2017 AUDI A3 SEDAN belt

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~ Always keep both feet in the footwell so that
you are in control of the vehicle at all times.
F or detailed information on how to adjust the
driver's seat, see
¢ page 61.
A WARNING
Drivers who are unbelted, out of position or
too close to the airbag can be seriously in­
jured by an airbag as it unfolds. To help re­
duce the risk of serious personal injury:
-Always adjust the driver's seat and the
steering wheel so that there are at least
10 inches (25 cm) between your breastbone
and the steering wheel.
-Always adjust the driver's seat and the
steering wheel so that there are at least
4 inches (10 cm) between the knees and the
lower part of the instrument panel.
-Always hold the steering wheel on the out­
side of the steering wheel rim with your
hands at the 9 o'clock and 3 o'clock posi­
tions to help reduce the risk of personal in ­
jury if the driver's airbag inflates.
-Never hold the steer ing wheel at the
12 o'clock posit ion or with your hands at
other positions inside the steering wheel
rim or on the steering wheel hub. Holding
the steering wheel the wrong way can cause
serious injuries to the hands, arms and head if the driver 's airbag inflates.
-Pointing the steering wheel toward your
face decreases the ability of the supplemen­
tal driver's airbag to protect you in a colli­ sion.
-Always sit in an upright position and never lean against or place any part of your body
too close to the area where the airbags are
located.
-Before driving, always adjust the front seats
properly and make sure that all passengers
are properly restrained.
-For adjustable head restraints: before driv­
ing, always also adjust the head restraints
properly .
-Never adjust the seats while the vehicle is
moving. Your seat may move unexpectedly
and you could lose control of the vehicle.
-
Driving safety
-Never drive with the backrest reclined or
tilted far back! The farther the backrests are
tilted back, the greater the risk of injury due
to incorrect positioning of the safety belt
and improper seating position.
-Children must always ride in child safety
seats
c::;, page 292. Special precautions ap­
ply when installing a child safety seat on the
front passenger seat
c::;, page 267.
Proper seating position for the front
passenger
The proper front passenger seating position is
important for safe, relaxed driving.
For your own safety and to reduce the risk of in­
jury in the event of an accident, we recommend
that you adjust the seat for the front passenger
to the fol lowing position:
~ Adjust the angle of the seatback so that it is in
an upright position and your back comes in full
contact with it whenever the vehicle is moving.
~ For adjustable head restraints: adjust the head
restraint so the upper edge is as even as possi­
ble with the top of your head. If that is not pos ­
sible, try to adjust the head restraint so that it is as close to this position as possible
c::;, page 63. Move the head restraint so that it is
as close to the back of the head as possible .
~ Keep both feet flat on the floor in front of the
front passenger seat.
~ Fasten and wear safety belts correctly
c::;, page 2 62 .
For detailed information on how to adjust the
front passenger's seat, see
c::;, page 61 .
A WARNING
Front seat passengers who are unbe lted, out
of position or too close to the airbag can be
seriously injured or killed by the airbag as it
unfolds . To help reduce the risk of serious
personal injury:
-Passengers must always sit in an upright po­
sition and never lean against or place any pa rt of their body too close to the area
where the airbags are located.
.,,.
249

Driving safety
-Passengers who are unbelted , out of posi­
tion or too close to the airbag can be seri ­
ously injured by an airbag as it unfolds with
great force in the blink of an eye .
-Always make sure that there are at least
10 inches (25 cm) between the front pas­
senger 's breastbone and the instrument
panel.
-Always make sure that there are at least
4 inches (10 cm) between the front passen­ ger's knees and the lower part of the instru­
ment panel.
-Each passenger must always sit on a seat of
their own and properly fasten and wear the
safety belt belonging to that seat.
-Before dr iving, always adjust the front pas­
senger seat properly .
-For adjustable head restraints: before driv­
ing, always also adjust the head restraints
properly .
- Always keep your feet on the floor in front
of the seat. Never rest them on the seat, in­
strument pane l, out of the window, etc. The
airbag system and safety be lt will not be
able to protect you properly and can even in­
crease the risk of injury in a crash .
-Never dr ive with the backrest reclined or
ti lted far back! The farther the backrests are
ti lted back , the greater the risk of injury due
to incorrect positioning of the safety belt
and improper seating position.
