2016 AUDI A3 CABRIOLET seats

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Safety belts
General notes
Always wear safety belts!
Wearing safety belts correctly saves lives!
This chapter explains why safety belts are neces­
sary, how they work and how to adjust and wear
them correctly.
~ Read all the information that follows and heed
all of the instructions and WARNINGS.
A WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them im­
properly increases the risk of serious personal
injury and death .
- Safety belts are the single most effective
means available to reduce the risk of serious
injury and death in automobile accidents.
For your protection and that of your passen­
gers, always correctly wear safety belts
when the vehicle is moving.
- Pregnant women, injured, or physically im­
paired persons must also use safety belts.
Like all vehicle occupants, they are more
likely to be seriously injured if they do not
wear safety belts. The best way to protect a
fetus is to protect the mother -throughout
the entire pregnancy.
Number of seats
Your Audi has a total of four seating positions:
two in the front and two in the rear. Each seating position has a safety belt .
A WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them im­
properly increases the risk of serious personal
injury and death.
- Never strap more than one person, includ­
ing small children, into any belt.
It is espe­
cially dangerous to place a safety belt over a
child sitting on your lap.
- Never let more people ride in the vehicle
than there are safety belts available.
Safety belts
-Be sure everyone riding in the vehicle is
properly restrained with a separate safety
belt or child restraint.
~ Safety belt warning light
Your vehicle hos o warning system for the driver
and front seat passenger (on USA models only)
to remind you about the importance of buckling­
up .
Fig. 127 Safety belt warn ing light in the instrument clus ­
te r -enlarged
Before driving off, always:
.. Fasten your safety belt and make sure you are
wearing it properly.
.,, N
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~ Make sure that your passengers also buckle up
and properly wear their safety belts .
~ Protect children w ith a ch ild restraint system
appropr iate for the size and age .
The warning light . in the instrument cluster
lights up when the ignit ion is on as a reminder to
fasten the safety belts. In addition, you wil l hear
a warning tone for a certain period of time.
Fasten your safety belt and make sure that your
passengers also properly put on their safety
belts.
A WARNING
-
- Safety belts are the sing le most effective
means available to reduce the risk of serious
injury and death in automobile accidents.
F or your protection and that of your passen­
gers, a lways correctly wear safety belts
when the vehicle is moving .
- Failure to pay attention to the warning light
that come on, could lead to personal injury.
135

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Never rely on airbags alone for protection. Even
when they deploy, airbags provide on ly additional
protection. Airbags are not supposed to dep loy in
all kinds of accidents. A lthough your Audi is
equipped with airbags, all vehicle occupants, in­
cluding the dr iver, must wear safety belts cor ­
rectly in order to minimize the risk of severe in­
jury or death in a crash .
Remember too, that airbags will deploy only
once and that your safety belts are always there
to offer protect ion in those accidents in w hich
a ir bags are not supposed to deploy or when they
have already deployed. Unbelted occupants can
also be thrown o ut of the vehicle where even
more severe or fatal injur ies can occur.
It is also important for the rear passengers to
wear safety belts correctly . Unbelted passengers
in the rear seats endanger not only themse lves
but also the driver and other passengers
¢fig . 131. In a frontal collision they will be
thrown forward violently, where they can hit and
injure the driver and/or front seat passenger .
Safety belts protect
People think it's possible to use the hands to
brace the body in a minor collision. It 's simply
not true!
Fig. 132 Dr iver is correctly restra ined in a sudden b raking
maneuver
Safety belts used properly can make a big differ­
ence. Safety belts help to keep passengers in
their seats, gradually reduce energy levels ap­
plied to the body in an accident, and help prevent
the uncontrolled movement that can cause se ri­
ous injur ies. In addition, safety belts reduce the
danger of being thrown out of the vehicle .
