2012 AUDI A3 air bag

2 Table of contents Vehicle literature .. .. .. .. .. ... .
About this Owner's Manual ...
Controls and equipment .. ... .
Ins truments and controls .. . .
General illus tration .... ... .. .. ... .
Instruments and warning /
indicator lights ..... ... .. .. .. . .
Ins trum ents . .. .. ..... ... .. .. ... .
War ning/ ind ic ator lights ... .. ... .. .
Driver information d isplay .. . .
Introduct ion . .. .. ..... ... .. .. ... .
On-Boa rd Diagnostic syst em (OBD) .. .
T rip compute r .. ... .... ..... .. .. . .
M en u dis pl ay ... ...... ... .. .. .. . .
Efficien cy progr am . ........ ... .. . .
Service in terval d is pl ay .. .. .. .. .. . .
E ng ine oi l tempe ratu re d is pl ay .... . .
S peed warn ing syste m ..... .. .. ... .
Opening and closing .... .. .. . .
Keys .. .. .. ................ ... . .
P ower locking sys tem . .. .. .. .. .. . .
D oors, power lo cks . .... ..... .. .. . .
P owe r win dows .. .. ... ... .. .. ... .
P anoram ic slid ing su nroof . ... ... .. .
Clear vision .. . ...... ... .. .. ... .
Lights ...... .. .. .. ... ... .. .. ... .
Int erior lights .. .. ..... ... .. .. ... .
V1s1on . .. .. .. . .. ..... ... .. .. .. . .
M irro rs . ... .... .. ... ...... .. .. . .
W iper and w asher sy stem .. .. .. ... .
Dig ita l comp ass ... .... ... .. .. .. . .
Seats and storage ..... .. .. ... .
General recommendat ions ... .. .. . .
Ad just ing front seats manua lly .. .. . .
Ad just ing the powe r sea t ... .. .. .. . .
Ad just ing the lumb ar su pport . .. .. . .
H ead res traints ... ....... .. .. .. . .
Ce nte r arm rest . .. ..... ... .. .. ... .
R ear s eats . .... .. ..... ... .. .. ... .
L uggag e com partm ent . ... .. .. ... .
Roof r ack* insta llat ion . .... .. .. .. . .
5
6
8
8
8
10
10
1 3
23
2 3
24
25
27
29
30
31
3 1
34
34
36
3 8
4 3
45
47
47
5 1
53
53
55
59
61
61
62
63
64
65
6 6
6 6
6 7
7 1
Cu p ho lde rs ... .. ... .. ..... .... . .
Sock et . ... .... .. .. ... ..... ... .. .
Storage ... .. .. .. .. ... .. .. .. .. .. .
Warm and cold ... .. ..... .... . .
Clima te cont rols .. .. .... .... ... .. .
E lect rically he ated front se ats .. .. .. .
Eng ine p rehe ater
On the road ... ... .. ..... ... .. .
Steer ing .. .. .. .. ...... ....... .. .
I g nit ion lock and ig ni tion sw it ch .. .. .
St arting and stopp ing the engine ... .
Pa rking brak e .. .. ............... .
Sta rt ing on h ills .. ... .. ..... ... .. .
A coustic parking sys tem . ....... .. .
C ruise con trol .. . .. ... ... ... .. ... .
Audi mag net ic r ide . .... ..... ... .. .
Transm ission .. ...... ....... .. .
Manua l transm ission . ... .... ... .. .
S tronic transmiss ion . .. ..... ... .. .
Safety first .. .. ...... ....... .. .
Driving Safely ... .... .... ... .. .
Gene ra l notes .... .. ... ..... ... .. .
Pro per occupant seat ing posit ions . . .
Pedal a rea . .. .. .. ...... ....... .. .
S tow ing lugg age . ... .. ..... ... .. .
Repo rting Safety Defects .......... .
Safety belts ... ...... ....... .. .
Gener al note s .... .... ...... ... .. .
Why safety belts? ... .. ..... ..... .
