2020 AUDI A3 ESP

8V2012721BK
Airbag system

How supplemental side airbags work
Side airbags deploy instantly and can help re-
duce the risk of upper torso injuries for occu-
pants who are properly restrained.

QD oF
S Ss
- o oO


Applies to: vehicles without power top
Fig. 222 Side impact protection: inflated side airbags (ex-
ample)

B8V-0329




Applies to: vehicles with power top
Fig. 223 Side impact protection: inflated side airbags
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 provide this additional
protection, the side airbag must inflate within a
fraction of a second at very high speed and with
great force. The supplemental side airbag could
injure you if your seating position is not proper or
upright or if items are located in the area where
the supplemental side airbag expands. This ap-
plies especially to children > page 278, Child
safety. Supplemental side airbags inflate be-
tween the occupant and the door panel on the
side of the vehicle that is struck in certain side
collision > fig. 222, > fig. 223.
Although they are not a soft pillow, they can
“cushion” the impact and in this way they can
help to reduce the risk of injury to the upper part
of the body.
A fine dust may develop when the airbag deploys.
This is normal and does not mean there is a fire
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 accordingly to help the safety belts
and airbags do their job to provide supplemental
protection.

ZA WARNING
An inflating side airbag can cause serious or
fatal injury. Improperly wearing safety belts
and improper seating positions increase the
risk of serious personal injury and death
whenever a vehicle is being used.
— In order to reduce the risk of injury when the
supplemental side airbag inflates:
— Always sit in an upright position and never
lean against the area where the supple-
mental side airbag is located.
— Never let a child or anyone else rest their
head against the side trim panel in the
area where the supplemental 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 window.
— Always make sure that the side airbag can
inflate without interference.
— Never install seat covers or replacement
upholstery over the front seatbacks that
have not been specifically approved by
Audi.
— Never use additional seat cushions that
cover the areas where the side airbags de-
ploy.


273

Airbag system

How side curtain airbags work
Applies to: vehicles with side curtain airbags
Side curtain airbags can work together with side
airbags to help reduce the risk of head and upper
torso injuries for occupants who are properly re-
strained.

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Fig. 225 Illustration of principle: Inflated side curtain air-
bags on the left side (example)
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 > fig. 225.
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 curtain airbag could injure you if your
seating position is not proper or upright or if
items are located in the area where the supple-
mental side curtain airbag inflates. This applies
especially to children > page 278.
Although they are not a soft pillow, side curtain
airbags can “cushion” the impact and in this way
they can help to reduce 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 vehicle.
276
Important safety instructions on the side
curtain airbag system
Applies to: vehicles with side curtain airbags
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 do to help the safety belts and airbags
do their job to provide supplemental protection.

ZA WARNING
Improperly wearing safety belts 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 built-in coat hooks only for light-
weight clothing. Never leave any heavy or
sharp-edged objects in the pockets that may
interfere with airbag deployment and can
cause personal injury in a collision.
— Never use hangers to hang clothes on the
hooks.
— Only use factory-installed sun shades or, if
shades installed after the vehicle leaves the
factory, use only genuine Audi sun shades.
— Never swing the sun visors over to the side
windows if things such as pens, garage door
openers, hands-free speakers, etc. are at-
tached to the sun visors. They could come
loose and cause serious injury if the side cur-
tain airbag inflates.
— A deploying airbag inflates in a fraction of a
second and with great force.
— Never attach objects to the cover or in the
deployment zone of a side curtain airbag.
— The airbag deployment zones must be kept
clear at all times. Make sure there are no ob-
jects, pets, or other persons in the space be-
tween any vehicle occupant and any airbag
at any time.
— Do not attach any accessories to the doors.

