2016 AUDI A3 back light

Child safety
-Make sure the forward-facing seat has
been designed and certified by its manu­
facturer for use on a front seat with a
passenger front and side airbag .
- Always carefully follow the manufacturer's
instructions provided with the child safety
seat o r carrier .
- Always move the front passenger seat into
the rearmost position of the passenger
seat's fore a nd aft adjustment range, and
as far away from the airbag as possible be­
fore insta lling the child restraint.
- Always make sure that nothing prevents
the front passenge r's seat from be ing
moved to the rearmost posit ion in its fore
and aft adjustment range.
- Always make sure that the back rest is in
the upr ight position.
- Never place or use any e lectr ica l device
(such as a laptop, CD player, e lectron ic
g ames device, power inve rter or sea t heat­
er for ch ild 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 chi ld restraint sys­
tem on th is seat.
- Make sure that there are no wet objects
(such as a wet towel) and no water or oth­
er liqu ids on the front passenger seat
cushion.
- Never place objects on the seat (such as a
laptop, CD p layer, electron ic games de­
vice, power inverter or seat heater for
child seats). These may influence the elec­
trical capacitance measured by the capaci­ tive passenge r detection system and can
a lso fly around in an accident and cause
serio us personal in jury.
- Always bu ckle the child safety seat firmly in
place even if a child is not s itting in it. A
loose child safety seat can fly around during
a sudden stop or in a collisio n.
- Always re ad a nd heed all WARN INGS when­
ever using a child restrained in a vehicle is
being used
¢ page 176, Safety belts,
214
c::> page 184, Airbag system and
c::> page 209 , Child safety.
A WARNING
To reduce the risk of serious injury, make 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
ge r seat and install it prope rly at one of the
rear seat positions if the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
light does no t stay on.
- Have the airbag system inspected by your
author ized Audi dealer immed iate ly.
Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
Fi g. 173 Schema tic overv iew: keep unused safety belts
away from children in c hild safety seats.@· outer rear
safety belt,@· ce nter 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
must be sec ured so
that the c hild in the child rest raint cannot reach
them
c::> _&. .
- Guide the safety belt webbings @and @* be­
hind the head restraint of the seat where the
child restra int is installed
c::> fig. 173. When do­
ing so, do not engage the convert ible locking
ret ra ctor! You should not hear a "cl icking"
sound when winding up the sa fe ty belt.
- Let the belt ret racto r wind up the safety belt
webbing.

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_& WARNING
A child in a child safety seat installed with the
LATCH lower anchorages or w ith 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
co uld cause the ch ild ser ious personal inj ury
and even death .
- Always se cure 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
restraint is installed .
- Never activate the convertible locking re ­
tractor when routing the safety belts around
the head restraints.
- Never let anyone sit at the center rear seat­
ing position if the center rear safety belt has
been routed around a rear head restraint.
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 .
Fig. 174 Schematic overv iew: rearwa rd-facing infant seat,
properly installed on the rear seat
• When using the vehicle safety be lt to install a
ch ild safety sea t, you must first activate the
co nve rtible locking retractor on the safety be lt
to prevent the child safe ty seat from moving
r=.> page 219 or install the seat using the LA TCH
attachments .
• Push the child safety seat down with your fu ll
weight to get the safety be lt rea lly t ight so that
Child sa fety
the seat cannot move forward or sideways
more than one inch (2.5 cm).
• Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
r::;, page 214.
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 their age group. Many
experts believe that infants and small children
should ride only in special restra ints in wh ich the
child faces the back of the vehicle . These infant
seats support the baby's back, neck and head in a
crash
¢ fig . 174.
The airbag on the passenger side makes the front
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-fac ing c hild seat.
It is a very
dange ro u s p lace for an infant or a la rger ch ild in
a rearward-facing sea t.
_& WARNING
-
No t usi ng a child sa fety seat, using t he wrong
chi ld safety seat or imprope rly installing a
chi ld restraint increases the risk of serious
personal injury and death in a crash.
- Never install rear-facing child safety seats
or infant carriers on the front passenger
seat -even w ith an Advanced A irbag System .
A child will be serious ly injured and can be
killed when the inflating airbag hits the
child safety seat or infant carrier with great
force and smashes the child safety seat and child agai nst the ba ckrest, center armrest,
door or roof
r::!.> page 185, Child restraints on
t he front seat -some important things to
know .