Safety belts
Safety belts attach passengers to the car and give
them the benefit of being slowed down more
gently or "softly" through the "give" in the safety
belts, crush zones and other safety features engi­
neered into today's vehicles. By "absorbing" the
kinetic ene rgy over a longer period of time, the
safety belts make the forces on the body more
"tolerab le" and less likely to ca use injury .
Although these examples are based on a frontal collision, safety be lts can also substantially re ­
duce the r isk of injury in other k inds of crashes.
So, whether you're on a long trip or just going to
the corner store, always buckle up and make sure
others do, too. Acciden t statist ics show that vehi­
cle occupants properly wearing safety belts have
a lower risk of being injured and a much better
chance of surviving an accident . Properly using
safety belts also greatly increases the ability of
the supp lemental airbags to do their job in a col­
lision. For this reason, wearing a safety belt is le­
gally required in most count ries including much
of the United States and Canada .
Although your Aud i is equipped with airbags, you
still have to wear the safety belts provided. Front
airbags, for example, are activated only in some
frontal collisions. The front airbags are not act i­
vated in all frontal collisions, in side and rear col­
lisions , in roll overs or in cases where there is not
enough deceleration through impact to the front
of the vehicle. The same goes for the other air bag
systems in your Audi . So, always wear your safety
belt and make sure everybody in your vehicle is
properly restrained!
Important safety instructions about safety
belts
Safety belts must always be correctly positioned
across the strongest bones of your body.
.,. Always wear safety belts as illustrated and de­
scribed in this chapter.
.,. Make sure that your safety belts are always
ready for use and are not damaged.
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Safety belts
_& WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them im­
properly increases the risk of serious personal
injury and death . Safety belts can work only
when used correctly.
-Always fasten your safety belts correctly be­ fore driving off and make sure all passen­
gers are correctly restrained.
- For maximum protection, safety belts must
always be positioned properly on the body.
- Never strap more than one person, includ­
ing small children, into any belt.
- Never place a safety belt over a child sitting
on your lap.
- Always keep feet in the footwell in front of
the seat while the vehicle is being driven.
- Never let any person ride with their feet on
the instrument panel or sticking out the
window or on the seat.
- Never
remove a safety belt while the vehicle
is moving . Doing so will increase your risk of
being injured or killed .
- Never wear belts twisted.
- Never wear belts
over rigid or breakable ob-
jects in or on your clothing, such as eye
glasses, pens, keys, etc., as these may cause
injury.
- Never allow safety belts to become dam­
aged by being caught in door or seat hard­
ware .
- Do not wear the shoulder part of the belt
under your arm or otherwise out of position.
- Several layers of heavy clothing may inter­
fere with correct positioning of belts and re­
duce the overall effectiveness of the system.
- Always keep belt buckles free of anything
that may prevent the buckle from latching
securely .
- Never use comfort clips or devices that cre­
ate slack in the shoulder belt. However, spe­
cial clips may be required for the proper use
of some child restraint systems.
- Torn or frayed safety belts can tear, and
damaged belt hardware can break in an acci­
dent . Inspect belts regularly.
If webbing,
bindings, buckles, or retractors are dam-
138
aged, have belts replaced by an authorized
Audi dealer or qualified workshop.
- Safety belts that have been worn and loaded
in an accident must be replaced with the
correct replacement safety belt by an au­
thorized Audi dealer. Replacement may be
necessary
even if damage cannot be clearly
seen . Anchorages that were loaded must al­
so be inspected.
- Never
remove, modify , disassemble, or try
to repair the safety belts yourself .
-Always keep the belts clean. Dirty belts may not work properly and can impair the func­
tion of the inertia reel¢
table Internal
cleaning on page 226.
Safety belts
Fastening safety belts
Safety first -everybody buckle up!
Fig. 133 Be lt buckle and tongue on the driver's seat
To provide maximum protection, safety belts
must always be positioned correctly on the wear­
er's body .
.. Adjust the front seat and head restraint proper­
ly¢
page 53, Front seats.
