2012 AUDI A3 seats

78 Seats and storage
Coat hooks
There is a coat hook above each rear door .
.. ., ' . 'I ., '
Fi g. 9 5 Coa t hook
The coat hooks are located in the headliner
above each rear door.
A WARNING
- Hang clothes in such a way that they do
not impair the driver's vision .
- Th e coat hooks must only be use d for
ligh t weight clothing . Do not leave any
heavy or sharp edged objects in the pock­
ets which may interfere with the side cur­
tain airbag deployment and can cause
perso na l injury in a cras h.
- Do not use coat hangers for hanging clothing on the coat hooks as this can in­
terfere with proper deployment of the side curtain airbags in an accident.
- Do not hang heavy objects on t he coat
hooks, as they could cause persona l in­
jury in a sudden stop.

The air recirculation opera tes for a maximum
of 12 minutes. If the windows start to fog up
while the air rec irculat ion is on, press~
Unde r certain operating condi tions (fo r exam­
p le, if~ or
1-1 are pressed) the air recircu la ­
tion automatica lly switches off.
If the air con­
d itioner is sw itched off, or if the temperature
is below 18 °F (-8 °C), the air recircu lation wi ll
operate only for 12 seconds.
Switching between Fahrenheit and
Centigrade
You can change the temperature display from
°F (Fahrenheit) to °C (Centigrade) and vice
versa.
.,. Hold the l.,s,! button down c:> page 80,
fig.
96.
.,. Turn the rotary switch (d river 's s ide) @ for
3 seconds +.
G;J Air recirculation
The air recirculation prevents exhaust fumes
or oth er pollution from entering the vehicle .
Switching air recirculation on
.,. Press ~ c:> page 80, fig. 96 c:> A
Switching air recirculat ion off
.,. Press~ again, or
.,. press
IAUTOI, or
.,. press~-
I n the ai r recircula tion mode, the air in the
passenger compa rtment is recirculated to
p revent exhaust fumes and ot her pollution
from entering the vehicle. We recommend
that you use the manual air recircu lation un­
der the following conditions:
- when d riving through t unnels
- in a traffic jam.
,8. WARNING
Do not use this setting for extended pe ri­
ods of time . The windows could fog up
since no fresh a ir can ente r the vehicle . If
Warm and c old 83
the windows fog u p, press the ai r rec ircula­
tion button aga in immed iately to sw itch
off the air rec irculation function or select
defrost.
G IB Adjusting the fan speed
The automatically selected fan speed can be
increased or decreased.
.,. Press the[:] or El buttons in the center of
the control panel
c:> page 80, fig. 96 to ad ­
just the fan speed to your comfort.
T he air conditioning system automatically
r egulates the fa n speed i n respo nse to the in ­
terior tempe rat ure. However, you can a lso ad­
j ust the fan speed ma nually. A line of small
bars in the center display above the fan con­
trol buttons w ill re treat or extend to reflect
you r adjustments to the fan speed .
Air distribution
The automatically controlled air distribution
can be changed manually.
You can use the @J , [fil or~ buttons separate­
ly or together in combination. To switch back
to the automatic air d istr ibu tion sett ing, ei­
the r switch off the b uttons you prev iously se­
lected , or press
IAUTOI.
Each of the three buttons has its own spec ific
funct io n (t he reference numbers refer to the
a ir out lets)
c:> page 84, fig. 97.
~ Air directed to the windows
A ll the air is directed to outlets Contrary to when~ is pressed, the amount of
a ir remains the same .
~ Air directed to the driver /front
passenger
All the a ir is directed to outlets@,@ and ©
in the instrument panel. Air also is directed
th ro ugh the center console in the rear.
~ Air d irected to the footwells
A ll the air is directed to outlets ® and to the
outlets under the front seats.

