2012 AUDI A3 warning

142 Airbag sys te m
vehicle that is struck in a side co llision
~ fig . 138.
When the system is triggered , the side c urtain
a irbag is filled wi th propellant gas and b reaks
through a seam above the front and rear side
windows ide ntified by the AIRBAG label. In or­
der to help provide this additional protection,
the side curtain airbag must inflate within the
blink of an eye at very high speed and w ith
great force. The side curtain airbag could in­
jure you if your seat ing pos ition is not proper
or upright or if items are located in the area
where the suppleme nta l side cu rtain airbag
i nflates . This applies espe cial ly to childre n
~page 143.
Although they are not a soft pillow, side cur­
tain airbags can "cushion" the impact and in
this way they ca n he lp to redu ce the r isk of in­
ju ry to the head and the upper part of the
body .
A fine dust may develop when the airbag de­ p loys. This is q uite norma l and does not mean
there is a fire in the vehicle .
Important safety instructions on the
side curtain airbag system
Airbags are only supplemental restraints . Al­
ways properly wear safety belts and ride in a
proper seating position.
There is a lot that you and your passengers
must know and do to help the safety belts and
a irbags do the ir job to provide s upplementa l
protection.
A WARNING
Improperly wearing safety belts and im­
prope r seat ing positions increase the risk
of serious personal injury and death when­
ever a veh icle is being used .
- Never let occupants p lace any parts of
their bodies in the a rea from wh ich the
side cu rtain airbags inflate.
- Always make sure that the side curta in
airbags can inflate w ithout interference .
Unsuitable accessor ies fitted inside the expansion range of a curtain airbag can
dangerously interfere with its funct
ion. A
deploying head airbag develops enough
force to catapult any p iece of add-on
component out of its path of infla tion
and into the passenger compa rtment. An
o ccu pant hit by such a projectile can suf­
fe r serious injury or death~
page 262,
Technical Modifications.
- Do not swive l the sun visors to the side if
you have any objects clipped onto them
(for examp le pens). If the airbag should
deploy, you could be injured by these ob­
jects .
- Use the bui lt -in coat hooks only for light ­
weight clothing . Never leave any heavy o r
sharp-edged objects in the pockets that
may interfere with a irbag dep loyment
and can cause personal injury in an acci­
dent.
- Never use hangers to hang cloth ing from
the hooks.
- Only use factory-installed sun shades or,
in the case of shades installed after the
veh icle leaves the factory, on ly Audi roll­
up sunscreens may be used
~ page 261,
Additional accessories and parts re­
placement.
- Always sit in proper seat ing pos ition and
wear safety belts wh ile traveling so that
the side curtain airbag s can help p rov ide
p rotec tion.
- T he a irbag system can only be triggered
once .
If the airbag has been triggered,
t he system mus t be rep lace d by an au­
thor ized A udi dealer or qualified work ­
shop .
- Always have work involving the side c ur­
tain airbag system, removal and insta lla­
tion of the airbag components, or ot her
repairs performed by a qua lified work­
shop. Otherwise the airbag system may
not work correct ly.
- Never attempt to modify any compo­
nents of the airbag system in any way .

Child Safety
Important things to know
Introduction
The rear seat is generally the safest place in a
collision .
The physical principles of what happens when
your veh icle is in a crash app ly also to chi ldren
¢ page 114, What happens to occupants not
wearing safety belts? .
But unlike adults and
teenagers, their muscles and bones are not
fu lly developed. In many respects children are
at greater risk of serious injury in crashes than
adu lts.
Because children's bod ies are not fully deve l­
oped, they require restraint systems especial­ ly designed for their size, weight, and body
structure. Many countries and all states of the
United States and provinces of Canada have
laws requiring the use of approved child re­
straint systems for infants and small children .
In a fronta l crash at a speed of 20 -35 mph
(30-56 km/h) the forces acting on a 13-pound
(6 kg) infant w ill be more than 20 t imes the
weight of the child . This means the weight of
the child would suddenly be more than
260 pounds (120 kg). Under these conditions,
on ly an appropriate chi ld restraint properly
used can reduce the risk of ser ious injury .
Child restraints, like adult safety belts, must
be used properly to be effective. Used improp­
erly, they can increase the risk of serious in ­
jury in an accident.
Consult the child safety seat manufacturer's
instruction to be sure the seat is right for your
child 's size ¢
page 146, Important saf ety in­
struc tions for using child safety seats.
P lease
be sure to read and heed all of the important
information and WARNINGS about child safe­
ty, Advanced Airbags, and the installat ion of
chi ld restraints in this chapter .