-Children must always ride in child safety
seats
c::> page 292 . Special precautions ap­
ply when installing a child safety seat on the
front passenger seat
c::> page 267 .
Proper seating positions for passengers in
rear seats
Rear seat passengers must sit upright with both
feet on the floor consistent with their physical
size and be properly restrained whenever the ve­
hicle is in use.
To reduce the r isk of injury caused by an incorrect
seating position in the event of a sudden braking
maneuver or an accident, you r passengers on the
rear bench seat must always observe the follow­
ing:
250
.,. For adjustab le head restraints: adjust the head
restraint so the upper edge is as even as possi­
ble with the top of your head. If that is not pos ­
sible, try to adjust the head restraint so that it
is as close to this position as possible
c::> page 63.
.,. Keep both feet flat in the footwell in front of
the rear seat .
.,. Fasten and wear safety belts properly
c::> page 2 62.
.,. Make sure that children are always properly re­
strained in a child restraint that is appropriate
for their size and age
c::> page 292.
A WARNING
Passengers who are improperly seated on the
rear seat can be seriously injured in a crash.
-E ach passenger must always sit on a seat of
their own and properly fasten and wear the safety belt belonging to that seat .
-Safety belts only offer maximum protection
when the safety belts are properly posi­
tioned on the body and securely latched . By
not sitting upright, a rear seat passenger in­
creases the risk of personal injury from im­
properly positioned safety belts!
-For adjustable head restraints: always ad­
just the head restraint properly so that it
can give maximum protection.
Proper adjustment of head restraints
Applies to: vehicles with adjustable head restraints
Correctly adjusted head restraints ore on impor ­
tant port of your
vehicle's occupant restraint sys­
tem and con help to reduce the risk of injuries in
occident situations.
Fig. 223 Head restraint : viewed from t he front

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The head restraints must be correctly adjusted to
achieve the best protection.
.,. Adjust the head restraint so the upper edge is
as even as possible with the top of your head. If
that is not possible, try to adjust the head re­
straint so that it is as close to this position as
poss ible
¢ fig. 223.
... Applies to: forward/back adjustable head re­
straints: Move the head restraint so that it is as
close to the back of the head as possible .
... If there is a passenger on the rear center seat­
ing position, slide the center head restraint up­
ward at least to the next notch.
Adjusting head restraints
<=>page 63 .
A WARNING
-
All seats are equipped with head restraints.
Driv ing without head restraints or with head
restraints that are not properly adjusted in­
creases the risk of serious or fatal neck injury
dramatically. To help reduce the risk of injury:
- Always dr ive with the head restraints in
place and properly adjusted.
- Every person in the vehicle must have a
properly adjusted head restraint.
- Always make sure each person in the vehicle
properly adjusts their head restraint. Adjust
the head restraint so the upper edge is as
even as possible with the top of your head.
If that is not possible, try to adjust the head
restraint so that it is as close to this position
as possible.
- App lies to: forward/back adjustable head
restra ints: Move the head restraint so that it
is as close to the back of the head as possi­
ble.
- Never attempt to adjust head restraint
while driving. If you have driven off and
must adjust the driver headrest for any rea­
son, first stop the vehicle safely before at­
tempting to adjust the head restraint.
- Children must always be properly restrained in a child restraint that is appropriate for
their age and size
r=;, page 292.
Driving safety
Examples of improper seating positions
The occupant restraint system can only reduce
the risk of injury if vehicle occupants are properly
seated.
Improper seating positions can cause serious in­
jury or death . Safety belts can only work when
they are properly positioned on the body . Im­
proper seat ing positions reduce the effectiveness
of safety belts and will even increase the risk of
injury and death by moving the safety belt to cr it­
ical areas of the body. Improper seating positions
also increase the risk of serious injury and death
when an airbag deploys and strikes an occupant
who is not in the proper seating position. A driver
is responsible for the safety of all vehicle occu­
pants and especially for children . Therefore:
... Never allow anyone to assume an incorrect
seating position when the vehicle is being used
0 _& .
The following list contains exxamples of some
positions that will increase the risk of serious in­
jury and death. Our hope is that these examples
will make you more aware of seating positions
that are dangerous .