84 Warm and cold
Air outlets
Fi g. 97 Instr ument pane l: a ir ou tlet locat io ns an d airflow d irec tions
The air out lets (D and @on top of the instru ­
ment panel are
fixed. Outlets @ and @can
be adjusted.
Adjusting a ir outl ets ® and @
.. Turn the vertica l thumbwhee l beside the
outlet to increase, reduce or s hut down the
airflow from that out let.
.. Move the small tab in the center of the out­
let louver sideways and up or down to ad just
the leve l and direction of airflow.
T he supply of air to the out lets is controlled
e ither automat ica lly or manually depending
on the operation mode se lected . The airflow
from all outlets can be heated, unheated or
cooled.
The heater out lets for the rear footwells are
located under the front seats . When you se­
lect outlets @, a ir is a lso directed to t he rear
footwells .
@ Tips
-When defrosting/defogging the win­
dows, air flows from outlets
(D , @ and
@ . To defrost or defog the windows as
r apidly as possib le, air outlets @ should
be ope ned
fully wi th the ad juster wheels.
- When the a ir condit ioner is working,
cooled air w ill flow pr imar ily from out­
l e ts @ ,@ and @. To assure adeq uate cooling, outlets
@ and @) should never
be completely closed.
Using the climate controls economically
Using the climate controls prudently can help
save fuel .
When you use the air conditioner, eng ine pow ­
er is reduced and fuel consumption increases .
T o save fuel, yo u should use the air condition­
er only when necessary . Also please note the
follow ing points:
.. If you wa nt to save fuel, switch off the ai r
conditioner .
.. If you are going to drive with the windows
open, switch off the air conditioner .
@ For the sake of the environment
By reducing the amount of fuel you use,
you also reduce the amount of po llutants
emitted into the air.
· Key coded settings
When the ignition is switched on, the air con­
di tioner settings are automatically assigned
to the key being used .
The air conditioner settings selected are auto­
matically stored and assigned to the key be ing
u sed . When the vehicle is started, the air ..,.

conditioner automatically se lects the settings
assigned to that key. This way every driver will maintain his/her own persona l settings and
does not have to reset them manually.
(D Tips
If a d ifferent driver uses your key and
changes the air conditioner settings, the
latest adjustments w ill erase and rep lace
the settings you have stored.
mP Rear window defogger
T he rear window defogger clears the rear win ­
dow of conden sation .
Fig. 98 Swi tch for rea r wi ndow defogger w ith a ir -con ·
d it io nin g
.. Press the QiP switc h to switch the rear win-
dow defogger on and off.
The defogger works on ly with the engine run ­
n ing. When the defogger is switched on, an
indicator light in the switc h comes on.
The rear w indow defogger switches
off au to­
matica lly afte r abo ut 20 m inutes.
@ For the sake of the environment
T ur n the defogger off when the rea r win­
dow is clear. When you save elec tricity, you
save fuel.
Additional heater
Applies to vehicles: with diesel engine
.. Switc h the Additional heate r to AUTO .
Vehicles w it h diese l eng ine s are equipped
with an add it ional heate r to warm the interior
of the vehicle mo re q uick ly. The additional
W arm and cold 85
heater switches itse lf on and off automatically
when the o utside temperature is below 50 °F
(10 °C) and the engine is running, depending
o n the coolant temperature , interior tempera ­
ture and the selected temperature.
Electrically heated
front seats
Applies to vehicles: with electrically heated front seats
With the ignition on , the seat cushion and
backrest of the front seats can be heated.
F ig . 99 Ce nter co nsole: t hu m bwhee ls for front seat
h eat ing
Use the t humbwheels in the center conso le
c;:> fig . 99 to turn on and adjust front seat
heating. An infin ite range of positions are pos ­
sible .
.. Ro ll t he thumbw heel
(D (dr iver's seat) or@
(front passenger's seat) from pos ition
( 0 )
upward in order to activa te the heati ng e le ­
ments .
.. Select the desired temperat ure setting from
positions 1 t hrough 6.
When the hea ting element is activated, the
numbers on the thumbwheel will illuminate .
& WARNING
Individuals wit h reduced sensitiv ity to pai n
or temperature cou ld deve lop burns when
using the seat heating funct ion. To reduce
the r isk of injury, these ind ividuals should
not use seat heating .