There is a lot you need to know about the Ad­
vanced Airbags in your vehicle and how they work when infants and children in child re-
Child Sa fet y 143
straints are on the front passenger seat . Be­
cause of the large amount of important infor­
mation, we cannot repeat it a ll here . We urge
you to read the detailed information in this owner's manual about airbags and the Ad­
vanced Airbag System in your vehicle and the
very important information about transport­
ing children on the front passenger seat .
Please be sure to heed the WARNINGS -they
are extremely important for your safety and
the safety of your passengers, especially in­
fants and small chi ldren .
.A, WARNING
-Accident statistics have shown that chil ­
dren are generally safer in the rear seat
area than in the front seating position.
Always restrain any child age 12 and un­ der in the rear.
- All vehicle occupants and especially chil­
dren must be restrained properly when­
ever riding in a vehicle . An unrestrained
or improperly restrained chi ld could be
injured by str ikin g the interior or by be­
ing ejected from the vehicle during a
sudden maneuver or impact. An un re ­
strained or improper ly restrained chi ld is
also at greater risk of injury or death
through contact with an inflating airbag.
- A suitable chi ld restraint properly instal­
led and used at one of the rear seating
positions provides the highest degree of
protection for infants and small children
in most accident situations.
A WARNING
Children on the front seat of any car even
with Advanced Airbags can be ser iously in­
jured or even killed when an a irbag in­
flates. A child in a rearward-fac ing ch ild
safety seat installed on the front passen­
ger seat will be ser iously injured and can
be killed if the front airbag inflates .
- The inflating airbag will h it 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.
•
•

144 Child Safety
-Always install rear-facing child safety
seats on the rear seat.
- If you must install a rearward facing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat in exceptional 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 rear seating position and have the air­
bag system inspected immediately by
your authorized Audi dealer.
_& WARNING
If, in exceptional circumstances, you must
install a forward-facing child restraint on
the front passenger's seat:
- Always make sure the forward-facing
seat has been designed and certified by
its manufacturer for use on a front seat
with a passenger front and side airbag.
- Always follow the manufacturer's in­
structions provided with the child safety
seat or carrier.
- Always move the passenger seat into its
rearmost position in the seat's fore and
aft adjustment range, as far away from
the airbag as possible before installing
the child restraint. The backrest must be adjusted to an upright position .
- Always make sure that the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays
on all the time whenever the ignition is
switched on.
(D Tips
Always replace child restraints that were
installed in a vehicle during a crash. Dam­
age to a child restraint that is not visible
could cause it to fail in another collision
situation.
Advanced front airbag system and children
Your vehicle is equipped with an "Advanced
Airbag System" in compliance with United
States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 208 as applicable at the time your
vehicle was manufactured.
The Advanced Airbag system in your vehicle
has been certified to meet the "low-risk" re­
quirements for 3- and 6-year old children on
the passenger side and small adults on the driver side. The low risk deployment criteria
are intended to reduce the risk of injury
through interaction with the airbag that can
occur, for example, by being too close to the
steering wheel and instrument panel when
the airbag inflates . In addition, the system
has been certified to comply with the "sup­
pression" requirements of the Safety Stand­
ard, to turn off the front airbag for infants up
to 12 months who are restrained on the front
passenger seat in child restraints that are list­
ed in the Standard.
Even though your vehicle is equipped with an
Advanced Airbag system , all children, espe­
cially those 12 years and younger, should al­
ways ride in the back seat properly restrained
for their age and size. The airbag on the pas­
senger side makes the front seat a potentially dangerous place for a child to ride . The front
seat is not the safest place for a child in a for­
ward-facing child safety seat. It can be a very
dangerous place for an infant or a larger child
in a rearward-facing seat .
Advanced Airbags and the weight­
sensing mat in the front seat
The Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle
detects the presence of an infant or child in a
child restraint on the front passenger seat us­
ing the weight-sensing mat in the seat cush ­
ion and the sensor below the safety belt latch
on the front passenger seat that measures the
tension on the safety belt.
The weight -sensing mat measures total
weight of the child and the child safety seat
and a child blanket on the front passenger
seat. The weight on the front passenger seat
is related to the design of the child restraint
and its "footprint", the size and shape of the
bottom of the child restraint as it sits on the .,..

