2015 AUDI A3 airbag

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 .

184 Child Saf ety
• Attach the te ther strap anchorage hook into
the ope ning of the tether anchorage .
• Pull on the tether strap hook so that the
spring catch of the hook engages.
• Tighten the tether strap firmly following the
child restra int manufacturer's instruct ions .
Rele asing the tethe r strap
• Loosen the tension following the child re­
straint manufacturer's instructions.
• Depress the spring catch on the hook and re­
lease it from the anchorage.
({D Note
If you leave the child restraint with the
tether strap firmly installed for several
days, this cou ld leave a mark on the up­
holstery on the seat c ushion and backrest
in the area whe re the te ther strap was in­
s talled. The upholstery wo uld a lso be per­
manently stretched around the tether
s t rap. This applies especially to leather
seats .
Using tether straps on rearward-facing
child restraints
Currently, few rear-facing child restraint sys­
tems come with a tether . P lease read and
h eed the child rest raint system manufactur­
e r's instructions carefully to determ ine how to
p rope rly insta ll the tethe r.
_& WARNING
A child in a re ar ward-f acing child sa fety
seat insta lled on the front passenger seat
w ill be seriously injured and can be ki lled if
the front ai rbag inflates -even wit h an A d­
vanced Airbag System.
- The inflating a irbag wi ll hit the child
sa fety seat or infant carrier wit h great
force and w ill smash the ch ild safety seat
and child against the backrest, center
armrest, or door.
- If you must install a rearward facing
child safety seat on the front passenger
sea t because of exceptional circ umstan­
ces and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on and stay on, im­
mediately install the rear-fac ing ch ild
safety seat in a rear seating position and have the airbag system inspected by your
Aud i deale r.
Additional Information
Sources of information about child
restraints and their use
There are a number of sources of add itiona l
information about child restra int selection, in­
stallation and use:
NHTSA advises that the best chi ld safety seat
is the one that fits your ch ild and f its in your
vehicle, and that yo u will use correct ly and
consistently .
Try before yo u buy!
U.S National Highwa y Traffi c Safety Admin ­
istration
Tel.: 1 -888-327-4236 (TIY: 1-800-424-9153)
www. n htsa .gov
National SAFE KIDS Campa ign
T el.: (20 2) 66 2-0600
www.safekids.o rg
Safet y BeltSafe U.S .A
T el.: (80 0) 745 -SAFE (English)
T el.: (800) 74 7-SANO (Span is h )
www.carseat.org
Tran sport Canada Information Centre
Tel.: 1-800-333-0371 or ca ll
1 -6 13 -99 8-86 16 if yo u are in the Ottawa a rea
http ://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/roadsafety/
men u.htm
Audi Customer Relation s
Tel.: (800) 82 2-2834

Smart Technology Notice about data
recorded by vehicle
control modules
Your veh icle is not equipped with an Event Da­
ta Recorde r (EO R), installed by some manu­
facture rs fo r the express purpose o f capturing
data for retr ieval after an accident or cras h
event . EDR's a re sometimes called "crash re ­
corders".
Some state laws res trict the retr ieval or down ­
l oadi ng of data stored by E DR's that were in ­
stalled in a veh icle for the exp ress purpose of
retrieving data after an accide nt or crash
event w ithout the owner's consent.
A lthough yo ur vehicle is no t equ ipped w it h an
EDR, it is equipped with a number of elect ron­
ic control modules fo r various vehicle systems
such as, for examp le, eng ine f unction, em is­
sion control, as well as for the airbags and
safety belt s.
These electronic contro l modules also record
veh icle -re lated data dur ing no rma l veh icle op­
erat ion for d iagnostic and repa ir purposes .
T he recording capacity of the electronic con­
trol modules is limited to data (no sound is re ­
corded) and only a small amount of data is ac­
tually recorded ove r a ve ry limited pe riod of
time and stored when a sys tem faul t or o ther
condition is se nse d by a cont rol u nit. Some o f
the data then stored may re la te to vehicle
speed, dir ect io n, bra king as we ll as restra int
system use and perfo rmance in the event of a
crash or other condit ion. Stored data can only
be read and downloaded w ith special equip­
ment.
Electronic stabilization
control (ESC)
Description
The ESC reinforces driver safety. It reduces
the r isk of slipp ing and improves driving sta ­
b ili ty . E SC detects cr itical s it u ations such as
the veh icle ove rsteer ing and understee ring or
Smart Technolog y 185
th e wheels a re sp inning . The vehicle is stabi ­
li zed by applying the brakes or red ucing en­
gine torq ue. Once the ESC is act ive ly reg ulat­
ing, the
G) i ndicato r light b links in the instru­
ment cluster.
The anti-lock braking system (ABS), brake as­ s ist system, ant i-slip regu lation (ASR), e lec­
tron ic different ia l loc k (EDU, electron ic differ ­
ential lock* (front wheel drive) and se lective
whee l to rque control* (a ll whee l drive) are in­
teg rated in the ESC. The ESC suppo rts the sta­
bilization of the vehicle th rough a change in
t h e s teer ing torq ue.
Anti-lock braking system (ABS)
ABS prevents the whee ls from locking when
braking . The vehicle ca n still be steered even
dur ing ha rd braking. App ly steady pressure to
the b rake peda l. Do not pump the p edal. A
puls ing in the bra ke peda l indicates t hat the
system is acting to st abil ize the ve hicle.
Brake assist system
The brake ass ist system can decrease braking
dis tance. It increases bra king power when the
drive r presses the bra ke peda l quickly in emer­
gency s ituations. Yo u m ust pres s and hol d the
brake pedal unt il the dangerous s it u at ion is
ove r. In vehicles with adap tive c ruise control *,
the b rake assist system is more sensitive if the
distance detected to the vehicle ahead is too
small.
Anti-slip regulation (ASR )
ASR reduces eng ine power when the drive
whee ls beg in spi nning and adapts the fo rce to
the road conditions . This makes it easier to
start, accelerate and dr ive up inclines.
Electronic differential lock (EDL)
The EDL bra kes whee ls tha t a re sp inning and
trans fers the dr ive power to the othe r drive
whee l or w heels if the vehicle is equ ip ped with
a ll w heel d rive*) . This function is availab le up
to approximately 62 mph (100 km/h).
I n extreme cases, EDL au toma tically sw itches
off to keep t he b rake on the bra ked wheel
from overheat ing. The ve hicle is still working .,..
•
•
•

