2017 AUDI Q3 Owner´s Manual

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instrument panel, windshield, or whatever e lse is
in the way
r=) fig. 107. This impact with the vehi­
cle interior has all the energy they had just be ­
fore the crash.
Never rely on airbags alone for protection. Even
when they deploy, airbags provide on ly additional
protection. Airbags are not supposed to dep loy in
all kinds of accidents. A lthough your Audi is
equipped with airbags, all vehicle 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 airbags will deploy only
once and that your safety belts are always there
to offer protect ion i n those acc idents in w hich
airbags are not supposed to deploy or when they
have a lready deployed. Unbelted occupants can
also be thrown o ut of the vehi cle where even
more severe or fatal injur ies can occur.
It is also important for the rear passengers to
wear safety bel ts correctly . Unbelted passengers
in the rear seats endanger not on ly themse lves
but also the driver and other passengers
¢ fig . 108. In a frontal collision they will be
thrown forward violently, where they can hit and
in jure the driver and/or front seat passenger .
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. 1 09 Driver is correctly restra ined in a sudde n braking
maneuver
Safety belts used properly can make a big differ­
ence. Safety belts help to keep passengers in
their seats, gradually reduce energy levels ap-
Safet y bel ts
plied to the body in an accident, and help prevent
the uncontrolled movement that can cause seri­
ous injuries. In addition, safety belts reduce the
danger of be ing thrown out of the vehicle.
Safety be lts attach passengers to the car and give
t h em the benefit of being s lowed down more
gently or "softly" th rough the "give" in the safety
belts, crush zones and other safety features engi ­
neered into today's vehicles. By "absorbing" the
kinetic ene rgy over a longer period of time, the
safety belts make the forces on the body more "tolerab le" and less likely to ca use injury .
Although these examples are based on a frontal collision, safety belts can also substantially re ­
duce the r isk of injury in ot her k inds of crashes.
So, whether you're on a long trip or just go ing to
the corner store, a lways buckle up and make sure
others do, too. Acc iden t statist ics show that veh i­
cle occupants properly wea ring safety belts have
a lower risk of being injured and a much better
chance of surviving an accident . Properly using
safety belts also greatly increases the ability of
the supp lemental airbags to do their job in a col­
lision. For this reason, wearing a safety belt is le­
gally required in most count ries including much
of the United States and Canada .
Although your Aud i is equipped with airbags, you
still have to wear the safety belts provided. Front airbags, for example, are activated only in some
frontal collisions. The front airbags are not act i­
vated in a ll frontal collisions, in side and rear col­
l is ions, in roll overs or i n cases where the re is not
enough deceleration through impact to the front
of the vehicle. The same goes for the other a irbag
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 are not damaged.
111

Safety belts
_&. 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
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-
112
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 193.
Safety belts
Fastening safety belts
Safety first -everybody buckle up!
Fig. 110 Be lt buckle and tongue on the driver's seat
To provide maximum protection, safety belts
must always be positioned correctly on the wear­
er's body .
.. Adjust the front seat and head restraint proper­
ly¢
page 44, Front seats.
.. Make sure the seatback of the rear seat bench
is in an upright position and securely latched in
place before using the belt
q ,&. .
.. Pull the safety belt evenly across the chest and
pelvis¢ ,&. .
.. 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 buckle. .,,_

