2016 AUDI Q3 Owners Manual

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for example, the nature (hard or soft) of the im­
pacting object, the angle of impact, vehicle
speed, etc.
¢ page 128, Important safety in­
structions on the side airbag system.
Aside from their normal safety function, safety
be lts work to he lp keep the driver or front pas­
senger in posit ion in the event of a side collision
so that the side airbags can provide protection.
The airbag system is
not a substitute for your
safety belt. Rather, it is part of the overall occu­
pant restraint system in your veh icle. Always re­
member that the side airbag system can only
help to protect you if you are wearing your safety
belt and wearing it properly . This is another rea ­
son why you should always wear your safety be lts, not just because the law requires you to do
so
¢ page 104, General information.
It is important to remember that while the sup­
p lem ental side airbag system is designed to re­
duce the likelihood of serious injur ies, other inju­
ries , fo r example, swell ing, bruising, and minor
abrasions can also be associated with deployed
side airbags. Remember too, side airbags wi ll de­
ploy only once and only in certain kinds of acci­
dents· your safety belts are always there to offer
protection.
Vehicle damage, repair costs or even the lack of
ve hicl e damage are not necessarily an indication
of over-sensitive or failed airbag activation. In
some col lisions, both front and side a irbags may
inflate. Remember too, that airbags will deploy
only once and only in certain kinds of coll isions -
your safety belts are always there to offer protec ·
tion in those acc idents in which a irbags are not
supposed to deploy or when they have already
deployed.
The side airbag system will not deploy:
-when the ign ition is turned off
- in side collisions when the acceleration meas-
ured by the sensor is too low
- in front-end collisions
- in rear-end collisions
- in rollovers.
Airbag system
In some types of accidents the front airbags, side
curtain airbags and side airbags may be triggered
together.
A WARNING
=
- Safety belts and the airbag system will only
provide protection when occupants are in
the proper seat ing pos ition¢
page 128.
- If the airbag ind icator light Q page 16
comes when the veh icle is being used, have
the system inspected immediately by your
author ized Audi dealer. It is possible that
the airbag will inflate when it is not sup­
posed to, or will not inflate when it should.
How supplemental side airbags work
Side airbags deploy instantly and can help re·
duce the risk of upper torso injuries for occu­
pants who are properly restrained.
Fig. 126 Inflated side a irbags on left side of vehicle
When the system is triggered, the airbag is filled
with propellant gas and breaks through a seam in
the seat surface area marked "AIRB AG". It ex­
pands between the side trim panel and the pas·
senger . In order to help provide this addit ional
protect ion, the side airbag must inflate w ith in a
fraction of a second at very high speed and with
great force. Th e supplemental side airbag could
injure you if you r seating position is not proper or
upright or if items are located in the area where
the supp lemental side a irbag expands. This ap­
plies especially to children¢
page 132, Child
safety.
Supplemental side airbags inflate be­
tween the occupant and the door panel on the
s ide of the vehicle that is struck in certain side
collision ¢
fig. 126. .,.
127

Airbag syste m
Although they are not a soft pillow, they can
"cushion" the impact and in this way they can
he lp to reduce the risk of injury to the upper part
of the body.
A fine dust may develop when the airbag deploys.
This is normal and does not mean there is a fire in the vehicle.
Important safety instructions on the side
airbag system
Airbags are only supplemental restraints. Always
properly wear safety belts and ride in a proper
seating position.
There is a lot that you and your passengers must
know and act accordingly to help the safety belts
and a irbags do the ir job to provide supplemental
protection .
A WARNING
An inflating side airbag can cause ser ious or
fatal injury. Improperly wea ring safety belts
and improper seating positions increase the
r is k of serious personal injury and death
whenever a vehicle is being used.
- In order to red uce the risk of injury when
the supplemental side airbag inflates :
- Always sit in an upright position and never
lean aga inst the area where the supple-
mental side airbag is located.
