2015 AUDI A3 Owners Manual

or the lower parts of the body. Front airbags
supp lement the three-point safety belts only
in some frontal collisions in which the vehicle
dece leration is high enough to deploy the air­
bags.
F ront airbag s will no t deplo y:
- if the ignition is switched off when a crash
occurs,
- in side collisions,
- in rear-end collisions,
- in rollovers,
- when the crash deceleration measured by
the a irbag system is less than the m inimum
threshold needed for airbag deployment as
registered by the electronic control unit.
The f ront pas seng er airbag al so will n ot
deploy:
- when the front passenger seat is not occu­
pied,
- when the electrical capac itance measured by
the capacitive passenger detect io n system
for the front passenger seat indicates that
the passenger side frontal airbag must be switched off by the electronic control unit
(the
P AS SENGER A IR BA G OFF light
c:> page 153 and how they work comes on
and stays on).
A WARNING
Sitting in the wrong position can increase
the risk of serious injury in crashes.
- To reduce the r isk of injury when the air­
bags inflate, the driver and passengers
must always sit in an upright posit ion,
must not lean against or place any part
of the ir body too close to the area where
the a irbags are located.
- Occupants who a re unbelted, out of posi­
t ion or too close to the airbag can be se­
riously injured by an airbag as it unfolds
with great force in the blink of an eye
c:> page
142 .
A WARNING
A child in a rearward-facing child seat in­
stalled on the front passenger seat will be
-
A irbag system 15 1
seriously injured and can be killed if the
front airbag inflates -even w ith an Ad­
vanced A irbag System.
- The inflating airbag will hit the ch ild seat
or infant carrier with great force and will
smash the child seat and child against
the backrest, center armrest, door or
roof.
- Always install rear-fac ing ch ild seats on
the rear seat.
- If you must install a rearward fac ing
child seat on the front passenger seat because of exceptional circumstances
and the
P A SSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, immed i­
ately insta ll the rear-fac ing child seat in a
rear seating position and have the airbag
system inspected by your A udi dealer.
A WARNING
r---------
O b j e cts between you and the airbag will
increase the risk of injury in a crash by in­
terfering with the way the airbag unfolds
or by be ing pushed into you as the airbag
inflates.
- Never hold things in your hands or on
your lap when the veh icle is in use.
- Never transport items on or in the area
of the front passenger seat. Objects
could move into the area of the front air­ bags during braking or other sudden ma­
neuvers and become dangerous projec­
tiles that can cause ser ious personal in­
jury if the a irbags inflate.
- Never p lace or attach accesso ries o r oth­
er objects (such as cup holders, te le­
phone b rac kets, large, heavy or bulky ob ­
jects) on the doors, over o r near the area
marked "AIRBAG" on the steering wheel,
instrument panel, seat backrests or be­
tween those areas and yourself . These
objects could cause injury in a crash, es­ pecially when the airbags inflate.
- Never recline the front passenger's seat
to transport objects. Items can also
move into the area of the s ide a irbag or
the front a irbag during braking or in a
•
•

152 Airbag sys te m
sudden maneuver. Objects near the
air bags can become projectiles and cause
injury, particularly when t he s eat is re­
cl in ed .
- Never place or trans port objects on the
front passenger seat. Obj ects on the
front passenger seat could cause the ca­
pacitive sensor in the seat to s ignal to
airbag system that the seat is occupied
by a person when it in fa ct is not, o r th at
the person on the sea t is he avie r than he
or she actually is. The change in electric
capacitance because of such objects can
cause the passenger front airbag to be
t u rned on when it sho uld be off, or can
cause the airbag to work in a way that is
different from the way it wou ld have
worked w ithout objects on the seat.
- Always make sure that there is nothing
on the front passenge r seat that will
cause the capaci tive passenger detection
system in the s eat to s ignal to the A irbag
System that the seat is occupied by a
person when it is not, or to sign al that it
is occupied by someone who is heavier
than the person actually sitting on the seat . The prese nce of an object co uld
cause the passenger front a irbag to be
t u rned on when it sho uld be off, or co uld
cause the airbag to work in a way that is
differe nt from the way it wou ld have
worked w it h out the object on the seat.
.&, WARNING
The fine dust created when a irbags deploy
can ca use b reathing problems for peop le
w ith a hi story of ast hma o r othe r brea th ­
ing conditions.
- T o redu ce the r is k of breathing p rob lems,
th ose w it h asthma or o ther resp iratory
condit ions shoul d ge t fresh a ir right
away by gett ing out of the vehicle o r
opening windows or doo rs .
- If you are in a coll is ion in which a irbags
dep loy, wash yo ur hands and face w ith
mild soap and water befo re eating. -
Be ca reful not to get the dust into your
eyes, or into any c uts or scratches.
- If the resid ue s hould get into your eyes,
f lush them w ith wate r.
Monitoring the
Advanced Airbag
System
tli Airbag monitor ing indicator light
Two separate indicators monitor the function
of the Advanced Airbag System: the airbag
monitoring indicator light and the
PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF
light.
The Advanced Airbag System as well as the
s ide airbags and side curta in a irbags w ith
eject ion mit igat ion features (including the
electron ic contro l unit, se nsors a nd system
wiring) are all mon itored continuously to
make su re that they are functioning p roperly
whenever the ignition is on. Eve ry time you
tu rn o n the ignition, the a irbag sys tem indica ­
tor light II will come on fo r a few seconds
(funct ion check) .
The system must be inspected when the
indicator light
II:
- does not come on when the igni tion is
sw itched on,
- does not go out a few seconds after you
have switched on the ignit ion, or
- comes on while driv ing .
If an airbag system malfunction is detected,
the indicator lig ht w ill first sta rt flashing to
catch t he d rive r's attent io n and the n stay on
conti nuously to serve as a constant rem inder
to have the sys tem inspected immed iate ly.
If a malfunction occurs that tu rns the front
airbag on the passenge r side off, the
PASSEN ­
GER AIR BAG OFF
light will come on and stay
o n wheneve r th e ign it io n is on.

