2012 AUDI A3 warning lights

76 Seats and storage
& WARNING
-Always remove objects from the instru­
ment panel. Any items not put away
could slide around inside the vehicle
while driving or when accelerating or
when applying the brakes or when driv­
ing around a corner.
- When you are driving make sure that
anything you may have placed in the cen­
ter console or other storage locations
cannot fall out into the footwells. In case
of sudden braking you would not be able
to brake, depress the clutch or acceler­
ate.
- Any pieces of clothing that you have
hung up must not interfere with the driv­
er's view. The coat hooks are designed
only for lightweight clothing. Never hang
any clothing with hard, pointed or heavy
objects in the pockets on the coat hooks.
During sudden braking or in an accident -
especially if the airbag is deployed -
these objects could injure any passen­
gers inside the vehicle .
Glove compartment
The glove compartment is illuminated and
can be locked .
Fig. 89 Glove compar tment
To open glove compartment
"' Pull the handle~ fig. 89 in the direct ion of
the arrow push down lid to th e fully op en
position.
1 ) Not ava ilab le o n veh icl es with Audi N avigat ion Sys­
t e m .
To close glove compartment
"' Push the glove compartment lid upward un-
til the lock engages.
The light will illuminate when the parking/
headlights are turned on and the glove com­
partment is open.
In the glove compartment lid, you will find a
place to store a pen and a pad of paper .
In the glove compartment, you will find the
CD-changer* for navigation system* . A sepa­
rate Owner's Manual is in vehicles that have a
factory-installed CD changer and navigation
system.
A WARNING
To reduce the risk of personal injury in an
accident or sudden stop, always keep the
glove compartment closed while driving.
Ga Storage compartment for small
objects
Applies to vehicles: with storage compartment in center
console
Fig. 90 Cen te r c onso le s torage compar tme nt
"' To open the compartment, press the cover
Cg ~fig. 90.
-
"' To close the compartment, push the drawer
all the way in until it clicks in place.
An additional storage compartment
1> for rela­
tively small objects is located in the center
console next to the brake lever.

Ignition lock and ignition switch
Ignition lock
The engine can be started or turned off with
the ignition key.
Fig. 102 I gni tion lock positio ns
Ignition off@
In position ¢ fig. 102@both the ignition and
engine are off, and the steering is locked.
To
lock the steering after you have removed
the ignition key, turn the steering wheel in ei­
ther direction until you hear it lock into place.
You shou ld always lock the steering whenever
you leave your vehicle. This makes a vehicle
theft even more difficul t
q ,&.
Ignition on CD
If it is difficult to turn the key after you have
inserted it into the ignition lock, turn the
steering wheel back and forth. This will take
the load off the steering lock mechan ism and
you will be able to turn the key freely and
start the engine. On vehicles with a diesel en­
g ine*, the system can preheat in this pos ition .
Starting the engine @
In this position the engine starts. While the
engine is starting, the power supply to the
headlights and other electrical consumers is
temporarily interrupted to conserve battery power. After the engine has started, release
the key and it will return to position @.
Before the starter can be operated again the
key must be turned back to position @. The
non-repeat lock prevents you from damag ing
the starter when the engine is running.
On the road 89
A WARNING
-Never remove the key from the ignition
lock wh ile the vehicle is moving. The
steering wheel will lock caus ing loss of
control.
- If you have to leave your vehicle - even
for just a minute -always remove the ig­
nition key and take it with you. This is es­
pecia lly important if you are going to
leave children behind in the vehicle. The
children could start the engine or use
other vehicle controls. Unsupervised use
of vehicle controls (for example, power
windows) can cause serious personal in­
juries.
(D Tips
If the vehicle battery has been disconnect­
ed and then reconnected, then you must leave the key in position @for about 5
seconds before you can start the engine.
Ignition key safety lock
Applies to vehicles: wit h automatic transmission
The ignition key can only be removed when
the selector lever is in the "P" (Park) position.
Place the selector lever in the "P" position be­
fore switching off the engine .
After switching off the ign ition, the ignition
key can on ly be removed from the ignition
lock when the selector lever is in the "P"
(Park) position. After you have removed the
key, the se lector lever is locked and cannot be
moved.

