2015 AUDI S3 SEDAN airbag off

Child safety
_& WARNING
A child in a child safety seat installed with the LATCH lower anchorages or with the standard
safety belt or a child in a booster seat on the
rear seat cou ld play with unused rear seat
safety belts and become entangled. This
could cause the child serious personal injury
and even death.
- Always secure unused rear seat safety belts
out of reach of children in child seats such
as by properly routing them around the
head restraint of the seat where the child re­
straint is installed.
- Never activate the convertible locking re­ tractor when routing the safety belts around
the head restraints.
- Never let anyone sit at the center rear seat­
ing position if the center rear safety belt has
been routed around a rear head restraint.
Child seats
Infant seats
Babies and infants up to about one year old and
20 lbs. or 9 kg need special rearward-facing
child restraints that support the back, neck and
head in a crash.
Fig. 139 Schematic overview: rearward-facing infant seat,
properly installed on the rear seat
.. When using the vehicle safety be lt to install a
child safety seat, you must first activate the
convertible locking retractor on the safety belt
to prevent the child safety seat from moving
c::> page 182 or install the seat using the LATCH
attachments.
.. Push the child safety seat down with your full
weight to get the safety belt really tight so that
178
the seat cannot move forward or sideways more
than one inch (2.5 cm).
.. Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
c::>page 177.
Infants up to about one year (20 lbs. or 9 kg) are
best protected in special infant carriers and child
safety seats designed for their age group. Many
experts believe that infants and small children
should ride only in special restraints in which the
ch ild faces the back of the vehicle. These infant
seats support the baby's back, neck and head in a
crash
c::> fig. 139.
The airbag on the passenger side makes the front
seat a potent ially dangerous place for a child to
ride . The front seat is not the safest place for a
child in a forward-facing ch ild seat.
It is a very
dangerous place for an infant or a Larger child in
a rearward-facing seat.
_& WARNING
Not using a child safety seat, using the wrong
child safety seat or improperly installing a
child restraint increases the risk of serious personal injury and death in a crash.
- Never install rear-facing child safety seats or
infant carriers on the front passenger seat -
even with an Advanced Airbag System. A
child will be seriously injured and can be kil­ led when the inflating airbag hits the child
safety seat or infant carrier with great force
and smashes the child safety seat and child
against the backrest, center armrest, door
or roof
c::> page 149, Child restraints on the
front seat -some important things to
know .
-Always install rear-facing chi ld safety seats
or infant carriers on the rear seat.
- Never install a rear-fac ing ch ild restraint in
the forward-facing direction. Such restraints
are designed for the special needs of infants
and very small children and cannot protect
them properly if the seat is forward-facing.
- If you must install a rearward facing child
safety seat on the front passenger seat be­
cause of exceptional circumstances and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not
come on and stay on, immediately install
~

Child safety
personal injury and death in a collision or oth­
er emergency situation.
- Children on the front seat of any car, even
with Advanced Airbags, can be seriously in­
jured or even killed when an airbag inflates.
A child in a rearward-facing child safety seat
installed on the front passenger seat will be
seriously injured and can be killed if the
front airbag inflates -even with an Ad­
vanced Airbag System.
- 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 arm rest, door
or roof.
- 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 be­ cause of 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 airbag system inspected by your Audi dealer .
- The rear side of the child safety seat should
be positioned as close as possible to the
backrest on the vehicle seat .
- For adjustable head restraints: adjust or re­
move the rear seat head restraint if it is dif­
ficult to install the child seat with the head
restraint in place
Q page 56 . Install the
head restraint again immediately once the
child seat is removed. Driving without head
restraints or with head restraints that are
not properly adjusted increases the risk of
serious or fatal neck injury dramatically.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS when­
ever using a child restrained in a vehicle is
being used
Q page 140, Safety belts,
Q page 148, Airbag system and
Q page 172, Important information.
A WARNING
If exceptional circumstances require the use
of a forward-facing child restraint on the front
passenger's seat, the child's safety and well-
180
being require that the following special pre­
cautions be taken :
- 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 instruc­
tions provided with the child safety seat or infant carrier .
