2016 AUDI A3 seats

,....,
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:
-

Child safety
-Always make sure the seat backrest to which
the child restraint is installed is in an up­
right position and securely latched into
place and cannot fold forward. Otherwise,
the seatback with the child safety seat at­
tached to it could fly forward in the event of
an accident or other emergency situation.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS when­
ever using a child restrained in a vehicle is
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.
Deactivating the convertible locking
retractor
The convertible Locking retractor for child re­
straints will be deactivated automatically when
the belt is wound all the way bock into the re­
tractor .
~ Press the red button on the safety belt buckle.
Th@ belt tongue will pop out of the buckle.
~ Guide the safety belt all the way back into its
stowed position .
Always let the safety belt retract completely into
its stowed position . The safety belt can now be
used as an ordinary safety belt without the con­
vertible locking retractor for child restraints .
If the convertible locking retractor should be ac­
tivated inadvertently, the safety belt must be un­
fastened and guided completely back into its
stowed position to deactivate this feature. If the
convertible lock ing retractor is not deactivated,
the safety belt will gradually become tighter and
uncomfortable to wear.
A WARNING
-
Improperly installed child safety seats in­
crease the risk of serious personal injury and
death in a collision.
- Never unfasten the safety belt to deactivate
the convertible locking retractor for child re­ straints while the vehicle is moving . You
222
would not be restrained and could be seri­
ously injured in an accident.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS when­
ever using a child restrained in a vehicle is
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.
LATCH system (Lower
anchorages and tethers
for children)
' Child Restraint System anchors and how
are they related to child safety
To provide a simpler and more practicable way to
attach the child restraint on the vehicle seat, Federal regulations require special lower ancho­
rages in vehicles and devices on new child re­
straints to attach to the vehicle anchorages .
In the United States, the combination of the
tether anchorages and the lower anchorages is
now generally called the LATCH system for
"Lower Anchorages and Tethers for Children" . In
Canada, the terms "top tether" with "lower uni­
versal anchorages" (or "lower universal anchor­
age bars") are used to describe the system .
In other countries the term "ISOFIX" is used to
describe the lower anchorages .
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
necessary on most new child seats.
Installing a child restraint that requires a top
tether without one can seriously impair the per­
formance of the child restraint and its ab ility to
protect the child in a collision. Installing a child
restraint that requires a top tether without the
top tether may be a violation of state law.
Child restraint manufacturers offer LATCH lower
anchorages on their child seats with hook-on or ...

Child safety
Please remember that the lower anchorage
points are only intended for installation and at­
tachment of child restraints specifically certified
for use with
LATCH lower anchorages. Child re­
straints that are not equipped with the lower an­
chorage attachments can still be installed in
compliance with the child restraint manufactur­
er's instructions on using vehicle safety belts .
A WARNING
Improper use of LATCH lower anchorages can
cause serious personal injury in an accident.
- Always carefully follow the child restraints
manufacturer's instructions for proper in­
stallation of the child restraint and proper
use of the lower anchorages or safety belts
in your vehicle.
- Never secure or attach any luggage or other
items to the
LATCH lower anchorages.
- Always read and heed the important infor­
mation about child restraints in this chapter
and WARNINGS
¢ page 209, Child safety.
Installing a child restraint with LATCH
lower anchorages
Applies to veh icles: w ith Top Tether
Whenever you install a child restraint always fol­
low the child restraint manufacturer 's instruc­
tions.
Fig. 181 L owe r an ch orage s: proper mou nting (examp le)
Mounting
.. Make sure the seatback of the rear seat bench
is in the upright position and securely latched
in place .
.. Attach both hook-on connectors with the spring
catch release on the child safety seat onto the
224
LATCH lower anchorage so that the connectors
lock into place
¢ fig. 181.
.. Pull on the connector attachments to make
sure they are properly attached to the LATCH
lower anchorage.
.. Pull straps tight following the child restraint
manufacturer's instructions.
Releasing
.. Loosen the tension on the straps following the
child restraint manufacturer's instructions.
.. Depress the spring catches to release the an­
chorage hooks from the lower anchorages .
Remember: Use tether straps to help keep the
child restraint firmly in place.
A WARNING
-
Improper use of the LATCH system can in­
crease the risk of serious personal injury and
death in an accident .
- These anchors were developed only for child safety seats using the "LATCH" system.
- Never attach other child safety seats, belts
or other objects to these anchors .
- Always make sure that you hear a click when
latching the seat in place. If you do not hear
a click the seat is not secure and could fly
forward and hit the interior of the vehicle,
or be ejected from the vehicle.
A WARNING
Improper installation of child restraints will
increase the risk of injury in an accident.
- Always follow the child restraint system
manufacturer's instructions for proper in­
stallation of the child restraint system and
proper use of tether straps as well as the lower anchorages or safety belts in your ve­
hicle.
- Always read and heed the important infor­
mation and WARNINGS about child safety
and the installation of child restraint sys­
tems
¢ page 209, Child safety.
-

