2015 AUDI A3 light

-The child and the passenger can also
injure each other in an accident .
- 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 - even with an Ad­
vanced Airbag System.
- 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 instal­
led on the front passenger's seat can in­
terfere with the airbag when it inflates
and cause serious injury to the child. Al­
ways install forward-facing child safety
seats on the rear seat.
- If exceptional circumstances require the
use of a forward-facing child restraint on
the front passenger's seat, the child's
safety and well-being require that the
following special precautions be taken:
- Make sure the forward-facing seat has
been designed and certified by its man­
ufacturer for use on a front seat with a
passenger front and side airbag.
-Always carefully follow the manufac­
turer's instructions provided with the
child safety seat or carrier.
- Always move the front passenger seat
into the rearmost position of the pas­
senger seat's fore and aft adjustment
range, and as far away from the airbag
as possible before installing the child
restraint.
- Always make sure that nothing pre­
vents the front passenger's seat from
being moved to the rearmost position
in its fore and aft adjustment range .
- Always make sure that the backrest is
in the upright position.
- Never place or use any electrical device
(such as a laptop, CD player, electronic
games device, power inverter or seat
Child Safety 1 71
heater for child seats) on the front pas­
senger seat if the device is connected
to the 12-volt socket or the cigarette lighter socket.
- If a seat heater has been retrofitted or
otherwise added to the front passen­
ger seat, never install any child re­
straint system 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 device, power inverter or seat
heater for child seats). These may in­
fluence the electrical capacitance
measured by the capacitive passenger
detection system and can also fly
around in an accident and cause serious
personal injury.
- 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 .
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restrained in ave­
hicle is being used
<=> page 131, Safety
belts,
¢ page 140, Airbag system and
¢ page 166, Child Safety .
A WARNING
To reduce the risk of serious injury, make
sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on whenever a
child restraint is installed on the front pas­
senger seat and the ignition is switched
on.
- 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.
- Have the airbag system inspected by
your authorized Audi dealer immediate­
ly . •
•
•

It is a very dangerous place for an infant or a
la rger child in a rearward-facing seat.
A 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, center armrest, door or
roof
c::> page 142, 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, 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
Child Safety 173
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.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restrained in ave­
hicle is being used
c::> page 131, Safety
belts,
c::> page 140, Airbag system and
c::> page 166, 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. 134 Schematic overview: installat ion of the at­
tac hme nts applicab le to a LA T CH seat
Fig. 135 Sc hemat ic overv iew : installatio n of the seat
using the vehicle 's safety belt syste m
I),,

174 Child Safety
• When using the vehicle safety belt to install
a child safety seat, you must first activate
the convertible locking feature on the safety
belt to prevent the child safety seat from
moving
c::;, page 177 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
sideways more than one inch (2.5 cm)
c::;, page 177.
• If the child safety seat is equipped with a
tether strap, attach it to the tether anchors
c::;, page 183.
• Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
c::;, page 172.
A toddler or child is usually too large for an in­
fant restraint if it is more than one year old
and weighs more than 20 lbs. (9 kg) .
Toddlers and children who are older than one
year up to about 4 years old and weigh more
than 20 lbs (9 kg) up to 40 lbs. (18 kg) must
always be properly restrained in a child safety
seat certified for their size and weight
c::;, fig. 134 and c::;, fig . 135.
The airbag on the passenger side makes the
front seat a poten tially dangerous place for a
child to ride . The front seat is not the safest
place for a child in a forward-facing child safe­
ty seat.
It is a very dangerous place for an in­
fant or a larger child in a rearward-facing seat.
A 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
collision or other emergency situation.
- 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. A child in a rearward-facing
child safety seat installed on the front
passenger seat will be seriously injured
and can be killed if the front airbag in-
-
flates -even with an Advanced Airbag
System .
- 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
arm rest, door or roof .
- 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 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.
- 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
c::;, page 55. 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.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restrained in ave­
hicle is being used
¢page 131, Safety
belts, c::;, page 140, Airbag system
and
c::;, page 166, Important things to know.
A WARNING
-
If exceptional circumstances require the
use of a forward-facing child restraint on
the front passenger's seat, the child's safe­
ty and well-being require that the follow­
ing special precautions be taken:
- Make sure the forward-facing seat has been designed and certified by its manu­
facturer for use on a front seat with a passenger front and side airbag.

