2015 AUDI Q3 steering wheel

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angle of impact that will always trigger the
airbags, since the circumstances will vary con­
siderably between one collision and another.
Important factors include, for example, the nature (hard or soft) of the object which the
car hits, the angle of impact, vehicle speed,
etc. The front airbags will also not inflate in
side or rear collisions, or in ro ll-overs .
Alwa ys rem ember : Airbags will deploy only
once, and only in certa in kinds of collisions .
Your safety belts are always there to offer pro­
tection in those s ituations in which airbags
are not supposed to deploy , or when they have
a lready deployed ; fo r example , when yo ur ve­
h icle strikes or is struck by another after the
first collision .
This is just one of the reasons why an a irbag is
a supplementary restra int and is not a s ubst i­
tute for a safety belt . The airbag system
works most effectively when used with the
safety belts. Therefore, always properly wear
your safety belts¢
page 104 .
A WARNING
Sitting too close to the steer ing wheel or
instrument panel will decrease the effec­
tiveness of the airbags and will increase
the risk of pe rsonal injury in a co llision .
- Never sit closer than
10 inches (25 cm)
to the stee ring wheel or instrument pan­
el.
- If you cannot sit more than
10 i nches
(25 cm) from the steer ing whee l, investi­
gate whether adaptive equipment may
be available to help you reach the pedals
and increase your seating dis tance from
the steering wheel.
- All veh icle o ccupants and especia lly chil­
dren must be restrained properly when­
ever riding in a vehicle . An un restra ined
or improperly rest rained child could be
injured by striking the inter ior or by be­
ing ejected from the vehicle during a
s u dden maneuver or impact. An unre­
strained or improperly restrained child is
also at greater r isk of injury or death
thro ugh contact with an inflat ing airbag.
A irbag system 113
-If you are unrestrained, leaning forward,
sitt ing s ideways or o ut of pos ition in any
way, your risk of injury is m uch higher.
- You will a lso receive se rious injuries and
could even be killed if you are up aga inst
the airbag or too close to it when it in­
f lates -even w ith an Advanced A irbag.
- To reduce the risk of injury when an air­
bag inflates, always wear safety belts
prope rly ¢
page 107, Safety belts .
-Always make certain that ch ildren age 12
or younger always ride in the rear seat . If
children a re not properly restrained , they
may be severe ly inju red or kill ed when an
a ir bag inf lates.
- Never let ch ildren ride un restra ined or
improperly restrained in the vehicle. Ad­
just the front sea ts p roperly .
- Never ride with the back rest reclined .
- Always sit as far as possible from the st eer ing whee l or the instrument pane l
¢page 95.
- Always sit upright with your back aga ins t
the backr est of your seat .
- Never place your feet on the instrument
panel or on the seat . Always keep both
feet on the f loor in front of the seat to
he lp preven t serio us in juries to the legs
and h ips if the airbag infla tes.
- Never re cline the front passenger 's seat
to transpo rt obje cts. Items c an a lso
move into the area of the s ide a irbag or
the front airbag during braking or in a
sudden maneuve r. Objects near the air ­
bags can become projectiles and cause
in jury when an airbag inflates.
A WARNING
A irbags that have deployed in a crash must
be replaced.
- Use on ly orig inal equipment airbags ap­
proved by Aud i and installed by a trained
technician who has the necessary too ls
a nd d iagnost ic equipment to properly re ­
place any airbag in your vehicle and as­
sure system effectiveness in a crash . •
•

116 Airbag system
A WARNING
If, in exceptional circumstances, you must
install a forward or rearward-facing child
restraint on the front passenger's seat:
- Improper installation of child restraints
can reduce the ir effect iveness or even
prevent them from p roviding any protec­
t ion.
- An improperly installed child restraint
can interfere with the a irbag as it de­
ploys and serious ly inju re or even kill the
c hild -even wi th an Advanced Airbag
System.
