2020 AUDI A3 belt

Driving safety


— 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
great 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 tilt-
ed 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 278. Special precautions apply when
installing a child seat on the front passenger
seat > page 253.

Proper seating positions for passengers in
israel -r- 1}
Rear seat passengers must sit upright with both
feet on the floor consistent with their physical
size and be properly restrained whenever the ve-
hicle is in use.
To reduce the risk of injury caused by an incorrect
seating position in the event of a sudden braking
maneuver or an accident, your passengers on the
rear bench seat must always observe the follow-
ing:
240
> 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 57.
> Keep both feet flat in the footwell in front of
the rear seat.
> Fasten and wear safety belts properly
=> page 248.
> Make sure that children are always properly re-
strained in a child restraint that is appropriate
for their size and age > page 278.

ZA WARNING
Passengers who are improperly seated on the
rear seat can be seriously injured in a crash.
— Each passenger must always sit on a seat of
their own and properly fasten and wear the
safety belt belonging to that seat.
— Safety belts only offer maximum protection
when the safety belts are properly posi-
tioned on the body and securely latched. By
not sitting upright, a rear seat passenger in-
creases the risk of personal injury from im-
properly positioned safety belts!
— For adjustable head restraints: always adjust
the head restraint properly so that it can

give maximum protection.
Examples of improper seating positions
The occupant restraint system can only reduce
the risk of injury if vehicle occupants are properly
seated.

Improper seating positions can cause serious in-
jury or death. Safety belts can only work when
they are properly positioned on the body. Im-
proper seating positions reduce the effectiveness
of safety belts and will even increase the risk of
injury and death by moving the safety belt to crit-
ical areas of the body. Improper seating positions
also increase the risk of serious injury and death
when an airbag deploys and strikes an occupant
who is not in the proper seating position. A driver
is responsible for the safety of all vehicle occu-
pants and especially for children. Therefore: >

Driving safety

1 Coley maar Mela Mealy -aed (el)
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-
cured and cannot move and interfere with the
pedals > A\.
Use only floor mats that leave the pedal area un-
obstructed and that are firmly secured so that
they cannot slip out of position. You can obtain
suitable floor mats from your authorized Audi
Dealer.
Floor mat fasteners are installed in your Audi.
Floor mats used in your vehicle must be attached
to these fasteners. Properly securing the floor
mats will prevent them from sliding into posi-
tions that could interfere with the pedals or im-
pair safe operation of your vehicle in other ways.

ZA\ WARNING
Pedals that cannot move freely can result ina
loss of vehicle control and increase the risk of
serious personal injury.
— Always make sure that floor mats are prop-
erly secured.
— Never place or install floor mats or other
floor coverings in the vehicle that cannot be
properly secured in place to prevent them
from slipping and interfering with the ped-
als or the ability to control the vehicle.
— Never place or install floor mats or other
floor coverings on top of already installed
floor mats. Additional floor mats and other
coverings will reduce the size of the pedal
area and interfere with the pedals.
— Always properly reinstall and secure floor
mats that have been taken out for cleaning.
— Always make sure that objects cannot fall in-
to the driver footwell while the vehicle is
moving. Objects can become trapped under
the brake pedal and accelerator pedal caus-
ing a loss of vehicle control.



242
Active rollover
protection system
Applies to: vehicles with power top
The rollover protection system protects vehicle
occupants in the event of a rollover.

B8V-0333

Fig. 199 Rear seats: rollbar deployment range

B8V-0334


Fig. 200 Rear seats: deployed rollbar
The active rollover protection system consists of:
— two rollbars
— the safety belts with belt tensioners
— the windshield frame
—the rollover sensors
The active rollover protection system provides
additional safety in the event of a rollover. Within
milliseconds, sensors deploy two rollbars located
behind the head restraints in the rear seats
© fig. 200.
The rollbars, reinforced windshield frame and
belt tensioners help protect front and rear pas-
sengers in the event of a rollover.
The rollover protection system functions when
the power top is both open and closed.

8V2012721BK
Safety belts

Safety belts
General notes
OCEANS Lae 15 aes
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.

ZA 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.
NT Tae met)
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.

ZA WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them im-
properly increases the risk of serious personal
injury and death.


— Never strap more than one person, including
small children, into any belt. It is especially
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.



B42-0526


Fig. 203 Safety belt warning light in the instrument clus-
ter - enlarged
Before driving off, always:
> Fasten your safety belt and make sure you are
wearing it properly.
> 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.

Z\ WARNING
— Safety belts are the single most effective
means available to reduce the risk of serious
injury and death in automobile accidents. >


245

Safety belts


For your protection and that of your passen-
gers, always correctly wear safety belts
when the vehicle is moving.
— Failure to pay attention to the warning light
that come on, could lead to personal injury.


