2012 AUDI A3 seats

is locked so that the child and child safety
seat will stay in place.
Always remember: Even though your vehicle is
equipped with an Advanced Airbag system, all
children , especially those 12 years and young­
er, should always ride in the back seat proper­
ly restrained for their age and size.
A WARNING
Improperly installed child safety seats in­
crease the risk of serious personal injury
and death in a collision.
- Always make sure that the safety belt re­
tractor is locked when installing a child
safety seat. An unlocked safety belt re­
tractor cannot hold the child safety seat
in place during normal driving or in a
crash.
- Always buckle the child safety seat firmly
in place even if a child is not sitting in it.
A loose child safety seat can fly around
during a sudden stop or in a collision.
- Always make sure that the rear seat
backrest to which the center rear safety
belt is attached is securely latched when­
ever the rear center safety belt is being
used to secure a child restraint.
- If the backrest is not securely latched,
the child and the child restraint will be
thrown forward together with the back­
rest and will strike parts of the vehicle
interior. The child can be seriously in­
jured or killed.
- 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.
- 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 or in­
fant carriers installed on the front pas-
Child Safety 153
senger's seat may interfere with the de­
ployment of the airbag and cause serious
injury to the child.
- It is safer to install a forward-facing
child safety seat on the rear seat.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restrained in ave­
hicle is being used
c=> page 143. Special
precautions apply when installing a child
safety seat on the front passenger seat
c=> page 12 3, Child restraints on the front
seat -some important things to know.
A WARNING
Always take special precautions if you
must install a forward or rearward-facing
child restraint on the front passenger's
seat in exceptional situations:
- Whenever a forward or rearward-facing
child restraint is installed on the front
passenger seat, the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
light must come on and stay on
whenever the ignition is switched on.
- If
the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, perform
the checks described
c=> page 133, Moni­
toring the Advanced Airbag System.
- Take the child 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
light does not stay on
whenever the ignition is switched on .
- Improper installation of child restraints
can reduce their effectiveness or even
prevent them from providing any protec­
tion.
-An improperly installed child restraint
can interfere with the airbag as it de­ ploys and seriously injure or even kill the
child.
-Always carefully follow the manufactur­
er's instructions provided with the child
safety seat or carrier.
- Never place additional items on the seat
that can increase the total weight regis­
tered by the weight-sensing mat and can
cause injury in a crash.
~
•
•

A WARNING
Using the wrong child restraint or an im ­
properly installed child restraint can cause
ser ious personal injury or death in a crash .
- Always make sure that the safety belt re-
tractor is locked when installing a child
safety seat. An unlocked safety belt re­
tractor cannot hold the child safety seat
in place during normal driving or in a
crash .
- 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 can fly around
dur ing a sudden stop or in a crash.
- Always make sure the seat backrest to
wh ich the child restra int is installed is in
an upr ight position and secu rely latched
in to place and cannot fold forwa rd. Oth­
erwise, the seatback w ith the ch ild s afety
seat attached to it could fly forward in
the event of an accident or other emer­
gency situation.
- Always read and heed all WARN INGS
whenever using a child rest rained in ave­
hicle is being used
,::!) page 143. Special
precautions apply when installing a ch ild
safety seat on the front passenger seat
¢ page 123, Child restraints on the front
seat -some important things to know.
Deactivating the convertible locking
retractor
The convertible locking retractor for child re­
straints will be deactivated automatically when the belt is wound all the way ba ck into
the retractor.
~ Press the red button on the safety be lt
buc kle. The belt tongue will pop out of the
bu ck le.
~ G ui de the safety belt all the way back in to
it s stowed posit ion .
A lways le t the safety belt retract comp lete ly
in to its stowed posit ion. The sa fety belt can
now be used as an o rdinary sa fety belt with­
out the convert ib le lock ing ret ractor for chi ld
restra ints.
-
Child Sa fet y 155
If the convertib le locking retractor should be
activated inadvertently, the safety be lt must
be unfastened and guided comp lete ly back in­
to its stowed posit ion to deactivate this fea­
ture. If the convert ible locking retractor is not
deact ivated, the safety belt w ill grad ua lly be­
come tig hte r and uncomfortable to wear.
