2018 AUDI A3 SEDAN airbag

Driving sa fety
,.. ALWAYS adjust your speed to road, traffic and
weather conditions.
,.. Take frequent breaks on long trips. Do not drive
for more than two hours at a stretch.
,.. Do NOT drive when you are tired, under pres­
sure or whe n you are stressed .
A WARNING
Impaired driv ing safety inc reases the risk of
ser ious persona l inju ry and death whenever a
vehicle is being used.
Correct passenger
seating positions
Proper seating position for the driver
The proper driver sea ting po sition is impor tan t
for safe, relaxed driving .
Fig. 217 Correc t seat ing posit ion
F or your own safety and to reduce the risk of in­
jury in the event of an accident, we recommend
that you adjust the driver 's seat to the following
position :
,.. Adjust the dr iver's seat so tha t you can easily
push the pedals all the way to the floor whi le
keeping your knee(s) s light ly
bent ¢ ,A.
,.. Adjust the angle of the seatback so that it is in
an upright position so that your back comes in
full contact with it when you drive.
,.. Adjust the steering wheel so that there is a dis­
tance of at least 10 inches (25 cm ) between the
stee ring wheel and your breast bone
<=;> fig . 217 .
If not possib le, see you r autho rized Aud i dea l­
ersh ip about adaptive equipment .
250
,.. Adjust the steering wheel so that the steering
wh eel and airbag cover points at your chest and
not at your face.
,.. Grasp the top of the steering wheel with your
elbow(s) slightly bent.
,.. F or ad justab le head rest raints: Adjust the head
restraint so t he upper edge is as even as possi­
ble with the top of your head . If that is not pos­
sible, t ry to adjust the head restraint so tha t it
is a s close to this pos it ion as poss ible . M ove the
he ad restraint so tha t it is as close to the back
o f the head as possible.
,.. Fasten and wear safety belts correctly
q page264 .
,.. Always keep both feet in the footwell so that
you are in contro l of the veh icle at all times .
Fo r detail ed information on how to adjust the
dr iver's seat,
see ¢ page 59.
A WARNING
Drivers who are unbelted , out of position or
too close to the airbag can be seriously in-
jured by an airbag as it unfo lds . To help re-
duce the risk of serio us pe rsonal i njury:
-Always adjust the driver's seat and the steer ing whee l so that there are at least
10 inches (25 cm) between you r breastbone
and the steering wheel.
- Always ad just the driver's seat and the
steer ing whee l so that the re are at least
4 inch es (10 cm) between the knees a nd the
lower part of the ins trumen t panel.
-Always hold t he s teering wheel on the out­
side of t he steering wheel r im with yo ur
hands at the 9 o'clock and 3 o'clock posi­
tions to help reduce the risk of personal in­
jury if the dr iver 's airbag inflates.
-Never hold the stee ring wheel at the
12 o'clock position or with you r hands at
other positions inside the steer ing whee l
rim o r on the steering wheel hub. Holding
the steering wheel the wrong way can cause
serious injuries to the hands, arms and head
-
if the driver's airbag inflates . .,_

