2016 AUDI A3 CABRIOLET warning light

Child safety
_& WARNING
Not using a child safety seat, using the wrong
child safety seat or improperly install ing a
child restra int increases the risk of serious
personal injury and death in a crash.
- Never install rear-facing child safety seats or infant carr iers on the front passenger
seat -
even with an Advanced Airbag System.
A chi ld will be seriously injured and can be
k illed 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, door or roof
c> page 144, Child restraints on the front
seat -some important things to know.
-Always install rear-facing child safety seats
or infant carr iers on the rear seat.
- Never install a rear-facing child 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 fac ing ch ild
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, immed iate ly install
the rear-fa cing ch ild safety seat in a rear
seating position and have the airbag systetn inspected by your Audi dealer.
- 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 ch ild 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 passenge r seat cushion .
- Never place objects on the seat (such as a
laptop, CD player, elect ronic games dev ice,
power inverter or seat heater for child
seats). These may influence the e lectr ica l
172
capacitance measured by the capacitive pas­
senger detect ion system and can also fly
around in an accident and cause serious per­
sonal injury .
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS when­
ever us ing a child restrained in a vehicle is
being used.:.>
page 135, Safety belts,
r:=;,page 143, Airbag system
and
.:.> page 165, Important information.
Convertible child safety seats
Properly used convertible child safety seats can
help protect toddlers and children over age one
who weigh between 20 and 40 lbs. (9 and 18 kg)
in a crash .
Fig. 147 Schema tic ove,v iew: installat ion of t he attach­
me nts applicable to a LA TCH seat
Fig. 148 Schematic oveiview : installat ion of th e seat using
the vehicle's sa fety belt system
.,. When using the vehicle safety belt 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
¢page 176 or install the seat using the LATCH
attachments .
.,. Push the ch ild safety seat down with you r full
weight to get the safety belt really tight so that .,..

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the seat cannot move forward or sideways more than one inch (2.5 cm)
c::!;> page 176.
~ If the child safety seat is equ ipped with a tether
strap, attach it to the tether anchors
<=> page 181.
~ Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
<=> page 171.
A toddler or child is usually too large for an in­
fant restraint if it is more than one year old and
weighs more than 20 lbs. (9 kg) .
T oddlers and children who are o lder than one
year up to about 4 years old and weigh more than
20 lbs (9 kg) up to 40 lbs. (18 kg) must always be properly restrained in a ch ild safety seat cert ified
for the ir s ize and weight <=>
fig. 147 and
¢ fig. 148 .
The airbag on the passenger 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 fo rward-facing child safety seat. It is a
ve ry dangero us p lace for an infant or a larger
chi ld in a rearward-facing seat.
_.6 WARNING
-Not using a ch ild safety seat, using the wrong
child safety seat or improper ly installing a
child restraint increases the risk of serious
personal injury and death in a collis ion 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 inf lates.
A ch ild 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 a irbag w ill hit the child safety
seat or infant carrier with great force and
will smash the chi ld safety seat and chi ld
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 fac ing ch ild
safety seat on the front passenger seat be-
Ch ild safety
cause of exceptional circumstances and the
PASS ENGER AIR BA G 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 a irbag system
inspected by your Audi dealer.
- The rear side of the ch ild safety seat should
be positioned as close as possible to the
backrest on the veh icle seat.
- For adjustable head restraints: adjust or re­
move the rear seat head rest raint if it is dif­
ficult to insta ll the ch ild seat with the head
restraint in place¢
page 55. Install the
head res traint again immed iate ly once the
child seat is removed. Driving witho ut head
restraints or with head restraints that are
not properly ad justed increases the r isk of
serious or fatal neck injury dramatically.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS when­
ever using a child restrained in a vehicle is
be ing used ¢
page 135, Safety belts,
<=> page 143, Airbag system
and
<=> page 165, Important information.
