2015 AUDI A3 CABRIOLET wheel

128 Driving safety
• Fasten and wear safety belts correctly
9page 141.
• Always keep both feet in the footwell so
that you are in control of the vehicle at all
t ime s.
Fo r detailed information on how to adjust the
driver's seat, see
<=>page 61 .
A WARNING
Drivers who are unbelted, out of position
or too close to the airbag can be seriously
injured by an airbag as it unfolds. To help
reduce the risk of serious personal injury:
- Always adjust the driver's seat and the steering wheel so that there are at least
10 inches (25 cm) between your breast­
bone and the steering wheel.
- Always adjust the driver's seat and the
steering wheel so that there are at least
4 inches (10 cm) between the knees and
the lower part of the instrument panel.
- Always hold the steering wheel on the
outside of the steering wheel rim with
your hands at the 9 o'clock and 3 o'clock
positions to help reduce the risk of per­
sonal injury if the driver's airbag inflates.
- Never hold the steering wheel at the
12 o'clock position or with your hands at
other positions inside the steering wheel
rim or on the steering wheel hub. Hold­
ing the steering wheel the wrong way
can cause serious injuries to the hands,
arms and head if the driver's airbag in­
flates.
- Pointing the steering wheel toward your face decreases the ability of the supple­
mental driver's airbag to protect you in a
collision .
- Always sit in an upright position and nev­
er lean against or place any part of your
body too close to the area where the air­
bags are located.
- Before driving, always adjust the front
seats properly and make sure that all
passengers are properly restrained. -
For adjustable head restraints: before
driving, always also adjust the head re­
straints properly.
- Never adjust the seats while the vehicle
is moving. Your seat may move unexpect­
edly and you could lose control of the ve­ hicle .
- Never drive with the backrest reclined or
tilted far back! The farther the backrests
are tilted back, the greater the risk of in­
jury due to incorrect positioning of the safety belt and improper seating posi­
tion .
- Children must always ride in child seats
<=> page 169. Special precautions apply
when installing a child seat on the front
passenger seat <=>
page 146.
Proper seating position for the front
passenger
The proper front passenger seating position
is important for safe, relaxed driving.
For your own safety and to reduce the risk of
injury in the event of an accident, we recom­
mend that you adjust the seat for the front
passenger to the following position:
• Adjust the angle of the seatback so that it is
in an upright position and your back comes
in full contact with it whenever the vehicle is
moving.
• For ad justab le head restra ints: adjust the
head restraint so the upper edge is as even
as possible with the top of your head. If that
is not possible, try to adjust the head re ­
straint so that it is as close to this position
as possible <=>
page 130 . Move the head re­
straint so that it is as close to the back of
the head as possible.
• Keep both feet flat on the floor in front of
the front passenger seat.
• Fasten and wear safety belts correctly
<=> page 141.
For detailed information on how to adjust the
front passenger's seat, see
<=> page 60. ...

140 Safety belts
occupant will slam violently into the steering
wheel, instrument panel, windshield, or what­
ever else is in the way
c::> fig. 133. This imp act
with the vehicle interior has all the energy
t hey had just before the crash.
Never rely on a irbags alone for protection.
Even when they deploy, airbags provide only
additional protection. Airbags are not sup­
posed to deploy in all kinds of accidents. Al­
though your Audi is equipped with airbags, all
vehicle occupants, including the driver , must
wear safety belts correctly in order to mini­
mize the risk of severe injury or death in a
crash.
Remember too, that airbags will deploy only
once and that your safety belts are always
there to offer protection in those accidents in
which airbags are not supposed to deploy or
when they have already deployed . Unbelted
occupants can also be thrown out of the vehi­
cle where even more severe or fatal injuries
can occur.
It is also important for the rear passengers to
wear safety belts correctly. Unbelted passen­
gers in the rear seats endanger not only them­
selves but also the driver and othe r passen­
gers ~
fig. 134. In a frontal collision they will
be thrown forward violently, where they can
hit and injure the driver and/or front seat pas­
senger .
Safety belts protect
People think it's possible to use the hands to
brace the body in a minor collision . It's simply
not true !
