2012 AUDI A3 steering

136 Airbag system
airbag system and prevent that system from
working properly in a collision.
There are some important things you have to know to make sure that the effectiveness of
the system will not be impaired and that dis­
carded components do not cause injury or pol­
lute the environment.
.&_ WARNING
Improper care, servicing and repair proce­
dures can increase the risk of personal in­
jury and death by preventing an airbag
from deploying when needed or deploying an airbag unexpectedly:
- Never cover, obstruct, or change the steering wheel horn pad or airbag cover
or the instrument panel or modify them
in any way.
- Never attach any objects such as cup
holders or telephone mountings to the
surfaces covering the airbag units.
- For cleaning the horn pad or instrument
panel, use only a soft, dry cloth or one
moi5tened with plain water. Solvent5 or
cleaners could damage the airbag cover
or change the stiffness or strength of the
material so that the airbag cannot de­
ploy and protect properly.
- Never repair, adjust, or change any parts
of the airbag system .
- All work on the steering wheel, instru­
ment panel, front seats or electrical sys­
tem (including the installation of audio
equipment, cellular telephones and CB
radios, etc .) must be performed by a
qualified technician who has the training
and special equipment necessary.
- For any work on the airbag system, we
strongly recommend that you see your authorized Audi dealer or qualified work­
shop.
- Never modify the front bumper or parts
of the vehicle body .
-Always make sure that the side airbag
can inflate without interference:
- Never install seat covers or replace­
ment upholstery over the front seat- backs that have not been specifically
approved by Audi.
- Never use additional seat cushions that
cover the areas where the side airbags
inflate.
- Damage to the original seat covers or
to the seam in the area of the side air­
bag module must always be repaired
immediately by an authorized Audi
dealer .
- The airbag system can be activated only
once . After an airbag has inflated, it
must be replaced by an authorized Audi
dealer or qualified technician who has
the technical information, training and
special equipment necessary.
- The airbag system can be deployed only
once. After an airbag has been deployed,
it must be replaced with new replace­
ment parts designed and approved espe­
cially for your Audi model version. Re­
placement of complete airbag systems
or airbag components must be per­
formed by qualified workshops only. Make sure that any airbag service action
is entered in your Audi Warranty
& Main­
tenance booklet under
AIRBAG REPLACE­
MENT RECORD .
@ For the sake of the environment
Undeployed airbag modules and preten­
sioners might be classified as Perchlorate
Material - special handling may apply, see
www .dtsc .ca.gov/hazardouswaste/per­
chlorate. When the vehicle or parts of the restraint system including airbag modules
and safety belts with pretensioners are
scrapped, all applicable laws and regula­
tions must be observed. Your authorized
Audi dealer is familiar with these require­ ments and we recommend that you have
your dealer perform this service for you.

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 .,..

Intelligent technology Notice about data
recorded by vehicle
control modules
Your vehicle is not equipped with an Event Da­
ta Recorder (EDR), installed by some manu­
facturers for the express purpose of capturing
data for retrieval after an accident or crash
event. EDR's are sometimes called "crash re­
corders".
Some state laws restrict the retr ieval or down­
loading of data stored by EDR's that were in­
stalled 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 with a number of electron­
ic control modules for various vehicle systems
such as, for examp le, engine function, emis­
sion control, as well as for the airbags and
safety belts.
These electronic control modules also record
vehicle-related data during norma l vehicle op­
eration for diagnostic and repair purposes.
The recording capacity of the electronic con­
trol modules is limited to data (no sound is re­
corded) and only a small amount of data is ac­
tually 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 we ll as restraint
system use and performance in the event of a
crash or other condition. Stored data can only be read and downloaded with special equip­
ment.
Electronic Stabilization
Program (ESP)
Description
ESP helps to improve road holding and vehicle
dynamics to help reduce the probability of
skidding and loss of veh icle control. It works
only when the engine is running. ESP detects
Intelligent technology 161
certain difficult driving situations, including
when the vehicle is beginning to spin (yaw)
out of control and helps you to get the veh icle
back under control by se lectively braking the
wheels, and/or reducing engine power and
providing steering ass istance to help hold the
vehicle on the driver's intended course. The in­
dicator light
G] in the instrument cluster
blinks when ESP is taking action to help you
control the vehicle.
ESP has limitations. It is important to remem­
ber that ESP cannot overcome the laws of
physics.
It will not always be able to help out
under all conditions you may come up against.
For example, ESP may not always be able to
help you master situations where there is a
sudden change in the coefficient of friction of
the road surface. When there is a section of dry road that is suddenly covered with water,
slush or snow, ESP cannot perform the same
way it would on the dry surface . If the vehicle
hydroplanes (rides on a cushion of water in­
stead of the road surface), ESP will not be
able to help you steer the vehicle because con­
tact with the pavement has been interrupted
and the vehicle cannot be braked or steered .
During fast cornering, particularly on winding
roads, ESP cannot always deal as effectively
with difficult driving situations as at lower
speeds. When towing a trailer, ESP is not able
to help you regain control as it would if you
were not tow ing a trailer.
A lways adjust your speed and driving style to
road, traffic; and weather conditions. ESP can­
not override the vehicle's physical limits, in­
crease the available traction, or keep a vehicle
on the road if road departure is a result of
driver inattention. Instead, ESP improves the
poss ibility of keeping the vehicle under con­
trol and on the road dur ing extreme maneu­
vers by using the driver's steering inputs to
help keep the vehicle going in the intended di­
rection. If you are traveling at a speed that
causes you to run off the road before ESP can
provide any assistance, you may not experi­
ence the benefits of ESP .
•
•

