AUDI Q3 2015 Owners Manual

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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
interference and that nothing prevents them
from returning to their original positions .
Only use floor mats that leave the pedal area
free and can be secured with floor mat fasten­
ers .
If a brake circuit fails, increased brake pedal
travel is required to bring the vehicle to a
full
stop.
A WARNING
Pedals that cannot move freely can cause
loss of vehicle control and increase the risk
of serious injury.
- Never place any objects in the driver's
footwell. An object could get into the
pedal area and interfere with pedal func­
tion. In case of sudden braking or an ac­
cident, you would not be able to brake or
accelerate!
- Always make sure that nothing can fall
or move into the driver's footwell.
Floor mats on the driver side
Always use floor mats that can be securely
attached to the floor mat fasteners and do
not interfere with the free movement of the
pedals.
"' Make sure that the floor mats are properly
secured and cannot move and interfere with
the pedals ~
A,.
Use only floor mats that leave the pedal area
unobstructed and that are firmly secured so
that they cannot slip out of position. You can
obtain suitable floor mats from your author­
ized Audi dealer.
Floor mat fasteners are installed in your Audi .
Driving Safely 99
Floor mats used in your vehicle must be at­
tached to these fasteners. Properly securing
the floor mats will prevent them from sliding
into positions that could interfere with the
pedals or impair safe operation of your vehicle
in other ways.
A WARNING
Pedals that cannot move freely can result
in a loss of vehicle control and increase the
risk of serious personal injury.
- Always make sure that floor mats are
properly 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 pedals or the ability to control the
vehicle.
- Never place or install floor mats or other
floor coverings on top of already instal­
led 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 clean­
ing.
- Always make sure that objects cannot
fall into the driver footwell while the ve­
hicle is moving . Objects can become
trapped under the brake pedal and accel­
erator pedal causing a loss of vehicle
control. •
•

100 Driving Safel y
Stowing luggage
Loading the luggage compartment
All luggage and other objects must be prop­
erly stowed and secured in the luggage com ­
partment.
Fig. 105 S afe load pos itio nin g: place heavy objects as
low a nd as far forward as possible .
Loose items in the luggage compartment can
shift suddenly, changing vehicle hand ling
characteristics. Loose items can also increase
the risk of serious personal injury in a sudden
vehicle maneuver or in a collision .
.. Distribute the load evenly in the luggage
compartment .
.. Always place and properly secure heavy
items in the luggage compartment as low
and as far forward as possible
c> fig. 105.
.. Secure luggage using the tie-downs provid­
ed
c> page 60.
.. Make sure that the rear seatback is securely
latched in place .
A WARNING
Improperly stored luggage or other items
can fly through the vehicle ca using serious
personal injury in the event of hard brak ­
ing or an accident. To help reduce the r isk
of serious personal injury:
- Always put objects, for examp le, luggage
or other heavy items in the luggage com­
partment.
- Always secure objects in the luggage
compartment using the tie-down eye lets
and suitable straps.
A WARNING
-Heavy loads will influence the way your ve-
hicle handles. To help reduce the risk of a
loss of control leading to serious personal
injury:
-Always keep in mind when transporting
heavy objects, that a change in the cen­
ter of gravity can also cause changes in
veh icle handling :
- Always distribute the load as evenly as
possible.
- Place heavy objects as far forward in
the luggage compartment as possible.
- Never exceed the Gross Axle Weight Rat­
ing or the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating
specified on the safety compliance stick­
er on the left door jamb. Exceeding per­
missible weight standards can cause the
veh icle to slide and handle differently.
- Please observe information on safe driv­
ing
c> page 94.
A WARNING
-
To help prevent poisonous exhaust gas
from being drawn into the vehicle, a lways
keep the rear lid closed while driving.
- Never transport objects larger than
those fitting comp letely into the luggage
area because the rear lid cannot be fully
closed .
- If you absolutely m ust dr ive with the rear
lid open, observe the following notes to
reduce the risk of poisoning:
- Close all windows,
- Close the Panoramic sliding sunroof *,
- Open all air outlets in the instrument
pane l,
- Switch off the air recirculat ion,
- Set the fresh air fan to the highest
speed.
A WARNING
A lways make sure that the doors, all win­
dows, the Panoramic sliding sunroof * and
the rear lid are securely closed and locked
-

