2017 AUDI A3 SEDAN light

Child safety
Convertible child safety seats
Properly used convertible child safety seats can
help protect toddlers and children over age one
who weigh between 20 and 40 lbs. (9 and 18 kg)
in a crash.
Fig. 254 Schematic overv iew: installat ion of the attach ­
ments app licable to a LATCH seat
Fig. 255 Schemat ic overview: installat ion of the seat using
the vehicle 's safety belt system
.. When using the vehicle safety be lt to install a
child safety seat, you must first activate the
convertible locking retractor on the safety belt
to prevent the child safety seat from mov ing
¢ page 303 or install the seat using the LATCH
attachments .
.. Push the child safety seat down with your full
weight to get the safety be lt really tight so that
the seat cannot move forward or sideways more than one inch (2 .5 cm)
¢ page 303.
.. If the child safety seat is equipped with a tether
strap, attach it to the tether anchors
¢page 309.
.. Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
¢page 298 .
A toddler or child is usually too large for an in­
fant restraint if it is more than one year old and
weighs more than 20 lbs . (9 kg).
300
Toddlers and children who are older than one
year up to about 4 years old and weigh more than
20 lbs (9 kg) up to 40 lbs. (18 kg) must always be
properly restrained in a child safety seat certified
for their size and weight
c> fig. 254 and
¢ fig. 255.
The airbag on the passenger side makes the front
seat a potentially dangerous place for a child to
ride. The front seat is not the safest place for a
child in a forward-fac ing child safety seat .
It is a
very dangerous place for an infant or a larger
ch ild in a rearward-facing seat .
.&_ WARNING
Not using a child safety seat, us ing the wrong
ch ild safety seat or imprope rly i nstalling a
chi ld restraint increases the risk of serious
personal injury and death in a collision or oth ­
er emergency situation.
-Ch ildren 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-fac ing ch ild safety seat
installed on the front passenger seat will be
serious ly injured and can be killed if the
front airbag inflates -even with an Ad­
vanced Airbag System .
-The inflating airbag will h it the chi ld safety
seat or infant carr ier with great force and
w ill smash the child safety seat and child
aga inst the backrest, center a rm rest, doo r
or roof.
-Always i nstall rear-fac ing ch ild safety seats
on the rear seat.
-I f you must install a rearwa rd facing child
safety seat on the front passenger seat be ­
cause of exceptional circ umstan ces a nd 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 airbag system
inspected by your Audi dealer .
- The rear side of the ch ild safety seat should
be positioned as close as possible to the
backrest on the veh icle seat.
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-For adjustable head restraints: adjust or re­
move the rear seat head restraint if it is dif­
ficult to install the child safety seat with the head restraint in place
q page 63 . Install
the head restra int aga in immediately once
t h e ch ild safety seat is removed . Driving
without head restra ints or with head re­
st raints that are not properly adjusted in­
creases the risk of ser ious or fatal neck in­
jury dramatically .
-Always read and heed all WARN INGS when­
ever using a child restrained in a veh icle is
being used
Q page 258, Safety belts,
q page 267, Airbag system and
q page 292, 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
well-being require that the follow ing spec ial
precaut ions be taken:
-Make sure the forward-facing seat has been
designed and cert ified by its manufacturer
for use on a front seat with a passenger
front and side airbag .
-Always follow the manufacturer's instruc­
tions prov ided with the ch ild safety seat or
infant carrier.
-Always move the front passenger seat to
the highest position in the up and down ad­
justment range and move it back to the
rearmost position in the seat's fore and aft
adjustment range, as fa r away from the air ­
bag as possib le, before insta lling the for­
ward-facing child restraint.
- Always make sure that the safety belt upper
anchorage is beh ind the child restraint and
not next to or in front of the chi ld restraint
so that the safety belt will be properly pos i­
t ioned.
- Always make sure that nothing prevents the
front passenger 's seat from being moved to
the rearmost position in its fore and aft ad ­
justment range .
- Always make sure the backrest is in an up­
right position .
Child safety
-Never p lace or use any e lectrica l device
(such as a laptop, CD player, e lectron ic
games device, power inverter or seat heater
for child safety seats) on the front passen­
ge r seat if the device is connected to the 12-
volt socket or the cigarette lighte r socket .