Child safety

Child safety
Important information
Introduction
The rear seat is generally the safest place ina
collision.
The physical principles of what happens when
your vehicle is in a crash apply also to children
= page 246, 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
greater risk of serious injury in crashes than
adults.
Because children's bodies are not fully developed,
they require restraint systems especially de-
signed for their size, weight, and body structure.
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.
Ina 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 restraints, like
adult safety belts, must be used properly to be
effective. Used improperly, they can increase the
risk of serious injury in an accident.
All children, especially those 12 years and young-
er must always ride in the back seat properly re-
strained for their age and size. If you must install
a child restraint on the front passenger seat in
exceptional circumstances, be sure to read and
heed the important information and warnings
= page 254. Infants and other children who are
properly restrained in an appropriate child re-
straint that is for their size and age can benefit
from the protection that supplemental side air-
bags provide in some kinds of crashes.
For more information please see information pro-
vided by the:
278
— National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
(NHTSA), currently at : http://www.safercar.gov
(for the USA)
— Transport Canada Information Centre, currently
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 for
your child's size > page 282, 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, Ad-
vanced Airbags, and the installation of child re-
straints 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 information, we cannot re-
peat it all here. We urge you to read the detailed
information 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.

ZA WARNING
— Accident statistics have shown that children
are generally safer in the rear seat area than
in the front seating position. Always restrain
any child age 12 and under in the rear.
— All vehicle occupants and especially children
must be restrained properly whenever riding
in a vehicle. An unrestrained 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 also at greater risk of injury or death
through contact with an inflating airbag.
— A suitable child restraint properly installed
and used at one of the rear seating positions
provides the highest degree of protection
for infants and small children in most acci-
dent situations.

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 seat ina
rear seating position and have the airbag
system inspected by your authorized Audi
dealer.
— Always buckle the child seat firmly in place
even if a child is not sitting in it. A loose
child seat can fly around during a sudden
stop or ina collision.
— Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restraint in a vehi-
cle > page 245, Safety belts, > page 253,
Airbag system and = page 278, Important

information.
@) 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.
ONE eRe emma Cle)
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-
280
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 re-
straint system resting on the seat. The measured
capacitance of a child restraint system varies de-
pending 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 Advanced Air-
bag System compares the capacitance measured
by the capacitive passenger detection system
with the data stored in the electronic control
unit.
Ce eMetrics Raceli alia es-Te)
system
Regardless of the child restraint that you use,
make sure that it has been certified to meet >

Child safety




— Take the child restraint off the front passen- child restraint increases the risk of serious
ger seat and install it properly at one of the personal injury and death.
rear seat positions if the PASSENGER AIR — All vehicle occupants and especially children
BAG OFF light does not stay on. must be restrained properly whenever riding
— Have the airbag system inspected by your in a vehicle. An unrestrained or improperly
authorized Audi dealer immediately. restrained child could be injured by striking
the interior or by being ejected from the ve-
@ Tips hicle during a sudden maneuver or impact.
An unrestrained or improperly restrained
child is also at greater risk of injury or death
through contact with an inflating airbag.
The child seats listed in categories A to C have
been statically tested by Audi only for the Ad-
vanced Airbag function.
— Commercially available child safety seats are
oe required to comply with U.S. Federal Motor
mae ee Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 213 (in
Canada CMVSS 213).
Correct use of child safety seats substantially re- —When buying a child restraint, select one
duces the risk of injury in an accident! that fits your child and the vehicle.
— Only use child restraint systems that fully
contact the flat portion of the seat cush-
ion. The child restraint must not tip or
As the driver, you are responsible for the safety of
everybody in the vehicle, especially children:
> Always use the right child safety seat for each lean to either side. Audi does not recom-
child and always use it properly page 284. mend using child safety seats that rest on
> Always carefully follow the child safety seat legs or tube-like frames. They do not pro-
manufacturer's instructions on how to route vide adequate contact with the seat.
the safety belt properly through the child safe- — Always heed all legal requirements per-
ty seat. taining to the installation and use of child
> When using the vehicle safety belt to install a safety seats and carefully follow the in-
child safety seat, you must first activate the structions provided by the manufacturer
convertible locking retractor on the safety belt of the seat you are using.
to prevent the child safety seat from moving mi evenallowchildrentundensi. niches
page 289. (1.45 meters) to wear a normal safety belt.
> Push the child safety seat down with your full They must always be restrained by a proper
weight to get the safety belt really tight so that child restraint system. Otherwise, they
the seat cannot move forward or sideways more could sustain injuries to the abdomen and
than one inch (2.5 cm). neck areas during sudden braking maneu-
> Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat Werstionaccicental
> page 284. — Never let more than one child occupy a child
safety seat.
— Never let babies or older children ride ina
vehicle while sitting on the lap of another
Always remember: Even though your vehicle is
equipped with an Advanced Airbag system, all
children, especially those 12 years and younger,

should always ride in the back seat properly re- paecegel
strained for their age and size. — Holding a child in your arms is never a sub-
stitute for a child restraint system.
A WARNING — The strongest person could not hold the
child with the forces that exist in an acci-
dent. The child will strike the interior of
the vehicle and can also be struck by the
passenger.
Not using a child safety seat, using the wrong
child safety seat or improperly installing a



