2015 AUDI Q3 ECU

142 Child Saf ety
• Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
9 page 138 .
Children up to at least 8 years old (over 40
l bs. or 18 kg) are best protected in chi ld safe ­
ty seats designed for their age and weight. Ex­ perts say that the ske leta l structure, particu­
larly the pelvis, of these chi ldren is not fully
developed, and they must not use the vehicle
safety belts w ithout a su itable child restraint .
It is us ually best to put these children in ap­
propriate booster seats. Be sure the booster
seat meets all applicab le safety standards.
Booster seats raise the seating position of the
child and reposition bot h the lap and shou lder
parts of the safety belt so that they pass
across the child 's body in the right places. The
routing of the belt over the child 's body is very
important for the ch ild's protection, whether
or not a booster seat is used . Children age 12
and under must always ride in the rear seat.
Ch ildren who are at least 4
ft . 9 in. (S7 in­
ches/1.4S meters) tall can generally use the
vehicle's three po int lap and shoulder be lts .
Neve r use the lap belt portion of the veh icle's
safety be lt alone to restrain any child, regard­
l ess of how b ig the child is. Always remembe r
that c hildren do not have the pronounced pe l­
vic structure required for the proper function
of lap belt portion of the vehicle's thre e point
lap and shoulder be lts. The child's safety ab ­
solutely requires that a lap be lt portion of the
safety belt be fastened snugly and as low as
possible around the pelvis . Never let the lap
be lt po rtion of the safety belt pass over the
chi ld's stomach or abdomen.
In a crash, airbags must inflate within a blink
of an eye and with cons iderable force . In order
to do its job, the airbag needs room to inflate
so t hat it will be there to p rotect the occupant
as the occupant moves forw ard into the air­
bag.
A vehicle occupant who is out of position and
too close to the airbag gets in the way of an
i n flat ing airb ag. When an occupant is too
close, he or she wi ll be struc k violen tly and will
receive se rious or possib ly even fatal in ­
jury .
In orde r fo r the ai rb ag to offer protect ion, i t is
i mportan t that a ll vehicle occupants, espe cial­
ly any children, who m ust be in the front seat
because of exceptiona l circumstances , be
proper ly restrained and as far away from the
airbag as possible . By keeping room between
the child 's body and the front of the passen­
ger compartment, the airbag can inflate com ­
pletely and prov ide supplemental protection
in certain frontal collisions .
.&, WARNING
Not using a booste r seat, using the boos ­
ter seat improperly, in co rrectly installing a
boos ter seat or using the vehicle sa fety
belt imp roperly increases the risk of seri­
ous persona l injury and death in a collision
or other emergency situat ion. To he lp re­
d uce the risk of serio us personal injury
and/or death:
- The shou lder belt must lie as close to the
center of the ch ild's collar bone as possi­
b le and must lie flat and snug on the up­
per body . It must neve r lie across the
throat or neck . The lap belt must lie
across the pe lvis and neve r ac ross t he
s tomach o r abdomen. Make sure t he belt
liesflat and snug.Pullon thebelt to
tighten if necessary.
- Failure to p roperly ro ute s afe ty belts
over a child's body wi ll ca use seve re inj u­
ries in an accident o r other emergency
situation
¢ page 104 .
-The rear side o f the child sa fety seat
should be pos itioned as close as possib le
to the backrest on the vehicle seat. Ad­
just or remove the rear seat head re­ straint if it is diffic ult to install the ch ild
seat with the head restraint in p lace
c::> page 52 . Install t he head rest raint
aga in immediately once the ch ild seat is
removed . D riving without head restraints
or w ith head restra ints th at ar e not prop­
erly a djusted increases the risk of serious
.
or fatal neck in jury drama tically . ""

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-Children on the front seat of any car,
even with Advanced A irbags, can be seri­
ous ly injured or even killed when an a ir­
bag inflates.
- Never let a child stand or kneel on any
seat, for examp le 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 sideways or out of posi­
t ion in any way during an acc ident can be
struck by a deploying airbag . This will re­
sult in se rious personal injury or death .
- If you must install a booster seat on the
front passenger seat because of excep­
t ional circumstances the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light must come on and
stay on, whenever the ignition is switch­
ed on.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, perform
the checks described
¢ page 123, Moni­
toring the Advanced Airbag System.