-Always install rear-fac ing child safety seats
or infant carriers on the rear seat .
- Never install a rear-fac ing ch ild restraint in
the forward-fac ing direction. Such restrain ts
are des igned for the special needs of infants
and ve ry small children and cannot protect
them proper ly if the seat is forward-facing.
- If you m ust install a rearward facing child
safety seat on the front passenger seat be­
cause of exceptional circumstances and the
PASSENGER AIR BA G OFF light does not
come on and stay on, immediately install
215

,....,
N
0 > co ,...., personal injury and death in a collision 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 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 inflates -even with an Ad­
vanced Airbag System.
- The inflating a irbag will hit the child safety
seat or infant carrier with great force and
will smash the ch ild safety seat and chi ld
against the bac krest, center arm rest, door
or roo f.
- 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
cause of exceptiona l circumstances and the
PASSENGE R AIR B AG OFF light does not
come on and stay on, immediate ly install
the rear-fac ing ch ild safety seat in a rear
seating pos ition and have the airbag system
inspected by your Audi dealer.
- The rear side of the child safety seat should
be pos it ioned as close as poss ible to the
backrest on the vehicle seat.
- For adjustable head restraints: adjust or re­
move the rear seat head restraint if it is d if­
ficult to install the child seat with the head restra int in place ¢
page 60. Install the
head restraint again immediately once the
child seat is removed. Driving w ithout head
restra ints or w ith head restraints that are
not properly adjusted increases the risk of
serious or fatal neck injury dramatically.
- Always read and heed all WARN INGS when­
ever using a child restrained in a vehicle is being used ¢
page 176, Safety belts,
¢ page 184, Airbag system
and
¢ page 209, Important information.
A WARNING
If exceptional circumstances require the use
of a forward-facing child restra int on the
front passenger's seat, the child's safety and
Ch ild safety
well-being req uire that the following special
precautions be taken:
- Make sure the forward-facing seat has been
des igned and certified by its manufacturer
for use on a front seat with a passenger
front and side airbag.
- Always follow the manufacturer's instruc­
tions provided with the child safety seat or
infant carrier .
- Always move the front passenger seat into
the rearmost pos ition of the passenger
seat's fore and aft adjustment range, and as
far away from the airbag as possible before
installing the ch ild rest raint .
- Always make sure that nothing prevents the front passenger's seat from being moved to the rea rmost pos ition in its fore and aft ad­
justment range .
- Always make sure the backrest is in an up­
right position .
- Never p lace or use any electr ica l device
(such as a laptop , CD player, e lectron ic
games device , power inve rter or sea t heater
for child sea ts) on the front passenger seat
if the device is connected to the 12 -volt
socket or the cigarette lighter socket.
- I f a seat heater has been retrofi tted or o th­
erwise added to the front passenger seat, never install any child restra int system on
this seat.
- Make sure that there are no wet objects
(such as a wet towel) and no water or other
liquids on the front passenger seat cush ion.
- Never p lace objects on the seat (such as a
laptop, CD p layer, electronic games device,
power inverter o r seat heater for ch ild
seats). These may influence the electrical
capacitance measured by the capacitive pas­
senger detect ion system and can also fly
aro und in an accident and cause serious per­
sonal injury.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
li ght comes on and stays on a ll the time
wheneve r the ignit ion is swit ched on.
- I f the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
no t come on and stay on, immediately in­
s tall the forward-fac ing ch ild seat at a sea t-
ing position on the rear seat and have the ...,
217

,....,
N
0 > co ,...., In o rder for the airbag to offer protection, it is
important that all vehicle occupants, especia lly
any children, who must be in the front seat be­
cause of exceptional circumstances, be properly restrained and as far away from the airbag as
possible . By keeping room between the child 's
body and the front of the passenger compart­
ment , the airbag can inflate comp letely and pro­
vide supp lemental protect ion in certain frontal
coll is ions.
A WARNING
Not using a booster seat, using the booster
seat improperly, incorrectly insta lling a boos ­
ter seat or using the vehicle safety belt im­
properly increases the risk of serious personal
injury and death in a collision or other emer­
gency situat ion. To help reduce the risk of se­
r ious personal injury and/or death:
- The shoulder belt must lie as close to the
center of the child's collar bone as possible
and must lie flat and snug on the upper
body .