Fig. 135 Driver is co rr ect ly re strain ed in a sudd en brak­
ing maneuve r
Safety belts used properly can make a big dif­
ference. Safety belts help to keep passengers
in their seats, gradually reduce energy levels
applied to the body in an accident, and help
prevent the uncontrolled movement tha t can
cause serious injuries . In addition, safety belts
reduce the danger of being thrown out of the
vehicle .
Safety belts attach passengers to the car and
give them the benefit of being slowed down
more gently or "softly" through the "give" in
the safety belts, crush zones and other safety
features engineered into today's vehicles. By
"absorbing " the kinetic energy over a longer
period of ti me, the safety belts make the
forces on the body more "tolerable" and less
likely to cause injury.
Although these examples are based on a fron­
tal collision, safety belts can also substantial­
ly reduce the r isk of injury in other kinds of
crashes. So, whether you're on a long trip or
just going to the corner store, always buckle up and make sure others do, too. Accident sta­
tistics show that vehicle occupants properly
wearing safety belts have a lower risk of being
injured and a much better chance of surviving
an accident. Properly using safety belts also
greatly increases the ability of the supplemen­
tal airbags to do their job in a collision . For
this reason, wearing a safety belt is legally re­
quired in most countries including much of
the United States and Canada.
Although your Audi is equipped with airbags,
you still have to wear the safety belts provid­
ed. Front airbags , for example, are activated
only in some frontal collisions. The front air­
bags are not activated in all frontal collisions,
in side and rear collisions, in roll overs or in
cases where there is no t enough decelera tion
through impact to the front of the vehicle .
The same goes for the other airbag systems in
your Audi . So, always wear your safety belt
and make sure everybody in your vehicle is
properly restrained!

146 Airbag system
Airbag system
Important things to know
Importance of wearing safety belts and
sitting properly
Airbags are only supplemental restraints. For
airbags to do their job , occupants must al­
ways properly wear their safety belts and be
in a proper seating position.
F or your safety and the safety of your passen­
gers, before driving off, always:
• Adjust the driver's seat and steering wheel
properly
¢ page 127,
• Adjust the front passenger's seat properly
¢ page 60,
• Wear safety be lts properly ¢ page 141,
• Always properly use the proper child re-
straint to protect children ¢
page 169.
In a collision, airbags must inflate within the
blink of an eye and with considerable force.
The supplemental airbags can cause injuries if
the driver or the front seat passenger is not
seated properly . Therefore in order to help the
a ir bag to do its job, it is important, both as a
d river and as a passenger to sit prope rly at all
times.
By keeping room between your body and the
steering wheel and the front of the passenger
compartment, the airbag can inflate fully and
comp letely and provide supplemental protec­
tion in ce rtain frontal collisions
¢page 127,
Proper occupant seating positions.
F or details
on the operation of the seat adjustment con­
t rols ¢
page 60.
It's especially important that children are
properly restrained ¢
page 169.
There is a lot that the driver and the passen­
ge rs can and must do to help the individual
safety features installed in your Audi work to­
gether as a system.
Proper seating pos ition is important so that
the front airbag on the driver side can do its
job. If you have a physical impairment or con- dition that
prevents you from sitting properly
on the driver seat with the safety belt properly
fastened and reaching the pedals , or if you
have concerns with regard to the function or
operation of the Advanced Airbag System ,
please contact your author ized Audi dealer or
qualified workshop, or call Audi Customer Re­
lations at 1-800-822-2834 for possible modi­
ficat ions to your veh icle.
When the airbag system deploys, a gas gener ­
ator will f ill the a irbags, break open t he pad­
ded cove rs, and inflate between the steering
whee l and the dr iver and between the instru­
ment panel and the front passenger. The air­
bags will deflate immediately after deploy­
ment so that the front occupants can see
t hr ough the windshie ld again without inter­
ruption .
All of this takes pla ce in the blink of an eye, so
fast that many peop le don't even realize tha t
the airbags have deployed. The airbags a lso
inflate with a great dea l of force and nothing
should be in their w ay when they deploy.