- Always ca refully fo llow the manufactur­
er's instructions provided with the child
safety seat or carrier.
- Never pl ace additional items on the seat
t hat can incre ase the to tal weight regis­
tered by the weight -sens ing ma t and can
cause injury in a crash.
Front airbags
Description of front airbags
The airbag system con provide supplemental
protection to properly restrained front seat
occupants.
Fi g. 11 7 Locatio n of driver air bag: in steer ing whee l
Fig. 118 Location of front passenger's air bag: in the in ­
s tr umen t pane l
Your vehicle is equipped with an "Advanced
Airbag System" in compliance with United
States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
(FMVSS) 208 as applicable at the time your
vehicle was manufactured. The safety belts
for the seats have "pretensioners" that help
to take slack out of the belt system . T he pre­
tens ioners are also act ivated by the elect ron ic
control unit for the airbag system.
The front safety belts also have load lim iters
to help reduce the forces appl ied to the body
i n a crash .
The airbag for the driver is in the steering
wheel hub¢
fig. 117 and the airbag for the
front passenger is in the instr ument panel
¢ fig . 118 . The gene ral locat ion of the a irbags
is marked "AIRBAG".
The re is a lot you need to know about the air ­
bags in your vehicle. We urge you to read the
detailed information about airbags, safety
belts and child sa fety in this and the other
c h ap ters that ma ke up the owner's liter ature.
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 ,-
Never rely on airbags alone for protection.
- Even when they deploy, airbags provide
only s upplementa l protect ion.
- Airbag work most effective ly when used
with properly worn safety belts. ,.,.

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-Therefore, always wear your safety belts
and make sure that everybody in your ve­
hicle is properly restrained.
A WARNING
A person on the front passenger seat, es­
pecially infants and small children, will re­
ceive serious injur ies and can even be kil­
led by being too close to the airbag when
it inflates.
- Although the Advanced Airbag System in
your vehicle is designed to turn off the
front passenger a irbag if an infant or a
small ch ild is on the front passenge r
seat, nobody can absolutely guarantee
that deployment under these special
conditions is impossible in all conceiva­
ble s ituations that may happen during
the useful life of your vehicle.
- The Advanced A irbag System can deploy
in accordance with the "low risk" opt ion
under the U.S. Federa l Standard if a c hild
that is heavier than the typical one-year
old child is o n the front passenger seat
and the other cond itions for airbag de­
ployment are met .
- Acc ident statist ics have shown that chil­
dre n are generally safe r in the rea r seat
area than in the front seating posit io n.
- For their own safety, all children, espe­
cially 1 2 yea rs and younger, sho uld al­
ways ride in the b ack properly restrained
for their age and size .
Advanced front airbag system
-
Your vehicle is equipped w it h a front Advanced
Airbag System in comp liance with United
States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
208 as applicable at the time your vehicle was
manufactured.
The front Advanced Airbag System supp le ­
ments the safety belts to provide additiona l
protection for the driver's and front passeng­
er's heads and upper bodies in frontal crashes.
The airbags inflate only in frontal impacts
when the vehicle decelerat io n is high enough .
Airbag system 117
The front Advanced Airbag System for the
front seat occupants is not a substitute for
your safety be lts . Rather, it is part of the over­
all occupant restra int system in your vehicle.
Always remember that the airbag system can
only he lp to protect you, if you are sitting up ­
rig ht, wearing your safety belt and wear ing it
proper ly. This is why you and your passe ngers
mus t always be prope rly restrained, not jus t
because the law req uires you to be.
T he Advanced A irbag System in your vehicle
has been ce rtified to meet the "low risk" re­
quirements for 3 and 6 yea r-old ch ildren o n
the passenger side and very small ad ults o n
the driver side . The low risk deployment crite­
ria are intended to help reduce the risk o f in ­
jury through interaction with the front airbag that can occur, for example, by being too
close to the steering wheel and instrument
panel when the airbag inflates.