86 Warm and cold
(D Note
To prevent possible damage to the heating
elements, do not kneel on the seats or ap­
ply a heavy load to relatively small areas of
the seat.
Engine preheater
Applies to vehicles: with engine p reheate r
Use of the engine pre heater is recommended
when the ambient temperature is below
-5 °F
(-20 °C) .
Fig. 100 In t he l eft fron t bump er: en gine preheater
co nn ect ion socket
The engine preheater slowly w arms the en­
gine coolant using a heating element when
the vehicle is parked. The included cable
1>
must be connected to a 120 Volt Ground Fault
Circuit (GFI) protected outlet that is protected
from water (in your garage, for instance).
When the coolant is preheated, the engine
reaches its operating temperature more quick­
ly and will use less fuel and produce fewer
polluting emissions during the warm-up
phase.
Preheating the engine can take up to 3 hours
depending on the temperature outside.
Connecting the engine preheater
- Only use the cable provided.
-All cables and connectors that are used
must not be damaged
¢ .&.­
-Open the cover Q fig. 100 @.
l) Th e cabl e is de live red w it h veh icles i n Canada a s
s tandard e quipmen t. The cable c an be o btain ed fro m
an a uth orize d Au di d ea le r fo r veh icl es in the USA.
- Plug the connecting cable into the socket @
Q.ii_.
-Connect the connecting cable to the power
cord.
- Attach the extensions cord to the connector
cable. Always use a 12 gauge or heavier
heavy -duty extension cord that can be prop ­
erly grounded to a three-prong Ground Fault
Circuit (GFI) wall outlet and is not longer
than 100
ft (30 meters).
- Always plug the preheate r into an 120 Volt
Ground Fault Circuit (GFI) wall outlet that is
properly protected against rain and other
moisture. Never plug the preheater into a
normal outlet regardless of whether it is
grounded or not .
- Always disconnect the connecting cable and
close the cover
Q fig . 100 @ before starting
the engine.
_&. WARNING
-
Using incorrect or damaged outlet and
power cords, using electrical accessories
incorrectly or ignoring safety precautions
can lead to short circuits, accidents, inju­ ries and life-threatening electric shocks.
- Always plug the preheater into a
120 Volt Ground Fault Circuit (GFI) wall
outlet that is properly protected against
rain and other moisture.
- Always check the fuse protection of the
120 Volt power source before using the
connecting cable .
- Always use a 12 gauge or heavier heavy­
duty extension cord that can be properly
grounded to a three-prong GFI outlet .
The extension cord must not be longer
than 100
ft (30 meters).
- Always connect the cable to a 120 Volt
outlet that is grounded and protected
from water .
- Check the cable for damage before every
use . Never use a damaged cable.
It must ~

Driving Safely
General notes
Safe driving habits
Please remember -safety first!
This chapter contains important information,
tips, instructions and warnings that you need
to read and observe for your own safety, the
safety of your passengers and others . We have
summarized here what you need to know
about safety belts, airbags, ch ild restra ints as
well as child safety. You r safety is for us
priori­
ty number 1.
Always observe t he information
a nd warn ings in th is se ct ion - for yo ur own
safety as well as that of your passengers .
The information in this se ction applies to all
model ve rsion s of your veh icle . Some of the
feat ures descr ibed in th is sec tions may be
standa rd equipment on some models, or may
be optional equipment on others . If you are
not sure, ask yo ur authorized Aud i dea ler.
A WARNING
- Always make sure that you follow the in­
st ruct ions and heed the WARNINGS i n
this Manual. It is in your interest and in
the inte rest of you r passengers.
- Always keep the complete Owne r's Liter­
at ure in your Audi when you lend or sell
yo ur vehicle so that this important info r­
mation will always be ava ilable to the
dr iver and passenge rs.
- Always keep the Owner's literature handy
so that you can find i t eas ily if you have
ques tion s.
Safety equipment
The safety features are part of the occupant
restraint syst em and work togeth er to help
redu ce the risk of injury in a wide variety of
accident situations .
Your safety and the safety of your passenge rs
should not be left to chance. Advances in
t echnology have made a var iety o f fea tures
avai lable to he lp red uce the risk of i njury in an
Dr iving Safel y 103
accident . The following is a list of just a few of
the safety features in yo ur Audi :
- sophis tic ated s afety be lts fo r driver and a ll
passenger sea ting posit ions,
- s afety bel t prete nsio ners ,
- safety belt force lim ite rs fo r the front sea ts,
- safety belt he ight adjustment systems for
the front seats ,
- automatic safety be lt height adjustment for
the rear seats,
- head restra ints for each seating posit ion,
- front airbags,
- side airbags in the front seats and outer rea r
seats *,
- side c urtai n airbags ,
- specia l LATCH an cho rages for child re-
s tr ain ts,
- he ad restra ints for each sea ting posit ion,
- adj ustab le steering colum n.
These ind iv idual safety features , can work to­
gether as a system to he lp protect you and
you r passengers in a w ide range of accide nts.
T hese fe;;itures c;;innot work ;;is ;;i system if
t h ey a re not always cor re ct ly adjus ted and co r­
re ct ly used .
Safety is everybody' s responsibility!
Important things to do before driving
Safety is everybody 's job! Vehicle and occu ­
pant safety always depends on the informed
and careful driver .
For you r safety and the safety of your passen­
gers,
before driving always:
.,. Make s ure that all lights and signals are op­
erating correctly .
.,. Make sure that the tire pressure is correct .
.,. Make su re that all windows are clean and
afford good v isib ility to the o utside.
.,. Sec ure a ll luggage a nd other items carefu lly
~ page 75.
.,. Mak e s ure th at nothing can interfe re wi th
t he peda ls .
.,. Adjust front seat, head restraint and mir ­
rors co rrectly for your height.
•
•