- Always move the front passenger seat into
the rearmost position of the passenger
seat's fore and aft adjustment range, and as
far away from the airbag as possible before installing the child restraint .
- Always make sure that nothing prevents the
front passenger's seat from being moved to
the rearmost position in its fore and aft ad­
justment range.
- Always make sure the backrest is in an up­
right position .
- Never place or use any electrical device
(such as a laptop, CD player, electronic
games device , power inverter or seat heater
for child seats) on the front passenger seat
if the device is connected to the 12-volt
socket or the cigarette lighter socket.
- If a seat heater has been retrofitted or oth­
erwise added to the front passenger seat, never install any child restraint system on
this seat.
- Make sure that there are no wet objects
(such as a wet towel) and no water or other
liquids on the front passenger seat cushion.
- Never place objects on the seat (such as a
laptop, CD player, electronic games device,
power inverter or seat heater for child
seats). These may influence the electrical
capacitance measured by the capacitive pas­
senger detection system and can also fly
around in an accident and cause serious per­
sonal injury.
- 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, immediately in­
stall the forward-facing child seat at a seat-
ing position on the rear seat and have the
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airbag system inspected by your authorized
Audi dealer.
- Take the child restraint off the front passen­
ger seat and install it properly at one of the
rear seat pos it ions if the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
light does not stay on whenever
the ignition is switched on .
Booster seats and safety belts
Properly used booster seats can help protect
children weighing be tween about 40 lbs. and 80
lbs . (18 kg and 36 kg) who are less than 4
ft. 9
in . (57 inches/1 .45 meters) tall .
Fig. 14 2 Re ar seat: child pro perl y restrain ed in a booster
seat
T he vehicle's safety belts alone will not fit most
children unti l they are at least 4
ft . 9 in . (57 in­
ches/1.45 meters) tall and we igh about 80 lbs .
(36 kg) . Booster seats raise these children up so
that the safety bel t will pass properly over the
stronger parts of their bodies and the safety belt
can help protect them in a c rash.
.,. Do not use the co nvertib le locking retractor
when using the vehicle's safety bel t to restra in
a ch ild on a boos ter sea t.
.. The shoulder be lt must lie as close to the cen­
te r of the child's co llar bone as possible and
must lie flat and snug on the upper body. It
must never lie across the throat or neck. The
lap belt must lie across the pelvis and never
ac ross the stomach or abdomen . Make sure the
belt lies flat and snug . Pull on the belt to tight­
en if necessary .
.,. If you must transpo rt an older chi ld in a boos­
ter seat on the front passenger sea t, you can
use the safety belt height adj ustmen t to help
adjust the shoulder port ion properly .
Child sa fe ty
.. Secure unused sa fety belts on the rear seat
i=> page 177.
Childre n up to at least 8 yea rs old (over 40 lbs or
18 kg) are best protected in child safety seats de ­
s igned for their age and weight . Experts say that
the skeleta l structure, particularly the pelvis, of
these chi ldren is not f ully deve loped, and they
must not use the vehicle safety belts without a
su itable child restraint .
It is usually best to put these child ren in appro­
priate booster seats . Be sure the booster seat
meets all applicab le safety standards.
Booster seats ra ise the seating position of the
child and reposit ion both the lap and shoulder
parts of the safety belt so that they pass across
the chi ld's body in the right places. The routing of
the be lt over the chi ld 's body is very important
for the ch ild's protection, whether or not a boos ­
te r seat is used . Children age 12 and under must
always ride in the rear seat.
Children who are at least 4
ft. 9 in . (57 inches/
1.45 meters) tall can generally use the vehicle's
th ree po int lap and shoulder be lts . N ever use the
lap belt portion of the veh icle's safety belt a lone
to re strain any child , regardles s of how b ig the
c hi ld i s. A lways remember that c hildren do no t
have the pronounced pe lv ic struct ure required for
the p roper function of lap belt port ion of the ve­
hicle 's t hree point lap and shoulder be lts . The
c h ild 's safety abso lutely requires that a lap belt
portion of the safety belt be fastened snug ly and
as low as possible around the pelvis . Never let
the lap belt portion of the safety belt pass over
the ch ild's stomach or abdomen .
