2015 AUDI A3 CABRIOLET Owners Manual

....,
N
" > co
rl I.O
"' rl
"' rl
Secure unused safety belts on the rear
seat
F ig. 148 Schematic overview: keep un used safety belts
away from chi ld re n in c hild saf ety seats .@ - outer rear
safety belt
If a child safety seat is used o n the rear bench,
espec ially with LATCH universal lower ancho­
rages, the unused safety belts
mu st be se­
cured so that the ch ild in the ch ild restra int
cannot reach them
¢ ,&. .
- Gu ide the safety belt webbing @behind the
head restraint of the seat where the child re­
stra int is ins ta ll ed
¢ fig. 148. When do ing
so , do not engage the switchable locking re­
tractor! You should not hear a "clicking"
sound when wind ing up the safety be lt.
- Let the belt re tractor wind up the safety be lt
webbing .
_& WARNING
A child in a child safety seat installed with
the LATCH lower anchorages or with the
standard safety belt or a child in a booster
seat on the rear seat could play with u n­ used rear seat safety belts and become en­
tangled . This could cause the child serious
pe rsonal in jury and even deat h.
-Always secure u nused rear seat safety
belts out of reach of ch ildren in ch ild
sea ts such as by properly routing them
around the head res traint of the sea t
whe re the child restraint is installed.
- Never act ivate the convertib le loc king re­
tra ctor when rout ing the safety belts
around the head res traints .
Child S afety 175
Child safety seats
Infant seats
Babies and infants up to about one year old
and 20 lbs. or 9 kg need special rearward-fac ­
ing child restraints that support the back,
neck and head in a crash .
Fig. 14 9 Schem atic ove rv ie w : re arward-fac ing in fant
se at, p rope rly insta lled on t he re ar seat
.. When using the vehicle safety belt to install
a child safety seat, you must first activate
the convertib le locking retractor on the
safety belt to prevent the child safety seat
from mov ing
¢ page 180 or install the seat
using the LATCH attachments .
.. Push the chi ld safety seat down w ith your
full weight to get the safety be lt really tight
so that the seat cannot move forward or
sideways more than one inch (2.5 cm).
.. Secure unused safety bel ts on the rear seat
¢ page 175.
Infants up to about one year (20 lbs. or 9 kg)
a re best pro tected in spec ial infant carriers
and child safety seats designed for their age
group . Many experts believe that infants and
small ch ildren shou ld ride on ly in special re­
stra in ts in which the child faces the back of
the vehicle. These infa nt sea ts support the ba­
by 's back, neck and head i n a crash
¢ fig. 149 .
The airbag on the passenger side makes the
front seat a potentia lly dange rous place for a
ch ild to ride . The front seat is not the safest
place for a child in a fo rward-facing child seat.
It is a very dangerous place for an infant or a
larger child in a rearward-facing seat.
ll>

1 76 Child Safety
& WARNING
Not using a child safety seat, using the
wrong child safety seat or improperly in­
stalling a child restraint increases the risk of serious personal injury and death in a
crash .
- Never install rear-facing child safety
seats or infant carriers on the front pas­
senger seat - even with an Advanced Air­
bag System. A child will be seriously in­
jured and can be killed when the inflat­
ing airbag hits the child safety seat or in­
fant carrier with great force and smashes
the child safety seat and child against
the backrest, door or roof¢
page 148,
Child restraints on the front seat -some
important things to know.
- Always install rear-facing child safety
seats or infant carriers on the rear seat.
- Never install a rear-facing child restraint
in the forward-facing direction . Such re­
straints are designed for the special
needs of infants and very small children
and cannot protect them properly if the
seat is forward-facing.
- If you must install a rearward facing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptional circumstan­
ces and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on and stay on, im­
mediately install the rear-facing child
safety seat in a rear seating position and
have the airbag system inspected by your
Audi dealer.
- Never place or use any electrical device
(such as a laptop, CO player, electronic
games device, power inverter or seat
heater for child seats) on the front pas­
senger seat if the device is connected to
the 12-volt socket or the cigarette light­
er socket.
- If a seat heater has been retrofitted or
otherwise added to the front passenger
seat, never install any child restraint sys­
tem on this seat.
