ABS AUDI A3 2016 Owner´s Manual

,....,
N
0 > co ,...., Before you actually tow your trailer, practice
turning, stopping and backing up in an area away
from traff ic. Keep practicing until you have be­
come completely familiar with the way your vehi­
cle-trailer combination behaves and responds.
Backing up is difficult and requires practice.
Backing up with a trailer generally requires steer­
ing action opposite to that when backing up your
vehicle without a trailer.
Maintain a greater distance between your vehicle
and the one in front of you. You wi ll need more
room to stop. To compensate for the trailer, you
will need a larger than normal turning radius.
When passing, remember that you cannot accel­
erate as fast as you norma lly would because of
the added load. Make sure you have enough room
to pass. After passing, allow plenty of room for
your trailer before changing lanes again.
Avoid jerky starts, sharp turns or rap id lane
changes.
@ Tips
- Do not tow a trailer during the break-in peri­
od of your vehicle.
- If you tow a trailer, your Audi may require
more frequent maintenance due to the ex­
tra load
¢ page 306.
Parking on a slope
Do not pork on a slope with a trailer. If it cannot
be avoided, do so only ofter doing the following:
When parking:
.. Apply the foot brake .
.. Have someone pla ce chocks under both the ve­
hicle and the trailer wheels .
.. With chocks in place, slowly release the brakes
until the wheel chocks absorb the load .
.. Turn the wheels towards the curb .
.. Apply the parking brake .
.. Select the P selector lever position.
When restarting after parking :
.. Apply the foot brake.
.. Start the engine.
.. Select the D/S selector lever position.
Trailer mode
.. Release the parking brake and slowly pull out
and away from the wheel chocks.
.. Stop and have someone retrieve the whee l
chocks.
{!) Tips
If you move the selector lever of the automat­
ic transmission to P before applying the park­
ing brake and before blocking the wheels, you
may have to use more force later to move the
lever out of the P posit ion.
129

,....,
N
0 > co ,...., shared, please see your contract with the
wireless te lecommunications provider and the
"About Aud i connect" tab in your vehicle's
MMI:
! MENUI button> Aud i connect > About
Audi conne ct .
Electronic stabilization
control (ESC)
Description
Electronic Stabilization Control (ESC) supports
driver safety. It reduces the risk of slipping and
improves dr iving stability. ESC detects crit ical sit­
uations suc h as the vehicle overstee ring and un­
de rs teer ing or the wheels are sp inning. The vehi­
cle is s tabilized by app ly ing the brakes or reduc­
i ng e ngine torque. Once t he ES C i s ac tiva ted, the
indicator light
DJ b li nks in the instrument clus ­
ter .
The fol low ing systems are integrated in the ESC:
Anti-lock braking system (ABS)
ABS preve nts the whee ls from lock ing whe n brak­
i ng. The vehicle can s till be steered even during
h a rd brak ing. Apply steady press ure to the brake
pedal. Do not pump the pedal. A puls ing in t he
bra ke pedal indica tes th at the system is act ing to
s tabili ze the vehicle.
Brake assist system
The brake assist sys tem can decrease braking dis­
tance .
It increases brak ing power when the d rive r
p resses the brake pedal q uic kl y in eme rgency sit­
uations. Yo u m ust press and hold the b rake pedal
u nti l the dangero us si tuati on is over. In ve hicles
with adaptive cruise contro l*, the bra ke assist
system is more sensitive if the d istance detected
to the veh icle ahead is too small.
Anti-slip regulation (ASR)
ASR red uces eng ine power when the drive wheels
begin spinning an d adapts the force to the road
conditions. This makes it easie r to sta rt, acceler ­
ate and drive up inclines .
Intelligent Technology
Electronic differential lock (EDL)
T he ED L brakes wheels t hat are spi nning and
transfe rs the drive power to the o ther dr ive
whee l or wheels if the vehicle is equ ipped with all
whee l drive *). T his function is not available at
higher speeds.
In extreme cases, ED L automat ica lly swi tches off
to keep the b rake o n the braked whee l from over­
heating. The vehicle is still working correct ly. ED L
will switc h on again automatically when condi­
tions have returned to normal.
Steering recommendation
T he ESC he lps to s tabilize the vehicle by changing
the steering torque.
Selective wheel torque control
Se lective w heel torque con trol is used w hen d riv ­
i ng on curves. The front whee l on the ins ide of
the curve or both wheels on t he i nsid e of the
c ur ve are braked se lective ly as needed . This al ­
lows more precise driving in c urves .