In a crash, a irbags must inflate within a blink of
an eye and with considerable force . In order to do
its job, the airbag needs room to inflate so that it
will be the re to p rotect the occ upant as th e occu­
pant moves fo rward into the airbag .
A vehicle occupant who is out of posit ion and too
close to the a irbag gets in the way of an inflating
airbag . When an occupan t is too close, he o r she
will be struck violent ly and w ill receive ser ious or
poss ibly eve n fa ta l injury. .,,.
181

Child safet y
In order for the airbag to offer protection, it is
important that all vehicle occupants, especially
any children, who must be in the front seat be­
cause of except ional 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 passenger compart­
ment, the airbag can inflate comp letely and pro­
vide supp lemental protection in ce rtain frontal
coll is ions .
A WARNING
Not using a booster seat, using the booster
seat improperly, incorrect ly installing a boos­
ter seat or using the vehicle safety belt im­
properly increases the risk of serious personal
injury and death in a collision or other emer­
gency situat ion. To help reduce the risk of se­
r ious personal injury and/or death:
- The shoulder belt must lie as close to the
center of the child's collar bone as possible
and must lie flat and snug on the upper
body .
It must never lie across the throat or
neck. The lap belt must lie across the pelv is
and never across the stomach or abdomen.
Make sure that the be lt lies flat and snug.
Pull on the belt to tighten i f necessa ry .
- Failure to properly route safety be lts over a
child 's body will cause severe injuries in an
accident or other emergency sit uation
¢ page 140.
- The rear side of the child safety seat shou ld
be positioned as close as possible to the
backrest on the vehicle seat.
- For adjustable head restraints: adjust or re ­
move the rear seat head restraint if it is dif­
ficult to install the child seat with the head
restraint in place¢
page 56. Install the
head restraint again immediately once the
child seat is removed . Driv ing without head
restraints or with head restraints that are
not properly adjusted increases the r isk of
serious o r fatal neck injury dramatically .
- Children on the front seat of any car, even
with Advanced Airbags, can be ser iously in­
jured or even killed when an airbag inflates.
- Never let a child stand or knee l on any seat,
for example the front seat.
182
-
- Never let a child ride in the cargo area of
your veh icle.
- Always remember that a child leaning for­
ward, sitting sideways or out of position in any way during an acc ident can be struck by
a deploying airbag. This will resu lt in serious
personal injury or death.
- If you must install a booster seat on the
front passenger seat because of exceptional
circumstances the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
li ght must come on and stay on, when­
eve r the ign it ion is switched on.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR B AG OF F light does
not come on and stay on, perform the
checks described ¢
page 160, Monitoring
the Advanced Airbag System.
- Ta ke the child restraint off the front passen­
ge r seat and install it properly at one of the
rear seat positions if the
PA SSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
light does not stay on whenever
the ignition is switched on .
- Always read and heed a ll WARNINGS when­
ever using a child restrained in a vehicle is
being used¢
page 140, Safety belts,
¢page 148, Airbag system
and
¢ page 172, Important information.
Securing child seats
Securing a child safety seat using a safety
belt
Safety belts for the rear seats and the front pas­
senger can be locked with the convertible lo cking
retractor to properly secure child safety seats .
The safety belts emergency locking retracto rs fo r
the rear seats safety belts and for the front pas ­
senger's seat safety be lt have a convert ible lock­
ing retractor for chi ld restraints. The safety belt
must be locked so that belt webbing cannot un­
reel. The retractor can be activated to lock the
safety belt and prevent the safety be lt webbing
from loosening up during normal driving. A child
safety seat can on ly be properly installed when
the safety belt is locked so that the child and
c hi ld safety seat will stay in p lace .
Always remember: Even though your vehicle is
equipped with an Advanced Airbag system, all

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children, especially those 12 years and younger,
should always ride in the back seat properly re­
strained for their age and size.
A WARNING
-
Improperly installed child safety seats in­
crease the risk of serious personal injury and
death in a collision.
- Always make sure that the safety belt re­
tractor is locked when installing a child safe­
ty seat. An unlocked safety belt retractor
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 collision.
