2015 AUDI A3 Owners Manual

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 .
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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: .,_

162 Airbag system
-Always sit in an upright position and
never lean against the area where the
supplemental side airbag is located.
- Never let a child or anyone else rest
their head against the side trim panel
in the area where the supplemental
side airbag inflates.
- Always make sure that safety belts are
worn correctly,
- Do not let anyone sitting in the front
seat put their hand or any other parts
of their body out of the window.
- 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
deploy.
- 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.
- Objects between you and the airbag can
increase the risk of injury in an accident
by interfering with the way the airbag
unfolds or by being pushed into you as
the airbag inflates .
- Never place or attach accessories or
other objects (such as cup holders, tel­
ephone brackets, or even large, bulky
objects) on the doors, over or near the
area marked "AIRBAG" on the seat backrests.
- Such objects and accessories can be­
come dangerous projectiles and cause
injury when the supplemental side air­
bag deploys.
- Never carry any objects or pets in the
deployment space between them and
the airbags or allow children or other passengers to travel in this position.
- Always use the built-in coat hooks only
for lightweight clothing . Never leave any
heavy or sharp-edged objects in the pockets that may interfere with side air­
bag deployment and can cause personal
injury in an accident.
- Always prevent the side airbags from be­
ing damaged by heavy objects knocking
against or hitting the sides of the seat­
backs.
- The airbag system can only be triggered
once . If the airbag has been triggered,
the system must be replaced by an au­
thorized Audi dealership.
- Damage (cracks, deep scratches etc .) to
the original seat covers or to the seam in
the area of the side airbag module must
always be repaired immediately by an au­
thorized Audi dealer.
- If children are seated improperly, their
risk of injury increases in the case of an
accident
¢ page 166, Child Safety.
-Never attempt to modify any compo­
nents of the airbag system in any way.
- In a side collision, side airbags will not
function properly if sensors cannot cor­
rectly measure increasing air pressure in­
side the doors when air escapes through
larger, unclosed openings in the door
panel.
- Never drive with interior door trim pan­
els removed .
- Never drive when parts have been re­ moved from the inside door panel and
the openings they leave have not been properly closed.
- Never drive when loudspeakers in the
doors have been removed unless the
speaker holes have been properly
closed.
- Always make certain that openings are
covered or filled if additional speakers
or other equipment is installed in the
inside door panels.
- Always have work on the doors done by
an authorized Audi dealer or qualified
workshop.

Side curtain airbags
Description of side curtain airbags
The side curtain airbag system can provide
supplemental protection to properly restrain ­
ed occupants .
Fig. 130 Side cu rt ain airbags , d ri ver 's side : side curtain
air bag lo cat ion
The s ide cur tain airbags a re located on both
sides of the inte rior above the front and rear
side w indows ¢
fig. 130. They are ident ified
by the word "AIRBAG" on t he windshie ld
frame and the center roof pi llar.
The s ide cur tain airbags contain features that
prov ide e jection m itigation to he lp prevent ve­
h icle occupants or parts of their bodies from
being completely or partially ejected from the
ve hicle interior in certain side impacts and ve­
h icle rollovers.
The side curtain airbag system supp lements
the safety belts and can help to reduce the risk of injury for occupants ' heads and upper
t orso on the side of the vehicle that is struck
in a side collision . The side curta in a irbag in ­
flates in s ide impacts and on ly when the veh i­
cle acce le rat ion reg istered by the contro l uni t
i s hig h enoug h. If th is rate is below the refe r­
e n ce value programmed into the con trol un it,
the side c urtain airbag will not be triggered,
even though the car may be badly damaged as
a result of the collision . It is not possible to
define an airbag triggering range that will
cover every possible angle of impact, since the
circumstances will vary considerably betwee n
one collision and another . Important factors
include, for examp le, the nature (hard or soft)
of the impacting object, the angle of impact ,
Airba g sy stem 163
vehicle speed, etc. ¢ page 164, How side cur ­
tain airbags work.
As ide from their normal safe ty fun ction, safe­
ty be lts wo rk to help keep the driver o r fron t
passenger in position in the event o f a colli ­
sion so that the side curtain airbags can pro­
vide protection .
T he airbag system is no t a subs tit ute for your
sa fety belt. Rather, it is part of the overa ll oc­
cupant restraint system in your veh icle . A l­
ways remember that the a irbag system can
o nl y he lp to protect you if you are wearing
your safety belt and wearing it properly . This
is another reason why you should always wear
you r safety be lts, not just because t he law re­
quires you to do so ¢
page 131, General
notes.
It is important to remember that w hile the
s ide curtain airbag system is designed to help
r educ e the likelihood of ser ious injuries, othe r
injur ies, for example, swelling, bru is ing, fric­
t ion burns and minor ab ras ions c an also be as ­
sociated w ith these airbags upo n deploymen t.
Remember too, these air bags will deploy only
once and only in ce rtain kinds of accidents -
your safety be lts are a lways there to offer pro ­
tection .
The side curtain airbag system basically
consist s of:
- The e lectronic control module and external
side impact sensors
- The side curtain airbags above the front and
rear side windows w ith ejection mitigation
features
- The a irbag indicator light in the instrument
panel
The a irbag system is monitored e lec tronically
to make certain it is functioning properly at all
times. Each time you sw itch on the ign ition,
the airbag system indicator light will come on
for a few seconds (self diagnostics) .
The si de curtain airbag i s not activated:
- if the ignition is sw itched off,
- in side co llisions whe n the a cceleration
meas ured by the sensor is too low ,