- Never let a chi ld or anyone else rest the ir
head against the side trim panel in the
area where the supplemental s ide a irbag
inflates.
- Always make sure that safety belts are
worn correctly,
- Do not let anyone sitting in the front seat
put their hand or any other parts of t he ir
body out of the window.
- Always make sure that the side airbag can
inflate without interference.
- Never install seat covers o r rep lacemen t
upho lstery over the front seatbacks that
have not been specifically approved by
Aud i.
128
- Never use additional seat c ushions that
cover the areas where the side airbags de­
ploy.
- Damage to the orig inal seat covers or to
the seam in the area of the s ide airbag
module must a lways be repaired immedi­
ate ly by an autho rized Aud i dealer .
- Objects between you and the airbag can in­
crease the r isk of injury in an acc ident by in­
terfering with the way the airbag unfolds or
by being pushed into you as the airbag in­
flates.
- Never place or attach accessor ies or other
ob jects (s uch as c upholders, telephone
brackets, or even large, b ulky objects) on
the doors, over or near the area marked "AIRBAG" on the seat backrests.
- Such objects and accessories can become
dangero us projecti les and cause injury
when the supplemental side airbag de­ ploys.
- Never carry any objects or pets in the de­
ployment space between them and the
airbags or allow children or other passe n­
gers to trave l in this position .
- Always use the b uilt-in coat hooks only fo r
lightweight clo thing. Never leave any heavy
or sharp-edged objec ts in the po ckets that
may i nterfere wi th s ide airb ag deployment
and can cause persona l injury in an accident.
- Always prevent the side ai rbags from being
damaged by heavy objec ts knocking against
or hit ting the sides of the seatbacks.
- The a irb ag sys tem can only be triggere d
once. If the airbag has been triggered, the
system must be replaced by an authorized
Audi dea lership .
- Damage (cracks, deep scratches etc.) to the
original seat covers or to the seam in the
area of the side airbag module must always
be repaired immediately by an authorized
Aud i dea ler .
- If ch ildren are seated improperly, their risk
of injury increases in the case of an accident
c::;, page 132, Child safety.
- Never attempt to mod ify any components of
the airbag system in any way.

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-In a side collision, side airbags will not func­
tion properly if sensors cannot correctly
measure increasing a ir pressure inside the
doors when air escapes through larger, un­
closed openings in the door panel.
- Never drive w ith inter ior door trim pane ls
removed.
- Never drive when parts have been re­
moved from the inside door panel and the
openings they leave have not been proper­ ly closed.
- Never drive when loudspeakers in the doors have been removed un less the
speaker holes have been properly closed.
- Always make certain that openings are
covered or fi lled if additional speakers or
other eq uipment is installed in the inside
door panels.
- Always have work on the doors done by an
author ized Audi dealer or qualif ied work­
shop.
Side curtain airbags
Description of side curtain airbags
The side curtain airbag system can provide sup­
plemental protection to properly restrained oc­
cupants.
F ig . 127 S ide curtain sys te m , dr iver's side: s ide c urta in air­
bag locat ion
The s ide curtain airbags are located on both sides
of the interior above the front and rear s ide win­
dows
Q fig. 127 . They are iden tified by the wo rd
"AIRBAG" on the w indshield frame and the ce n­
ter roof pillar.
The s ide curta in airbags contain features that
p rovide ejec tion mi tiga tion to help p reve nt veh i-
Airb ag sys tem
cle occupants or par ts of their bodies from being
completely or partially ejected from the vehicle
i nterior in certain side impacts and veh icle roll­
overs .
