2015 AUDI A3 warning

_& WARNING
An airbag system that is not functioning
properly cannot provide supplemental pro­
tection in a frontal crash.
- If the airbag indicato r light¢
page 21
turns on when the vehicle is being used,
have the system inspected immediately
by you r auth o riz ed Aud i dea le r. It is pos­
sible that the airb ag will inf late when it
is not s upposed to, or w ill not inflate
when it sho uld .
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
Fig. 125 Center console: passenger a irbag off warnin g
light
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OF F light is located
in the center of the instrument panel
¢fig. 125.
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light will come
on and stay on to tell yo u when the front Ad­
vanced A irbag on t he passenger side has bee n
turned off by the e lectronic control unit. If the
bulb for the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
burns out, the a irbag indicator light
fl w ill
come on to signal a malfunction in the Ad­
vanced A irbag System . Although the bur ned­
out b ulb will not cha nge the way the front
passenger's frontal airbag wor ks, it w ill no
l onge r be possib le to use the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG
OFF light to make sure that the airbag
on/off stat us is correct for the occupant on
the front passenger seat. Have the airbag sys­
tem inspected immed iate ly by your author­
ized Audi dealer.
The PASSENGER AIR BAG O FF light will blink
for about 5 seconds when :
Airba g sy stem 153
- the ignition is sw itched on and
- t he capaci tive passenger detec tion system,
which switches the front seat passenger's
frontal Advanced Airbag on and off, detects a change in the status of the front passen­
ger seat.
As soon as the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light stops blink ing, a lways make sure that
the ai rbag status (on or off) as shown by the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light is proper for
the age, size and electrical capacitance of the
person occupying the front passenger seat.
Always make sure that the safety belt for the
front passenger seat is properly fastened.
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF l ight will
show the status of the front sea t passenger 's
fronta l Advan ced Airbag a fe w se conds after
th e ignition i s sw itched on and th e airbag in­
dicator light goes off. The PASSENGER AIR
BAG
OFF light :
- will stay on if the front passenger seat is not
occupied;
- will stay on if the electrical capacitance
meas ured by the capacitive passenge r de­
tect io n system for the fron t passenger s eat
equa ls the comb ined capacitance of an in­
fa nt up to about one year of age and one of
t he rearwa rd- facing or forward-fa cing ch ild
restraints listed in Fede ral Motor Vehicle
Safety Standard 208 with which the Ad­
vanced Airbag System in your vehicle was
cert ified; For a listing of the child restraints
that were used to certify your vehicle's com­
pliance w ith the U.S. Safety Standard
~page 168 .
-will go out if the fro nt passenge r seat is oc­
cupied by an adult as registered by the ca­
pacitive passenger detection system .
- The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light must
come on and stay on if the ignition is on
and ...
- a car bed has been installed on the front passenger seat, or
- a rearwa rd-facing child rest ra int has been
installed on the front passenger seat, or
- a forward-facing child restrai nt has been in-
stalled on the front passenger seat, .,,.

on the front passenger seat that might cause the capa citive passenger detecti on
system to miscalcu late electrical capac i­
tance .
Important safety instructions on
monitoring the Advanced Airbag System
A WARNING
-If the status of the Adv a need Airb ag Sys­
tem has changed while the vehicle is
moving, the
PA SS ENGER AIR B AG OFF
light b links for about S seconds to catch
t h e driv er's attent ion. If this happens, al­
ways stop as soon as it is safe to do so
and check the steps described above.
- If the
PAS SENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not go off when an adult who is not
very small is sitting on the front passen­ ger seat after taking the steps descr ibed
above, make sure the adult is properly
seated and restrained at one of the rear seating pos it ions. Have the a irbag sys­
tem inspected by your authorized Audi
dealer before transporting anyone on the
front passenger seat.
A WARNING
An airbag system that is not funct ioning
properly cannot provide supplemental pro­
tection in a frontal crash.
- If the airbag indicator light
c> page 21
turns on when the vehicle is being used,
have the system inspected immediately
by you r autho rized Aud i dea le r. It is pos­
sible that the a irbag will inf late when it
is not s upposed to, or w ill not inflate
when it sho uld.
A WARNING
If the front airbag infla tes, a ch ild witho ut
a c hild restraint , or in a rearwar d-fac ing
child safety seat, or in a forward-facing
child rest raint that has not been properly
installed will be serio usly injured and can
be killed.
-
A irbag system 15 5
-Even tho ugh you r vehicle is equipped
with an Advanced A irbag System, make
certain that all children, espec ia lly 12
yea rs and younger, always ride on the
back seat prope rly restrained for their
age and size .