- Ta ke the child restrain t 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.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restrained in ave­
hicle is being used
¢page 104, Safety
belts,¢ page 112, Airbag system
and
c:> page 133, Important things to know.
Installing a child safety
seat
Securing a child safety seat using a
safety belt
Safety belts for the rear sea ts and the fron t
passenger can be locked wi th the convertible
locking retractor to properly secure child
safety seats .
The safety belts emergency lock ing retractors
for the rear seats safety belts and for the
front passenger's seat safety belt have a con ­
ve rtible locking retractor for child restraints.
Child Sa fet y 143
The safety belt must be locked so that be lt
webbing cannot unree l. The retractor can be
activated to lock the safety belt and prevent
the safety belt webbing from loosening up
during normal dr iving . A child safety seat can
only be properly installed when the safety belt
i s locked so that the chi ld and child safety
seat w ill stay in place .
Always remember: Even though your vehicle is equipped with an Advanced Airbag system, all
ch ildren, especially those 12 years and young­
er, shou ld always r ide in the back seat proper­
ly restrai ned fo r the ir age and size.
A WARNING
Improperly installed chi ld safety seats in­
crease the risk of serious personal injury
and death in a collision.
- Always ma ke sure that the safety belt re­
tracto r is loc ked when installing a child
safety seat . An unlocked safety belt re­
tractor cannot hold the child safety seat
in place during normal dr iving or in a
crash.
- Always buckle the child safety seat firmly
in place even if a ch ild is not sitt ing in it.
A loose child safety seat can fly around during a sudden stop or in a collision .
- Always make sure that the rear seat
backrest to which the center rear safety
be lt is attached is securely latched when­
eve r the rea r center safety belt is being
used to secure a ch ild restra int.
- 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-fa cing child safety
seats or infant carrie rs on the front pas ­
senger seat . A child will be serio usly in­
jured and can be killed when the passen­ ger airbag inflates.
- The inflating airbag will h it the ch ild
safety seat or infant carrier with great
force and will smash the child safety seat
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-A tight tether strap on a rearward-facing
child restraint attached to the front pas­
senger seat can put too much pressure on the weight-mat in the seat and regis­
ter a heavier weight in the Advanced Air­
bag System . The heavier weight regis­
tered can make the system work as
though an adult were on the seat and de­
ploy the Advanced Airbag when it must
be suppressed causing serious or even
fatal injury to the child .
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and stays 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 rear-facing child safety
seat in a rear seating position and have
the airbag system inspected by your 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 installing a child re­
straint in your vehicle . To activate the conver­
tible locking retractor :
.. Place the child restraint on a seat, prefera­
bly on the rear seat.
.. Slowly pull the belt
all the way out .
.. Route it around or through the child re ­
straint belt path~&_ .
.. Push the child safety seat down with your
full weight to get the safety belt really tight.
.. Insert the belt tongue into the buckle for
that seating position .
.. Guide the safety belt back into the retractor
until the belt lies flat and snug on the child
safety seat .
.. You should hear a "clicking " noise as the
belt winds back into the inertia reel. Test the
convertible locking retractor by pulling on
the belt . You should no longer be able to
Child Safety 145
pull the belt out of the retractor. The con­
vertible locking retractor is now activated.
.. Make sure that the red release button is fac­
ing away from the child restraint so that it
can be unbuckled quickly.
.. Pull on the belt to make sure the safety belt
is properly tight and fastened so that the
seat cannot move forward or sideways more
than one inch (2.5 cm).
_&. WARNING
Using the wrong child restraint or an im­
properly installed child restraint can cause
serious personal injury or death in a crash.
- Always make sure that the safety belt re-
tractor is locked when installing a child
safety seat. An unlocked safety belt re­
tractor cannot hold the child safety seat
in place during normal driving or in a
crash.
-Always buckle the child safety seat firmly in place even if a child is not sitting in it.
A loose child safety seat can fly around
during a sudden stop or in a crash.
- Always make sure the seat backrest to
which the child restraint is installed is in
an upright position and securely latched
into place and cannot fold forward . Oth­
erwise, the seatback with the child safety
seat attached to it could fly forward in
the event of an accident or other emer­
gency situation .