In addition, the system has been certified to
comply with the "s uppression" requirements
of the Safety Standard, to turn off the front
airbag for infants
12 months old and younger
who are restrained on the front passenger
seat in child rest raints that are listed in the
Standard ¢
page 135, Child restraints and
Advanced Airbags.
"Suppress ion" requires the front a irbag on the
passenger side to be turned off if:
- a child up to about one year of age is re­
strained on the front passenger seat in one
of the rear -fac ing or forward-facing infant
restrai nts listed in Federal Motor Vehicle
Safety Standard 208 with which the Ad­
vanced Ai rbag System in your ve hicl e was
cert ified . For a listing of t he chi ld res traints
tha t were used to certify you r vehicle's com ­
pliance with the US Safety Standard
¢ page 135,
-weight less than a thresho ld level stored in
the control unit is detected on the front pas­
senger seat .
When a person is detected on the front pas­ senger seat, weighing more than the total
weight of a chi ld that is about 1 year old •
•

126 Airbag sys te m
turned off , and PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
will stay on.
Repair, care and disposal of the airbags
Parts of the a irbag 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
a irbag system and prevent that system from
wo rking prope rly in a co llision.
There are some important things you have to know to make sure that the effect iveness of
the system will not be impa ired and that dis­
carded components do not cause injury or po l­
l ute the env ironme nt.
& WARNING
Imprope r ca re, servicing and repair proce­
dures can increase the risk of personal in ­
jury and death by preventing an airbag from deploy ing when needed or deploying
an airbag unexpected ly:
- Never cover, obstr uct, o r change the
steering wheel horn pad or airbag cover
or the instrument pane l or modify them
in any way .
- Never attach any objects such as cu­ pholders or telephone mountings to the
surfaces covering the airbag units.
- For cleaning the horn pad or instrument
pane l, use only a soft, dry cloth or one
moistened w ith plain wate r. Solvents or
cleaners co uld damage the airbag cover
or change the stiffness o r strength of the
material so that the airbag cannot de­
ploy and p rotect properly.
- Never repa ir, adjust, or change any parts
of the airb ag sy stem.
- All wo rk on the ste ering wheel, inst ru­
me nt pane l, front sea ts or elec trical sys­
tem (incl uding the installation of au di o
equipment, ce llular telephones and CB
radios, etc.) must be performed by a
qualifie d technician who has the t raining
and special equipment necessary. -
For any wo rk on the airbag system, we
strongly recommend that yo u see y our
author ized Audi dealer or qualified work­
shop.
- Never modify the front b umper or parts
of the vehicle body .
- Always make sure that the s ide airbag
can inflate without interference:
- Never ins tall seat covers or re place­
ment uphols te ry over the fron t seat­
ba cks tha t have not been specifically
approved by Audi.
- Never use addi tional seat c ushio ns th at
cove r the areas where the si de a irbags
inflate .
- Dam age to the orig inal se at cove rs or
to the seam in the area of the side a ir­
bag module must a lways be repaired
immediately by an author ized Audi
dealer.
- The airbag system can be activated only
once. After an airbag has in flated, it
m ust be replaced by an authorized Aud i
dealer or qualified technician w ho has
the techn ical information , training and
specia l equipm ent necessary .
- The airbag system can be deployed only
once . After an airbag has been deployed,
it must be re placed wit h new replac e­
men t pa rts designed and ap proved espe­
ci ally f or you r A udi model version. Re­
p lacement of complete airbag systems
or airbag components must be pe r­
formed by qualified workshops on ly .
Make sure that any airbag serv ice action
is entered in your Audi Warranty
& Main­
tenance booklet under
AIRBAG REPLACE­
MENT RECORD .
@ For the sake of the environment
Undeployed airbag modules and p reten­
s ione rs might be classified as Perchlorate
Materia l -special handling may app ly, see
www .dtsc .ca.gov/hazardouswaste/per-
ch lo rate . When the veh icle or parts of the
r est raint system including airbag modu les
liJI,

134 Child Safety
-Always install rear-facing child safety
seats on the rear seat.