90 On the road
Starting and stopping
the engine
Starting the engine
The engine can only be started with your orig­
inal Audi key.
Fig. 10 3 Igni tio n key pos itio ns
Vehicles with a gasoline eng ine:
.. Move the selector lever to the neut ral posi ­
t ion (a utomatic transmission): se lector lever
in Por
N) c> .&_ .
.. On vehicles with manual transmission, fully
depress t he clu tch pedal.
.,. Turn the ig nition key to position @
¢ page 89, fig. 102 -do not d epress th e gas
peda l when start ing the e ngine!
.. Let go of the key as soon as the eng ine
s tar ts.
Vehicles with a diesel engine:
.. Set the parking bra ke .
.. Move t he sele cto r lever to the neut ral posi­
t ion (a utomat ic tr ansm iss ion): se lecto r lever
i n
P or N) c> .&_ .
.. On vehicles wi th m anu al transm is s ion, fully
depress the clutch pedal.
.. Turn the ignition key to position
(D
¢ fig . 103 . The glow plug warning light II
lights up while the glow plugs are warming
up .
.. When the warning light goes out, tur n the
i gnition key to posi tion @to s tart the en­
gine
c> page 89, fig . 102 . Do no t depress t he
gas pedal when s tart ing the engine!
.. Let go of the key as soon as t he eng ine
sta rts . A cold engine may sound lo
ud after it has
been started . This is due to the hydraulic
valves b uilding up o il pressure. This is normal
and is not a need for co ncern .
If the engine does not start immediate ly, stop
t rying after 10 seconds and then try to restart
t h e engine about
30 seconds later.
Glow plug system*
Diesel engines are e quipped w ith a glow pl ug
system whose prehe ating time is co ntrolled
by the coo la nt an d ou tside temperature . Sta rt
the engine
immediately after the g low plug
i ndicator light
II switches off.
T he glow plug indica to r ligh t will only illumi­
nate fo r approximate ly 1 second w hen t he en ­
gine is warm or the outside temperature is
higher than
46 °F (8 °(). That means yo u can
start the eng ine
immedia tely .
To start the diesel eng ine after the fuel
tank has been run dry
If the fuel tank was r un comp lete ly dry, the
starting process after refue ling with diesel
fuel can take longer than usua l - up to one mi­
nute . This is because the fue l system first has
to be vented of a ir wh ile s tarting .
A WARNING
-Neve r sta rt or l et the eng in e r un in a con-
fi ned o r encl ose d area. Exhaus t fumes
fr om the e ngine co ntain ca rbo n m onoxide ,
a colorless and odorless g as. Ca rbon mo n­
oxi de can be fatal if inhaled .
- N ever le ave the engi ne id ling una tten d­
ed . An unat tende d veh icle w ith a run ning
e ng ine poses a dan ger of personal injury
or theft .
(D Note
-Av oid high engine spee ds, fast a cceler a­
t ion or heavy engine loa ds w hile the en ­
gine is st ill co ld. This could damage the
eng ine .
- The e ngine cannot be starte d by pushing
or towing t he vehicle . .,.

The park lock must only be engaged with the
vehicle
stationary c::> &.
To engage P and to remove the lever from th is
position, you must depress the release b utton
(button in the selector lever handle)
and si­
multaneously you must step on the brake
pedal.
R · re vers e
I n th is position, reverse is engaged.
Reverse gear must only be engaged with the
veh icle
stationary and the eng ine runn ing at
id le speed
c::> ,&. .
To engage R, you have to depress the release
button
and s imultaneously step on the brake
pedal. In the R position, the back-up lights il­
lum inate with the ign ition on.
N • N eutra l
The transmission is in neutral in this position .
D -Norm al po sition f or d riving forwa rd
In this position, the forward gears are auto­ matica lly shifted up and down, depending on
engine load and vehicle speed.
To engage S from N, the brake pedal must be
depressed at speeds be low S km/h or when
the vehicle is stationary
c::> & .
In certain circumstances (driving in the moun­
tains for examp le) it can be beneficial to
switch temporarily to the manua l shift pro­
gram
c::> page 100 in order to adjust the gear
ratios to driving cond itions
manually.
S -Sport setting
The S se tt ing shou ld be selected for sporting
d riving . The power reserves of the engine can
be fu lly exp loited through later upshifts.
To engage S from N, the brake pedal must be depressed at speeds be low S km/h or when
the vehicle is stationary
c::> & .
Tra n sm iss io n 9 7
A WARNING
- Never p lace the selector lever in the R or
P posit ion while the veh icle is moving -
risk of an accident!
- With the engine running, it is necessary
to hold the vehicle with the foot brake in all se lector lever positions (except P and
N), because even at idle speed the trans­
fe r of power is never completely inter­
rupted -the vehicle "creeps". If the vehi­
cle is stationary and the transm ission is
engaged, the engine should never be
speeded up unintentionally (e .g. manual­
ly from under the hood). Otherwise the
veh icle w ill immediately start to move -
sometimes even if the park ing brake is
firmly applied -risk of an accident!
- Before you or other persons open the
hood and work on a running engine, the
selecto r lever must be moved to P and
the park ing brake applied f irmly - risk of
an accident! Follow the warning sticke rs
c::> page 187, Engine compartment.
(D Tips
If you have inadvertently shift ing into N
while the vehicle is moving, you shou ld re­
move you r foot from the accelerator and
wait unt il the engine speed has dropped to
idle before shifting back to Dor S .
Selector lever lock
Applies to vehicl es: with S tronic®
The selector lever lock prevents a gear from
being engaged accidentally and unintention­
ally setting the vehicle in motion.
F ig. 110 Selector lever locks