Safety belts . .. ............ ..... .
Safety be lt pretensioners . ........ .
74
75
75
79
79
85
86
88
88
89
90
91
92
93
9 4
95
96
96
96
103
103
103
104
108
109
1 11
113
113
114
116
120
Airbag sy stem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Important th ings to know . . . . . . . . . . 122
Fron t air bags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 26
Moni toring the Adv anced Ai rb ag
Syst em . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
133
Sid e airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
Sid e curtain airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
Child Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Important things to know . . . . . . . . . . 143
Child safety se ats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148

(!) Power window switches
@
®
©
Door handle
Power locking switch
Switches for:
- Adjuster for outs ide mirrors
- Switching on heated exter ior
mirrors
® L ight switch ............... .
® Air outlets ............ .... .
(J) Turn signal and high beam
@ Radio control buttons
® Steer ing wheel w ith:
- Integ rated control buttons
(multi -function steering wheel
only)
for Audi Sound System
- Horn
- Drive r's airbag ........... .
@ Instrument cluster .. ... .. .. .
@ Radio and telephone control
buttons
@ Sw itches for
- Windsh ield wiper/washer
- Trip computer ..... ... .. .. .
@ Ign ition lock .............. .
(8) Adjustable s teer ing column .. .
@) Cruise control ............. .
@) Inst rument lighting ........ .
@ Release lever for the engine
hood .... .. ... ..... ... .. .. .
@ Data Link Connector for On
Board Diagnostic (OBD II)
@ Sw itches for:
- Fuel flap release
43
39
53
47
84
so
126
10
55
25
89
88
94
49
194
24
192
- Rear hatch re lease . . . . . . . . . 40
@ Depending on opt ions: Rad io or
N avigation system (nav igat ion,
r adio)
@ Glove compartment ( lockable)
with CD changer * . . . . . . . . . . . 76
@ Front passenger's a irbag
@ L oudspeaker (treble)
~ Storage tray or sw itch for
126
76
- Audi magnet ic r ide . . . . . . . . . 22
@) Emergency flasher . . . . . . . . . . 76
Instrument s and control s 9
@ Climate controls .. .. .. ..... .
@ Switch for seat heating ...... .
@ Rear window defogger switc h
@ Cup ho lder ....... .. .. ..... .
@ Electr ica l socket .. .. .... ... .
@ AUX -in connect ion
@ E lectr ica l socket ........... .
@) Pa rking brake lever .... .. .. . .
@ Gear shift lever or selector lever
- Manual transmission ...... .
- Automatic transmission .... .
80
85
85
74
75
75
91
96
96
@ Switches for Electronic Stabili­
z ation P rog ram (ESP)
161
@ Tips
- Some of the equ ipment o r features
shown in the genera l ill ustrat ion may be
standard equ ipment on your vehi cle or
m ay be opt ional eq uipment depending
on your model. A lways ask your author­
ized Aud i dea le r i f you have a quest ion
about your vehicle .
-A separate Owner's Manual is in vehicles
that have a factory-installed radio, CD
change r, nav igat ion system, AUX-in con­
nection or multifunction steering wheel.

Instrument s and warnin g/indic ator ligh ts 13
field. The vehicle cannot be operated
¢page 36.
@ Tips
-The dig ital clock and the odometer a re
turned on for abo ut 30 seconds when
the driver's door is opened .
- When the ignition is turned off, the od­
ometer reading and the d igita l clock with
date display can be switched on for
abo ut 30 seconds by pressing the knob
¢ page 10, fig. 3@ .
Warning/indicator
lights
Description
T he indicator lights in the instrument cluster
blink or turn on. They indicate functions or
malfunct ions ¢.&, .
Messages may appear with some indicator
lights. The messages turn off after a short
time. To d isp lay a message aga in, pres s the
Set/Check button¢
page 10, fig. 3@ . If
there is more than one malfunction , the ind i­
cator lights will turn on one after the other for
approximate ly two seconds each .
Some ind icators lights in the display can turn
on in several colors .