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restrained in ave­
hicle is being used¢
page 133. Special
precautions apply when installing a child
safety seat on the front passenger seat
¢ page 114, Child restraints on the front
seat -some important things to know .
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-Always follow the instructions provided
by the manufacturer of the child re­
straint you intend to install in your vehi­
cle .
- Never install a child restraint without a
properly attached top tether strap if the
child restraint manufacturer's instruc­
t ions req uire the top tether strap to be
used.
- Improper use of child restra int LATCH
lower anchorage po ints can lead to injury
in a collis ion. The LA TCH lower anchorage
poin ts are designed to w ithstand only
those loads imposed by correct ly fit ted
child restraints.
- Never mount two chi ld restraint systems
on one LA TCH lower anchorage point .
- Never secure o r attach any l uggage or
other i tem to the LATC H lower anchorag­
es .
{i) Tips
-In Canada, the terms "top tether" with
"lowe r universa l anchorages" (or "lower
universa l anchorage bars") are used to
desc ribe the system .
- In ot her countries, the term "ISOFIX" is
u sed to describe the lower anchorages.
Location
F ig. 130 Schematic overview : LATCH anc horage point
locations
The ill ustration shows the seating locations in
your vehicle which are equipped with the low­
er anchorages system.
Child S afety 14 7
Description
The lower anchorage positions are marked
for quick locating .
Fig . 1 31 Rear seats : lower anchorages, covers marked
Fig. 132 Rea r seats: lower ancho rage bracket locations
Low er anchorag es
The lower anc ho rage attachment po ints are
located between the rea r seatback and rear
seat cushion .
Remove the covers
c';> fig . 131 to access the
lower anchorage attachment points .
The lower anchorage attachment points are
visible ¢
fig. 132 .
Lower anchorages secure the chi ld restraint in
the seat without using the vehicle's safety
belts . Anchorages provide a secure and easy­
to-use attachment and minimize the possib ili­
ty of improper child restra int installation .
All child restraints manufactured after Sep­
tember 1, 2002, must have lower anchorage
attachments for the
LATCH system.
Remember that the lower anchorage points
are only intended for insta llation and attach­
ment of child restraints specifically certified
for use with
LATCH lower anchorages. Child .,..

148 Child Saf ety
restraints that are not equipped with the low ­
er anchorage attachments can still be instal­ l ed in compliance w ith the ch ild restra int
manufacturer's instruct ions on using vehicle
safety belts.
.&_ WARNING
Improper use of LATCH lower anchorages
can ca use serio us pe rsonal injury i n an ac­
cident .
-Always carefully follow the c hild re­
st raints manufacturer's inst ruct ions for
prope r in stallation of the child rest ra int
and proper use of t he lowe r an chorages
or sa fe ty belts in you r ve hicle.
- Never se cure o r attach any l uggage or
ot he r items to t he
LATCH lower ancho ­
rages.
- Always read and heed the im por tan t in­
f ormat ion a bout child restr aints in this
chapter and WARNINGS
q page 133,
Child Safety.
Installing a child restraint with LATCH
lower anchorages
Whenever you install a child restraint always
follow the child restraint manufacturer's in­
structions.
Fi g. 13 3 Lower a nch orages: p rope r m ount ing
Mounting
• Make sure the seatback of the rear seat
bench is in the upr ight position and securely
latched in place .
• Attach both hook -on con nectors w ith the
spring cat ch relea se on the child safety se at
onto the LATC H lowe r anchorage so that the
connectors lock into p lace
q fig. 133.
•Pullon the connector attachments to make
sure they are properly attached to the LA T CH
lower anchorage.
• Pull straps t ight fo llow ing the child restraint
manufacturer's instruct ions .
Releasing
• Loosen the tension on the straps following
the child restraint manufacturer 's instruc­
tions.
• Depress the spring catches to release the
anchorage hooks from the lower anchorag­
es .
Remember: Use tether straps to help keep the
c h ild restra int firmly in place.
.&_ WARNING
=
Imp roper use of the LATCH system can i n-
crease the r isk of serious pe rsonal injury
and death in a n accident .
- These anchors were deve loped only for
child safety seats using the "L ATCH" sys­
t e m.