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

Check ing and F illing
Not running th e vehicle for long p eriod s of
t im e
If you do not drive your vehicle for several days or
weeks, electrical components are gradually re­ duced or sw itched off. Th is reduces energy con­
sumpt io n and maintains the vehicle's ability to
start over a long period of time
c:::, page 164 .
Some convenience functions, such as interior
lighting or power seats* may not work . These
convenience functions will be available again
once yo u sw itch the ignition on and start the en­
gine.
Winter operation
During the winter months, it is common for the
battery capacity to decrease as the temperatures
become lowe r. This is because mo re power is
needed to sta rt the veh icle and components s uch
as the headlights and the rear window defogger
are used more frequently .
Avoid using power unnecessar ily, especially in
ci ty driving or on sho rt trips. Have yo ur author­
ized Audi dealer or authorized Audi Service Facili­
ty check the battery capacity before the start of
winter c:::, page 249. A well-charged battery will
not on ly reduce starting problems in cold weath­
er, but it will also last longer .
A WARNING
-Work on the battery requires expert knowl­
edge. Contact an authorized Audi dealer or
autho rized Aud i Service Facility for informa­
t ion regarding the vehicle battery. There is a
risk for chemical burns or explosions.
- Never open the vehicle battery. Do not t ry to
c hange the batte ry electro lyte level. Othe r­
wise explosive gas wi ll escape from the bat­
te ry and increase the risk of an explos ion .
(D Tips
If your vehicle is not driven for several weeks
in very cold temperatu res, remove the batte ry
and sto re it in a pla ce where it wi ll not freeze.
This prevents the battery from being dam­
aged and needing to be replaced.
248
· Working on the battery
Be especially careful when working on or near
the battery.
Plug- in hybrid drive*: For important informat ion
about the high-voltage battery, refer to
c:::, page 98 .
The battery is located in the engine compart­
ment . Before you check anything in the engine
compartment,
r e ad and heed all WARNING S
¢,&. .
Always heed the safe ty wa rnings , when working
on the vehicle battery or the veh icle electrical
system to prevent injury .
The following WARNINGS are very important
w hen wor king on the batter y:
Alwa ys heed the following WARNING S YM-
BOLS and safet y precaut ions when wo rking on
the batte ry.
®
Alwa ys wear e ye protection .
&
Batt ery ad d co ntains sulfu ric acid . Al-
way s w ear glove s and ey e prot ect ion .
@
No
-spark s
- flame s
- smoking .
~
When a battery is cha rged , it p roduce s
h yd rog en gas which is e xplo siv e and
could cause personal in jur y.
®
Alway s kee p the ba tter y w ell out of
r each of children.
A WARNING
Whenever working on the battery or on the
e lectr ical system, there is the r isk of injury,
accident and even fire. Read and heed the fol­ low ing WARNINGS:
- Always wear eye protection. Do not let bat­
tery acid or any lead particles get on your
skin or clothing . Shield your eyes. Explosive
gases can cause blindness or other in ju ry .
- Battery acid contains sulfuric acid . Sulfuric
acid can cause blindness and severe burns .

be happy to provide more infor­
mation.
® Mud and snow capability
"M/5 " or "M+S" indicates the tire
has character istics that make it
suitable for driving on mud and
snow .
& indicates a winter tire .
@Composition of the tire cord
and materials
The number of plies indicates the
number of rubberized fabric lay­
ers in the tire. In general: the
more layers , the more weight a
tire can carry . Tire manufacturers
must also specify the materials
used in the tire. These include
steel, nylon, polyester and other
materials.
@ Maximum permitted load
This number indicates the maxi­
mum load in kilograms and
pounds that the tire can carry.
@ Uniform tire quality grade
standards for treadwear ,
traction and temperature
resistance
Tread wear, traction and temper ­
ature ranges
¢ page 271.
~ @ Running direction
g
~ ...
'° V, ....
'° ....
The arrows indicate the running
direction of unidirect ional tires .
Tires and wheels
You must always follow the speci­
fied runn ing d irection
¢ page 288 .
@ Maximum permitted
inflation pressure
This number ind icates the maxi­
mum pressure to which a tire can
be inflated unde r normal operat ­
ing conditions.
Glossary of tire and loading
terminology
Accessory weight
means the combined weight (in
excess of those standard items
which may be replaced) of auto­
matic transmission , power steer­
ing , power brakes, power win­
dows, power seats, radio, and
heater, to the extent that these
i tems are available as facto ry-in­
stalled equipment (whether in ­
stalled or not) .
Aspect ratio
means the ratio of the height to
the width of the tire in percent .
Numbers of 55 or lower indicate a
low sidewa ll for improved steer­
ing response and better overall
handling on dry pavement. .,.
255