2018 AUDI A3 SEDAN warning

Drivin g saf ety
- After closing the rear lid, a lways make sure
that it is properly closed and locked.
- Never leave yo ur vehicle unattended espe­
c ia lly w ith the rear lid left open. A ch ild
could crawl into the ve hicle through the lug­
gage compartment and close the rear lid be­
coming trapped and unable to get out . Be­
ing t rapped in a veh icle can lead to se rious
persona l injury.
- Never let children play in or around the veh i­
cle .
- Never let passengers ride in the luggage
compartment. Ve hicle occupants m ust al­
ways be prope rly rest ra ined in one of the ve­
hicle's seating posi tions.
(D Tips
- A ir c irculat io n helps to reduce window fog­
g ing . Stale air escapes to the outside
th rough vents i n the t rim panel. Be s ure to
k eep these slots free and open.
- The t ire pressu re must correspond to the
l oad. The tire p ressure is shown on the tire
p ressure labe l. Th e tire pressu re labe l is lo ­
ca ted on t he driver 's s ide B-p illar. The tir e
p ressure labe l lists the recommended cold
tire inflation pressures for the vehicle at its max imum capacity weig ht and the t ires t hat
were on your vehicle at the t ime it was man­
ufactured. For recommended tire pressures
for normal load cond itions, please see chap­
ter
¢ page 341.
Tie-downs
The luggage compartment is equipped with four
tie -downs to secure luggage and other items .
Use the tie-downs to secure your cargo proper ly
¢ page 255, Loading the luggage compartment.
In a col lision, the laws of p hysics mean that even
sma ller items that are loose in the vehicle will
become heavy missiles that can cause ser ious in­
jury. Items in t he ve hicle possess energy which
vary with vehicle speed and the weight of the item . Veh icle speed is the most s ignificant factor .
For examp le, in a frontal collision at a speed of
30 mph (48 km/h), the forces act ing o n a 10-lb
256
(4.5 kg) object are about 20 times the normal
weight of the item . This means that the weight
of the item would s udden ly be about
200 lbs. (90 kg). You can imag ine the in juries
that a 200 lbs. (90 kg) item flying freely through
the passenger compartment could cause in a col­
l is ion like t his.
A WARNING
Weak, damaged or imp roper straps used to
secure items to tie-downs can fa il dur ing hard
b raking or in a coll is ion and cause ser io us pe r­
sona l injury .
- Always use s uitable mo unt ing st raps and
p roper ly sec ure i tems to the t ie -downs in
the l uggage compa rtment to help preven t
items from shifting or flying forward as dan ­
ge rous missi les .
- W hen the rear seat backrest is fo lded down,
a lways use s uitable mo unting straps and
properly sec ure items to the tie-downs in
the luggage compartment to help prevent items from flying forward as dangerous
m iss iles into the passenger compartment.
- Never attach a child safety seat tether strap
to a t ie-down.
-

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Active rollover protection system
Function
Applies to: vehicles wit h power top
The rollover protection system protects vehicle
occupants in the event of a rollov er.
........ ..._____ ----
F ig. 220 Re ar seats: rol lb ar deploy men t ran ge
----
Fig. 221 Rear seats: deployed rollbar
,.-., I ~--, 1' I
' ' I ' I I
The ac tive rollover prote ction sys tem consists of :
- two ro llbars
- the safety belts with belt tensioners
- the windshie ld frame
- the rollover sensors
The active rollover prote ction system provides
additional sa fety in the event of a rollover . With­
in m illiseconds, sensors deploy two rollbars lo ­
cated behind the head restraints in the rear seats
¢ fig. 221 .
The rollbars, re inforced windshield frame and
belt tensioners help protect front and rear pas ­
sengers in the event of a rollover .
The rollover protec tion system functions when
t he power top is both open and closed .
Dri ving safety
A WARNING
Do not use the area behind the rear seat head
restraints
¢ fig . 220 as a seat or storage area .
This is the area where the rollbars deploy . If
the rollover protection system is t riggered,
objects placed there can be p ropelled th rough
the veh icle and ma ke it more diffic ult for the
r ollbars to deploy. This increases the risk for
serious or life -threatening injuries.
When is rollover protection deployed?
Applies to: veh icles w ith power top
Rollover protection deploys in a collision or roll­
over.
Depend ing on the co llision, senso rs thro ughout
the vehicle and the co ntro l modu le trigger the
rollove r system to deploy.
For safety reasons, rollover protection also de­
ploys during front, s ide and rear collisions above
a certain level of severity.
Retracting rollover protection
Applies to: veh icles w ith power top
Fig . 222 De ployed ro llbar wi th release loo p.
-
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8
> CD a,
Fig. 223 De ployed ro llbar w ith powe r to p frame facing up·
-~-~
257