- If you must install a rearward facing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat in exceptional circumstances and
the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not come on and stay on, immediately
install the rear-facing child safety seat in
a rear seating position and have the air­
bag system inspected immediately by
your Audi dealer.
_& WARNING
If, in exceptional circumstances, you must
install a forward-facing child restraint on
the front passenger's seat:
- 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.
- Always follow the manufacturer's in­
structions provided with the child safety
seat or carrier.
- 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 child restraint. The backrest must be
adjusted to an upright position .
- Always make sure that the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays
on all the time whenever the ignition is
switched on.
(D Tips
Always replace child restraints that were
installed in a vehicle during a crash. Dam­
age to a child restraint that is not visible
could cause it to fail in another collision
situation.
Advanced front airbag system and children
Your vehicle is equipped with a front "Ad­
vanced Airbag System" in compliance with United States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 208 as applicable at the
time your vehicle was manufactured.
The Advanced Airbag system in your vehicle
has been certified to meet the "low-risk" re­
quirements for 3- and 6-year old children on
the passenger side and small adults on th e
driver side. The low ris k deployment criteria
are intended to reduce the risk of injury
through interact ion with the airbag t hat can
occur, for example, by being too close to the
steering wheel and instrument panel when
the airbag inflates . In addition, the system
has been certified to comply with the "sup­
pression" requirements of the Safety Stand­
ard, to turn off the front airbag for infants up
to 12 months who are restrained on the front
passenger seat in child restraints that are list­
ed in the Standard.
Even though your vehicle is equipped with an
Advanced Airbag system , all children, espe­
cially those 12 years and younger, should al­
ways ride in the back seat properly restrained
for their age and size. The airbag on the pas­
senger side makes the front seat a potentially
dangerous place for a child to ride . The front
seat is not the safest place for a child in a for­
ward-facing child safety seat. It can be a very
dangerous place for an infant or a larger child
in a rearward-facing seat .
Advanced Airbags and the weight­
sensing mat in the front seat
The Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle
detects the presence of an infant or child in a
child restraint on the front passenger seat us­
ing the weight-sensing mat in the seat cush ­
ion and the sensor below the safety belt latch
on the front passenger seat that measures the
tension on the safety belt.
The weight -sensing mat measures total
weight of the child and the child safety seat
and a child blanket on the front passenger
seat. The weight on the front passenger seat
is related to the design of the child restraint
and its "footprint", the size and shape of the
bottom of the child restraint as it sits on the .,..

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@ Tips
Your vehicle may be equipped with Audi
connect. Your use of certain Aud i connect
features req uires wireless serv ices that are
provided by a third party wireless telecom­
municat ions provider. For details regard­
ing how information obtained through
Aud i connect is collected, processed,
transmitted, used, and shared, please see
your contra ct w ith the wire less telecom ­
municat ions provider and the "About A udi
connect" tab in your vehicle's MMI:
!MENU !
button > Audi connect > About Audi con·
nect .
Electronic Stabilization
Control (ESC)
Description
ESC helps to improve road holding and vehicle
dynamics to help reduce the probability of
skidd ing and loss of veh icle control. It works
only when the eng ine is running. ESC detects
certain difficult driv ing s ituations, including
when the vehicle is beginning to spin (yaw) out of cont ro l and helps you to get the vehicle
back under control by select ively brak ing the
wheels, and/or red ucing engine powe r and
p roviding steering assistance to help hold the
ve hicle on the driver's intended course . The in­
dicator light
m in the instrument cluster
blinks when ESC is taking action to help you
control the vehicle.
ESC has limitations.
It is important to remem­
ber that ESC cannot overcome the laws of
phys ics. It will not a lways be able to help out
under all conditions you may come up against.
