2012 AUDI A3 child seat

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
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75
79
79
85
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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

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

64 Seats and storage
-Beca use the driver seat can be electrical­
ly ad justed with the ign ition key re­
moved, never leave children unattended
in the vehicle . Unsupervised use of the
electric seat adjustments may cause seri­ o us in jury.
Adjusting the seatback
App lies to vehicles: with power driver seat
u-
Fig . 67 Drive r's seat: switc h for seatback adjustment
• Push or pull the top of the switch in the
same direction you like the seatback to tilt
¢fig. 67.
A WARNING
- Never adjust the seatback whi le the vehi­
cle is moving. If you adjust your seatback
w hil e the vehicle is mov ing, you wi ll be
o ut of pos ition. Always adjust the seat­
back when the vehicle is no t mov ing.
- T o redu ce the r is k of injury in the case of
sudden bra king or accident, front pas­
sengers must never ride in a moving ve ­
hicle with the seatback reclined. Safety
belts and the airbag system only offe r
maximum protection when the seatback
is upright and the safety belts are prop­
er ly posit ioned on the body . The more
the seatback is reclined, the greate r the
risk of personal injury from an incorrect
seating posit ion and improperly posi­
tioned safety be lts!
Adjusting the lumbar
support
Applies to vehicles: with lumba r support
The lumbar support can be adjusted to fit the
natural curvature of the occupant's spine.
F ig . 68 Driver seat: switc h for lumbar ad justment
Ad justing the curv atur e
.,. Push the front of t he sw itch plate c:> fig . 68
in order to in cr ease the curva ture.
• Push the rear o f the switch plate in order to
decrease the curvature.
A dj usting the height
• Push on the top of the switch p late in order
t o move the s upport higher .
• Push on the bottom of the switch p late in
order to move t he support lower.
A WARNING
-
Never adjust the lumbar support while the
vehicle is moving. If you adjust your seat
while the vehicle is moving, you will be out
of position. Always adjust the lumbar sup­
port when the vehicle is not mov ing .

66 Seats and st o rage
• To move the head restraint down, press the
button @c>
fig. 70 and slide the head re ­
straint downward.
Removing the h ead restraint s
1>
• Fold the backrest forward ¢ page 67.
• Move the head restra int upward as far as it
can go.
• Press the re lease @ c>
fig. 71 with the
screwdriver¢
page 234 and the button @
¢fig. 70. Pull the head restraint out of the
backrest at the same time
c> &_.
Install ing th e head re st ra int s
• Slide the posts on the head restraint down
into the guides until you feel the posts click
into place.
• Press the button @¢
fig. 70 and slide the
head restraint all the way down. You should
not be able to pull the head restra int out of
the backrest.
So that the driver can have a better view to
the rear, the head restraints should be pushed
down completely when the rear seats are not
occ upied.
A WARNING
- Only remove the rear seat head res traints
when necessary in order to install a chi ld
seat . Install the head restraint again im­
mediately once the child seat is removed.
Driving without head restraints or with
head restraints that are not properly ad­
justed increases the r isk of serious or fa­
tal neck injury dramatically.
- Read and heed all WARNINGS
¢page 107.
@ Tips
Correctly adjusted head restraints and
safety belts are an extremely effective combinat io n of safety features.
l) The head restraints cannot be removed from rear
seats with fixed backrests .
Center armrest
The front center armrest con be adjusted to
several positions and contains a storage bin.
F ig . 72 Between the front seats: armrest folded down
Adjusting the armrest
• Push the arm rest down.
• Lift the arm rest slowly unt il it is in a com­
fortable position.
Opening the storage bin
• Pull the release button ¢
fig. 72 upward.
A WARNING
-
When folded down, the a rmrest can re­
str ict the d river's movement. Whe n driving
i n conditions that may call for qu ick ma­
neuvers, fo ld up the armrest. This will a l­
l ow you to react more qu ickly to avoid an
accident .
Rear seats
General information
Safe transportation of passengers on the rear
seats requires proper safety precautions.
All passengers on the rear seats mus t be seat­
ed in compliance with the safety guide lines
exp lained in
c> poge 113 and r=>poge 122.
The correct seating position is safety critical
for front
and rear seat passengers alike
r=> poge 106. .,,_

-When the rear seat backrest is folded
down, always use su itable mounting
straps and properly secure items to the
fastening eyes in the luggage compart­
ment to help prevent items from flying
forward into the passenger compart­ ment.
- Never attach a child safety seat tether
strap to a fastening eye.
Elastic cargo net
App lies to vehicles: with cargo net
The cargo net prevents light objects from
sliding around in the luggage compartment.
Fig . 77 Luggage compartmen t: cargo net
Fig. 78 Luggage compartmen t: ca rgo net attached to
hooks
Securing objects to the luggage
compartment floor with the net
.. Lay out the cargo net in the luggage com­
partment .
.. Engage all four hooks into the fastening
eyes
~ fig . 77 .
.. Place objects to be secured
under the net.
Configuring the net to contain small
objects
.. Lay out the cargo net in the luggage com­
partment.
Seats and storage 69
.. Engage two hooks into the fastening eyes
@~fig. 78.
.. Pull the net up and secure the eyes © on
the hooks.
.. Put items
into the net.
The bottom of the cargo net can also be hooked to the D-rings in the floor of the rear
compartment and the top to the eyes on the
left and right side trim .
.&_ WARNING
For stre ngth-re lated reasons, the mount­
in g hooks can only be used to secure ob­
jects weighing 10 lb (5 kg) or less. Heavier
objects will not be adequately secured -
risk of injury!
Mounting hooks
Applies to vehicles: with mounting hooks
Fig. 79 Mounting hooks under the rear pa rce l shelf
The hook prevents lightly loaded bags from
tipping over .
.&_ WARNING
For strength-related reasons, heavy ob­
jects must not be hung on the
hooks.
Heavy objects are not adequately secured -
this increases the risk of injury .