A WARNING
Im prop erly installed chi ld safety seats in­
crease the r isk of serio us pe rsonal injury
a nd death in a c ollision.
- Never unfasten the safety belt to deacti­
vate the conver tible locking retrac to r for
child res traints while the vehicle is mov ­
ing . You would not be restrained and
could be seriously injured in an accide nt.
- Always read and heed al l WAR NIN GS
wheneve r using a child restraine d in ave ­
hicle is being used
r::!) page 143 . Special
preca utions apply when insta lling a child
safety seat on the front passe nger seat
¢ page 123, Child restraints on the front
seat -some important things to know .
LATCH Lower
anchorages and tethers
for children
Child Restraint System anchors and how
are they related to child safety
T o p rov ide a simple r and more prac ticable way
to attach the c hild restraint on the vehi cle
seat, Federal regulat ions req uire spec ia l lower
anchorages in vehicles and devices on new
c hi ld restra ints to attach to the veh icle ancho­
rages.
The combination of the tether anchorages and
the lower anchorages is now genera lly ca lled
the
LATCH system for " Lower Anchorages and
T ethers for Chil dren."
Fo rward-faci ng chi ld restraints manufactured
after September 1, 1999, are requ ired by U.S.
federa l regu lations to comply with new child
head movement performance requirements. .,.. •
•

156 Child Safet y
These new performance requirements make a
tether necessary on most new child seats.
Ins tal ling a chi ld restraint that requ ires a top
tether without one can serious ly impair the
performance of the child restraint and its abi l­
ity to protect the chi ld in a co llis ion. Installing
a child restraint that requires a top tether
witho ut the top tether may be a v io lation of
state law .
Child restraint manufacturers offer LATCH l ower anchorages on the ir ch ild seats with
hook-on or push -on connectors attached to
adjustable straps.
In addit ion to the LATCH lower anchorages ,
these child restraint systems usually require
the use of tether straps to help keep the child restraint firmly in place.
A WARNING
Improper insta llation of chi ld restraints
w ill increase the risk of injury and death in
a c rash .
- Always follow the instructions p rov ided
by the manufacturer of the ch ild re­
st raint you intend to install in your veh i­
cle.
- Never install a child restraint without a
properly atta ched top tether strap if the
child rest rain t manufacturer's instruc­
tions req uire the top tethe r strap to be
used.
- Improper use of c hild restra int LA TCH
lower anchorage points can lead to injury
in a collis ion . The LATCH lower anchorage
points are designed to w ithstand only
those loads imposed by correct ly fitted
child restraints.
- Never mount two chi ld restraint systems
on one LATCH Lower anchorage point.
- Never secure or attach any L uggage or
other item to the LATCH lower anchorag­
es.
@ Tips
- In Canada, the terms "top tether" with
"lower universa l anchorages" (or " lower
-
unive rsal ancho rage bars") a re used to
describe the system.
- In o ther coun tries, the term " ISOFI X" is
used to describe the Lower anc ho rages .
Location
Fig. 143 Sch emat ic overview: LATCH anc horage po int
l ocat io ns
a, ~ ti. m a,
The illustration shows the seating locations in
your vehicle which are equipped with the low­ er anchorages system.
Description
The lower anchorage positions are marked
for quick locating.
F ig. 1 44 Rear seatbacks: locato r buttons fo r lowe r an ­
c h ora g es
Fi g. 14 5 Rear seats: low er an cho rage bracket loca tions .,.

Attachment locator markers for lower
anchorages
Circular locator buttons on the rear seatback indicate the lower anchorage locations on the
rear seating positions ¢
fig. 144.
Lower anchorages
The lower anchorage attachment points are
l ocated between the rear seatback and rear
seat cushion ¢
fig. 145.
Lower anchorages secure the child restraint in
the seat witho ut using the vehicle 's safety
be lts . Anchorages provide a secure and easy­
to-use attachment and minimize the possibili­
ty of improper child restraint installation.