Front airbags in combination with properly
worn safety belts slow down and lim it the oc­
cupant's forward movement . T ogether they
help to prevent the drive r and front seat pas­
senger from hitting parts of the inside of the
vehicle while reducing the forces acting on the
occupant during the crash . In this way they
help to reduce the risk of injury to the head
and upper body in the crash. Airbags do not
protect the arms or the lower parts of the
body.
Both front airbags wi ll not inflate in all fronta l
collisions . The triggering of the airbag system
depends on the vehicle dece lerat ion rate
caused by the co llision and registered by the
electron ic control unit. If this rate is below
the reference value programmed into the con ­
t rol unit , the airbags will not be triggered,
even though the car may be badly damaged as
a res ult of the collision . Vehicle damage, re­
pair costs or even the lack of vehicle damage
is not necessari ly an indication of whether an
airbag shou ld inflate or not.
IJll-

Airbag system 147
Since the circumstances will vary considerab ly
also at greater risk of injury or death
between on e collision and another , it is not
through contact with an inflating airbag .
possible to define a range of veh icle speeds
-If you are unrestrained, leaning forward,
that will cover every possible k ind and angle
sitting sideways or out of position in any
of impact that will always trigger the a irbags .
way, your risk of injury is much higher.
Important factors include, for example, the -You will a lso receive serious injuries and
nature (hard or soft) of the object which the could even be killed if you are up against
•
car h its, the ang le of impact, vehicle speed ,
• the airbag or too close to it when it in-
etc. The front airbags will a lso not inflate in
flates - even with an Advanced A irbag.
side or rea r collisions, or in ro ll-overs .
-To reduce the risk of injury when an air-
Alwa ys re memb er: Airbags will deploy only bag inflates, always wear safety belts
once, and only in certa in kinds of co llisions. properly
c::;, page 141, Safety belts
.
Your safety belts are always there to offe r pro- -
Always make certain that ch ildren age 12
tection in those s ituations in which airbags or younger always ride in the rear seat. If
are not supposed to deploy , or when they have children a
re not properly restrained , they
already deployed ; for example , when your ve- may be severe
ly inju red or killed when an
hide strikes or is struck by another vehicle af- airbag inf
lates.
ter the first collision . -
Never let ch ildren ride un restra ined o r
This is just one of the reasons why an a irbag is improperly restrained
in the vehicle . Ad-
just the front sea ts prope rly.
a supp lementary restraint and is not a s ubsti -
-Never ride with the back rest reclined .
tute for a safety belt . The airbag system
-Always sit as far as possible from the
works most effect ively when used with the
steering whee l or the instrument panel
safety belts. Therefore, always properly wear
c::;, page 127 . your safety belts c::;, page 138 .
- Always sit upright with your back against
A WARNING the backrest of yo ur seat.
- Never p lace your feet on the instrument
Sitting too close to the steer ing whee l or
panel or on the seat . Always keep both
instrument panel will dec rease the effec-
feet on the floor in front of the seat to
tiveness of the airbags and will inc rease
help prevent serious in ju ries to the legs
the risk of pe rsonal injury in a co llision.
and hips if the airbag in fla te s.
- Never si t closer than 10 inches (2S cm)
-Never recline the front passenger's sea t
to the stee ring wheel or instr ument pan-
to transport objects. Items can a lso
el. move into the area of the s ide a irb ag or
- If you cannot si t mo re than 10 inches
the front airbag during bra king or in a
( 2 5 cm) from the steer ing whee l, investi-
sudden maneuver. Objects near the air-
ga te whethe r adap tive equipmen t may
bags can become projectiles and cause
be available to help you reach the pedals injury when an airbag inflates.
and increase your seating distance from
the steering wheel.
A WARNING
- All veh icle occupants and especia lly chil -
dren m ust be restrained properly when- A
irbags that have deployed in a crash must
ever riding in a vehicle . An unrestra ined be replaced.
or improperly restrained child could be -
Use on ly orig inal equipment airbags ap-
M injured by striking the inter ior or by be- proved by Audi and installed by a trained • N technician who has the necessary too
ls ~ ,.... ing ejected from the vehicle during a > co sudden maneuver or impact . An unre-...... \!) ..,., strained or imp roperly rest rained child is ...... ..,., ......