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to reduce the risk of injury when the vehi­
cle is not be ing used.
- After closing the rear lid, always make
sure that it is properly closed and locked.
- Never leave your vehicle unattended es­
pecially with the rear lid left open . A
child could crawl into the vehicle through
the luggage compartment and close the
rear lid becoming trapped and unable to
get out. Be ing trapped in a vehicle can
lead to serious persona l injury.
- Never let children play in or around the vehicle .
- Never let passe ngers r ide in the luggage
compartment . Ve hicle occupants must
always be properly restrained in one of
the vehicle's seating positions.
(D Tips
- Air c irculation helps to reduce window
fogging. Sta le air escapes to the outside
th rough vents in the trim pane l. Be su re
to keep these slots free and open.
- The t ire pressure must correspond to the
load. The t ire pressur e is shown o n the
tire p ress ure label. The tire pressure la­
bel is loc ated on the d river's s ide B-pi ll a r.
The t ire pressure label lists the recom­
mended cold ti re inflat ion pressu res for
the vehicle at its maximum capacity
weig ht and the tires that were on you r
vehicle at the time it was manufactured.
For recommended t ire pressures fo r nor­
mal load conditions, please see chap ter
c:>page 199.
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 prop­
erly
c:> page 100, Loading the luggage com­
partment.
In a coll is ion, the laws of phys ics mean that
even smalle r items that are loose in the vehi­
cle will become heavy missiles that can cause
Dr iving S afel y 101
serious injury. Items in the ve hicle possess en ­
ergy which vary with vehicle speed and the
weight o f the item . Vehicle speed is the most
s ignificant factor.
Fo r example, in a fronta l collision at a speed
of 30 mph (48 km/h), the forces acting on a
10 -lb (5 kg) object a re about 20 times the
no rmal weight of the item. This means that
the weight of the item would sudden ly be
about 200 lbs. (90 kg) . You can imag ine the
i njur ies that a 200 lbs . (90 kg) item flying
fr eely th ro ugh the passenger compar tme nt
c ould cause in a co lli sion like this.
A WARNING
We ak, dam aged or improper str aps used
to secure items to tie -downs can fail dur­
ing hard braking or in a collision and cause
serious personal injury .
-Always use s uita ble mount ing stra ps and
properly secu re items to the tie-downs in
the l uggage compa rtme nt to he lp pre­
vent items from shift ing or f ly ing fo r­
ward as dangerous missiles .
-When the rea r seat backrest is folded
down, a lways use suitable mounting
straps and properly secure items to the
tie-downs in the luggage compartment
to hel p prevent items from fly ing for­
ward as dangerous missiles into the pas­
s enger compartment.
- Never attach a chi ld safety seat te th er
strap to a t ie- down .
Reporting Safety
Defects
Applicable to U.S.A.
If you b elieve that your v ehi cle
has a d efe ct whi ch could cause
a crash or could cause injury or
d eath, you should imm ediately
inform the National Highway
Tr affic Safet y Admini stration ..,.
•
•

102 Driving Safely
(NHTSA) in addition to notify-Applicable to Canada
ing Audi of America, Inc.
If you live in Canada and you
If NHTSA receives similar com- believe that your vehicle has a
plaints, it may open an investi- defect that could cause a crash,
gation, and if it finds that a injury or death, you should im-
safety defects exists in a group mediately inform
Transport
of vehicles, it may order a recall Canada, Defect Investigations
and remedy campaign. Howev- and Recalls. You should also no-
er , NHTSA cannot become in- tify Audi Canada.
valved in individual problems Canadian customers who wish
between you, your dealer, or to report a safety-related de-
Audi of America, Inc. feet to Transport Canada, De-
To contact the NHTSA, you may feet Investigations and Recalls
,
either call : may either call Transport Cana-
Tel.: 1-888-327-4236 (TTY: da toll-free at:
1-800-424-9153) or Tel.:
1-800-333-0510 or
1 -800-424-9 3 9 3 Tel.
: 1-819-994-3328 (Ottawa
or you may write to: region and from other coun-
tries)
NHTSA TTY for hearing impaired:
U.S. Department of Transporta-
1-888-67 5-6863
tion
1200 New Jersey Ave., S.E. or contact Transport Canada by
mail at:
West Building
Washington, DC 20590 Transport
Canada
You can also obtain other infor- Motor Vehicle Safety Investiga-
mation about motor vehicle tions Laboratory
safety from: 80 Noel Street
Gatineau, QC
http://www.safercar.gov J8Z OAl
For additional road safety infor-
mation, please visit the Road
Safety website at:
...

