2016 AUDI A3 CABRIOLET ECU

Driving safety
Retracting rollover protection
Fig. 12 5 Deployed rollbar w ith re lease loop.
--------
F ig. 126 Deployed rollbar w ith power top frame facing up­
ward.
If the ro llover p rotection h as triggered bu t the
ve hicle was no t invo lved in an accident, you can
retract the rollover protection yourself in an
emergency . Drive to an authorized Aud i dea ler or
author ized Audi Service Facility immediately to
have the malfunction corrected.
With the power top open
• Pull the loop upward in the d irection of the ar­
row and hold it in place~
fig. 125 .
• Slide the rollbar down.
• Release the loop just before the rollbar reaches
its end position (1-2 in./ 3-5 cm).
• Press the ro llbar down until it stops .
• Make su re the rollbar is secure before re leas ing
it.
• Close the cover@ 9
fig. 126.
• Repe at the p rocedure on t he other ro llba r.
With the power top closed
• Switch on the ignition .
• Press the power top switch to adjust the power
top frame until it is ve rtical 9
fig. 126 .
134
• Pull the loop upward in the direction o f the ar­
row and ho ld it in p lace
9fig. 125.
• Slide the ro llbar down.
• Release the loop just before the ro llbar reaches
its end position (1-2 in./ 3-5 cm).
• Press the rollbar down until it stops.
• Make sure the rollbar is secure before releasing
it .
• Close the cover @'*
fig. 126.
• Repeat the procedu re on the othe r rollbar.
• You can now close the powe r top agai n.
A WARNING
-
-Make sure your head or other parts of yo ur
body are not located in the a rea above the
rollbar when pressing the ro llbar down. If
the rollbar is not secured correct ly, it could
deploy again as soon as you release it and
cause injur ies.
- Have the rollover protection system checked
by and author ized Audi dealer or authorized
Aud i Serv ice Facility if it malfunctions. O th­
erwis e the syst em may not deploy correctly
in a collision.
- Mod ifying the rollover pro tection system or
in dividual componen ts is not pe rm itted.
- Work on the ro llover p rotection system
should only be performed by an a uthorized
Aud i dea le r o r auth o riz e d Audi Serv ice Facili­
ty. Otherwise the system m ay no t fu n ction
correctly in a collision or it could deploy un­
expectedly .
- H ave t he sys tem inspected a t service inte r­
vals. This ensures the system will always be ready for use . Have an autho rized Aud i dea l­
er or author ized Audi Service Facility check
the rollover protect ion system every two
years at the latest.

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
0 ,-. N 0 :i: .. m
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
¢ A -

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@ Tips
The chi ld seats listed in categories A to C have
been statically tested by Audi only for the Ad­
vanced Airbag function .
Important safety instructions for using
child safety seats
Correct use of child safety seats substantially re­
duces the risk of injury in an accident!
As the driver, you are responsible for the safety
of everybody in the vehicle, especially children:
~ Always use the right child safety seat for each
child and a lways use it properly~
page 171.
~ Always carefully follow the child safety seat
manufacturer's instructions on how to route
the safety belt properly through the child safe­
ty 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 be lt
to prevent the child safety seat from moving
~ page 176.
~ Push the child safety seat down w ith your full
weight to get the safety be lt rea lly t ight so that
the seat cannot move forward or sideways more than one inch (2.5 cm).
~ Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
~ page 171.
Always remember: Even though your vehicle is
equipped with an Advanced Airbag sys tem, all
children, especially those 12 years and younger,
should always ride in the back seat properly re­
stra ined for their age and size.
_&, WARNING
Not using a ch ild safety seat , using the wrong
child sa fety seat or improperly installing a
child restraint increases the risk of serious
personal injury and death.
- All vehicle occupants and especia lly children
must be restrained properly whenever riding
in a vehicle . An unrestrained or improperly
restrained child could be injured by striking
the interior or by being ejected from the ve­ hicle during a sudden maneuver or impact.
Ch ild safety
An unrestrained or improperly restrained
child is also at greater r isk of injury or death
through contact with an inf lating airbag.
- Commercially available child safety seats
are required to comply with U.S . Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 213
(in Canada CMVSS 213) .
- When buying a child restra int, select one
that fits your child and the vehicle.
- Only use child restraint systems that fully
contact the flat portion of the seat cush­
ion . The child restraint must not tip or
lean to either side. Audi does not recom­
mend using child safety seats that rest on
legs or tube-like frames. They do not pro­
vide adequate contact with the seat.
- Always heed all lega l requirements per­
ta ining to the installation and use of child
safety seats and carefully follow the in­
structions provided by the manufacturer
of the seat you are using .
- Never allow children under 57 inches
(1.45 meters) to wear a normal safety belt .
They must always be restrained by a proper
child restraint system. Otherwise, they
could sustain injuries to the abdomen and
neck areas during sudden braking mane u­
vers or accidents.
- Never let more than one child occupy a chi ld
safety seat .
- Never let babies or o lder children ride in a
veh icle while sitting on the lap of another
passenger.
- Holding a child in your arms is never a sub­
stitute for a child restraint system .
- The strongest person cou ld not ho ld the
ch ild with the forces that exist in an acci­
dent . The child will strike the interior of
the vehicle and can also be struck by the passenger.
- The child and the passenger can also in­
jure each other in an accident.
- Never install rear-fac ing child safety seats
or infant car riers on the front passenger
seat. A child w ill be seriously injured and
can be killed when the passenger a irbag in­
flates -even with an Advanced Airbag Sys­
tem .
169