Automatic post -collision braking system
T he "Automat ic pos t-collis ion braki ng system"
ca n help to reduce the ris k of sliding and of othe r
collisions af ter an a cciden t. If th e ai rbag cont rol
module detects a collision above a certai n vehicle
speed, the vehicle is brake d by the ESC.
T he veh icle does not br ake au tomatic ally if:
- the dr iver presses the acce lera tor pedal, or
- the braking fo rce generated by the pressed
brake pedal is greater than the b raking force
that would be in itiated by the system, or
- the ESC, the brake system o r the veh icle electri­
cal system are not functioning.
A WARNING
- T he ESC and its i nteg rated systems ca nnot
over come the li mits posed by natu ral physi­
cal laws. This is espe cially impor tant on slip­
pery o r we t roads . If the systems beg in act­
ing to stabilize your veh icle, you should im ­
mediately a lter your speed to match the
road and tra ffic condit ions. Do not let the
increased safety provided tempt you into
159

Inte llig ent Techn olo gy
tak ing risks . This could increase your risk of
a collision.
- Please note the risk of a collision increases
when driving fast, especially through curves
and on slippery or wet roads, and when driv­
ing too close to objects ahead. The ESC and
its integrated systems cannot always pre­
vent collisions - there is still a r isk of acci­
dents!
- Press the accelerator pedal carefully when
accelerating on even, s lippery surfaces such
as ice and snow. The drive wheels can spin
Switching on/off
even when these control systems are instal­
led and this can affect dr iving stability and
increase the risk of a collision.
@ Tips
- ABS and ASR only function correctly when
all four wheels are equipped with identical
tires . Different tire sizes can lead to a reduc­
t ion in engine power.
- You may hear noises when the systems de­
scribed are working.
ESC turns on automatically when you start the engine .
Fig . 1 47 Upper center conso le: ESC butto n
function of the ESC is limited or switched off. The
amount of stabilization contro l will differ de­
pending on the level.
In the follow ing unusual situations it may make
sense to switch the ESC sport mode on to allow
the wheels to spin:
- Rocking the vehicle to free it when it is stuck
- Dr iving in deep snow or on loose g ro und
The ESC is des igned to function in levels. Depend­
ing on the level that is selected, the stabilization
Sport mode on ESC/ASR off Sport mode off or
ESC /ASR on
Beh avio r
The ESC and ASR stabiliza-
The stabilization function is The full stabilization tune-
tion functions are limited not available
¢ &.
. ESC and
tion of the ESC and ASR is
¢&_ . ASR are switched off. avai lable again.
Operati on Press the I~ OFF I button P ress and hold the I~ OFFI Press the I~ OFFI button
briefly . button longer than 3 sec -again.
onds .
Indicat or II turns on. II and lf11f•lH * turn on . II turns off or II and
lights lf111,n~ · turn off .
Driv e r mes- Stab ilization cont rol (E S C): Stabilization control (ESC ):
Stabilizat ion cont rol
sa ge s s port. Warning ! Re st ric ted off . Warning ! Re stri cted (E
SC ): On
st ability stability
160

.... N
0 > co .... .... -Please observe information on safe driving
~page 166.
A WARNING
To help prevent poisonous exhaust gas from
being drawn into the vehicle, always keep the
rear lid closed while driving .
- Never transport objects larger than those
fitting completely into the luggage area be­
cause the rear lid cannot be fully closed .
-If you absolutely must drive with the rear lid
open, observe the following notes to reduce
the risk of poisoning:
- Close all w indows,
- Close the power roof*,
- Open all air outlets in the instrument pan-
el,
- Switch off the air recirculation,
- Set the fresh air fan to the highest speed .
A WARNING
-
Always make sure that the doors, all win­
dows, the power roof* and the rear lid are se­
curely closed and locked to reduce the risk of
injury when the vehicle is not being used.
- After closing the rear lid, always make sure
that it is properly closed and locked.
- Never leave your vehicle unattended espe­
cially with the rear lid left open. A child
could crawl into the vehicle through the lug­
gage compartment and close the rear lid be­
coming trapped and unable to get out. Be­
ing trapped in a vehicle can lead to serious
personal injury.
- Never let children play in or around the vehi­
cle.
- Never let passengers r ide in the luggage
compartment. Vehicle occupants must al­
ways be properly restrained in one of the ve­
hicle's seating positions.
(D Tips
- Air circulation helps to reduce window fog­
ging. Stale air escapes to the outside
through vents in the trim panel. Be sure to
keep these slots free and open.