Why use safety belts?
ee meee Lem ee mele iN ley
Frontal crashes create very strong forces for peo-
ple riding in vehicles.

B4H-0465 4 §






B4H-0466


Fig. 205 The vehicle crashes into the wall
The physical principles are simple. Both the vehi-
cle and the passengers possess energy which var-
ies with vehicle speed and body weight. Engi-
neers call this energy “kinetic energy.”
The higher the speed of the vehicle and the
greater the vehicle's weight, the more energy
that has to be “absorbed” in the crash.
Vehicle speed is the most significant factor. If the
speed doubles from 15 to 30 mph (25 to
50 km/h), the energy increases 4 times!
Because the passengers of this vehicle are not us-
ing
safety belts > fig. 204, they will keep moving
at the same speed the vehicle was moving just
246
before the crash, until something stops them -
here, the wall > fig. 205.
The same principles apply to people sitting ina
vehicle that is involved in a frontal collision. Even
at city speeds of 20 to 30 mph (30 to 50 km/h),
the forces acting on the body can reach one ton
(2,000 lbs, or 1,000 kg) or more. At greater
speeds, these forces are even higher.
People who do not use safety belts are also not
attached to their vehicle. In a frontal collision
they will also keep moving forward at the speed
their vehicle was travelling just before the crash.
Of course, the laws of physics don't just apply to
frontal collisions, they determine what happens
in all kinds of accidents and collisions.
What happens to occupants not wearing
ical lieya
In crashes unbelted occupants cannot stop
themselves from flying forward and being in-
jured or killed. Always wear your safety belts!


Fig. 207 A rear passenger not wearing a safety belt will fly
forward and strike the driver
Unbelted occupants are not able to resist the tre-
mendous forces of impact by holding tight or >

8V2012721BK
Safety belts

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. 206. This impact with the vehi-
cle interior has all the energy they had just before
the crash.
Never rely on airbags alone for protection. Even
when they deploy, airbags provide only additional
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 of-
fer protection in those accidents in which airbags
are not supposed to deploy or when they have al-
ready 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
=> fig. 207. In a frontal collision they will be
thrown forward violently, where they can hit and
injure the driver and/or front seat passenger.
1-1 al LheM ogo) alas
People think it's possible to use the hands to
brace the body in a minor collision. It's simply
not true!

“=
a
8
x % 8

Fig. 208 Driver is correctly restrained in a sudden 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.
Although your Audi is equipped with airbags, you
still have to wear the safety belts provided. Front
airbags,
for example, are activated only in some
frontal collisions. The front airbags are not acti-
vated in all frontal collisions, 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
systems in your Audi. So, always wear your safety
belt and make sure everybody in your vehicle is
properly restrained!
247

Safety belts

A tunlSelae eta mide aa (elare delet at Lila
ey lh ay
Safety belts must always be correctly positioned
across the strongest bones of your body.
> Always wear safety belts as illustrated and de-
scribed in this chapter.
> Make sure that your safety belts are always
ready for use and are not damaged.

ZA\ WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them im-
properly increases the risk of serious personal
injury and death. Safety belts can work only
when used correctly.
— Always fasten your safety belts correctly be-
fore driving off and make sure all passen-
gers are correctly restrained.
— For maximum protection, safety belts must
always be positioned properly on the body.
— Never strap more than one person, including
small children, into any belt.
— Never place a safety belt over a child sitting
on your lap.
— Always keep feet in the footwell in front of
the seat while the vehicle is being driven.
— Never let any person ride with their feet on
the instrument panel or sticking out the
window or on the seat.
— Never remove a safety belt while the vehicle
is moving. Doing so will increase your risk of
being injured or killed.
— Never wear belts twisted.
— Never wear belts over rigid or breakable ob-
jects in or on your clothing, such as eye
glasses, pens, keys, etc., as these may cause
injury.
— Never allow safety belts to become dam-
aged by being caught in door or seat hard-
ware.
— Do not wear the shoulder part of the belt
under your arm or otherwise out of position.
— Several layers of heavy clothing may inter-
fere with correct positioning of belts and re-


duce the overall effectiveness of the system.

248

— Always keep belt buckles free of anything
that may prevent the buckle from latching
securely.
— Never use comfort clips or devices that cre-
ate slack in the shoulder belt. However, spe-
cial clips may be required for the proper use
of some child restraint systems.
—Torn or frayed safety belts can tear, and
damaged belt hardware can break in an acci-
dent. Inspect belts regularly. If webbing,
bindings, buckles, or retractors are dam-
aged, have belts replaced by an authorized
Audi dealer or qualified workshop.
— Safety belts that have been worn and loaded
in an accident must be replaced with the
correct replacement safety belt by an au-
thorized Audi dealer. Replacement may be
necessary even if damage cannot be clearly
seen. Anchorages that were loaded must al-
so be inspected.
— Never remove, modify, disassemble, or try
to repair the safety belts yourself.
— Always keep the belts clean. Dirty belts may
not work properly and can impair the func-
tion of the inertia reel > table Interior
cleaning on page 344.