146 Child Saf ety
-Model Manufactured on or
a fter
Ev enflo First Choice December 1, 1999
204
G ra co Infant 8457 December 1, 1999
Graco Snugride September 25, 2007
Peg Perego Primo Vi -September 25, 200 7
aggio SIP I MUN00US
Subpart C -Forward-facing and
con vert ibl e child re straint s
Model Manufactured on or
after
Britax Roundabout September 25, 2007
E9L02xx
Cosco Touriva 02519 December 1, 1999
Cosco Summit Deluxe September 25, 2007
High Back Booster
2 2-26 2
Cosco High Back September 25, 2007
I Booster 22-209
E venflo Tribu te V September 25, 200 7
379xxxx
Evenflo Medallion December 1, 1999
1 254
Evenflo Generations September 25, 2007
352xxxx
Graco ComfortSport September 25, 2007
Graco Toddler Safety September 25, 2007
Seat Step 2
Graco Platinum Cargo
A WARNING
T o reduce the risk of serious injury, make
sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on whenever a
child rest raint is installed o n the front pas­
senge r seat and the ignition is switched
on .
- Take the child rest raint off the front pas­
senger seat and install it properly at one
of the rea r seat positions if the
PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not stay on. -
Have the airbag system inspected by
your author ized Audi dealer immed iate­
ly .
@ Tips
The child seats listed in categories A to C
have been statically tested by Audi on ly for
the Advanced A irbag function.
Important safety instructions for using
child safety seats
Correct use of child safety seats substantially
reduces the risk of injury in an accident!
As the dr iver, you are responsib le for the safe­
ty of everybody in the veh icle, especially ch il­
dren:
... Always use the right chi ld safety seat for
each child and always use it properly
c::;,page 148.
.,. Always carefully follow the child safety seat
manufacturer's instruct ions on how to route
the safety belt properly through the c hild
safety seat .
.,. When using the vehicle sa fe ty belt to ins tall
a ch ild safe ty seat, yo u m ust first a ctivate
t he convertib le locking retractor on the
safety belt to prevent the child safety seat
from moving
¢ page 152 .
.,. Push the ch ild safety seat down with your
full weight to get the safety be lt really tight
so that the seat cannot move forward or
sideways more than one inch (2 .5 cm) .
.,. If a st rap o r tet he r is be ing used to tie the
child safety seat to the front passenger
seat , m ake sure tha t it is not so tight th at i t
causes the weigh t-se ns ing ma t to measure
more weight than is act ually on the seat.
Always remember: Even tho ugh yo ur vehicle is
equipped wi th an A dvan ced Air bag system, all
children, especially those 1 2 years and young ­
er, shou ld always ride in the back seat proper-
ly restrained for their age and size. ..,.

A WARNING
1
Not using a child safety seat, using the
wrong child safety seat or improperly in­
stalling a child restraint increases the risk
of serious personal injury and death .
-All vehicle occupants and especially chil­ dren must always be restrained properly
whenever riding in a vehicle.
- An unrestrained or improperly restrain­
ed child can be injured or killed by be­
ing thrown against the inside of the ve­
hicle or by being ejected from it during
a sudden maneuver or impact.
- An unrestrained or improperly restrain­
ed child is at much greater risk of injury
or death by being struck by an inflating
airbag.
- Commercially available child safety seats
are required to comply with U.S. Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS)
213 (in Canada CMVSS 213).
- When buying a child restraint, select
one that fits your child and the vehicle.
- Only use child restraint systems that
fully contact the flat portion of the
seat cushion. The child restraint must
not tip or lean to either side. Audi does
not recommend using child safety
seats that rest on legs or tube-like
frames . They do not provide adequate
contact with the seat.
-Always heed all legal requirements per­
taining to the installation and use of
child safety seats and carefully follow
the instructions provided by the manu­
facturer of the seat you are using.
- Never allow children under 57 inches
(1.45 meters) to wear a normal safety
belt. They must always be restrained by a
proper child restraint system. Otherwise,
they could sustain injuries to the abdo­
men and neck areas during sudden brak­
ing maneuvers or accidents.
- Never let more than one child occupy a
child safety seat .
Child Safety 147
-Never let babies or older children ride in
a vehicle while sitting on the lap of an­
other passenger.
- Holding a child in your arms is never a
substitute for a child restraint system .
- The strongest person could not hold
the child with the forces that exist in
an accident. The child will strike the in­
terior of the vehicle and can also be
struck by the passenger.
- The child and the passenger can also
injure each another in an accident.
- Never install rear-facing child safety
seats or infant carriers on the front pas­
senger seat . A child will be seriously in­
jured and can be killed when the passen­
ger airbag inflates -even with an Ad­
vanced 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, door or roof .
-Always install rear-facing child safety
seats or infant carriers on the rear seat .
- Forward-facing child safety seats instal­
led on the front passenger's seat can in­
terfere with the airbag when it inflates
and cause serious injury to the child.
