2017 AUDI A3 SEDAN belt

Child safety
Booster seats and safety belts
Properly used booster seats can help protect
children weighing between about 40 lbs . and 80
lbs. (18 kg and 36 kg) who are less than 4
ft. 9
in. (57 inches/1.45 meters) tall .
Fig. 256 Rear seat: child properly restrained in a booster
seat
The vehicle's safety belts alone will not fit most
children until they are at least 4
ft. 9 in. (57 in­
ches/1.45 meters) tall and weigh about 80 lbs.
(36 kg). Booster seats raise these children up so
that the safety belt will pass properly
over the
stronger parts of their bodies and the safety belt
can help protect them in a crash.
• Do not use the convertible locking retractor
when using the vehicle's safety belt to restrain
a child on a booster seat.
• The shoulder belt must lie as close to the cen­
ter of the child's collar bone as possible and
must lie flat and snug on the upper body. It
must never lie across the throat or neck. The
lap belt must lie across the pelvis and never
across the stomach or abdomen . Make sure the
belt lies flat and snug. Pull on the belt to tight­
en if necessary .
• Applies to: vehicles with safety be lt height ad­
justment: If you must transport an older child
in a booster seat on the front passenger seat,
you can use the safety belt height adjustment
to help adjust the shoulder portion properly.
• Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
qpage298 .
Children up to at least 8 years old (over 40 lbs or
18 kg) are best protected in child safety seats de­
signed for their age and weight. Experts say that
the skeletal structure, particularly the pelvis, of
302
these children is not fully developed, and they
must not use the vehicle safety belts without a
suitable child restraint.
It is usually best to put these children in appro­
priate booster seats. Be sure the booster seat
meets all applicable safety standards.
Booster seats raise the seating position of the
child and reposition both the lap and shoulder
parts of the safety belt so that they pass across
the child 's body in the right places. The routing of
the belt over the child's body is very important
for the child's protection, whether or not a boos­
ter seat is used. Children age 12 and under must
always ride in the rear seat .
Children who are at least 4 ft. 9 in. (57 inches/
1.45 meters) tall can generally use the vehicle's
three point lap and shoulder belts. Never use the
lap belt portion of the vehicle's safety belt alone
to restrain any child, regardless of how big the
child is. Always remember that children do not
have the pronounced pelvic structure required for
the proper function of lap belt portion of the
ve­
hicle's three point lap and shoulder belts. The
child's safety absolutely requires that a lap belt
portion of the safety belt be fastened snugly and
as low as possible around the pelvis. Never let
the lap belt portion of the safety belt pass
over
the child's stomach or abdomen.
In a crash, airbags must inflate within a blink of
an eye and with considerable force. In order to do its job , the airbag needs room to inflate so that it
will be there to protect the occupant as the occu­ pant moves forward into the airbag.
A vehicle occupant who is out of position and too
close to the airbag gets in the way of an inflating
airbag. When an occupant is too close, he or she
will be struck violently and will receive serious or
possibly even fatal injury.
In order for the airbag to offer protection, it is
important that all vehicle occupants, especially
any children, who must be in the front seat be­
cause of exceptional circumstances, be properly
restrained and as far away from the airbag as
possible. By keeping room between the child's
body and the front of the passenger compart-
ment, the airbag can inflate completely and
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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,,
30 3

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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-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