Therefore, whenever the vehicle is moving:
-never stand up in the vehicle
- never stand on the seats
- never kneel on the seats
- never ride with the seatback recl ined
- never lie down on the rear seat
- never lean up against the instrument panel
- never sit on the edge of the seat
- never sit sideways
- never lean out the window
- never put your feet out the window
- never put your feet on the instrument panel
- never rest your feet on the seat cushion or back
of the seat
- never ride in the footwell
- never ride in the cargo area
251

Driving safety
Tran sp ort Canad a
M oto r V eh icle Saf ety Investiga­
ti ons La bor atory
80 No el Stre et
G atin eau, QC
J8Z OAl
For additional ro ad safet y infor­
m ation, pl eas e vi sit th e Road
S afet y web site at:
http: / /www .t c. gc .ca /e ng /
r oad safe ty/ menu .htm
Active rollover
protection system
Function
Applies to : vehicles with power top
The rollover protection system protects vehicle
occupants in the event of a rollover.
, ...... ----. • r-. 1 r I r
f i
F ig . 2 25 Rear seats : rollbar deployment range
----Fig. 2 26 Rear seats: deployed ro llbar
The active rollover protection system consists of:
256
-two rollbars
-the safety belts with bel t tensione rs
-the windshield frame
-the rollover sensors
The act ive rollover protection system provides
additional safety in the event of a rollover. With­
i n milliseco nds, sensors deploy two rollbars lo­
cated behind the head restra ints in the rear seats
¢fig. 226.
The rollbars, reinforced windshie ld frame and
belt tensioners help protect front and rear pas­
sengers in the event of a rollover .
The rollover protection system functions when
the power top is both open and closed .
A WARNING
Do not use the area behind the rear seat head
rest raints
¢fig. 225 as a storage a rea. This is
the area where the rollbars deploy. If the roll­
ove r prote ction system is tr iggered, objects
p la ce there can be prope lled through the ve­
hi cle and make it more diffic ult for the roll­
bars to deploy. This increases the risk for seri ­
ous or life-threateni ng inj uries.
When is rollover protection deployed?
Applies to: vehicles with power top
Rollover protection deploys in a collision or roll ­
over.
Depend ing o n the collision, sensors thro ughout
the ve hicle and the co ntrol modu le trigger the
rollover system to deploy .
Fo r safety reasons, ro llover protection also de­
ploys dur ing front, s ide and rear coll isions above
a certa in leve l of sever ity.

Safety belt s
Safety belts
General notes
Always wear safety belts!
Wearing safety belts correctly saves lives!
This chapter explains why safety be lts are neces­
sary, how they work and how to adjust and wear
them correctly .
.. Read all the information that follows and heed
all of the instructions and WARNINGS.
&_ WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them im­
properly increases the risk of serious personal
injury and death.
- Safety belts are the s ingle most effective
means ava ilable to reduce the risk of serious
injury and death in automobile acc idents.
For your protect ion and that of your passe n­
gers, always co rre ctly wea r safety be lts
when the vehicle is moving.
- Pregnant wome n, injured, o r physically im­
paired persons mus t also use safety be lts.
L ik e all vehicle occ upants, they are mo re
likely to be serio usly injured i f they do not
wea r safety be lts. The best way to protect a
fetus is to protect the mother
-throughout
the ent ire pregnancy .
Number of seats
Applies to: veh icles w ithout power top: Your Audi
has a total of five seating positions: two in the
front and three in the rear . Each seating position
has a safety belt .
App lies to: veh icles w ith powe r top: Your Audi
has a total of four seating positions: two in the
front and two in the rear . Each seat ing pos ition
has a safety belt .
&_ WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them im­
properly in creases the risk of ser io us personal
injury and dea th.
258
- Never strap more than one person, includ­
ing sma ll children, into any belt. It is espe­
cially dangerous to place a safety be lt over a
child sitting on your lap .
- Never let more people r ide in the vehicle
than there are safety be lts available.
- Be sure everyone riding in the vehicle is
proper ly restrained with a separate safety
be lt o r ch ild restraint .
Safety belt warning light
Your vehicle has a warning system for the driver
and front seat passenger to remind you about the importance of buckling-up.
Fi g. 229 Safety belt warn ing lig ht in th e in st rument clus ­
ter -enlarged
Befor e dri ving off, alway s:
.. Fasten your safety belt and make sure you are
wearing it properly .