Driving safety
-The tire pressure must correspond to the
load. The tire pressure is shown on the tire
pressure label. The tire pressure label is lo­
cated on the driver's side B-pillar . The tire
pressure label lists the recommended cold
tire inflation pressures for the vehicle at its
maximum capacity weight and the tires that
were on your vehicle at the time it was man­ ufactured. For recommended tire pressures
for normal load conditions, please see chap­
ter
~ page 263.
' 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 properly
~ page 172, Loading the luggage compartment.
In a collision, the laws of physics mean that even
smaller items that are loose in the vehicle will
become heavy missiles that can cause serious in­
jury. Items in the vehicle possess energy which
vary w ith vehicle speed and the weight of the
item. Vehicle speed is the most significant factor.
For example, in a frontal collision at a speed of
30 mph (48 km/h), the forces acting on a 10-lb
(4.5 kg) object are about 20 times the normal
weight of the item. This means that the weight
of the item would sudden ly be about
200 lbs. (90 kg). You can imagine the injuries
that a 200 lbs. (90 kg) item flying freely through
the passenger compartment could cause in a col­
lision like th is.
A WARNING
-Weak, damaged or improper straps used to
secure items to tie-downs can fail dur ing hard
braking or in a collision and cause serious per­
sona l injury.
- Always use suitable mounting straps and
properly secure items to the tie-downs in
the luggage compartment to help prevent
items from shifting or flying forward as dan­
gerous missiles .
- When the rear seat backrest is folded down,
always use suitable mounting straps and
properly secure items to the tie-downs in
173

.... N
0 > CX)
.... I.Cl U"I
.... I.Cl ....
Why use safety belts?
Frontal collisions and the law of physics
Frontal crashes create very strong forces for peo­
ple riding in vehicles .
Fig. 152 Unbelted occupants in a vehicle heading for a wall
Fig . 153 The vehicle crashes into the wall
CD
~ ± 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.
Veh icle 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. 152, they will keep mov ing
at the same speed the vehicle was moving just
before the crash, until something stops them -
here, the wall
¢fig. 153.
The same principles apply to people sitting in a
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
Safety belts
(2,000 lbs, o r 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 co llisions.
What happens to occupants not wearing
safety belts?
In crashes unbelted occupants cannot stop
themselves from flying forward and being in­
jured or killed . Always wear your safety belts!
Fig. 154 A driver not wearing a safety belt is v iolently
thrown forward
Fig. 155 A rear passenger not wearing a safety belt will fly
forwa rd and strike the
driver
Unbelted occupants are not able to resist the tre­
mendous forces of impact by hold ing tig ht or
bracing themselves . Without the benefit of safe­
ty restraint systems, the unrestrained occupant
will slam viol ently into the steering wheel, in­
strument panel, windshield, or whatever e lse is
i n the way
¢fi g. 154. This impact w ith the vehi­
cle interior has all the energy they had just be-
fore the crash.
Ill>-
177

Safe ty belts
Never rely o n airbags alone for protection . Even
when they deploy, airbags provide only additional
protection. A irbags are not supposed to dep loy in
all kinds of accidents. A lthough your Audi is
equipped w ith 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 a lways there
to offer protect ion in those accidents in wh ic h
airbags are not supposed to deploy or when they
have a lready dep loyed. Unbel ted occupants can
a lso be thrown o ut of the veh icle where eve n
mo re severe or fatal injur ies can occur .
It is also important for the rear pass enge rs to
wear safety belts co rrectly. Unbelted passengers
i n t he rea r seats endanger no t on ly themse lves
but also the drive r and other passengers
~ fig . 155. In a frontal collision they will be
thrown forward violently, where they can hit and
in jure the driver and/or front seat passenger.
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!
F ig . 1 56 Driver is correctly restrai ned in a sudde n braking
m aneuver
Safety belts used properly can make a b ig d iffer­
ence. Safety belts help to keep passengers in
their seats, gradually reduce energy levels ap­
plied to the body in an accident, and he lp prevent
the uncont rolled moveme nt that can cause seri­
ous injur ies. In addition, safety belts reduce the
danger of being thrown out of the veh icle .
178
Safety be lts attach passengers to the car an d give
them the benefit of being s lowed down more
gently or "soft ly" thro ugh the "give" in the safety
belts, crush zones and other safety feat ures engi­
neered into today's vehicles. By "absorbing" the
k inet ic energy over a longer per iod of t ime, the
safety belts make the forces on the body more
"tole rab le" and less likely to cause inj ury.