It must neve r lie across the throat or
neck. The lap belt must lie across the pelv is
and never across the stomac h or abdomen .
Make sure tha t the belt lies fla t and sn ug.
Pull on the belt to tighten if necessary.
- Failure to p roperly route safety belts over a
child 's body will cause severe injuries in an
accident or other emergency situation
¢ page 176.
-The rear side of the child sa fety seat should
be pos itioned as close as poss ible to the
backrest on the vehicle seat .
- For adjustable head restraints: adjust or re­
move the rear seat head restraint if it is dif­
ficult to install the child seat with the head
restra int in place ¢
page 60. Install the
head restraint again immediately once the
child seat is removed. Driving w ithout head
restra ints or w ith head restraints that are
not properly adjusted increases the risk of
serious o r fa ta l neck injury d ramatically .
- Children on the front seat of any car, even
with Advanced Ai rbags, can be se riously in­
jured or even killed when a n ai rbag inflates.
- Never let a child stand or knee l on any seat,
for example the front seat.
-
Ch ild safety
-Never let a chi ld ride in the cargo area of
your veh icle.
- Always remember that a chi ld leaning for­
ward, sitting sideways or out of position in any way du ring an accident can be struck by
a dep loying airbag. Th is w ill result in serious
personal injury or death .
- If you must install a booster seat on the
front passenger seat because of exceptiona l
circumstances the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
li ght must come on and stay on, when­
eve r the ignit ion is switched on.
- If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not come on and stay on, perfo rm the
checks desc ribed ¢
page 196, Monitoring
the Advanced Airbag System.
- Take the child restra int off the front passen­
ge r seat an d install it prope rly at one of the
rear seat positions if the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
light does not stay on whenever
the ignition is switched on .
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS when­
ever using a chi ld restrained in a vehicle is
be ing used
¢ page 176, Safety belts,
¢ page 184, Airbag system and
¢ page 209, Important information.
Securing child seats
Securing a child safety seat using a safety
belt
Safety belts for the rear seats and the front pas­
senger can be locked with the convertible locking
retractor to properly secure child safety seats .
The safety belts emergen cy loc king retractors for
the rear seats safety be lts and fo r th e front pas­
senger's sea t sa fe ty be lt have a conve rtible lock­
ing retractor for child restraints . The safety be lt
must be lock ed so that be lt webbing cannot un­
ree l. The retractor can be activated to lock the
safety belt and prevent the safety belt webbing
from loosening up dur ing norma l d riving. A ch ild
safety seat can on ly be properly installed when
the safety belt is locked so that the ch ild and
child safety seat will stay in place.
Always remember : Even though your veh icle is
equipped with an Advanced Airbag system, all
219

Child safety
children, especially those 12 years and younger,
should always ride in the back seat properly re­
strained for their age and size.
.&_ WARNING
-
Improperly installed child safety seats in­
crease the risk of serious personal injury and
death in a collision.
- Always make sure that the safety belt re­
tractor is locked when installing a child
safety seat . An unlocked safety belt retrac­
tor cannot hold the child safety seat in place during normal driving or in a crash.
-Always buckle the child safety seat firmly in
place even if a child is not sitting in it . A
loose child safety seat can fly around during
a sudden stop or in a collision.
- Always make sure that the rear seat back­
rest to which the center rear safety belt* is
attached is securely latched whenever the
rear center safety belt is being used to se­
cure a child restraint.
- If the backrest is not securely latched, the
child and the child restraint will be thrown
forward together with the backrest and will
strike parts of the vehicle interior. The child
can be seriously injured or killed.
- Never install rear-facing child safety seats
or infant carriers on the front passenger
seat. A child will be seriously injured and can be killed when the passenger 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, door
or roof.
- Always install rear-facing child safety seats
or infant carriers on the rear seat.
- Forward-facing child safety seats or infant
carriers installed on the front passenger's
seat may interfere with the deployment of
the airbag and cause serious injury to the
child.
- It is safer to install a forward-facing child
safety seat on the rear seat.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS when­
ever using a child restrained in a vehicle is
220
being used¢ page 209. Special precautions
apply when installing a child safety seat on
the front passenger seat¢
page 185, Child
restraints on the front seat -some impor­
tant things to know.
