2015 AUDI A3 CABRIOLET load capacity

68 Seats and storage
Cargo net/cargo bag
App lies to vehicles: with cargo net/cargo bag
The cargo net prevents light objects from
sliding, and it can also be used as a cargo bag .
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Fi g. 70 Luggage compartment: cargo net spread out
Fig. 71 Luggage compartment: cargo net hung up
Cargo net
.. To secure the ca rgo net, first hang the front
hoo ks in the tie-downs then hang the rear
hooks -arrows-.
Cargo ba g
.. To secure the cargo bag, hang bot h plastic
retainers in the t ie-downs @ and the eye­
lets @ in the hooks ©-
Due to the laws of p hys ics, even small objects
that are loose in the vehicle can become heavy
projectiles and cause serious i njuries dur ing a
collis ion. Objects in the vehicle increase in ki­
n etic energy, which varies depending on the
ve hicle and the weight of the object. The vehi­
cle speed is the most important factor in th is.
E xample : In a frontal impact at a speed of
30 mph (48 km/h), the weight of a 10- lb (5-
kg) object increases to app roximately
20
times its normal weight d ue to the forces act­
ing upon it. This means the weight of the ob- ject is suddenly equivalent to approximately
200 lb (90 kg). It is easy to imagine the type
of injuries an object of that weight could
cause if it slides through the passenger com­
partment unrestrained during a collision at a
relat ively low speed.
_&. WARNING
-
Weak, damaged or faulty straps used to
secure objects to the tie-downs can fail
d uring heavy bra king or a collis ion and
l ead to se rious in juries.
- Always use su itable straps and secure
objects to the tie-downs in t he luggage
compartment to preven t objects from
shifting and sliding forward .
- Never secure a child seat restraint to a
tie -down .
- Because of thei r load capacity, the hooks
should only be used to secure objects
that weig h a maximum of 10 lb (5 kg).
Heavy objects will not be secured suff i­
ciently, and t his increases the risk of in­
jury.
Storage hooks
Applies to vehicles: with bag hooks
F ig. 72 Luggage compartmen t: Sto rage hooks
-
N M M 0 > gi
You can also use the hooks to hang light p urs­
es, bags, etc .
_&. WARNING
-Do not use the storage hooks to secure
heavy objects . Heavier objects are not ade­
q uate ly s ecured. Th ere is risk of personal
Injury.

