2012 AUDI A3 warning

securely connect the minus(- ) cable to
either a massive metal component that
i s firm ly bolted to the eng ine b lock or to
the engine block itself. If the battery
that is being charged does not ve nt to
the outside, escaping battery gas cou ld
i gnite and explode!
Emergency towing
with commercial tow
truck
General hints
Your Audi requires special handling for tow­
ing .
The fol low ing information is to be used by
commercial tow truck operators who know how to ope rate their equipment safe ly.
- Never to w your Audi, towing will cause
damage to the engine and t ransmission.
- Never wrap the safety chain s or winch ca ­
bles around the br ake lines.
- To pre vent unnecessary damage , you r Audi
must be transported with a car carrie r (flat
bed truck ).
- To load the vehicle on to the flat bed, use
the towing loop found in the veh icle tools
and attach to the front or rear anchorag e
¢page 251 and ¢page 252.
..&, WARNING
A vehicle being towed is not saf e for pas­
senge rs. Never a llow anyone to r ide in a
vehicle being towed, for any re ason.
Emergenc y situ ation s 251
Front towing loop
Do not install the front towing loop until it is
needed .
Fig . 194 Fro nt bu mper: re m ov ing t he cover ca p
Fig. 195 Fro nt bump er: s crew ing in t he tow ing loo p
The towing loop fits into the threaded hole lo ­
cated on the right s ide of the front b umper
and covered by a sma ll cover when not in use .
Note that the towing loop has
a left-h and
thread !
.,. Remove the tow ing loop from the vehicle
too lki t¢
pag e 234 .
.. Press on the bottom edge of the cover cap
to disengage and take it out of the bumper.
T he cap rema ins connected to the bumper
¢fig . 194 .
.,. Inser t the tow ing loop into the threaded
hole
<=> fig . 195 and tur n it all the way in un ­
til it is seated securely, then tighten it with
t h e wheel bolt w rench .
When it is no longer needed, unscrew the
towing loop and put it back into the o n-boa rd
toolk it . Make su re to have the towing loop
stored in the vehicle at all times .

252 Emergency situations
A WARNING
If the towing loop is not screwed in as far
as it will go, the thread can pull out when
the vehicle is towed -potential risk of an
accident .
Rear towing loop
Do not install the rear towing loop until it is
needed.
Fig. 196 Rear bumper: cover
Fig. 197 Rear b umper: t owing loop inser ted
On the right side of the rear bumper there is a
threaded hole for the towing loop. The
threaded hole is behind a cover. Note that the
towing loop has a
left-hand thread!
.. Remove the towing loop from the veh icle
toolkit ¢
page 234 .
.. Place the screwdriver against the upper
edge of the cover and carefu lly pry it out
¢ fig. 196.
.. Insert the towing loop into the threaded
hole ¢
fig. 197 and turn it all the way in un­
til it is seated securely , then tighten it with
the wheel bolt wrench .
When it is no longe r needed, unscrew the
towing loop and put it back into the vehicle toolkit.
Be sure to have the towing loop stored
in the vehicle at a ll times.
A WARNING
--
If you do not screw the towing loop com-
pletely, it could come out of the threaded
hole while the vehicle is being towed caus­
ing damage to the vehicle and possible se ­
rious personal injury .
Loading the vehicle onto a flat bed truck
Fig. 198 Vehicle on flat bed truck
Front hook up
.. Align the vehicle with the centerline of the
car carrier ramp .
.. Attach the winch hook to the front towline
eye
¢page 251, fig. 195 previously instal­
led .
Rear hook up
.. Align the vehicle with the centerline of the
car carrier ramp .
.. Attach the winch hook to the rear towline
eye¢
page 252, fig. 197 previously instal­
led .
(D Tips
Check carefully to make sure the hook-up is secure before moving the car up the flat­
bed truck ramp .
Lifting the vehicle
Important safety precautions
Be aware of the following hazards before lift­
ing the vehicle with a workshop hoist or floor
jack: ..,.

