2017 AUDI S3 SEDAN Owners Manual

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How supplemental side airbags work
Side airbags deploy instantly and can help re­duce the risk of upper torso injuries for occu­
pants who are properly restrained.
App lies to: vehicles wit hout power to p
Fig . 2 48 Side impact protection: inflated side a irbags (ex ·
ample)
Appli~s to: vehicles wit h powe r top
Fig. 249 Side impact protection: inf lated side a irbags
When the system is triggered, the airbag is filled
with propellant gas and breaks through a seam in
the seat surface area marked "AIRBAG" . It ex­
pands between the side trim panel and the pas­
senger. In order to help prov ide this add itional
protection, the side airbag must inflate within a
fract ion of a second at very high speed and with
great force. The supplemental side airbag cou ld
i njure you if your seating position is not p roper or
upright o r if items are located in the area where
the supplemen tal side airbag expands . This ap­
plies especially to children
c::> page 292, Child
safety.
Supp lemental side airbags inflate be­
tween the occupant and the door pane l on the
side of the vehicle that is struck in certain side
collis ion
c::> fig. 248, c::> fig. 249.
Although they are not a soft pi llow, they can
"cushion" the impact and in th is way they can
Airb ag sys tem
help to reduce the risk of injury to the upper pa rt
of the body.
A fine dust may develop when the a irbag deploys.
T h is is no rma l and does not mean there is a fi re
in the vehicle .
Important safety instructions on the side
airbag system
Airbags are only supplemental restraints. Always
properly wear safety belts and ride in a proper
seating position .
There is a lot that you and your passengers must
know and act according ly to he lp the safety belts
and airbags do their job to provide supplemental
protect ion.
A WARNING
-
An inflat ing s ide a irbag can cause serious or
fatal injury. Improperly wearing safety belts and improper seating positions increase the
r isk of ser ious perso na l inju ry and death
whenever a vehicle is being used.
- In order to reduce the risk of injury when the supplemental side airbag inflates:
- Always s it in an upr ight position and never
lean against the area where the supple­
mental side airbag is located.
- Never let a child or anyone e lse rest their
head against the side tr im panel in the
area where the supplementa l side airbag
inflates.
- Always make sure that safety belts are
worn correctly,
- Do not let anyone sitting in the front seat put their hand or any other parts of their
body out of the w indow .
- Always make sure that the side airbag can
inflate w ithout interference.
- Never install seat covers or repla ceme nt
u pholste ry ove r the front seatbacks that
have not been specifica lly approved by
Audi.
- Never use additional seat c ushions that
cover the areas where the side airbags de-
.
ploy . Ill>
287

Airbag syste m
-Damage to the origina l seat covers or to
the seam in the area of the side airbag module must always be repaired immedi­
ately by an authorized Audi dealer .
- Objects between you and the airbag can in­
crease the risk of injury in an accident by in­
terfering with the way the airbag unfolds or by being pushed into you as the a irbag in­
flates.
- Never place or attach accessories or other
objects (such as cup holders, telephone
brackets, or even large, bulky objects) on
the doors, over or near the area marked
"AIRBAG" on the seat backrests .
- Such objects and accessories can become
dangerous projectiles and cause injury
when the supplemental s ide airbag de­
ploys.
- Never carry any objects or pets in the de­
ployment space between them and the
a irbags or allow chi ldren o r othe r passen­
gers to travel in th is posit ion.
- Always use the built-in coat hooks only for
lightweight cloth ing . Never leave any heavy
or sharp-edged objects in the pockets that
may interfere w ith side airbag dep loyment
and can cause personal in jury in an accident .
- Always prevent the side airbags from being
damaged by heavy objects knoc king agains t
or hitting the sides of the seatbacks.
- T he airbag system can only be triggered
once . If the a irbag has been triggered, the
system must be replaced by an authorized
Audi dealership.
- Damage (cracks, deep scratches etc.) to the
original seat covers or to the seam in the
area of the side airbag modu le must always
be repaired immediately by an authorized
Audi dealer.
- If children are seated improper ly, their risk
of injury increases in the case of an acc ident
¢ page 2 92, Child safety.
