2017 AUDI A3 SEDAN belt

Safe ty belts
Safety belts
Fastening safety belts
Safety fir st -everybody bu ckle up!
Fig. 235 Belt buckle an d tongue o n the driver's seat
To prov ide max imum protection, safety belts
must always be positioned correctly on the wear­
er's body .
• Adjust the front seat and head restra int proper­
ly ¢
page 61 , Front seats .
• Make sure the seatback of the rear seat bench
is in an upright position and secure ly latched in
place before us ing the
belt ¢,&. .
• Pull the safety belt evenly across the chest and
pelv is
¢fig. 235, ¢ ,&. .
• Insert the tongue into the correct buckle of
your seat until you hear it latch securely .
• Pull on the belt to make sure that it is securely
latched in the buck le.
Autom ati c safet y belt retr actors
Every safety belt is equipped with an automatic
belt retractor on the shoulder belt . This feature
locks the belt when the belt is pulled out fast,
during hard braking and in an accident . The belt
may a lso lock when you drive up or down a steep
h ill or th rough a sharp curve. Dur ing no rmal driv­
ing the bel t lets you move freely.
Safe ty belt pret ension ers
The safety belts are equipped with a belt preten­
sioner that helps to t ighten the safety belt and
remove slack when the pre tensioner is activated
¢ page 265. T he fu nction of the pretensioner is
monitored by a warning light ¢
page 29.
262
Convertibl e lock ing r etractor
Every safety belt except the one on the driver
seat is equipped with a convertib le lock ing retrac­
tor that
mu st be used when the safety belt is
used to attach a child safety seat . Be sure to read
the important information about thi s feature
¢ page 303.
A WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can cause
serious injury in an accident ¢
page 263,
Safety belt position .
- Safety belts offer optimum protection only
when the seatback is upright and belts are properly posit ioned on the body .
- 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.
If the
backrest is not sec urely latched, the passen ­
ger will move forward with the back rest du r­
ing sudden braking, in a sudden maneuver
and especia lly in a crash.
- Never attach the safety belt to the buckle for another seat. Attaching the belt to the
wrong buckle will reduce safety be lt effec­
tiveness and can cause serio us personal in­
jury.
-A passenger who is not properly restrained
can be seriously injured by the safety belt it­
self when it moves from the stronger parts
of the body into critical areas like the abdo­
men .
-Always lock the convertible locking retractor
when you are securing a c hild safety seat in
the vehicl e
¢page 305.

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Safety belt position
Correct belt position is the key to getting maxi­
mum protection from safety belts .
~
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Fig. 236 Safety bel t pos it io n
Standard feat ures on your vehicle he lp you ad just
the posit ion of the safety belt to match your body
size .
- belt he igth adj ustmen t for the front seats *,
- height-adjustable front seats.
.&, WARNING
Improperly pos it ioned safety be lts ca n ca use
ser ious personal inj ury in an accident .
- T he shoulder belt sho uld lie as close to the
cen ter of the colla r bone as possible and
should fit we ll on the body. Hold t he belt
above the latch tong ue a nd pu ll it evenly
across the chest so that it sits as low as pos­
sible on the pelvis and there is no press ure
on the abdomen . The belt should always fit
snugly
Q fig. 236. Pull on the belt to tighten
if necessary.
- The lap belt portion of the safety belt must
be pos itioned as low as possib le across pel ­
vis and never over the abdomen. Make sure
the belt lies flat and snug
Q fig . 236 . Pull on
th e belt to tighten if necessary.
- A loose-fitt ing safety belt can cause ser ious
injuries by shift ing its pos ition on you r body
from the st rong bones to more vu lne rable,
soft tiss ue a nd cause ser ious injury.
- Always read and heed all WARN INGS and
other importa nt inform ation
<=? page 261.
Safet y bel ts
Pregnant women must also be correctly
restrained
The best way to protect the fetus is to make sure
that expectant mothers always wear safety bel ts
correctly
-throughout the pregnancy.