-Always follow the manufacturer's in­
struct ions provided with the child safety
seat or infant carrier.
- Always m ove the front passenger seat in­
to the rearmost position of the passen­ ger seat's f ore and aft adjustment range,
and as far away from the airbag as possi­
ble before install ing the child restraint.
- Always make sure that noth ing 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
upr ight position .
- Never place o r use any electrical device
(such as a laptop, CD player, electron ic
games dev ice, power inverter o r seat
heater for child se ats ) on the fr ont pas­
senger se at if the device is connected to
the 12-vo lt 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 heate r for
child seats). These may influence the
elect rical capacitance measu red by the
capacit ive passenger detection system
and can a lso fly aro und in an accident
a nd cau se se riou s person al injury.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
lig ht comes on an d stays on all the
t ime whenever the ignition is switched
on .
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and s tay on, immedi­
ately install the forward-facing child seat
at a seating posit ion on the rear seat and
have the a irbag system inspected by your
authorized Audi dealer. Child S
afety 175
- Ta ke the chi ld 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
li ght does not stay on
whenever the ignit ion 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.
F ig. 1 36 Rea r seat : ch ild p roperly res trained in a boos ­
ter seat
The vehicle's safety belts alone will not fit
most children until they are at leas t 4 ft . 9 in .
(57 inches/1.45 meters) tall and weig h about
80 lbs. (36 kg). Booster seats rai se t hese chi l­
dren up so that the safety belt w ill pass prop­
erly over the stronge r parts of the ir bodies
and t he safety be lt can he lp pro tect them in a
c rash .
.,. Do not use the convert ible lock ing retractor
when using the veh icle's safety be lt to re­
strain a ch ild on a booster seat .
.. The s houlde r belt must lie as close to the
center of the chi ld's collar bone as possib le
and must lie flat and snug on the upper
body. It must never lie across the throat or
neck . The lap be lt must lie across the pelvis
and never ac ross the stomach or abdomen .
Mak e su re the be lt lies flat and sn ug. P ull on
the belt to tighten if necessary .
.,. If you must tra nsport an older c hild in a
booste r seat on the front passenger sea t, .._

without head restraints or with head re­
straints that are not pr operly ad justed
increases the risk of ser ious or fatal neck
injury dramat ically .
- Children on the front seat of any car,
even with Advanced A irbags, can be seri­
ously injured or even killed when an a ir ­
bag inflates .
- Never let a child stand or knee l on any
seat, for example the front seat.
- Never let a child ride in the cargo area of
your vehicle .
- Always remember that a ch ild lean ing
forward, sitt ing s ideways o r out of posi­
t ion i n any way during an acc ident can be
st ruck by a deploying airbag . This will re­
s u lt in se rious personal injury or death.
- If you must install a booster seat on the
front passenger seat because of excep­
tio nal circumstan ces the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light must come on and
stay on, whenever the igni tion is switch­
ed on .
-If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and s tay on, per form
the checks described ¢
page 152, Moni­
toring the Advanced Airbag System.
- Take the child rest raint off the front pas ­
senger seat and install it proper ly 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 bei ng used ¢
page 131 , Safety
belts, ¢ page 140, Airbag system
and
¢page 166, Important things to know .
Child Safet y 177
Installing a child safety
seat
Securing a child safety seat using a
safety belt
Safety belts for the rear seats and the front
passenger con be locked with the convertible locking retractor to properly secure child
safety sea ts.
T he safety belts emergency locking retractors
fo r the rear seats safety belts and for the
front passenger's seat safety belt have a con­
vertib le locking retractor for child restraints.
The safety belt must be locked so that be lt
webb ing cannot unreel. The retractor can be
activated to loc k the safe ty belt and prevent
t h e safety be lt webb ing from looseni ng up
dur ing no rm al driv in g. A ch ild safety seat can
o nl y be prope rly installed w hen t he s afety bel t
is locked so that the chi ld and child sa fety
seat w ill stay in place.
A lways remember: Even tho ugh yo ur vehicle is
equipped wi th an A dvanced Airbag sys tem, all
c hi ldren, es pecially those 12 years and young ­
er, sho uld always r ide in the back seat proper ­
l y restra ined for t he ir age and size.
A WARNING
Im properly installed chi ld safety seats in­
crease the risk of serious personal injury
a n d death in a co llision .
- Always make sure that the safety belt re­
tractor is locked w hen insta lling a child
safety seat. An unlocked safety belt re­
trac to r cannot hold the child safety seat
in place dur ing norma l dr iving o r in a
crash.
- Always buckle the child safe ty seat firmly
i n place even if a ch ild is not sitt ing in it.
A l oose child safe ty se at can fly aroun d
du ring a sudden stop or in a collision.
- Always ma ke sure tha t the rear seat
b ackrest to which the ce nter re ar safe ty
be lt * is attache d is se curely latched
wheneve r the rea r cente r safety belt is
be ing used to secure a child rest raint .
•
•
•