282

Child safety


— Have the airbag system inspected by your
authorized Audi dealer immediately.
STM emt Camel heel ae Lees



B4G-0466


Fig. 226 Schematic overview: keep unused safety belts
away from children in child safety seats. @) - outer rear
safety belt, (@) - center rear safety belt*
If a child safety seat is used on the rear bench,
especially with LATCH universal lower anchorag-
es, the unused safety belts must be secured so
that the child in the child restraint cannot reach
them>A.
— Guide the safety belt webbings @ and ()* be-
hind the head restraint of the seat where the
child restraint is installed > fig. 226. When do-
ing so, do not engage the convertible locking
retractor! You should not hear a “clicking”
sound when winding up the safety belt.
— Let the belt retractor wind up the safety belt
webbing.


ZA WARNING
A child in a child safety seat installed with the
LATCH lower anchorages or with the standard
safety belt or a child in a booster seat on the
rear seat could play with unused rear seat
safety belts and become entangled. This
could cause the child serious personal injury
and even death.
— Always secure unused rear seat safety belts
out of reach of children in child seats such as
by properly routing them around the head
restraint of the seat where the child re-
straint is installed.
— Never activate the convertible locking re-
tractor when routing the safety belts around
the head restraints.

284
— Never let anyone sit at the center rear seat-
ing position* if the center rear safety belt
has been routed around a rear head re-
straint.


Child safety seats
Maer h cy
Babies and infants up to about one year old and
20 lbs. or 9 kg need special rearward-facing child
restraints that support the back, neck and head
inacrash.

B4l-1424


Fig. 227 Schematic overview: rearward-facing infant seat,
properly installed on the rear seat
> When using the vehicle safety belt to install a
child safety seat, you must first activate the
convertible locking retractor on the safety belt
to prevent the child safety seat from moving
=> page 289 or install the seat using the LATCH
attachments.
> Push the child safety seat down with your full
weight to get the safety belt really tight so that
the
seat cannot move forward or sideways more
than one inch (2.5 cm).
> Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
=> page 284.
Infants up to about one year (20 lbs. or 9 kg) are
best protected in special infant carriers and child
safety seats designed for their age group. Many
experts believe that infants and small children
should ride only in special restraints in which the
child faces the back of the vehicle. These infant
seats support the baby's back, neck and head ina
crash © fig. 227.
The airbag on the passenger side makes the front
seat a potentially dangerous place for a child to >

8V2012721BK
Child safety


OFF light must come on and stay on, when-
ever the ignition is switched on.
— If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not come on and stay on, perform the
checks described > page 265, Monitoring
the Advanced Airbag System.
— Take the child restraint off the front passen-
ger seat and install it properly at one of the
rear seat positions if the PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF light does not stay on whenever
the ignition is switched on.
— Always read and heed all WARNINGS when-
ever using a child restrained in a vehicle is
being used > page 245, Safety belts,
=> page 253, Airbag system and > page 278,
Important information.

Securing child safety
seats
Securing a child safety seat using a safety
ert
Safety belts for the rear seats and the front pas-
senger can be locked with the convertible locking
retractor to properly secure child safety seats.
The safety belts emergency locking retractors for
the rear seats safety belts and for the front pas-
senger’s seat safety belt have a convertible lock-
ing retractor for child restraints. The safety belt
must be locked so that belt webbing cannot un-
reel. The retractor can be activated to lock the
safety belt and prevent the safety belt webbing
from loosening up during normal driving. A child
safety seat can only be properly installed when
the safety belt is locked so that the child and
child safety seat will stay in place.
Always remember: Even though your vehicle is
equipped with an Advanced Airbag system, all
children, especially those 12 years and younger,
should always ride in the back seat properly re-
strained for their age and size.