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A WARNING ,~
Heavy loads will influence the way your ve­
hicle handles. To help reduce the r isk of a
loss of control leading to ser ious personal
injury:
-Always keep in m ind when transporting
heavy objects, that a change in the cen­
ter of gravity can also cause changes in
vehicle handling:
- Always distr ibute the load as even ly as
possible.
- Place heavy objects as far forward in
the luggage compartment as poss ible.
- Never exceed the Gross Ax le Weight Rat­
ing or the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating
specified on the safety compliance stick­
er on the left do or jamb. Exceeding per­
missib le we ight standards can cause the
vehicle to s lide and handle differently.
- Please observe information on safe driv­
ing co
page 126.
A WARNING
To help prevent poisonous exhaust gas
from be ing drawn into the veh icle, always
keep the rea r lid closed while dr iving.
- Never transport objects larger than those fitting completely into the luggage
area because the rear lid cannot be fully
cl osed.
- If you absolutely must drive w ith the rear
l id ope n, observe the follow ing notes to
reduce the risk of poisoning:
- Close all windows,
- Close the power top,
- Open all air ou tlets in the instrument
panel,
- Sw itch off the air recircu lation,
- Set the fresh ai r fan to the h ighest
speed.
A WARNING
Alw ays m ake s ure th at the doors, all win­
dows, the power top an d the re ar lid are
securely closed and locked to reduce th e
Dri ving s afe ty 133
risk of injury when the vehicle is not being
used .
- After closing the rear lid, always make
sure that it is properly closed and loc ked.
- Never leave your vehicle unattended es­
pecially with the rear lid left open. A
child cou ld craw l into the vehicle thro ugh
the luggage compartment and close the
rea r lid becoming t rapped and unable to
get out. Being trapped in a vehicle can
lead to serious pe rsonal inj ury.
- Never let ch ildren play in or around the
veh icle.
- Never let passengers ride in the luggage
compa rtment. Vehicle occupants must
always be properly restra ined in one of
the vehicle's seating pos it ions.
(D Tips
- Air circulati on helps to reduce window
fogging . S tale a ir escapes to the outside
through ven ts in the t rim panel. Be sure
t o keep these slots free an d ope n.
- T he tire pressure m ust correspond to the
load. The tire pressure is shown on the
t ire pressure label. T he tire pressure la­
bel is located on the driver's side B-pilla r.
T he tire pressure label lists the recom­
mended co ld tire inflation pressures fo r
the vehicle at its maxim um capacity
weight and the tires that were on your
vehicle at the time it was manufactured.
For recommended tire pressures f or nor­
ma l load cond itions, p lease see chapter
co
page 235.
Tie-downs
The luggage compartment is equipped with
four tie-downs to secure luggage and other
items .
Use the t ie-downs to secure your cargo prop­
erly co
page 132, Loading the luggage com­
partment.
In a collision, the laws of physics mean th at
even smaller items that are loose in the vehi-
cle w ill become heavy m issiles that can cause .,.. •
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Bead
means the part of the tire that
is made of steel wires, wrapped
or reinforced by ply cords and
that is shaped to fit the rim.
Bead separation
means a breakdown of the bond
between components in the
bead.
Cord
means the strands forming the
plies in the tire .
Cold tire inflation pressure
means the tire pressure recom­
mended by the vehicle manu­
facturer for a tire of a designat­
ed size that has not been driven
for more than a couple of miles (kilometers) at low speeds in
the three hour period before
the tire pressure is measured or
adjusted.
Curb weight
means the weight of a motor
vehicle with standard equip­
ment including the maximum
capacity of fuel, oil, and cool­
ant, air conditioning and addi­
tional weight of optional equip­
ment.
Tires and wheels 231
Extra load tire
means a tire design to operate
at higher loads and at higher inflation pressures than the
corresponding standard tire. Extra load tires may be identi­
fied as "XL", "xl", "EXTRA
LOAD", or "RF" on the sidewall.
Gross Axle Weight Rating ("GAWR")
means the load-carrying capaci­
ty of a single axle system,
measured at the tire-ground in­
terfaces.
Gross Vehicle Weight Rating ("GVWR")
means the maximum total
loaded weight of the vehicle.
Groove
means the space between two
adjacent tread ribs.
Load rating (code)
means the maximum load that
a tire is rated to carry for a giv­
en inflation pressure. You may
not find this information on all
tires because it is not required by law.
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232 Tires a nd whee ls
Ma ximum load rating
means the load rating for a tire
at the maximum permissible in­
flation pressure for that tire.
Maximum loaded vehicle
weight
means the sum of:
(a) Curb weight
(b) Accessory weight
(c) Vehicle capacity weight, and
(d) Production options weight
Maximum (permissible)
inflation pressure
means the maximum cold infla­
tion pressure to which a tire
may be inflated. Also called
"maximum inflation pressure."
Normal occupant weight
means 150 lbs. (68 k ilograms)
times the number of occupants seated in the vehicle up to the
total seat ing capac ity of your
vehicle.
Occupant distribution
means distribution of occu ­
pants in a vehicle .
Outer diameter
means the overall diameter of
an inflated new tire.
Overall width
means the linear distance be­
tween the ex teriors of the side­
walls of an inflated tire, includ ­
ing elevations due to labeling,
decorations, or protect ive
bands or ribs .
Ply
means a layer of rubber -coated
parallel cords .
Production options weight
means the comb ined we ight of
those installed regular produc­
tion op tions weighing over 5
lbs . (2. 3 kg) in excess of those
standard items which they re ­
place, no t prev iously consid­
ered in curb weight or accessory
weight , incl uding heavy duty
brakes, ride leve lers, roof rac k,
heavy duty bat tery, and spec ial
trim.
Radial ply tire
means a pneumatic tire in
wh ich the p ly c ords that extend
t o the beads are laid at sub ­
stantially 90 degrees to the
centerline of the t read .

234 Tir es and whee ls
Tread separation
means pulling away of the
tread from the tire carcass .
Treadwear indicators (TWI )
means the projections with in
the principal grooves designed
to give a visual indication of the degrees of wear of the tread.
See
¢ page 246, Tread Wear
Indicator (TWI)
for more infor­
mation on measuring tire wear .
Uniform Tire Quality Grading
is a tire information system de ­
veloped by the United States
National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration (NHTSA) that is
designed to help buyers make
relative comparisons among
tires. The UTQG is not a safety
rat ing and not a guarantee that
a tire will last for a prescribed
number of miles (kilometers) or
perform in a certain way. It
simply gives tire buyers addi­
tional information to comb ine
with other considerations, such as price, brand loyalty and deal­
er recommendations. Under
UTQG, tires are graded by the
tire manufacturers in three areas: treadwear, traction, and
temperature resistance . The UTQG information on the t
ires
molded into the sidewalls.
U.S. DOT Tire Identification
Numbe r (TIN )
,
This is the tire's "serial num­
ber" . It begins with the letters
"DOT" and indicates that the
tire meets all federal stand­
ards . The next two numbers or
letters indicate the plant where
it was manufactured, and the
last four numbers represent the
week and year of manufacture. F or example,
DO T ... 2214 ...
means that the tire was pro­
duced in the 22nd week of
2014. The other numbers are
marketing codes that may or
may not be used by the tire
manufacturer. This information
is used to contact consumers if
a tire defect requires a recall.
Vehicle capacity weight
means the rated cargo and lug­
gage load plus 150 lbs. (68 kilograms) times the vehi­
cle's total seating capacity as
listed on the label located on
the driver's side B-pillar . .,..