A WARNING
-Failure to heed warning lights and other
important vehi cle i nfo rmation may result
in serious persona l injury o r vehicle dam­
age.
- Whe never sta lled or stopped for repa ir,
move the vehicle a safe dis tance off the
road, stop the engine, and turn on the
emergency flasher¢
page 50.
- The engine compartment of any motor
vehicle is a poten tially ha zardous a rea.
Before you check anything in the engine
compartment, stop the engine and let it
cool down. Always exercise extreme cau­
t io n when working under the hood
¢ page 187, Engine compartment
(D Tips
Malfunctions or fau lts will be identified ei­
the r with a red symbol (priority 1 -Dan­
ger!) or with a yellow symbol (priority 2 -
Warning) .
Overview
The warning/indicator lights indicate differ­
ent functions or a possible malfunction .
Some indicator lights turn on briefly to check
the function of that system when you switch
the ignit ion on. These systems are marked
with an./ in the following tables. If one of
these indicator lights does not turn on , there
i s a malfunction in that system.
R ed ind icator lights
Red symbo ls indicate a prior ity ma lfunction -
Danger!
- Pull off the road .
- Stop the vehicle .
= Tu rnoff the engi ne.
- Check the malfunctioning system . Contact
your author ized Audi dealer or a qualified
wo rkshop fo r ass istance .
- USA models: Malfunction in the
brake system
<=> page 15
---· Canada models: Malfunction in the
b rake sys tem
<=>page 15
USA models: A irbag system ./
<=>page 16
Canada models: Airbag system./
<=>page 16
Safety be lt
¢page 16
Generator ./
<=>page 16
Engine o il pressure too low
¢ page 16

16 Instrum ent s and w arn ing /indic ato r light s
immediately by your authorized Audi
dealer or a qualified workshop. Drive
slowly and avoid sudden, hard brake ap­ plication.
- Canada models: If both, the brake warn­
ing light . and the ABS warning light
Ii] come on at the same time, the rear
wheels could lock up first under hard braking. Lock-up of the rear wheel brakes
can cause loss of vehicle control and an
acc ident. Have your vehicle repaired im­
med iately by your authorized Audi dealer
or a qualified workshop. Drive slowly and avoid sudden, hard brake application
- If the brake warning/indicator light does not go out after a few seconds and the
park ing brake re leased, or lights up while
you are driving, the fluid level in the brake flu id reservo ir is too low. If you be­
lieve that it is safe to do so, proceed im­
med iately at low speed to the nearest
authorized Audi dealer or qualified work­
shop and have the bra ke system inspect­
ed.
- Always keep in m ind that afte r several
brake applicat ions, you will need g reater
pressure on the b rake peda l to stop your
vehicle. Do not re ly on strained brakes to
respond with maxim um stopping power
in critical situations . You must allow for
increased brak ing distances. The extra
distance used up by fad ing brakes could
lead to an acc ident.
~ / ! .!r Safety systems
The I (USA models)/ . (Canada mode ls) in­
d icator light monitors the safety systems e.g.
a irbags, pretensioners a nd illum inates for a
few seconds each time you switc h the ign ition
on.
If the
I (USA models)/ . (Canada models)
indicator light does not go out, or if it illumi­
nates w hile you are driv ing, or if it sta rts to
b lin k, then there is a ma lf u nction somewhere
in the system. If the light does not illuminate
when you switch on the ignition, this also
means there is a ma lfunction.
A WARNING
If you have a ma lfunction in the safety sys­
tems, contact your authorized Audi dea ler
i mmediately. Otherwise the safety sys­
tems may not work properly in an acc i­
dent.
~ Safety belt warning light
App lies to veh icles : w ith safe ty belt warni ng lig h t
The warning light is a reminder to fasten
safety belts .
The warning lig ht . comes on for a few sec­
onds after the ignition is sw itched on as a re ­
minder to fasten your safety belt .
Additional information on safety belts
r::> page 113.