- Never attach othe r ch ild safety sea ts,
be lts or other objects to these anchors .
- Always make sure that you hear a click
when latch ing the seat in place .
If you do
not hear a click the seat is not secu re and
could fly forwa rd and hit the inter ior of
the vehicle, o r be e je ct ed from the veh i­
cle .
.&_ WARNING
=
I mp roper ins tallat ion of child restra ints
will increase the r isk of injury in an acci­
dent .
- Always follow t he child res traint system
manufacturer's inst ruct ions for proper
installation of the c hild restra int system
and proper use of tether straps as well as
the lower anchorages or safety belts in
your ve hicle.
- Always read and heed the important in­
formation and WARNINGS about ch ild
safety and the installation of ch ild re ­
straint systems
q page 133, Child Safe­
ty .

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Tether anchors and tether straps
Fig. 134 Tether ancho rs: atta chment hook loc atio ns
behin d the rear s ea tb acks
The tethe r anchors for the rear seating posi­
tions are located on the backside of the rear seatbacks
q fig. 134.
A tether is a straight or V-sha ped strap that
attaches the top part of a child restraint to
specia l anchorage points in the veh icle.
The purpose of the tether is to reduce the for­
ward movement of the ch ild restra int in a
crash, in o rder to he lp red uce the risk of head
i nj ury that could be ca used by striki ng the ve­
hicle interior.
Forward facing child restraints manufactured
after September 1, 1999, a re required by U .S.
federal regulations to comply with new c hild
head movement performance requirements.
Thes e new performance requirements mak e a
tethe r necessary on most new child safety
s eats.
A WARNING
Improper installation of child restraints
will increase the risk of injury and death in a crash .
- Always follow the instructions prov ided
by the manufacturer of the ch ild re­
straint you intend to install in your Audi.
- Improper use of ch ild restra int anchors
(including tether anchors) ca n lead to in ­
jury in a collision. The ancho rs are de­
signed to withstand only those loads im­ posed by correctly fitted ch ild restraints.
- Never mount two chi ld restraint systems
on one LA TCH lower ancho r po int.
Child S afety 149
-Never attach two child restraint systems
to one tether strap or tether anchorage .
- Never attach a tether strap to a tie-down
hook in the luggage compartment.
- Never use child restraint tether a ncho­
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 a tether or oth er strap is used to at­
tach a chi ld restraint to the front passen­
ger seat, make sure that it is not so
tight, that it causes the weight-sens ing
mat to measure more we ight than is ac­
tually on the seat .
- The heavier weight registered can make
the Advanced Airbag System work as
though an adult were on the seat and de­p loy the Advanced Airbag when it must
be suppressed causing serious or even
fatal injury to the child .
- I f you must instal l a rearwa rd fa cing
child safety seat on the fro nt passenger
seat because of exceptional circumstan ­
ces and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OF F
light does not come on and stay on, im­
mediately insta ll the rear -fac ing child
safety seat in a rear seating position and have the airbag system inspected by your
Aud i dealer .

166 Trailer towing
Trailer towing Driving with a trailer
General information
Your Audi was designed primarily for passen­
ger transportation .
If you plan to tow a trai ler, p lease remember
that the additional load will affect durability,
economy and performance .
Trailer towing not on ly places more stress on
the vehicle, it also calls for more concentra­
tion from the driver.
For this reason, always fo llow the operating
and driving instructions provided and use
common sense.
Technical requirements
Tr aile r hitch
Use a weight-carrying hitch conforming to the
gross trailer weight. The hitch must be suita­
ble for your vehicle and trailer and mu st be
mounted securely on the veh icle's chassis at a
technically sound location. Use only a trailer
h itch with a removab le ball mount. A lways
check with the trai ler h itch manufact urer to
make sure that you are using the correct
hitch.
Do not use a bumper hi tch .
The hitch must be installed in such a way that
it does not interfere with the impact-absorb­
ing bumper system . No modifications should
be made to the vehicle exhaust and brake sys­
tems . From t ime to time, check that all hitch
mounting bo lts remain securely fastened.
When you are not towing a trailer, remove the
trailer h itch ball mount. This prevents the
h itch from causing damage should your veh i­
cle be struck from behind
¢ A .