-The vehicle should never be lifted or jacked
up from underneath the engine oil pan , the
transmission housing , the front or rear
a x le or the body side members. This could
lead to ser ious damage.
- Use lifting equipment with padded contact
surfaces to avo id damage to the underbody
or chassis frame.
- Alternatively, cover the contact surfaces on
workshop hoist or floor jack w ith rubber
pads b efore lifting.
- Before dri ving over a workshop hoist, check
that the vehicle weight does not exceed the
permissible lifting capacity of the hoist .
- Before dr iving over a workshop hoist, en­
sure that there is sufficient clearance be­
tween the hoist and low parts of the vehi­
cle .
A WARNING
To r educe the ris k of seriou s injury a nd ve­
hicle da mage:
- Always lift the veh icle only at the spec ial
wor ks ho p hoi st and floor j ack lift p oin ts
ill ustra te d
c:;>page 253, fig. 199 and
c:;>page 253, fig . 20 0.
- F ailure to l ift the vehicl e at th ese poi nts
cou ld ca use the ve hicle to t ilt or fall from
a lift if there is a c ha nge in vehicle wei ght
dist rib ution and balance . This might hap ­
pen, for example, when heavy c ompo­
nents such as the e ngine bloc k or t rans­
mission are removed.
- W hen remov ing s uch heavy c omponents,
anchor veh icle to h oist or add corre­
sponding we ights t o maintain the center
of g rav ity. Oth erwise, th e veh icle m ig ht
t il t o r slip off the hois t, causing serio us
p ers onal in ju ry.
Emergency situations 253
Lifting with workshop hoist and with
floor jack
T he vehicle may only be lifted at the li~ing
p oi nt s illus tra ted.
..,
---------~1::
Fig. 199 Front lifting point
Fig. 200 Rear lifting point
.,. Read and heed WAR NIN G c:;> &. in Impor ­
tant safety precautions on page 253 .
.,. Locate lifting points c:;> fig. 199 c:;> fig . 200 .
.,. Adjust lifting arms of workshop hoist or
fl oor jack to matc h ve hicle lift ing poi nts.
I
.,. Insert a rubbe r pad between the floo r jac k/
workshop hoist and t he lift ing poin ts .
If you must l ift your vehicle with a floor jack
to work underneath, be sure the vehicle is
safely supported on stands intended for this purpo se .
Front lifting point
The lifting poi nt is located o n the floo r pan re­
inforcement about at the same leve l as the
jac k mounti ng po int
c:;> fig. 199. Do not lift
the vehicle at the vertical sill reinforcement .
Rear lifting point
The liftin g point is located on the vert ica l rein­
forcement of the lower s ill for the on board
jack
c:;> fig. 200. ..,.

General information Explanation of
technical data
Som e of t he technical data listed in this man ­
ual requires further explanation .
The technical data for your vehicle is listed in
the charts starting on
Q page 257. This sec ­
tion provides general information, notes and
r estr ictions wh ich app ly to this data.
Vehicle identification
The key data a re given on the vehicle identifi­
c a tion number ( VIN) pla te and the vehicle da­
ta sticker.
F ig. 201 Veh icle Ident ific atio n Num ber (VIN) p late: lo ­
cation o n dri ver"s s ide das h pa nel
Fi g. 2 02 The ve hicle iden tifi cat ion label -inside the
l u ggage co mpartme nt
The Vehicle Identification Number (VIN)
is located on the d river's side so tha t it is v is i­
b le from the o utside throug h the windshield -
see
c!) fig. 201.
The vehicle identification label
i s located in the luggage compartment in t he
sp are wheel well. General inform
ation 255
The labe l
Q fig. 202 shows the fo llow ing vehi ­
cle data :
(D Product io n cont ro l no.
@ Vehicle identification no .
@ Type code number
@ Type designat ion/engine o utp ut in K ilo-
watts
® Engine and t ransm ission code letter
@ Pa in t no./ In te rior
(J) Optional equipment no.'s
Vehicle data 2 to 7 are a lso fo und in your W ar­
ranty
& Maintenance booklet .