.. Make sure the seatback of the rear seat bench
is in an upright position and securely latched in
place before using the belt
q ,&. .
.. Hold the belt by the tongue and pull it evenly
across the chest and pelvis¢,&..
.. Insert the tongue into the correct buckle of
your seat until you hear it latch securely
¢fig. 133.
.. Pull on the belt to make sure that it is securely
latched in the buckle. .,,._

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Automatic safety belt r etractors
Every safety be lt is equ ipped wi th an automatic
be lt retractor on the shoulder belt. Th is feature
l ocks the belt when the belt is p ulled out fast,
during hard braking and in an accident. The belt
may also lock when you drive up or down a steep
h ill or through a sharp curve. During normal driv­
ing the belt lets you move freely .
Safety be lt pret en sioner s
The safety belts are equipped with a belt preten­
sioner that helps to tighten the safety belt and
remove slack when the pretensioner is activated
c:> page 141. The function of the pretensioner is
monitored by a warning light
c:> page 17.
Con vertible loc king retractor
Every safety belt exc ept the one on the driver
seat is equipped with a convertible locking retrac­
tor that
mu st be used when the safety belt is
used to attach a child seat. Be sure to read the
important information about this featu re
c:> page 176.
A WARNING
Improperly posit ioned safety be lts ca n cause
ser ious injury in an accident ¢
page 139,
Safety belt position.
-Safety belts offer optimum protection only
when the seatback is upr ight and belts are
prope rly pos itioned on the body.
- Never a ttac h the safety belt to the buckle
for ano ther sea t. Att aching the bel t to the
wrong buck le w ill reduce safety belt effec­
tiveness and can cause serious persona l in ­
jury .
- A passenger who is no t properly restrained
can be se riously in jured by the safety be lt it­
self when it moves from the stronger parts of the body into cr itical areas like the abdo­
men .
- Always lock the convert ible lock ing retractor
when you are secur ing a child seat in the ve­
hicle
c:> page 177.
Safet y bel ts
(D Tips
For information on safety belt pretensioners,
refer to
r=:; page 141 .
Safety belt position
Correct belt position is the key to getting maxi­
mum protection from safety belts.
F ig. 134 Safety be lt pos it ion
Standard features on your vehicle help you adjust
the position of the safety belt to match your body s iz e.
- he ight -adjustable front seats .
A WARNING
'"' -Improperly posi tioned safety belts can cause
se rious pe rsonal injury in an acc ident.
- The s hou lder belt should lie as close to the
center of the collar bone as possib le and
should fit well on the body . Ho ld the belt
above the latch tongue and pull it evenly
a cross the chest so tha t it sits as low as pos­
sible on the pe lvis and there is no p ressure
on the abdomen . The belt should a lways fit
snug ly
r=:; fig. 134. Pu ll on the belt to tighten
if necessary.
- The lap be lt portion of the safety belt must
be positioned as low as possible across pel­
vis and never over the abdomen . Make s ure
the belt lies flat and snug
c:> fig. 134. Pull on
the bel t to tighten if necessary .
- A loose-fitting safety belt can cause serious
in ju ries by s hifting its position on your body
from the stro ng bones to more vulnerable,
soft tissue and cause se rious i nju ry .
~
139

Safe ty belts
-Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important information
r::;, page 13 7.
Pregnant women must also be correctly
restrained
The best way to protect the fetus is to make sure
t hat expec tan t mothers always wear safety bel ts
correctly -throughout the pregnancy .
Fig . 135 Safety belt pos ition dur ing preg nan cy
To prov ide max imum protection, safety belts
must always be positioned correctly on the wear­
er 's body
,:::;, page 139.
• Adjust the front sea t and adjustable head re ­
straint * correctly
r::;, page 53, Front seats.
• Hold the belt by the tongue and pull it even ly
across the chest and pe lvis
r::;, fig. 135, r::;, A .