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Automatic safety belt r etractors
Every safety be lt is equ ipped wi th an automatic
be lt retractor on the shoulder belt. Th is feature
l ocks the belt when the belt is p ulled out fast,
during hard braking and in an accident. The belt
may also lock when you drive up or down a steep
h ill or through a sharp curve. During normal driv­
ing the belt lets you move freely .
Safety be lt pret en sioner s
The safety belts are equipped with a belt preten­
sioner that helps to tighten the safety belt and
remove slack when the pretensioner is activated.
The funct ion of the pretensioner is monitored by
a warning light
r::> page 14 .
Convertibl e loc king retract or
Every safety belt except the one on the driver
seat is equipped with a convertible locking retrac­
tor that
must be used when the safety belt is
used to attach a child safety seat. Be sure to read
the important information about this feature
<::> page 147 .
& WARNING
Improperly posit ioned safety be lts ca n cause
ser ious injury in an accide nt
¢ page 113,
Safe ty belt position.
- Safety belts offer optimum protection only
when the seatback is upr ight and belts are
prope rly pos itioned on the body.
- Always ma ke sure tha t the rear sea t ba ck­
rest to wh ic h t he cente r re ar safety be lt is
attached is secure ly latched whenever the
rear center safety belt is being used. If the
backrest is not securely latched, the passen­
ger will move forward with the backrest dur­
ing sudden braking, in a sudden maneuver
and especially in a cras h.
- Never attach the safety belt to the buckle
for another seat. Attaching the belt to the
wrong buckle w ill reduce safety belt effec­
t iveness and can cause serious personal in­
jury.
- A passenger who is not p roperly restrained
can be seriously in ju red by the safety be lt it­
self when it moves from the stronger par ts
Safet y bel ts
of the body into critical areas like the abdo­
men .
- Always lock the convertible locking retractor
when yo u are securing a child safety seat in
the vehicle
r::> page 149.
Safety belt position
Correct belt position is the key to getting maxi­
mum protection from safety belts.
Fig. 111 Safety belt pos it ion
Standard features on your vehicle help you adjust
the position of the safety belt to ma tch your body
s iz e.
- be lt height adjustment for the front seats,
- he ight-adjustable front seats .
& WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can ca use
se rious personal injury in an acc ident.
- The shou lder belt should lie as close to the
center of the collar bone as possib le and
should fit well on the body . Ho ld the belt
above the latch to ngue and pull it evenly
across the chest so th at it sits as low as pos­
sible on the pe lvis and there is no p ressure
on the abdomen . The belt should a lway s fit
snug ly
r::> fig. 111. Pu ll on the belt to tighten
if necessary .
- The lap be lt portion of the sa fety belt must
be positioned as low as possible across pel­
vis and never over the abdomen. Make sure
the belt lies flat and snug
r::> fig. 111 . Pull on
the belt to tighte n if necessary.
- A loose-fitting safety belt can cause serious
in ju ries by shifting its position on your body
~
113

Safe ty belts
from the strong bones to more vulnerable,
soft tissue and cause ser ious injury.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important information
¢ page 111.
Pregnant women must also be correctly
restrained
T he best way to protect the fetus is to make sure
t hat expectan t mo thers always wear safety bel ts
correctly -throughout the pregnan cy .
Fig. 1 12 Safety belt pos ition duri ng pregna ncy
To prov ide max imum protection , safety belts
m ust always be positioned correctly on the wear ­
er's body
¢ page 113.
• Ad just the fro nt seat a nd head restraint cor­
rec tly ¢
page 44, Front sea ts .
,.. Make s ure the seatback of the rear seat bench
is in an upright position and securely latched in
plac e before using the b elt.
,.. Pull the safety be lt evenly across the chest so
that it sits as low as possible on the pelv is and
there is no pressure on the abdomen
¢ fig . 112, ¢ .&_ .
• Insert the tongue into the cor rect b uckle of
you r seat until you hear it latch secure ly.
,.. Pu ll on t he be lt to make sure that it is securely
latched i n the buck le.
_& WARNING
Improperly positioned safety be lts can cause
serious persona l injury in an accident.
- Expec tant mothe rs must a lways wear the
lap portion of the safety belt as low as pos­
sible across the pelvis and below the round­ ing of the abdomen .
114
-Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important informat ion ¢
& in Fasten­
ing safety belts on page 113 .
Unfastening safety belts
Unbuckle the safety belt with the red release
button only after the vehicle has stopped.
Fig. 113 Releasing t he tongue from the buckle
• Push the red re lease button on the buck le
¢ fig. 113 . The belt tongue w ill spri ng out of
t he buck le ¢
.&, .
• Let the belt wind up o n the retractor as yo u
guide the belt tongue to its stowed position.
_& WARNING
Never unfasten safety be lt whi le the vehicle is
moving . Do ing so will increase your risk of be­
ing injured or killed.
Adjusting safety belt height
With the aid of the safety belt height adjust ­
ment, the three point safety belt strap routing
can be fi tted to the shoulder area , according to
body size .
Fig . 11 4 Safety be lt heigh t adj ust me nt for the front seats
- loop -ar ound fittings
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0
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The shou lder belt should lie as close to the center
of the collar bone as possib le and should fit well
on the bod y ¢
A in Safety belt position on
page 113.
.. Push
the loop- around fittings up ¢ fig. 114 @,
or
.. squeeze to gether the@ button, and push the
loop-around fittings
do wn@ .
.. Pull the belt to make sure that the upper at­
tachment is p roperly engaged .
A WARNING
Always read and heed all WARNINGS and oth­
er important informat ion
¢ page 111.
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 improperly can cause seri­
ous injury or death . Safety belts can only work
when they a re correctly pos itioned on the body .
Improper seating positions reduce the effect ive­
n ess of safety be lts and will even inc rease the
ris k of injury and death by mov ing the safety bel t
to cr it ica l areas of the body. Imp roper seating
positions also increase the risk of serious inj ury
and death when an airbag deploys and strikes an
occ upant who is not in the co rrect seat ing posi­
tion . A driver is respons ible for the safety of all
vehicle occupants and espec ia lly for children.
Therefore:
.. Never permit anyone to ass ume an incorrect
s itting position in the veh icle wh ile traveling
¢ &, .
A WARNING
Improperly worn safety belts increase the risk
of serious personal injury a nd death wheneve r
a vehicle is be ing used.
S afet y be lts
- Always make sure that all veh icle occupants
are cor rectly restrained and stay in a correct
seating position whenever the vehicle is be­ ing used .
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important informat ion¢
page 111.
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.
The safety belts are equ ipped w it h safety belt
pretens ione rs . The system is activated by sensors
i n front, s ide and re a r-end collisions of great se­
ver ity and in a ro llover. This tightens the bel t and
t a kes up belt slack¢.&.
in Service and disposal of
safety belt pretensioner on page 116.
Taking up
the slack he lps to reduce forward occupant
movement during a collision.
(D Note
Neve r let the belt remain over a rea r seatback
that has been folded forwar d.
{D Tips
The safety belt pretensioner can only be ac ti­
vated once.
- T he safe ty be lt pretensione rs do no t de ploy
in minor fron tal, side a nd rear -end colli ­
sions .
- W hen the safe ty belt pretensioners are acti­
vated, a fine dust is released . This is normal
and is not caused by a fire in the ve hicle .
- T he relevant safety requirements mus t be
observed when the vehicle or components
of the system are scrapped. An autho rize d
Audi dealer or qua lified workshop is familia r
w ith these reg ulations and will be pleased
to pass on the information to yo u.
- Be sure to observe all safety, environmenta l
and other regulat ions if the vehicle or indi­
vidua l parts of the system, particularly the
safety belt or airbag, are to be disposed. We
recommend you have yo ur autho rized Aud i
dea ler perform t his service fo r you.
115