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Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
-------~
Fig. 1 45 Schematic overv iew : keep unused safety belts
away from ch ildre n in ch ild safety seats .@ -outer rear
safety belt
::!
If a child safety seat is used on the rear bench,
especially with LATCH universal lower anchorag­
es, the unused safety belts
mu st be secured so
that the child in the ch ild restraint cannot reach
them
9 &, .
-Guide the safety belt webb ing @ behind the
head restraint of the seat where the child re­
straint is installed
<=:> fig. 145. When do ing so,
do not engage the convertible locking ret rac­
tor! You sho uld not hear a "clicking" sound
when winding up the safety belt.
- Let the belt retractor wind up the safety be lt
webbing .
_& WARNING
A child in a child safety seat installed with the
LA TCH lower anchorages or wit h the standard
safety belt or a child in a booster seat on the
rear seat could play with unused rear seat
safety belts and become entangled. This
cou ld cause the ch ild ser ious personal in jury
and even death .
- Always secure unused rear seat safety belts
out of reach of ch ildren in child seats such
as by properly routing them around the
head restraint of the seat where the child
restra int is ins tal led.
- Never act ivate the convertible locki ng re­
t racto r when routing the safety belts around
the head restra ints.
Ch ild sa fety
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.
F ig . 14 6 Schematic overv iew: rearward -fac ing infant seat,
p roperly insta lled on the rea r seat
.,. When using the vehicle safety belt to install a
child safety seat, you must first activate the
convertib le loc king re tractor on the safety belt
to p revent the chi ld safety seat from moving
9 page 176 or insta ll 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
the seat cannot move forward or sideways
more than one inch (2.5 cm) .
.,. Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
<=:>page 171.
Infants up to about one year (20 lbs. or 9 kg) are
best protected in special infant carr iers and child
safety seats designed for the ir age group. Many
experts be lieve that infants and small ch ildren
sho uld ride o nly in special res tra ints in wh ich the
ch ild faces the back of the vehicle. These infant
seats support the baby's back, neck and head in a
c rash
r:::;, fig. 146 .
The airbag on the passenger s ide makes the fron t
seat a potent ially dangerous place for a child to
ride . The front seat is not the safest place for a
c h ild in a forward-facing child seat. It is a very
dangerous p lace for an infant or a larger child in
a rearward-facing seat.
171

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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 safety
so that the safety belt will be properly
pos it ioned.
- 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, CO 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 rest raint system on
t h is seat.
- Make s ure that the re a re no wet objects
(s uch as a wet towe l) and no water or other
liquids o n the front passenger seat cushion.
- Never place objects on the seat (such as a
laptop, CD player, electronic games dev ice,
power inverter or se at heater for child
seats) . These may influence the e lectrica l
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
PAS SENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not come on and stay on, immediately in­
stall the forward-facing child seat at a seat­ ing posit ion on the rear seat and have the
airbag system inspected by your author ized
Audi dealer.
- T ake the ch ild restraint off the front passen­
ger seat and insta ll it p roperly at one of the
rea r seat positions if the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
l ight does not stay on whenever
the ignition is switched on.
174
Booster seats and safety belts
Properly used booster seats can help protect
children weighing between 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.
Fi g. 1 49 Rear seat: ch ild prope rly restra ined in a booster
seat
The vehicle's safety belts a lone w ill not fit most
ch ild ren until they are at leas t 4 ft. 9 in. (57 in­
ches/1.45 meters) tall and weigh about 80 lbs. (36 kg) . Booste r seats raise these ch ildren up so
that the sa fety belt will pass p roper ly over the
stronger parts of their bodies and the safety be lt
can help protect them in a crash.
.,. Do not use the convertib le locking re trac tor
when using the veh icle's safety be lt to restrain
a child on a booster seat.
.,. The shoulder belt must lie as close to the cen­
ter 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 m ust lie across the pelvis and never
across the stomach or abdomen . Make sure the
belt lies flat and sn ug. Pu ll on the be lt to tight­
en if necessary.
.,. Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
c>page 171.
Children up to at least 8 years o ld (over 40 lbs or
18 kg) a re best protected in child safety seats de­
signed for their age and weight . Experts say that
the skeletal structure, part icu larly the pelvis, of
these ch ildren is not fully developed, and they
must not use the vehicle safety belts without a
su itable child restraint.