• Insert the tongue into the correct b uckle of
your seat until you hear it latch securely
r::;, page 138, fig . 133.
• Pull on the belt to make sure that it is securely
latched in the buckle.
A WARNING
Improperly pos itioned safety be lts can cause
ser ious persona l inju ry in an accident.
- Expectan t mothe rs must a lways wear the
lap po rtion of the safe ty belt as low as pos­
sible across the pelvis and below the ro und­
ing of the abdomen.
- Always rea d and heed a ll WARN INGS and
othe r important information
r::;, .&. in Fasten­
ing safety belts on page 139 .
140
Unfastening safety belts
Unbuckle the safety belt with the red release
button only ofter the vehicle hos stopped .
.,,
Fig. 136 Releasing the tongue from the buckle
• Push the red re lease button on the buck le
r::;, fig. 136. The belt tongue wi ll spring out of
the buck le
r::;, A .
• Let the belt wind up on the retractor as you
guide the belt tongue to its stowed position .
A WARNING
Never unfasten safety belt while the vehicle is
moving . Do ing so will increase your r isk of be­
ing inj ured or killed .
Improperly worn safety belts
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Incorrectly positioned safety belts con cause se­
vere injuries.
Wear ing safety belts improperly can cause seri­
ous injury or deat h. Safety belts can only work
whe n they are correct ly posit ioned on the body .
Imprope r seating positions red uce the effective­
ness of safety belts and w ill even increase the
risk of inj ury and death by moving the safety belt
to c rit ic al areas of the body . Imprope r seating
pos itions also increase the ris k of serious injury
and death when an airbag dep loys and strikes a n
occupant who is not in the correct seating posi­
tion. A driver is responsible for the safety of all
vehicle occupants and especially for chi ldren .
Therefore:
• Never permit anyone to assume an incorrect
sitt ing position in the vehicle while traveling
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A WARNING ,~
Improperly worn safety belts increase the risk
of serious personal injury and death whenever
a vehicle is be ing used.
- Always make sure that all vehicle occupants
are correctly restra ined and stay in a correct
seating pos it ion whenever the veh icle is be­
ing used .
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important information
~ page 13 7 .
Belt tensioners
How safety belt pretensioners work
In front, side and rear-end collisions above a
particular s everity and in a rollov er, saf ety belts
are tensioned automatically.
Re ve rsib le safe ty belt ten sione rs
The safety belts on the front seats are equipped
with power reversib le tensioners. The fo llowing
f u nctions are avai lab le when the driver 's/front
passenger's safety be lts are fastened:
- Automatic tensioners: at the start of a drive,
the safety belts automatically adjust to the
passenge r after a ce rtain t ime per iod or vehicle
speed.
- In certain driving situat io ns, the safety belts
may t ighten with a reversible tens ioning func­
tion
~ page 97.
- The safety belts may a lso tighten with this re-
versib le tensioning function in minor collisions.
P y rotechnic safet y be lt pretensioners
The safety belts are equipped with safety belt
p retensioners. The system is act ivated by sensors
i n front, side and rear-end coll is ions of great se­
veri ty and in a rollover. This tightens the belt and
takes up belt slack
q & in Service and disposal of
saf ety belt pr etensioner on page 141 .
Taking up
the slack helps to reduce forward occupant movement dur ing a coll is ion.
A WARNING
- It is possible for the pretensioners to deploy
incorrectly .
Safet y be lts
- The pyrotechnic system can only provide
protection for one collision. If the pyrotech­
nic pretens ioners deploy, the pretensioning
system must be replaced .
(D Tips
The pyrotechnic safety belt pretensioners can
only dep loy once.
- The safety belt pretensioners do not deploy
in minor frontal, side and rear-end coll i­
sions.
- A fine dust is re leased when the pyrotechnic
safety belt pretensioners dep loy. This is nor­
ma l and is not caused by a f ire in the veh i­
cle.