A WARNING
-
If exceptional c ircumstances requ ire the use
of a forward-facing ch ild restraint on the
front passenger's seat, the child 's safety and
well-being req uire that the following special
precautions be taken:
- Make sure the forward-fac ing seat has been
des igned and certified by its manufacturer
for use on a front seat with a passenger
front and side ai rbag .
- Always follow the manufacturer's instr uc­
tions provided with the child safety seat o r
infant carrier.
- Always move the front passenger seat to
the highest position in the up and down ad­
justment range and move it back to the rearmost posit ion in the seat's fore and aft
adjustment range, as far away from the a ir­
bag as possible, before install ing the for­
ward-facing ch ild restraint .
- Always make sure that the safety be lt upper
anchorage is behind the ch ild restraint and
not next to o r in front of the child restraint
~
173

Child safet y
-If you must install a booster seat on the
front passenger seat because of exceptional
circumstances the
P ASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light must come on and stay on, when­
ever the ignition is switched on.
- If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not come on and stay on, perform the
checks descr ibed
~ page 155, Monitoring
the Advanced Airbag System.
- Take the ch ild restraint off the front passen­
ger seat and install it p roperly at one of the
rea r seat positions if the
PA SSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
l ight does not stay on whenever
the ignition is switched on.
- Always read and heed all WARN INGS when­
ever using a child restrained in a veh icle is
being used~
page 135, Safety belts,
~ page 143, Airbag system and
~page 165, 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 locking
retractor to properly secure child safety seats .
The safety belts emergency locking retractors for
the rear seats safety belts and for the front pas­
senger's seat safety belt have a convertib le lock­
i n g ret rac to r fo r child rest raints . The safety belt
m ust be locked so that belt webbing cannot un­
reel. The retractor can be activated to lock the
safety belt and prevent the safety belt webbing
from loosening up during normal driving. A child
safety seat can only be properly installed when
the safety belt is locked so that the child and
chi ld safety seat w ill stay in place .
A lways remember: Even though your vehicle is
equ ipped w ith an Advanced Airbag system, all
children, especially those 12 years and younger,
should always ride in the back seat properly re­
stra ined for their age and size .
176
A WARNING ,.
Improperly installed child safety seats in-
crease the r isk of serious personal injury and
death in a collision.
-
- Always make sure that the safety be lt re­
tractor is locked when installing a ch ild
safety seat . An unlocked safety be lt retrac­
tor cannot hold the ch ild safety seat in place
during normal d riving or in a c rash.
- Always buckle the child safety seat firmly in
place even if a ch ild is not si tting in it. A
loose child safety seat can fly a round dur ing
a sudden s top or in a collision.
- I f the backrest is not se curely latched, the
child and the ch ild restraint will be thrown
forward together with the backrest and w ill
strike parts of the veh icle 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 w ill be seriously injured and
can be k illed when the passenger a irbag in­
flates.
- The inflating airbag will h it the ch ild safety
seat or infant carr ier with great force and
w ill smash the child safety seat and child
aga inst the backrest, center armrest, door
or roof.
- Always install rear-fac ing ch ild 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 w ith the deployment of
the airbag and ca use serio us inju ry 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
eve r us ing a child restrained in a vehicle is
be ing used
c::!;> page 165. Special p recautions
apply when installing a child safety seat on
the front passenger seat~
page 144, Child
restraints on the front seat -some impor-
tant things to know .
~

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A WARNING 1=
Always take special precautions if you must install a forward or rearward -facing ch ild 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
P ASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light must come on and stay on whenever
the ignition is switched on .
- If the
PA SSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not come on and stay on , perform the
checks descr ibed
~ page 155, Monitoring
the Advanced Airbag System.
- T ake the ch ild restraint off the front passen­
ger seat and install it p roperly at one of the
rear seat positions if the
PAS SEN GER AI R
BAG OF F
light does not stay on whenever
the ignition is switched on.
- Improper installation of ch ild restraints can
reduce their effectiveness or even prevent
them from providing any protection .