150 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
PA SS EN ­
GE R AI R BAG OFF
light does not stay on .
- Have the airbag system inspected by
your Audi dealer immed iately.
- Always carefully follow instructions from
child restraint manufacturers when in­
sta lling child restraints .
A WARNING ,.
If, in exceptional c ircumstances, you must
install a forward or rearward-fac ing child
restraint on the front passenge r's seat:
- Improper installation of child restraints
can reduce their effectiveness or even
prevent them from providing any protec­
t ion.
- An improperly installed child restraint
can interfere with the airbag as it de ­
ploys and serio usly injure or even kill the
child -even wi th an Advanced Airbag
System.
- Always carefully follow the manufactur­
er's instructions provided with the child
seat or car rier .
- Always m ake su re that there is nothing
on the front passenger seat that will
cause the capacitive passenger detection
system in the seat to s ignal to the Airbag
System that the seat is occupied by a person when it is not, or to signal that it
is occupied by someone who is heavier
than the pe rson actually s itting on the
seat. The presence of additiona l objects
cou ld cause the passenger front airbag
to be t urned on w hen it sho uld be off, or
cou ld cause the ai rbag to work in a way
that is different from the way it wou ld
have worked without the object on the
seat.
Front airbags
Description of front airbags
The airbag system can provide supplemental
protection to properly restrained front seat occupants .
Fig . 14 0 Loc atio n of drive r air b a g : i n stee ring wheel
Fig. 141 Loc ation of fro nt passe nge r's a irbag: in the in ­
str umen t pa nel
Your vehicle is equipped with an "Advanced
Airbag System " in compliance with Un ited
States Federa l Motor Veh icle Safety Standard
(FMVSS) 208 as applicable at the time you r
vehicle was manufactured . The safety belts
for the seats have "pretensioners" that help to take slack out of the belt system. The pre­
ten sioners are also act ivated by the electronic
control unit for the airbag system.
T he front safety belts also have load lim iters
to help reduce the forces applied to the body
in a crash.
The airbag for the driver is in the steering
whee l hub
c:> fig. 140 and the airbag fo r the
front pas senger is in the instr ument panel
¢ fig . 141. The gener al location of the a irbags
is marked "AIRBAG".
T here is a lot you need to know about the a ir­
bags in your vehicle. We urge you to read the
II>

M N
" > co ,...., \!) ..,.,
,...., ..,., ,....,
detailed information about airbags, safety
belts and child safety in this and the other
chapters that make up the owner's literature.
Please be sure to heed the WARNINGS -they
are ex tremely important for your safety and
the safety of your passengers, especially in ­
fants and small children .
A WARNING
Never rely on airbags alone for protection.
- Even when they deploy, airbags provide only supplemental protection .
- Airbag work most effectively when used
with properly worn safety belts .
- Therefore, always wear your safety belts
and make sure that everybody in your ve ­
hicle is properly restrained .
- Always hold the steering wheel with both
hands on the outside of the steering
wheel rim at the 9:00 o'clock and 3:00
o'clock positions to help reduce the risk
of personal injury if the driver's airbag in­
flates.
- Never hold the steering wheel at the 12
o'clock position or with your hands any­
where inside the steering wheel or on the
steering wheel hub. Holding the steering
wheel the wrong way increases the risk of severe injury to the arms, hands, and
head if the driver airbag deploys .
A WARNING
Objects between you and the airbag will
increase the risk of injury in a crash by in­
terfering with the way the airbag unfolds
and/or by being pushed into you as the air­
bag inflates.
- Always make sure nothing is in the front
airbag deployment zone that could be
struck by the airbag when it inflates.
- Objects in the zone of a deploying airbag
can become projectiles when the airbag
deploys and cause serious personal in­
jury.
- Never hold things in your hands or on
your lap when the vehicle is in use .
