2016 AUDI A3 CABRIOLET Owners Manual

<( co ..... N
" N ..... 0 r--. > 00
Although they are not a soft pillow, they can
"cushion" the impact and in this way they can
help to reduce the risk of injury to the lower ex­
tremities .
All of this takes place in the blink of an eye, so
fast that many people don't even realize that the
airbags have deployed . The airbags also inflate
wi th a great deal of force and it is important for
occupant safety that nothing should be in their
way when they deploy .
Fully inflated airbags in comb ination with proper­
ly worn safety belts slow down and limit the o c­
cupant 's forward movement and help to reduce
the r isk of injury .
Important safety instructions on the knee
airbag system
Applies to: veh icles wit h knee airbags
Airbags are only supplemental restraints . Always
wear safety belts correctly and ride in a proper
seating position.
There is a lot that you and your passengers must
know and do to help the safety belts and airbags
to p rovide supplemental protection .
& WARNING
An inflating knee airbag can cause ser ious in­
jury. Wearing safety bel ts incorrec tly and im­
proper sea ting positions increase the r isk o f
serious personal injury and death whenever a
vehicle is being used.
- The knee airbag system cannot protect you
properly if you are seated too close to any of
the airbag locat ions. When adj usting their
seat positions, it is important that both the
driver and the front passenger keep their
upper bod ies a nd knees at the following
min imum safe distances :
- at least 10 inches (25 cm) between the
chest and the steering wheel/instrument
panel.
- at least 4 inc hes (10 cm) between the
knees and the lower part of the instru­
ment panel.
- The risk of persona l injury inc reases if you
lean forward or to the side, or if the seat is
-
Airb ag sys tem
improperly positioned and you are not wear­
ing your safety belt. The risk increases even
more should the airbag deploy.
- Always make sure that the knee a irbag can
inflate w ithout interference . Objects be­
tween you and the airbag can increase the risk of injury in an acc ident by interfering
with the way the airbag deploys or by being
pushed into yo u as the a irbag deploys.
- Never let anybody, especia lly children or
anima ls ride in the footwell in front of the
passenger seat. If the airbag deploys, this
can result in serious or fatal inj uries.
- Never carry objects of any kind in the foot­
well area in front of the driver's or pas­
senger's seat. Bulky objects (shopp ing
bags, fo r example) can interfere with or
prevent proper dep loyment of the airbag .
Small objects ca n be thrown th rough the
vehicle if the airbag deploys and injure you
o r your passengers .
- M ake sure the re are no c rac ks, deep scratch­
es or othe r damage in the area of the inst ru­
men t panel where the knee airbags are lo­
cated.
- If children are incorrec tly se ated, their risk
of injury inc reases in a coll is io n
¢ page 165, Child safety.
Side airbags
Description of side airbags
The airbag system can provide supplemental
pro tec tion to properly restrained occupan ts .
Fig . 14 3 Side a irbag locatio n in t he drive r's seat
The side airbags a re located in the s ides of the
front sea t backrests ¢
fig. 143.
161

Airbag system
The side airbags installed for the front seating
positions have been designed and certified to
he lp reduce the risk of injury that can be caused
by airbags when they inflate, particularly when
the occupant sitting next to it is not seated prop­
erly. The side airbag for the front passenger seat
can be used with properly installed child re­
stra ints. Please be sure to read the important in­
formation and warnings whenever using a child
rest raint in a veh icle: Safety belts¢
page 135,
Airbag system¢ page 143, Child safety
qpage 165.
The side airbag system basically consists of:
-the electronic control modu le and external side
impact sensors
- the two airbags located in the sides of the front
backrests
- the a irbag warning light in the instrument clus-
ter .
The airbag system is monitored electronically to make certain that it is functioning properly at all
times . Each time you switch on the ign ition, the
airbag system indicator light will come on for a
few seconds (self diagnostics) .
The s ide a irbag system supplements the safety
be lts and can help to reduce the risk of injury to
the dr iver's and front passenger's upper torso on
the s ide of the vehicle that is struck in a s ide col­
lision . The airbag deploys on ly in s ide impacts
and only when the vehicle accele ration registered
by the control unit is high enough. If this rate is
be low the reference value programmed into the
control unit, the side airbags will not be trig­
gered, even tho ugh the car may be badly dam­
aged as a resu lt of the collision.
It is not possible
to define an airbag triggering range that w ill cov­
er every poss ible angle of impact, since the cir­
cumstances will vary cons iderably between one
coll is ion and a nother . Important factors include,
for example, the nature (hard or soft) of the im­
pacting objec t, the ang le of impact, vehicle
speed, etc.
q page 163, Important safety in­
structions on the side airbag system.