Child safety
-Always make sure the seat backrest to which
the child restraint is installed is in an up­
right position and securely latched into
place and cannot fold forward. Otherwise,
the seatback with the child safety seat at­
tached to it could fly forward in the event of
an accident or other emergency situation.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS when­
ever using a child restrained in a vehicle is
being used
c> page 292 . Special precautions
apply when installing a child safety seat on
the front passenger
seat ¢ page 268, Child
restraints on the front seat -some impor­
tant things to know.
Deactivating the convertible locking
retractor
The convertible Locking retractor for child re­
straints will be deactivated automatically when
the belt is wound all the way bock into the re­
tractor .
~ Press the red button on the safety belt buckle .
Th@ belt tongue will pop out of the buckle.
~ Guide the safety belt all the way back into its
stowed position .
Always let the safety belt retract completely into
its stowed position . The safety belt can now be
used as an ordinary safety belt without the con­
vertible locking retractor for child restraints .
If the convertible locking retractor should be ac­
tivated inadvertently, the safety belt must be un­
fastened and guided completely back into its
stowed position to deactivate this feature. If the
convertible lock ing retractor is not deactivated,
the safety belt will gradually become tighter and
uncomfortable to wear.
A WARNING
-
Improperly installed child safety seats in­
crease the risk of serious personal injury and
death in a collision.
- Never unfasten the safety belt to deactivate
the convertible locking retractor for child re­ straints while the vehicle is moving . You
306
would not be restrained and could be seri­
ously injured in an accident.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS when­
ever using a child restrained in a vehicle is being used
c> page 292. Special precautions
apply when installing a child safety seat on
the front passenger seat
c> page 268, Child
restraints on the front seat -some impor­
tant things to know.
LATCH system (lower
anchorages and tethers
for children)
' Child Restraint System anchors and how
are they related to child safety
To provide a simpler and more practicable way to
attach the child restraint on the vehicle seat, Federal regulations require special lower ancho­
rages in vehicles and devices on new child re­
straints to attach to the vehicle anchorages .
In the United States, the combination of the
tether anchorages and the lower anchorages is
now generally called the LATCH system for
"Lower Anchorages and Tethers for Children" . In
Canada, the terms "top tether" with "lower uni­
versal anchorages" (or "lower universal anchor­
age bars") are used to describe the system .
In other countries the term "ISOFIX" is used to
describe the lower anchorages .
Forward-facing child restraints manufactured af­
ter September 1, 1999, are required by U.S. fed­
eral regulations to comply with new child head
movement performance requirements . These
new performance requirements make a tether
necessary on most new child safety seats.
Installing a child restraint that requires a top
tether without one can seriously impair the per­
formance of the child restraint and its ab ility to
protect the child in a collision. Installing a child
restraint that requires a top tether without the
top tether may be a violation of state law.
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Child restraint manufacturers offer LATCH lower
anchorages on their child safety seats with hook­
on or push-on connectors attached to adjustable
straps.
In addition to the LATCH lower anchorages, these
child restraint systems usually require the use of
tether straps to help keep the child restraint
f irmly in place.
A WARNING
Improper installation of child restraints will
increase the r isk of injury and death in a
crash.
- Always follow the instructions provided by
the manufacturer of the child restra int you
intend to install in your vehicle.
- Never install a child restraint w ithout a
properly attached top tether strap if the
child restraint manufacturer's instruct ions
req uire the top tether st rap to be used.
- Improper use of child restra int LATCH lower
anchorage po ints can lead to injury in a colli­
s ion. The LATCH lowe r ancho rage points a re
designed to wi thstand only those loads im­
posed by correctly fitted child res traints.
- Never mount two chi ld restraint systems on
one LATCH lower anchorage point.
- Never sec ure or a ttach any luggage or o ther
item to the LATCH lower a nch o rages.
Location
F ig. 257 Schematic overview: LATCH a nchorage point loca­
t ions (examp le)
The illustration shows the seating locations in
your vehicle which are equipped with the lower
anchorages system .
Child sa fety
Description
The lower anchorage positions are marked for
quick locating .
Fig . 258 Lower anchorages, covers marked
F ig . 259 Rear seats: lower anchorage bracket locat ions
Lower anchorages
T he circular markings on the rear seat help you to
identify the location of lower anchorages for the
two outboard seating
positions ¢ fig. 258. The
LATCH lower universal anchorage attachment
points are between the rear seatback and rear
seat cushion.
Remove the covers
¢ fig . 258 to access the lower
anchorage attachment points.
T he lower anc horage a ttac hment po ints a re v is i­
ble
¢ fig . 259.
Lower anchorages secure the child restra int in
the seat without us ing the vehicle's safety belts.
Anchorages provide a secure and easy-to- use at ­
tachment and minimize the possibility of improp ­
er child restraint installation.
All child restra in ts man ufact ured after Septem ­
ber 1, 2002, must have lower anchorage attach-
ments for the
LATCH system. ..,.
307

Child safety
Please remember that the lower anchorage
points are only intended for installation and at­
tachment of child restraints specifically certified
for use with
LATCH lower anchorages. Child re­
straints that are not equipped with the lower an­
chorage attachments can still be installed in
compliance with the child restraint manufactur­
er's instructions on using vehicle safety belts .
A WARNING
Improper use of LATCH lower anchorages can
cause serious personal injury in an accident.
- Always carefully follow the child restraints
manufacturer's instructions for proper in­
stallation of the child restraint and proper
use of the lower anchorages or safety belts
in your vehicle.
- Never secure or attach any luggage or other
items to the
LATCH lower anchorages.
- Always read and heed the important infor­
mation about child restraints in this chapter
and WARNINGS
¢ page 292, Child safety.
Installing a child restraint with LATCH
lower anchorages
App lies to: ve hicles w ith Top Tether
Whenever you install a child restraint always fol­
low the child restraint manufacturer 's instruc­
tions.
Fig. 260 Lowe r an ch orage s: proper mou nting
Mounting
.. Make sure the seatback of the rear seat bench
is in the upright position and securely latched
in place .
.. Attach both hook-on connectors with the spring
catch release on the child safety seat onto the
308
LATCH lower anchorage so that the connectors
lock into place
¢ fig. 260.
.. Pull on the connector attachments to make
sure they are properly attached to the LATCH
lower anchorage.
.. Pull straps tight following the child restraint
manufacturer's instructions.
Releasing
.. Loosen the tension on the straps following the
child restraint manufacturer's instructions.
.. Depress the spring catches to release the an­
chorage hooks from the lower anchorages .
Remember: Use tether straps to help keep the
child restraint firmly in place.
A WARNING
-
Improper use of the LATCH system can in­
crease the risk of serious personal injury and
death in an accident .
- These anchors were developed only for child safety seats using the "LATCH" system.
- Never attach other child safety seats, belts
or other objects to these anchors .
- Always make sure that you hear a click when
latching the seat in place. If you do not hear
a click the seat is not secure and could fly
forward and hit the interior of the vehicle,
or be ejected from the vehicle.
A WARNING
Improper installation of child restraints will
increase the risk of injury in an accident.
- Always follow the child restraint system
manufacturer's instructions for proper in­
stallation of the child restraint system and
proper use of tether straps as well as the lower anchorages or safety belts in your ve­
hicle.
- Always read and heed the important infor­
mation and WARNINGS about child safety
and the installation of child restraint sys­
tems
¢ page 292, Child safety.
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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