2011 AUDI A3 Owner´s Manual

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Installing a child restraint with LATCH
lower anchorages
Whenever you install a child restraint always follow the
child restraint manufacturer's instructions .
Mounting
Fig. 151 Lower
anchorages: proper
mounting
- Remove the cover* to access the lower anchorage attach ­
ment points.
- Make sure the seatback of the rear seat bench is in the
upright position and securely latched in place .
- Attach both hook-on connectors with the spring catch
release on the child safety seat onto the LATCH lower
anchorage so that the connectors lock into place
=> fig. 151.
-Pull on the connector attachments to make sure they are
properly attached to the LATCH lower anchorage.
- Pull straps tight following the child restraint manufac­
ture r's instructions.
Controls and equip­
ment Safety first Vehicle operation
Releasing
-
Loosen the tension on the straps following the child
restraint manufacturer's instructions.
- Depress the spring catches to release the anchorage hooks
from the lower anchorages .
Remember: Use tether straps to help keep the child restraint firmly
in place.
& WARNING
Improper use of the LATCH system can increase the risk of serious
personal injury and death in an accident.
• These anchors were developed only for child safety seats using
the "LATCH" system.
• Never attach other child safety seats, belts or other objects to
these anchors.
• Always make sure that you hear a click when latching the seat
in place. If you do not hear a click the seat is not secure and could
fly forward and hit the interior of the vehicle, or be ejected from
the vehicle.
& WARNING
Improper installation of child restraints will increase the risk of
injury in an accident.
• Always follow the child restraint system manufacturer's
instructions for proper installation of the child restraint system
and proper use of tether straps as well as the lower anchorages or
safety belts in your vehicle.
• Always read and heed the important information and WARN­
INGS about child safety and the installation of child restraint
systems =>
page 167, "Child Safety". •
Vehicle care Do-it-yourself service Technical data

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Tether anchors and tether straps
Fig . 152 Tether
an chors: a ttachment
ho ok locatio ns behind
t h e rea r seatba cks
The tether anchors for the rear seat ing pos itions are located on the
backside of the rear seat backs
=> fig. 152.
A tethe r is a st raight o r V-sha ped strap that a tta che s the to p pa rt of
a ch ild restraint to spec ial anchorage po ints in the vehicle .
T he pu rpose of the te the r is to reduce t he fo rw ar d m ovemen t of the
child restraint in a crash, in order to help reduce the risk of h ead injury
t ha t could be c ause d by st riking the ve hicle in terio r.
Forwar d fac ing chi ld re stra in ts manu fac tur ed after Sept em ber 1,
1 999, are requ ired by U.S . federa l reg ulations to comply with new
child head movem ent pe rformanc e req uirem ents. T h ese new p erf or­
mance requirements make a tether necessary on most new chi ld
saf ety seats.
& WARNING
Improper installation of child restraints will increase the risk of
injury and death in a crash.
• Always follow the instructions provided by the manufacturer
of the child restraint you intend to install in your Audi.
• Improper use of child restraint anchors (including tether
anchor s) can lead to injury in a collision. The anchors are designed
& WARNING (co ntinued )
to withstand only those loads imposed by correctly fitted child
restraint s.
• Never mount two child restraint systems on one LATCH lower
anchor po int .
• Never attach two child restraint systems to one tether strap or
tether anchorage.
• Never attach a tether strap to a tie-down hook in the luggage
compartment.
• Never use child restraint tether anchorages to secure safety
belts or other kinds of occupant restraints.
• Never secure or attach any luggage or other items to the LATCH
lower anchorages or to the tether anchors .
• If a tether or other strap is used to attach a child restraint to
the front passenger seat, make sure that it is not so tight, that it
causes the weight-sensing mat to measure more weight than is
actually on the seat .
• The heavier weight registered can make the Advanced Airbag
System work as though an adult were on the seat and deploy the
Advanced Airbag when it must be suppressed causing serious or
even fatal injury to the child.
• If you must install a rearward facing child safety seat on the
front passenger seat because of exceptional circumstances and
the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not come on and stay on,
i mmediately install the rear-facing child safety seat in a rear
seating position and have the airbag system inspected by your
Audi dealer. •