- Always make sure that the rear seat back­
rest to which the center rear safety belt* is
attached is securely latched whenever the
rear center safety belt is being used to se­
cure a child restraint.
- If the backrest is not securely latched, the
child and the child restraint will be thrown
forward together with the backrest and will strike parts of the vehicle interior. The child
can be seriously injured or killed.
- Never install rear-facing child safety seats or
infant carriers on the front passenger seat.
A child will be seriously injured and can be killed when the passenger 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 infant
carriers installed on the front passenger's
seat may interfere with the deployment 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 when­
ever using a child restrained in a vehicle is
being used
r:::> page 172 . Special precautions
Child safety
apply when installing a child safety seat on
the front passenger seat
r:::> page 149, Child
restraints on the front seat -some impor­
tant things to know .
A WARNING
Always take special precautions if you must
install a forward or rearward-facing child re­
straint on the front passenger's seat in excep­
tional situations:
- Whenever a forward or rearward-facing
child restraint is installed on the front pas­
senger 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
r:::> page 160, Monitoring
the Advanced Airbag System.
- Take the child restraint off the front passen­
ger seat and install it properly at one of the
rear seat positions if the
PASSENGER 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 protection.
-An improperly installed child restraint can interfere with the airbag as it deploys and
seriously injure or even kill the child.
-Always carefully follow the manufacturer'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 correctly recog­ nized by the capacitive passenger detection
system in the front passenger seat and that
the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light signals
the correct front passenger frontal airbag
status.
A WARNING
Forward-facing child restraints:
-
183

Child safety
-Always make sure the forward-facing seat
has been designed and certified by its man­
ufacturer for use on a front seat with a
passenger front and side airbag.
- Never put the forward-facing child restraint
up, aga inst or very near the instrument pan­
el.
- Always move the passenger seat into its
rearmost position in the seat's fore and aft
adjustment range, as far away from the air­
bag as possible before installing the for­
ward-fac ing child restraint. The backrest
must be adjusted to an upright posit ion.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the time
whenever the ignition is switched on.
_&. WARNING
Rearward-fac ing ch ild restra ints:
- A child in a rearward-facing child safety seat
installed on the front passenger seat will be
seriously injured and can be killed if the
front airbag inflates -even with an Ad ­
vanced Airbag System .
- T he inflating airbag wil l hit the child safety
seat or infant carrier with great force and
will smash the chi ld safety seat and child
against the backrest, center armrest, door
or roof.
- Always be especially carefu l if you must in­
stall a rearward facing child safety seat on
the front passenger seat in exceptional cir­
cumstances.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the t ime
whenever the ignition is switched on .
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not come on and stay on, immed iately in­
stall the rear-fac ing ch ild safety seat in a
rear seating position and have the airbag
system inspected by your Aud i dealer.
184
· Activating the convertible locking retractor
Use the convertible locking retractor to secure a
child restraint.
Always heed the child safety seat manufacturer's
instructions when installing a child restraint in
your vehicle . T o activate the convert ible locking
retractor:
.. Place the child restraint on a seat, preferably on
the rear seat .
.. Slowly pull the belt
all the way out.
.. Route it around or through the child restraint
belt pat h
c::> ,&..
.. Push the ch ild 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 be lt back into the retractor un­
til the belt lies flat and snug on the ch ild safety
seat.
.. You should hear a "clicking" noise as the belt
w inds back into the inertia reel. Test the con­
vert ible lock ing retractor by pulling on the belt .
You should no longer be able to pull the belt
out of the ret ractor. The convertible locking re­
tractor is now activated .
.. Make sure that the red release button is facing
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 s ideways more than
one inch (2 .5 cm).
_&. WARNING
Using the wrong child restraint or an improp­
erly installed child restraint can cause serious
personal injury or death in a crash.
- Always make sure that the safety belt re­
tractor is loc ked when insta lling a child safe­
ty seat. An unlocked safety belt retractor
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 chi ld is not sitting in it. A
loose child safety seat can fly around during
a sudden stop or in a crash.
.