-If a seat heater has been retrofitted or oth ­
erwise added to the front passe nger seat,
never install any child restra int system on
this seat.
-Make sure that the re are no wet objects
(such as a wet towel) and no wate r o r other
liqui ds on t he front passenger seat cush ion.
-N ever p lace objects on the seat (such as a
laptop, C D playe r, electro nic games device,
power inverter o r seat heater fo r ch ild safe­
ty seats). These may influence the elec trical
capacitance measu red 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 all the time
whenever the ignit ion is switched on.
-If the PASSENGER A IR BAG OFF li ght does
not come on and stay on, immediately in­
stall the forward-fac ing ch ild safety seat at
a seating posit io n on the rear seat and have
the airbag system inspected by your author­
ized Audi dealer .
- 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 whenever
the igni tion is switched on.
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provide supplemental protection in certain fron­
tal collisions.
A WARNING
Not using a booster seat, using the booster
seat improperly, incorrectly installing 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 never l ie across the throat or
neck . The lap belt must lie across the pelvis
and never across the stomach or abdomen.
Make sure that the belt lies flat and snug .
Pull on the belt to tighten if necessary.
- Failure to proper ly route safety belts over a
child's body will cause severe injuries in an
accident or other emergency situation
¢page 258.
- The rear side of the child safety seat should
be pos itioned as close as possible 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 safety seat with the head restraint in place
¢page 63. Install
the head restra int aga in immediately once
the ch ild safety seat is removed. D riving
without head restra ints or with head re­
straints that are not properly adjusted in­
creases the risk of serious or fatal neck in ­
jury dramatically .
- Never let a child put the shoulder belt under the arm or behind the back, because it cou ld
cause severe injuries in a crash.
- Children on the front seat of any car, even with Advanced Airbags, can be seriously in­
jured or even killed when an airbag inflates.
- Never let a child stand or knee l on any seat,
for example the front seat.
- Never let a child ride in the cargo area of
your vehicle .
- Always remember that a child leaning for­
ward, sitting sideways or out of position in
Ch ild safety
any way during an accident can be struck by
a dep loying airbag. Th is will result in serious
personal injury or death.
- If you must install a booster seat on the
front passenger seat because of exceptional
circumstances the
PA SSENGER AIR B AG
OFF
light must come on and stay on, when­
ever the ignit ion is switched on.
- If the
PA SSEN GER AIR BA G OFF light does
not come on and stay on, perform the
checks described
r=;,page 279, Monitoring
the Advanced Airbag System.
- Take the child restra int off the front passen­
ger seat and 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
eve r using a child restrained in a vehicle is
being used
¢ page 258, Safety belts,
¢ page 267, Airbag system and
c::> page 292, Important information.
Securing child safety
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 emergency lo cking retractors for
the rear seats safety be lts and for the front pas­
senger's seat safety be lt have a convertible lock­
ing retractor for child restraints. The safety be lt
must be locked so that belt webbing cannot un­
reel. The retractor can be activated to lock the
safety belt and prevent the safety belt webbing
from loosening up dur ing normal driving . A ch ild
safety seat can on ly be properly instal led when
the safety be lt is locked so that the c hild and
child safety seat will stay in place.
Always remember : Even though your veh icle is
equipped with an Advanced Airbag system, all
children, especia lly those
1 2 yea rs and younger,
sho uld always ride in the back sea t properly re-
strained for their age and size.
IJJ,,
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Child safet y
A 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
dur ing no rma l driving or in a crash.
- Always buckle the child safety seat firmly in
pla ce even if a child is not s itting in i t. A
loose child safety seat can f ly around d uring
a sudden stop or in a coll is ion .
- Always make sure that the rear seat bac k­
rest to which the center rea r safety be lt* is
attached is securely latched whenever the
rear center safety belt is being used to se­
cure a chi ld restraint.
- If the backrest is no t 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 carr iers on the front passenger
seat. A child will be seriously injured and can be killed when the passenger airbag in ­
flates .
- The inflating a irbag w ill hit the child safety
seat or infant car rier with great force and
will smash the chi ld safety seat and child
against the backrest, center armrest, doo r
o r roof.
- Always install rear-facing child safety seats
o r infant carr iers on the rear seat.
