2016 AUDI A3 height

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General information
Important information
A WARNING
Refer to the chapter Driving Safely
r::!> page 166, Driving safety for important in­
formation, tips, suggestions and warnings
that you should read and follow for your own
safety and the safety of your passengers.
Why is your seat adjustment so important?
The safety belts and the airbag system con only
provide maximum protection if the front seats ore correctly adjusted.
There are various ways of adjusting the front
seats to provide safe and comfortable support
for the driver and the front passenger. Adjust
your seat properly so that:
- you can easily and quick ly reach all the switches
and contro ls in the instrument pane l
- your body is properly supported thus reducing
physical stress and fatigue
- the safety belts and airbag system can offer
maximum protection
r::!> page 184.
I n the following sections, you will see exact ly
how you can best adjust your seats.
There are spec ial regulations and instructions for
in stalling a ch ild seat on the front passenger's
seat. Always fo llow the information rega rding
chi ld safety provided in
r::!> page 209, Child safe ­
ty.
A WARNING
Incorrect seating position of the driver and all
other passengers can result in serious person­
al injury.
- Always keep yo ur feet on the floor when the
vehicle is in motion -never put your feet on
top of the instrument pane l, out of the win­
dow or on top of the seat cushion. Th is ap­
plies especially to the passengers. If your
seating pos it ion is inco rrect, you increase
Seat s and sto rage
the risk of injury in the case of sudden bra k­
ing or an accident. If the airbag inflates and
the seating posit ion is incorrect, th is could
result in persona l injury or even death.
- It is important for both the driver and front
passenger to keep a distance of at least
10 inches (25 cm) between themselves and
the steering wheel and/or instrument pan­
el. If you're sitt ing any closer than this, the
ai rbag system cannot protect you properly.
I n addition, the front seats and head re­
str aints must be adjusted to you r body
height so that they can give you maximum
protection.
- Always try to keep as much dis tance as pos ­
sible between yourself and the steering
wheel or instrument pane l.
- Do not adjust the driver's o r front passeng­
er's seat while the vehicle is moving . Your
seat may move unexpectedly, causing sud­
den loss of vehicle contro l and personal in­
jury. If you ad just your seat while the veh icle
is moving, you are o ut of pos ition.
Driver's seat
The correct seat position is important for safe
and relaxed driving.
We recommend that you adjust the driver's seat
in the following manner:
.. Adj ust the seat in fore and aft direction so that
you can easi ly push the pedals to the f loor
while keeping yo ur knees slight ly bent
r::!> A in
Why is your seat adjustment so important? on
page
57.
.. Adjust the backrest so that when you sit w ith
your back against the backrest, yo u can st ill
grasp the top of the stee ring wheel.
.. For ad justab le head rest raints: adjust the head
restraint so the upper edge is as even as possi­
b le with the top o f your head . If tha t is not pos­
sible, t ry to adjust the head rest raint so that it
is as close to this position as possible
r::!> page 60. Move the head restraint so that it
is as close to the back of the head as poss ible.
Ill>
57

Seats and storage
_& WARNING
Never place any objects in the driver's foot­
well. An object could get into the pedal area and interfere with pedal function. In case of
sudden braking or an accident, you would not
be able to brake or accelerate.
Front passenger's seat
Always move the front passenger seat into the
rearmost position.
To avoid contact with the airbag while it is de­
p loy ing, do not sit any closer to the instrument
panel than necessary and always wear the three­
point safety belt provided adjusted correctly. We
recommend that you adjust the passenger's seat
in the following manner:
• Bring the backrest up to an (almost) upright
position.
Do not ride with the seat reclined .
• For adjustable head restraints: adjust the head
restraint so the upper edge is as even as possi­
ble with the top of your head . If that is not pos­
sible, try to adjust the head restraint so that it
is as close to this position as possible
q page 60. Move the head restraint so that it
is as close to the back of the head as possible.
• Place your feet on the floor in front of the pas­
senger's seat .
Front seats
Manual seat adjustment
Appl ies to v eh icles : w ith manu ally a djustabl e seats
Fig . 47 Front seat: manual seat ad jus tm ent
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@ -Moving the seat forward/back: pull the lever
and slide the seat.