CD Note
Only drink containers with lids should be
carried in the cupho lder. Liqu id could spill
out and damage your veh icle's e lectronic
equ ipment or sta in the upholstery etc.
Socket
Outlets
The outlet in the front center console and in
the luggage compartment may be used for
12-volt appliances.
Fig. 87 Ce nter conso le, front: 12-vo lt out let
Fig. 88 L uggage compartmen t: 12-vo lt out let
Outlet in the front center console
.. Fold the cover for the outlet down ¢ fig. 87.
.. Plug in appliance to be used.
Outlet in the luggage compartment
.. Tap cover ¢ fig. 88.
.. Plug in appliance to be used.
The outlet may be used for 12-volt appliances
with maximum consumption of up to 100
watts, such as a f lash light, small vacuum
cleane r, etc.
Before you purchase any accessories, always
read and follow the information in
Seats and storage 75
¢ page 261, Additional accessories and parts
replacement.
A WARNING
The outlet plus any appliances plugged in­
to it remain functional even if the ignition
is switched off or the ignition key is re­
moved. Never leave children inside the ve ­
h icle w ithout supervision.
CD Note
To avoid damaging the socket, only use
plugs that fit properly.
(y Tips
When the engine is off and accessories are
still plugged in and are on, the vehicle bat­
tery can still be drained.
Storage
General overview
There are numerous places to store items in
your vehicle .
Storage in the center arm-i=>page 66
rest
Storage in the rear armrest
Glove compartment (Air
¢page 76
ventilation in the glove compartment*, CD chang-
er*)
Center console
¢page 76
Compartments in the doo r ¢page 77
trims
Storage in the footwell
¢page 77
Compartments in luggage ¢page 77
compartment
Coat hooks
¢page 78
Some of the storage locations are only found
on specif ic vehicle models or are optional
equipment .

92 On the road
On ly afte r th e ve hic le has come to com­
plete stop, shou ld you f irm ly set t he park­
ing b rake and either move the gea rshift
lever into 1st. gear (manual transm iss ion)
or move the selector lever into "P" (Auto­
mat ic transm ission).
Parking
To prevent a parked vehicle from rolling
away, there are a few things you should do.
When you park your ve hicle, do the following:
• Stop the vehicle using the brake pedal.
• Set the parking brake firmly.
• Move the selector lever into the
P position
( automatic transmi ssion ) or move the gear­
shift lever into 1st. gear
( manual t ransmi s­
s ion )<=:> .&,. .
• Switch off the eng ine and remove the igni-
t ion key from the ignit ion lock.
What else you shou ld do when p ark ing
your vehicl e on an incline or decline
Turn the stee ring wheel so that if the vehicle
should start to ro ll, it will roll into the curb.
If you are parking on a
decl ine (the front of
your ve hicle facing downhill), turn the front
wheels to the right so that they point
toward
the curb .
If you are parking on an incline (the font of
your ve hicle facing up hill), turn the front
wheels to the left so that they po int
away
from the curb.
Move the selector lever into the P pos ition
( automatic transmiss ion ) or move the gear­
sh ift lever into 1st . gear
(manua l tran smis­
sion) .
A WARNING
This is how yo u can red uce the risk of i n­
jury whe n leaving your veh icle.
- N ever park the v ehicle whe re it can come
in co ntac t wi th dry grass, sp illed f uel or
any ot her flammable m ater ials.
-
- Never a llow anyone -espec ially sma ll
children -to remain in the veh icle when
it is locked. Locked doors make it more
difficult for rescue rs to access t he pas­
senger compartment in t he event of an
emergency . Danger to life!
- Never leave children unsuperv ised in the
veh icle. Children could release t he pa rk­
i n g b rake or move the gearsh ift leve r out
of gear. The vehicle cou ld start to ro ll
a way an d ca use an acc ident.
- No matte r what the season is, the tem ­
pe rat ure in a par ked veh icle can reach
d angerous leve ls .
Starting on hills
App lies to vehicles : wi th hill ho ld assist
Hill hold assist makes it easier to start on
hills .
Requirement: The dr iver's door m ust be
cl osed, the seat bel t m ust be buckled and the
engine m ust be running.
The system is activated w hen the brake peda l
is dep ressed
for a few se cond s.
After releasing the brake pedal, the brake
power is held for a
brief moment to p revent
the ve hicl e from rolling back when starting. At
t hi s time, you ca n easi ly beg in to move your
vehicle.
A WARNING
= -
- If you di d no t begin moving immed iate ly
after releasing the brake pedal , under
certain ci rcumstances, the vehicle would
begin to ro ll backward. Depress the
brake peda l immediately or engage the
hand brake.
- Sh ould the engine sta ll, depress the
brake peda l immediately or engage the
hand brake .
- In order to prevent the vehicle from roll­
i n g back unintentionally when starting in
stop-and-go traffic, keep the brake pedal
depressed fo r a few seconds before driv-
ing off.
Ii),

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.
•
•