- Never attempt to modify any components of
the a irbag system in any way.
- In a side collision, side airbags w ill not func­
t ion properly if sensors cannot correctly
measure increasing a ir pressure ins ide the
288
doors when air escapes through larger, un­
closed openings in the door panel.
- Never dr ive with inte rior door trim panels
r emoved.
- Never dr ive when parts have been re­
moved from the inside door pa nel and the
openings they leave have not been proper­
l y closed.
- Never dr ive when loudspeakers in the
doo rs have been removed unless the
speaker holes have been properly closed .
- Always make ce rtain that open ings are
cove red or filled if additional speakers or
othe r equipment is installed in the inside
door panels .
- Always have wor k on the doors done by an
authorized Aud i dea ler or q ualified work ­
shop .
Side curtain airbags
Description of side curtain airbags
Applies to: vehicles with side curtain airbags
The side curtain airbag system can provide sup­
plemental protection to properly restrained oc­
cupants .
Fig. 250 Sid e curt ain airb ags, driver's s ide : s ide curtain a ir­
bag loca tio n (exa mple)
The side curtain airbags are located on both sides
of the inter ior above the front and rear side win­
dows
¢ fig. 250 . They are identified by the word
"A IRBAG" on the windshie ld frame and the cen­
ter roof pillar.
The side curtain airbags contain features that
provide ejec tion mitigation to help prevent veh i-
cle occupants or parts of their bodies from be ing
completely or partially ejected from the vehicle
II>

interior in certain side impacts and vehicle roll­
overs .
The s ide curtain a irbag system supplements the
safety be lts and can he lp to reduce the risk of in­
jury for occupants' heads and upper torso on the
side of the vehicle that is struck in a side co lli­
sion. The side curtain airbag inflates in side im­
pacts and only when the vehicle acceleration reg­
istered by the control unit is h igh enough . If this
rate is below the reference value programmed in ­
to the control un it, the side curta in a irbag w ill
not be triggered, even though the car may be
badly damaged as a result of the collision. It is
n ot poss ib le to define an airbag triggering r ange
that will cover every possible angle of impa ct,
since the circums tances will vary considerab ly be­
tween one collision and another. Important fac­
tors include, for example, the nature (hard or
soft) of the impacting object, the angle of im­ pact, vehicle speed, etc .
c::> page 290, How side
curtain airbags work .
Aside from their normal safety function, safety
be lts work to help keep the driver or front pas­
senger in position in the event of a collision so
that the side curtain airbags can provide protec­
tion .
The airbag system is not a subst itute for your
safety belt. Rather, it is part of the overall occu­
pant restraint system in your veh icle . Always re ­
membe r th at the airbag system can only help to
protect you if you are wea ring your safety belt
and wear ing it properly. This is another reason
why you should always wea r your safety belts ,
not just because the law requires you to do so
c::> page 258, General notes.
It is important to remember that whi le the s ide
curt ain a irbag system is des igned to he lp reduce
the likelihood of ser ious injuries, other inj uries,
for example, swelling, bruising, friction burns
and minor abrasions can also be associated with
these airbags upon deployment . Remember too,
these airbags will deploy only once and only in
certa in kinds of acc idents -your safety belts are
~ always there to offer protection .
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Airbag sys tem
The side curtain airbag syst em basically
cons ists of :
-The e lectronic control module and externa l side
impact sensors
- The side curtain airbags above the front and
rear side windows with ejection mitigation fea ­
tures
- The airbag indicator light in the instrument
panel
T he airbag system is mon itored e lectron ica lly to
make certain it is functioning properly at all
times. Each time you switch on the ignition, the airbag system indicator light will come on for a
few seconds (se lf d iagnostics).
The side curtain airbag is not activated :
-if the ignition is switched off,
- in side co llisions whe n the ac celeration meas-
ured by the sensor is too low,
- in rear -end co llisions.
_&. WARNING
- Safety belts and the airbag system will only
provide protect ion when occupants are in
the proper seating position
c::> page 61,
Front seats.
- If the ai rbag ind icator light c::>page 29
comes when the vehicle is being used, have
the system inspected immediately by your
author ized Audi dealer. It is possib le that
the airbag will inflate when it is not sup­
posed to, or w ill not inflate when it should.