-
Airbag system 151
-Never place accessories or other objects
(such as cup holders, telephone brackets,
note pads, navigation systems, or things
that are large, heavy, or bulky) on the
doors; never attach then to the doors or
the windshield; never place them over or
near or attach them to the area marked
,,AIRBAG " on the steering wheel, instru­
ment panel or the seat backrests; never
place them between these areas and you
or any other person in the vehicle.
- Never attach objects to the windshield
above the passenger front airbag, such
as accessory GPS navigation units or mu­
sic players. Such objects could cause seri­
ous injury in a collision, especially when
the airbags inflate.
- Never recline the front passenger seat to transport objects. Items can also move
into the deployment area of the side air ­
bags or the front airbag during breaking
or in a sudden maneuver . Objects near
the airbags can fly dangerously through
the passenger compartment and cause
injury, particularly when the seat is re­
clined and the airbags inflate.
A WARNING
-=
A person on the front passenger seat , es-
pecially infants and small children, will re­
ceive serious injuries and can even be kil­
led by being too close to the airbag when
it inflates.
- Although the Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle is designed to turn
off the
front passenger airbag if an infant or a
small child is on the front passenger
seat, nobody can absolutely guarantee
that deployment under these special conditions is impossible in all conceiva­
ble situations that may happen during
the useful life of your vehicle.
- The Advanced Airbag System can deploy
in accordance with the ,,low risk" option
for 3-and 6-year-old children under the
•
•
•

152 Airbag sys te m
U.S. Federal Standard if a chi ld with elec­
trical capac itance greater than the com­
bined capacitance of a typical one-year
old infant restra ined in one of the for­
ward fac ing or rearward-fac ing ch ild
seats with which your vehicle was certi­
fied is on the front passenger seat and
the other conditions for airbag deploy­ ment are met.
- Acc ident statist ics have shown that chil­
dren are generally safer in the rear seat
area than in the front seating posit ion .
- For their own safety, all chi ldren, espe­
ci ally 12 years and younger, sho uld a l­
ways ride in the back properly rest rained
for their age and size .
Advanced front airbag system
Your vehicle is equipped with a front Advanced
Airbag System in compliance with United
States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
208 as applicable at the time your vehicle was manufactured.
The front Advanced Airbag System supple­ ments the safety belts to provide addit ional
protection for the driver's and front passeng­
er's heads and upper bodies in frontal crashes .
The airbags inflate only in frontal impacts
when the vehicle dece le rat io n is high enoug h.
The front Advanced Airbag System for the
fro nt seat occupants is not a substitute for
your safety belts . Rather, it is part of the over­
a ll occupa nt restraint system in your veh icle.
A lways remember that the airbag system ca n
on ly help to pro tect you, if you are s itting up ­
right, wearing yo ur safety belt and wearing it
properly. This is why you and yo ur passengers
must always be properly restrained, not just
beca use the law requires you to be.
The Advanced Airbag System in your veh icle
has been certified to meet the " low risk" re­
qu irements for 3 and 6 year-o ld children on
the passenger side and very small adu lts on
the dr iver side. The low risk deployment crite­
ria are intended to he lp reduce the risk of in­
jury through interaction with the front airbag that can occur, for example, by being too
close to the steering wheel and instr ument
panel when the airbag inflates .
In add ition, the system has been cer tified to
comply with the "s uppression" requirements
of the Safety Standard, to turn off the front
airbag for infants 12 months o ld and younger
who are restrained on the front passenger
seat in child restraints that are listed in the
Standard
c> page 171, Child restraints and
Advanced front airbag system .
"Suppression" requires the front a irbag on the
passenger side to be turned off if:
- a child up to abo ut one year of age is re­
strained on the front passenger seat in one
of the rear-fac ing or forward-facing infant
restraints listed in Federal Motor Vehicle
Safety Standard 208 with which the Ad ­
vanced A irbag System in your veh icle was
cert ified . Fo r a listing of the chi ld restraints
t hat were used to certify your vehi cle's com­
p lia nce w it h t he US Sa fety S tandard
c>page 171,
-When a pe rson is detec ted o n the front pas ­
senger seat tha t has an elec trica l capa ci­
tance that is more than the tota l electrical
capacitance of a child that is about 1 year
old restrained in one of the rear-facing or
forward-facing infant restraints (listed in
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208
w ith which the Advanced A irbag System in
your veh icle was certified), the front airbag
on the passenger side may or may not de­ p loy .