Drivin g saf ety
If the ro llover protection has triggered but the
vehicle was not invo lved in an accident, you can
retract the rollover protection yourself in an
emergency. Drive to an authori zed Aud i dea ler or
author ized Audi Service Facility immed iate ly to
have the malfunction corrected .
With the power top open
~ Pu ll the loop upward in the direction of the ar­
row and hold it in place
¢ fig . 222.
~ Slide the rollbar down.
~ Release the loop just before the rollbar reaches
its end position ( 1-2 in ./ 3 -S cm) .
~ Press the rollbar down until it stops .
~ Make su re the rollba r is secure befo re re leas ing
i t.
~ Close the cove r@ ¢ fig. 223.
~ Repeat t he p rocedure on t he other ro llba r.
With the power top closed
~ Switch the ign ition on .
~ Press t he power top switc h to ad just the power
top frame until it is
ve rtical ¢ fig. 223.
~ Pull t he loop upwa rd in the d irection of the ar­
row and hold it in place
¢ fig. 222 .
~ Slide the rollbar down.
~ Release the loop just before the rollbar r eaches
its end position (1 -2 in./ 3-5 cm).
~ Press the ro llbar down until it stops.
~ Make sure the rollbar is secure before releas ing
i t .
~ Close the cover @¢ fig. 223 .
~ Repeat t he p rocedure on t he other ro llba r.
~ Yo u can now close the power top again.
A WARNING
- Make s ure your head or other parts o f your
body are not located in the area above the
rollbar when pressing the rollbar down. If
the ro llbar is not secured correctly, it cou ld
deploy again as soon as you re lease it and
cause i njuries.
- Have the rollover protect ion system checked
by and authorized Aud i dea ler or authorized
Audi Service Facility if it malfunctions . Oth ­
erwise the system may not deploy correctly
in a coll is io n.
25 8
-Modifying the rollover protection system o r
ind ividual components is not perm itted.
- Work on the ro llover protection system
should on ly be performed by an authorized
Aud i dea ler or authorized Audi Serv ice Facili­
ty. Otherwise the system may not function
correct ly in a collis ion or it could dep loy un­
expectedly.
- Have the system inspected at service inter­
vals . This ensures the system will a lways be
ready fo r use . H ave an autho rized Aud i dea l­
er or author ized Audi Se rvice Facility check
the rollove r protect ion system eve ry two
ye ars at the latest.
Reporting Safety Defects
Applicable to U.S.A.
If yo u beli eve th at your vehicle
ha s a def ect w hi ch could cau se a
c ras h or co uld cause inju ry or
d ea th, you sh ould imm edi ate ly in­
form the N atio nal Highway Traffi c
Sa fet y Admini stration (NHT SA) in
a dditi on t o notif yin g Au di of
A m er ica, Inc.
If NHTSA rece ives s imilar com ­
plaints, it ma y ope n an in ve stiga­
tion , and if it find s that a safet y
defect s exis ts in a group of
v ehicle s, it ma y order a recall and
rem edy campaign. H owev er,
NHT SA cann ot become in vol ved in
indi vidual probl em s bet ween you,
y our dealer, or Audi of America,
In c.
T o co nt ac t the NHTSA , you ma y
either call :