D Generator '
This warning/indicator light detects a mal ­
function in the generator or in the vehicle 's
electrical system.
The . warning/indicator light i llum inates
when you switch on the ignition and must go
out after the eng ine has started.
If the . warning/indicator light illuminates
whi le you are driving, you sho uld contact your
authorized Aud i dea ler. Since the vehicle bat­
tery is discharging, you shou ld sw itch
off any
unnecessary electr ica l consumers (for exam ­
ple, the air conditioner) .
~ Engine oil pressure
The red engine oil pressure warning symbol
requires immediate service or repair .
If the . symbo l appears in the d isplay and
flashes, the o il pressure is too low . In add ition
to the symbol, the following message a lso ap­
pears in the display:
Switch off engine! Oil pre ssure is too low
.. Pull off the road and stop the vehicle.
.. Shut the engine down.
.. Check the engine oil leve l¢
page 200.

Automatic locking*
The automatic loc king feat ure locks all the ve­
h icle doors and t he rear lid when you drive
faster than 9 mph ( 15 km/h) .
You ca n un lock the veh icle from the i nside by :
- removing the key from the ig nition sw itch
(the vehicle will automat ica lly unloc k itself)
o r
- pressing the unlock part of t he power lock
switch
li::D o r
- pull ing t he inside handle for that door (once
- the front door is unlocked and opened at
the same tim e, twi ce to open the rear door).
If you w is h , you can have an author ized Audi
dealer convert yo ur power door loc k system to
automatic locking .
Unintentionally locking yourself out
The vehicle does not lock with the central
lock ing switch ¢
page 39 if the dr iver's door
i s open .
Do not loc k yo ur vehicle with the
remote mas­
ter key
unti l all doors and the rear lid are
closed. In this way you avo id locking yo urself
out accidentally.
A WARNING
- When you lock your vehicle from outside,
nobody- especially c hildren - should re­
mai n in sid e the veh icle. Remember,
w he n you l ock th e ve hicle from the out ­
s id e the windows canno t be opened from
the ins ide.
- Whe n yo u leave the vehicle, alw ays re­
move t he igni tion key and ta ke i t w ith
yo u. T his will preve nt passenge rs (c hil­
dre n, for e xamp le) from acci denta lly be ­
ing loc ked in the ve hicle should they acci­
dentally press the p owe r locking switch
on the center conso le .
- Do not leave children ins ide the veh icle
unsupervised. I n an e merg ency it wo uld
be impossible to open the doors from
th e outsid e without the key .
Opening and clo sin g
@ Tips
-In the event of a cras h with air bag de­
ployme nt all l ocked doors will be auto­
matically unlocked t o give access to the
veh icle occupa nts from the o utside .
- If the p owe r locking system sho uld fa il,
you ca n still open the fuel tank flap in an
emergency
¢ pag e 193.
- Yo u are well adv ise d not to kee p va lua ­
bles inside an unattended vehicle, v is ible
or not. Even a properly locked vehicle
cann ot prov ide the secur ity of a safe!
Unlocking and locking the vehicle with
the remote control
H ow th e re mote control wor ks.
Fig. 29 Remote cont ro l: func tio n buttons
To unlock the vehicle doors and rear lid 0
.. Press butt on @ once to un lo ck driver' do or.
.. Press bu tton @ twi ce to u nlock a ll doo rs
and the rear lid .
To lock the vehicle doors and rear lid l'.D
.. Press button @ ¢.&_ in General d escription
o n page 3 7.
.. W atch th at al l turn s ign al ligh ts fl ash on ce.
To open rear lid only C:5
.. Press bu tton © for approximate ly one sec ­
ond .
PANIC Button
.. Push the red b utton @to activate the panic
func tion . T he horn sounds and the turn sig ­
nals flash .
.. Push the b utton @aga in to deact ivate the
pan ic fu nction .
37

- All doors and the rear lid are locked.
- The anti- theft alarm system is act ivated.
- The veh icle inter ior lights turn off.