The
PASS ENG ER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
when the elect ronic cont ro l unit detects a to­
ta l elect rical capac itance on the front passen­
ger seat that requ ires the front a irbag to be
tu rned off. If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
ligh t does not come on, the front airbag on
t h e passenger side has not been turned off by
the control unit and can deploy if the contro l
u nit senses an impact that meets the condi­
t ions stored in its memory.
If the total e lectr ica l capacitance regis tered
on the front passenger seat is more than that
ll-

154 Airbag sys te m
- Always make su re that t here is nothing
on the front passenger seat that will
cause the capacitive passenge r detection
system in the seat to s ignal to the A irbag
System that the seat is occupied by a
person when it is not, or to signal that it
is occ upied by someone who is heavier
than the person actu ally s itting on the
sea t. The presence of additiona l obje cts
cou ld cause the passenger front airbag
to be t urned on when it sho uld be off, or
cou ld cause the airbag to work in a way
that is different from the way it wou ld
have worked without the object on the
seat.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes o n and stays on all the
t ime whenever the ignition is switched
on.
Advanced Airbag System components
The front passenger seat in your vehicle has a
l o t of very important pa rts of the Advanced
A irbag System in it. These parts incl ude the
capacitive passenger detect ion sys tem, wir­
ing, brac kets, and more . The cont ro l unit
monitors the system on the front passenger
seat when the ign ition is switched on and
turns the airbag indicator light on w hen a
malfunction i n the one of the system compo­
n ents is detected
c::;, page 159 . Because the
front passenge r seat contains important pa rts
of the Advanced Airbag System, you must
take ca re to pr even t it from be ing damaged.
Damage to the seat may preven t the Ad ­
vanced A irbag System for the front passenger
seat from doing its job in a crash .
The front Advanced Airbag System
consists of the following:
- Crash senso rs in the front o f the veh icle that
measure ve hicle acceleration/dece leration
to provide information to the Advanced Air­ bag System abo ut the severity of the crash .
- An electronic co ntro l unit, with i ntegrated
c rash sensors for f ront and side impacts.
The cont ro l unit "decides" whether to fire t
he front a irbags based on the in format ion
received from the crash sensors. The contro l
un it also "decides" whether the sa fety belt
pretens ioners sho uld be activated.
- An Advanced Airbag with gas generator fo r
the dr iver inside the steering wheel hub.
- An Advanced Airbag with gas gene rator in­
side the inst rument panel for the front pas­
senger.
- A capacit ive passenger detection system un­
derneath the front passenger seat cover.
This system measures the electrical capac i­
tance of the person in the seat. The informa­
tion registered is se nt cont inuous ly to the
elect ronic control un it to regu late deploy­
ment of the front Advanced A irbag on the
passe nger side.
- An airbag monitor ing system and indicator
light in t he i nstr ument cluster
¢ page 158.
-A senso r in each front seat registers the dis­
tanc e between the r espective seat and the
s teer ing whee l o r ins trumen t panel. The in­
form ation regis tered is sent cont inuo usly to
t he ele ct ron ic cont ro l unit to regula te de­
p loyment of the front Adv a need Ai rbags.
- The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF ligh t comes
on and stays on in the cen ter o f the instr u­
ment panel
c::;, page 214 and tells you when
the front Advanced Airbag on the passenger
side has been turned off.
- A sensor in t he safety be lt latch fo r th e d riv­
er and for the front seat passenger that
senses whether that safety belt is latched or not and transmits this information to t he
electronic control un it .
A WARNING
--
D amage to the fron t passenger seat can
p rev ent the fro nt airbag from wor king
prop erly.
- I mp rope r re pa ir or disassembly of the
fr ont passenge r and dr ive r sea t will pre­
ven t th e Adv anced Air bag System from
functioning p ro perly.
- Repairs to the front pa ssenge r seat must
be pe rformed by qualifie d and properly
trained workshop personnel.
~