Safety belt s
Service and disposal of safety belt preten­
sioner
The safety be lt pretensioners are parts o f the
safety belts on yo ur Audi. Installing, removing,
servicing or repairing of belt pretensioners can
damage the safety belt system and prevent it
from working correctly in a collision.
There are some important things you have to know to make sure that the effectiveness of the
system w ill not be impaired and that discarded
components do not cause injury or pollute the
env ironment.
A WARNING
-
Improper care, serv icing and repair proce­
dures can increase the r is k of personal injury
and death by preventing a safety be lt preten­
sioner from activating when needed or acti­
vating it unexpectedly:
- T he be lt pretensione r system can be act ivat­
ed only once. If bel t pretensioners have
been act ivated, the system must be re­
placed.
- Never repair, adjust, or change any parts of
the safety be lt system .
- Safe ty belt systems in cl ud ing safe ty be lt
pretens ioners cannot be repaired . Special
procedures are req uired for removal, insta l­
lation and disposal of this system.
- For any wor k on the safety belt system, we
strongly recommend that you see your au­
thorized Aud i dea ler or q ualified technician
who has an A udi approved repair manual,
training and spec ial equ ipment necessary.
@ For the sake of the environment
Undep loyed airbag modu les and pretension­
ers might be classified as Perch lorate Materi­
al -specia l handling may apply, see
www.dtsc.ca.gov/hazardouswaste/perchlo­ rate. When the vehicle or parts of the re­
straint system including airbag modules safe­
t y belts with pretens io n ers are scrapped, all
app licab le laws and regulat ions m ust be ob­
served. Y our authori zed Audi de aler is familiar
w ith these req uiremen ts and we recommend
116
that yo u have your dealer perform this service
for you .