"' 0 ..:, .. Make sure that your passengers also buckle up
and properly wear t heir safety belts .
.. Protect children with a ch ild rest raint system
app ropr iate for the size and age .
The warning light . in the instrument cluster
li ghts up when the ig nition is o n as a rem inder to
fasten the safety belts . In addition, you wi ll hear
a war ning tone for a certain period of time.
Fasten your safety bel t and make sure that your
passengers al so prop erly put on th eir safety
belts .
&_ WARNING
-
-Safety belts are the sing le most effective
means available to red uce the risk of ser io us
.,,.

injury and death in automobile accidents.
For your protection and that of your passen­
gers, always correctly wear safety belts
when the vehicle is moving .
- Failure to pay attention to the warn ing light
that come on, could lead to personal injury.
Why use safety belts?
Frontal collisions and the law of physics
Frontal crashes create very strong forces for peo­
ple riding in vehicles .
Fig . 230 Unbe lted occupants in a veh icle head ing fo r a wall
Fig . 23 1 The ve hicle c rashes into the wa ll
The physical principles are simple . Both the vehi­
cle and the passengers possess energy which var­
ies with vehicle speed and body we ight. Engi­
neers call this energy "k inetic energy ."
The higher the speed of the vehicle and the
greater the vehicle's weight, the more energy
that has to be "absorbed" in the crash.
Vehicle speed is the most significant facto r. If
the speed doubles from 15 to 30 mph (25 to
a, 50 km/h), the energy increases 4 times! a, .....
~ Because the passengers of t his veh icle are not us-
"' 8 ing safety belts ~ fig. 230, they will keep mov ing N > 00
Safet y bel ts
at the same speed the vehicle was moving just
before the crash, until something stops them -
here, the wall
~ fig. 231 .
The same p rinciples apply to people s itting in a
vehicle that is invo lved in a fronta l co llision. Even
at city speeds of 20 to 30 mph (30 to SO km/h),
the forces acting on the body can reach one ton (2,000 lbs, or 1,000 kg) or more. At greater
speeds, these forces are even higher.
People who do not use safety belts are a lso not
attached to the ir vehicle . In a frontal coll is ion
they will also keep mov ing forward at the speed
their vehicle was travelling just before the crash .
Of course, the laws of physics don't just apply to
frontal collisions , they determine wha t happens
in a ll kinds of accidents and co llisions .
What happens to occupants not wearing
safety belts?
In crashes unbelted oc cupants cannot stop
themselves from flying forward and being in­
jured or killed. Always wear your safety belts!
Fi g. 232 A driver not wear ing a safe ty belt is violen tly
throw n forward
F ig. 233 A re ar passe nge r not we aring a safety be lt w ill fly
forward and strike t he driver
Ill-
259

Safe ty belts
Unbelted occupants are not able to resist the tre­
mendous fo rces of impact by holding tight or
bracing themselves. Without the benefit of safe­
ty restra int systems, the unrestrained occupant
will slam violently into the steering whee l, in­
strument panel, windsh ield, or whatever else is
i n the way
¢ fig . 232. This impact with t he ve hi­
cle interior has all the ene rgy they had just be­
fore the crash.
Never rely on airbags alone for protection . Even
when they deploy, airbags provide only add itional
protection . Airbags are not supposed to dep loy in
all kinds of accidents. A lthough your Audi is
eq uipped w ith airbags, all veh icle occupants, in­
cluding the dr iver, must wear safety belts cor­
rectly in order to minimize the risk of severe in­
jury or death in a crash.
Remember too, that ai rbags will deploy on ly
once and that your safety belts are a lways there
to offer protection in those accidents in which
airbags are not supposed to deploy or when they
have a lready deployed. Unbelted occupants can
also be thrown out of the ve hicle where eve n
more severe or fatal injuries can occur.
It is also important for the rear passengers to
wear safety belts correctly . U nbelted passengers
in the rear seats endanger not only themselves
but also the driver and other passengers
¢ fig . 233 . In a frontal collision they will be
thrown fo rward violently, where they can hit a nd
inj ure the driver and/or front seat passenge r.