The safety compliance sticker
is your assurance that your new vehicle com­
plies wi th a ll applicab le Fede ral Mot or Vehicle
S afety S tand ards which were in effect at the
time the ve hicle was ma nufactured. You can
find this sticke r on the left doo r jamb. It
shows the mo nth and yea r of prod uction and
the vehicle identificat ion number of yo ur vehi­
cle (perforation) as well as the Gross Vehicle
Weight Rating (GVWR) a nd the Gross Axle
Weight Rating (GAWR) .
The high voltage warning label
is located on the lock carrie r.
The spark ignition system complies with
the Canadian standard ICES-002.
Weights
Gr oss Vehicle Weight Rating
The Gross Vehicle Weight Rat ing (GVWR), and
the G ross Axle Weight Rating (GAWR) for
front and rear are listed on a sticker on the left door jamb.
The Gross Vehicle Weight Rat ing includes the
weight of the bas ic vehicle plus fu ll fuel tank,
o il and coo lant, plus maximum load, which in­
cludes passenger we ight (150 lbs/68 kg per
designated seating position) and luggage
weight .

256 Genera l inform ation
Gro ss Axl e Weight Rating
The Gross Axle Weight Rating is the maxim um
l oad that can be applied at each axle of the
vehicle ~&. .
Vehicle capacity weight
The vehicle capac ity we ight (max . load) is list ­
ed eithe r on the dr iver's side B-pillar o r inside
the fuel filler flap.
Roof weight
The maximum perm iss ible roof we ight is 165
lb (75 kg ). The roof we ight is made up of the
weight of the roof ra ck system and the weight
of the object bei ng transpo rted
~ page 73 ,
Loading the roof rack .
A WARNING
- The actual Gross Axle Weight Rating at
the front and rear axles sho uld not ex­
ceed the perm iss ib le weights, and their
combination must not exceed the Gross
Vehicle Weight Rat ing .
- Exceeding permissib le we ight ratings can
result in vehicle damage, accidents and
personal in jury.
(D Note
- The vehicle capacity weight figures app ly
when the load is distrib uted evenly in the
vehicle (passengers and luggage) . When
transporting a heavy load in the luggage
compartment , carry the load as nea r to
the rea r axle as possib le so that the vehi­
cle's handling is not impa ired .
- Do not exceed the maximum permissible
axl e loads or the max imum g ross vehicl e
weig ht. Always remembe r that the vehi­
cl e's handling will be affected by the ex­
tra load . Therefore, adjust your speed ac­
cordingly.
- Alw ays obse rve lo cal regulations.
Dimensions
-
The spe cifica tions refer to the basi c model.
D ifferen ces may oc cur depe nding on the mod- el type and options orde
red , fo r example , tire
siz es.
(D Note
When dr iv ing up steep ramps, on rough
r oads, over curbs, etc. it is important to re ­
member that some pa rts of your vehicle,
such as spo ile rs or exhaust system compo­
nents, may be close to the ground . Be
careful not to damage them .

260 Consumer Inf ormation
Important considerations for you and
your vehicle
The increasing use of e lectronics, sophisticat­
ed fue l injection and emission control sys­
tems, and the generally increasing technical
comp lexity of today's automob iles, have
steadi ly reduced the scope of maintenance
and repairs which can be carried out by vehicle
owners .
Also , safet y and en vironm ental con­
cerns p lace very strict lim its on the nature of
repairs and adjustments to eng ine and t rans­
miss ion parts which an owner can pe rform .
Ma intenance, adjustments and repa irs usually
require special tools, testing dev ices and oth­
e r equipment avai lab le to specia lly t ra ined
workshop personne l in order to assure prope r
pe rformance, reliab ility and safety of the vehi­
cle and its many systems.
I mp roper ma intenance, adjus tments and re­
pa irs can impai r the operation and reliab ility
of your vehicle and even void you r vehicle war­
ranty . There fore, proof of servicing in accord­
ance wit h the ma intenance sched ule may be a
condition for upholding a poss ible warranty
claim made within the warranty period.
Above all, operational safety can be adversely
affected, c reating unnecessary risks for you
and your passengers .