However, do not expect that the ABS shortens
braking distance under
all circumstances.
When driving on grave l or on newly fallen
snow on top of icy surfaces, braking distance may be even longer, therefore, under these
circumstances, it is especially important that
you dr ive slowly and with great care .
How th e ABS syste m work s
An automatic check is made when a speed of
about 4 mph (6 km/h) is reached. When this
happens, a pumping noise can be heard .
If an individua l wheel begins to rotate too
slowly in relation to vehicle speed and tends
to lock, the ABS automatically reduces brake
pressure to prevent that wheel from locking.
This automatic adjustment process will cause
a
s light vib ration of the brake pedal and some
noises to alert you that vehicle speed must be
adapted to existing road and traff ic condi­
tions .
A WARNING
Although the ABS is very effective, always
remember that bra king capability is limit­
ed by t ire traction. Always adjust your dr iv­
ing speed according to the road and traffic
conditions . Do not let the extra sa fe ty af ­
forded bytheABStemptyou into taking
extra r isks. The ABS cannot overcome the
laws of physics.
(D Tips
- If ABS is not functioning properly, a
warning light will come on. See
¢ page 18.
- If a fault occurs in the ABS, the EDL is al ­
so not functioning . This is indicated by
the ABS warning light.
Brake assistant
The broke assistant is designed to achieve the
optimum broking effect .
The brake assistan t helps to increase the ef­
fective
b raking power and thus to achieve a
shorter stopping distance . If the driver
Int ellig ent technolog y 165
presses the brake peda l very quick ly, the brake
assistant automatically boosts the braking
force to the max imum level, up to the po int
where the anti-lock brake function (ABS) inter­
venes to stop the whee ls from locking. You
shou ld then keep the brake peda l pressed un ­
t il the vehicle has braked to the required
speed. The brake assistant switches itself off
as soon as you release the b ra ke peda l.
The brake ass istant wi ll not be operative if
there is a ma lfunction in the ABS.
A WARNING
P lease remember that the acc ident risk a l­
ways increases if you drive too fast, espe­
cially in corners or on a slippe ry road, o r if
you follow the vehicle ahead of yo u too
closely . An increased accident risk cannot
be compensated even by the brake assis ­
tant, so always mainta in a safe speed.
Electro-mechanical
power assist
The electro-mechanical power assist helps
the driver when steering .
The degree of power assist is electronically
matched to vehicle speed .
The power steering system assists the driver
so that he can steer the vehicle with reduced physical effort.
Power steering will not work if t he engine is
off . As a result, the steering wheel will be hard
to turn .
A WARNING
If the system deve lops a problem, you
must seek qualified professiona l assis­
tance.
(D Note
If there is an e lectronic malfunction, ser­
votronic
will still function like a conven-
tiona l power steering system, providing a
constant steering support force that is no
-
l onge r proportionate to the vehicle speed. ..,.
•
•

