fa r as it wi ll go.
There must be at least 10 inches (25 cm) between your chest and the
c en ter of the steer ing w hee l. If you cannot si t more than 10 inches
(25 cm) from the steering wheel, see if adaptive equ ipment is avai l­
able to help you reach the pedals and increase the distance from the
steeri ng wheel.
For detai led info rmation on how to adjust the dr iver's seat, see
=> page 76, "Power se at adj ustment".
The steer ing whee l can be adjusted even when the ignition is turned
off .
Controls and equip ­
ment Safety first
& WARNING
Improper use of steering wheel adjustment and improper seating
position can cause serious personal
injury .
• Adjust the steer ing whe el column only when the vehicle is not
moving to prevent loss of vehicle control.
• Always make sure that the adjustment lever is securely pushed
up so that the position of the steering wheel cannot be changed
unintentionally when the vehicle is moving .
• Adjust the dr iver 's seat or steering wheel so that there is a
m inimum of 10 inches (25 cm) between your breastbone and the
steering wheel=>
page 126, fig. 122. If you cannot maintain this
minimum distance, the airbag system cannot protect you prop­
erly.
• If physical limitations prevent you from sitting 10 inches (25
c m) or more from the steering wheel, check with your authorized
Audi dealer to see if adaptive equipment is available .
• Pointing the steering wheel toward your face decrea ses the
ability of the supplemental driver's a irbag to prote ct you in an
accident. Always make sure that the steer ing wheel is pointed
towards your che st .
• Always hold the steering wheel on the outside of the steering
wheel rim with your hands at the 9 o'clo ck and 3 o'clock position s
to help reduce the risk of personal injury if the driver's airbag
inflates .
• Never hold the steer ing 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 injurie s to the hand s, arms and head if th e
driver 's airbag inflates. •
Vehicle care Technical data

1111 ....... _D_ r_iv _i_ n .... g=-- S_ a_f _e _Ly :,.._ ______________________________________________ _
Driving Safely
General notes
Safe driving habits
Please remember -safety first!
Th is chapter contains important information, t ips, instructions and
warnings that you need to read an d observe fo r you r own safe ty, the
safety of you r passengers and others . We have summarized here
w hat you need to know about sa fety belts, airbags, child restra ints as
we ll as child safety . You r safety is for us
priority number 1. Always
observe the information and warnings in this section -for your own
safety as well as t hat of your passengers.
The informat ion in this section applies to all mode l versions of yo ur
veh icle . Some of the fe atures des cribed in this se ctions m ay be st an­
dard equ ipment on some models, or may be optional eq uipment on
others. If you a re not sure, ask your a uth o rized Audi dealer.
& WARNING
• Always make sure that you follow the instructions and heed
the WARNINGS in th is Manual. It is in your interest and in the
intere st of your passengers.
• Always keep the complete Owner's Literatu re in your Audi
when you lend or sell your vehicle so that this important informa ­
tion will always be available to the driver and passengers .
• Always keep the Owner's literature handy so that you can find
it easily if you have questions . •
Safety equipment
The safety features are part of the occupant restraint
s y stem and wor k together to he lp reduce the ris k of injury
in a wide variety of accident situations.
Your sa fety and t he safety o f yo ur passenge rs shou ld no t be left to
chance . Adva nces in technology have made a variety of features avai l­
a b le to help re duce the risk of injury in an a cc ident . The fo llow ing is a
list of jus t a few of the safety features in your Audi:
• sophisticated safety belts for driver and a ll passenger seating
p osi tion s,
• safety belt pretensioners,
• safety belt fo rce lim iters for the fro nt sea ts,
• safety belt he igh t adju stmen t sys tems for the fro nt sea ts,
• automatic safety be lt height adjustment for the rear seats,
• head restraints fo r eac h seating position,
• front airbags,
• side airbags in the fro nt seats a nd outer rear seats*,
• side curtain air bags,
• special LATCH anchorages for child restraints,
• head restraints fo r eac h seating position,
• adjus table stee ring co lumn.
Th ese ind ividual safety features, can work together as a system to
he lp protec t you and yo ur passengers in a wide range of accidents.
Th ese featu res ca nnot work as a syst em if they are not always
correct ly adjusted and cor rect ly used.
Safety is everybody' s re sponsibility! •