- The relevant safety requirements must be
observed when the vehicle or components
of the system are scrapped . A qualified
dealership is familiar with these regulat ions
and w ill be pleased to pass on the informa­
tion to you.
- Be sure to observe all safety, environmenta l
and other regulat ions if the vehicle or indi­
vidua l parts of the system, particular ly the
safety belt or airbag, are to be disposed. We
recommend you have yo ur authorized Aud i
dealer perform this service fo r you.
Service and disposal of safety belt preten­
sioner
The safety belt pretensioners are parts of the
safety belts on your Aud i. Installing , removing ,
se rvicing or repair ing of be lt pretens ione rs can
damage the safety belt system and prevent it
from wo rking co rrectly in a co llision.
There are some important things you have to know to make sure that the effectiveness of the
system will no t be impa ired and that d iscarded
componen ts do not cause inju ry or pollute the
environment .
A WARNING ~ -
Improper care, servicing and repair proce­
dures can increase the risk of personal injury
141

Airbag syste m
also not inflate in s ide or rear collisions, or in
ro ll-overs.
Alwa ys rememb er: Airbags will deploy only once,
and on ly in ce rtain k inds of coll is ions. Yo ur safety
be lts are always there to offer protection in those
situations in which airbags are not supposed to
dep loy, or when they have already deployed; for
examp le, when your vehicle str ikes or is struck by
another vehicle after the first coll is ion.
This is just one of the reasons why an airbag is a
supp lementary restraint and is not a substitute
for a safety belt. The a irbag system works most
effect ively when used with the safety belts.
Therefore, always properly wear your safety belts
c::>page 135.
A WARNING
Sitting too close to the steering wheel o r in­
st rument panel will decrease the effective­
ness of the airbags and will inc rease the risk
of personal injury in a co llision.
- Never sit closer than 10 inches (25 cm) to
the steering wheel or instrument panel.
- If you cannot si t mo re than 10 inches
(25 cm) from the steering wheel, invest i­
gate whether adaptive equipment may be
available to help yo u reach the pedals and
increase your seating distance from the
steering wheel.
- All veh icle occupants and especially children
must be restrained properly whenever riding
in a vehicle. An unrestrained or improperly
restra ined 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 imp roperly restrained
child is also at greate r risk of inju ry or death
through contact with an inflating airbag.
- If you are unrestrained, leaning fo rwa rd, s it­
t ing s ideways or o ut o f pos ition in any way,
yo ur risk of in ju ry is much h igher.
- Yo u will also receive serious injuries and
c ould even be killed if you are up aga inst the
air bag or too close to it when it inflates -
even with an Advanced Airbag.
144
-
- To reduce the ris k of i njury when an a irbag
inflates, always wea r safety belts properly
c::> page 138, Safety belts.
- Always make certa in that children age 12 or
younger always ride in the rear seat. If chil­
dren are not properly restrained, they may be severely injured or killed when an airbag
inflates.
- Never let ch ildren ride unrestra ined or im­
properly restrained in the vehicle. Ad just the
front seats properly.
- Never ride with the back rest recl ined .
- Always sit as far as possible from the steer-
ing wheel or the instrument panel
c::>page 125.
-Always sit upright w ith your back against
the backrest of your seat .
- Never p lace your feet on the instrument
panel or on the seat. Always keep both feet
on the floor in front of the seat to help pre­
vent serious injur ies to the legs and hips if
the airbag inflates.
- Never recl ine the front passenger's seat to
transpo rt objects . Items can also move in to
the area of the s ide a irbag or the front air­
bag du ring brak ing o r in a sudden maneu­
ver. Obje cts nea r the airbags can become
projecti les and cause injury when an airbag
inflates.
A WARNING
A irbags that have deployed in a crash must be
replaced.
- Use on ly original equipment airbags ap­
proved by Audi and installed by a trained
technician who has the necessary tools and
diagnostic equipment to properly replace
any airbag in your vehicle and assure system
effectiveness in a crash.