Although these examples are based on a frontal
collision, safety be lts ca n also substantially re ­
duce the r isk o f injury in ot her kinds of crashes.
So, whethe r yo u're on a long trip or just going to
the cor ne r store, a lways b uckle up and make s ure
othe rs do, too. Ac ciden t stat ist ics show that veh i­
cl e o ccupants prope rly wearing safety bel ts have
a lowe r risk of being injured and a m uch better
chance of surviving an acc ident . Properly using
safety be lts also great ly increases the ability of
the supp lemental airbags to do their job in a col­
li sion. For this reason, wearing a safety belt is le­
gally required in most countries including much
of the United States and Canada .
Although your Aud i is equipped with airbags, you
still have to wear the safety belts provided. Front
airbags, for examp le, are activated only in some
frontal collisions. The front airbags are not act i­
vated in all frontal collisions, in side and rear co l­
li sions, in roll overs or in cases where the re is not
eno ugh deceleration throug h impa ct to the front
of the vehicle. The same goes for the other a irbag
systems in your Audi. So, always wear your safety
belt and make sure everybody in your vehicle is
properly rest rained!
Important safety instructions about safety
belts
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 be lts are always
ready fo r use a nd are not damaged .

,....,
N
0 > co ,...., A WARNING
Objects between you and the airbag will in­
crease the risk of injury in a crash by interfer­
ing with the way the airbag unfolds and/or by
being pushed into you as the airbag inflates.
-Always make sure nothing is in the front air -
bag deployment zone that could be struck
by the airbag when it inflates .
- Objects in the zone of a deploying airbag
can become projectiles when the airbag de­
ploys and cause serious personal injury.
- Never hold things in your hands or on your
lap when the vehicle is in use .
-
-Never place accessories or other objects
(such as cup holders, telephone brackets,
note pads, navigation systems, or things
that are large, heavy, or bulky) on the doors;
never attach then to the doors or the wind­
shield; never place them over or near or at­
tach them to the area marked ,,AIRBAG" on
the steering wheel, instrument panel or the
seat backrests; never place them between these areas and you or any other person in
the vehicle .
- Never attach objects to the windshield
above the passenger front airbag, such as
accessory GPS navigation units or music players. Such objects could cause serious in­
jury in a collision, especially when the air­ bags inflate .
- Never recline the front passenger seat to
transport objects. Items can also move into
the deployment area of the side airbags or
the front airbag during breaking or in a sud­ den maneuver. Objects near the airbags can
fly dangerously through the passenger com­
partment and cause injury , particularly
when the seat is reclined and the airbags in­
flate.
A WARNING
A person on the front passenger seat, espe­ cially infants and small children, will receive
serious injuries and can even be killed by be­
ing too close to the airbag when it inflates.
- Although the Advanced Airbag System in
your vehicle is designed to turn off the front
Airbag system
passenger airbag if an infant or a small child
is on the front passenger seat, nobody can
absolutely guarantee that deployment un­
der these special conditions is impossible in
all conceivable situations that may happen
during the useful life of your vehicle .
- The Advanced Airbag System can deploy in accordance with the .,low risk" option for 3-
and 6-year-old children under the U.S. Fed­
eral Standard if a child with electrical capac­
itance greater than the combined capaci­
tance of a typical one-year old infant re­
strained in one of the forward facing or rear­
ward-facing child seats with which your ve­
hicle was certified is on the front passenger
seat and the other conditions for airbag de­
ployment are met .
- Accident statistics have shown that children
are generally safer in the rear seat area than
in the front seating position.
- For their own safety, all children, especially
12 years and younger, should always ride in
the back properly restrained for their age
and size.
Advanced front airbag system
Your vehicle is equipped with a front Advanced
Airbag System in compliance with United States
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 , as
well as Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (CMVSS) 208 as applicable at the time your vehi­
cle was manufactured.
The front Advanced Airbag System supplements
the safety belts to provide additional protection
for the driver's and front passenger 's heads and
upper bodies in frontal crashes. The airbags in­
flate only in frontal impacts when the vehicle de­
celeration is high enough.
The front Advanced Airbag System for the front seat occupants is not a substitute for your safety
belts. Rather, it is part of the overall occupant re­
straint system in your vehicle. Always remember
that the airbag system can only help to protect
you, if you are sitting upright, wearing your safe­
ty belt and wearing it properly . This is why you
and your passengers must always be properly .,..