- Make sure that there are no wet objects
(such as a wet towel) and no water or other liquids on the front passenger seat
cushion.
- Never place objects on the seat (such as
a laptop, CO player, electronic games de­
vice, power inverter or seat heater for
child seats). These may influence the
electrical capacitance measured by the
capacitive passenger detection system
and can also fly around in an accident
and cause serious personal injury.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restrained in ave­
hicle is being used
~page 138, Safety
belts,
~ page 146, Airbag system and
¢ page 169, Important things to know.
Convertible child safety seats
Properly used convertible child safety seats
can help protect toddlers and children over
age one who weigh between 20 and 40 lbs. (9
and 18 kg) in a crash.
Fig . 150 Sc hema tic overview: installat ion of the at­
tachments applicab le to a LATCH seat
Fig. 151 Schemat ic overv iew: inst allation of the seat
u sing the vehicl e's safety belt system
.. When using the vehicle safety belt to install
a child safety seat, you must first activate
the convertib le locking retractor on the
safety belt to prevent the child safety seat ..,_

M N ,....
> co ,...., \!) 1.1'1 ,...., 1.1'1 ,....,
from moving r::!;> page 180 or install the seat
using the LATCH attachments.
~ Push the child safety seat down with your
full weight to get the safety belt really tight
so that the seat cannot move forward or
s ideways more than one inch (2 .5 cm)
¢ page 180.
~ If the child safety seat is equ ipped with a
tethe r strap, attach it to the tether anchors
¢page 185.
~ Secure unused safety bel ts on the rear sea t
¢page 175.
A toddler or child is usually too large for an in­
fant restraint if it is more than one year o ld
and weighs more than 20 lbs . (9 kg) .
Toddle rs and ch ildren who are older than one
yea r up to abo ut 4 years o ld and weigh more
than 20 lbs (9 kg) up to 40 lbs. (18 kg) mus t
a lways be prope rly restrained in a ch ild safety
seat certified for their size and weight
¢ fig .150and ¢fig.151 .
The airbag on the passenge r side makes the
front seat a poten tially dangerous place for a
chi ld to ride. The front seat is not the safest
p lace for a child in a forward-facing child safe­
ty seat.
It is a very dangero us place for an in­
fant or a larger child in a rearward-fac ing seat.
A WARNING
Not using a ch ild safety seat, using the
wrong chi ld safety sea t or improper ly in­
stalling a child restraint increases the risk
of serious personal injury and death in a
co llision or othe r eme rgency s ituation.
- Children on the front seat of any car,
even with Advan ced A irbags, can be seri­
o usly injured or eve n killed when an a ir­
bag inf lates . A child in a rearward -facing
child safety seat installed on the front
passenger seat wi ll be seriously injured
and can be ki lled if the front airbag in­
flates -even with an Advanced Airbag
System.
- The inflating a irbag w ill hit the child
safety seat or infant carrier w ith great
force and w ill smash the ch ild safety seat
Child Sa fet y 177
and child against the backrest, center
arm rest, door or roof.
- Always install rear-facing chi ld safety
seats on the rear seat.
- If you must install a rearward facing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptional c ircumstan­
ces and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on and stay on, im­
mediately install the rear-fac ing ch ild
safety seat in a rear seating position and have the airbag system inspe cted by your
Aud i dea le r.
- The rear side of the child safety seat
should be pos itioned as close as possib le
to the backres t on the vehicle seat.
- For ad justab le head restra ints: adjust or
remove the rea r seat he ad restr aint if i t
is diffi cult to ins tall the child seat w ith
the head restraint in place
¢ page 63. In­
stall the head restraint again immed iate­
ly once the child seat is removed . Dr iv ing
without head restraints or with head re ­
straints that are not properly adjusted
increases the risk of serious or fatal neck
i nj ury dramatically .
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
wheneve r us ing a child restrained in ave­
hicle is being used¢
page 138, Safety
b elts,
c::!;> page 146, Airbag system and
c::!;> page 169, Impor tan t things to know.
A WARNING
If ex cep tional cir cumstances require the
use o f a forward-facing child res traint on
the front passenge r's sea t, the child's safe ­
ty and well-being req uire that the follow­
ing spec ial precautions be ta ken:
- Make sure the forward -facing seat has
been designed and certified by its man u­
facturer for use on a front seat with a passenger front and side airbag.