F ig. 237 S af ety belt position duri ng pregnancy
To provide maximum protection, safety belts
must always be positioned correctly on the wear­
er's
body ¢ page 263 .
.. Adjust the front seat and adjustable head re­
straint*
c orrec tly¢ page 61, Front sea ts .
.,. Pull the safety belt evenly across the chest so
that it sits as low as possible on the pelvis and
there is no pressure on the abdomen
Q fig. 237 , ¢ .&,.
.,. Insert the tongue into the co rrect buc kle of
your sea t until yo u hear i t latch secu rely.
.,. Pull on the belt to make sure that it is sec urely
latched in the buckle.
_& WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can cause
serious pe rsonal injury in an acc ident.
-Expectant mothers must always wear the
lap portion of the safety belt as low as pos ­
sible across the pe lvis and below the round­
ing of the abdomen.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important
i nformation¢ .&. in Fasten­
ing safety belts on page 262 .
263

Safety belts
Unfastening safety belts
Unbuckle the safety belt with the red release
button only after the vehicle has stopped.


Fig. 238 Releasing t he tongue from the buckle
.. Push the red release button on the buckle
q fig. 238. The belt tongue will spring out of
the buckle
q ,& .
.. Let the belt wind up on the retractor as you
guide the belt tongue to its stowed position.
A WARNING
Never unfasten safety belt while the vehicle is
moving. Doing so will increase your risk of be­
ing injured or killed.
Adjusting the safety belt latch tongue
Applies to: vehicles with adjustable latch tongue
Fig. 239 Safety belt: latch tongue cl ip (example)
.. Slide the cl ip so that you can easily reach the
belt latch when putt ing the safety belt on .
264
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Adjusting safety belt he ight
Applies to: vehicles with safety belt height adjustment
With the aid of the safety belt height adjust­
ment, the three point safety belt strap routing
can be fitted to the shoulder area, according to
body size .
Fig. 240 Safety belt heigh t adjustment for the front seats
-loop-around fittings
The shoulder belt shou ld lie as close to the center
of the collar bone as poss ible and shou ld fit well
on the body
q .&. in Safety belt position on
page 263.
.,. Push the loop-around fittings up ¢ fig. 240 @,
or
.,. squeeze together the @ button, and push the
loop-a round fittings
down @.
.. Pull the belt to make sure that the upper at­
tachment is properly engaged.
A WARNING
Always read and heed all WARNINGS and oth­
er important information
q page 261.
(D Tips
With the front seats, the height adjustment
of the seat can also be used to adjust the po­
sition of the safety belts.
Improperly worn safety belts
Incorrectly positioned safety belts can cause se­ vere injuries.
Wearing safety belts imp roper ly can cause seri-
ous injury or death. Safety belts can only work
when they are correct ly positioned on the body.
..,.

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Improper seating positions reduce the effective ­
ness of safety be lts and will even increase the
risk of injury and death by mov ing the safety belt
to critical 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 correct seat ing pos i­
tion . A driver is respons ible for the safety of a ll
vehicle occupants and espec ia lly for children.
Therefore:
"' Never permit anyone to assume an incorrect
s itting position in the veh icle wh ile trave ling
c:> & .
A WARNING
Improperly worn safety belts increase the risk
o f serious personal injury and death whenever
a vehicle is being used .
- Always make sure tha t all vehicle occupants
are correctly restrained and stay in a correct
seating position whenever the vehicle is be­
ing used.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important information
c:> page 261.
Belt tensioners
How safety belt pretensioners work
In front, side and rear-end collisions above a
particular severity and in a rollover , safety belts
are tensioned automatically .
Reversible safety belt ten sioners
The safety belts on the front seats are equipped
with power reversible tensioners. The following
functions are available when the driver's/front passenger's safety belts are fastened:
- In certain driving situations, the safety belts
may tighten with a reversible tens ion ing func­
t ion
i::>page 133 .
- The safety belts may a lso tighten with this re­
versib le tensioning function in minor collis ions.