164 Airbag system
-in rear-end collisions .
~ WARNING
-Safety belts and the a.irbag system wi ll
only provide protection when occupants
are in the proper seating posit ion
q page 53, Front seats.
- If the airbag indicator light q page 21
turns on when the vehicle is being used,
have the system inspected immediately
by your authorized Aud i dealer . It is pos­
sible that the airbag will inflate when it
is not supposed to, or w ill not inflate
when it should.
How side curtain airbags work
Side curtain airbags can work together with
side airbags to help reduce the risk of head
and upper torso injuries for occupants who
are properly restrained.
-
Fig. 131 Illustrat ion of p rinciple: Inf lated side cu rta in
airbags on the left side
The s ide curtain airbags inflate between the
occupant and the windows on the side of the
vehicle that is struck in a side collision
qfig. 131.
When the system is triggered, the side curtain
airbag is filled with propellant gas and breaks
through a seam above the front and rear side
windows identified by the AIRBAG label. In or­
der to help provide this additional protection,
the side curtain airbag must inflate within the
blink of an eye at very high speed and w ith
g reat force. The side curtain airbag could in­
jure you if your seat ing position is not proper
or upright or if items are located in the area
where the supplementa l side curtain airbag inflates
. This applies especially to chi ldren
qpage 166.
Although they are not a soft pillow, side cur­
tain airbags can "cushion" the impact and in
this way they can help to reduce the risk of in­
jury to the head and the upper part of the
body.
A fine dust may develop when the airbag de­
ploys. This is quite normal and does not mean
there is a fire in the vehicle.
Important safety instructions on the
side curtain 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 and your passengers
must know and do to help the safety belts and
airbags do their job to provide supplemental
protection .
A WARNING
Improperly wea ring safety belts and im­
proper seating pos it ion s increase the risk
of serious personal injury and death when­
ever a vehicle is being used.
- Never let occupants place any parts of
their bodies in the area from which the
side curtain airbag inflate.
- Always make sure that the sid e curtain
airbags can inflate without interference.
- Use the bu ilt-in coat hooks only for light­
weight clothing. Never leave any heavy or
sharp-edged objects in the pockets that
may interfere with airbag deployment
and can cause personal injury in a colli­
sion.
- Never use hangers to hang clothes on
the hooks .
- Only use factory -installed sun shades or,
if shades installed after the vehicle
leaves the factory, use only genuine Audi
sun shades.
- Never swing the sun visors over to the
side windows if things such as pens, ga­
rage door openers, hands-free speakers,
-