_& 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, .,,.

154 Airbag sys te m
- and i f th e e lec trica l capacitance registered
on the front passenger seat is equal to or
l ess than t he combined capacitance of a ty p­
ical 1 year-old infant and one of the rear ­
ward-facing o r forward-facing child re­
stra ints listed in Federal Motor Ve hicle Safe ­
ty Standard 208 w ith whic h the Adva nce d
Airbag System in your vehicle was ce rtified .
If the front passenger seat is not occupied,
the front airbag will not deploy, and the
PAS ­
SENGER AIR BAG OFF
li ght w ill stay on . Nev­
e r i nsta ll a rearwa rd-fac ing ch ild restra int on
the front passenger seat, the safest place fo r
a child in any kind of child restraint is at o ne
of the seat ing positions on the rear seat
¢ page 142, Child restraints on the front seat
- some important things to know
and
¢ page 166, Child Safety .
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG light comes
on ...
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes
on when one of the cond itions listed above is
met , be sure to check the light regularly to
make certa in that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light stays on cont inuous ly whenever the
ignit io n is on . If t he
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
l ight does not appear on and does not
stay o n all the time, s top as soon as it is safe
to do so a nd
- react ivate the system by turning the ignition
off for more than 4 seconds and then tu rn­
i ng it on agai n;
- remove and re install the chi ld restraint.
Make su re that the child res traint is properly
insta lled and that the safety be lt fo r the
fron t passenger seat has been correct ly
ro uted throug h the child restrain t as descri ­
bed in t he chi ld restraint man ufact urer 's in­
structions;
- make sure that the convertible locking fea ­
ture on the safety be lt fo r the front passen ­
ger seat has been activated and that the
safety belt has been pulled tight.
- ma ke sure that no e lectrica l device (such as
a laptop, CD playe r, electronic games device,
power inverter or seat heater for child seats)
is p laced or used on the front passenger seat
if the dev ice is connected to the 12-volt
socket or the cigarette lighter soc ket;
- ma ke s ure that no seat heater has been ret ­
rofitted or otherwise added to the front pas­
senger seat;
- ma ke s ure that no thing can interfere with
the safety belt buck les an d that they are not
obstructed ;
- make sure that there are no wet objects (such as a wet towe l) and no water or other
liquids on the front passenger seat cushion.
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG light still
does not c ome on ...
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light still
does not come on and does not stay on con ­
t in uous ly (when the ignition is switched on),
- t ake the child restraint off the front passen -
ge r seat and install it proper ly at o ne of the
rear seat positions. Have the airbag system
inspected by yo ur Audi dealer immed iately.
- move the child to a rear seat position and
make sure t hat the c hil d is properly restra in­
ed in a c hild restra int that is appropriate for
its size and age .
The PASSENGER AIR BAG light should
NOT come on . ..
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light should
NOT come on when the ignit ion is on and an
adult is s itting in a proper seating position on
the front passenger seat. If t he
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light comes o n and s tays on o r
flashes fo r about S seconds w hile d riving, un ­
der these circumstances, make sure tha t:
- t he adult on the front passenge r sea t is
prope rly seated on the cente r of the seat
cushion wi th his o r her back up aga inst the
backrest and the backrest is no t re cli ned,
- t he adult is not tak ing we ight o ff the sea t by
holding on to the passenger assis t handle
above the front passenger door or s upport ­
ing their weight on the armrest ,
- t he sa fe ty belt is be ing properly wo rn and
t ha t the re is not a lot o f slack in the safety
be lt webbing,
- t here are no aftermar ket sea t covers or
cushions or other things (such as blankets) .,..

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,-