- Always install forward or rear-facing
child seats on the rear seat -even with
an Advanced A irbag System.
- I f you must install a rearwa rd-facing
child seat on the front passenger seat because of ex ceptio nal circumstances
and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not appear and s tay on, immediate­
ly install the rear -facing child seat in a
rea r seating pos ition and have the airbag
system inspected by you r Audi dealer.
- If, in exceptiona l circumstances, you
m ust install a forward-facing ch ild re­
straint on the front passenger seat, al­
ways move the seat into its rearmost po­
sition in the seat's fore and aft adjust­
ment range, as fa r away from the a irbag
as poss ible. The backrest must be adjust­
ed to an upright pos ition. Make su re that
the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
comes on a nd stays on all the time when­
eve r the ignit ion is switched on .
A WARNING
=
- If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not go out when an a dult is sitting
on the front passenger seat after taking
the steps described above, make sure the
adu lt is properly seated and restra ined at
one of the rea r seat ing pos itions.
- Have the airbag system inspected by
your Aud i dea ler before transporting
anyone on the front passenger seat.
(D Tips
If the capac itive passenger detection sys ­
tem determ ines that the front passenger
seat is empty, the fronta l airbag on the
passenger side will be turned off, and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light will stay
on.
•
•
•

156 Airbag system
Repair, care and disposal of the airbags
Parts of the airbag system are installed at
many different places on your Audi. Installing,
removing, servicing or repairing a part in an
area of the vehicle can damage a part of an
airbag system and prevent that system from
working properly in a collision.
There are some important things you have to know to make sure that the effectiveness of
the system will not be impaired and that dis­
carded components do not cause injury or pol­ lute the environment.
A WARNING
Improper care, servicing and repair proce­
dures can increase the risk of personal in­
jury and death by preventing an airbag from deploying when needed or deploying
an airbag unexpectedly:
- Never cover, obstruct, or change the
steering wheel horn pad or airbag cover
or the instrument panel or modify them
in any way.
- Never attach any objects such as cup
holders or telephone mountings to the
surfaces covering the airbag units.
- For cleaning the horn pad or instrument
panel, use only a soft, dry cloth or one
moistened with plain water. Solvents or
cleaners could damage the airbag cover
or change the stiffness or strength of the material so that the airbag cannot de­
ploy and protect properly.
- Never repair, adjust, or change any parts
of the airbag system.
- All work on the steering wheel, instru­
ment panel, front seats or electrical sys­
tem (including the installation of audio
equipment, cellular telephones and CB
radios, etc .) must be performed by a
qualified technician who has the training
and special equipment necessary.
- For any work on the airbag system, we
strongly recommend that you see your
authorized Audi dealer or qualified work­
shop. -
Never modify the front bumper or parts
of the vehicle body.
- Always make sure that the side airbag
can inflate without interference:
- Never install seat covers or replace­
ment upholstery over the front seat­
backs that have not been specifically
approved by Audi.
- Never use additional seat cushions that
cover the areas where the side airbags
inflate.
- Damage to the original seat covers or
to the seam in the area of the side air­
bag module must always be repaired
immediately by an authorized Audi
dealer.
- The airbag system can deploy only once.
After an airbag has been deployed, it must be replaced with new replacement
parts designed and approved especially
for your Audi model version. Replace­
ment of complete airbag systems or air­
bag components must be performed by
qualified workshops only . Make sure that
any airbag service action is entered in
your Audi Warranty
& Maintenance book­
let under
AIRBAG REPLACEMENT RE­
CORD.
- For safety reasons in severe accidents,
the alternator and starter are separated
from the vehicle battery with a pyrotech­ nic circuit interrupter.
- Work on the pyrotechnic circuit inter­
rupter must only be performed by a
qualified technicians who have the ex­ perience, information and special tools
necessary to perform the work safely.
- If the vehicle or the circuit interrupter
is scrapped, all applicable safety pre­
cautions must be followed.
@) For the sake of the environment
Undeployed airbag modules and preten­
sioners might be classified as Perchlorate
Material -special handling may apply, see

www.dtsc.ca.gov/hazardouswaste/per­chlorate. When the vehicle or parts of the
restraint system includ ing airbag modules
and safety belts with pretensioners are
scrapped, all applicable laws and regula­
tions must be observed. Your authorized
Audi dealer is familiar with these require­
ments and we recommend that you have
your dealer perform this serv ice for you.