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.
•
•

Safety belts
General notes
Always wear safety belts!
Wearing safety belts correctly saves lives!
This chapter explains why safety belts are nec­
essary, how they work and how to adjust and
wear them correctly.
~ Read all the information that follows and
heed all of the instructions and WARNINGS.
A WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them
improperly increases the risk of serious
personal injury and death.
- Safety belts are the single most effective
means available to reduce the risk of se­
rious injury and death in automobile acci­
dents. For your protection and that of
your passengers, always correctly wear
safety belts when the vehicle is moving.
- Pregnant women, injured, or physically
impaired persons must also use safety
belts. Like all vehicle occupants, they are
more likely to be seriously injured if they
do not wear safety belts. The best way to
protect a fetus is to protect the mother -
throughout the entire pregnancy.
Number of seats
Your Audi has a total of five seating positions:
two in the front and three in the rear. Each
seating position has a safety belt.
A WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them
improperly increases the risk of serious
personal injury and death.
- Never strap more than one person, in­
cluding small children, into any belt. It is
especially dangerous to place a safety
belt over a child sitting on your lap.
- Never let more people ride in the vehicle
than there are safety belts available.
Safety belts 113
-Be sure everyone riding in the vehicle is
properly restrained with a separate safe­
ty belt or child restraint.
~ Safety belt warning light
Your vehicle has a warning system for the
driver and front seat passenger (on USA mod­
els only) to remind you about the importance
of buckling-up.
Fig. 120 Safety belt warning light in the instr ument
cl uster -enla rged
Before driving off, always:
~ Fasten your safety belt and make sure you
are wearing it properly.
~ Make sure that your passengers also buckle
up and properly wear their safety belts.
~ Protect children with a child restraint sys-
tem appropriate for the size and age .
The warning light . in the instrument cluster
lights up when the ignition is switched on as a
reminder to fasten the safety belts. In addi­
tion, you will hear a warning tone for a certain period of time .
Fasten your safety belt and make sure that
your passengers also properly put on their
safety belts.
A WARNING
- Safety belts are the single most effective
means available to reduce the risk of se­
rious injury and death in automobile acci­
dents. For your protection and that of
your passengers, always correctly wear
safety belts when the vehicle is moving.
•
•