Safety belts
Safety belts
General notes
Always wear safety belts!
Wearing safety belts correctly saves lives!
This chapter explains why safety belts are neces­
sary, how they work and how to adjust and wear
them correctly.
"'Read all the information that follows and heed
all of the instructions and WARNINGS.
A WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them im­
properly increases the risk of serious personal
injury and death.
- Safety belts are the single most effective
means available to reduce the risk of serious
injury and death in automobile accidents.
For your protection and that of your passen­
gers, always correctly wear safety belts
when the vehicle is moving.
- Pregnant women, injured, or physically im­
paired persons must also use safety belts.
Like all vehicle occupants, they are more
likely to be seriously injured if they do not
wear safety belts. The best way to protect a
fetus is to protect the mother
-throughout
the entire pregnancy .
Number of seats
Applies to: vehicles without power top: Your Audi
has a total of five seating positions: two in the
front and three in the rear . Each seating position
has a safety belt .
Applies to: vehicles with power top: Your Audi
has a total of four seating positions: two in the
front and two in the rear. Each seating position
has a safety belt .
A WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them im­
properly increases the risk of serious personal
injury and death.
260
-Never strap more than one person, includ­
ing small children, into any belt. It is espe­
cially dangerous to place a safety belt over a
child sitting on your lap .
- Never let more people ride in the vehicle
than there are safety belts available.
- Be sure everyone riding in the vehicle is
properly restrained with a separate safety
belt or child restraint .
Safety belt warning light
Your vehicle has a warning system for the driver
and front seat passenger to remind you about the importance of buckling-up.
Fig. 224 Safety belt warning ligh t in the instrument clus ­
ter
-enlarged
Before driving off, always:
"' Fasten your safety belt and make sure you are
wearing it properly.
U) N Ill 0 ..:. "'Make sure that your passengers also buckle up
and properly wear their safety belts .
"' Protect children with a child restraint system
appropriate for the size and age .
The warning light . in the instrument cluster
lights up when the ignition is on as a reminder to
fasten the safety belts. In addition , you will hear
a warning tone for a certain period of time.
Fasten your safety belt and make sure that your
passengers also properly put on their safety
belts.
A WARNING -
- Safety belts are the single most effective
means available to reduce the risk of serious
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Although your Audi is equipped with ai rbags, yo u
still have to wear the safety belts provided. Front
airbags, for examp le, are activated on ly in some
frontal coll is ions. The front a irbags are not acti­
vated in all frontal coll is ions, in side and rear col­
lisions, in roll overs or in cases where there is not
enough deceleration through impact to the front
of the vehicle. The same goes for the other airbag
sys tems in yo ur Audi . So, always wea r you r safety
be lt and ma ke sure eve rybody in yo ur 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 wea r sa fety be lts as i llust ra ted and de ­
scribed in this chapter.
~ Make sure that your safety belts are a lways
ready for use and are not damaged .
A WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them im ­
properly increases the risk of serious personal
injury and death . Safety be lts can work only
when used correctly.
- Always fasten your safety belts correctly be­
fore dr iving off and make sure all passen­
gers are correct ly restrained.
- For maximum protection, safety belts must
always be pos it io ned p roperly on the body .
- Never strap more tha n one person, includ­
ing small ch ildren, into any belt .
- Never place a safety be lt over a chi ld sitt ing
on your lap.
- Always keep feet in the footwell in front of
the seat w hile the vehicle is be ing driven.
- Never let any pe rson ride w ith their feet on
the instrument pane l or st icking out the
window or on the seat .
- Never remove a safety belt while the vehicle
is mov ing. Do ing so w ill inc rease your r isk of
being in ju red or k illed.
- Never wear belts twisted.
- Never wear belts over rigid o r breakab le ob-
jects in or on your clot hing, such as eye
Safet y be lts
g lasses, pens, keys, etc ., as t hese may ca use
in jur y.
- Never a llow safety belts to become dam ­
aged by be ing ca ught in door or seat hard­
ware.
- Do not wear t he shoulder part of the belt
under yo ur arm or otherwise o ut of pos ition.
- Several layers of heavy clothing may inter ­
fe re with co rrect pos ition ing of be lts and re ­
duce the ove rall effectiveness of the system.
- Always keep be lt buck les free of anything
that may prevent the buck le from latch ing
securely.
- Never use comfort cl ips or dev ices that cre­
ate s lack in t he shoulder belt. However, spe­
cial clips may be required for the proper use
of some child restraint systems.
- Torn or frayed safety be lts can tear, and
damaged be lt hardware ca n break in an acci­
dent. Inspect be lts regularly . If webb ing,
b indings, buckles, or retractors are dam­
aged, have belts rep laced by an author ized
Aud i deale r or q ualified wo rkshop.
- Safety belts that have been worn and loaded
i n an ac cident must be repla ced with the
cor rect replaceme nt sa fe ty belt by an a u­
thor ized A udi dealer. Rep lacement may be
necessary even if damage cannot be clea rly
seen . Anchorages t hat we re loaded must a l­
so be inspected.
- Neve r remove, modify, disassemble, o r try
to repair the safety belts yourse lf .
-A lways keep the belts clean. Dirty belts may
not wor k prope rly and ca n impair the func ­
tion of the inert ia reel
c> table Interior
cleaning on page 356.
263