289

Airbag syste m
How side curtain airbags work
Applies to: ve hicles w ith s ide curta in a irbags
Side curtain airbags con work together with side
airbags to help reduce the risk of head and upper
torso injuries for occupants who ore properly re­
strained.
F ig. 251 Illustration of principle: Inflated side curta in air ­
bags on the left s ide (examp le}
The side curtain airbags inflate between the oc­
cupant and the windows on the side of the vehi­
cle that is struck in a side collision
c::;, fig. 251.
When the system is triggered, the side curtain
airbag is filled with propellant gas and breaks
through a seam above the front and rear side
windows identified by the AIRBAG label. In order
to help provide this additional protection, the
side curtain airbag must inflate within the blink
of an eye at very high speed and with great force.
The side curta in a irbag could injure you if your
seating position is not proper or upright or if
items are located in the area where the supp le­
mental side curtain a irbag inflates. This applies
especially to children
c::;, page 292.
Although they are not a soft pi llow, side curtain
ai rbags can "cushion" the impact and in this way
they can help to red uce the risk of injury to the
head and the upper part of the body.
A fine dust may develop when the airbag deploys.
This is quite normal and does not mean there is a
fire in the veh icle.
290
Important safety instructions on the side
curtain airbag system
Appl ies to : vehicles wi th side curtain airbags
Airbags ore only supplemental restraints . Always
properly wear safety belts and ride in a proper seating position .
There is a lot that you and your passengers must
know and do to help the safety belts and airbags
do their job to p rovide supplementa l protection .
A WARNING
-Improperly wearing safety be lts and improper
seating positions increase the risk of serious personal injury and death whenever a vehicle
is being used.
- Never let occupants place any parts of their
bodies in the area from which the side cur­
tain airbag inflate.
- Always make sure that the side curtain air­
bags can inflate without interference.
- Use the bu ilt-in coat hooks only for light ­
weight clothing. Never leave any heavy or
sharp-edged objects in the pockets that may
interfere with a irbag deployment and can
cause personal injury in a collision.
- Never use hangers to hang clothes on the
hooks.
- On ly use factory-insta lled sun shades or, if
shades installed after the vehicle leaves the
factory, use on ly genu ine Audi su n shades.
- Never swing the sun visors over to the side
w indows if things such as pens, garage door
openers, hands-free speakers, etc. are at­
tached to the sun v isors. They could come
loose and cause serious injury if the side cu r­
tain airbag infla tes.
- A deploying airbag inflates in a fract ion of a
second and with great force.
- Never attach objects to the cover or in the
deployment zone of a s ide curtain airbag .
- The airbag deployment zones must be kept
clear at al l t imes. Make sure there are no
objects, pets, o r othe r persons in the space
between any vehicle occupant and any air­
bag at any time.
- Do not attach any accesso ries to the doors.

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A WARNING ,~
- The airbag system can deploy only once. If
the a irbag has been tr iggered, the system
must be replaced by an authorized Aud i
dealer or qualified workshop .
-Always have work involving the side curtain airbag system, removal and installation of
the a irbag components, or other repa irs
perfo rmed by a qualified dealersh ip. Othe r­
wise the airbag system may not wor k co r­
rectly .
- Never attempt to modify any components of
the a irbag system in any way .
Airbag sys tem
291

Child safety
Child safety
Important information
Introduction
The rear seat is generally the safest place in a
collision .
The physical principles of what happens when
your vehicle is in a crash apply also to children
¢ page 259, What happens to occupants not
wearing safety belts? .
But unlike adults and
teenagers, their muscles and bones are not fully
developed. In many respects children are at
g reater r isk of serious injury in crashes than
adults .
Because children's bodies are not fully devel­
oped, they require restraint systems especially
des igned for their size, weight, and body struc­
ture. Many countries and all states of the United
States and provinces of Canada have laws requir­
ing the use of approved child restraint systems
for infants and small children .