- Always follow the manufacturer's in­
structions provided with the ch ild safety
seat or infant carr ier.
•
•
•

1 78 Child Safety
- Always move the front passenger seat in­
to the rearmost position of the passen­
ger seat's fore and aft adjustment range,
and as far away from the airbag as possi­
ble before installing the child restraint .
- Always make sure that nothing prevents
the front passenger's seat from being
moved to the rearmost position in its
fore and aft adjustment range.
- Always make sure the backrest is in an
upright position .
- Never place or use any electrical device
(such as a laptop, CD player, electronic
games device, power inverter or seat
heater for child seats) on the front pas­
senger seat if the device is connected to
the 12-volt socket or the cigarette light­
er socket.
- If a seat heater has been retrofitted or
otherwise added to the front passenger
seat, never install any child restraint sys­
tem on this seat.
- Make sure that there are no wet objects
(such as a wet towel) and no water or
other liquids on the front passenger seat
cushion.
- Never place objects on the seat (such as
a laptop, CD player, electronic games de­
vice, power inverter or seat heater for
child seats). These may influence the
electrical capacitance measured by the
capacitive passenger detection system
and can also fly around in an accident
and cause serious personal injury .
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the
time whenever the ignition is switched
on.
- If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, immedi­
ately install the forward-facing child seat
at a seating position on the rear seat and
have the airbag system inspected by your
authorized Audi dealer.
- 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.
Booster seats and safety belts
Properly used booster seats can help protect
children weighing between about 40 lbs. and
80 lbs. (18 kg and 36 kg) who are less than 4
ft. 9 in. tall. 9 in. (57 inches/1.45 meters)
tall.
Fig. 1S2 Rear seat : child properly restrained in a boos·
te r seat
The vehicle 's safety belts alone will not fit
most children until they are at least 4 ft. 9 in.
(57 inches/1.45 meters) tall and weigh about
80 lbs .
(36 kg). Booster seats raise these chil ­
dren up so that the safety belt will pass prop­
erly over the stronger parts of their bodies
and the safety belt can help protect them in a
crash.
" Do not use the convertible locking retractor
when using the vehicle's safety belt to re­
strain a child on a booster seat.
"The shoulder belt must lie as close to the
center of the child's collar bone as possible
and must lie flat and snug on the upper
body. It must never lie across the throat or
neck . The lap belt must lie across the pelvis
and never across the stomach or abdomen.
Make sure the belt lies flat and snug . Pull on
the belt to tighten if necessary .
"Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
~page 175.
Children up to at least 8 years old (over 40 lbs
or 18 kg) are best protected in child safety
seats designed for their age and weight . Ex­
perts say that the skeletal structure, particu­
larly the pelvis, of these children is not fully ...

M N
" > co ,...., \!) 1.1'1 ,...., 1.1'1 ,....,
developed, and they must not use the vehicle
safety belts without a suitable child restraint.
It is usually best to put these children in ap­
propriate booster seats. Be sure the booster
seat meets all applicable safety standards.
Booster seats raise the seating position of the
child and reposition both the lap and shoulder parts of the safety belt so that they pass
across the child's body in the right places. The
routing of the belt over the child's body is very
important for the child's protection, whether
or not a booster seat is used. Children age 12
and under must always ride in the rear seat.
Children who are at least 4
ft. 9 in. (57 in­
ches/1.45 meters) tall can generally use the
vehicle's three point lap and shoulder belts. Never use the lap belt portion of the vehicle's
safety belt alone to restrain any child, regard­ less of how big the child is . Always remember
that children do not have the pronounced pel­
vic structure required for the proper function
of lap belt portion of the vehicle's three point
lap and shoulder belts. The child's safety ab­
solutely requires that a lap belt portion of the
safety belt be fastened snugly and as low as
possible around the pelvis. Never let the lap
belt portion of the safety belt pass over the
child's stomach or abdomen.
In a crash, airbags must inflate within a blink
of an eye and with considerable force. In order
to do its job, the airbag needs room to inflate
so that it will be there to protect the occupant
as the occupant moves forward into the air­
bag.