T he side curtain airbag system supplements the
safety belts and can help to reduce the risk of in­
j ury for occupants' heads and upper torso on the
s ide of the vehicle that is struck in a side colli­
sion. The s ide curtain airbag inflates in side im­
pacts and only when the vehicle acce leration reg­
istered by t he control unit is high enough . If this
rate is be low the reference va lue programmed in­
to the control unit, the side cu rtain airbag will
not be t riggered, even though the ca r may be
badly damaged as a resu lt of the co llision . It is
not possible to define an airbag triggering range
that wi ll cover every possible angle of impact,
s ince the circumstances will vary considerably be­
tween one collision and another. Important fac­
tors include, for example, the nature (hard or
soft) of the impact ing object, the angle of im ­
pact, vehicle speed, etc .
Q page 130, How side
curtain airbags work.
Aside from their normal safety funct ion, safety
belts work to help keep the drive r or front pas ­
senger in position in the event of a coll is ion so
that the s ide curtain a irbags can prov ide p rotec­
t ion.
The airbag system is not a substit ute for your
safety belt. Rather, it is part of the overall occ u­
pant restraint system in your vehicle. Always re­
member tha t the ai rbag system can on ly help to
pro tec t you if you are wear ing you r sa fety be lt
and wearing it properly . This is another reason
why you shou ld always wear yo ur safety belts,
not just because the law req uires you to do so
Q page 104, General information.
It is important to remember that while the side
cu rtain airbag system is designed to help reduce
the likelihood of serio us injuries, other injuries,
for example, swelling, bru ising, and minor abra­
s ions can also be assoc iated with these airbags .
Remember too, these airbags will deploy only
once and on ly in ce rtain k inds of accidents -your
safety belts are always there to offer protec tion. ..,.
129

Airbag system
The side curtain airbag system basically
consists of:
- The electronic control module and external side
impact sensors
- The side curta in airbags above the front and
rear side windows with ejection mitigation fea­
tures
- The airbag indicator light in the instrument
panel
The airbag system is monitored electronically to
make certain it is functioning properly at all
times. Each time you turn on the ignition, the air­
bag system indicator light will come on for a few
seconds (self diagnostics).
The side curtain airbag is not activated:
-if the ignition is turned off,
-in side collisions when the acceleration meas-
ured by the sensor is too low,
- in rear-end collisions.
,&. WARNING
-Safety belts and the airbag system will only
provide protection when occupants are in
the proper seating position
¢ page 50,
Front seats.
-If the airbag indicator light ¢page 16
comes when the vehicle is being used, have
the system inspected immediately by your
authorized Audi dealer . It is possible that
the airbag will inflate when it is not sup­
posed to, or will not inflate when it should.
130
How side curtain airbags work
Side curtain airbags can work together with side
airbags to help reduce the risk of head and upper
torso injuries for occupants who are properly re­
strained.
Fig. 128 Illus tratio n of principle: I nflated side curtain a ir­
bag s on t he left s ide
The side curtain airbags inflate between the oc­
cupant and the windows on the side of the vehi­
cle that is struck in a side collision
~ fig. 128.
When the system is triggered, the side curtain
airbag is filled with propellant gas and breaks
through a seam above the front and rear side
windows identified by the AIRBAG label. In order
to help provide this additional protection, the
side curtain airbag must inflate within the blink
of an eye at very high speed and with great force.
The side curtain airbag could injure you if your
seating position is not proper or upright or if
items are located in the area where the supple­
mental side curtain airbag inflates. This applies
especially to children~
page 132.
Although they are not a soft pillow, side curtain
airbags can "cushion" the impact and in this way
they can help to reduce the risk of injury to the
head and the upper part of the body.
A fine dust may develop when the airbag deploys .
This is quite normal and does not mean there is a
fire in the vehicle .

Important safety instructions on the side
curtain airbag system
Airbags are only supplemental restraints. Always
properly wear safety belts and ride in a proper
seating position.
There is a lot that you and your passengers must
know and do to help the safety belts and airbags
do their job to provide supplemental protection.
_& WARNING
-
Improperly wearing safety belts and improper
seating positions increase the risk of serious
personal injury and death whenever a vehicle
is being used.
- Never let occupants place any parts of their
bodies in the area from which the side cur­
tain airbags inflate.