In a frontal crash at a speed of 20-35 mph
(30-56 km/h) the forces acting on a 13 -pound
(6 kg) infant will be more than 20 times the
weight of the child. This means the weight of the child would suddenly be more than 260 pounds
(120 kg) . Under these conditions, only an appro­
priate child restraint properly used can reduce
the risk of serious injury . Child restra ints, like
adu lt safety belts, must be used properly to be
effect ive. Used improperly, they can increase the
risk of serious injury in an acc ident.
All ch ildren, especially those 12 years and young­
er must always ride in the back seat properly re­
stra ined for their age and size. If you must insta ll
a child restraint on the front passenger seat in
exceptional circumstances, be sure to read and
heed the important information and warnings
¢ page 268. Infants and other children who are
properly restrained in an appropriate child re­
straint that is for their si ze and age can benefit
from the protection that supplemental side air­
bags provide in some kinds of crashes .
For more information please see information
provided by the:
292
-National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
(NHTSA), currently at: http :/ /www.safe­
rcar.gov (for the USA)
-Transport Canada Information Centre, current-
ly at: http://www.tc.gc.ca (for Canada)
Consult the child safety seat manufacturer's in­
structions in order to be sure the seat is right fo r
your chi ld's
size ¢ page 296, Important safety
instructions for using child safety seats .
Please
be sure to read and heed all of the important in­
formation and WARNINGS about child safety,
Advanced Airbags, and the installation of child
restra ints in this chapter .
There is a lot you need to know about the Ad­
vanced Airbags in your vehicle and how they work
when infants and children in child restraints are
on the front passenger seat . Because of the large
amount of important informat ion , we cannot re­
peat it all here. We urge you to read the detailed
i nformation in this owner's manual about airbags
and the Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle
and the very important information about trans­
porting children on the front passenger seat.
Please be sure to heed the WARNINGS -they are
extremely important for your safety and the safe­
ty of your passengers, especially infants and
small children .
A WARNING
-Accident statistics have shown that children
are generally safer in the rear seat area than
in the front seat ing pos ition. Always restrain
any child age 12 and under in the rear.
-All vehicle occupants and especially children
must be restra ined prope rly whenever rid ing
in a vehicle. An un restrained or improperly
restrained 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 improperly restrained
child is a lso at greater risk of injury or death
through contact w ith an inflating airbag.
-A suitable ch ild restraint properly installed
and used at one of the rear seating positions
provides the highest degree of protect ion
for infants and small children in most acc i­
dent situat ions.

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A WARNING
Child ren on the front seat of any car even w ith
Advanced Airbags can be seriously injured or
even killed when an airbag inflates. A child in
a rearward-facing child safety seat installed
on the front passenger seat will be seriously
injured and can be killed if the front airbag in ­
flates .
- The inflating airbag will hit the child safety
seat or infant carrier with great force and
will smash the ch ild safety seat and child
against the backrest, center armrest, or
door .
- Always install rear-facing child safety seats
on the rear seat.
- If you must install a rearward fac ing ch ild
safety seat on the front passenger seat in
exceptiona l circumstances and the
PA SSEN ­
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on
and stay on, immediately insta ll the rear­
facing child safety seat in a rear seating po­
sition and have the airbag system inspected immediately by your Audi dealer.
A WARNING
- Forward-facing chi ld safety seats installed
on the front passenger seat may interfere
with the deployment of the airbag and cause serious personal injury to the child .
- If exceptional circumstances require the use
of a forward -facing child restraint on the
front passenger's seat , the child's safety
and well-being require the following special
precautions to be taken:
- Always make sure that the forward-facing
seat has been designed and certified by its manufacturer for use on a front passenger
seat with a front and side airbag.
- Always carefully follow the manufacturer's
instructions provided with the child safety
seat or infant carr ier.
- Never install a child restraint without a
properly attached top tether strap if the
child restraint manufacturer's instructions require the top tether strap to be used .
Child safety
-Never put the forward-facing child re­
straint up against or very near the instru­
ment panel.
- Applies to: vehicles with safety be lt height
adjustment: Always set the safety belt up­
per anchorage to the adjustment pos ition
that permits proper installation in accord ­
ance with the child restraint manufactur­
er's instructions.