~ Always keep both feet in the footwell so
that you are in control of the vehicle at all
times.
For detailed information on how to adjust the
driver's seat, see ¢
page 62, Adjusting front
seats manually
or ¢ page 63, Adjusting the
power seat .
A WARNING
Drivers who are unbelted, out of position
or too close to the airbag can be seriously
injured by an airbag as it unfolds. To help
reduce the risk of serious personal injury:
- Always adjust the driver's seat and the
steering wheel so that there are at least
10 inches (25 cm) between your breast­
bone and the steering wheel.
- 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 per­
sonal 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. Hold­
ing the steering wheel the wrong way
can cause serious injuries to the hands,
arms and head if the driver's airbag de­
ploys .
- Pointing the steering wheel toward your
face decreases the ability of the supple­ mental driver's airbag to protect you in a
collision .
- Always sit in an upright position and nev­
er lean against or place any part of your
body too close to the area where the air­
bags are located.
- Before driving, always adjust the front
seats and head restraints properly and
make sure that all passengers are prop­
erly restrained.
- Never adjust the seats while the vehicle
is moving . Your seat may move unexpect­
edly and you could lose control of the ve­
hicle.
Driving Safely 105
- Never drive with the backrest reclined or
tilted far back! The farther the backrests
are tilted back, the greater the risk of in­
jury due to incorrect positioning of the safety belt and improper seating posi­
tion .
- Children must always ride in child safety
seats ¢
page 143. Special precautions
apply when installing a child safety seat
on the front passenger seat¢
page 122.
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 risk of
injury in the event of an accident, we recom­
mend that you adjust the seat for the front
passenger to the following position:
~ 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
moving.
~ 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 107.
~ Keep both feet flat on the floor in front of
the front passenger seat .
~ Fasten and wear safety belts correctly
¢page 116.
For detailed information on how to adjust the
front passenger's seat, see ¢
page 61.
A WARNING
Front seat passengers who are unbelted,
out of position or too close to the airbag
can be seriously injured or killed by the air­
bag 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.
-
•
•

106 Driving Safely
-Passengers who are unbelted, out of po­
sition or too close to the airbag can be
seriously injured by an airbag as it un­
folds with great force in the blink of an
eye .
- Always make sure that there are at least
10 inches (25 cm) between the front
passenger's breastbone and the instru­
ment 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 prop­
erly.
- Always keep your feet on the floor in
front of the seat. Never rest them on the
seat, instrument panel, out of the win­
dow, etc. The airbag system and safety
belt will not be able to protect you prop­
erly and can even increase the risk of in­
jury 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 in­
jury due to incorrect positioning of the
safety belt and improper seating posi ­
tion.
- Children must always ride in child safety
seats ¢
page 143 . Special precautions
apply when installing a child safety seat
on the front passenger seat
c::> page 122.
Proper seating positions for passenge rs
in rear seats
Rear seat passengers must sit upright with
both feet on the floor consistent with their
physical size and be properly restrained
whenever the vehicle is in use.
To reduce the risk of injury caused by an incor­
rect seating position in the event of a sudden
braking maneuver or an accident, your pas­
sengers on the rear bench seat must always
observe the following :
.. If there are passengers in the rear seat,
slide the head restraints upward at least to
the next notch on the occupied seats
¢ page 65.
.. Make sure that the seatback is securely
latched in the upright position
c::> page 67 .
.. Keep both feet flat in the footwell in front
of the rear seat.
.. Fasten and wear safety belts properly
c::> page 116.
.. Make sure that children are always properly
restrained in a child restraint that is appro­
priate for their size and age
c::> page 143.
A 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 protec­
tion when the seatback is securely latch­
ed 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.