....,
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Vehicle maximum load on the tire
means that load on an individu­
al tire that is determined by
distributing to each axle its
share of the maximum loaded
vehicle weight and dividing by two.
Vehicle normal load on the tire
means that load on an individu­
al tire that is determined by
Tires and wheels 235
distributing to each axle its
share of the curb weight, acces­
sory weight, and normal occu­ pant weight (distributed in ac­
cordance with table below
¢ page 235) and dividing by
two.
Occupant loading and distribution for vehicle normal load for
various designated seating capacities
Designated seating Vehicle normal load, Occupant distribu-
capacity, number of number of occupants tion in a normally
occupants loaded vehicle
4 3 2 in front, 1 in back
seat
Cold tire inflation pressure
Tire pressure affects the overall handling, performance and safety
of a vehicle.
Fig. 172 Ti re pressure label: located
on driver's s ide B -pillar
""" -,.._ u net:MHW>NS
-.....
--.,._
- KPA. a PSI
- KPA.
a PSI
-KPA. a PSI
Fig. 173 Tire pressure label
"'

236 Tires and wheels
Tire pressure generally refers to tant things you can do to help
the amount of air in a tire that avoid sudden tire failure. Un-
it needs it to do its job and derinflated tires are a major
safely carry the combined load cause of sudden tire failure.
of the entire vehicle and its con- Keeping tires at the right pres-
tents. Tire pressure is measured sure is also important for safe in kilopascals (kPa), the inter-and responsive vehicle han-
national measuring unit and in dling, traction, braking and
pounds per square inch (PSI). load carrying.
Tire pressures
Tire pressure is based in part on are particularly important
the vehicles design and load when the vehicle is being driv-
limit -the greatest amount of en at higher speeds, and then
weight that the vehicle can car-especially when heavily loaded
ry safely and the tire size. The even within the permissible
proper tire pressure is frequent-load-carrying capacities ap-
ly referred to as the "recom-proved for your vehicle.
mended cold tire inflation pres-
The recommended tire pres-
sure." Air in the tires expands
sures for your Audi depend on
when the tire heats up because the kind of tires on your vehicle
of internal friction when it flex-
and the number of passengers
es in use. The tire pressure is
and/or amount of luggage you
higher when the tire has will be transporting.
warmed up than when it is The tire pressure label is locat-
"cold." It is the inflation pres-
ed on the driver's side 8-pillar.
sure in a "cold " tire that counts .
Therefore, you should never let The tire pressure label lists the
recommended cold t ire infla-
air out of a warm tire to match
"cold tire inflation pressure" tion pressures for the vehicle at
its maximum capacity weight
recommendations. The tires
would then be underinflated and tires that were on your ve-
and could fail suddenly. hicle at the time it was manu-
factured .
...
Maintaining proper tire pres-
sure is one of the most impor-

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...... 1.1'1 ......
If you wish to improve comfort
when operating the vehicle at
normal load (up to 3 occu­
pants), you can adjust tire
pressures to those specified
for normal vehicle load. Before
operating the vehicle at maxi­ mum load, you must increase
the tire pressures to those
specified for maximum vehicle
load
c> .&. .
Bear in mind that the tire pres­
sure monitoring system can on­
ly monitor the tire pressures
you have stored. The system does not recognize the load
condition of your vehicle.
The effectiveness of the tire pressure monitoring system
will be impaired if you store normal load pressures but then
operate the vehicle at its maxi­
mum load
c> .&. .
Tires and wheels 237
See the illustration c> fig. 172
for the location of the label on
driver's side B-pillar (color of
the actual label and exact loca­
tion on the vehicle will vary slightly).
Note that the following table is
accurate at the time of going to
press and is subject to change.
In the event of discrepancies,
the tire pressure label is locat­ ed on the driver's side B-pillar
always takes precedence.
The table below lists the rec­ ommended cold tire inflation pressures for the Audi model
covered by your Owner's Litera­
ture at the vehicle's capacity
weight and the tire sizes instal­
led on the respective models as
original equipment, or as a fac-
tory option. ..,.
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