- Forward-facing ch ild safety seats or infant
carr iers installed on the front passenger's
seat may inte rfere with the deployment of
the airbag and cause serious injury to the
child.
- It is safer to install a forward-facing ch ild
safety seat on the rear seat.
- Always read and heed all WARN INGS when­
ever using a child restrained in a veh icle is
being used
r=> page 292. Specia l precaut ions
apply when installing a child safety seat on
the front passenger seat
r=> page 268, Child
304
restraints on the front seat -some impor­
tant things to know.
A WARNING
Always take special precautions if you must
install a forward or rearward-facing child re­
stra int on the front passenger's seat in excep ­
tional s ituations:
- Whenever a forward or rearward-fac ing
child restraint is installed on the front pas­
senger seat, the
PASSENGE R 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
r=> page 2 79, Monitoring
the Advanced Airbag System.
- Take the child restra int off the front passen­
ger seat and install it prope rly at one of the
rear seat positions if the
PA SSENGER 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 protect ion .
- An improperly installed child restraint can
interfere with the airbag as it deploys and
serious ly 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
PASSEN GER AIR B AG OFF light signals
the correct front passenger frontal a irbag
stat us.
A WARNING
Forward-facing child restra ints:
- Always make sure the forward-facing seat
has been des igned and certified by its man­
ufacturer for use on a front seat with a pas­
senger front and side airbag.
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CXl CXl .... N r--­N .... 0 N > 00
-Never put the forward-facing child restraint
up, against or very near the instrument pan­
el.
-Always move the front passenger seat to
the highest position in the up and down
ad­
justment range and move it back to the
rearmost position in the seat's fore and aft
adjustment range, as far away from the air­
bag as possib le, before insta lling the
for­
ward-facing child restra int.
- Always make sure that the safety belt upper
anchorage is beh ind the child restraint and
not next to or in front of the chi ld restraint
so that the safety belt will be properly pos i­
tioned.
-Make sure that the PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the time
whenever the ignition is switched on .
,&. WARNING t-==
Rearward-facing child restraints:
-A child in a rearward-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 child
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 PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the time
whenever the ignition is switched on.
-If the PASSENGE R AIR BAG OFF light does
not come on and stay on, immediately in­
sta ll the rear-fac ing ch ild safety sea t in a
rea r seat ing pos ition and have the airbag
system inspected by your Aud i dealer.
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 firm 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.
.,.
305

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Tether anchors and tether straps
Applies to: Sedan
Fig. 261 Tether anchors: recess flaps behind the rear seat­
backs
Applies to: Cabriolet/Sportback
Fig. 262 Tethe r anchors: recess flaps behind the rear seat­
backs
Applies to: Sedan: The tether anchors for the rear
seating positions are located in recesses in the
rear window
shelf ~ fig. 261
Applies to: Cabriolet/Sportback : The tether an­
chors for the rear seating positions are located
on the backside of the rear seatbacks
~ fig. 262.
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 .
T he 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 . Th ese
new performance requirements make a tether
necessary on most new child safety seats .
Child safety
A WARNING
-Improper installation of child restraints will
increase the risk of injury and death in a
crash.
- Always follow the instructions provided by
the manufacturer of the child restraint you
intend to install in your Audi .
- Improper use of child restraint anchors (in­
cluding tether anchors) can lead to injury in
a collision . The anchors are designed to
withstand only those loads imposed by cor­
rectly fitted child restraints.
- Never mount two child restraint systems on
one LATCH lower anchor point.
- Never attach two child restraint systems to
one tether strap or tether anchorage.
- Never attach a tether strap to a tie-down
hook in the luggage compartment.
- Never use child restraint tether anchorages to secure safety belts or other kinds of occu­
pant restraints.
- Never secure or attach any luggage or other
items to the LATCH lower anchorages or to
the tether anchors.
- If you must install a rearward facing child
safety seat on the front passenger seat be­
cause of exceptional circumstances 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 airbag system inspected by your Audi dealer.
309

Child safety
Installing the upper tether strap on the
anchorage
App lies to: Seda n
Fig. 263 Tether strap : proper ro utin g an d mo untin g
@
Applies to: Cabr iolet/Sportback
F ig. 264 Tether str ap : p roper ro utin g an d mo untin g.©
center , @ outside
Installing the tether strap
App lies to: Sedan
~ Release or deploy the tether strap on the child
restraint according to the child restraint manu­
facture r's instructions.