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http://www.tc.gc.ca/ eng/
roadsafety/menu.htm
Driving Safely 103
•
•

104 Safety belts
Safety belts
General notes
Always wear safety belts!
Wearing safe ty bel ts correctly saves lives!
This chapter exp lains why safety be lts are nec ­
essary, how they work and how to adjust and
wear them correctly .
.. Read a ll the information that fo llows and
heed all of the instructions and WARNINGS.
A WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them
improperly increases the risk of ser ious
personal in jury and death .
- Safety belts are the sing le most effective
means avai lab le to reduce the risk of se­
r ious injury and dea th in a utomob ile acci­
dents . For your protection and that of
yo ur passenge rs, always co rrectly wear
safety belts when the vehicle is moving .
- Pregnant women, injured, or physically
im paired perso ns m ust also use safety
belts . Lik e all veh icle occup ants, they are
more like ly to be ser iously injured if they
do not wea r safety be lts . The best way to
protect a fetus is to protect the mother -
throughout the entire pregnancy.
Number of seats
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.
A WARNING
Not wea ring safety belts or weari ng them
improp erly increases the risk of ser ious
pe rsonal i njury and deat h.
- Never st rap more than one pe rson, in­
cl uding small ch ild ren, into any belt.
It is
e speci ally dange rous to pla ce a safety
belt over a child s itting on yo ur lap.
- N ever le t mo re people ride in the ve hicl e
than there are s afe ty be lts avail able. -
Be s ure everyone riding in the vehicle is
properly restrained w ith a separate safe ­
ty belt or child restra int.
Safety belt warning light
Your vehicle hos o warning system for the
driver and front seat passenger to remind you
abou t the impor tance of buckling-up.
F ig. 106 Safety bel t warni ng lig ht in the instr ument
cl uster -en la rged
Before dr iving off, always :
.. Fas ten yo ur safe ty belt and make s ure you
are wearing it properly .
.. Make s ure that your passenge rs also buck le
up and properly wear their safety be lts.
.. Protect your children wit h a child restraint
system appropriate for the size and age of
the ch ildren .
The warn ing light . in the instrument clus­
ter lights up when the ign ition is switched on
as a reminder to fasten the safety belts . In ad­
dition, you will hear a warning tone fo r a cer­
ta in period of time .
Fasten your safety belt now and make sure
that your pa ssengers also prop erly put on
their safety belts .
A WARNING .....=-
-Safety b elts are the s ingle most eff ect ive
means available to reduce t he ris k of se­
rio us inju ry and de ath in au tomobile acci­
dents. Fo r you r protection and that of
your passengers, a lways correctly wear
safety belts when the vehicle is moving .