A ll child restraints manufactured after Sep­
tember 1, 2002, must have lower anchorage
attachments for the
LATCH system.
Remember that the lower anchorage points
are only intended for installation and attach­
ment of child restraints specifically certif ied
for use with
LATCH l ower anchorages . Child
restraints that are not equipped with the low­
er anchorage attachments can still be instal­ led in compliance with the ch ild restra int
manufacturer's instruct ions on using vehicle
safety belts .
.&, WARNING
Improper use of LATCH lower anchorages
can cause serious persona l injury in an ac­
cident .
- Always carefully fo llow the child re­
straints manufacturer's instructions for
proper installation of the child restraint
and proper use of the lower anchorages
or safety belts in your vehicle.
- Never secure or attach any l uggage or
other items to the
LATCH lower ancho­
rages.
-Always read and heed the important in­
formation about child restraints in this
chapter and WARNINGS ¢
page 143,
Child Safety .
Child Safety 15 7
Installing a child restra int with LATCH
lower anchorages
Whenever you install a child restraint always
follow the child restraint manufacturer's in­
structions.
Fig. 146 Rear bench seat: insta llin g the mount fo r
LATCH child seats
Fig. 147 Lower anchorages: proper mount ing
Mounting
.,. Place the child seat mount@on the ancho­
rages @ between the back rests and the
seat surface ¢
fig. 146 .
.,. Remove the cover* to access the lower an­
chorage attachment points.
.,. Make sure the seatback of the rear seat
bench is in the upright position and secure ly
latched in place.
.,. Attach both hook-on connectors with the
spring catch release on the child safety seat
onto the LATCH lower anchorage so that the
connectors lock into place ¢
fig. 147.
.,. Pull on the connector attachments to make
sure they are properly attached to the LATCH
lower anchorage .
.,. Pull straps tight fo llowing the child re-
straint manufacturer's instructions . .,..

158 Child S afet y
Relea sin g
.,. Loosen the tension on the straps following
the chi ld restraint manufacturer 's instruc­
tions .
.,. Depr ess th e spr ing catch es to re lease the
a nchorage hooks from the lowe r anchorag ­
es.
Rem emb er: Use tether straps to help keep the
child restraint fi rmly in p lace.
A WARNING
Improper use of the LATCH system can in­
crease the risk of serious personal injury
and death in an acc ident.
- These anchors were developed only for
child safety seats us ing the "LATCH" sys­
tem .
- Never attach other child safety seats,
belts or other objects to these anchors .
- Always make sure that you hear a click
when latching the seat in place . If you do
not hear a click the seat is not secure and
could fly forward and h it the interior of
the vehicle, or be ejected from the vehi­
cl e.
&_ WARNING
Imprope r insta llation of chi ld restrai nts
w ill increase the risk of inju ry in an acc i­
dent.
- Always fo llow the child restraint system
man ufa cturer's instr uctions for proper
installation of the child restraint system
and proper use of tether straps as we ll as
the lower anchorages or sa fety belts in
your vehicle .
- Always read and heed the important in­
format ion and WARNINGS about child
safety and the installation of child re­
straint systems
c:> page 143, Child Safe­
ty.
Tether anchors and tether straps
F ig. 148 Tet her an ch ors : attachment hook loca tions
b ehi nd the rea r se atba cks
T he tether anchors for the rear seating posi­
tions are located on the backside of the rear
seatbacks
c:> fig. 148.
A tether is a stra ight or V-shaped st rap that
attaches the top par t of a ch ild restra int to
spe cial ancho rage po in ts in the vehicle.
The purpose of the tether is to reduce the for­
ward movement of the child rest raint in a
cr ash , in orde r to help reduce the risk of head
injury that cou ld be caused by str ik ing the ve­
hicle interior.
Forward facing child restraints manufactured
after September 1, 1999, are requ ired by U.S.
federa l reg ulations to comply wi th new child
head movemen t perfo rmance req uirements.
T hese new performa nce req uirements make a
tether necessary on most new child safety seats .