Aside from their normal safety function, safety
be lts work to help keep the driver or front pas-
162
senger in position in the event of a side co llision
so that the side airbags can provide protection .
The airbag system is
not a substitute for your
safety belt . Rather, it i s part of the overall occ u­
pant restraint system in your vehicle . Always re­
member that the side airbag system can only
help to protect you if you are wear ing your safety
belt and wearing it properly. This is another rea­
son why you should always wear your safety belts, not just because the law requires you to do
so
q page 135, General notes.
It is important to remember that while the sup­
plemental side airbag system is designed to re­
duce the likelihood of ser ious injuries, other inju­
ries, for example, swelling, bru is ing, friction
burns and minor abrasions can also be assoc iated
with deployed side airbags. Remember too, side
a irbags w ill deploy only once and only in certa in
kinds of accidents -your safety belts are always
there to offer protection.
Vehicle damage, repair costs or even the lack of
vehicle damage are not necessarily an ind icat ion
of over-sens itive or fa iled airbag activation. In
some collisions, both front and side airbags may
inflat e. Remember too, that airbags wi ll deploy
on ly once and only in certain kinds of collisions -
your safety be lts are always there to offer protec­
tion in those accidents in which airbags are not
supposed to deploy or when they have already
deployed .
The side airbag system will not deploy:
- when the ignition is switched off
- in side co llisions when the acceleration meas -
ured by the sensor is too low
- in front-end col lisions
- in rea r-end collisions
- in rollovers.
In some types of accidents the front airbags, side curta in airbags and side a irbags may be triggered
together .
&_ WARNING
-Safety belts and the airbag system will only
provide protection when occupants are in
the proper seating position ¢
page 163.

<( co ..... N
" N ..... 0 r--. > 00
-If the airbag indicator light c::> page 17
comes when the vehicle is be ing used, have
the system inspected immediate ly by your
authorized Aud i dealer . It is possible that
the a irbag will inflate when it is not sup­
posed to, or will not inflate when it shou ld .
How supplemental side airbags work
Side airbags deploy instantly and can help re­
duce the risk of upper torso injuries for occu ­
pants who are properly restrained.
F ig. 144 S ide impac t protec tion : inf lated s ide a irbags
When the system is triggered, the airbag is filled
with propellant gas and breaks through a seam in
the seat surface area marked "AIRBAG". It ex­ pands between the s ide trim panel and the pas­
senger. In order to help prov ide this add itional
protection, the side airbag must inflate within a
fract ion of a second at very high speed and with
great force . The supplemental side airbag cou ld
i nju re yo u if your seating position is not p roper or
up right o r if items a re loc ated in the area where
the supplemental side airbag expands . This ap­
p lies especially to children
c::> page 165, Child
safety .
Supplemental side a irbags inf late be­
tween the occupant and the door panel on the side of the vehicle that is struck in certa in side
coll is ion
c::> fig. 144 .
Although they are not a soft pi llow, they can
"cushion" the impact and in th is way they can
help to reduce the risk of injury to the upper part
of the body .
A fine dust may develop when the airbag dep loys.
This is no rmal and does not mean there is a fire
in the vehicle .
Airbag sys tem
Important safety instructions on the side
airbag system
Airbags are only supplemental restraints . Always
properly wear safety belts and ride in a proper
seating position .
There is a lot that you and yo ur passengers must
know and act acco rding ly to he lp the safety belts
and airbags do their job to prov ide supplementa l
pro tect ion .
A WARNING
An inflating side ai rbag can cause serious or
fata l injury. Improperly wearing safety be lts
and improper seating posit ions increase the
risk of ser ious personal injury and death
whenever a vehicle is being used.
- In order to reduce the risk of injury when the supplemental side airbag inflates:
- Always s it in an upr ight posi tion and never
lean against the area where the supp le­
mental s ide airbag is located .
- Neve r let a child or anyone e lse rest their
head ag ainst the side tr im panel in the
area where the s upplementa l side airbag
inflates.
- Always make s ure tha t safety belts are
worn correctly,
- Do no t let anyone s itting in the front seat
put their hand or any other parts of their
body out of the window .
- Always make sure th at the side airbag can
inflate without interference .
- Never install seat covers or replacement
upholste ry over the front seatbacks that
have not been specif ically approved by
Audi.
- Never use additional seat c ushions that
cover the areas where the side airbags de­ ploy.
- Damage to the orig inal seat covers or to
the seam in the area of the s ide airbag
mo dule must a lways be repaired immedi­
ate ly by an authorized Audi dealer.