- Always make sure that the side curtain air­
bags can inflate without interference. Un­
suitable accessories fitted inside the expan­
sion range of a head airbag can dangerously
interfere with its function. A deploying head
airbag develops enough force to catapult
any piece of add-on component out of its
path of inflation and into the passenger
compartment. An occupant hit by such a
projectile can suffer serious injury or death
¢ page 234, Technical Modifications.
- Do not swivel the sun visors to the side if
you have any objects clipped onto them (for
example pens). If the airbag should deploy,
you could be injured by these objects.
- Use the built-in coat hooks only for light­
weight clothing. Never leave any heavy or
sharp-edged objects in the pockets that may
interfere with airbag deployment and can
cause personal injury in an accident.
- Never use hangers to hang clothing from the hooks.
- Only use factory-installed sun shades or, in
the case of shades installed after the vehicle
leaves the factory, only Audi roll-up
sunscreens may be used
¢ page 234, Addi­
tional accessories and parts replacement.
- Always sit in proper seating position and
wear safety belts while traveling so that the
Airbag system
side curtain airbags can help provide protec­
tion.
- The airbag system can only be triggered
once. If the airbag has been triggered, the
system must be replaced by an authorized
Audi dealer or qualified workshop.
-Always have work involving the side curtain
airbag system, removal and installation of
the airbag components, or other repairs performed by an authorized Audi dealer or
qualified workshop. Otherwise the airbag
system may not work correctly.
- Never attempt to modify any components of
the airbag system in any way.
131

Child safety
Child safety
Important information
Introduction
The rear seat is generally the safest place in a
collision .
The physical principles of what happens when
your vehicle is in a crash apply also to children
¢ page 105, What happens to occupants not
wearing safety belts? .
But unlike adults and
teenagers, their muscles and bones are not fully
developed. In many respects children are at
g reater r isk of serious injury in crashes than
adults .
Because children's bodies are not fully devel­
oped, they require restraint systems especially
des igned for their size, weight, and body struc­
ture. Many countries and all states of the United
States and provinces of Canada have laws requir­
ing the use of approved child restraint systems
for infants and small children .
I n a frontal crash at a speed of 20-35 mph
(30-56 km/h) the forces acting on a 13 -pound
(6 kg) infant will be more than 20 times the
weight of the child. This means the weight of the child would suddenly be more than 260 pounds (120 kg) . Under these conditions, only an appro­
priate child restraint properly used can reduce
the risk of serious injury . Child restra ints, like
adu lt safety belts, must be used properly to be
effect ive. Used improperly, they can increase the
risk of serious injury in an acc ident.
Consult the child safety seat manufacturer's in­
structions in order to be sure the seat is right for
your child's size¢
page 135, Important safety
instructions for using child safety seats .
Please
be sure to read and heed all of the impo rtant in­
formation and WARNINGS about child safety,
Advanced Airbags, and the installation of child
restraints in this chapter.
There is a lot you need to know about the Ad­
vanced Airbags in your vehicle and how they work
when infants and children in child restraints are
on the front passenger seat . Because of the large
amount of important information, we cannot re-
132
peat it all here. We urge you to read the detailed
information in this owner's manual about airbags
and the Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle and the very important information about trans­
porting children on the front passenger seat.
Please be sure to heed the WARNINGS - they are
extremely importa nt for your safety and the safe­
ty of your passengers, especia lly infants and
small chi ldren.
.&_ WARNING
- Accident statistics have shown that children
are generally safer in the rear seat area than
in the front seating position. Always restrain
any child age 12 and under in the rear.
- All vehicle occupants and especially children
must be restrained properly whenever riding
in a vehicle. An unrestrained or improperly
restrained child cou ld be injured by striking
the inter ior or by being ejected from the ve­
hicle during a sudden maneuver or impact.
An unrestrained or improperly restrained
child is a lso at greater r isk of injury or death
through contact w ith an inf lating airbag.