etc. are attached to the sun visors. They
cou ld come loose and cause serious in­
jury if the side curtain airbag inflates.
- A deploying airbag inflates in a fraction
of a second and with great force .
- Never attach objects to the cover or in
the deployment zone of a side c urtain
airbag .
- The airbag dep loyment zones must be
kept clear at all t imes. Make sure there
are no objects, pets , or other persons in
the space between any vehicle occupant
and any airbag at any time.
- Do not attach any accessor ies to the
doors.
A WARNING
- The airbag system can deploy only once .
If the airbag has been trigge red, the sys­
tem must be replaced by a n author ized
Audi dealer or qua lified workshop.
- Always have work involving the side cur­
tain a irbag sys tem, remova l and installa­
tio n of the a irbag compo nents, o r other
repai rs performed by a qualifie d dealer­
ship . Othe rwise the airbag system may
not work correctly.
- Never a ttempt to modify any compo ­
nents of the air bag system in any way .
Airbag system 165
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166 Child Saf ety
Child Safety
Important things to
know
Introduction
The rear seat is generally the safest place in a
collision.
The physical principles of what happens when
your veh icle is in a crash app ly also to chi ldren
~ page 132, What happens to occupants not
wearing safety belts?.
But unlike adults and
teenagers, their muscles and bones are not
fu lly developed. In many respects children are
at greater risk of serious injury in crashes than
adults.
Because children's bodies are not fully deve l­
oped, they require restraint systems especial­
ly designed for their size, weight, and body
structure. Many countries and all states of the
United States and provinces of Canada have
laws requiring the use of approved child re­
straint systems for infants and small ch ildren.
In a fronta l crash at a speed of 20 -35 mph
(30-56 km/h) the forces acting on a 13-pound
(6 kg) infant w ill be more than 20 t imes the
weight of the child. This means the weight of
the child would suddenly be more than 260 pounds (120 kg). Under these conditions,
only an appropriate ch ild restraint properly
used can reduce the risk of ser ious injury.
Child restraints, like adult safety belts, must
be used properly to be effective. Used improp­
erly, they can increase the risk of serious in­
jury in an accident.
Consult the child safety seat manufacturer's instructions in order to be sure the seat is
right for your ch ild's size ~
page 170, Impor­
tant safety instructions for using child safety
seats.
Please be sure to read and heed all of
the important information and WARNINGS
about child safety, Advanced A irbags, and the
installation of child restraints in this chapter .
There is a lot you need to know about the Ad­
vanced Airbags in your vehicle and how they
work when infants and children in child re- straints are on the front passenger seat
. Be­
cause of the large amount of important infor­
mation, we cannot repeat it all here . We urge
you to read the detailed information in this
owner's manual about airbags and the Ad­
vanced Airbag System in your vehicle and the
very important information about transport­
ing children on the front passenger seat.
Please be sure to heed the WARNINGS -they
are extremely important for your safety and
the safety of your passengers, especially in­
fants and small children.
A WARNING
-Accident statistics have shown that chil­
dren are generally safer in the rear seat
area than in the front seating position.
Always restrain any child age 12 and un­
der in the rear.
- All vehicle occupants and especially chil­
dren must be restrained properly when­
ever riding in a vehicle. An unrestrained
or improperly restrained chi ld could be
injured by str iking the i nterior or by be­
ing ejected from the vehicle during a
sudden maneuver or impact. An unre­
strained or improperly restrained chi ld is
also at greater risk of injury or death
through contact with an inflating airbag.
- A suitable chi ld restraint properly instal ­
led and used at one of the rear seating positions provides the highest degree of
protection for infants and small children
in most accident situations.
A WARNING ,_
Children on the front seat of any car even
with Advanced Airbags can be ser iously in­
jured or even killed when an airbag in­
flates. A child in a rearward-facing child
safety seat installed on the front passen­
ger seat will be seriously injured and can
be killed if the front 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, or door.
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