58
@-Lengthening/shorteni ng the upper thigh
support*:
lift the handle.
@-Adjusting the angle of the seat surface*.
Pull/press the lever.
@-Adjusting the lumbar support*: press the
button in the desired direction.
®-Moving the seat up/down : pull/press the lev­
er.
® -Adjusting the backrest angle: turn the ad­
justing wheel.
_& WARNING
- Only adjust the front seat with when the ve­
hicle is stationary. Otherwise, this increases
the risk of an accident
- Exercise caution when adjusting the seat
height. Adjusting the seat carelessly or
w ithout check ing can p inch hands and fin­
gers.
- The front seat backrests must not be re­
clined too far back when driving, because
this impairs the effectiveness of the safety
belts and airbag system, which increases
th e risk of injury.
- To reduce the risk of injury during sudden
braking or in a collision, the driver and front
passenger should not have their backrests in
the reclined position while driving or riding.
The safety belts and airbag system can pro­
vide the greatest protection possible when
the backrests are in the upright position and
the safety belts are worn correctly. The more a backrest is reclined, the greater the
risk of injury due to an incorrect seating po­
sition and safety belt position.

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Power seat adjustment
Applies to vehicles: with power adjustable seats
Fig. 48 Front se at: po wer se at adjust men t
@ -Adjusting the lumbar support: press the but­
ton in the applicable position .
@-moving the seat up/down : press the button
up/down. To adjust the front seat cushion, press
t he fron t button up/down. To adjust the rear seat
cushion, press the rear button up/down .
@-moving the seat forward/back: press the
but ton forward/back.
© -adjusting the backrest angle : press the but­
ton forward/back.
@ -lengthening/shortening the upper thigh sup­
port* : lift the grip handle.
A WARNING
- Only adjust the front seat with when the ve­
hicle is stationary. Otherwise, this increases
the risk of an accident
- The power adjustment for the front seats al­
so works with the ignition switched off or
with the ignition key removed. For this rea­
son, children should never be left unattend­
ed in the vehicle - they could be injured!
- Exercise caution when adjusting the seat
height. Unsupervised or careless seat ad­
justment can pinch fingers or hands causing
injuries .
- The front seat backrests must not be re­
clined too far back when driving, because
this impairs the effectiveness of the safety
belts and airbag system, which increases
the risk of injury.
Seats and storage
-To reduce the risk of injury during sudden
braking or in a collision, the driver and front
passenger should not have their backrests in
the reclined position while driving or riding .
The safety belts and airbag system can pro­
vide the greatest protection possible when
the backrests are in the upright position and
the safety belts are worn correctly. The
more a backrest is reclined, the greater the
risk of injury due to an incorrect seating po­
sition and safety belt position.
Front center armrest
Applies to vehicles: with front center a rm rest
The center armrest can be adjusted to several
l e ve ls.
Fig. 49 Armre st between th e driv er's /fro nt pa ssenger 's
s eats.
.,. To adjust the angle, raise the armrest~ fig. 49
notch by notch.
.,. To bring the armrest back down, raise it out of
the top notch and fold it back down. Then
lift
the armrest to the desired position, if necessa­
ry.
Please note that the driver 's ability to move his or
arm may be restricted when the armrest is folded
down. Because of this, the armrest should not be
folded down during city driving .
The armrest can slide forward and back.
There is a storage compartment under the arm­
rest .
59

Seats and storage
Rear center armrest
Applies to vehicles: with rear center armrest
The storage compartment and cup holder are in­
tegrated in the armrest.
Fig. SO Rear a rmrest
Folding the armrest down
• Tilt the armrest all the way down.
Opening the storage compartment
• Lift the cover on the upper rim.
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For more information on the use of the cup hold­
ers , see ¢
page 62 .
Head restraints
Front head restraints
Applies to veh icles: with adjustable head restraints
-
'
' F ig. 51 Front seat: adjust ing the head restra int
Applies to vehicles w ith super sport seats* (not
pictured): the head restraint is integ rated in the
backrest and is therefore not adjustable
Adjust the head restra ints so the upper edge is as
even as possible with the top of your head. If that
is not possible, try to adjust as close to this posi­
tion as possible . Push the head restraint as close
as poss ible to the back of the head.
