2012 AUDI A3 suspension

Presetting your speed
You can preset your desired speed while the
vehicle is not moving .
.,. Turn on the ignition.
.,. Pull lever into position ©
c:> page 94,
fig . 105 .
"" Press the lever in the 0 or O direction to
increase or decrease yo ur speed .
.,. Re lease the lever to save that speed.
This function makes it possible, for example,
to save the speed you want before driving on
the highway . Once on the highway, activate
the cruise control by pulling the leve r toward
® ·
Switching the system off
Temporary deactivation
.,. Press the brake pedal, or
.,. Keep the clutch pedal pressed down
longer,
or
.,. Press the lever into pos ition @ (not clicked
into place)
c:> page 94, fig. 105, or
.,. Drive for longer than 5 minutes at more
than 5 mph (10 km/h) above the stored
speed.
Switching off completely
.,. Press lever into position@(clicked into
place), or
.,. Switch the ign ition off .
The system retains the saved speed if you de­ activate the cruise control temporarily. To re­
sume the saved speed, release the brake or
clutch pedal and pull the lever to position
(D.
Switching the ignition off erases the saved
speed.
A WARNING
You should only return to the saved speed
if it is not too fast for the current traffic
conditions -risk of an accident!
On the road 95
Audi magnetic ride
Applies to vehicles: with magnetic ride
Damping can be adjusted to the driver's pref­
erence and it adapts automatically to the cur­
rent driving situation .
Fig. 107 Center console: Sw itch for Aud i magnet ic ride
.,. Press the switch c:> fig. 10 7 to turn sport
sett ing on or off.
Audi magnet ic r ide is an electronically con­
trolled damping system . This chassis system
ass ists the driver by adapting to the particular
s ituat ion through imperceptible control proc­
esses. The
damping provides individual modu­
lation of damping forces. For example, with
damping characteristics set to provide greater
comfort, damping is set somewhat harder for
a brief period on ly as required, when rounding
a curve and when braking.
Standard setting
Select the standard setting if you prefer a sus­
pension setting emphasizing comfort.
Sport setting
Select the sport setting if you prefer a sporty
suspension setting. The L ED in the switch
E
comes on to ind icate sport setting .
(D Tips
The warning/indicator light E in the instr u­
ment cluster comes on in the event of a
malfunction. Drive to the closest author­
i zed Audi dealer as soon as possible and
have the ma lfunction repa ired.

Other things that can affect Advanced
Airbag performance
Changing the vehicle's suspension system can
change the way that the Advanced Airbag Sys­
tem performs in a crash. For example, us ing
tire-r im combinations not approved by Aud i,
lowering the vehicle, changing the stiffness of
the suspension, including the springs, suspen­ sion struts, shock absorbers etc. can change
the forces that are measured by the a irbag
se nsors and sent to the electron ic control
u ni t. Some suspens ion changes c an, for exam­
p le, increase the force levels measured by the
sensors and make the airbag system deploy in
crashes in w hic h it would not dep loy if the
changes had not been made. Other k inds of
changes may reduce the force levels meas­
ured by the sensors and prevent the airbag
from deploying when it shou ld .
The sensors in the safety belt buckle for the
driver and front passenger seat tell the elec­
tronic control module if the safety belt is
l atched or not. If the safety belt is being used,
the front airbag will deploy at a slightly high­
e r rate of vehicl e deceleration than if the safe­
ty belt is not being used. Therefore, in a par­
ticular co llision, it is poss ible th at an a irbag
will not deploy at a seating position where the
safety be lt is bei ng used but will inflate at the
position whe re the safety belt is not being
used. It is important that nothing interfere
with the safety belt buckles so t hat the sen­
sors can send the correct information about
safety belt use to the electron ic cont rol unit.
A WARNING
Cha nging the vehicle's s uspension inclu d­
ing use of u napproved t ire-rim comb ina­
ti ons can change Advan ced A irb ag pe r­
formance and incre ase the risk of ser io us
personal in jury in a crash.
- Never ins tall suspe nsion compone nts
t h at d o not h ave the same per forman ce
characteristics as the components origi ­
nally installed on you r vehicle .
- Never use t ire-r im combinat ions that
have not bee n approved by A udi.
A irba g sy stem 13 7
A WARNING
Items stored between the safety be lt
buckle and the center console can cause
the sensors in the b uckle to send the
wrong informa tion to the e lectronic con­
trol module a nd prevent t he A dvan ced Air­
bag System from wo rking properly.
- Always ma ke sure t ha t nothing can inter­
fe re wi th the safety belt buckles and that
t hey are not obs truc te d .
Side airbags
Description of side airbags
The airbag system can provide supplemental
protection to properly restrained occupants.
Fi g. 135 Side a irbag location in t he drive r's seat
The side airbags are located in the sides of the
front seat backrests~
fig. 135 and the rear
back rest* facing the doors . Th ey are id entified
by the wo rd "AIRBAG".
The side airbag sy stem basically consi st s of :
-the electron ic control modu le and external
side impact sensors
- the two side airbags located in the s ides of
the front backrests
- two rear side airbags (as an ordered
option)
- t he airbag warn ing light in the ins trument
cl uste r.
T he airbag system is mo nitored e lec tronically
t o m ake ce rtain tha t it is fu nction ing p ro perl y
at all times . Each time you turn on the ig ni­
tion, the airbag system indicator light will
come on for a few seconds (self diagnostics) . ..,.