Al­
ways install forward-facing child safety
seats on the rear seat .
- If exceptional circumstances require the
use of a forward-facing child restraint on
the front passenger's seat, the child 's
safety and well-being require that the
following special precautions be taken:
- Make sure the forward-facing seat has
been designed and certified by its man­
ufacturer for use on a front seat with a
passenger front and side airbag.
- Always carefully follow the manufac­
turer's instructions provided with the
child safety seat or carrier.
- Always move the front passenger seat
into the rearmost position of the pas­
senger seat's fore and aft adjustment range, and as far away from the airbag •
•
•
•

148 Child Safet y
as possible before insta lling the child
restra int.
- Always make sure t hat nothing pre­
vents the front passenger's seat from
being moved to the rearmost position
in its fore and aft adjustment range.
- Always make sure that the backrest is in the upright position .
- Always buck le the child safety seat firmly
in place even if a child is not s itting in it.
A loose ch ild safety seat ca n fly around
dur ing a sudden stop or in a coll is ion.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restrained in ave­
hicle is being used
<=:>page 113, Safety
belts,<=:> page 122, Airbag system
and
<=;> page 143, Child Safety.
A WARNING
To reduce the risk of serious injury, make
sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on whe never a
child rest raint is installed on the front pas ­
senge r seat and the ignition is switched
on.
- Take the child rest raint off t he front pas ­
senger seat and install it proper ly at one
of the rear seat positions if the
PAS SEN­
G ER AIR BAG OFF
light does not stay on.
- Have the airbag system inspected by
your authorized Audi dealer immediate­ ly.
A WARNING
-
A child in a child restraint installed w ith
the LATCH lower anchorages or w ith the
standard safety belt on the rear seat may play with unused rear seat safety belts and
become enta ngled resu lting in ser ious per­
sonal inj ury and even dea th.
- Always buck le unused rear seat safety
bel ts out of reach of ch ildren in ch ild
sea ts and p roperly activate the conve rti­
ble locking retrac to r so that the child
cannot un reel the safety belt from the
retracto r.
(D Tips
Always replace chi ld restraints that were
i nstalled in a vehicle d uring a crash. Dam -
age to a chi ld restraint that is not visible
could cause it to fail in another collision
s ituation.
Chi Ld safety seats
Infant seats
Babies and infants up to about one year old
and
20 lbs. or 9 kg need special rearward-fac­
ing child restraints that support the back,
neck and head in a crash.
F ig . 13 9 Schema tic overview : rearward -facing infan t
seat, properly installed o n the rear seat
.. When using the vehicle safe ty belt to install
a child safety seat, you m ust first activate
the convertib le locking retractor on the
safety belt to prevent the child safety seat
from mov ing <=:>
page 152 or install the seat
using the LATCH attachments .
.. Push the chi ld safety seat down with your
full weight to get the safety be lt really tight
so that the seat cannot move forwa rd or
sideways mo re than one inch (2 .5 cm).
Infants up to about one year (20 lbs . or 9 kg)
are best protected in spec ial infant car riers
and ch ild safety seats designed for their age
group. Many experts believe that infants and
small chi ld ren shou ld r ide o nly in special re­
stra ints in wh ich the child faces the back of
the vehicle . These infant seats suppo rt the ba­
by's back, neck and head in a c rash
<=:> fig. 139 .
The airbag on the passenger side makes the
fron t se at a pote ntia lly d angero us place for a
c h ild to ride. The front seat is not the safest ..,..

place for a child in a forward-facing child seat.
It is a very dangerous place for an infant or a
larger child in a rearward-facing seat.
.&_ WARNING
Not using a child safety seat, using the
wro ng chi ld safety seat or improper ly in­
stalling a child restraint increases the risk
of serious personal injury and death in a
crash .
-
- Never install rear-facing ch ild safety
seats or infant carriers on the front pas­
senger seat -even with an Advanced Air­
bag System. A child will be se riously in­
jured and can be k illed when the in flat ­
ing airbag hits the child safety seat o r in ­
fant carrier with great force and smashes
the child safety seat and chi ld against
the backrest, center armrest, door or
roof
c:> page 123, Child restraints on the
front seat -some important things to
know .
-Always install rear-facing child safety
seats or infant carriers on the rear seat.
- Never install a rear-facing child restraint
in t he forward-facing direction . Such re­
straints are designed for the spec ial
needs of infants and very small children
and cannot p rotect them properly if the
seat is forward-fa cing.