&_ WARNING
-Improper installat ion of child restra ints
will increase the risk of injury and death in
a crash .
- Always follow the instructions provided
by the manufacturer of the child re­
straint you intend to install in your Audi .
- Improper use of child restraint anchors
(including tether anchors) can lead to in ­
jury in a collis ion. The anchors are de­
s igned to withstand only thos e loads im­
posed by co rrec tly fitted child rest rain ts.
- Never mo unt two child restra int sys tems
-
on one LATC H lower anchor point. .,_

-Never attach two child restraint systems
to one tether strap or tether anchorage.
- Never attach a tether strap to a tie-down
hook in the luggage compartment.
- Never use child restraint tether ancho­
rages to secure safety belts or other
kinds of occupant restraints.
- Never secure or attach any luggage or
other items to the LATCH lower ancho­
rages or to the tether anchors.
-If a tether or other strap is used to at­
tach a child restraint to the front passen­ ger seat, make sure that it is not so
t ight , that it causes the weight-sensi ng
mat to measure more weight than is ac ­
tually on the seat .
- The heav ier weight reg istered can make
the Advanced Airbag System work as
though an adult were on the seat and de­
ploy the Advanced Ai rbag when it must
be s uppressed causing serious o r even
f atal injury to the child.
- If you mus t install a rearward facing
child safe ty seat o n the fron t passenger
seat beca use of exceptional circ ums tan­
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 you r
Audi dealer.
Installing the upper tether strap on the
anchorage
F ig. 1 49 Tether strap : prope r ro utin g and mountin g
Child S afety 159
Fig. 1 50 Tet her st rap: prope r routing an d mounti ng
Installing the tether str ap
.. Release or deploy the te ther s trap on the
child restraint according to the child re ­
straint manufacture r's instructions .
.. Guide the upper tether st rap
und er the rear
head restra int and into the rea r cargo a rea
r=;, fig . 150 (ra ise the head restraint if neces ­
sary) .
.. Slide the tether strap hook over the anchor
bracket.
.. Pull on the tether st rap hook so th at the
spring cat ch of the hook engages .
.. Tighten the tether strap firmly follow ing
the child restra int manufacturer's inst ruc ­
tions.
Relea sing the tether strap
.. Loosen the tension following the ch ild re­
strain t manufac turer 's ins truc tions .
.. Depress the spring catch on the hook and
release it from the anchorage .
(D Note
If you leave the child restraint w ith the
tether strap firm ly installed for several
days, this could leave a ma rk on the up­
ho lstery on the seat cushion and backrest
i n the area where the tether strap was in­
stalled. The upholstery would also be per ­
mane ntly stretched a round the tether
strap. T his app lies especia lly to leather
seats.
Using tether straps on rearward-facing
child restraints
Cu rrently, few rear-facing child restraint sys-
tems come with a tether . Please read and ...,

168 Intelligent technology
If starting capability is jeopa rdized due to en­
ergy consumption, a message appears in the
driver information disp lay.
You have to start the eng ine to charge the
battery.
With the engine running
A lthough electrical energy is generated when
the vehicle is be ing driven, the battery can be­
come discha rged. This happens mos tly when
little e nergy is be ing generated and a great
dea l consumed and the battery's state o f
charge is not optima l.
To br ing the energy balance back into equili ­
brium, cons umers which require especia lly
l arge amo unts of energy are temporari ly c ut
back or switched off. Heating systems in par­
ticular requ ire a great dea l of energy. If you
notice, for example, that the heated seats* or
the heated rear window are not heating, they have been temporar ily cut back or switched
off. These systems will be ava ilable again as
soon as the energy ba lance has bee n restored.
You will a lso notice that engine idle speed has
been increased s lightly . This is norma l and not
a cause fo r co ncern . By increas ing engine idle
speed the add itiona l ene rgy required is gene r­
ated and the ba tte ry is charged.