Other things that can affect Advanced
Airbag performance
Changing the vehicle's suspension system can
change the way that the Advanced Airbag Sys­
tem performs in a crash. For example, using
tire-r im combinations not approved by Audi,
lowering the vehicle, changing the stiffness of
the suspension, including the springs, suspen­
sion struts, shock absorbers etc. can change
the forces that are measured by the airbag sensors and sent to the electron ic control
unit. Some suspension changes can, for exam­
ple, increase the force levels measured by the
sensors and make the airbag system deploy in
crashes in which it would not deploy if the
changes had not been made. Other kinds of
changes may reduce the force levels meas­
ured by the sensors and prevent the airbag
from deploying when it should .
The sensors in the safety belt buckle for the
driver and front passenger seat tell the elec­
tronic control module if the safety belt is
latched or not.
It is important that nothing in­
terfere with the safety belt buckles so that
the sensors can send the correct information
about safety belt use to the electronic control
unit.
_& WARNING
Changing the vehicle's suspension includ­
ing use of unapproved tire-rim combina­
tions can change Advanced Airbag per­
formance and increase the risk of serious personal injury in a crash.
- Never install suspension components
that do not have the same performance
Airbag system 157
characteristics as the components origi­
nally installed on your vehicle.
- Never use tire-rim combinations that
have not been approved by Audi.
Knee airbags
Description of knee airbags
App lies to vehicles: wi th knee airbags
The knee airbag system can provide supple­
mental protection to properly restrained
front seat occupants.
Fig. 126 Driver 's kn ee airbag
The dr iver knee airbag is in the instrument
panel underneath the steering wheel
~ fig. 126, the airbag for the passenger is at
about the same height in the instrument pan­
el underneath the glove compartment.
The knee airbag offers additional protection
to the driver's and passenger's knees and up ­
per and lower thigh areas and supplements
the protection provided by the safety belts.
If the front airbags deploy, the knee airbags
also dep loy in frontal collisions when the de­
ployment threshold stored in the control unit
is met
q page 150, More important things to
know about front airbags.
In addition to their normal safety function,
safety belts help keep the driver or front pas­
senger in position in a frontal collision so that
the airbags can provide supplemental protec­
tion.
The airbag system is not a substitute for your
safety belt. Rather, it is part of the overall oc­
cupant restraint system in your vehicle. Al­
ways remember that the airbag system can

158 Airbag system
on ly help to protect yo u if you are wea ring
your safety belt and wearing it properly. This
i s why you sh ou ld always wear your safety
be lt, not just because the law requires you to
do soc;,
page 131, General notes.
The safety belt buck le for the driver and front
seat passenger have switches that tell the a ir ­
bag control module if the safety belt is being
used or not.
Remember too, airbags will deploy only once
and on ly in certain kinds of accidents -your
safety belts are always there to offer protec­
tion in those acc idents in which airbags are
not supposed to deploy or when they have a l­
ready deployed, fo r example whe n your vehi­
cle strikes o r is str uck by another after the
fi rs t coll is ion.
This is just one of the reasons why an a irbag is
not a substitute for the safety belt. The airbag
sys tem works most effective ly when used with
the safety bel ts. Therefore, always wear your
safety bel ts correctly .
It is important to remember that whi le the
supp lemental knee a irbag system is designed
to redu ce the like lihood of serious injur ies,
o ther i njuries , fo r example , swell ing, bruising
and minor abras ions and frict ion burns ca n al­
so occur when an airbag inflates.
The knee airbag system basically consists
of:
- T he electronic control mod ule
- T wo inflatab le airbags (airbag and gas gen-
erato r), o ne for the dr iver an d one for the
fron t passenger
- T he airb ag ind ic a tor light in the instrument
pane l
The knee airbag system will not deploy:
-when the ign ition is switc hed off
- in frontal collis ions when the decelerat ion
measured by the control unit is too low
- in side collisions
- in rear-end collisions
- in ro llovers -
in the event of a system malfunction (warn ­
ing/indicator light is on)¢
page 21 .
.&_ WARNING
--
-Safety belts and the airbag system can
only provide protection when occupants
are in the proper seating position
c;,page 150.
-If the airbag indicator light ¢page 21
turns on when the veh icle is be ing used,
have the system inspected immediately
by your authorized A udi dealer. It is pos­
sib le that the airbag will in flate when it
is not supposed to, or will not infla te
when i t should.
How knee airbags work
App lies to vehicles: with knee airbags
The risk of injury to the l eg area can be re­
duced by fully infla ted knee airbags .