- Always move the front passenger seat to the highest position in the up and down
adjustment range and move it back to the
rearmos t position in the seat's fore and
aft ad justment range, as far away from
the airbag as possible, before installing
the forward-facing child restraint .
- Always make sure that the safety belt up­
per anchorage is behind the chi ld restraint
and not next to or in front of the child re­
straint so that the safety belt will be prop­
erly pos it ioned.
- Always make sure that nothing prevents
the front passenger's seat from being
moved to the rearmost position in its fore
and aft adjustment range.
- Never place objects on the seat (such as a
laptop, CO player, electronic games de­
vice, power inverter or seat heater for ch ild safety seats). These may influence
the e lectrical capacitance measured by the
capacit ive passenger detec tion system and
can a lso fly aro und in an accident and
cause serio us pe rsonal injury.
- Never place or use any elect rical device
(such as a laptop, CO player, electronic
games device, power inverter or seat heat ­
er for child safety seats) on the front pas­
senger seat if the dev ice is connected to
the 12-volt socket or the cigarette lighter
socket.
- If a seat heater has been retrofitted or otherw ise added to the front passenger
seat, never install any child restraint sys­
tem on this seat.
- Make sure that there are no wet objects
(such as a wet towel) and no water or oth­
er liquids on the front passenger seat cush ion.
293

Child safety
-Always 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 PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, immediate­
ly install the forward-facing child safety
seat in a rear seating position and have
the airbag system inspected by your au­
thorized Audi dealer.
- Always buckle the child safety seat firmly
in place even if a child is not sitting in it. A
loose child safety seat can fly around dur­
ing a sudden stop or in a collision .
-Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restraint in a vehi­
cle ¢
page 258, Safety belts,~ page 267,
Airbag system and ~ page 292, Impor­
tant information.
(D Tips
Always replace child restraints that were in­
stalled in a vehicle during a crash. Damage to
a child restraint that is not visible could cause
it to fail in another collision situation.
Advanced front airbag system and children
Your vehicle is equipped with a front "Advanced
Airbag System" in compliance with United States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS)
208, as well as Canada Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard (CMVSS) 208 as applicable at the time
your vehicle was manufactured.
The Advanced Airbag system in your vehicle has
been certified to meet the "low-risk " require­
ments for 3- and 6-year old children on the pas­
senger side and small adults on the driver side.
The low risk deployment criteria are intended to
reduce the risk of injury through interaction with
the airbag that can occur, for example, by being
too close to the steering wheel and instrument
panel when the airbag inflates. In addition, the
system has been certified to comply with the
"suppression" requirements of the Safety Stand­
ard, to turn off the front airbag for infants up to 12 months who are restrained on the front pas-
294
senger seat in child restraints that are listed in
the Standard.
Even though your vehicle is equipped with an Ad­
vanced Airbag system, all children, especially
those 12 years and younger, should always ride
in the back seat properly restrained for their age
and size. The airbag on the passenger side makes
the front seat a potentially dangerous place for a child to ride. The front seat is not the safest place
for a child in a forward-facing child safety seat. It
can be a very dangerous place for an infant or a
larger child in a rearward-facing seat.
The vehicle's Advanced Airbag System has a ca­ pacitive passenger detection system in the front
passenger seat cushion that can detect the pres­
ence of a baby or a child in a child restraint sys­
tem on this seat.
The capacitive passenger detection system regis ­
ters the changes that result in an electrical field
when a child, a child restraint , and a baby blanket
are on the front passenger seat. The change in
the measured capacitance due to the presence of
a child, a child restraint, and a baby blanket on
the front passenger seat is related to the child
restraint system resting on the seat. The meas­
ured capacitance of a child restraint system var­
ies depending on the type of system and specific
make and model.
The electrical capacitance of the various types, makes, and models of child restraints specified
by the U.S.National Highway Traffic Safety Ad­
ministration (NHTSA) in the relevant safety
standard are stored in the Advanced Airbag Sys ­
tem control unit together with the capacitances
typical of infants and a 1-year old child. When a
child restraint is used on the front passenger
seat with a typical 1 year-old infant, the Ad­
vanced Airbag System compares the capacitance
measured by the capacitive passenger detection
system with the data stored in the electronic con­
trol unit .