-
- Objects between you and the a irbag can in­
crease the r is k of injury in an a cciden t by in­
terfering with the way the airbag unfolds o r _,.
163

Airbag syste m
by being pushed into you as the airbag in­
flates.
- Never p lace or attach accessories or other
objects (such as cup holders, telephone
brackets, or even large, bulky ob jects) on
the doors, over or near the area marked "AIRBAG" on the seat backrests.
- Such ob jects and accessories can become
dangerous projectiles and cause injury
when the supplemental side airbag de­ ploys.
- Never carry any objects or pets in the de­ ployment space between them and the
airbags or allow chi ldren or other passen­
gers to travel in this posit ion.
- Always prevent the side airbags from being
damaged by heavy objects knocking against
or hitting the sides of the seatbacks.
- The airbag system can only be triggered
once.
If the airbag has been triggered, the
system must be replaced by an author ized
Audi dealership.
- Damage (cracks, deep scratches etc.) to the
original seat covers or to the seam in the
area of the side a irbag module must always
be repa ired immed iate ly by an autho rized
Audi dealer.
- If children are seated improperly, their r isk
of injury increases in the case of an acc ident
r:!v page 165, Child safety.
- Never attempt to modify any components of
the a irbag sys tem in any way.
- In a side collision, s ide a irbags w ill not func­
t ion properly if sensors cannot correctly
measure increasing a ir pressure ins ide the
doors when air escapes through larger, un­
cl osed openings in the doo r panel.
- Never drive with inter ior door tr im panels
removed.
- Never drive when parts have been re­ moved from the inside door panel and the
open ings they leave have not been proper­
ly closed.
- Never drive when loudspeakers in the
doors have been removed unless the
spea ker ho les have been p roperly closed .
- Always make certa in that openings are
covered or filled if add itiona l speakers or
164
other equipment is installed in the inside
door panels.
- Always have work on the doors done by an
authorized Aud i dea ler or q ualified work­
shop.

<( co .... N ,.__
N .... 0 ,.__
> co
Child safety
Important information
Introduction
The rear seat is generally the safest place in a
collision .
The physical principles of what happens when
your vehicle is in a crash apply also to children
c:> page 136, What happens to occupants not
wearing safety belts? .
But unlike adults and
teenagers, their muscles and bones are not fully
developed. In many respects children are at
greater r isk of serious injury in crashes than
adults .
Because children's bodies are not fu lly devel­
oped, they require restraint systems especially
designed for their size, weight , and body struc­
ture. Many countries and all states of the United
States and provinces of Canada have laws requir­
ing the use of approved child restraint systems
for infants and small children .
I n a frontal crash at a speed of 20-3 5 mph
(30-56 km/h) the forces acting on a 13-pound
(6 kg) infant will be more than 20 times the
weight of the child . This means the weight of the
child would suddenly be more than 260 pounds (120 kg) . Under these conditions, only an appro­
priate child restraint properly used can reduce
the risk of serious injury . Child restra ints, like
adult safety belts, must be used properly to be
effect ive. Used improperly, they can increase the
risk of serious injury in an accident .
All ch ildren, especially those 12 years and young­
er must always ride in the back seat proper ly re­
strained for their age and size. If you must install
a child restraint on the front passenger seat in
exceptional circumstances, be sure to read and
heed the important information and warnings
c:>page 144. Infants and other children who are
properly restrained in an appropriate child re­
straint that is for their si ze and age can benefit
from the protection that supplemental side air­
bags provide in some kinds of crashes.
For more information please see information
provided by the:
Child safety
- National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
(NHTSA), currently at: http :/ /www.safe ­
rcar.gov (for the USA)
- Transport Canada Information Centre, current-
ly at: http://www.tc .gc.ca (for Canada)
Consult the child safety seat manufacturer's in­
structions in order to be sure the seat is right for
yo ur child's size
c:> page 169, Important safety
instructions for using child safety seats .
Please
be sure to read and heed all of the important in­
formation and WARNINGS about child safety,
Advanced Airbags, and the installation of child
restra ints in this chapter .
There is a lot you need to know about the Ad­
vanced Airbags in your vehicle and how they work
when infants and children in child restraints are on the front passenger seat . Because of the large
amount of important informat ion, we cannot re­
peat it all he re . We urge you to read the detailed
information in this owner's manual about airbags
and the Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle
and the very important information about trans­
porting children on the front passenger seat.
P lease be sure to heed the WARNINGS -they are
extremely important for your safety and the safe­
ty of your passengers, especially infants and
small children .