_& WARNING
Alw ays read and heed WARNING ~ &. in
General description on page 37.
Locking and unlocking the vehicle from
inside
The vehicle con be locked or unlocked from
the inside using the power locking switches
located in the driver's and the front passeng­
er's door.
F ig. 31 D rive r's doo r: powe r locki ng sw itc h
In addition to the central locking switches in
the doors , there is a locking switch on the rear
center console for the rea r-seat passengers
9 page40.
How t o lo ck all doors and the rea r lid
simultaneously
• Press lower part of the power locking switch
@ 9fig. 319&_ .
How to unlock all doors an d the re a r lid
simultaneousl y
• Press the upper part of the switch@ .
How to unlock / open each front door
s e paratel y using the doo r handle
• Pull the door handle once to release the
lock and s imultaneously open the door .
How to unlock/ open each rear doo r
s eparately using the doo r handl e
• Pull the door handle once to release the
lock .
Openin g an d clos ing 39
• Pull the handle twice to open the door.
If you lock the vehicle using the power lo cking
switch @, please note the following:
- You cannot open the doors or the rear lid
from the
outside (increased secu rity, for ex­
ample when you are stopped at a red light).
- The d iode in the power locking switch illumi-
nate when all the doors and the rear lid are
closed and locked.
- You can un lock and open the doors individu­
ally from the ins ide by pu lling once on the
door handle for the front doo rs and twice
for the rear doors.
- Front doors: you can unlock and open the doors from the inside by pull ing on the door
handle.
- Rear doors: pull the doo r handle
once to re­
lease the lock . Pu ll the handle
again to open
the door.
- If the driver's door is opened (afte r you have
locked the vehicle from the ins ide using the
power locking switch), the door will rema in
unlocked to prevent you from locking your­
self out of your vehicle. After you close the
door, you have to lock the driver's door
again .
- If you have a crash and the airbag is activat·
ed, the doors automatically unlock .
A WARNING
- If you use the power locking switch w ith
the doors closed, remember that all the
vehicle doors will lock.
- Locking doors from the inside can help
prevent inadvertent door opening during
a n accident and can a lso prevent unwant­
ed entry from the outside. Locked doors
can, however, delay assis tance to vehicle
occ upants and hold up rescue efforts
from the outside in an accident or other emergency.
(D Tips
If the vehicle has been locked manually
with the key or with the remote contro l,
the central locking switch is inoperative.

Seats and storage
General recommen­
dations
Why is your seat adjustment so important?
The safety belts and the airbag system can
only provide maximum protection if the front
seats are correctly adjusted.
There are several different ways you can ad­
just the driver's seat and the front passenger's seat so that it conforms to your body size.
It is
especia lly important that the seat be adjusted
properly so that:
- you can easily and quick ly reach all the
switches and controls in the instrument
panel
- your body is properly supported thus reduc­
ing physical stress and fatigue
- the safety belts and airbag system can offer
maximum protection ¢
page 122
In the following chapte rs, you will see exactly
how you can best adjust your seats.
There are special regulations and instructions
for installing a child safety seat on the front passenger's seat. Always heed the informa­
tion regard ing child safety provided in
¢ page 143, Child Safety .
A WARNING
Incorrect seating position of the driver and
all other passengers can result in serious
personal injury.
- Always keep your feet on the f loor when
the vehicle is in motion -never put your
feet on top of the instrument panel, out of the w indow or on top of the seat cush­
ion! This applies espec ially to the passen­
gers.
If your seating position is incorrect
you increase the r isk of injury in the case
of sudden braking or an acc ident. If the
airbag infla tes and the seating posi tion
is incorrect this could result in personal
injury or even death.
S eat s an d sto rage 61
-It is important for both the driver and
front passenger to keep a distance of at
least 10 inches (25 cm) between them­
selves and the steering wheel and/or in­
strument panel.
If you're s itting any
closer than th is, the airbag system can­
not protect you prope rly. In addition to
this, the front seats and head restra ints
m ust be adjusted to yo ur body height so
that they can give you maximum protec ­
tion.