60
• To move the head restra int up or forward, slide
it unti l it locks into place.
• To move the head restra int down or back, press
the side button -arrow-¢
fig. 51 and slide the
head restraint until it locks into place.
Refer to ¢
page 170, Proper adjustment of head
restraints
for guidelines on how to adjust the
height of the front head restraints to suit the oc­
cupant's body size.
A WARNING
- Dr iving without head restra ints or head re­
stra ints that are not adjusted correctly dra­
matically increases the risk of serious or fa­
tal nec k injuries.
- Read and following the WARNINGS in
¢ page 170, Proper adjustment of head re­
straints.
@ Tips
Head restraints that are adjusted correctly
and safety belts are an extremely effective
combination of safety equipment.
Rear head restraints
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Fig. 52 Outer rea r head restra ints : re lease point
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If there are passengers in the rear seat, fold the
head restraints up on the occ upied seats at least
to the next notch ¢
,& .
Adjusting the head restraints
• To move the head restra int up, hold it at the
sides with both hands and slide it upward until
you feel it click into place . .,.

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.. Make sure that all windows are clean and afford
good visibility to the outside .
.. Secure all luggage and other items carefully
r=> page 64, r=> page 63.
.. Make sure that nothing can interfere with the
pedals .
.. Adjust front seat, head restraint and mirrors
correctly for your height .
.,. Instruct passengers to adjust the head re­
straints accord ing to their height .
.. Make sure to use the right ch ild restraint cor­
rectly to protect children
r=> page 209, Child
safety .
.. Sit properly in your seat and make sure that
your passengers do the same
r=> page 58, Front
seats .
.. Fasten your safety belt and wear it properly . Al­
so instruct your passengers to fasten their safe­
ty belts properly
r=> page 176.
What impairs driving safety?
Safe driving is directly related to the condition of
the vehicle, the driver as well as the driver 's abili­
ty to concentrate on the road without being dis­
tracted.
The driver is responsible for the safety of the ve·
h ide and all of its occupants. If your ability to
drive is impaired, safety risks for everybody in the
veh icle increase and you also become a hazard to
everyone else on the road
r=> ,&. . Th erefo re :
.. Do not let yourself be distracted by passengers
or by using a cell ular telephone.
.. NEV ER drive when yo ur dr iv ing abili ty is im­
paired (by medications, alcohol, drugs, etc.).
.. Observe all traffic laws, rules of the road and
speed limits and plain common sense.
.. ALWAYS adjust your speed to road, traffic and
weather conditions.
.. Take frequent breaks on long trips. Do not drive
for more than two hours at a stretch.
.,. Do NOT drive when you are tired, under pres­
su re or when you are stressed.
Dr iving safety
A WARNING
-Impaired driving safety increases the risk of
serious personal injury and death whenever a
vehicle is being used .
Correct passenger
seating pos itions
Proper seating position for the driver
The proper driver seating position is important
for safe, relaxed driving.
Fig. 148 Correct seating pos ition
For your own safety and to reduce the risk of in·
jury in the event of an accident, we recommend
that you adjust the dr iver's seat to the follow ing
position:
.,. Adjust the driver's seat so that you can easily
push the pedals all the way to the floor while
keep ing your knee(s) slightly bent
r=> ,&. .
.. Adjust the angle of the seatback so that it is in
an upright position so that your back comes in
full contact with it when you drive .
.. Adjust the steering wheel so that there is a d is­
tance of at least 10 inches (25 cm) between the
steering wheel and your breast boner=>
fig. 148.
If not poss ible, see your authorized Audi deal·
ership about adapt ive equipment .
.,. Adjust the steering wheel so that the steering
wheel and airbag cover points at your chest and
not at your face .
.. Grasp the top of the steering wheel with your
elbow(s) slightly bent .
.. For adjustab le head restraints: Adjust the head
restraint so the upper edge is as even as possi­
ble with the top of your head . If that is not pos­
sible, try to adjust the head restraint so that it ..,.