Safety belts
Fastening safety belts
Safety first - everybody buckle up!




Fig. 209 Belt buckle and tongue on the driver's seat
To provide maximum protection, safety belts
must always be positioned correctly on the wear-
er's body.
> Adjust the front seat and head restraint proper-
ly > page 54, Front seats.

8V2012721BK
Safety belts

> Make sure the seatback of the rear seat bench is
in an upright position and securely latched in
place before using the belt > /\.
> Pull the safety belt evenly across the chest and
pelvis > fig. 209, > A\.
> Insert the tongue into the correct buckle of
your seat until you hear it latch securely.
> Pull on the belt to make sure that it is securely
latched in the buckle.
Automatic 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,
during hard braking and in an accident. The belt
may also lock when you drive up or down a steep
hill or through a sharp curve. During normal driv-
ing the belt lets you move freely.
Safety belt pretensioners
Safety belts with pretensioners help to tighten
the safety belt and remove slack when the pre-
tensioners are activated > page 252. The func-
tion of the pretensioner is monitored by a warn-
ing light > page 238.
Convertible locking retractor
Every safety belt except the one on the driver
seat is equipped with a convertible locking retrac-
tor that must be used when the safety belt is
used to attach a child seat. Be sure to read the
important information about this feature
=> page 289.

ZA WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can cause
serious injury in an accident > page 249,
Safety belt position.
— Safety belts offer optimum protection only
when the seatback is upright and belts are
properly positioned on the body.
— 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. If the back-
rest is not securely latched, the passenger
will move forward with the backrest during

sudden braking, in a sudden maneuver and
especially in a crash.
— Never attach the safety belt to the buckle
for another seat. Attaching the belt to the
wrong buckle will reduce safety belt effec-
tiveness and can cause serious personal in-
jury.
— A passenger 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 critical areas like the abdo-
men.
— Always lock the convertible locking retractor
when you are securing a child seat in the ve-
hicle > page 290.
Safety belt position
Correct belt position is the key to getting maxi-
mum protection from safety belts.



B4H-0751



Fig. 210 Safety belt position
Standard features on your vehicle help you adjust
the position of the safety belt to match your body
size.
— belt height adjustment for the front seats*,
— height-adjustable front seats.

ZX WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can cause
serious personal injury in an accident.
—The shoulder belt should lie as close to the
center of the collar bone as possible and
should fit well on the body. Hold the belt
above the latch tongue and pull it evenly
across the chest so that it sits as low as pos-
sible on the pelvis and there is no pressure
on the abdomen. The belt should always fit


249

Safety belts


snugly > fig. 210. Pull on the belt to tighten
if necessary.
— The lap belt portion of the safety belt must
be positioned as low as possible across pel-
vis and never over the abdomen. Make sure
the belt lies flat and snug > fig. 210. Pull on
the belt to tighten if necessary.
—A loose-fitting safety belt can cause serious
injuries by shifting its position on your body
from the strong bones to more vulnerable,
soft tissue and cause serious injury.
— Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important information > page 248.
Pregnant women must also be correctly
restrained
The best way to protect the fetus is to make sure
that expectant mothers always wear safety belts
correctly - throughout the pregnancy.




To provide maximum protection, safety belts
must always be positioned correctly on the wear-
er's body > page 249.
> Adjust the front seat and adjustable head re-
straint®* correctly > page 54, Front seats.
> Pull the safety belt evenly across the chest so
that it sits as low as possible on the pelvis and
there is no pressure on the abdomen
> fig. 211, > /\.
> Insert the tongue into the correct buckle of
your seat until you hear it latch securely.
> Pull on the belt to make sure that it is securely
latched in the buckle.
250
ZA WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can cause
serious personal injury in an accident.
— Expectant mothers must always wear the
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 information > A\ in Fasten-
ing safety belts on page 249.
eRe mei lley
Unbuckle the safety belt with the red release
button only after the vehicle has stopped.


B4H-0270



Fig. 212 Releasing the tongue from the buckle
» Push the red release button on the buckle
> fig. 212. The belt tongue will spring out of
the buckle > A\.
> Let the belt wind up on the retractor as you
guide the belt tongue to its stowed position.

ZA WARNING
Never unfasten safety belt while the vehicle is
moving. Doing so will increase your risk of be-
ing injured or killed.