178 Child Safety
-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 166. Special
precautions apply when installing a child
safety seat on the front passenger seat
¢ page 142, Child restraints on the front
seat -some important things to know .
A WARNING
-
Always take special precautions if you
must install a forward or rearward-facing
child restraint on the front passenger's
seat in exceptional situations:
- Whenever a forward or rearward-facing
child restraint is installed on the front
passenger seat, the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
light must come on and stay on
whenever the ignition is switched on.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, perform
the checks described ¢
page 152, 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.
- Improper installation of child restraints
can reduce their effectiveness or even
prevent them from providing any protec­
tion .
-An improperly installed child restraint can interfere with the airbag as it de­
ploys and seriously injure or even kill the
child.
-Always carefully follow the manufactur­
er's instructions provided with the child
safety seat or carrier.
- After checking to make sure that the
child restraint is properly installed, make
certain that the child restraint is correct­ ly recognized by the capacitive passenger
detection system in the front passenger
seat and that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light signals the correct front pas­
senger frontal airbag status.
A WARNING
-Forward-facing child restraints:
- 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.
- Never put the forward-facing child re­
straint up, against or very near the in­
strument panel.
- 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 forward-facing child restraint. The
backrest must be adjusted to an upright
position.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the
time whenever the ignition is switched
on.