.&_ WARNING
Always take special precautions if you must
install a forward or rearward-facing child re­
straint on the front passenger's seat in excep­
tional situations:
- Whenever a forward or rearward-facing
child restraint is installed on the front pas­
senger seat, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light must come on and stay on whenever
the ignition is switched on.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not come on and stay on, perform the
checks described ¢
page 196, Monitoring
the Advanced Airbag System.
- Take the child restraint off the front passen­
ger seat and install it properly at one of the rear seat positions if the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF light does not stay on whenever
the ignition is switched on.
- Improper installation of child restraints can
reduce their effectiveness or even prevent
them from providing any protection .
- An improperly installed child restraint can
interfere wi th the airbag as it deploys and
seriously injure or even kill the child.
- Always carefully follow the manufacturer's
instructions provided with the child safety
seat or carrier .
- After checking to make sure that the child
restraint is properly installed, make certain
that the child restraint is correctly recog­
nized by the capacitive passenger detection
system in the front passenger seat and that
the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light signals
the correct front passenger frontal airbag
status.
_&. WARNING
Forward-facing child restraints:
-

,....,
N
0 > co ,...., -Always make sure the forward-facing seat
has been designed and certified by its man­
ufacturer for use on a front seat with a pas­
senger front and side airbag.
- Never put the forward-facing child restraint
up, against or very near the instrument pan­
el.
- Always move the passenger seat into its
rearmost position in the seat's fore and aft
adjustment range, as far away from the air­
bag as possib le before installing the for­
ward-facing child restra int. The backrest
must be adjusted to an up right posit ion.
- Make sure that the
PASSEN GER AI R BA G
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the time
whenever the ignition is switched on.
_& WARNING
Rearwa rd-facing child restra ints:
- A ch ild in a rea rwa rd-facing child safety seat
installed on the front passenger seat wi ll be
seriously injured and can be killed if the
front airbag inflates - even with an Ad­
vanced Airbag System .
- The inflating airbag will 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 armrest, door
or roof.
- Always be especially careful if you must in­
stall a rearward facing child safety seat on
the front passenger seat in exceptional c ir­
cumstances.
- Make sure that the
PA SSEN GER AIR BA G
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the time
whenever the ignition is switched on .
- If the
PASSEN GER A IR BAG OFF light does
not come on and stay on, immediately in­
stall the rear-fac ing ch ild safety seat in a
rear seat ing pos ition and have the airbag
system inspected by your Aud i deale r.
Ch ild safety
Activating the convertible locking retractor
Use the convertible locking retractor to secure a
child restraint .
Always heed the ch ild safety seat manufacturer's
instruct ions when installing a child restraint in
your vehicle. To activate the convertible locking retractor:
.. Place the child restraint on a seat, preferably
on the rear seat.
.. Slowly pull the belt
all the w ay out .
.. Route it around or through the child restra int
be lt path
¢ & .
.. Push the ch ild safety seat down with you r full
weight to get the safety belt really tight.
.. Insert the belt tongue into the buckle for that
seating position.
.. Guide the safety belt back into the retractor un­
til the belt lies flat and snug on the child safety
seat.
.. You should hear a ''cl icking" noise as the belt
w inds back into the inertia reel. Test the con ­
vert ible lock ing retractor by pull ing on the belt.
You shou ld no longer be able to pull the belt
out of the retractor. The convertib le loc kin g re­
t ractor is now activated.
.. Make sure that the red release button is facing
away from the c hild restraint so that it can be
unbuckled quickly .
.. Pull on the belt to make sure the safety belt is
properly tight and fastened so that the seat
cannot move forward or sideways more than
one inch (2 .5 cm) .
_& WARNING
Using the wrong ch ild rest raint o r an improp­
e rly inst alled child restra int can cause se rious
personal injury or death in a crash.
- Always make sure that the safety be lt re­
tr actor is locked when installing a child
safety seat . An un locked safety be lt retrac­
tor cannot hold the ch ild safety seat in p lace
during normal driving or in a crash.
- Always buckle the child safety seat fi rm ly in
p lace even if a child is not sitting in it. A
loose child safety seat can fly a round during
a sudden stop or in a crash. .,.