189

,....,
N
0 > co ,...., A WARNING
A child in a rearward-facing child seat instal­
led on the front passenger seat will be seri­
ously injured and can be killed if the front air­
bag inflates - even with an Advanced Airbag
System.
-Although the Advanced Airbag System in
your vehicle is designed to turn off the front
airbag when a rearward-facing child re­
straint has been installed on the front pas­
senger seat, nobody can absolutely guaran­
tee that deployment is impossible in all con­ ceivable situations that may happen during
the useful life of your vehicle.
- The inflating airbag will hit the child seat or
infant carrier with great force and will
smash the child seat and child against the backrest, center armrest, door, or roof.
-Always install rearward-facing child re­ straints on the rear seat.
- If you must install a rearward facing child
seat on the front passenger seat because of
exceptional circumstances and the
PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF light does not come on
and stay on, immediately install the rear­
facing child seat in a rear seating position and have the airbag system inspected by
your Audi dealer.
A WARNING
If, in exceptional circumstances, you must in­
stall a forward-facing child restraint on the
front passenger's seat:
- Always make sure the forward-facing seat
has been designed and certified by its man­
ufacturer 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.
- Always move the passenger seat into its
rearmost position in the seat's fore and aft
adjustment range, as far away from the air­
bag as possible, before installing the for­
ward-facing child restraint. The backrest must be adjusted to an upright position.
Airbag system
-Always make sure that there is nothing on
the front passenger seat that will cause the
capacitive passenger detection system in
the seat to signal to the Airbag System that
the seat is occupied by a person when it is
not, or to signal that it is occupied by some­
one who is heavier than the person actually
sitting on the seat. The presence of addi­
tional objects could cause the passenger
front airbag to be turned on when it should
be off, or could cause the airbag to work in a
way that is different from the way it would have worked without the object on the seat.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF light comes on and stays on all the time
whenever the ignition is switched on.
Advanced Airbag System components
The front passenger seat in your vehicle has a lot
of very important parts of the Advanced Airbag
System in it . These parts include the capacitive
passenger detection system, wiring, brackets,
and more. The control unit monitors the system
on the front passenger seat when the ignition is
switched on and turns the airbag indicator light
on when a malfunction in the one of the system
components is detected
¢ page 196. Because
the front passenger seat contains important
parts of the Advanced Airbag System, you must
take care to prevent it from being damaged.
Damage to the seat may prevent the Advanced
Airbag System for the front passenger seat from
doing its job in a crash.
The front Advanced Airbag System consists
of the following:
-Crash sensors in the front of the vehicle that
measure vehicle acceleration/deceleration to
provide information to the Advanced Airbag
System about the severity of the crash.
- An electronic control unit, with integrated
crash sensors for front and side impacts. The
control unit "decides" whether to fire the front
airbags based on the information received from
the crash sensors. The control unit also "de­
cides" whether the safety belt pretensioners
should be activated.
111-
191

Airbag syste m
must be performed by qualified workshops
only. Make sure that any airbag service ac­
tion is entered in your Aud i Warranty
&
Maintena nce booklet under AIRBAG RE­
PLACEMENT RECORD.
- For safety reasons in severe accidents, the
alternator and starter are separated from
the vehicle battery with a pyrotechn ic circuit
in terrupter.
- Work on the pyrotechnic circuit interrupt­
er must only be performed by a qualified
technicians who have the experience, in­
formation and special tools necessary to
perform the work safely.
- If the vehicle or the circuit interrupter is
scrapped, all applicab le safety precautions
must be followed .
@ For the sake of the environment
Undeployed airbag modu les and pretension ­
ers might be classified as Perch lorate Materi­
al -special handling may apply, see
www.dtsc.ca.gov/hazardouswaste/perchlo­ rate . When the veh icle o r parts of the re­
stra int system including airbag modules and
safety belts w it h pretensioners are scrapped,
all applicable laws and regu lations must be
observed. Your authorized Audi dealer is fa­
m iliar with these requirements and we recom ­
mend that you have your dealer perform this
serv ice for you.
Other things that can affect Advanced
Airbag performance
Changing the vehicle's suspension system can
change the way that the Advanced A irbag System
pe rforms in a crash. For e xamp le, using t ire -r im
comb inations no t approved by Audi, lowering t he
veh icle, chang ing the stiffness o f the suspe nsio n,
i n cluding the springs, suspension struts, shock
absorbers etc . can change the forces that are
measured by the airbag sensors and sent to the
electronic contro l unit . Some suspens ion changes
can, for example, increase the force levels meas­
ured by the sensors and make the airbag system
deploy in c rashes in w hich it would not deploy if
the changes had not been made. Other ki nds of
200
changes may reduce the force levels measured by
the sensors and prevent the airbag from deploy­
i ng when it should .