Fig. 1 27 Inf lated airbags protect ing in a frontal colli­
s io n
The knee airbag system has been des igned so
that th e airbags for the driv er and front pas­
senger deploy in certa in but not all frontal
c ollisions.
If the front a irbags dep loy, the k nee a irbags
also dep loy in frontal col lis ions when the de­
ployment th reshold stored in the control un it
is me t.
When the system deploys, the a irbags fill
with a comp ressed prop ellant gas, and inflate
betwee n the lower pa rt of the inst rument
pane l and the driver and the lowe r part of the
inst rumen t panel an d the front p assenger
c;, page 150, fig. 1 24 . IJ,-

Although they a re not a soft pillow, they can
"cushion" the impact and in this way they can he lp to reduce the r isk of injury to the lower
extremities.
All of this takes place in the blink of an eye, so
fast that many people don't even realize that
the airbags have deployed. The a irbags also
inflate with a great deal of force and it is im­
portant for occupant safety that noth ing
should be in their way when they deploy .
Fu lly inflated airbags in comb ination with
properly worn safety belts slow down and lim­
it the occupant's forward movement and help
to reduce the r isk of injury .
Important safety instructions on the
knee airbag system
Appl ies to vehicles : wit h kn ee a irbags
Airbags are only supplemental restraints . Al­
ways wear safety belts correctly and ride in a
proper seating position.
There is a lot that you and your passengers
must know and do to help the safety belts and
ai rbags to provide supp lemental protection .
A WARNING
An inflating knee airbag can cause ser ious
injury. Wear ing safe ty belts inco rrec tly and
improper seating posi tions increase the
risk o f serious personal injury and death
whenever a veh icle is being used .
- The knee airbag system cannot protect yo u properly if you are seated too close
to any o f the airbag locations. When ad­
just ing their seat positions, it is impor­
tant that both the drive r and the front
passenger keep their upper bodies and
knees at the follow ing min imum safe
distances:
- at least 10 inches (25 cm) between the
chest and the steering wheel/instr u­
ment panel.
- at least 4 inches (10 cm) between the
knees and the lower part of the inst ru­
ment panel.
A irbag system 159
-The risk of personal in jury increases if
you lean forward or to the s ide, or if the
seat is improperly positioned and you are
not wearing you r safety belt . The risk in­
creases even more should the ai rbag de­
ploy .
- Always make sure that the knee a irbag
can inflate without inte rfe rence . Objects
between you and the airbag can inc rease
the risk of inj ury in an ac cident by inte r­
fering w ith the w ay the a irb ag deploys or
by being p ushed into you as the airbag
deploys.
- Never let anybody, especia lly children
o r anima ls ride in the footwell in front
of the passenge r seat . If the airbag de­
ploys, th is can result in serious o r fa tal
i njur ies.
- Never carry objects of any kind in the
footwell area in front of the dr iver's or
pas senger 's sea t. Bulky objects (shop­
p ing bags, fo r example) can interfe re
with o r prevent proper deployment of
the ai rbag . Small objects can be
thrown thro ugh the veh icle if the air­
bag deploys and injure yo u or your pas­
sengers.
- Make sure there are no cracks, deep scratches or other damage in the area of
the instrument panel where the knee air­
bags are located .
- If ch ildren are incorrectly seated, their
risk of injury increases in a collision
~ page 166, Child Safety .
•
•
•

160 Airbag system
Side airbags
Description of side airbags
The airbag system can provide supplemental
protection to properly restrained occupants .
Fig. 128 Side a irbag locat ion in the dr iver 's seat
The sid e airbags are located in the sides of the
front seat backrests ¢
fig. 128 and the rear
backrest facing the doors.
The side airbags installed for the front seating
positions have been designed and certified to
help reduce the risk of injury that can be
caused by airbags when they inflate, particu­
larly when the occupant sitting next to it is
not seated properly. The side airbag for the
front passenger seat can be used with proper­ ly installed child restraints. Please be sure to
read the important information and warnings
whenever us ing a child restraint in a vehicle :
Safety belts
c::>page 131, Airbag system
c::>
page 140, Child safety ¢ page 166.
The side airbag system basically consists of:
-the electronic control module and external
side impact sensors
- the two airbags located in the sides of the
front backrests and the two airbags* located
in the rear backrest
- the airbag warning light in the instrument
cluster.
The airbag system is monitored electronically
to make certain that it is functioning properly
at all times. Each time you switch on the igni­
tion, the airbag system indicator light will
come on for a few seconds (self diagnostics) .