~ Guide the upper tether strap under the rear
head restraint (raise the head restraint if neces­
sary)
i=> fig . 263. For child restraints w ith V­
tether straps, always make sure that the head
restraint guide rods do not interfere with any
part of the top tether strap.
310
~ Tilt the recess flap up to expose the anchor
bracket.
~ Attach the tether strap anchorage hook into
the opening of the tether anchorage.
~ Pull on the tether strap hook so that the spring
catch of the hook engages .
~ Tighten the tether strap f irmly following the
child restraint manufacturer's instructions .
Installing the tether strap
Applies to: Cabriolet/Sportbac k
~ Release or deploy the tether strap on the child
restraint according to the ch ild restraint manu­
facturer 's instructions.
~ Applies to: Sportback : Un lock the backrest and
fold it slightly forward
i=> page 67, Increasing
the cargo area
and locate the tether anchor be­
hind the rear seat b ackrest.
~ Applies to: Cabriolet: Unlock the backrest and
fold it slightly forward
¢ page 68, Pass­
through
and locate the tether anchor behind
the rear seat backrest .
~ Guide the upper tether strap under the rear
head restraint (raise the head restraint if neces­
sary)¢ fig. 264 . For child restraints with V ­
tether straps, always make sure that the head
restraint g uide rods do not interfere with any
part of the top tether strap.
~ Attach the tether strap anchorage hook into
the opening of the tether anchorage.
~ Pull on the tether strap hook so that the spring
catch of the hook is engaged .
~ Straighten the backrest back up into its upright
position and press it firmly into the locking
mechanism.
~ Tighten the tether strap firmly following the
child restra int manufacturer's instructions.
Releasing the tether strap
~ Loosen the tension on the straps following the
child restraint manufacturer's instructions.
~ Depress the spr ing catch on the hook and re­
lease it from the anchorage .
Remember: Use tether straps to help keep the
child restraint firmly in place.

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A WARNING ,~
Improper use of the LATCH system can in­
crease the risk of serious personal injury and
death in an acc ident.
-
-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,
o r be ejected from the vehicle.
A WARNING
Improper installation of child restraints will
increase the risk of injury in an acc ident.
- Always follow the child restra int system
manufacturer's instruct ions for proper in­
sta llation of the child restraint system and
proper use of tether straps as well as the
lower anchorages or safety be lts 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
c> page 292, Child safety.
Using tether straps on rearward-facing
child restraints
Currently, few rear-facing child restraint systems
come w ith a tether . Please read and heed the
child restraint system manufacturer 's instruc­
tions carefully to determine how to properly in­
stall the tether.
A WARNING
A child in a rearward-facing chi ld safety seat
installed on the front passenger seat w ill be
seriously injured and can be killed if the front
airbag inflates - even w ith an Advanced Airbag
System.
- The inflating a irbag w ill hit the child safety
seat or infant carrier with great force and
will smash the ch ild safety seat and child
Child safety
against the backrest, center armrest, or
door.
- If you must install a rearward facing child
safety seat on the front passenger seat be­
cause of exceptional circumstances 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 air bag system
inspected by your Audi dealer.
Additional information
Sources of information about child
restraints and their use
There are a number of sources of additional in­
formation about child restraint selection, instal­
lation and use:
NHTSA advises that the best child safety seat is
the one that fits your child and fits in your veh i­
cle, and that you w ill use correctly and cons is­
tent ly.
Try
before you buy!
U.S National Highway Traffic Safety Administra­
tion
Tel. : 1-888-327-4236 (TTY: l-800-424-91S3)
http://www .nhtsa.gov
http://www .safercar .gov
National SAFE KIDS Campaign
Tel.: (202) 662-0600
http://www .safekids .org
Safety BeltSafe U.S.A
Tel.: (800) 745-SAFE (English)
Tel. : (800) 747-SANO (Spanish)
http://www .carseat.o rg
Transport Canada Information Centre
Tel.: 1-800-333-0371 or ca ll 1-613-998-8616 if
you are in the Ottawa area
http://www .tc .gc .ca/ eng/roadsafety/men u. htm
Audi Customer Relations
Tel.: (800) 822-2834
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