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-Pointing the steering wheel toward your
face decreases the ability of the supplemen­
tal driver's airbag to protect you in a colli­ sion.
- Always sit in an upright position and never
lean against or place any part of your body
too close to the area where the airbags are
located.
- Before driving, always adjust the front seats
properly and make sure that all passengers
are properly restrained.
- For adjustable head restraints : before driv­
ing, always also adjust the head restraints
properly.
- Never adjust the seats while the vehicle is moving . Your seat may move unexpectedly
and you could lose control of the vehicle.
- Never drive with the backrest reclined or
tilted far back! The farther the backrests are
tilted back, the greater the risk of injury due
to incorrect positioning of the safety belt
and improper seating position.
- Children must always ride in child seats
~ page 294. Special precautions apply
when installing a child seat on the front
passenger seat
i::> page 269 .
Proper seating position for the front
passenger
The proper front passenger seating position is
important for safe, relaxed driving.
For your own safety and to reduce the risk of in­
jury in the event of an accident, we recommend that you adjust the seat for the front passenger
to the following position:
.. Adjust the angle of the seatback so that it is in
an upright position and your back comes in full
contact with it whenever the vehicle is moving.
.. For adjustable head restraints: adjust the head
restraint so the upper edge is as even as possi­
ble with the top of your head. If that is not pos­
sible, try to adjust the head restraint so that it
is as close to this position as possible
~ page 61. Move the head restraint so that it is
as close to the back of the head as possible.
Driving safety
.. Keep both feet flat on the floor in front of the
front passenger seat.
.. Fasten and wear safety belts correctly
<=:>page 264.
For detailed information on how to adjust the
front passenger's seat, see
<=:>page 59.
A WARNING
= -
Front seat passengers who are unbelted, out
of position or too close to the airbag can be
seriously injured or killed by the airbag as it
unfolds . To help reduce the risk of serious
personal injury:
- Passengers must always sit in an upright po­
sition and never lean against or place any part of their body too close to the area
where the airbags are located.
- Passengers who are unbelted, out of posi­
tion or too close to the airbag can be seri­
ously injured by an airbag as it unfolds with
g reat force in the blink of an eye.
- Always make sure that there are at least
10 inches (25 cm) between the front pas­
senger's breastbone and the instrument panel.
- Always make sure that there are at least
4 inches (10 cm) between the front passen­
ger's knees and the lower part of the instru­
ment panel.
- Each passenger must always sit on a seat of
their own and properly fasten and wear the
safety belt belonging to that seat.
- Before driving, always adjust the front pas­
senger seat properly.
- For adjustable head restraints: before driv­
ing, always also adjust the head restraints
properly .
- Always keep your feet on the floor in front
of the seat. Never rest them on the seat, in­
strument panel, out of the window, etc. The
airbag system and safety belt will not be
able to protect you properly and can even in­
crease the risk of injury in a crash .
- Never drive with the backrest reclined or
tilted far back! The farther the backrests are
tilted back, the greater the risk of injury due
~
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-Every person in the vehicle must have a
properly adjusted hea d restra int.
- Always make sure each person in the vehicle
properly adjusts their head res traint. Adjus t
t h e head restra int so the upper edge is as
even as possib le with the top of your head.
If that is not possib le, try to adjust the h ead
restra int so that it is as close to th is position
as possib le.
- Applies to: forward/back adjustable head
restra ints: Move the head restra int so that it
is as close to the back of the head as possi­
ble.
- Never attempt to adjust head restra int
wh ile driving. If you have dr iven off and
must adjust the dr iver head rest for any rea­
son, first s top the veh icle sa fely before at­
tempting to ad just the head restraint .
- C hildren mus t always be p roperly res trained
in a ch ild restraint that is appropriate for
their age and size
i::> page 294.
Examples of improper seating positions
The occupant restraint system con only reduce
the risk of injury if vehicle occupants ore properly
seated.
I mp roper seating posi tions can cause se rious in ­
ju ry o r death. Safety bel ts can only work when
they are p roperly positioned on the body. Im ­
proper seating positions reduce the effectiveness
of safety belts and w ill even increase the r is k of
in ju ry and death by moving the safety belt to crit­
ical areas of t he body. Improper seating posit ions
also increase the risk of ser ious injury and death
when an airbag deploys a nd strikes an occupant
who is not i n the prope r seat ing pos ition . A d rive r
i s respons ib le for the safety of all vehicle occu­
pants and especia lly fo r children. Therefo re:
"" Never allow anyone to assume an incorrect
seat ing pos it ion when t he ve hicle is being used
i::, & -
The follow ing bulletins list only some sample po ­
sitions that will increase the risk of serious in jury
a nd death. O ur hope is that these examp les w ill
make you more aw are of sea ting pos it io ns tha t
ar e dange ro us.
Dri ving saf ety
Th erefore , whenever the vehicle is moving :
-neve r st an d up i n the vehicle
- neve r stand on the seats
- neve r kneel on the seats
- never ride wit h the seatback recl ined
- neve r lie down on the seats
- never lean up against the instrument panel
- never sit on t he edge of the seat
- neve r sit sideways
- neve r lean out t he window
- neve r put your feet out the wi ndow
- never put your feet on the instrument panel
- neve r rest your feet on the seat cushion or back
of the seat
- never ride in the footwell
- never ride in the cargo area
A WARNING
--
Improper seating positions inc rease the risk
of ser ious personal in ju ry and death whenever
a veh icle is being used.
- Always make sure that all veh icle occupants
stay in a proper seating posit ion and are
proper ly restrained whenever the vehicle is
be ing used.
Driver's and front
passenger's footwell
Important safety instructions
Applies to : vehicles wit h knee airbags
A WARNING
Always ma ke su re t hat the knee airbag can i n­
fl ate w ithout interfe rence. Objects between
yourself and the airbag can in cre ase the risk
of inju ry in an accident by interfering with the
way the ai rbag dep loys o r by being pushed in­
to you as the ai rbag dep loys.
- No persons (ch ildren) or animals should ride
in the footwell in front of the passenger
seat . If the airbag deploys, this can res ult in
serio us or fatal injur ies.
- No objects of any kind should be carried in
the footwell area in front of the dr iver's or
passenger's seat. Bu lky objects (shopping
bags, for examp le) can hamper or prevent
~
253