must install extended mirrors. I t is important
that you
always have clear vision to the rear.
A WARNING -
After removing the tra ile r hitch, do not
store it in your vehicle. In case of s udden
braking , the hitch could fly forward and in­
jure you or your passengers .
Operating instructions
Maximum trailer weight
A trailer for your ve hicle is limited to a typica l
class 1 o r class 2 trailer.
Trailer l oad di stribut ion
Be s ure the load in the trai ler is he ld sec urely
in place to guard aga inst shift ing, be it for­
ward, backward or sideways.
Never allow a passenger to ride in a trailer
~ &. in Driving instructions on page 176 .
Tire pressure
When tow ing a tra ile r, i nflate the ti res of yo ur
ve hicl e to the co ld tire pressure listed u nder
"Full load" on the sticker on the r igh t door ­
jamb . Inflate trai ler ti res to trai ler and tire
manufacturers' specifications.
Lights
The he adlig ht setti ngs should be che cked w ith
the trailer a ttached be fore dr iv ing off . Adjus t
as necessary so that you can see the road
a h ead but not blind o ncoming traff ic .
C hec k prope r wo rking of vehicle a nd t ra ile r
lights.
Safety chains
B e s ure tra ile r safe ty cha ins are p roperly con­
nected from the t railer to the hitch on the ve­
hicl e. Leave e no ugh s lack in the chains to pe r­
mi t turning corners . Whe n you ins tall safe ty
ch ains, m ake s ure they w ill not drag on the
road when yo u are driving .
The c ha ins shou ld cross un der th e tra ile r
t ongue to prevent it from droppi ng in case of
separat ion from the h itch.
Trailer towin g 175
Driving instructions
Driving with a trailer always requires extra
care and consideration .
To obtain the best possible handli ng of vehicle
and trailer, please note the fo llow ing:
... Do not tow a loaded t railer w hen you r ca r it­
self is not loaded .
... Be especially caref ul when pass ing other ve­
hicles .
... Obse rve speed lim its .
... Do not dr ive at the maximum permissib le
speed.
... Always app ly brakes e arly .
... Mon itor the tempe rature g auge.
Weight distribution
Towing a loaded t railer w ith an em pty car re­
su lts in a highly unstab le distrib ution of
weig ht. If th is cannot be avoided d rive at very
l ow speed s on ly t o a void t he ri sk of losi ng
stee ring cont rol.
A "ba lanced " rig is easier to operate and con­
tr ol. Th is means t hat the tow vehicle should
b e lo ade d to t he e xten t possible and per miss i­
ble while keep ing t he tr ailer a s light as possi ­
ble under the c ircu mstances . Wheneve r poss i­
ble, transfe r some ca rgo to the lugga ge com­
partment of the tow vehicle w hile obse rv in g
tong ue load requ irements and vehicle load ing
consideratio ns.
Speed
The higher the speed, the mo re di fficu lt it be ­
comes for the driver to contro l the rig . Do not
drive at the maximum permissib le speed. Re ­
duce your speed even more under unfavo rable
load, weather or wind conditions - partic ularly
whe n going downhill .
Red uce veh icle speed
immediately if the trail­
er shows t he slig htest s ign of sway ing.
Do not
try to stop the swaying by accelerating .
Observe speed limits . In some a reas speeds
f or vehicles tow ing tra ile rs a re lower than for
r egular veh icles .
•
•

CD Note
You should remove debris (such as insects)
from the headlight lenses on a regular ba­sis, for example when refueling your vehi­
cle. Never clean the headlights with a dry
cloth or sponge . Use a wet cloth or
sponge.
It is best to use soapy water .
Automatic car wash
The vehicle can be washed in almos t any
modern automatic car wash .
The vehicle paint is so durable that the vehicle
can normally be washed without problems in
an automatic car wash . However, the effect on
the paint depends to a large extent on the de­
sign of the facility, the filtering of the wash
water , the type of wash and care material , etc .
If the paint has a dull appearance after going
through the car wash or is scratched, bring
this to the attention of the operator immedi­
ately. If necessary, use a different car wash.
Before going through a car wash, be sure to
take the usual precautions such as closing the
windows and panoramic sliding sunroof*. Re­ move antenna if applicable.
If you have installed additional accessories on
the vehicle -such as spoilers, roof rack, etc. -
it is best to ask the car wash operator if these
should be removed.
A WARNING
Always read and heed all WARNINGS and other information
¢ page 178.
Washing the vehicle by hand
A lot of water is needed when washing a vehi­
cle by hand.
11-Before you start washing, make sure you
have read and understood the WARNINGS
¢ A in General information on page 178.
11-First soak all dried dirt until it is soft, then
rinse it off .
11-As you clean your vehicle, s tart with the
roof and work your way down to the bottom,
Cleaning and protection 179
using a sponge, a sponge glove or a clean
brush.
"" Rinse the sponge or the sponge glove often,
flushing it clean each time.
11-Use special car shampoo only for very per­
sistent dirt .
11-Rinse the car thoroughly with water .
11-Use a chamois leather to gently wipe the ex-
terior dry.
Use a separate sponge for cleaning the
wheels, door sills and other regions exposed
to road dirt. In this way, you will not scratch
the paint with coarse particles imbedded in
the sponge the next time you wash the car.
A WARNING
= -
-Do not clean the underside of the chas-
sis, fenders, wheel covers , or other hard
to reach parts without protecting your hands and arms . You may cut yourself on
sharp-edged metal parts.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other information
¢ page 178.
CD Note
- Never try to remove dirt, mud or dust if
the surface of the vehicle is dry. Never
use a dry cloth or sponge, since this
could scratch your vehicle's paint or win­
dows.
- Never wash your car in bright sunlight.
Drops of water act as magnifying lenses
and may damage your paint .
- When you wash your car in the winter: if
you rinse your vehicle with a hose, be
careful not to aim the stream of water
directly at locks, or at door or hatch
openings -they can freeze shut.
- Never use sponges designed to remove
insects, or any kitchen scouring sponges
or similar products. They can damage
your paint finish.
- Never use a dry cloth or sponge to clean
the headlights. Only use wet cloths or
sponges to prevent scratches. It is best
to use soapy water. •
•