Installing the upper tether strap on the
anchorage
Installing the tether strap
Fig. 153 Tether strap:
proper routing and
mounting
Fig. 154 Tether strap:
proper routing and
mounting
- Release or deploy the tether strap on the child restraint
according to the child restraint manufacturer's instruc­
tions .
- Guide the upper tether strap
under the rear head restraint
and into the rear cargo area=> fig. 154 (raise the head
restraint if necessary).
- Slide the tether strap hook over the anchor bracket.
Safety first Vehicle OP-eration
Child Safety
-Pull on the tether strap hook so that the spring catch of
the hook engages .
- Tighten the tether strap firmly following the chi ld
restraint manufacturer's instructions.
Releasing the tether strap
- Loosen the tension following the child restraint manufac ­
turer's instructions.
- Depress the spring catch on the hook and release it from
the anchorage.
0 Note
If you leave the child restraint with the tether strap firmly installed
for several days, this could leave a mark on the upholstery on the seat
cush ion and backrest in the area where the tether strap was installed.
Th e upholstery would also be permanent ly stretched around the
tether strap. This applies especially to leather seats.•
Using tether straps on rearward-facing
child restraints
Currently, few rear-facing child restraint systems come w ith a tether.
Please read and heed the child rest raint system manufacturer's
instructions carefully to determine how to properly install the tether.
& WARNING
A child in a rearward-facing child safety seat installed on the front
passenger seat will be seriously injured and can be killed if the
front airbag inflates· even with an Advanced Airbag System.
• The inflating airbag will hit the child safety seat or infant
carrier with great force and will smash the child safety seat and
child against the backrest, center armrest, or door. ,-
Vehicle care Do-it-yourselt service Technical data

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& WA RNING (conti nued)
• A tight tether or other strap on a rearward-facing child
restraint attached to the front passenger seat can put too much
pressure on the weight -mat in the seat and registe r a hea vier
weight in the Advanced Airbag System . The heavier w eight regis­
tered can make the system work as though an adult were on the
s eat and deploy the Advanced Airbag when it mu st be suppressed
causing se rious or e ven fatal injury to the child.
• If you must install a rearward facing child safety seat on the
front p assenger seat because of e xceptional circumstances and
the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not come on and stay on,
immediately install the rear -facing child safety seat in a rea r
s eating position and have the airbag system inspected by your
Audi dealer. •
Additional Information
Sources of information about child
restraints and the ir use
There are a number of sources of additional information abo ut child
restrain t selec tion, insta llation and use:
NHTSA adv ises that the best chi ld safety seat is the o ne that fits you r
child and fits in your vehicle, and that you will use correctly and
c ons iste ntly .
Try before you buy !
U.S National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
T e l. : 1-888-327 -4236 (T TY: 1-800 -424 -9 153)
www.n htsa.gov
National SAFE KIDS Campaign
Tel. : (202) 662-0600
www.safekids .org
Safety BeltSafe U.S.A
T e l. : ( 800 ) 74 5-SAF E (E ng lish)
Tel.: (800) 747 -SANO (Spa nish)
www.carseat .or g
Transport Canada Information Centre
Te l. : 1 (800) 333-0371 or call 1 (6 13) 998 -8 6 16 if yo u are in t he
Ottawa area
www. tc.gc.ca/ro ads afety
Audi Customer CARE
T el.: (800) 822-2834 •

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Controls and equip­
ment Safety first Vehicle operation
Vehicle care Do-it-yourself service Technical data