Drivin g saf ety
proper deployment of the airbag. Small ob ­
jects can be thrown through the vehicle if the a irbag deploys and injure you or your
passengers .
Pedal area
Pedals
The pedals must always be free to move and
must never be interfered with by a floor mat or
any other object.
Make sure that all pedals move freely without in­
terference and that not hing prevents them from
retu rni ng to the ir origi na l positions.
Only use floor mats that leave the pedal area free
and can be secured with floor mat fasteners .
If a brake c ircuit fa ils, increased brake peda l trav­
el is required to br ing the veh icle to a full stop .
A WARNING
Pedals that cannot move freely can cause loss
of vehicle control and inc rease the risk of ser i­
ous
in Jur y.
-Never place any objects in t he driver's foot­
we ll. An object cou ld get into the peda l area
and interfere w it h pedal fu nction. In case of
s u dden brak ing o r an accident, yo u wo uld
not be ab le to brake or accelerate!
- Always make sure that noth ing ca n fa ll o r
move in to the dr iver's foo twell .
Floor mats on the driver side
Always use floor mats that can be securely at­
tached to the floor mat fasteners and do not in ­
terfere with the free movement of the pedals .
.,. Make sure that the floor mats are properly se­
cu red and cannot move and inte rfe re with the
peda ls ~ & -
Use o nly floo r mats that leave the pedal a rea un­
obstructed and that are firmly secured so that
they cannot slip out of pos it ion. Yo u ca n ob tain
sui table floo r ma ts from yo ur autho riz ed Aud i
Dea le r.
254
Floor mat fasteners are installed in your Audi .
Floor mats used in you r vehicle must be attached
to these fasteners . Properly secur ing the floor
mats will p revent them from slid ing into pos i­
tions that could interfere with the pedals or im­
pair safe operation of your vehicle in other ways.
A WARNING
Pedals that cannot move freely can res ult in a
l oss of vehicle contro l and increase the r isk of
serious personal injury.
- Always make sure that floor mats are prop­ erly secured.
- Never p lace or install floor mats o r other
floor coverings in the vehicle that cannot be properly secured in place to prevent them
from s lipping and interfer ing with the ped­
als or the ab ility to control the vehicle .
- Never p lace or install floor mats or other
floor coverings on top of already installed
floor mats . Additional floor mats and other
cover ings will reduce the si ze of t he pedal
a rea and interfe re w ith the pedals.
- Always properly re insta ll and sec ure floo r
mats that have been ta ke n out for clea ning.
- Always make sure that objects cannot fall
into t he d river footwe ll whi le the vehicle is
mov ing. Objects can become t rapped under
t he br ake pedal and accelerator pedal c aus ­
ing a loss o f vehicle con trol.

Safety belts
Unbelted occupants are not able to resist the tre­
mendous forces of impact by holding tight or
bracing themselves. Without the benefit of safe­
ty restraint systems, the unrestrained occupant
will slam violently into the steering wheel, in­
strument panel, windshield, or whatever else is
in the
way ¢ fig. 227. 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 only add itional
protection . Airbags are not supposed to deploy in
all kinds of accidents. Although your Audi is
equipped with airbags, all vehicle occupants, in­
cluding the driver, 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 protection in those accidents in which
airbags are not supposed to deploy or when they
have already deployed. Unbelted occupants can
also be thrown out of the vehicle where even
more severe or fatal injuries can occur.
It is also important for the rear passengers to
wear safety belts correctly. Unbelted passengers
in the rear seats endanger not only themselves
but also the driver and other passengers
c> fig . 228 . In a frontal collision they will be
thrown forward violently, where they can hit a nd
injure the driver and/or front seat passenger.
262
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!
Fig. 229 Driver is correctly res trained 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
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 being thrown out of the vehicle.
Safety belts attach passengers to the car and give
them the benefit of being slowed down more gently or "softly" through the
"give" in the safety
belts, crush zones and other safety features engi­
neered into today's vehicles. By "absorbing" the
kinetic energy over a longer period of time, the
safety belts make the forces on the body more
"tolerable" and less likely to cause injury .
Although these examples are based on a frontal
collision, safety belts can also substantially re­
duce the risk of injury in other kinds of crashes.
So, whether you're on a long trip or just going to
the corner store, always buckle up and make sure
others do, too . Accident statistics show that vehi­
cle occupants properly wearing 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 supplemental airbags to do their job in a col­ lision. For this reason, wearing a safety belt is le­
gally required in most countries including much
of the United States and Canada.
.,.