Traile r brak es
If your tra iler is equipped w ith a braking sys­
tem, check to be sure that it conforms to a ll
regulat ions . The trailer hydraulic brake system must not be
direct ly connected to the vehicle's hydraulic
brake system
~ A .
Saf ety ch ain s
Always use safety chains between your veh icle
and the trai le r.
Trail er light s
Trailer lights must meet all regulations. Be
sure to check w ith your authorized Audi dealer
for correct wi ring, switches, and relays.
Mirrors
If you are unable to see the traffic behind you
us ing the regular outside mirrors, then you
must install extended mirrors .
It is important
that you always have clea r vis io n to the rear.
,8. WARNING
- I f a trai ler has electrical brakes p lease
note that these brakes are not activated
by the factory -fitted control unit -risk of
accident!
- Afte r removing the trailer hitch, do not
store it in your vehicle. In case of sudden
braking, the hitch could fly forward and
injure you or your passengers.
- Never install a "weight distributing" or
"load equalizing" trailer hitch on your ve­
h icle. The vehicle was not designed for
these kinds of trailer h itches. The h itch
attachment can fail, caus ing the trailer
to tear loose from the veh icle.
- The Gross Vehicle Weight Rating for your
veh icle, found on the safety compliance
label on the driver's s ide B-pillar, must
never be exceeded under any c ircumstan­
ces. Exceeding the Gross Vehicle Weight
Rating of yo ur vehicle is likely to damage
your vehicle, and such damage will not
be covered by yo ur Limited New Ve hicle
Warranty . Exceeding the Gross Vehicle
Weight Rating will a lso change the per­
formance and handling characteristics of
your veh icle, wh ich could cause a crash
resulting in serious injury or death.
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Operating instructions
6"
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Fig. 139 Permit ted ball position of the trailer hitch
Trailer towing weights
With a factory-installed or an aftermarket
trailer hitch, the maximum permissible trailer
weight is 2,200 lbs (1,000 kg). The maximum permissible unbraked trailer weight is 1,650
lbs (750 kg) . These specifications apply when
driving on roads having an incline of less than
12%.
Permissible tongue load
For best vehicle handling under these
changed conditions, adjust the trailer load so
that the tongue load is at the maximum al­
lowable or slightly lower . You can get an ap­
proximation of the tongue load with a bath­
room scale or you can measure the load at a
trucking company or weighing station.
With a
factory-installed or an aftermarket
trailer hitch, the maximum permissible load
on the ball hitch may not exceed 220 lbs
(100 kg).
It is recommended to use the maxi­
mum permissible load.
Trailer load distribution
Be sure the load in the trailer is held securely
in place to prevent it from shifting forward,
backward or sideways.
Never allow a passenger to ride in a trailer
¢.&. in Driving instructions on page 168.
Ball mount
The trailer hitch may only be used with suita­
ble ball mount and ball¢
fig. 139. Installa­
tion of the hitch ball must be carried out in ac-
Trailer towing 167
cordance with the manufacturer's instruc­
tions.
Engine cooling system
Towing a trailer makes the engine work hard­
er .
It is important that the cooling system's
performance is up to the additional load.
Make sure that the cooling system has enough
fluid.
Tire pressure
When towing a trailer, inflate the tires of your
vehicle to the cold tire pressure listed under
"Full load" on the tire pressure label. The tire
pressure label is located on the driver's side B­
pillar. Inflate trailer tires to trailer and tire
manufacturers' specifications .
Lights
The headlight settings should be checked with
the trailer attached before driving off. Check
to make sure both vehicle and trailer lights
are working properly.
Safety chains
Be sure trailer safety chains are properly con­
nected from the trailer to the hitch on the ve­
hicle. Leave enough slack in the chains to per­
mit turning corners. When you install safety
chains, make sure they will not drag on the
road when you are driving.
The chains should cross under the trailer
tongue to prevent it from dropping in case of
separation from the hitch.
Driving instructions
Driving with a trailer always requires extra
core and consideration.
To obtain the best possible handling of vehicle
and trailer, please note the following :
.,. Do not tow a loaded trailer when your car it­
self is not loaded.
.,. Be especially careful when passing other
vehicles.
.,. Observe speed limits.
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