- If you must install a rearward facing
child safety seat on the front passenger
sea t beca use of exceptional cir cumstan­
ces and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on and stay on, im­
med iately install the rear-facing child
safety seat in a rear seating position and
have the a irbag system inspected by your
Audi dealer.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS whenever using a child restrained in ave­
hicle is being used
c:> page 113, Safety
belts,
c:> page 122, Airbag system and
c:> page 143, Important things to know.
Child S afety 149
Convertible child safety seats
Properly used convertible child safety seats
can help protect toddlers and children over
age one who weigh between 20 and 40 lbs. (9
and 18 kg) in a crash .
Fig. 140 Sc hem atic overv iew: in stallation of the at­
tac hments applicable to a LATCH seat
Fi g. 141 Schema tic overv iew: in stallatio n of the seat
us ing the ve hicle 's safety be lt system
.,. When usi ng the vehicle safe ty belt to ins tall
a child safety seat, you must first activate
the convertible locking feature on the safety be lt to prevent the child safety seat from
moving
c:> page 152 or install the seat using
the LATCH attachments.
.,. Push the ch ild safety seat down with your
full weight to get the safety belt really tight
so that the seat cannot move forward o r
sideways mo re than one inch ( 2.5 cm)
c:> page 152.
.,. If the child sa fe ty seat is eq uippe d wit h a
tether strap, attach it to the tethe r anchors
<=) page 158.
A toddler or child is usu all y too large for an in­
f ant restraint if it is more than one year old
and we ighs more than 20 lbs. (9 kg) .
T oddlers and children who are older than one
year up to about 4 years old and weig h mo re
~

150 Child Saf ety
than 20 lbs (9 kg) up to 40 lbs. (18 kg) must
a lways be properly restrained in a chi ld safety
seat certified for the ir s ize and weight
c::> fig. 140 and c::> fig. 141.
The airbag on the passenger side makes the
front seat a potentially dangerous place for a
chi ld to r ide. T he front seat is not the safest
p lace for a child in a forward-facing child safe­
ty seat. It is a very dangerous place for an in­
fant or a larger child in a rearward -fac ing seat .
A WARNING
Not using a ch ild safety seat, using the
w rong ch ild safety seat or improper ly in­
stall ing a child res traint increases the risk
of serious person al injury and de ath in a
co llision or other eme rgency s ituation.
- Children on the front seat of any car,
even w ith Adv anced A irbags, can be seri­
o usly inju red or even killed when an a ir­
bag inflates. A child in a rearward-facing
child safety seat installed on the front
passenger seat w ill be seriously injured
and can be k illed if the front a irbag in­
flates -even with an Advanced Airbag
System .
- The inflating a irbag will hit the child
safety seat or infant car rier with g reat
force and w ill smash the ch ild safety seat
and child against the backrest, cente r
armrest, door or roof.
- Always install rear-facing child safety
seats on t he rear sea t.
- If you must install a rearward facing
child safety seat on the front passenger
sea t be cause of ex cep tional circ ums tan­
c es and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
ligh t does no t come on and stay on, im­
me diately install the rea r-facin g child
safety seat in a rear seating position and
have the airbag system inspected by your
Audi dealer.
- Always read and heed all WARNI NGS
whenever using a child rest rained in ave­
hicle is being used
c::> page 113, Safety
belts,
c::> page 122, Airbag system and
c::> page 143, Important things to know .
A WARNING
If exceptional circumstances require the
use of a fo rward-facing child restraint on
the front passenge r's sea t, the child's safe­
ty and well-being require t hat the follow­
i ng spe cial preca utions be ta ken:
- Make sure t he forward-facing seat has
been designed and cert ified by its man u­
f a cturer fo r use on a front seat with a
p assenger front and side airbag.
- Always follow the manufacturer' s in­
s truc tions prov ided with t he ch ild safety
se at o r infant ca rr ier.
- Always move the front passenger seat in­
to the re armos t posi tion of the passen­
ge r seat's fo re and aft adjustment range,
an d as far away from the airbag as possi­
b le before installing the ch ild restraint.
- Always make sure that no thing prevents
the front passenger 's seat from being
moved to the rea rmost pos ition in its
fore and aft ad justment range .
- Always make sure the bac krest is in an
upright pos ition.
- Make sure t hat the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
li ght comes on and stays on all the
time whenever the ignit ion is switched
on.
- If the light does not stay on, perform the
checks
c::> page 133, Monitoring the Ad­
vanced Airbag System.
- Ta ke the chi ld restraint off the front pas­
senger seat and install it properly at one
of the rear seat positions if the
PASSEN ­
GER AIR BAG OFF
l ight does not s tay on
wheneve r the ignit ion is switched on.
-