I f in do ubt about any serv icing, have it done
by your authorized A udi dealer or any other
p roperly equipped and qualified workshop .
We strong ly urge you to give yo ur authorized
Aud i dealer the opportunity to perform all
schedu led maintenance and necessary repairs.
Your dea le r has the facilities, or iginal parts
and trained spec ialists to keep your vehicle
running prope rly .
Performing lim ited maintenance yourself
The follow ing pages describe a limited num­
ber of procedures which can be performed on
your ve hicle w ith ordi nary too ls, should the
need a rise and trained pe rsonnel be unavaila­
b le. Before perfo rming any of these proce­
du res, always tho roughly read a ll of the app li­
cab le text and ca re fully follow the instruc - tions given
. Always r igo ro usly observe the
WARNINGS provided.
Bef ore you che ck anything in the engine
compartment , alway s read and h eed all
WARNINGS
¢ & and ¢ & in Working in the
engine comportment on page 194 .
A WARNING
--Ser ious persona l in ju ry may occur as a re -
sult of improperly performed mainte­ nance, ad justments or repa irs.
-Always be extremely care ful when work­
ing on the vehicle. Always follow com­
mo nly accepted safety pract ices and gen­
era l common sense. Never r isk personal
in jur y.
- Do not attempt any of the mainte nance,
checks or repairs descr ibed o n the fol­
lowing pages if you are not fu lly fam iliar
wit h these or ot her procedures with re­
spect to the ve hicl e, or are uncerta in how
to procee d.
- D o not do a ny work wi thou t the prope r
tools and equipment . Have the necessary
work done by your author ized A udi deal ­
er or anothe r properly equipped and
qualified wor kshop.
- The engine compa rtment o f any motor
vehicle is a potentially hazardous area.
N ever reach into the area aro und or
touch the rad iator fan. It is temperature
control led and can sw itch on suddenly -
even when the engine is off and th e igni­
tion key has been removed. The ra diator
fan switc hes on automat ica lly w hen the
coo la nt re aches a certai n tempera tu re
a nd will cont inue to ru n until the coo lant
tempera ture drops .
- Always remove the ig nition key befo re
an yone gets unde r the veh icle.
- Always suppor t your ve hicle with safety
s tands i f it is ne cessary to work under­
neath the vehicle. The jack s upplied with
the vehicle is not adequate for this p ur­
pose and co uld co llapse causing serio us
personal injury.

-If you must work underneath the vehicle
with the whee ls on the ground, always
make sure the vehicle is on level ground,
that the wheels are always secu rely
blocked and tha t the eng ine cannot be
started.
- Always make sure the transm ission se­
lector lever (automatic transmiss ion) is
in "P" (Pa rk position) (a utomat ic trans­
mission) or Neutral (manual transmis­
sion) and the hand brake is fi rm ly ap­
plied.
@, For the sake of the environment
- Changing the eng ine settings w ill ad­
versely affect em ission levels. This is det­
rimental to the environment and increas­
es fue l cons umption.
- Always obse rve env ironmental regula­
tions when d ispos ing of old engine oil,
used b rake fluid, dirty engine coolant,
spent batteries or worn out tires .
- Undeployed airbag modules and preten­
s ioners might be classified as Perchlo­
rate Mate rial -special handling may ap­
ply, see www.dtsc.ca.gov/hazardous­
waste/perchlorate. When the veh icle or
parts of the restraint system includ ing
airbag modules safety belts with preten­
s ioners are scrapped, all appl icable laws
and regulations must be observed. Your
autho rized Audi dea le r i s familiar w ith
these req uirements and we recommend
that yo u have your dea le r perform this
service for you.
Additional accessories, modifications and
parts replacement
Additional accessories and parts
replacement
Always consult an authorized Audi dealer be­
fore purchasing accessories .
Your vehicle incorporates the latest safety de­
sign features ensuring a high standard of ac­
tive and passive safety .
Consumer In formation 26 1
This safety could be compromised by non-ap ­
proved changes to the vehicle . For this reason,
if parts have to be replaced, please observe
the following points when installing add ition­
al accessories:
Approved Audi accessories and genuine Audi parts are available from authorized Audi deal­
ers.