260
Safety belts protect
People think it 's possible to use the hands to
brace the body in a minor collision . It's simply
not true!
Fi g. 234 D river is corre ctly res trained in a sudde n brak ing
maneuver
Safety belts used properly can make a big differ­
ence . Safety belts help to keep passengers in
thei r seats, gradually reduce energy levels ap­
plied to the body in an accident, and help prevent
the u ncon trolled movemen t that can cause ser i­
ous injuries. In add ition, sa fe ty belts reduce the
danger of being thrown out of the vehicle .
Safety be lts attach passenge rs to the car a nd g ive
them the benefit of be ing s lowed down more
gently or "soft ly" th rough the "give" in the safety
belts, crush zones and other safety features engi­
neered into today's vehicles. By "absorbing" the
k inet ic energy over a longer per iod of t ime, the
safety belts make the forces on the body more
"tole rab le" and less likely to cause injury .
Although these examples are based on a frontal collision, safety be lts can also substantially re­
duce the r isk of injury in other kinds of crashes.
So, whether you're on a long trip or just going to
the cor ner store, a lways buckle up and make s ure
others do, too . Acc ident sta tist ics show that veh i­
cle occupants properly wea ring safety bel ts have
a lowe r risk of be ing injured and a m uch better
c h ance of surviv ing an accident . Properly us ing
safety belts also great ly increases the ability of
the supp lemental airbags to do their job in a col­
li sion. For this reason, wearing a safety belt is
le­
gally required in most countries including much
of the United States and Canada.
liJI,

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Although your Audi is equipped with airbags, you
still hav e to wear the safety belts provided. Front
airbags, for example, are activated only in some
frontal collisions. The front airbags are not acti­
vated in all frontal collisions, in side and rear col­ lisions, in roll overs or in cases where there is not
enough deceleration through impact to the front
of the vehicle . The same goes for the other airbag
systems in your Audi . So, always wear your safety
belt and make sure everybody in your vehicle is
properly restrained!
Important safety instructions about safety
belts
Safety belts must always be correctly positioned
across the strongest bones of your body.
.,. Always wear safety belts as illustrated and de­
scribed in this chapter.
.. Make sure that your safety belts are always
ready for use and ar e not damag ed.
A WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them im·
properly increases the risk of serious personal
injury and death . Safety belts can work only
when used correctly.
- Always fasten your safety belts correctly be ­
fore driving off and make sure all passen­ gers are correctly restrained .
- For maximum protection, safety belts must always be positioned properly on the body.
- Never strap more than one person, includ­
ing small children, into any belt .
- Never place a safety belt over a child sitting
on your lap.
- Always keep feet in the footwell in front of
the seat while the vehicle is being driven.
- Never let any person ride with their feet on
the instrument panel or sticking out the
window or on the seat.
- Never remove a safety belt while the vehicle
is moving. Doing so will increase your risk of
being injured or killed.
- Never wear belts twisted.
- Never wear belts over rigid or breakable ob- jects in or on your clothing, such as eye
Safety belts
glasses, pens, keys, etc., as these may cause
injury.
- Never allow safety belts to become dam­
aged by being caught in door or seat hard­
ware.
- Do not wear the shoulder part of the belt
under your arm or otherwise out of position.
- Several layers of heavy clothing may inter­
fere with correct positioning of belts and re­ duce the overall effectiveness of the system .
- Always keep belt buckles free of anything
that may prevent the buckle from latching
securely.
- Never use comfort clips or devices that cre­
ate slack in the shoulder belt. However, spe­
cial clips may be required for the proper use
of some child restraint systems .
- Torn or frayed safety belts can tear, and
damaged belt hardware can break in an acci­
dent . Inspect belts regularly.
If webbing,
bindings, buckles, or retractors are dam­
aged , have belts replaced by an authorized
Audi dealer or qualified workshop.
- Safety belts that have been worn and loaded
in an accident must be replaced with the
correct replacement safety belt by an au­
thorized Audi dealer. Replacement may be
necessary even if damage cannot be clearly
seen. Anchorages that were loaded must al­
so be inspected.
- Never remove, modify, disassemble, or try
to repair the safety belts yourself.
- Always keep the belts clean. Dirty belts may
not work properly and can impair the func­
tion of the inertia reel
¢ table Interior
cleaning on page 349.
261