A WARNING
--Accident statistics have shown that children
are generally safer in the rear seat area than
in the front seat ing pos ition. Always restrain
any child age 12 and under in the rear.
- All vehicle occupants and especially children
must be restrained properly whenever riding
in a vehicle. An unrestrained or improperly
rest rained child could be injured by striking
the interior or by being ejected from the ve­ hicle during a sudden maneuver or impact.
An unrestrained or improperly restrained
child is also at greater risk of injury or death
through contact w ith an inflating a irbag.
- A suitable child restraint properly installed
and used at one of the rear seating positions
provides the h ighest degree of protection
for infants and small children in most acci­
dent situat ions .
165

Child safety
A WARNING
Children on the front seat of any car even with
Advanced Airbags can be seriously injured 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 in­
flates.
- 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, or
door.
- 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
PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on
and stay on, immediately install the rear­
facing child safety seat in a rear seating po­
sition and have the airbag system inspected
immediately by your Audi dealer.
A WARNING
- Forward-facing child seats installed on the
front passenger seat may interfere with the deployment of the airbag and cause serious
personal injury to the child.
- If exceptional circumstances require the use
of a forward-facing child restraint on the
front passenger's seat, the child's safety and well-being require the following special
precautions to be taken:
- Always make sure that the forward-facing
seat has been designed and certified by its
manufacturer for use on a front passenger
seat with a front and side airbag.
-Always carefully follow the manufacturer's
instructions provided with the child seat
or infant carrier.
- Never install a child restraint without a
properly attached top tether strap if the
child restraint manufacturer's instructions
require the top tether strap to be used.
166
-Never put the forward-facing child re­
straint up against or very near the instru­
ment panel.
- Always move the front passenger seat to
the highest position in the up and down
adjustment range and move it back to the
rearmost position in the seat's fore and
aft adjustment range, as far away from
the airbag as possible, before installing
the forward-facing child restraint.
-Always make sure that the safety belt up­
per anchorage is behind the child restraint
and not next to or in front of the child re­
straint so that the safety belt will be prop­
erly positioned.
- Always make sure that nothing prevents
the front passenger's seat from being
moved to the rearmost position in its fore
and aft adjustment range.
- Never place objects on the seat (such as a
laptop, CD player, electronic games de­
vice, power inverter or seat heater for
child seats). These may influence the elec­
trical capacitance measured by the capaci­
tive passenger detection system and can
also fly around in an accident and cause
serious personal injury.
- Never place or use any electrical device
(such as a laptop, CD player, electronic
games device, power inverter or seat heat­
er 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
otherwise added to the front passenger
seat, never install any child restraint sys­
tem on this seat.
- Make sure that there are no wet objects
(such as a wet towel) and no water or oth­
er liquids on the front passenger seat
cushion.
- Always 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, immediate- ly install the forward-facing child seat in a
~

<( co .... N r--­N .... 0 r--­> co
rear seating position and have the airbag
system inspected by your authorized Audi
dealer.
- Always buckle the child seat firmly in
place even if a child is not sitting in it. A
loose child seat can fly around during a
sudden stop or in a collision.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restraint in a vehi­
cle
c!;> page 135, Safety belts, c!;> page 143,
Airbag system
and c!;> page 165, Impor­
tant information.
{D) Tips
Always replace child restraints that were in­
stalled in a vehicle dur ing a crash. Damage 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 "Advanced
Ai rbag System" in compliance with United States
F edera l Motor Vehicle Safety Standard ( FMVSS)
208, as well as Canada Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard (CMVSS) 208 as applicable at the time
your veh icle was manufactured.
The Advanced Airbag system in your vehicle has
been certified to meet the "low-risk" require­
ments for 3- and 6-year old children on the pas­
senger side and small adults on the driver side.
The low risk deployment criteria are intended to
reduce the risk of injury through interaction with
the airbag that can occur, for example, by being
too close to the steering wheel and instrument
panel when the airbag inflates. In addition, the
sys tem has been certified to comply with the
"suppression" requirements of the Safety Stand ­
ard, to turn off the front airbag for infants up to 12 months who are restrained on the front pas­
senger seat in child restraints that are listed in
the Standard.
Even though your vehicle is equipped with an Ad­
vanced Airbag system, all children, especially those 12 years and younger, should always r ide
in the back seat properly restrained for their age
and size . The airbag on the passenger side makes
Child safety
the front seat a potentia lly dangerous p lace for a
child to ride. The front seat is not the safest place
for a ch ild in a forward-facing child safety seat . It
can be a very dangerous place for an infant or a
larger ch ild in a rearward-facing seat.