A vehicle occupant who is out of position and
too close to the airbag gets in the way of an inflating airbag. When an occupant is too
close, he or she will be struck violently and
will receive serious or possibly even fatal in­
Jury.
In order for the airbag to offer protection, it is
important that all vehicle occupants, especial­
ly any children, who must be in the front seat
because of exceptional circumstances, be
properly restrained and as far away from the
airbag as possible. By keeping room between
Child Safety 1 79
the child's body and the front of the passen­
ger compartment, the airbag can inflate com­
pletely and provide supplemental protection
in certain frontal collisions.
A WARNING
Not using a booster seat, using the boos­
ter seat improperly, incorrectly installing a
booster seat or using the vehicle safety
belt improperly increases the risk of seri­
ous personal injury and death in a collision
or other emergency situation. To help re­
duce the risk of serious personal injury
and/or death:
- The shoulder belt must lie as close to the
center of the child's collar bone as possi­
ble and must lie flat and snug on the up­
per body. It must never lie across the
throat or neck. The lap belt must lie
across the pelvis and never across the
stomach or abdomen. Make sure that the
belt lies flat and snug. Pull on the belt to
tighten if necessary .
- Failure to properly route safety belts
over a child's body will cause severe inju­ ries in an accident or other emergency
situation
¢page 138.
- The rear side of the child safety seat
should be positioned as close as possible
to the backrest on the vehicle seat.
- For adjustable head restraints: adjust or
remove the rear seat head restraint if it
is difficult to install the child seat with
the head restraint in place¢
page 63. In­
stall the head restraint again immediate­
ly once the child seat is removed. Driving
without head restraints or with head re­
straints that are not properly adjusted increases the risk of serious or fatal neck
injury dramatically.
- Children on the front seat of any car,
even with Advanced Airbags, can be seri­
ously injured or even killed when an air­
bag inflates .
- Never let a child stand or kneel on any seat, for example the front seat.
- Never let a child ride in the cargo area of
your vehicle.
II>-
•
•
•

180 Child Safety
-Always remember that a child leaning
forward, sitting sideways or out of posi­
tion in any way during an accident can be
struck by a deploying airbag . This will re­
sult in serious personal injury or death .
- If you must install a booster seat on the
front passenger seat because of excep ­
tional circumstances the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light must come on and
stay on, whenever the ignition is switch­
ed on.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, perform
the checks described¢
page 158, 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.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restrained in
ave­
hicle is being used¢ page 138, Safety
belts,¢ page 146, Airbag system
and
¢page 169, Important things to know .
Installing a child safety
seat
Securing a child safety seat using a
safety belt
Safety belts for the rear seats and the front
passenger can be locked with the convertible
locking retractor to properly secure child
safety seats.
The safety belts emergency locking retractors
for the rear seats safe ty belts and for the
front passenger's seat safety belt have a con­
vertible locking retractor for child restraints.
The safety belt must be locked so that belt
webbing cannot unreel. The retractor can be
activated to lock the safety belt and prevent
the safety belt webbing from loosening up
during normal driving. A child safety seat can
only be properly installed when the safety belt
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 si ze.
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.
- 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 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
¢ page 169. Special ..,.

Child Safet y 181
precautions apply when installing a chi ld -Always make sure the forward-facing
safety seat on t he front passenger seat seat has been designed and certified by
Q page 148, Child restraints on the front its manufacturer for use on a front seat
seat- some important things to know . with a passenger front and side a irbag .
- Never put the forward-facing child re-
_&. WARNING straint up, against or very near the in-
-strument panel.
Always take special precautions if you •
•
must install a forward or rearwa rd-facing -
Always move the passenger seat into its
child rest raint on the front passenger's rearmost position in t
he seat's fore and
sea t in except iona l situat ions: aft adjustment range, as fa
r away from
- Whenever a fo rward or rearward-facing the airbag as possible before installing
child restraint is installed on the front the forward-fa
cing ch ild restra int. The
passenge r seat, the
PASSENGER AIR b ackrest mu st be ad ju sted to an upright
BAG OFF light must come on and s tay on position
.
whenever the ignition is switched on . -
Ma ke sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
- If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light OFF light comes on and stays on all the
does no t come on and s tay on, per form time wheneve
r the ignit ion is switched
the checks described
Q page 158, Moni -on.
toring the Advanced Airbag System.
