2012 AUDI A3 steering wheel adjustment

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

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 .,..

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. ..,.
•
•

272 Index
p
Paint
Touch-up ... .. ........ ... .. .. .... . 181
Paint no . .... ..... ..... ...... ... .. . 255
panoramic sliding sunroof ..... .. .. .. .. 45
Comfort closing .................... 46
to close . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
to open . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Park assist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Park ing . .. .. .. . .......... .. .. .. .. .. 92
Automatic transmission . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Park ingbrake .............. ... .. .... 91
Setting and releasing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Park ing brake warning ................ 15
Park ing on a decline (downhill) ... .. .... 92
Park ing on an incline (uphill) ...... ..... 92
Particle filter
refer to Diesel particulate filter . . . . . . . 22
Parts rep lacement .................. 261
PASSENGER AIR BAG OF F light . .. .... . 133
Passive safety system ...... ... .. .... .
Pedals .. .. .. ................ ... .. .
Physical principles of a frontal collision . 103
108
114
Polishing
.. ... ............ .. .. .. .. . 180
Power locking switch ........... .. .... 39
Rearcenterconso~ ......... .. .. .. .. 40
Power locking system ................. 36
Conven ience close/open feature ... .. .. 44
Locking and unlocking the vehicle from
ins ide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Opening and closing the w indows .. .. . . 44
Operating locks from w ith key . . . . . . . . . 38
Rear lid .. .... ............. .. .... .. 40
Remote control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35, 37
Unlocking and locking vehicle ..... .. .. 3 7
Power outlets .............. .... ... .. 75
Power seat
Adjusting the seatback .............. 64
Adjustment ............. .. .. .. .. .. 63
Power steering
refer to Electro -mechanica l power as-
sist . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17, 165
Power sunroof
refer to panoramic slid ing sunroof . .. .. 45 Power window switches
....... ... .. .. . 43
In the driver's door .. ....... ... .. .. . 43
Reactivating the system .......... .. . 45
Pregnant women Spec ial considerations when wear ing a
safety belt . ..... ... ....... ... .. .. 118
Proper occupant seating positions ..... 104
Proper safety belt position . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Proper seating position Front passenger .. ... .. ..... ... .. .. 105
Occupants ..... .. .. .... .... ... .. .. 104
Rear passengers . ... ............ ... 106
Q
Quartz clock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
quatt ro ®
refer to All Wheel Dr ive .... ..... .. .. 166
Question Wha t happens to unbelted occupants? 114
Why safety belts? ................. 113
R
Radiator fan 205
Radio
Replacing ..... .. .. ............ ... 262
Rain sensor defective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Reading light Rear . ........ .. ............. .... . 52
Reading lights Front ... .. .... .. ... .. .. ... ... .. .. . 51
Rear ... .. .... .. .. ... .. ... ... .. .. . 51
Rea r a rmrest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Rear lid Emergency release .................. 41
Locking/unlock ing ................ .. 40
Rear light defective ............. .... . 21
Rear power lock ing swi tch ........ .... . 40
Rear seat bottom .................. .. 67
Rear view mirror ... ... .. ..... ... .. .. . 54
Rear window defogger with air-cond it ion ing ........... .. .. . 85
Refuell ing .. .. .. .. ............. .. .. 192
Re lease lever for engine hood . . . . . . . . . 194