ZA\ WARNING
Improperly installed child safety seats in-
crease the risk of serious personal injury and
death in a collision.


— Always make sure that the safety belt retrac-
tor is locked when installing a child safety
seat. An unlocked safety belt retractor can-
not hold the child safety seat in place during
normal driving or in a crash.
— Always buckle the child safety seat firmly in
place even if a child is not sitting init. A
loose child safety seat can fly around during
a sudden stop or in a collision.
— Always make sure that the rear seat backrest
to which the center rear safety belt* is at-
tached is securely latched whenever the rear
center safety belt is being used to secure a
child restraint.
—If the backrest is not securely latched, the
child and the child restraint will be thrown
forward together with the backrest and will
strike parts of the vehicle interior. The child
can be seriously injured or killed.
— Never install rear-facing child safety seats or
infant carriers on the front passenger seat.
A child will be seriously injured and can be
killed when the passenger airbag inflates.
— The inflating airbag will hit the child safety
seat or infant carrier with great force and
will smash the child safety seat and child
against the backrest, center armrest, door
or roof.
— Always install rear-facing child safety seats
or infant carriers on the rear seat.
— Forward-facing child safety seats or infant
carriers installed on the front passenger's
seat may interfere with the deployment of
the airbag and cause serious injury to the
child.
—It is safer to install a forward-facing child
safety seat on the rear seat.
— Always read and heed all WARNINGS when-
ever using a child restrained in a vehicle is
being used > page 278. Special precautions
apply when installing a child safety seat on
the front passenger seat > page 254, Child
restraints on the front seat - some impor-
tant things to know.

289

Child safety


ZA WARNING
Always take special precautions if you must
install a forward or rearward-facing child re-
straint on the front passenger's seat in excep-
tional situations:
— Whenever a forward or rearward-facing
child restraint is installed on the front pas-
senger seat, the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light must come on and stay on whenever
the ignition is switched on.
— If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not come on and stay on, perform the
checks described > page 265, Monitoring
the Advanced Airbag System.
— Take the child restraint off the front passen-
ger seat and install it properly at one of the
rear seat positions if the PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF light does not stay on whenever
the ignition is switched on.
— Improper installation of child restraints can
reduce their effectiveness or even prevent
them from providing any protection.
— An improperly installed child restraint can
interfere with the airbag as it deploys and
seriously
injure or even kill the child.
— Always carefully follow the manufacturer's
instructions provided with the child safety
seat or carrier.
— After checking to make sure that the child
restraint is properly installed, make certain
that the child restraint is correctly recog-
nized by the capacitive passenger detection
system in the front passenger seat and that
the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light signals
the correct front passenger frontal airbag
status.

ZA\ WARNING
Forward-facing child restraints:
— Always make sure the forward-facing seat
has been designed and certified by its manu-
facturer for use on a front seat with a pas-
senger front and side airbag.
— Never put the forward-facing child restraint
up, against or very near the instrument pan-
el

290
— Always move the front passenger seat to the
highest position in the up and down adjust-
ment range and move it back to the rear-
most 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 upper
anchorage is behind the child restraint and
not next to or in front of the child restraint
so that the safety belt will be properly posi-
tioned.
— Make sure that the PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF light comes on and stays on all the time
whenever the ignition is switched on.


ZA WARNING
Rearward-facing child restraints:
-Achild 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 inflates - even with an Ad-
vanced Airbag System.
— The inflating airbag will hit the child safety
seat or infant carrier with great force and
will smash the child safety seat and child
against the backrest, center armrest, door
or roof.
— Always be especially careful if you must in-
stall a rearward facing child safety seat on
the front passenger seat in exceptional cir-
cumstances.
— Make sure that the PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF light comes on and stays on all the time
whenever the ignition is switched on.
— If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not come on and stay on, immediately in-
stall the rear-facing child safety seat ina
rear seating position and have the airbag
system inspected by your Audi dealer.

Activating the convertible locking retractor
Use the convertible locking retractor to secure a
child restraint.
Always heed the child safety seat manufacturer's
instructions when installing a child restraint in