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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

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Im proper seating posi tions reduce the effective ­
ness of safety be lts and wi ll even increase the
risk of injury a nd death by mov ing the safety belt
to crit ica l areas of t he body. Improper seating
posi tions also increase the risk of serious injury
a nd death when an airbag deploys and str ikes an
occupant who is not in the correct seat ing pos i­
tion . A driver is respons ible for the safety of a ll
ve hicle occupants a nd espec ia lly for children.
Therefo re:
.,. Never permit anyone to assume an incorrect
s itting position in the veh icle wh ile travel ing
¢ & .
.&_ WARNING
Improperly worn safety belts increase the risk
o f serious personal injury and death whenever
a vehicle is being used .
- Always ma ke sure that a ll vehicle occupants
are correctly restrained and stay in a correct
seating position whenever the vehicle is be­
ing used .
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important information
¢ page 263.
Belt tensioners
How safety belt pretensioners work
Reversible safety belt tensioners
The follow ing funct ions are ava ilable when safety
be lts with reve rsible safety belt tensioners are
fastened:
- In certai n driving situat ions, the safety belts
may tighten with a revers ible tens ion ing func­
t ion
r=;, page 130 .
-The safety belts may a lso tighten with this re -
versible tensioning function in minor coll is ions .
Pyrotechnic safety belt pretensioners
Seat belts w ith pyrotechn ic safety belt preten­
sioners are tens ioned automat ica lly in severe col­
lisions, depend ing o n the c ircumstances . Th is
h elps to reduce t he forward mot ion of the occu ­
pants .
Safet y be lts
.&_ WARNING
--
- It is poss ible for the pretensioners to dep loy
incor rectly .
- The pyrotechnic system can only provide
protection for one collision. If the py rotech­
n ic pretens ioners deploy, the pretensioning
system must be replaced.
(D Tips
- A fine dust is re leased when the pyrotechnic
safety belt pretensioners dep loy. This is no r­
mal and is not caused by a fi re in the veh i­
cle.
- The relevant safety requirements must be
observed when the vehicle or components
of the sys tem are scrapped . A q ual ified
dealership is familiar with these regulat ions
a nd w ill be pleased to pass on the informa­
t ion to you.
Service and disposal of safety belt preten­
sioner
The safety belt pretensione rs are parts of the
safety belts on your Aud i. Installing, removing,
servicing or repair ing of belt pretens ione rs can
damage the safety belt system and prevent it
from wo rking co rrectly in a co llision.
There are some important things you have to know to make sure that the effective ness of the
system will not be impa ired and that d iscarded
components do no t cause inju ry or pollute the
enviro nment .
.&_ WARNING -
Improper care, servicing and repair proce­
d ur es can inc rease the risk of personal in jury
and death by p reventing a safety belt preten­
sione r from activating when needed or act i­
vating it unexpectedly:
- The belt pretensioner system can be activat­
ed only once. If belt pretens ioners have
been activated, the system must be re­
p laced.
- Never repair, adjust, or change any parts o f
the safety belt system.
267

Safe ty belt s
-Safety belt systems including safety be lt
pretens ioners cannot be repaired. Special
procedures are requ ired for removal, insta l­
lat ion and disposal of this system .
- For any work on the safety belt system, we
strongly recommend that you see your au­
thorized Aud i dealer or qualified technician
who has an A udi approved repair manual,
t raining and spec ial equ ipment necessary.
@ For the sake of the environment
Undep loyed airbag modu les and pretension­
ers might be classified as Perchlorate Materi­
al -special handl ing may apply, see
www.dtsc.ca.gov/hazardouswaste/pe rchlo­
rate. When the vehicle o r parts of the re­
s traint system including air bag modules safe­
ty belts with pretens ioners are scrapped, all
app licab le laws and regulations m ust be ob­
served. Your authorized Audi dealer is familiar
w ith these req uirements and we recommend
that you have your dealer perform this service
for you .
268