- A suitable ch ild restraint properly installed
and used at one of the rear seating positions
provides the highest degree of pro tect ion
for infants and small children in most acci­
dent sit uations.
.&_ WARNING
Children on the front seat of any car even with
Advanced Airbags can be seriously injured or
even killed when an airbag inflates. A child in
a rearward-facing chi ld safety seat installed
on the front passenger seat will be seriously injured and can be killed if the front airbag in­
flates.
- The inflating airbag will hit the child safety
seat or infant carr ier with great force and
w ill smash the child safety seat and child
aga inst the backrest , center armrest, or
door.
- Always install rear-facing child safety seats
on the rear seat.
- If you must install a rearward facing child
safety seat on the front passenger seat in

exceptional circumstances and the
PASS ENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not
come on and stay on, immed iately install
the rear-fac ing ch ild safety seat in a rear
seating pos it ion and have the airbag system
inspected immediately by your Audi dealer .
A WARNING
If, in exceptio nal circumstances, you must in­
stall a forward-facing chi ld restraint on the
front passenger's seat:
- Always make sure the forward-fac ing seat
has been designed and ce rtified by its man­
ufact urer fo r use on a front seat with a pas­
senger front and side airbag .
- Always follow the manufact urer's instruc­
tions prov ided with the ch ild safety seat or
carrier.
- 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 child
restraint. The backrest must be adjusted to
an upr ight position.
- Always make sure that the
PA SSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on all the
t ime whenever the ignition is switched on.
{D) Tips
Always replace chi ld restraints that were in­
stalled in a vehicle dur ing a crash . Damage to
a child restraint that is not visible could cause
it to fail in another collision situation.
Advanced front airbag system and children
Your veh icle is equipped with a front "Advanced
Airbag System " in compliance w ith United States
F edera l Moto r Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS)
208, as well as Canada Motor Ve hicle Safe ty
Stand ard (CMVSS) 208 as appli cable at the t ime
your vehicle was manufactured .
The Advanced Airbag system in your ve hicle has
been ce rtified to meet the "low-risk " requ ire­
ments for 3 -and 6-year old children on the pas­
senger side and small adults on the driver side .
The low risk deployment criteria are intended to
Ch ild safety
reduce the risk of injury through interaction with
the airbag that can occur, for example, by being
too close to the steering wheel and instr ument
panel when the airbag inflates. In addition, the
system has been cert ified to comply with the
"suppression" requirements of the Safety Stand ­
ard, to turn off the front airbag for infants up to
12 months who are restrained on the front pas­
senger seat in ch ild rest raints that are lis ted in
the S tanda rd .
Even thoug h your veh icle is equipped with an Ad­
vanced Airbag system, all ch ildren, especially
those 12 yea rs and younger, sho uld a lways ride
i n the back seat properly restra ined for their age
and size . The airbag on the passenger side makes
the front seat a potentia lly dangerous p lace for a
child to ride. The front seat is not the safest place
for a ch ild in a forward-fac ing ch ild safety seat. It
can be a very dangerous place for an infant or a
larger ch ild in a rearward-facing seat .
Advanced Airbags and the weight -sensing
mat in the front seat
T he Advanced A irbag System in you r vehicle de­
tects the presence of a n in fan t or child in a ch ild
restra int on the front passenger seat using the
weight-sensing mat in the seat cushion and the sensor below the safety belt latch on the front
passenger seat that measures the tension on the
safety belt.
The weight-sensing mat measures total weight
of the child and the chi ld safety seat and a child
blanket on the front passenger seat. The weight
on the front passenger seat is related to the de­
s ign of the child restra int and its "footprint" , the
s ize and shape of the bottom of the c hild re ­
straint as it s its on the seat. The weight of a chi ld
r estra int and its "footprint " va ry for different
k inds of child restra ints and for the different
models of the same kind of ch ild rest raint of ­
fered by child restraint manufacturers.