A WARNING ,~
Rearward-facing ch ild restraints:
-A chi ld in a rearward-facing child safety
seat installed on the front passenger
seat will be ser iously injured and can be
killed if the front airbag inflates -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
and child against the backrest, cente r
armrest, door or roo f.
- Always be especially caref ul if you must
install a rearwa rd fa cing child safety seat
on the front passenge r sea t in exception­
al circumstances .
- Make su re that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and s tays 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 rea r-facing chi ld safety
seat in a rear seating position and have
the a irbag system inspected by you r Audi
dealer.
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 install ing a chi ld re­
straint in your vehicle . To activate t he conver ­
tible locking retracto r:
.,. Place the child restraint on a seat, prefera­
bly on the rear sea t.
.,. Slow ly pull the be lt
all the way out .
.. Route it around or through the ch ild re­
st ra int be lt path ¢&, .
.,. Push the child safety seat dow n with your
f ull weight to ge t the safety belt really t ight.
.,. Insert the be lt tongue into the buckle for
that seating position .
Child Safet y 1 79
.,. Guide the sa fe ty be lt back into the retractor
until the be lt lies flat and sn ug on the child
safety seat .
.,. You shou ld hear a "clicking" noise as the
be lt winds back into the iner tia ree l. Test the
convert ible lock ing retractor by pulling on
the belt. You sho uld no lo nger be able to
pull the be lt out of the retracto r. T he con­
ver tible locking re trac to r i s now ac tiva ted .
.,. Mak e s ure t hat t he red release b utton is fac ­
ing away from the child rest rain t so t hat i t
can be unbuckled q uic kly .
.. Pull on the belt to make sure the safety be lt
is properly tight and fastened so that the
seat cannot move forward or sideways more
than one inch (2 .5 cm).
A WARNING
Using the wrong child restraint o r an im­
p roperly installed chi ld restraint can cause
serious pe rsonal injury or death in a crash.
- Always ma ke sure that the safe ty belt re-
tracto r is loc ked when insta lling a child
safety seat. An unlocked safety belt re­
tracto r can not hold the child safety seat
in place dur ing no rma l driving o r in a
cras h.
- Always buckle the child sa fe ty seat firmly
in place even i f a ch ild is not sitt ing in it.
A loose child safety seat can fly aroun d
during a sudden stop or in a crash .
- Always ma ke s ure the seat backrest to
which the child restraint is installed is in
an upright pos ition and securely latched
into place and can not fold forward . Oth­
erw ise, the seatback with the child safety
seat attached to it could fly forward in
the ev ent of an accident o r othe r emer­
gency situatio n.
- Always read a nd heed al l WAR NINGS
wheneve r us ing a child restrained in ave­
hicle is being used ¢
page 166. Special
pre cau tions apply whe n inst alling a child
safety sea t on the fron t passenger seat
¢ page 142, Child restraints on the front
seat -some important things to know.
-
•
•
•

restraint systems c> page 166, Child
Safety.
Tether anchors and tether straps
Fig. 14 1 Tether anchors: recess flaps behind th e rear
seatbacks
The tether anchors for the rear seating posi­
tions are located in recesses in the rear win­
dow shelf
c> fig. 141
A tether is a straight or V-shaped strap that
attaches the top part of a child restraint to
special anchorage points in the vehicle.
The purpose of the tether is to reduce the for­
ward movement of the child restraint in a
crash, in order to help reduce the risk of head
injury that could be caused by striking the ve­
h icle inter ior .
Forward facing child restraints manufactured
after September 1, 1999, are required by U.S.
federal regulations to comply with new ch ild
head movement performance requirements .
These new performance requirements make a
tether necessary on most new chi ld safety
seats.
A WARNING
Improper insta llation of chi ld res traints
w ill increase the risk of inju ry and death in
a c rash.
- Always follow the instructions p rov ided
by the manufacturer of the chi ld re ­
straint you intend to install in your Audi.
- Improper use o f ch ild restraint anchors
(incl uding tether anchors) can lead to in­
jury in a co llision. The anchors are de-
-
Child S afety 183
signed to withstand only those loads im­
posed by correctly fitted child restraints.
- Never mount two child restraint systems
on one LATCH lower anchor point.
- Never attach two child restraint systems
to one tether strap or tether anchorage.
- Never attach a tether strap to a tie -down
hook i n the Luggage compartment .
- Never use child rest raint tether ancho­
rages to secure safety belts or other
kinds of occupant restraints .
- Never secure or attach any luggage or
other items to the LATCH lower ancho­
rages or to the tether anchors.
- If you must insta ll 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 insta ll the rear-fac ing ch ild
safety seat i n a rear seating position and
have the airbag syste m in spected by your
Audi dea le r.
Installing the upper tether strap on the
anchorage
Fi g. 14 2 Tether strap: proper rout ing a nd mount ing
Installing the tether strap
.,.. Release or deploy the tether strap on the
child res traint accord ing to the child re­
straint manufacture r's instructions.
.,.. Guide the upper tether s trap
under the rear
head restr aint
c> fig. 142 (ra ise the head re­
s tr aint if necessa ry).
... Ti lt the recess flap up to expose the anchor
bracket .