166 Intelligent technolog y
This is most noticeab le when turning the
steering whee l at low speeds (for examp le
when parking), -more effort will be re­
quired than usual.
- Be aware of the different than usual
steering response and adjust your steer­
i ng force accord ingly.
- Have the problem checked and set right
by an author ized Audi dealer as soon as
possible.
- If a steering malfunct ion occurs, this is
s ignaled with the
ts ~ or .• indicator
li ghts and a warning tone, see.
(D Tips
- If the power steering system shou ld fail,
or if the eng ine is not running (for exam­
ple, while being towed), you will st ill be
able to steer the veh icle. However, more
effort will be req uired to do so.
- If the power steering system is not func­
tioning properly, co ntact your authorized
A udi dealer immediate ly.
Driving with your
quattro ®
Appl ies to vehicles: with All Whee l Drive
With All Wheel Drive, all four wheels are driv ­
en.
General information
W ith All Whee l Dr ive, power is d istributed to
a ll fo ur wheels . This happens automa tic a lly
depending on your driv ing sty le and the road
conditions at the time . See also
¢ page 161.
Winter tires
When dr iv ing in the w inte r, your ve hicle w it h
A ll Whee l Drive has an advantage, even wi th
reg ular t ires. In win ter road condi tions it may
be adv isable to mo unt winter tires (o r all-sea ­
son tires) for improved driveability and b rak­
ing: these tires must be mounted on all four
wheels. See also ¢ page 22 7, Winter tires.
Snow chains
Where snow chains are manda to ry on ce rtain
roads, this norma lly also app lies to ve hicles
with all-wheel drive¢
page 228, Snow
chains.
Replacing wheels /tires
Vehicles with A ll Wheel D rive must a lways
have t ires o f the same s ize. A lso avoi d tires
with different t read depths . For deta ils see
page
¢ page 223, New tires and replacing
tires and wheels .
Off-Road driving?
Your Audi does no t have enough g round clea r­
ance to be used as an off-road vehicle .
It is
therefore bes t to avoid rough tracks a nd un ­
even terrain as much as possib le . Also refer to
¢ page 171.
A WARNING
-
Always ad just your dr iv ing to road and traf-
f ic conditions. Do not let the extra safety
afforded by the all-wheel dr ive tempt you
i nto ta king extra risks.
- Although the quattro ®all-wheel dr ive is
very effect ive, a lways remember that
b rak ing capac ity is limited by tire trac­
tion . You should therefore not d rive at
excessive speeds on icy or slippe ry road
sur faces.
- On wet road surfa ces, be careful not to
d rive too fast because the front whee ls
could begin to slide on top of the water
(hydroplaning). If this sho uld occ ur, you
will have no warning from a s udden in ­
crease in eng ine speed as w it h a front­
wheel d rive veh icle. Always drive at
speeds which are adjusted to the road
conditions - risk of c rash!

-Never mount used tires on yo ur vehicle if
you are not sure of their "previous histo­
ry." Old used tires may have been dam­
aged even though the damage cannot be
seen that can lead to sudden tire failure
and loss of vehicle control.
Glossary of tire and loading terminology
Accessory weight
means the comb ined weight (in excess of
those standard items wh ich may be rep laced)
of automa tic tra nsmission, power steering,
power br akes, power w indows, power sea ts,
radio, and heater, to the ex tent that these
items are avai lab le as factory -installed equip ­
ment (whether installed or not).
Aspect ratio
means the rat io of the height to the w idt h of
the tire in percent. Numbers of 55 or lower in ­
d icate a low sidewall fo r improved s teer ing re ­
sponse and better overall handling on dry
pavement.
Bead
means the pa rt of the t ire t hat is made o f
s teel wires, wrapped o r rein force d by ply cor ds
and that is shaped to fit the r im.
Bead separation
means a b reakdown of the bond between
components in the bead.
Cord
means the strands forming the plies in the
tire.
Cold tire infl ation pressure
means t he tire pressure recommended by the
vehicle manufacturer for a t ire of a designated
size that has not been dr iven for more than a
couple of miles (kilometers) at low speeds in
the three hour period before the tire pressure
i s measu red or adjusted.
Tire s an d wheel s 213
-If you notice un usua l vibration or if the
veh icle pulls to one side when driv ing, a l­
ways stop as soon as it is safe to do so and check the wheels and tires for dam­
age.
Curb weight
mea ns the we ight of a motor ve hicle w it h
standard equipment in cl ud ing t he maximum
capa city of fuel, o il, and coolant, ai r cond i­
tion ing a nd addi tional weig ht o f optiona l
equipment .
Extra load tire
means a t ire designed to operate at higher
loads and at highe r inflat ion p ressu res tha n
th e co rresponding standard tire. Extra load
tir es my be i dent ified as "XL", "xl", "EXTRA
L O AD", or "R F" on t he sidewall.
Gross Axle Weight Rating ("GAWR ")
mea ns the load-carry ing capac ity of a s ingle
axle system, measured at the tire-ground in­
te rfaces.
Gross Vehicle Weight Rating ( "GVWR ")
means the maximum total loaded we ight of
the ve hicle.
Groove
means the space between two adjacent tread
ribs.
Load rating (code )
means the maximum load tha t a t ire is rated
to carry for a given inflation press ure. Yo u
may not find this information on all tires be­
ca use it is not required by law.
Maximum load rating
me ans the load r ating for a tire at the maxi­
mum pe rm issi ble inf lat ion pressure for that
ti re . •
•
...