Safe ty belts
Safety belts
Fastening safety belts
Safety first -everybody buckle up!
F ig. 230 Belt buckle and tong ue o n the dr iver's seat
N ± ... a,
To prov ide max imum protection, safety belts
must always be positioned correctly on the wear ­
er's body .
"'Adjust the fro nt sea t and head restra int proper­
ly
¢ page 59 , Front seats .
"'Make su re the seatback of the rear sea t bench
is in an upright position and secure ly latched in
place before using the
belt ¢.&_ .
"'Pull the safety belt evenly across the chest and
pelvis ¢ fig. 230, ¢ .&_.
"'Insert the tongue into the correct buckle of
you r seat until you hear it latch securely .
"' Pull on the belt to make sure that it is securely
l atched in the buck le.
Autom atic safety belt retractors
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,
du ring hard braking and in an accident . The be lt
may a lso lock when you drive up or down a steep
h ill or th rough a sharp curve. Dur ing no rma l dr iv­
i n g the bel t lets you move freely.
Safety belt pretensioners
Safety belts w ith pretensioners help to tighten
the safety belt and remove slack when the pre­ tensioners a re
activated ¢ page 267. The func­
tion of the pretens ioner is moni to red by a w arn­
ing
light¢ page 26.
264
Convertible lock ing retractor
Eve ry safe ty belt except the one on t he d river
seat is equipped with a convertib le lock ing retrac ­
tor that
mu st be used when the safety be lt is
used to attach a ch ild seat. Be sure to read the
i mportant information about this feature
¢ page 305 .
A WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can cause
serious inj ury in an
accident ¢ page 265,
Safety belt position .
- Safety belts offer optimum protection only
when the seatback is up right 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
at tached is securely latched whenever the
rear cen ter safety belt is being used.
If the
b ackrest is not sec urely latche d, the passen­
ger will move forward with the bac krest du r­
ing sudden b raking, 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 e ffec­
tiveness and can cause serio us personal in­
jury.
-A passenge r 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 cri tical areas like the abdo­
men .
- Always lock the convertible locking retractor when yo u are securing a c hild seat in the ve­
h icle
~ page 307.

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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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9 r
Fig. 231 Safety belt pos it ion
"' a,
Standard feat ures on your vehicle he lp you adjust
the position of the safety be lt to match your body
size .
- belt he igh t adjustmen t fo r the front seats *,
- height-adjustable front seats.
.8, WARNING
Improperly posit 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
center of the co llar bone as possible and
should fit we ll on the body. Hold the 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. 231. Pull on the belt to tighten
if necessary.
- The lap belt portion of the safety be lt must
be pos itioned as low as possible across pel ­
vis and never over the abdomen. Make sure
the belt lies flat and snug
Q fig . 231 . Pull on
th e belt to tighten if necessary.
- A loose-fitt ing safety be lt can cause ser ious
injuries by shifting its pos ition on you r body
fr om the st rong bones to more vu lne rable,
soft tiss ue a nd c ause ser ious injury.
- Always read and heed all WA RN INGS and
other importa nt inform ation¢
page 263.
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 . 2 32 Safe ty bel t pos ition durin g pregnancy
To provide maximum protect ion, safety belts
must always be positioned correctly on the wear­
er's
body ¢ page 265 .
.. Adjust the front seat and adjustable head re­
straint*
correctly¢ page 59, Front seats .
.,. Pull the safety belt evenly across the chest so
that it s its as low as possible on the pelvis and
there is no pressure on the abdomen
¢ fig. 232, Q .&, .
.,. Insert the tongue into the co rrect buckle of
your se at unt il yo u h ear i t latch secu rely.
.. Pull on the belt to make sure that i t is sec urely
latched in the buckle.
_& WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can ca use
serious pe rsonal injury in an acc ident.
-Expectant mothers m ust always wea r th e
lap portion of the safety belt as low as pos­
sible across the pelvis 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 264.
265

Safety belts
Unfastening safety belts
Unbuckle the safety belt with the red release
button only after the vehicle has stopped .
Fig. 233 Releasing the tongue from the buckle
.,. Push the red release button on the buckle
¢
fig. 233. The belt tongue will spring out of
the buckle ¢
,&.
.. 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. 234 Safety belt: latch tongue cl ip (example)
.. Slide the clip so that you can easily reach the
belt latch when putting the safety belt on .
266
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Adjusting safety belt height
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. 235 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 possible and shou ld fit well
on the body¢
A in Safety belt position on
page 265 .
.,. Push the loop-around fittings up q fig . 235 @,
or
.,. squeeze together the (D 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¢
page 263.
(l} 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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