220 Checking and Filling
Battery
General information
Under normal operating conditions, the bat­
tery in your Audi does not need any mainte­
nance. With
high outs ide temperatu res or
long daily drives we recommend that you have
the electro lyte level checked by a service fa­
cility. The e lectrolyte level shou ld also be
checked each time the battery is charged
c:>page222.
Have the battery checked when you take your
vehicle in for service. You are well advised to replace a battery that is older than 5 years.
With certain types o f airbag deployment, the
battery is disconnected from the vehicle elec ­
trica l system for safety reasons
c;, .&. in Re­
pair , care and disposal of the airbags on
page 156.
Disconnecting the battery terminals
Some vehicle functions such as power win­
dows are unavai lable if the battery termina ls
are d isconnected. These functions have to be
relearned after the battery terminals are con­
nected again. To prevent this, the battery
should only be disconnected from the vehicle
electrical system when absolutely necessary
for repairs .
To reprogram the functions, proceed as fol­ lows:
Function Reprogramming
Power window one-c;, page 40, Correcting
touch up/down power window mal-
function functions
Remote control key If the vehicle does not
or react to the key, it
convenience key must be synchroni zed
c:>page 33
Digital clock c:>page 10
ESC indicator light The indicator light
goes out after driving
a few meters
Vehicles not driven for long periods
If you do not drive your vehicle over a period
of severa l days or weeks, e lectrica l compo­
nents are gradually sca led back or switched
off. This reduces energy consumption and
maintains starting capability over a longer pe­
riod
c;, page 190. Some of the conven ience
functions may not operate, such as the interi­
or lights or power seat adjustment. The con ­
venience functions will be availab le aga in
when you switch on the ignition and start the
engine.
Winter operation
During the winter months, battery capacity
tends to decrease as temperatures drop. This
is because more power is also consumed wh ile
sta rting, and the headlights, rear window de­
fogger, etc. , are used more often.
Avoid unnecessary power consumpt ion, par­
ticularly in city traffic or when traveling only
short distances. Let your authorized Aud i
dealer check the capacity of the vehicle bat­
tery before winter sets in ~ page 222. A well
charged battery will not on ly prevent starting
problems when the weather is cold, but will
also last longer.
A WARNING -
-Work on the battery requ ires expert
know ledge. Contact your authorized Audi
dealer qualified repair facility for infor­
mat ion regarding the vehicle battery.
There is a risk for chemical burns or ex­
p losions.
- Never open the vehicle batte ry . Do not
try to change the battery electrolyte lev­
el. Otherwise explosive gas will escape
from the battery and increase the risk of
an explosion .
(i) Tips
If your vehicle is left standing for several
weeks at extremely low temperatures, the
vehicle battery should be removed and
stored where it w ill not freeze. This will ..,.

256 Fuses and bulbs
Interior fuse assignment
No. Equipment Ampere
F14
Climate control system
30 blower
F15
Electronic steering column
10 lock
F16 MMI area 7.5
F17
Instrument cluster 5
F18
Rearv iew camera 7 .5
F19
Convince key system control
7.5 module, tank system
F23 Right exter ior lights 40
F24
Panorama sunroof 20/30
F25
Door/driver's side doors (for
30 example power windows)
F26 Seat heating 30
F27
Sound-amp lifier 30
F29
Interior lights 7.5
Fig. 176 Vehicle inte ri or : fuse assignment F31 Left exter ior lights 40
No . Equipment Ampere F32 Driver assista nce systems 7.5
F2
Seat adjustment 10 F33 Airbag 5
F4
MM controls, MMI compo-
7.5 nents
F5 Gateway 5
Button lighting, coils for
socket relays, interior sound,
F34 back-up light switch, tern-7.5
perature sensor, o il level
F6 Ant i-theft alarm system 5 sensor
Climate/heating control, se-
Diagnosis, headlight range
le ctor lever (automatic
F7 transmission), parking heat -10 F35
control system, air quality
10 sensor,
automat ic dimming
er, rear window heater relay
rearview mirror
coil
Diagnosis, electrical parking
F36
Right cornering light/ right
15 LED-headlight
F8
brake switch, light switch,
10 rain/light sensor, interior
lighting
F9
Steering column switch
1 module
F37
Left corner ing light/ left
15 LED-headlight
Door/front passenger's side
F39 doors (for example, power 30
windows)
Fl0 D isp lay 5
F40 Sockets 20
Fll
Reversible driver's safety
25 belt tensioners F41 Reversible front passenger 's
25 side safety belt tensioners
Fl2 MMI area 15/20
F42 Central locking buttons 40
Fl3
Adaptive dampers control
20 module
F43 Windsh ield washer system 30
F44
all wheel drive 15
F45
Power driver's side seat 15