- Never perm it salvaged or recycled airbags to
be installed in your vehicle.
Child restraints on the front seat - some
important things to know
.,. Be s ure to read the impo rtant info rmat ion and
heed the WARN INGS for important deta ils .,.

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about children and Advanced Airbags
¢page 165.
Even though yo ur vehicle is equipped with an Ad­
vanced Airbag System, make certain that all chil­
dren, especially those 12 years and younger, al­
ways ride in the back seat properly restrained for
their age and size. 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 forward-facing child
seat .
It can be a very dangerous place for an in­
fant or a child in a rea rward-fac ing seat.
T he Advanced Airbag System in your veh icle has
been certified to comply with the requirements
of United States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standa rd (FMVSS)
208, as well as Canada Motor
Veh icle Safety Standa rd (CMVSS)
208 as applica­
b le a t the time your veh icle was m an ufact ured.
Accord ing to requirements, the front Advanced
Airbag System on the passenger side has been
certifi ed for "suppression" for infants of about
12 month old and younger and for "low risk de­
ployment" for children aged 3 to 6 years old (as
defined in the standard) .
T he
PASSENGER AIR BAG O FF light in the instru­
ment panel tells you when the front Advanced
Airbag on the passenger side has been turned
off
by the electronic control unit.
Each time yo u switch on the ignition, the
PAS ·
S ENGER AIR BAG OFF
light will come on for a
few seconds and:
- will stay on if the front passenger seat is not
occupied,
- will stay on if the electrical capacitance meas ­
ured by the capac itive passenger detection sys­
tem for the front passenger seat equals the combined capacitance of an infant up to about
one year of age and one of the rearward-facing
or forward-facing child restraints listed in Fed ­
era l Moto r Vehicle Safety Standard
208 w it h
which the Advanced Airbag System in your veh i­
cl e was certified . Fo r a listing of the child re­
strain ts th at were used to ce rtify you r vehicle's
compliance with the U.S. Safety Standard
¢ page 167 .
Airbag sys tem
-wi ll stay on if there is a small child or c hild re­
straint on the front passenger seat,
- will go
off if the front passenge r seat is occu ­
pied by an adult as registered by the capac itive
passenger detection system ¢
page 155, Mon­
itoring the Advanced Airbag System.
T he PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF lig ht comes on
when e lectrica l capacitance registered on the
front passenger seat is equal to or less t han the
combined capacitance of a typical
1 year-old in­
fant and one of the rearward-facing or forward­
facing child restraints listed in Federal Motor Ve­
hicle Safety Standard
208 w ith which the Ad­
vanced Airbag System in your vehicle was certi­
fied.
If the total e lec trica l capacitance reg istered on
t h e front passenger seat is more than that of a
typ ical 1 year-old ch ild but less than the weight
of a sma ll adult, the front airbag on the passen­
ger side can deploy (the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light does not come on).
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not
come on, the front airbag on the passenger side
has not been turned off by the electron ic con trol
u ni t and can dep loy if the control unit senses an
impact that meets the cond itions s tored in its
memory .
For example , th e airbag may deplo y if:
- a small ch ild that is heav ier than a typ ical 1
year-o ld child is on the front passenger seat
(regardless of whethe r the child is in one of the
child seats lis ted
¢ page 167), or
- a child who has outgrown c hild rest raints is on
the front passenge r seat.
If the front passenger airbag is turned off, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on in the
inst rument cluste r and stays on .
If the front passenger airbag deploys, the Feder­
al Standard requires the airbag to meet the " low
risk" deployment cr iteria to reduce the r isk of in­
jury through interact ion w ith the airbag . "Low
r isk " dep loymen t occurs in those crashes that
t ak e place at lowe r decelerations as defined in
the e lectronic co ntrol unit¢
page 155 , PASSEN -
GER AIR BAG OFF light.
Ill>
145