T he weight ranges for the individ ual types,
makes and mode ls of chi ld restrain ts that the
N HT SA has spec ified in the Safety Standard to­
gether with the weight ranges o f typical infants
and typical 1 year-old chi ld have been stored in .,.
133

Child safet y
the control unit of the Advanced Ai rbag System.
When a chi ld restraint is being used on the front
passenger seat with a typical 1 year-old child, the
Advanced Airbag System compares the we ight
measured by the weight sensing mat with the in­
formation stored in the electronic control unit.
The electronic cont rol un it also registers the ten­
sion on the front passenger safety belt. The ten­
sion on the safety belt for the front passenger
seat will be d ifferent fo r an adult who is properly
using the safety belt as compared to the tension
on the belt when it is used to attach a ch ild re­
stra int to the seat. The senso r below the la tch fo r
the safety belt for the fro nt sea t passe nger
meas ures the tens io n on the belt. The inp ut from
this sensor is then used with the weight to "de­
cide", whether there is a child restraint with a
typical 1 year-old child on the front passenger
seat and whethe r or not the a irbag must be
turned off.
Child restraints and Advanced Airbags
Regardless of the child restra int tha t you use,
make sure that it has been cert ified to meet Safe­
ty Standa rds and has been certified by its manu­
facturer for u se wi th an a irb ag. Always be sure
t ha t th e chi ld res tra in t i s properly insta lled at
one o f th e rear seating posit ions . If i n excep tion ­
a l ci rcumstances yo u must use it on the front
passenger seat, carefully read all of the informa­
tion on child safety and Advanced Airbags and heed a ll of the app licab le WARNINGS. Make cer­
tain that the child restra int is correctly recog­
n ized by the we ight-sens ing mat inside the front
passenger seat, that t he fron t passenger a irbag
is tu rned off and tha t the airbag status is a lways
cor rect ly signa led by the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF ligh t.
M any types and models of c hild rest rai nts have
been available ove r th e yea rs, new models are in­
t roduced regularly incorporat ing new and im ­
p roved designs and o lder mode ls are taken o ut o f
p roduction . Chi ld restraints a re not standardized .
Ch ild rest raints of the same type typica lly have
d ifferent weights and s izes and d ifferent 'foot­
prints, ' the size and shape of the bottom of the
chi ld restraint that s its on the seat, when they
134 are ins
talled on a vehicle seat . These d ifferences
make it virtua lly impossib le to certify compliance
with the requirements for advanced a irbags w ith
each and every child restra int that has eve r been
sold in the past or will be so ld over the course of
the usefu l life of your vehicle.
Fo r thi s reason, the United States Nationa l H igh­
way Traffic Safety Administration has published a li st of specific type, makes and mode ls of ch ild
r estra ints that must be used to certify compli­
ance of the Advanced Airbag System in your ve hi­
cle w ith the s uppress ion requirements of Federa l
Motor Ve hicl e Safety Standa rd 208. These child
r es trai nts are:
Subpart A - Car bed child restraints
Model Manufactured on or
after
Angel Guard Angel Septe mber 25, 2 007
R ide AA2 403FO F
Subpart B - Rear-facing child restraints
Model Manufactured on or
after
Cent ury SmartFi t 454 3 Decembe r 1, 1999
Cosco Arriva September 25, 2007
22-013PAW and base
22- 999WHO
Evenf lo Discove ry Ad -December 1, 1999
just R ight 212
E venflo First Choi ce Decembe r 1, 1999
2 04
Graco I nfant 8457 December 1, 1999
Graco Snugr ide September 25, 20 07
Peg Perego Primo Viag- September 25, 2007
g io SIP I MUNOOUS
Subpart C -Forward-facing and convertible
child restraints
Model Manufactured on or
after
B rit a x Roun dabo ut September 25, 200 7
E 9 L02xx
Cosco Touriva 02519 December 1, 1999