Intelligent technology
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Intelligent technology
Notice about data recorded by
vehicle control modules
Your vehicle is not equipped with an Event Data Recorder (EDR),
installed by some manufacturers for the express purpose of
capturing data for retrieva l after an accident or crash event. ED R's are
sometimes called "crash recorders".
Some state laws restrict the retrieval or downloading of data stored
by ED R's that were installed in a vehicle for the express purpose of
retrieving data after an accident or crash event without the owner's
consent.
Although your vehicle is not equipped with an EDR, it is equipped w ith
a number of electronic control modu les for various vehicle systems
such as, for example, engine function, emission control, as well as for
the airbags and safety belts.
T hese electronic contro l modules also record vehicle-re lated data
during normal vehicle operation for diagnostic and repair purposes .
Th e recording capacity of the e lectronic control modu les is limited to
data (no sound is recorded) and only a sma ll amount of data is actu­
ally recorded over a very limited period of time and stored when a
system fault or other condition is sensed by a control unit. Some of
the data then stored may relate to vehicle speed, direction, braking
as well as restraint system use and performance in the event of a
crash or other condition. Stored data can only be read and down­
loaded with special equipment.
Electronic Stabilization Program
(ESP)
General
The Electronic Stability Program increases driving
stability .
With ESP, contro l over the vehicle is increased in situations when the
vehicle is close to the limits of grip, such as dur ing accelerat ion and in
curves. ESP reduces the risk of sk idding and improves vehicle stability
unde r all road conditions.
It operates at all speeds.
The Anti-Lock Brake System (ABS), Electronic Differential Lock (EDS) and Anti-Slip Regulation System (ASR) are integrated in the Elec­
tronic Stability Program .
How ESP works
The ESP control unit processes the following data from high-sensitive
sensors: the rotationa l speed of the vehicle about its vertical axis,
fore-and -aft and lateral acceleration forces, brake pressure and
steering angle .
Us ing stee ring ang le and vehicle speed, the direction the driver
wishes to travel is determined and continuously compared with
actual vehicle behavior. If the two do not match, for example when
the vehicle beg ins to skid, ESP brakes the appropriate whee l auto­
matically.
The vehicle is stabilized aga in by the forces act ing on the whee l
during braking. With an oversteering veh icle (tendency for the rear
end to skid out of the curve), the brake app lication is mainly at the
front wheel on the outside of the curve, with an understeering vehicle
(tendency to run wide in the curve) at the rear wheel on the insid e of
the curve or additionally at the other wheels as needed. This brake
application is accompanied by noises. _,