The vehicle's Advanced Airbag System has a ca­
pacit ive passenger detection system in the front
passenger seat cushion that can detect the pres­
ence of a baby or a child in a child restraint sys­
tem on this seat.
The capacitive passenger detection system regis­
ters the changes that result in an electrical field
when a child, a child restraint, and a baby blanket are on the front passenger seat . The change in
the measured capacitance due to the presence of
a chi ld, a child restraint, and a baby blanket on
the front passenger seat is related to the child
restraint system resting on the seat. The meas­
ur ed capacitance of a child restra int system var­
ies depending on the type of system and specific
make and mode l.
T he elect rical capacitance of the various types,
makes, and models of child restraints specif ied
by the U.S .National Highway Traffic Safety Ad­
ministration (NHTSA) in the relevant safety
standard are stored in the Advanced Airbag Sys­
tem control unit together with the capacitances
typ ical of infants and a 1-year old child. When a
child restraint is used on the front passenger
seat w it h a typical 1 year-old infant, the Ad­
vanced Airbag System compares the capacitance
measured by the capacitive passenge r detection
system with the data stored in the electronic con­
trol unit.
Child restraints and Advanced front airbag
system
Regardless of the ch ild restraint that you use,
make sure that it has been certified to meet Safe­
ty Standards and has been cert ified by its manu ­
facturer for use w ith an airbag . Always be sure
that the child restraint is properly installed at
one of the rear seating positions. If in exception­
al circumstances you must use it on the front
passenger seat, carefully read all of the informa-
tion on child safety and Advanced Airbags and .,.
167

Child safet y
heed a ll of the app licab le WARN INGS. Make cer ­
tain that the child and child restraint are correct ­
ly recognized by the capacitive passenger detec­
tion system in the front passenger seat, that the
front passenger airbag is turned off, and that the
airbag status is always correctly signaled by the
PAS SENGER AIR BA G OFF light .
Many types and models of child restraints have
been available over the years, new models are in­
troduced regularly incorporat ing new and im ­
proved designs and older models are taken out of
p roduct ion. Ch ild restraints are not standardized.
Ch ild rest raints of the same type typ ica lly have
d ifferent weights and s izes and d ifferen t "foot­
p rints", the s ize and shape of the bottom of the
child restraint that sits on the seat, when they
are insta lled on a vehicle seat. These differences
make it virtually impossible to certify compliance
with the requirements for advanced airbags with
each and every ch ild restraint that has ever been
sold in the past or will be sold over the course of
the useful life of your veh icle.
For this reason, the Un ited States National High­
way Traffic Safety Administration has published a list of specific type, makes and models of child
restraints that must be used to cert ify compli­
ance of the Advanced Airbag System in your vehi­
cle with the supp ression requ irements of Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standa rd 208. These child
restraints are:
Subpart A - Car bed child restraints
Mod el Manufactured on or
after
Angel G uard Angel September 2S, 200 7
Ride AA2403 FOF
Subpart B - Rear-facing child re straints
Model Manufactured on or
after
Century SmartFit 4S43 December 1, 1999
Cosco Arriva September 2S, 2007
22-0 13PAW and base
22-999WHO
Evenflo Discovery Ad- December 1, 1999
just Right 212
1 6 8
Model Manufactured on or
after
Evenflo First Choice December 1, 1999
204
Graco Infan t 845 7 December 1, 1999
Graco Snugr ide September 2S, 2007
Peg Perego Primo Viag- September 25, 2007
gio SIP IMUNOOUS
Subpart C - Forward-facing and convertible
child re str aint s
Model Manufactured on or
after
Br itax Roundabout September 2S, 2007
E9L02xx
Cosco Touriva 025 19
December 1, 1999
Cosco Summit Deluxe September 2S, 2007 H igh Back Booster
22-262
Cosco High Back Boos- September 25, 2007
ter 22-209
E venflo Tribu te V September 25, 2007
379xxxx
Evenflo Medallion 2S4 December 1, 1999
Evenflo Generations September 25, 2007
352xxxx
Graco ComfortSport September 25, 2007
Graco Todd ler Safety
September 25, 2007
Seat Step 2
Graco Plat inum Cargo September 25, 200 7
_&. WARNING
To reduce the risk of serious injury, ma ke sure
that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
comes on and stays on whenever a ch ild re­
stra int is installed on the front passenger seat
and the ign ition is switched on.
-Take the child restra int off the front passen­
ger seat and install it properly at one of the rear seat positions if the
PA SSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
light does not stay on.
- Have the airbag system inspected by your
author ized Audi dealer immed iately.