167

Safe ty belts
Autom ati c s afet y belt retr actors
Every safety belt is equ ipped with an automa tic
be lt retractor on the shoulder belt. This feature
locks the belt when the belt is pulled out fast,
during hard braking and in a n accident . The belt
may a lso lock when you drive up or down a steep
hill or through a sharp curve. Dur ing normal driv­
ing the belt lets you
move freely .
Safety belt p ret en sion ers
The safety belts are equipped with a belt preten­
sioner that helps to t ighten the safety belt and
remove slack when the pretensioner is activated
c;, page 182 . The function of the pretensioner is
mon itored by a warn ing light
c;,page 21.
Convertible loc king retracto r
Every safety belt except the one on the driver
seat is equipped with a convertible locking retrac­
tor that
must be used when the safety belt is
used to attach a child seat. Be sure to read the
important information about this feature
¢ page 219 .
.&_ WARNING
Improperly pos it ioned safety be lts can cause
ser ious injury in an accident ¢
page 180,
Safety belt position.
- Safety belts offer optimum protection only
when the seatback is upright and belts are
properly positioned on the body.
- Always make sure that the rear seat bac k­
rest to which the center rea r safety belt* is
attached is secure ly latched whenever the
rear center safety belt is being used. If the
backrest is not securely latched, the passen­
ger will move forward with the backrest dur­
ing sudden braking, in a sudden maneuver
and especially in a crash.
- Never attach the safety belt to the buckle for another seat. Attaching the belt to the
wrong b uckle will reduce safety belt effec­
t iveness and can cause serious persona l in­
jury.
- A passenger who is not properly restrained can be seriously in jured by the safety be lt it­
self when it
moves from the stronger parts
180
of the body into critical areas like the abdo­ men.
- Always lock the convertible locking retractor
when you are securing a child seat in the ve­
hicle
c;, page 221.
(D Tips
For information on safety belt pretensioners,
refer to
c;, page 182 .
Safety belt position
Correct belt position is the key to getting maxi­
mum protection from safety belts.
Fig. 158 Safety belt posit ion
Use the height adjustment to change the posit ion
of the shoulder belt of the front safety belts .
.&_ WARNING
Imp roperly positioned safety belts can cause
serio us pe rsonal injury in an a cc ident.
- The shou lde r belt should lie as close to the
center of the collar bone as possib le and
should fi t well on the body. Ho ld the belt
above the latch to ngue and pull it evenly
across the chest so that it sits as low as pos ­
sible on the pe lvis and there is no pressure
on the abdomen. The belt should a lways f it
snug ly
c;, fig. 158. Pull on the belt to tighten
if necessary.
- The lap belt portion of the safety belt must
be positioned as low as possible across pel­
vis and never over the abdomen . Make sure
the belt lies flat and snug
c::> fig. 158 . Pull on
the belt to tighten if necessary.
Ii-

Safe ty belts
Adjusting safety belt height
With the aid of the safety belt height adjust­
ment, the three point safety belt strap routing
can be fitted to the shoulder area, according to
body size.
F ig . 1 62 Safety belt he ight adjustment for t he fr ont seats
- loop -a ro und f it t ings
The shou lder belt should lie as close to the center
of the collar bone as possib le and should fit well
on the body
c::> &. in Safety belt position on
page 180.
... Push
the loop-around fitt ings up c::> fig . 162 @,
or
... squeeze together the (D button, and push the
loop-around fittings
down @.
... Pull the belt to make sure that the upper at­
tachment is properly engaged.
A WARNING
Always read and heed all WARNINGS and oth­
er important informat ion
c::>page 178.
(D Tips
With the front seats, the height adjustment
of the seat can a lso be used to adjust the po­
sition of the safety belts.
Improperly worn safety belts
Incorrectly positioned safety belts con cause se­ vere injuries.
Wearing safety bel ts improperly can cause seri­
ous injury or death. Safety be lts can on ly work
when they are correctly positioned on the body .
Improper seating positions reduce the effect ive­
ness of safety be lts and will even increase the
182
risk of injury and death by moving the safety be lt
to c ritical areas of the body . Improper seating
pos itions also increase the risk of serious injury
and death when an airbag deploys and strikes an
occupant who is not in the correct seating posi­
tion . A driver is responsible for the safety of all
vehicle occupants and especially for children .