T hese dea lers a lso have the necessary facili­
ties, tools and trained specialists to install the parts and accessories properly .
_& WARNING
Using the wrong spare parts non-approved
accessories can cause damage to the vehi­
cle and serious personal injury.
- Use on ly accessories expressly approved
by Audi and genu ine Audi spare parts
- These parts and accessories have been
specially designed to be used on your ve­
hicle.
- Never install accessor ies such as tele­
phone cradles or beverage ho lders on air­
bag covers or within the airbag deploy­
ment zones. Do ing so will increase the
ris k of injury if a irbags are triggered in an
accident!
- Before you check anything in the engine
compa rtment, always read and heed a ll
WARNINGS
<:!)page 187.
(D Note
-If items other than genu ine Audi spare
parts, add-on equipment and accessory
items are used o r if repair wo rk is not
performed accord ing to specified meth­
ods, this can resu lt in severe damage to
your vehicle's engine and body (such as
corrosion) and adve rsely affect yo ur vehi­
cle 's warranty.
- If emergency repairs must be performed
elsewhere, have the vehicle examined by
an authorized Audi dealership as soon as
possible.
- The manufacturer cannot be held liable
for damage wh ich occ urs due to failure
to comply with these stipulations.
•
•

26 2 Con sumer Inf ormation
Installing/replacing a sound system
If yo u w ish to insta ll a radio or replace the fac­
tory inst alled rad io, p lease note the following:
The factory installed radio connectors are de­
signed for genui ne Aud i radios . When insta l­
l ing a different rad io, d iff icu lties could arise
such as:
- the radio may not fit into the space provided
- the electrical connections may not be com- patible
- different connector terminals may be need­
ed .
Therefore, we recommend that you have yo ur
authorized Audi dealer install or replace the
radio.
They are the most fam il iar with the tech nica l
feat ures of your vehicle . T hey a lso offer Gen u­
ine Audi Radios with the necessary insta lla ­
tion components and instructions .
A WARNIN(i
Improperly installing a radio cou ld cause a
short circuit and an electr ical fire.
Technical Modifications
Our guidelines must be complied with when
technical modifications ore mode.
A lways consult an authorized Aud i dealer be­
fo re starting work on any modifications .
This will help ensu re that vehicle funct ion,
performance and safety are not impaired
¢ ,&. .
Attempting to work on elect ron ic components
and the software used with them ca n cause
malfunc tions. Because of the way electronic
components are interconnected with each
other, such malfunctions can also have an ad­
verse affect on other systems that are not di­ rectly invo lved. This means that yo u risk both
a substantial reduction in the operational
safety of your vehicle and an increased wear of
vehicle parts¢,&. . Authorized Audi dea
le rs will perform this
work in a professional and competent manner or, in specia l cases, refer you to a professiona l
company that speciali zes in such modifica­
t ions .
A WARNING
=
Improper repa irs and modifications can
change t he way vehicle systems work and
cause ser ious personal injury .
(D Note
If emergency repairs must be performed
elsewhere, have the vehicle exam ined by
an authorized Audi dealership as soon as possib le .
Declaration of Compliance, Telecommu­
nications and Electronic Systems
-
Radio Frequency Devices and Radiocommuni­
cotion Equipment User Manual Notice.
The manufact urer is not responsib le for any
radio o r TV inte rfe rence caused by unauthor­
ized modificat ions to this equipment.
Devices
The following dev ices each comply with FCC
Pa rt 15 .19, FCC Pa rt 15 .2 1 and RSS-Gen Issue
1:
- Cell phone package
- Electron ic immobilizer
- Homelink ® universa l remote contro l
- Remo te control key
- Tire p ress ure monitoring system*
FCC Part 15.19
This device complies with part 15 of the FCC
Rules . Operation is subject to the follow ing
two conditions :
(1) This device may not cause harmful inter­
ference, and
(2) this device must accept any interference
received, including interference that may
cause undesired operation.