_& WARNING
Changing the vehicle's suspension including
use of unapproved tire-rim comb inations can
change Advanced Airbag performance and in­
crease the r isk of serious personal injury in a
crash .
- Never install suspension components that do not have the same performance charac­
ter istics as the components origina lly instal­
led on your vehicle.
- Never use tire-r im combinations that have
not been approved by Aud i.
Knee airbags
Description of knee airbags
Applies to vehicles: with knee airbags
The knee airbag system can provide supplemen­
tal protection to properly restrained front seat
occupants .
Fig . 16 7 D river 's knee a irbag
The driver knee airbag is in the instrument panel
u nderneath the s teer ing whee l¢
fig. 167, the
airbag fo r the passenger is at about the same
height in the i nstr ument panel underneath the
glove compa rtment.
The knee airbag offers add itiona l protect ion to
the d river's and passenge r's knees and uppe r and
l ower thigh areas a nd sup plements the p rotec­
t ion prov ided by the safety belts .
If the front airbags deploy, the knee a irbags also
deploy in fron tal coll is ions when t he deployment ..,_

Child safety
airbag system inspected by your authorized
Audi dealer.
- 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 .
Booster seats and safety belts
Properly used booster seats con help protect
children weighing between about 40 lbs. and 80
lbs. (18 kg and 36 kg) who ore less than 4
ft. 9
in . (57 inches/1 .45 meters) toll .
Fig. 177 Rear seat: c hil d p rop erly restrain ed in a booster
seat
"' ,...
i i
The vehicle's safety belts alone will not fit most
children until they are at least 4
ft. 9 in . (57 in­
ches/1.45 meters) tall and weigh about 80 lbs .
(36 kg). Booster seats raise these chi ldren up so
that the safety belt will pass properly over the
stronger parts of their bodies and the safety bel t
can help protect them in a crash.
• Do not use the convertible locking retractor
when using the vehicle's safety bel t to rest rain
a chi ld on a boos ter seat.
• The shoulder be lt must lie as close to the cen­
ter of the child's collar bone as possible and
must lie flat and snug on the upper body. It
must never lie across the throat or neck. The
lap belt must lie across the pelv is and never
across the stomach or abdomen . Make sure the
belt lies flat and snug. Pull on the belt to tight­
en if necessary .
• If you must transpo rt an older child in a boos­
ter seat on the front passenger seat, you can
use the safety belt he ight adjustment to help
adjust the shoulder portion properly .
218
• Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
r=;, page 214 .
Children up to at least 8 years o ld (over 40 lbs or
18 kg) are best protected in child safety seats de­
signed for their age and weight. Experts say that
the skeletal structure, particularly the pelvis, of
these children is not fully developed, and they
must not use the vehicle safety belts without a
su itable child restraint.
It is usually best to put these chi ldren in appro ­
priate booster seats. Be sure the booster seat
meets all applicable safety standards.
Booster seats raise the seating position of the
chi ld and reposition both the lap and shoulder
parts of the safety belt so that they pass across
the child 's body in the right places. The routing of
the belt over the ch ild's body is very important
for the child's p rotection, whether or not a boos­
te r seat is used. Children age 12 and under must
always ride in the rear seat.
Children who are at least 4
ft . 9 in . (57 inches/
1.45 meters) tall can generally use the vehicle's
three point lap and shoulder belts. Never use the
l ap belt portion of the veh icle's safety belt a lone
to restrain any child, regard less of how big the
child is. Always remember that children do not
have the pronounced pelvic structure required for
the proper function of lap be lt portion of the ve ­
hicle's three point lap and shoulder belts. The
child's safety abso lutely requires that a lap belt
portion of the safety belt be fastened snugly and
as low as possible around the pelvis . Never let
the lap belt portion of the safety belt pass over
the chi ld's stomach or abdomen .
In a crash, airbags must inflate with in a blink of
an eye and with considerab le force . In order to do
its job, the airbag needs room to inflate so that it
will be there to protect the occupant as the occu­
pant moves forwa rd into the airbag .
A vehicle occupant who is out of pos it ion and too
close to the a irbag gets in the way of an inflating
a irbag . When an occupant is too close, he or she
will be struck violent ly and will rece ive serious or
possibly even fata l injury. ..,.