Therefore:
... Never permit anyone to assume an incorrect
sitt ing pos ition in the vehicle while traveling
c::> ,&. .
A WARNING
Imp roperly worn safety belts increase the risk
of ser ious perso nal inju ry and dea th whenever
a veh icle is being used.
- Always make sure that all veh icle o ccupants
are cor rec tly restrained a nd stay in a corre ct
seating position whenever the vehicle is be­
ing used .
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS a nd
other important informat ion
c::> page 178 .
Belt tensioners
How safety belt pretensioners work
In front, side and rear-end collisions above a
particular severity and in a rollover, safety belts
are tensioned automatically.
Reversible safet y belt ten sioner s
The safety belts on the front seats are equipped
with power reversible tensioners. The fo llowing
functions are available when the driver's/front passenger's safety belts are fastened:
-Automatic tens ioners: at the start of a drive,
the safety be lts automatically adjust to the
passenger after a certain time period or vehicle
speed.
- In certain driving situations, the safety belts
may tighten with a reversib le tensioning func­
tion
c::> page 139.
-The safety be lts may also tighten with this re­
vers ible tension ing funct ion in m inor collisions.
II>

Airbag syste m
must be performed by qualified workshops
only. Make sure that any airbag service ac­
tion is entered in your Aud i Warranty
&
Maintena nce booklet under AIRBAG RE­
PLACEMENT RECORD.
- For safety reasons in severe accidents, the
alternator and starter are separated from
the vehicle battery with a pyrotechn ic circuit
in terrupter.
- Work on the pyrotechnic circuit interrupt­
er must only be performed by a qualified
technicians who have the experience, in­
formation and special tools necessary to
perform the work safely.
- If the vehicle or the circuit interrupter is
scrapped, all applicab le safety precautions
must be followed .
@ For the sake of the environment
Undeployed airbag modu les and pretension ­
ers might be classified as Perch lorate Materi­
al -special handling may apply, see
www.dtsc.ca.gov/hazardouswaste/perchlo­ rate . When the veh icle o r parts of the re­
stra int system including airbag modules and
safety belts w it h pretensioners are scrapped,
all applicable laws and regu lations must be
observed. Your authorized Audi dealer is fa­
m iliar with these requirements and we recom ­
mend that you have your dealer perform this
serv ice for you.
Other things that can affect Advanced
Airbag performance
Changing the vehicle's suspension system can
change the way that the Advanced A irbag System
pe rforms in a crash. For e xamp le, using t ire -r im
comb inations no t approved by Audi, lowering t he
veh icle, chang ing the stiffness o f the suspe nsio n,
i n cluding the springs, suspension struts, shock
absorbers etc . can change the forces that are
measured by the airbag sensors and sent to the
electronic contro l unit . Some suspens ion changes
can, for example, increase the force levels meas­
ured by the sensors and make the airbag system
deploy in c rashes in w hich it would not deploy if
the changes had not been made. Other ki nds of
200
changes may reduce the force levels measured by
the sensors and prevent the airbag from deploy­
i ng when it should .
_& WARNING
Changing the vehicle's suspension including
use of unapproved tire-rim comb inations can
change Advanced Airbag performance and in­
crease the r isk of serious personal injury in a
crash .
- Never install suspension components that do not have the same performance charac­
ter istics as the components origina lly instal­
led on your vehicle.
- Never use tire-r im combinations that have
not been approved by Aud i.
Knee airbags
Description of knee airbags
Applies to vehicles: with knee airbags
The knee airbag system can provide supplemen­
tal protection to properly restrained front seat
occupants .
Fig . 16 7 D river 's knee a irbag
The driver knee airbag is in the instrument panel
u nderneath the s teer ing whee l¢
fig. 167, the
airbag fo r the passenger is at about the same
height in the i nstr ument panel underneath the
glove compa rtment.
The knee airbag offers add itiona l protect ion to
the d river's and passenge r's knees and uppe r and
l ower thigh areas a nd sup plements the p rotec­
t ion prov ided by the safety belts .
If the front airbags deploy, the knee a irbags also
deploy in fron tal coll is ions when t he deployment ..,_