Pyrotechnic safety b elt pr eten sion ers
;:::: The safety belts are equipped with sa fety belt r---
~ pretensioners . The system is activated by sensors 0
~ in front, side and rear-end co llisions of great se-oo
Safet y be lts
verity and in a rollover. This tightens the belt and
takes up belt
slack ¢&. in Service and disposal of
safety belt pretensioner on page 266.
Taking up
the slack helps to reduce forward occupant movement during a collision.
A WARNING Co---
- It is poss ible for the pretensioners to deploy
i n correctly.
- The pyrotechnic system can only provide
protection for one collision. If the pyrotech­
n ic pretens ioners deploy, the pretensioning
sys tem must be replaced.
@ Tips
The pyrotechn ic safety belt pretensioners can
o nly deploy once.
- The safety belt pretensioners do not deploy
in minor frontal, side and rear-end colli­
sions .
- A fine dust is re leased when the pyrotechnic
safety belt pretensioners deploy . This is nor­
mal and is not caused by a fi re in the ve hi­
cle.
- The relevant safety requirements must be
observed when the vehicle or components
of the system are scrapped. A q ualified
dealership is familiar with these regulat io ns
and wi ll be pleased to pass on the informa ­
tion to you.
- Be sure to observe all safety, envi ronment al
and other regulat ions if the vehicle or in di­
vidua l parts of the system, particularly the
safety belt or airbag, are to be disposed . We
recommend you have yo ur authorized Aud i
dealer perform this service for you.
Service and disposal of safety belt preten­
sioner
T he safety belt p retensioners are pa rts of the
safety belts on your Aud i. Insta llin g, removing,
servicing or repair ing of be lt pretens io ners can
damage the safety belt system and prevent it
from wo rking correctly in a co llision .
T he re are some important things you have to
k now to make s ure tha t the effectiveness of the
system will not be impaired and that discarded
IJI-
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Safety belts
components do not cause injury or pollute the
environment .
A WARNING -
Improper care, servicing and repair proce­
dures can increase the r isk of personal injury
and death by preventing a safety belt preten­
sioner from activating when needed or acti­
vating it unexpectedly:
- The belt pretensioner system can be activat­
ed only once. If belt pretensioners have
been activated, the system must be re­
placed.
- Never repair, adjust, or change any parts of
the safety belt system.
- Safety belt systems including safety belt
pretensioners cannot be repaired. Special
procedures are required for removal, instal­
lation and disposal of this system.
- For any work on the safety belt system, we
strongly recommend that you see your au­
thorized Audi dealer or qualified technician
who has an Audi approved repair manual,
training and special equipment necessary.
@ For the sake of the environment
Undeployed airbag modules and pretension­
ers might be classified as Perchlorate Materi­
al -speci al handling may apply, see
www.dtsc.ca.gov/hazardouswaste/ pe rchlo­
rate. When the vehicle or parts of the re­
straint system including airbag modules safe­
ty belts with pretensioners are scrapped, all
applicable laws and regulations must be ob­
served. Your authorized Audi dealer is familiar
with these requirements and we recommend
that you have your dealer perform this service
for you.
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Airbag system
Important information
Importance of wearing safety belts and
sitting properly
Airbags are only supplemental restraints. For
airbags to do their job, occupants must always
properly wear their safety belts and be in a prop­ er seating position.
For your safety and the safety of your passen­
gers, before driving off, always :
.,. Adjust the driver's seat and steering wheel
properly
9 page 248,
.,. Adjust the front passenger's seat properly
¢page 249,
.,. Wear safety belts properly ¢ page 261,
.,. Always properly use the proper child restraint
to protect children ¢
page 292.
In a collision, airbags must inflate within the
blink of an eye and with considerable force. The
supplemental airbags can cause injuries if the
driver or the front seat passenger is not seated
properly. Therefore in order to help the airbag to
do its job, it is important, both as a driver and as
a passenger to sit properly at all times.