_&. WARNING - T ake the child restrain t off the front pas-~
senger seat and install it properly at one Rearward-facing child rest raints:
of the rea r seat positions if the
PASS EN-- A child in a re arward-facing chi ld safety
GER AIR BAG OFF light does not stay on
seat installed on the front passenger
whenever the ignition is switched on. seat will be seriously in jured and can be
- Improper installation of child restraints killed i
f the front airbag inflates -even
can reduce the ir effectiveness or even with an Advanced Airbag System.
prevent them from prov iding any protec-
-The inflating air bag will hit the ch ild
t ion .
safety seat or infant carrier with great
- An improperly installed child restraint force and will smash the child safety seat
can interfe re with the airbag as it de- and child against the backrest , center
ploys and serio usly injure or even kill the armrest, door or roof.
child .
-Always be especially careful if you must
- Always carefully follow the manufactur- install a rearward facing child safety seat
er's instructions provided with the child on the front passenger seat i n exception-
safety seat or carrier . al circumstances .
- After checking to make sure that the - Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
child restrain t is properly installed, make OFF light comes on and stays on all the
certain that the child restraint is correct- time whenever the ig nit ion is switch ed
Ly recog nized by the capacitive pa ssenge r on.
de te ct ion sys tem in t he front p assenger
-If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
sea t and that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG does not come on and stay on, immed i-
OFF light signals the correct front pas-
ately insta ll the rear-fa cing child s afety
senger fronta l airbag status.
seat in a rear seat ing pos ition and h ave
the airbag system inspected by your Audi
M
_&. WARNING • N dea le r. ,....
> co Forward-facing child restra ints: ,...., \!) 1.1'1 ,...., 1.1'1 ,....,

182 Child Safety
Activating the convertible locking retractor
Use the convertible locking retractor to se­
cure a child restraint.
Always heed the child safety seat manufactur­
er's instructions when installing a child re­
straint in your vehicle. To activate the conver­
tible locking retractor:
• Place the child restraint on a seat, prefera­
bly on the rear seat.
• Slowly pull the belt
all the way out.
• Route it around or through the child re­
straint belt path¢.&_ .
• Push the child safety seat down w ith your
full weight to get the safety belt really tight.
• Insert the belt tongue into the buckle for
that seating position.
• Guide the safety belt back into the retractor
until the belt lies flat and snug on the child
safety seat .
• You should hear a "clicking " noise as the
belt winds back into the inertia reel. Test the
convertible locking retractor by pulling on
the belt. You should no longer be able to
pull the belt out of the retractor. The con­
vertible locking retractor is now activated.
• Make sure that the red release button is fac­
ing away from the child restraint so that it
can be unbuckled quickly .
•Pullon the belt to make sure the safety belt
is properly tight and fastened so that the
seat cannot move forward or sideways more
than one inch (2.5 cm).
.&_ WARNING
Using the wrong child restraint or an im­
properly installed child restraint can cause
serious 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 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 crash.
- Always make sure the seat backrest to
which the child restraint is installed is in
an upright position and securely latched
into place and cannot fold forward. Oth­
erwise, the seatback with the child safety
seat attached to it could fly forward in
the event of an accident or other emer­
gency situation.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restrained in ave­
hicle is being used
¢page 169. Special
precautions apply when installing a child
safety seat on the front passenger seat
¢ page 148, Child restraints on the front
seat -some important things to know.
'
Deactivating the convertible locking
retractor
T he convertible locking retractor for child re­
strain ts will be deactiva ted automatically
when the bel t is wound all the way back in to
the retractor .
• Press the red button on the safety belt buck­
le . The belt tongue will pop out of the buck­
le .
• Guide the safety belt all the way back into
its stowed position .
Always let the safety bel t retract completely
into its stowed position . The safety belt can
now be used as an ordinary safety belt with­
out the convertible locking retractor for child
restraints.
If the convertible locking retractor should be
activated inadvertently, the safety belt must be unfastened and guided completely back in­
to its stowed position to deactivate this fea­
ture. If the convertible locking retractor is not
deactivated , the safety belt will gradually be-
come tighter and uncomfortable to wear.
11>-