Child safety
Tether anchors and tether straps
Fig. 147 Tether anchors: recess flaps behind the rear seat­
ba cks
The tether anchors for the rear seating positions
are located in recesses in the rear window shelf
~fig. 147
A tether is a straight or V-shaped strap that at­
taches 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 vehicle interior.
Forward facing child restraints manufactured af­
ter September 1, 1999, are required by U.S. fed­
eral regulations to comply with new child head
movement performance requirements. These
new performance requirements make a tether
necessary on most new child safety seats.
&_ WARNING
Improper installation of child restraints will
increase the risk of injury and death in a crash.
- Always follow the instructions provided by
the manufacturer of the child restraint you
intend to install in your Audi.
- Improper use of child restraint anchors (in­
cluding tether anchors) can lead to injury in
a collision. The anchors are designed to
withstand only those loads imposed by cor ­
rectly 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.
188
.
- Never attach a tether strap to a tie-down
hook in the luggage compartment.
- Never use child restraint tether anchorages
to secure safety belts or other kinds of occu­
pant restraints.
- Never secure or attach any luggage or other
items to the LATCH lower anchorages or to
the tether anchors.
- If you must install a rearward facing child
safety seat on the front passenger seat be­
cause of 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 airbag system
inspected by your Audi dealer.
Installing the upper tether strap on the
anchorage
Fig. 148 Tether st ra p : proper routing and mounting
Installing the tether strap
11> Release or deploy the tether strap on the child
restraint according to the child restraint manu­
facturer's instructions.
"Guide the upper tether strap
under the rear
head restraint ~
fig. 148 (raise the head re­
straint if necessary) .
"Tilt the recess flap up to expose the anchor
bracket.
"Attach the tether strap anchorage hook into the
opening of the tether anchorage .
11o Pull on the tether strap hook so that the spring
catch of the hook engages.
11> Tighten the tether strap firmly following the
child restraint manufacturer's instructions.

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1.1'1
1.1'1
,....,
Relea sin g the teth er strap
"' Loosen the tens ion following the child restra int
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 insta lled for several days, this
could leave a mark on the upholstery on the
seat cush ion and backrest in the area where
the tether strap was installed. The upholstery
wou ld also be permanently stretched around
the tether strap. This applies espec ially to
leather seats.
Using tether straps on rearward-facing
child restraints
Currently, few rear-facing child restraint systems
come with a tether. P lease read and heed the
child restraint system manufacturer's instruc­
tions carefully to determ ine how to properly in­
stall the tether .
A WARNING
A child 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 w ith an Advanced A irbag
System.
- T he inflating a irbag w ill hit the chi ld safety
s eat or infant carrie r wi th grea t fo rce and
will smash the chi ld safety seat and chi ld
against t he backrest, center armrest, or
doo r.
- If you mus t install a rearward facing chi ld
safety seat on the front passenger seat be­
cause of exceptional c ircumstances and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not
come on and stay on, immediately install
the rear-fac ing child safety seat in a rear
seat ing pos it ion and have the airbag system
inspected by you r A udi dealer .
Child sa fety
Additional information
Sources of information about child
restraints and their use
T he re a re a number o f sou rces of add itiona l infor­
mation about child restraint se lection, insta lla­
tion and use:
N HT SA advises that the bes t ch ild safety seat is
the one that f its yo ur child and fits in your vehi ­
cle, and that you will use correctly and consis­
tent ly .
T ry before yo u buy!
U.S National Highw ay Traffic Safety Admin istr a­
tion
T el.: 1-888-3 27- 42 36 (TIY: 1-800-424-9153)
www. n htsa .gov
National SAFE KIDS Campaign
Tel.: (202) 662-0600
www.safe kids.o rg
Safety Belt Saf e U.S .A
Tel.: (800) 7 45-SAFE (English)
T el.: (800) 747-SANO (Span ish)
www.carseat .org
Transport Canada Information C entre
Tel.: 1-800-333-0371 o r call 1-613-998-86 16 if
you are in the Ottawa a rea
http://www.tc.gc.ca/e ng/ roadsafety/menu .htm
Aud i Cu stomer R elations
Tel.: (800) 822-2834
189