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ESP works in co njunction w ith ABS~ page 192 . If there is malfunc­
t ion in the ABS, ESP is also inoperat ive.
& WARNING
• The limit s of phy sics cannot be su spended by ESP. Even in vehi­
cles with ESP, you should always adapt your driving to road and
traffic conditions. Thi s is particularly true on a slippery and wet
road. Do not be tempted by the increased safety provided to take
ri sk s - danger of an a ccident!
• Please note that when ESP / ASR is deact ivated , the drive
wheel s can spin on icy and slippery roads and the vehicle can break
away -danger of skidd ing! •
Switching on and off
Fig. 155 C ente r
con sole w ith ESP
s wit ch
Th e ESP i s automa tically activ ated w hen the eng ine is st arted, and i t
performs a self-test. As soon as the test is comp leted, the system is
in normal operat ing mode .
Deactivating
ES P s hould no rm ally be activate d at all times beca u se this ens ures
optimum veh icle stability. Only in some cases it does make sense to
de activ at e t he Elect roni c Stabili ty Pr ogr am ( ES P) by p ress ing the
button~ fig. 155. Deact ivat io n i s indicated by the ESP lamp
J! in the
Controls and equip­
ment Safety first
Vehicle operation
instrument cluster flashes . The message ESP OFF appears in the
ins trument cl uste r. Ant i-Slip Regula tion is comp le tely deact iv a te d
and the stab ilizat io n effects from the ESP system are lim ited. This
ma kes a more agile and spo rty driving sty le possible, but the full
extent o f th e stabilization function is not available .
Activating
~~~= Press the [ESP OFF ) button again~ fig. 155 . The ind icator lig ht
goes out . The message
ESP ON appears br iefly in the ins trumen t
cluster disp lay .
& WARNING
You should only switch the ESP off if your driv ing ability and the
traffic situation allow. Please note that when ESP /ASR i s dea cti­
vated, the drive wheels can spin on icy and slippery roads and th e
vehicle can break away -danger of skidding!
[ i ] Tips
If Audi magnetic r ide* is ma lf u nct io ning, the ESP may not sw itch off
or it may switch off automatically . •
Electronic differential lock (EDL}
The ele ctr onic dif ferential lock mo nit ors the rot ational
s p eed of the d rive wheels .
General notes
The elec tron ic differe ntia l lock ( EDL) helps the ca r to sta rt movin g,
acce le ra te and climb a gradient on surfaces provid ing poor or almost
no grip. Without E DL, this would be difficult, if not impossible.
How the system works
Th e E DL operates au tomatically . It mo nitors the rotational s peed of
t he drive wheels on an axle with the he lp of the ABS sensors
~ page 19 2. If a noticeable difference in rotational speed between ..
Vehicle care Do-it-yourself service Technical data

Intelligent technologyL ______________________________________ _
the drive wheels on one axle is detected (e.g . on slippery ground on
one side),
the spinning wheel is braked, thereby transferring power to
the other drive wheel or wheels (all -wheel drive) . This is done up to a
speed of about 60 mph (100 km/h). Noises from the brake system
signal that wheel sp in is being controlled .
Driving off
When driving off, always be sure to keep road conditions in mind as
you accelerate . If one drive wheel spins because it is on a surface with
less grip, gradually increase the pressure on the accelerator pedal
until the car starts to move. The wheel less ab le to transfer power
spms .
Overheating of brakes
To prevent the disc brake of the braked wheel from overheating if
subjected to excessive loads, the EDL cuts out temporarily. The
vehicle remains operat ional and behaves in the same way as a vehicle
without EDL .
As soon as the brake has cooled down, EDL switch es on again auto­
matically.
Electronic limited slip differential*
In vehicles w ith front wheel drive*, an electronic lim ited slip differen­
tial engages when driving on curves. The brakes are applied spec ifi­
cally to the front wheel that is on the inside of the curve. This mini­
m izes sliding on the front wheels and enables precise and neutral
driving through curves. The electronic limited slip differential does
not engage when d riving in wet conditions or snow.
& WARNING
• When accelerating on slippery surfaces, such as on ice or snow,
always be careful when depressing the accelerator pedal. Even
with the EDL and the ele ctronic limited slip differential working,
the drive wheels can spin and reduce your ability to control your
ca r. -Risk of crash!
& WARNING (continued)
• The increased safety afforded by EDL and the electronic limited
slip differential does not mean that you can take safety risks .
Always adapt your driving style to the road conditions and traffic
situation.
[I) Tips
If a fau lt occurs in the ABS, the EDL is also not f unct ioni ng. This is
indicated by the ABS warning light=>
page 16.
Anti-Slip Regulation System (ASR)
The Anti-Slip Regulation System prevents the driven
wheels from spinning when the car is accelerating.
General notes
The Anti-Sl ip Regu lation System (ASR) is integrated in the electronic
stabili zation program (ESP) . When the vehicle starts up and acceler­
ates, the wheels are prevented from sp inning by adjust ing the engine
power to match the amount of grip available from the road surface.
How the system works
ASR performs automatica lly, i.e. without the driver's intervention.
With the aid of the ABS sensors=>
page 192, ASR monitors the speed
of the driven wheels. If the wheels start to spin, the engine torque is
reduced automatically until the tires find enough grip to lock onto
the road surface. The system is active across the entire speed range.
The ASR works in conjunction with the ABS. If a malfunction shou ld
occur in the ABS, the ASR w ill also be out of action .
[I) Tips
To ensure that the ASR works properly, all four wheels must be fitted
with identical tires. Any differences in rolling radius of the tires can .,