221

Tether anchors and tether straps
Fig. 182 A3 Sedan: Tether anchors: recess flaps behind the
rear seatbacks
Fig. 183 A3 Sportback : Tether anchors : recess flaps behind
the rear seatbacks
A3 Sedan : The tether anchors for the rear seating
positions are located in recesses in the rear win­
dow she lf
r::;, fig . 182
A3 Sportback: The tether anchors for the rear
seating positions are located on the backside of
the rear seatbacks
r::;, fig . 183.
A tether is a straight or V-shaped strap that at­
taches the top part of a child restraint to special
anchorage points in the vehicle .
The purpose of the tether is to reduce the for­
ward movement of the child restraint in a crash,
in order to help reduce the risk of head injury
that could be caused by striking the vehicle inte­
rior .
Forward facing child restraints manufactured af­
ter September 1, 1999, are required by U.S. fed­
eral regulations to comply with new child head
movement performance requirements . These
.... "' new performance requirements make a tether 0
iii necessary on most new child safety seats .
.... I.Cl U"I
.... I.Cl ....
Child sa fety
A WARNING
-Improper installation of child restra ints wi ll
i ncrease the risk of injury and death in a
crash .
- Always follow the instructions prov ided by
the manufactu rer of the ch ild restraint you
intend to insta ll in you r A udi .
- Improper use of chi ld restraint anchors (in­
cluding tether anchors) can lead to injury in
a co llision . The anchors are designed to
withstand on ly those loads imposed by co r­
rectly fi tted ch ild res traints.
- Never mo unt two child rest raint systems on
one LA TC H lowe r anchor point.
- Neve r attach two child restraint systems to
one tether st rap or tethe r anchorage.
- Never attach a tether strap to a tie-down
hook in the luggage compa rtment.
- Never use child restra int tether anchorages
to secure safety be lts or other kinds of occu­
pant restrain ts.
- Never secure or attach any luggage or othe r
items to the LA TCH lower anchorages or to
the tether anchors.
- If you must install a rearwa rd facing child
safety seat on the front passenger seat be­
cause of excep tional ci rcumstance s and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG 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.
225

Child safety
Installing the upper tether strap on the
anchorage
Fig. 184 A3 Sedan : Tethe r strap : prope r rout ing and
m oun ting
F ig . 185 A3 Sportback: Tet her st rap: p roper rout ing an d
m oun ting. (!) cent er, @ outs ide
Inst all ing th e teth er strap
"' ' ~ I 0 :> gi
,... Release or deploy the tether strap on the child
restra int according to the child restraint manu­
facturer's instructions .
,... Guide the upper tether strap
unde r the rear
head restraint (raise the head restraint if neces­
sary) ¢
fig. 184 (A3 Sedan) ¢ fig. 185
(A3 Sportback) .
,... A3 Sedan: T ilt the recess flap up to expose the
anchor bracket .
,... A3 Sedan: Attach the tether st rap anchorage
hook into the opening of the tether anchorage.
226
,... A3 Sportback: Unlock the backrest and fold it
slightly forward ¢
page 65 and locate the teth­
er anchor behind the rear seat backrest .
..
,... Pull on the tether strap hook so that the spring
catch of the hook engages .
,... Tighten the tether strap f irmly following the
child restra int manufacturer's instructions .
Releasing the tether str ap
,... Loosen the tension following the child restraint
manufacturer's instructions.
,... Depress the spr ing catch on the hook and re ­
lease it from the anchorage .
(D Note
If you leave the child restraint with the tether
strap firmly installed for several days, this
could leave a mark on the upholstery on the
seat cushion and backres t in the area where
the tether s trap was installed . T he upholstery
would a lso be permanently stretc hed around
the tether strap. This applies especially to
l eather seats .
Using tether straps on rearward-facing
child restraints
Currently, few rear -facing child restraint systems
come with a tether. Please read and heed the
ch ild rest raint system manufacturer's instruc­
tions carefully to determi ne how to p roperly in­
stall the te ther.
_.6 WARNING
A child in a rearward -facing ch ild safety seat
installed on the front passe nger seat will be
serious ly injured and can be killed if the front
airbag inflates - even with an Advanced Airbag
System.
- The inflating airbag will h it the ch ild safety
seat or infant carr ier with great force and
w ill smash the child safety seat and child
against the backrest , center arm rest, or
door.
- If you must install a rearward facing child
safety seat on the front passenger seat be­
cause of exceptional circumstances and the