For example, ESC may not always be able to
h elp you master situat ions where there is a
sudden change in the coefficient of fr iction of
the road surface. When there is a sect io n of
d ry road that is s udden ly cove red with water,
slush o r snow, ESC canno t perform the same
way it would on the dry su rface.
If the vehicle
hydroplanes (rides on a c ush ion of wate r in­
stead of the road surface), ESC wi ll not be
ab le to he lp you steer the veh icle because con-
Int ellig ent technolog y 153
tact with the pavement has been interrupted
and the vehicle cannot be braked or steered .
D uring fast corner ing, particular ly on wind ing
roads, ESC cannot always deal as effectively
with difficult dr iv ing s ituations than at lower
speeds. When towing a trailer, ESC is not able
to help you regain control as it would if you
were not tow ing a trailer.
Always adjust your speed and driving style to road, traffic and weather conditions . ESC can­
not override the vehicle's physical lim its, in­
crease the availab le tract ion, or keep a veh icle
o n the road if road departu re is a result of
driver ina ttent io n. Instead , ESC imp roves the
poss ibility of keep ing the vehicle under con­
trol and on the road during extreme maneu­
vers by using the driver's steering i nputs to
help keep the vehicle go ing in the intended di­
rect ion. If you are traveling at a speed that
causes you to run off the road before ESC can
provide any assistance, you may not experi­
ence the benefits of ESC.
ESC includes and/or works together with the
anti-lock brake system (ABS), brake ass ist sys­
tem, ant i-slip regu lation (ASR), electron ic dif­
ferential lock (EDL), electron ic interaxle d iffe r­
ential lock*/se lective wheel torque co ntrol*
and hill descent assist. ESC is swit ched on a ll
the time. In ce rtain sit uat io ns when yo u need
less traction, you can sw itch off ASR by press­
ing the b utton
[fil ¢ page 155, fig. 13 7. Be
s u re to switch ASR on again when you no lon­
ger need less traction .
Anti-lock braking system (ABS )
ABS prevents the whee ls from locki ng up
when b raking. The vehicle can st ill be stee red
even during hard braking . App ly steady pres­
su re to the brake peda l. Do not pump the ped­
al. A pulsing in the brake pedal indicates that
the system is helping you to brake the vehicle.
Brake a ssis t sy ste m
The brake ass ist system can decrease braking
distance . It increases braking power when the
driver presses the brake peda l quickly in emer­
gency s ituations. You must press and hold the
brake pedal unti l the situation is over. .,,.
•
•

158 Intellig ent technolog y
brake discs and pa ds with a few caref ul
brake a pplicat ions.
- If you damage the front s poiler, or if you
insta ll a different spoiler, be su re the air
flow to the front brakes is not obstruct­ ed. Otherwise the brake system could
ov erhe at r educi ng the eff ect iveness of
t h e enti re brak e system.
- Failure of one brake ci rcuit will impair
the braking capability resulting in an in­ creased stopp ing distance. Avoid driv ing
the vehicle and have it towed to the near­
est author ized Audi dealer or qualif ied
wor kshop.
- Never let the vehicle rol l to a stop w ith
the engine shu t off.
- If the brake booster is not working, the
brake pedal must be pressed conside ra­
bly harder to make up for the lac k of
booster assistance.
Electromechanical
steering
The electromechanical steering supports the
driver 's steering movements .
Power steering adapts electronically based on
the vehicle speed.
Ind icator light s and messages
• Steering fault! Do not drive vehicle !
If this indicator light tu rns on and stays on
and this message appears, t he power steering
may have fa iled.
Stop the vehicle in a safe locat ion as soon as
possib le . Do
not continue driving . See your
author ized Audi dealer or other qua lified re­
pa ir facility for assistance .
If the indicator light turns on, the steer ing
may be more d ifficu lt to move or more sensi­
tive than usual. The steer ing may also be at an
angle when dr iving st raight . Drive slowly to you
r authorized Audi dea ler or
qualified workshop to have the ma lf u nction
corrected.
l ;:!" ij Steering lock : S ys tem fault! Please con­
tact de aler.