By keeping room between your body and the
steering wheel and the front of the passenger
compartment, the airbag can inflate fully and
completely and provide supplemental protection in certain frontal
collisions ¢ page 248, Correct
passenger seating positions .
For details on the
operation of the seat adjustment controls
¢page 61.
It's especially important that children are proper­
ly restrained
¢page 292.
There is a lot that the driver and the passengers
can and must do to help the individual safety fea­
tures installed in your Audi work together as a
system.
Proper seating position is important so that the
front airbag on the driver side can do its job. If
you have a physical impairment or condition that prevents you from sitting properly on the driver
seat with the safety belt properly fastened and
Airbag system
reaching the pedals, or if you have concerns with
regard to the function or operation of the Ad­
vanced Airbag System, please contact your au­
thori zed Audi dealer or qualified workshop, or
call Audi Customer Relations at 1-800-822-2834
for possible modifications to your vehicle.
When the airbag system deploys, a gas generator
will fill the airbags, break open the padded cov­ ers, and inflate between the steering wheel and
the driver and between the instrument panel and
the front passenger. The airbags will deflate im­
mediately after deployment so that the front oc­
cupants can see through the windshield again
without interruption.
All of this takes place in the blink of an eye, so
fast that many people don't even realize that the airbags have deployed. The airbags also inflate
with a great deal of force and nothing should be
in their way when they deploy. Front airbags in
combination with properly worn safety belts slow
down and limit the occupant's forward move­
ment . Together they help to prevent the driver
and front seat passenger from hitting parts of
the inside of the vehicle while reducing the forces
acting on the occupant during the crash . In this
way they help to reduce the risk of injury to the
head and upper body in the crash. Airbags do not
protect the arms or the lower parts of the body.
Both front airbags will not inflate in all frontal
collisions . The triggering of the airbag system de­
pends on the vehicle deceleration rate caused by
the collision and registered by the electronic con­
trol unit . If this rate is below the reference value
programmed into the control unit, the airbags
will not be triggered, even though the car may be badly damaged as a result of the collision. Vehi­
cle damage, repair costs or even the lack of vehi­
cle damage is not necessarily an indication of
whether an airbag should inflate or not.
Since the circumstances will vary considerably between one collision and another, it is not possi­
ble to define a range of vehicle speeds that will
cover every possible kind and angle of impact
that will always trigger the airbags . Important
factors include, for example, the nature (hard or
soft) of the object which the car hits, the angle of
impact, vehicle speed , etc. The front airbags will
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Airbag syste m
also not inflate in s ide or rear collisions, or in
ro ll-overs.
Al wa ys rememb er: Airbags will deploy only once,
and on ly in ce rtain k inds of coll is ions. Yo ur safety
be lts are always there to offer protection in those
situations in which airbags are not supposed to
dep loy, or when they have already deployed; for
examp le, when your vehicle str ikes or is struck by
another vehicle after the first coll is ion.
This is just one of the reasons why an airbag is a
supp lementary restraint and is not a substitute
for a safety belt. The a irbag system works most
effect ively when used with the safety belts.
Therefore, always properly wear your safety belts
r=;, page 258.
A WARNING
Sitting too close to the steering wheel o r in­
st rument panel will decrease the effective­
ness of the airbags and will inc rease the risk
of personal injury in a co llision.
- Never sit closer than 10 inches (25 cm) to
the steering wheel or instrument panel.
- If you cannot si t mo re than 10 inches
(25 cm) from the steering wheel, invest i­
gate whether adaptive equipment may be
available to help yo u reach the pedals and
increase your seating distance from the
steering wheel.
- All veh icle occupants and especially children
must be restrained properly whenever riding
in a vehicle. An unrestrained or improperly
restra ined child could be injured by striking
the interior or by being ejected from the ve­
hicle during a sudden maneuver or impact.
An unrestrained or imp roperly restrained
child is also at greate r risk of inju ry or death
through contact with an inflating airbag.
- If you are unrestrained, leaning fo rwa rd, s it­
t ing s ideways or o ut o f pos ition in any way,
yo ur risk of in ju ry is much h igher.