- An improper ly installed child restraint can
interfere with the airbag as it deploys and
seriously injure or even kill the child .
- Always carefu lly follow the manufacturer's
instructions provided with the child safety
seat or carrier.
- After checking to make sure that the child restra int is properly installed, make certa in
tha t the child restraint is correctly recog­
nized by the capacit ive passenger detection
system in the front passenger seat and that
the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light signals
the cor rect front passenger fronta l airbag
status .
A WARNING
Forward-fac ing child rest raints :
- Always ma ke sure the forward-fac ing seat
has been designed and ce rtified by its man­
ufacturer for use on a fron t seat with a pas­
senger front and s ide a irbag .
- Never put the forward-facing child restraint
up, against or very near the instrument pan­
el.
-
Ch ild safety
-Always move the front passenger seat to
the highest posit ion in the up and down ad­
justment range and move it back to the rearmost posit ion in the seat's fore and aft
ad justment range, as far away from the a ir­
bag as possible , before installing the for­
ward-facing ch ild restraint.
- Always make sure that the safety belt upper
anchorage is behind the ch ild rest raint and
not next to o r in front of the child restraint
so that the safety be lt will be p roperly posi­
tioned.
- Ma ke sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
li ght comes on and stays on a ll the time
whenever the ignit ion is switched on .
A WARNING
= Rearward-facing chi ld restraints:
- A child in a rearward-fac ing c hild safety sea t
installed on the front passenger seat will be
serio usly injured and can be ki lled if the
front airbag inflates -even with an Ad­
vanced Airbag System .
- The inflating airbag will hit the c hild safety
seat or infant carr ier with great force and
will smash the child safety seat and child
aga inst 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 except ional cir­
cumstances.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the time
whenever the ignit ion is switched on .
- If the
PA SSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not come on and stay on, immediately in­
stall the rea r-facing child safety seat in a
rear seating posit ion and have the airbag
sys tem inspected by you r Audi dealer.
Activating the convertible locking retractor
Use the convertible locking retractor to secure a
child restraint.
Always heed the c hild safety seat manufacturer 's
instruct ions when installing a child restraint in
177

Child safety
-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
PAS SEN G ER AIR BAG OFF light does not
come on and stay on, immed iate ly install
the rear-fac ing ch ild safety seat in a rea r
seat ing pos ition and have the airbag system
inspected by your Audi dealer.
Installing the upper tether strap on the
anchorage
Fig. 155 Tet her strap: proper routing and mounting
Installing th e teth er strap
.,. Release or deploy the tether strap on the child
restra int acco rding to the child restra int manu­
fac ture r's instruct ions.
.,. Un lock the backrest and fold it slightly forward
¢ page 58and locate the tether anchor behind
the rear seat backrest.
.,. Raise the head restraint behind the child safety
seat.
.,. Gu ide the upper tether strap under or on both
s ides of the rea r head restra int (depending on
the child safety seat model) .
.,. Attach the tether strap ancho rage hook into
the open ing of the tether anchorage.
.,. Pull on the tether strap hook so that the spring
catch of the hook is engaged.
182
.,. Straighten the backrest back up into its upright
position and press it firmly into the locking
mechanism.
.,. Tighten the tether strap firmly following the
child restraint manufacturer's instructions.
Releasi ng th e tet her strap
.,. Loosen the tension on the tethe r strap fo llow­
ing the child restraint manufacturer's instruc­
tions.
.,. 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
could leave a mark on the upholstery on the
seat cushion and backrest in the area where
the tether strap was installed. The upholstery
would also be permanently stretched a round
the tether s trap. This applies especially to
l eather seats.
Using tether straps on rearward-facing
child restraints
Currently, few rear-facing child restraint systems
come with a tether. Please read and heed the
ch ild restraint system manufacturer's i nstruc­
tions carefully to determine how to properly in­
stall the tether.