The re is an elect ron ic steering column lo ck
malfunction .
Drive to an author ized Audi dealer or qualified
r epair fac il ity immediate ly to have the mal­
funct ion corrected.
(D Tips
If the . or ,To n ind icator light only stays
on for a short t ime, yo u may continue dr iv­
i ng.
Driving with your
quattro
Applies to veh icles: w ith all-w hee l d ri ve
With all-wheel drive, all four wheels are driv­
en.
General information
Wi th a ll-w heel d rive, power is dis trib ute d to
all four wheels . This happens automatically
depending on your driving style and the road
conditions at the time . See a lso
¢ page 153.
The all -whee l dr ive concept is des igned for
high eng ine power. Your veh icle is except ion ­
ally powerfu l and has excellent d riving charac­
terist ics both under normal driving conditions
and on snow and ice. Always read and follow
safety precaut ions¢ .&..
Winter tires
When driving in the winter, yo ur vehicle with
all-wheel drive has an advantage, eve n wit h
regular tires. In winter road conditions it may
be advisable to mount winter tires (or all-sea­
son tires) for improved driveability and brak­
ing: these tires must be mounted on
all four
wheel s.
See also ¢ page 210, Winter tires.
Tire chains
Where tire chains are mandatory on certain
roads, this norma lly also app lies to ve hicles

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Tire service life
The service life of tires depends on a lot of
different things including proper installation
and balancing, correct tire pressure and driv­
ing style.
Fig. 154 Tire tread: tread wea r in dica tors (TWI)
Fig. 155 Rotating t ires for more even wea r
Tread Wear Indicator (TWI)
The original tires on your veh icle have
1/16 inch (1.6 mm) high "wear indicators"
r::!;> fig. 154 run ning across the tread. Depend­
ing on the make, there will be six to eight of
them evenly p laced around the tire . Marks on
the t ire s idewall (for example "TWI" or other
symbols) indicate the positions of the tread
wear ind icators . Worn t ires must be replaced.
Different figures may apply in other countries
r::!) &.
Tire pressure
Incorrect tire pressure causes premature wear
and can cause sudden tir e blow-out . For this
reason, tire pressure must be checked at least
once a month
r::!;> page 201.
Driving style
Driving fast around curves , heavy acceleration
and hard braking increase tire wear.
Tires and wheels 205
Rotating tires for more even wear
For all four tires on your vehicle to have the
same service life, we recommend that the
front and rear tires are rotated according to
the tire manufacturer 's suggested tire rota­
tion inte rvals. Please remember the follow ­
ing :
- Tire rotation intervals may differ from the
vehicle service interva ls o utlined in your
Ma intenance and Warranty Booklet.
- The longer one tire is used in one location
on the vehicle, the more it wears at certain
points ; therefore, we recommend that you
follow the tire manufactu rer 's suggested
tire rotation intervals .
- Vehicles w ith front-wheel dr ive exper ience
more tread wear on the front wheels com­
pared to all w heel drive (quattro) .
- Please rotate tires as shown
r::!;> fig. 155.
-Extra care must be taken when rotating di-
rection-specific tires
r::!;> page 223 .
Wheel balancing
The wheels on new veh icles are balanced .
However, various situations during everyday
driving can cause them to become unba l­
anced, resulting in vibrations you can usually
feel through the steer ing wheel.
Unbalanced wheels must be rebalanced to
avoid excessive wear on steering, s uspension
and t ires. A whee l must also be reba lanced
when a new tire is insta lled.
Incorrect wheel alignment
Incorrect wheel alignment can cause exces­
sive tire wear, impairing the safety of the vehi­
cle . If tires show excessive wear, have the
whee l alignment checked by an authori zed
Audi dealer or qualified workshop.
All wheel drive
Vehicles wi th quattro must always have tires
of the same size, construction and tread type.
For details
see r::!) page 158. 111>