unbalanced, resulting in vib rations you can
usually feel through the steering wheel.
Unba lanced wheels mus t be rebalanced to
avoid excessive wea r on s teer ing, suspens ion
and tires. A wheel must a lso be rebalanced
when a new tire is installed.
Incorrect wheel alignment
Inco rrect whee l alignment can cause exces­
sive tire wea r, impair ing t he safety of the veh i­
cle. If t ires show excess ive wear, have the
wheel alignment checked by an authorized
Audi dealer or qualified workshop.
All Wheel Drive
Ve hicles w it h quattro ® must always have t ires
of the same s ize, construction and tread type.
F or details see
¢ pag e 166 .
A WARNING
Sudden tire failure can lead to loss of con­
tro l, a crash and serious persona l injury!
- Never drive a veh icle when the tread on
any t ire is worn down to the wear indica­
tors.
- Worn tires are a safety hazard , they do
not grip well on wet roads and increase
your risk of"hydrop lan ing" and loss of
co ntrol.
- Always keep chemicals that can cause
tire damage, such as grease, oil, gasoline
and brake fluid away from tires.
- Tires age even if they are not being used
and can fail suddenly, especially at high
speeds. Tires that are more than 6 years
old can only be used in an emergency and then with special care and at lower
speeds .
- Never mount used tires on yo ur vehicle if
you are not sure of their "previous histo­
ry." Old used tires may have been dam­
aged even though the damage cannot be
seen that can lead to s udden tire failure
and loss o f vehicle con trol.
Tires and wheels 223
New tires and replacing tires and wheels
New tires and wheels have to be broken in .
Fig. 171 Tir e spec ification codes on t he sid ewall o f a
t ire
No . Desc ription
(D Passenger car tire (where applicable)
@ Nomina l w idth of t ire in mill imeters
@ Ratio of height to width (aspect ratio)
© Rad ial
® Rim diameter code
@ Load index and speed rating
(J) U.S. DOT tire identification number
@ Aud i Origina l tire
® Tire ply composition and materials
used
@
@
M axim um load rating
Treadwear, traction and temperature
I
grades Maxim um permissible inflation p res­
sure
T he tires and rims are essential parts of the
vehicle's des ign . The tires and rims approved
by Audi are specia lly matched to the charac ­
teristics of the ve hicle and can make a major
contribution to good road holding and safe ..,.

remain continuously illuminated. This se­
quence will continue upon subsequent vehicle
start-ups as long as the malfunction exists.
When the malfunction indicator is illuminat­
ed, the system may not be able to detect or
signal low tire pressure as intended . TPMS
malfunct ions may occur for a variety of rea­
sons, including the installation of replace­
ment or alternate tires or wheels on the vehi­
cle that prevent the TPMS from functioning
properly . Always check the TPMS malfunction
tellta le after replacing one or more tires or
wheels on your vehicle to ensure that the re­
placement or alternate tires and wheels allow
the TPMS to continue to function properly.
Tire pressure indicator appears
Appl ies to vehicles: with tire pressur e monitoring sys te m
The tire pressure indicator in the instrument
cluster informs you if the tire pressure is too
low or if there is a system malfunction.
Fig. 172 Display : underinflation warning
Fig. 173 Display: System malfunction
Using the ABS sensors, the tire pressure moni ­
toring system compares the tire tread circum­
ference and vibration characteristics of the in­
dividual tires. If the pressure decreases in one
or more tires, this is indicated in the instru­
ment cluster with a warning symbol
ti] and a
Tires and wheels 231
message r=!) fig. 172. The driver message in the
display goes out after 5 seconds. The driver
message can be displayed again by pressing
the
ICHECKI button @¢ page 10, fig . 3 . If on­
ly one tire is affected, the display will indicate
its position .
The tire pressure monitoring must be reset in
the menu display each time the pressures are
adjusted (e .g. when switching between parti­
al and full load pressure) or after changing or
replacing a tire on your vehicle¢
page 232.
You can find the recommended tire pressures
for your vehicle on the label on the driver's
door pillar¢
page 216.
Tire tread circumference and vibration charac­
teristics can change and cause a tire pressure
warning if:
- the tire pressure in one or more tires is too
low,
- the tire has structural damage,
- the tire pressure was changed, wheels rotat- ed or replaced but the TPMS was not reset
¢page 232.
Warning symbols
ti] Loss of pressure in at least one tire¢&.
Check the tire or tires and replace or repair if
necessary. The indicator light
ti] in the instru­
ment cluster also illuminates
¢page 13.
Check/correct the pressures of all four tires
and reset TPMS in the menu display .
11@1&1 (Tire Pressure Monitoring System) Tire
pressure! System malfunction . Ifll@IS, ap­
pears after switching the ignition on or while
driving ¢
fig. 173 and the indicator light ti] in
the instrument cluster blinks for approx i­
mately one minute and then stays on, there is
a system malfunction. See your autho rized
Audi dealer as soon as possible.
A WARNING
-If the tire pressure indicator appears in
the instrument cluster display, one or
more of your tires is significantly under­
inflated. Reduce your speed immediately
and avoid any hard steering or braking ..,.