Driver notification in the instrument
cluster display
If batte ry power drops into the range w here it
can limit the ab ility of the engine to start, th is
is shown in the instrument cluster display
with the following driver message:
(•) Low batter y charge : batte ry will be
charged while dr iving
This notif ication reminds you tha t the s tarti ng
capability of the engine may be limited. As
soon as you start d riving again, the battery
will be recharged and the notification wi ll go
out.
Driver notification appears and goes out
again
If this driver notif ication appears after the ig­
nition is t urned on or whi le driving and it goes
out again after a while, the battery has been
adequately recharged.
Driver notification appea rs and doe s not
go out again
If this driver notif ication appears after the ig­
nition is turned on or whi le driving and does
not go out again, the battery 's state of charge
is not in the optima l range. Starting ab ility is
rest ricted . H ave t he battery chec ked as soon
as possib le by an autho rized Aud i dea le r o r
qualified wo rks hop.

184 Cleaning and protection
Fabrics and fabric coverings
Fab rics and fabr ic coveri ngs (e.g. seats, door
tr im panels, etc.) should be cleaned at reg ular
inte rva ls with a vacuum cleaner. This removes
sur face dirt particles which could become em­
bedded in the fabric through use. Steam
cleaners shou ld not be used, because the
steam tends to push the dirt deeper into the
fabric and lock it there.
Normal cleaning
Generally, we recommend using a soft sponge
or a lint-free microfiber cloth to the clean fab ­
ric. Brushes should on ly be used for carpets
and floor mats, s ince other fabric surfaces
could be harmed by brushes.
Normal surface stains can be cleaned using a
commercially available foam cleaner. Spread
the foam on the surface of the fabric with a
soft sponge and work it in gently. Do not satu­
rate the fabric. Then pat the foam d ry using
absorbent, dry cloths (e.g . microfiber cloth)
and vacuum it afte r it has dried comp lete ly.
Cleaning stain s
Stains caused by beverages (e.g. coffee, fruit
ju ice, etc.) can be treated with a mild deter­
gent solut ion. App ly the detergent so lution
with a sponge. In the case of stubbor n stains,
a detergent paste can be applied directly to
the sta in and wor ked into the fabric. Afte r­
wards, use copio us amo unts o f cle an water to
remove t he remaining dete rgent. Apply the
water with a damp cloth or sponge and pat
the fabric d ry w ith an absorbent, dry cloth.
S tains from chocola te or make up s hou ld have
detergent paste (e .g. ox -gall soap) r ubbed in ­
to them. Afterwards, remove the soap with
water (damp sponge).
A lcohol can be used to t rea t stains from
g rease, oi l, lips tick or a ballpo in t pen . Me lted
grease or dye must be patted off using ab ­
sorbent materia l. It may be necessary to re­
treat the areas with dete rgent paste and wa­
ter. In the case of gene
ra l soiling o f the uphols ­
tery and cover material, we recommend hiring
a spec ia list that has the equipment to clean
the seat covers and other fabr ic surfaces by
shampooing and spray extraction.
A WARNING '"--
A lways read and heed all WARNINGS and
the information
~ page 178.
(D Tips
Open Ve lcro fasteners on yo ur clothing can
damage the seat cover. Please make sure
that Velcro fasteners are closed.
Plastic parts and instrument panel
~ Always use a clean cloth moistened in clear
wate r.
Always use a clean cloth moistened in clear
water to clean these areas. For pe rsisten t dirt
use an Aud i approved
solvent -free p lastic
cl eaner/p rotec tant.
A WARNING
S olven ts ca n ch ange the prope rties of
some p lastics and make it harde r fo r the
a ir ba g to de ploy .
-
- N ever cle an the in st rument p anel or the
sur face of Ai rbag modu les with cleaning
prod ucts t hat conta in solvents .
- P roduc ts containing solven ts will make
the surface of this part poro us.
- Ser ious inju ries c an resu lt if p lastic parts
come loose when t he ai rbag is deployed.
- Always re ad and heed a ll WAR NIN GS and
t he information¢
page 178 .
(J) Note
Cleaning agents conta ining so lvents w ill
a ttack t he mate rial and can ch ange the
w ay it behaves.