The side airbag system supplements the safe­
ty belts and can help to reduce the risk of in- jury
to the driver's, front and rear passenger's
upper torso on the side of the vehicle that is
struck in a s ide collision. The airbag dep loys
only in side impacts and only when the vehicle
accelerat ion reg istered by the control unit is
high enough. If th is rate is be low the refer ­
ence value p rogrammed into the control unit,
the side airbags will not be triggered, even
though the car may be badly damaged as a re­
sult of the collision.
It is not possible to de­
fine an airbag triggering range that will cover
every possible angle of impact, since the cir ­
cumstances will vary considerably between
one collis ion and another. Important factors
include, for example, the nature (hard or soft)
of the impacting object , the angle of impact,
vehicle speed, etc.¢
page 161, Important
safety instructions on the side airbag system .
Aside from their normal safety function, safe­
ty belts work to help keep the driver or front
passenger in position in the event of a side
collision so that the side airbags ca n provide
protection.
The airbag system is
not a substitute for your
safety belt. Rather, it is part of the overall oc ­
cupant restraint system in your vehicle. Al­
ways remember that the side ai rbag system
can only help to prote ct you if you are wearing
yo ur safe ty belt and wearing it properly. This
is another reason why you should always wear
your safety belts, not just because t he law re­
quires yo u to do soc::>
page 131, General
notes.
It i s important to remember that while the
supplementa l side airbag system is designed
to reduce the likelihood of serious injuries,
other injuries, for example, swelling, bru is ing,
friction burns and m inor abrasions can a lso be
associated w ith deployed side airbags . Re­
member too, side a irbags w ill deploy only
once and only in ce rtain kinds of accidents -
you r safety belts are always the re to offer pro­
tection.
Vehicle damage, repair costs or even the lack
of vehicle damage are not necessarily an indi ­
cation of over-sensitive or failed airbag activa-
tion. In some coll isions, both front and side
lill>

airbags may inflate. Remember too, that air ­
bags will dep loy only once and only in certain
kinds of collisions -your safety belts are al ­
ways there to offer protect ion in those acci­
dents in whic h airbags are not supposed to
deploy or when they have already deployed .
The side airbag sy ste m will not depl oy :
- when the ignition is switched off
- in side collisions when the acce leration
measured by the sensor is too low
- in front -end co llisions
- in rear-end collisions
- i n ro llovers .
In some types of acc idents the front airbags,
side curtain a irbags and side airbags may be
tr iggered together .
A WARNING
-Safety belts and the a irbag sys tem will
only p rov ide p rotection when oc cupants
are in the proper sea ting posit ion
~page 161.
-If the airbag indica tor ligh t¢ page 21
turns on when the vehicle is being used,
have the system inspected immediately
by your a uthorized Audi dea ler .
It is pos­
sible that the a irbag will inf late when it
is not supposed to, or wi ll not inflate
when it should.
How supplemental side airbags work
Side airbags deploy instantly and can help re­
duce the risk of upper torso injuries for occu ­
pants who are properly restrained.
Fi g. 12 9 Side impact p rotection: inflated s ide a irbags
A irba g system 161
When the system is triggered, t he a irbag is
filled with propellant gas and breaks through
a seam in the seat surface area marked "AIR ­
BAG". It expands between the side trim panel
and the passenger. In order to help provide
this add itiona l protect io n, the side airbag
must inflate with in a fraction of a second at
very high speed and with great force. The sup­
plementa l side airbag could injure you if your
seat ing pos ition is not proper or up right o r if
items are located in the area where the sup­
plementa l side airbag expands. This applies
especially to chi ldren
9 page 166, Child Safe­
ty.
Supplementa l side airbags inflate between
the occ upant and the door panel on the side
of the vehicle that is struck in certain side col­ l is ion¢
fig . 129 .
Although they are not a soft pi llow, they can
"cushion" the impact and in this way they can
help to reduce the risk of injury to the upper
part of the body.
A f ine dust may deve lop when the airbag de­
ploys . This is normal and does not mean there
is a fire in the vehicle.
Important safety instructions on the
side airbag system
Airbags are only supplemental restraints . Al­
ways properly wear safety belts and ride in a
proper seating position.
There is a lot that you a nd your passengers
must know and act accord ingly to help the
safety be lts and airbags do their job to pro­
v ide s upplementa l pro tect ion.
A WARNING
A n inflat ing si de a irbag can cause serious
or fata l injury. Improperly wearing safety
belts and improper seat ing pos itions in ­
crease the risk of serious personal injury
and death whenever a vehicle is being
used.
- In order to reduce the risk of inju ry when
the supplementa l side airbag inflates: .,_