&_ WARNING
A child in a rearward-facing child safety seat installed on the front passenger seat will be
seriously inju red and can be k illed if the front
airbag inf lates -even with an Advanced Airbag
System.
- The inflating airbag will h it the child safety
seat or infant carrier with great force and
will smash the child safety seat and child aga inst the backrest, center armrest, or
door.
- If you m ust install a rearward facing child
safety seat on the front passenger seat be­
cause of exceptional circumstances and the
PA SSENGER A IR BA G OFF light does not
come on and stay on, immediately install

Checking and Filling
Opening the hood
The hood is released from the interior.
M ~
-...::;:;======== -d ~
Fi g. 159 Sect ion from th e driver's side footwell: release
l ever
F ig. 160 Rocker switc h under the hood
Read and foll ow the WARNING S before check­
ing anything in the engine compartment
r::;, page 188, Working in the engine comport­
ment .
m
Make sure the wiper arms are not raised up from
the w indshield . Otherwise the paint could be
damaged .
.,. With the driver's door open, pull the lever be­
low the instrument panel in the direct ion of the
arrow
r::;, fig. 159 .
190
.,. Raise the hood slightly r::;, .&, .
.,. Press the rocker switch under the hood upward
r::;, fig. 160. This releases the catch .
.,. Open the hood .
A WARNING
Never open the hood when you see that steam
or coolant drips from the engine compart­ ment- there is a danger of bu rns! Wait unt il
no steam or coolant flows out.
Closing the hood
.,. Push the hood down u ntil the fo rce of the strut
is ove rcome .
.,. Let the hood fall lightly into the latch .
Do not
press it in.
r::;, .&, .
A WARNING
If the hood is not latched complete ly, it could
fly up wh ile you are dr iving and obstruct your
vision.
- For safety reasons, the hood must always be
closed securely while driv ing. Because of
this, always check the hood after closing it
to make sure it is latched correctly . The
hood is latched if the front corners cannot
be lifted.
- If you notice that the hood is not latched
while you are driving, stop immed iate ly and
close it, because this increases the risk of an
accident .

Check ing and F illing
Audi oil quality standard
Gas olin e
VW 502 00 or
engi ne vw 50400
A udi reco mmend s
~Castrol I jgl[J,'fE{g ?r,w.:..~J ri, '.IA!,
Audi rec ommends Longlif e high perform ance
engi ne oil from Au di Genuin e Parts
Using the proper engine oil is important for the
functionality and service life of the engine. Your
engine was factory-filled with a h igh-quality oil
which can usually be used throughout the entire
yea r.
(D Note
Your Limited New Vehicle Warranty does not
cover damage or malfunctions due to failure
to follow recommended maintenance and use
requirements as set forth in the Audi Owner's
Manual and Warranty & Maintenance booklet .
- Use only a high qual ity eng ine oil that ex-
pressly complies with the Audi oil quality
standard specified for your vehicle's engine .
Using any other oil can cause serious engine
damage.
- Do not mix any lubricants or other additives into the engine oil. Doing so can cause en­
gine damage.
@ Tips
If you need to add oil and there is none availa ­
ble that meets the Audi oil quality standard
your engine requires, you may add a total of
no more than 0.5 quart/liter of a h igh-quality
"synthet ic"oil that meets the following speci­
fications.
- Vehicles w ith gasoline eng ine: ACEA A3 or
API SM with a viscosity grade of SAE OW-30,
SAE 5W-30 or SAE 5W-40.
- For more information about engine o il that
has been approved for your vehicle, please
contact either your authorized Audi dea ler
or Aud i Custome r Relat ions at
1 (800) 822- 2834 or visit ou r web site at
www.audiusa.com or www .aud icanada.ca.
192
· Eng ine oil consumption
The engine in your vehicle depends on an ade­
quate amount of oil to lubricate and cool all of
its moving parts.