- Yo u will also receive serious injuries and
c ould even be killed if you are up aga inst the
air bag or too close to it when it inflates
-
even with an Advanced Airbag.
2 6 8
-
- To reduce the ris k of i njury when an a irbag
inflates, always wea r safety belts properly
r=;, page 262, Safety belts.
- Always make certa in that children age 12 or
younger always ride in the rear seat. If chil­
dren are not properly restrained, they may be severely injured or killed when an airbag
inflates.
- Never let ch ildren ride unrestra ined or im­
properly restrained in the vehicle. Ad just the
front seats properly.
- Never ride with the back rest recl ined .
- Always sit as far as possible from the steer-
ing wheel or the instrument panel
r=;, page 248.
- Always sit upright w ith your back against
the backrest of your seat .
- Never p lace your feet on the instrument
panel or on the seat. Always keep both feet
on the floor in front of the seat to help pre­
vent serious injur ies to the legs and hips if
the airbag inflates.
- Never recl ine the front passenger's seat to
transpo rt objects . Items can also move in to
the area of the s ide a irbag or the front air­
bag du ring brak ing o r in a sudden maneu­
ver. Obje cts nea r the airbags can become
projecti les and cause injury when an airbag
inflates.
A WARNING
A irbags that have deployed in a crash must be
replaced.
- Use on ly original equipment airbags ap­
proved by Audi and installed by a trained
technician who has the necessary tools and
diagnostic equipment to properly replace
any airbag in your vehicle and assure system
effectiveness in a crash.
- Never perm it salvaged or recycled airbags to
be installed in your vehicle.
Child restraints on the front seat - some
important things to know
.,. Be s ure to read the impo rtant info rmat ion and
heed the WARN INGS for important deta ils
.,.

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-An improper ly installed ch ild restraint can
interfere with the airbag as it deploys and
seriously injure or even kill the child
-even
with an Advanced Airbag System.
- Always carefu lly follow the manufacturer 's
instructions provided w ith the child safety
seat or carrier.
- Always make sure that there is nothing on
the front passenger seat that w ill cause the
capacit ive passenger detection system in
the seat to signa l to the Airbag System that
the seat is occupied by a person when it is
not, or to signa l tha t it is occ upied by some ­
one who is heavier than the person actua lly
sitting on the seat . The presence of addi ­
tional objects could cause the passenger
front airbag to be turned on when it shou ld
be off, or could cause the airbag to work in a
way that is different from the way it would have worked without the object on the seat .
Front airbags
Description of front airbags
The airbag system can provide supplemental
protection to properly restrained front seat occu­
pants.
Fig. 2 41 Location of driver airbag: in ste.e ring wheel
Airb ag sys tem
Fig. 242 Location of front passenger's airbag: in the in­
st rument pane l
Your vehicle is equipped with an "Advanced Air­
bag System" in compliance with United States
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
(FMVSS) 208, as well as Canada Motor Veh icle
Safety Standard (CMVSS) 208 as applicable at
the time your veh icle was manufactured. The
safe ty belts fo r the seats have "pretensioners"
that help to take slack out of the bel t system.
T he pretensioners are also activated by the e lec ­
tronic control unit for the airbag system .
The front safety belts also have load limiters to
help reduce the fo rces applied to the body in a
c rash .
The airbag for the driver is in the steering wheel
hub
¢ fig. 241 a nd the airbag for the front pas­
senger is in the instrument pane l
~fig. 242. The
general lo cation of the airbags is marked "A IR­
BAG".
There is a lot you need to know about the airbags i n your vehicle. We urge you to read the deta iled
information about airbags, safety be lts and c hild
safety in this and the other chapters that make
u p the owner's literatu re . Please be sure to heed
the WARNINGS
-they are extremely important
for your safety and the safety of your passengers, especially infants and small children.
A WARNING
Never rely on airbags alone for protect ion.
- Even when they deploy, airbags provide only
supplemental protection.
-Airbag work most effectively when used
with properly worn safety be lts .
271