'
- Always try to keep as much distance as
possible between yourself and the steer­
ing wheel or instrument pane l.
- Do not adjust the driver's or front pas­
senger's seat whi le the vehicle is moving .
Your seat may move unexpected ly, caus­
ing sudden loss of veh icle control and
personal injury. If you adjust your seat
while the veh icle is moving, you are out
of posit ion .
Driver's seat
The correct seat position is important for safe
and relaxed driving .
We recommend that you adjust the driver 's
seat in the fo llow ing manner :
.. Adjust the seat in fo re and aft direction so
that you can easily push the peda ls to the
floor wh ile keeping your knees slight ly bent
¢ .& in Why is your seat adjustment so im­
portant? on page 61.
.. Adjust the seatback so that when you sit
w ith your back against the seatback, you can
st ill grasp the top of the steering wheel.
.. Adjust t he head restra int so the upper edge
is as even as possible wi th the top of your
head . If that is not poss ible , try to adjust
the head restraint so that it is as close to
this position as possib le
<=:> page 65.
A WARNING
-Never place any objects in the dr iver's foot-
well. An object could get into the pedal
area and interfere with pedal funct ion. In

62 Seats and storage
case of sudden braking or an accident, you
would not be ab le to brake or acce lerate!
Front passenger's seat
Always move the front passenger seat into
the rearmost position.
To avo id contact with the airbag wh ile i t is de ­
p loying, do not sit a ny closer to the inst ru ­
ment panel than necessary and always wear
the three-point safety be lt provided adjusted
correctly. We recommend that you adjust the passenger's seat in the following manner:
... Move the front passenger seat into the rear ­
most position of the fore and aft adjustment
range
¢ .&.. in Why is your seat adjustment
so important? on page
61.
... Bring the backrest up to an (almost) upright
pos it ion .
Do not ride w ith the seat reclined.
... Adjust the head restraint so the upper edge
i s as
even as possible with the top of your
head. If that is not possib le, try to adjust
the head rest raint so that it is as close to
t h is position as possible
¢ page 65.
... Place your feet on the f loor in front of the
passenger's seat.
Adjusting front seats manually
Adjustment controls
Applies to vehicles: with manual seat adjustme nt
Various controls on the manual seats provide
a wide range for individual adjus tments.
==""" -®
Fig . 6 4 Ad just ment contro ls: locat ions on drive r"s seat
CD Moving the seat forward or backward
@ Adjusting the seat height
@ Adjusting the seatback ang le
@ Adjusting head restraint height
Some of the co ntrols are fitted on certain
models on ly or they are optiona l equipment.
Adjusting the manual seats
Applies to vehicles: with manual seat adjust ment
Position, angle and shape of the manual
seats can be adjusted to provide safe and
comfortable seating.
Rea d and heed all WARNINGS ¢.&.. befo re
you adjust yo ur seat .
Moving the front seats forward or
backward
"' Lift the leve r¢ page 62, fig. 64 CD and slide
the seat to the desired position .
... Release the lever and then move the seat
further until you feel and hear it engage .
Ad justing the seat height
... Pull the lever @up and pump it to raise the
seat.
... Push the lever down and pump it to lower
the seat.
Adjusting the seatback angle
... Lean forward to take your weight off the
seatback .
... Tur n the hand wheel@ in the di rection yo u
want the seatback to tilt.
A WARNING
- Never adjust the driver's or front pas­
senger's seat whi le the vehicle is moving.
If you do th is while the veh icle is moving,
you will be out of position . Always adjust
the dr iver's or front pass enge r's seat
when the vehi cle is not mov ing.
- Be careful when adj usting the seat
he ight. Check to see that no one is in t he
way, or ser io us inju ry co ul d result!
- To reduce the risk of injury in the case of
sudden b raking o r acciden t, front pas­
senge rs mus t never r ide in a mov ing
ve­
h icle with the seatback reclined . Sa fety