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A irbag system
Important information
Importance of wearing safety belts and
sitting properly
Airbags are only suppl emental restraints. For
airbags to do their job, occupants must always
properly wear their safety belts and be in a prop­ er seating position.
F or your safety and the safety of your passen­
ge rs , before driving off, always :
.,. Adjust the dr iver's seat and steering wheel
prope rly 9page
101,
.,. Adjus t the fro nt passenger's seat prope rly
¢ page 102,
.,. Wear safety bel ts p roperly ¢ page 111,
.,. Always properly use the proper c hild restraint
to protect children
¢ page 137 .
In a coll is io n air bags must infla te wi thin the blink
of an eye and with co nsiderable for ce . The s up­
p lemental airbags can cause injuries if the drive r
or the front seat passenger is not seated proper­
ly . Therefore in order to help the a irbag to do its
job, it is important, both as a d river and as a p as­
senger to sit properly at a ll times .
By keeping room between yo ur body and the
steer ing whee l and the front of the passenger
compartment, the a irbag can inflate fully and
comp letely and prov ide supplemental pro tect io n
in certa in frontal collis ions ¢
page 101, Correct
passenger seating positions .
For details on the
ope ration of th e seat ad justment con trols
¢page 44.
It's especially important that children are proper­
ly restra ined
¢ page 137.
There is a lot that the driver and the passengers
can and must do to help the ind ividual safety fea­
tures installed in your Audi work together as a
sys tem.
Proper seating posit ion is important so that the
front a irbag on the driver side can do its job. If
you have a physical impairment or cond it ion that
p revents yo u from s itting proper ly on the driver
seat with the safety be lt prope rly fastened and
Airb ag sys tem
reach ing the pedals, special modifications to
your vehicle may be necessary.
Contact yo ur aut ho rize d Au di dea le r, or call A udi
Cu stomer Rela tions at 1-800-82 2-283 4.
When the airbag system deploys, a gas generator
will fill the airbags, b reak open the padded cov­
ers, and infla te be twee n the steeri ng wheel and
the d river and between the inst rumen t pa ne l and
the front passenger . The a irbags w ill deflate im ­
mediate ly after deployment so that the front oc ­
c u pants can see th rough the windsh ie ld again
without interruption .
All o f th is takes p lace in the blink of an eye, so
fast that many peop le don't even realize that the
airbags have deployed. The airbags a lso inflate
with a great deal of force and nothing should be in the ir way when they deploy. Front airbags in
combination with properly worn safety belts slow
down and lim it the occupant's forward move­
me nt. T ogether they help to prevent the d river
and fro nt seat passe nger from hitt ing pa rts of
t h e inside the ve hicle while redu cing the fo rces
act ing on the occupant dur ing t he crash . In t his
way they help to reduce the risk of inj ury to the
head and uppe r body in the crash . Airbags do not
protect the arms or the lower parts of the body.
B oth front airbags will no t infla te in a ll frontal
co llisions. The t riggering of the airbag system de ­
pends on the vehicle decelerat ion rate caused by
the coll is ion and registered by the electronic con ­
trol unit . If this rate is be low the reference value
programmed into the contro l unit, the airbags
will not be t rigge red, even though the car may be
badly damaged as a resu lt of the co llision . Vehi­
cl e damage, repair costs or even the lack of veh i­
cl e damage is no t necessari ly an indic ation of
whethe r an a irbag should infl ate o r not.
It is no t possib le to define a range of vehicle
spe eds t hat w ill cove r every possible kind and an­
gle of impa ct tha t will a lways tr igger the airbags ,
s in ce the circumst ances w ill vary cons iderably be­
tween one collision and another. Important fa c­
tors include, for example, the nat ure (har d or
soft) of the object which the car hits, the angle of
impact, vehicle speed, etc . The front airbags will
IIJJ,
117

Airbag syste m
also not inflate in s ide or rear collisions, or in
ro ll-overs.
Alwa 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 after the first collis 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
c::> page 109 .
A WARNING
Sitting too close to the steering wheel or in­
strument 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 you reach the pedals and
increase your seating distance from the
steering wheel.
- All vehicle 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 rward, s it­
t ing s ideways or out of pos ition in any way,
yo ur risk of in ju ry is much h igher.
- Yo u will also receive serious injuries and
could even be killed if you are up aga inst the
airbag or too close to it when it inflates -
even with an Advanced Airbag.
118
-
- To reduce the risk of injury when an airbag
inflates, always wear safety belts properly
c::> page 112, 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 backrest recl ined .
- Always sit as far as possible from the steer-
ing wheel or the instrument panel
c::> page 101.
- 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 into
the area of the s ide a irbag or the front air­
bag du ring brak ing o r in a sudden maneu­
ver. Objects near the airbags can become projecti les and cause injury when an airbag
inflates.
A WARNING
Airbags 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
head the WARNINGS for important details .,.