In order to provide effect ive lubricat ion and cool­
i ng of internal engine components, all internal
combust ion eng ines consume a certa in amount
of oil. Oil consumption var ies from engine to en­
gine and may change sign ificantly over the life of
the engine . T ypically, engines w ith a specified
break -in period (see¢
page 65) consume more
oi l during the break-in period than they consume
after oil consumption has stabilized.
U nder normal cond itions, the rate of oil con­
sumption depends on the quality and viscosity o f
the oil , the RPM (revo lutions per minute) at
which the engine is operated, the ambient tem­ perature and road conditions. Further factors are
the amount of o il dilution from water condensa­
tion or fuel residue and the oxidation level of the
o il. As any engine is subject to wear as mileage
builds up, the o il consumption may increase over
ti me unt il replacement of wo rn compo nents may
become necessary.
With all these variables coming into play, no standard rate of o il consumption can be estab­
li shed or spec ified . T he re is no alte rnative to reg­
u la r and freq uent checki ng of the oi l level, see
Note.
If the yellow engine oil level warning symbo l II
in the instrument cluster lights up, you sho uld
chec k the o il level as soon as possible
¢
page 193. Top off the o il at your earlies t con­
venience
¢ page 193.
A WARNING
Before you check anything in the engine com­
partment, always read and heed all WARN­
INGS
¢page 188.
(D Note
Driving with an insufficient oil level is likely to
cause severe damage to the engine.
IJII,

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-Always dispose of used engine oil prope rly .
Do not dump it on garden soi l, wooded
areas, into open streams or down sewage
drains.
- Recycle used engine oil by taking it to a used
engine oil collection facility in your area, or
contact a serv ice stat ion.
Cooling system
Coolant
The engine coo ling system is filled wi th a mixture
of purified water and coolant additive at the fac ­
tory. This coo lant must not be not changed.
The coolant leve l is moni to red throug h the . in ­
d icator light
q page 16 . Howeve r, we do recom­
mend occasiona lly checking the coo lant level
manually.
If you m ust add coo lant, use a m ix ture of water
an d coolant addit ive. Mixing the coolant additive
with d isti lled water is recommended.
Coolant additive
The coolan t additive is made of anti-freezing and
corros ion pro tection agents. Only use the fol low­
in g coolant add it ives. The se addi tives may be
mixed wit h each other.
Coolant additive Specification
G13 TL 7
74)
G12 ++ TL 774 G
T he amount of coo lant additive that needs to be
mixed with water depends on the climate where
the vehicle will be ope rated. If the coolant addi­
tive percentage is too low, the coolant can freeze
and damage the eng ine.
Coolant Freeze protec-
additive tion
Warm reg ions min . 40% m in. -13 °F
max. 45% (-
25
°()
Cold regions min . 50% max . -40 °F
max. 55% (-40
°()
Checking and Filling
(D Note
-
Before the start of w inte r, have you r auth or­
ized Aud i dealer or a uthorized Aud i Serv ice
Facility check if the coolant addit ive in your
vehicle matches the pe rcentage appropriate
for the climate. This is especially important
when driving in colder climates .
- If the appropr iate coo lant add itive is not
availab le in an emergency, do not add any
other additive. Yo u could damage the en­
gine. If this happens, on ly use water and re­
store t he corre ct m ix tu re ratio with the
specified coolant ad ditive as soon as poss i­
ble.
- O nly refill w ith new coolant.
- Radiator sea lant must not be mi xed with
the coolant.
Adding coolant
Fig . 1 64 En g in e compa rtment: ma rki ngs o n the coolant
expans ion
t ank
Read and follow the WARNINGS befo re check­
ing anything in the engine compartment
i=> page 188, Working in the engine compart­
ment.
Che cking the engine coolant level
.. Park your vehicle on a leve l su rface .
.. Switch t he ignition off .
.. Read the coolant level on the coolant expansion
tank ¢
fig. 164. The coolant level must be be­
tween the markings when the eng ine in cold .
When the eng ine is warm it can be slig htly
above the upper marking.
195