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-Failure to pay attention to the warning
light that come on, could lead to person­
al injury.
Why safety belts?
Frontal collisions and the law of physics
Frontal crashes create very strong forces for
people riding in vehicles .
Fig. 107 Unbelted occupants in a ve hicle heading for a
wall
Fig. 108 The vehicle cras hes into the wall
The physical principles are simple. Both the
vehicle and the passengers possess energy
which varies w ith veh icle speed and body
weight . Engineers call this energy "kinetic en­
ergy."
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
SO km/h), the energy increases 4 t imes!
Because the passengers of this vehicle are not
using safety belts¢
fig. 107, they will keep
moving at the same speed the vehicle was
moving just before the crash, until something
stops them - here, the wall ¢
fig. 108.
Safety belts 105
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 (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 colli­
sion 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 app ly to frontal collisions, they determine
what happens in all kinds of accidents and col­
lisions.
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. 109 A driver not wear ing a safety belt is v io lently
t hrown forward
Fig . 110 A rear pa ssenger not wearing a safety belt
w ill fly fo rwa rd and str ike the driver
Unbelted occupants are not able to resist the
tremendous forces of impact by holding tight
or bracing themselves . Without the benefit of
safety restraint systems, the unrestrained ..,_

106 Safety belts
occupant will slam violently into the steering
wheel, instrument panel, windshield, or what­
ever else is in the way
c::> fig. 109. This imp act
with the vehicle interior has all the energy
t hey had just before the crash.
Never rely on a irbags alone for protection.
Even when they deploy, airbags provide only
additional protection. Airbags are not sup­
posed to deploy in all kinds of accidents. Al­
though your Audi is equipped with airbags, all
vehicle occupants, including the driver , must
wear safety belts correctly in order to mini­
mize the risk of severe injury 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 vehi­
cle where even more severe or fatal injuries
can occur.
It is also important for the rear passengers to
wear safety belts correctly. Unbelted passen­
gers in the rear seats endanger not only them­
selves but also the driver and othe r passen­
gers ~
fig. 110. In a frontal collision they will
be thrown forward violently, where they can
hit and injure the driver and/or front seat pas­
senger .
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. 111 Driver is co rr ect ly re strain ed in a sudd en brak­
ing maneuve r
Safety belts used properly can make a big dif­
ference. Safety belts help to keep passengers
in their seats, gradually reduce energy levels
applied to the body in an accident, and help
prevent the uncontrolled movement tha t can
cause serious 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 engineered into today's vehicles. By
"absorbing " the kinetic energy over a longer
period of ti me, the safety belts make the
forces on the body more "tolerable" and less
likely to cause injury.
Although these examples are based on a fron­
tal collision, safety belts can also substantial­
ly reduce the r isk 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 sta­
tistics show that vehicle 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 supplemen­
tal airbags to do their job in a collision . For
this reason, wearing a safety belt is legally re­
quired 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 provid­
ed. Front airbags , for example, are activated
only in some frontal collisions. The front air­
bags are not activated in all frontal collisions,
in side and rear collisions, in roll overs or in
cases where there is no t enough decelera tion
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!

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Important safety instructions about
safety belts
Safety belts must always be correctly posi­
tioned across the strongest bones of your
body.
~ Always wear safety belts as illustrated and
described in this chapter.
~ Make sure that your safety belts are always
ready for use and are not damaged.
A WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them
improperly increases the risk of serious
personal injury and death. Safety belts can
work only when used correctly.
- Always fasten your safety be lts correctly
before driving off and make sure all pas­
sengers are correctly restrained.
- For maximum protection, safety belts must always be positioned properly on
the body .
- Never strap more than one person, in­
cluding small children, into any belt.
- Never place a safety belt over a child sit­ ting on your lap.
- Always keep feet in the footwell in front
of the seat while the vehicle is being d riv­
en .
- 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 ve­
hicle is moving. Doing so will increase
your risk of be ing injured or killed.
- Never wear belts twisted.
- Never wear belts over rigid or breakable
objects 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
hardware .
- Do not wear the shoulder part of the belt
under your arm or otherwise out of posi ­
tion . Safety belts
107
- Several layers of heavy clothing may in­
terfere with correct positioning of belts and reduce the overall effectiveness of
the system .
- Always keep belt buckles free of anything
that may prevent the buckle from latch­
ing securely .
- Never use comfort clips or devices that
create slack in the shoulder belt . Howev­
er, special clips may be requ ired for the
proper use of some child restraint sys­
tems .
- Torn or frayed safety belts can tear, and
damaged be lt hardware can break in an
accident. Inspect belts regu larly.
If web­
bing, bindings, buckles, or retractors are
damaged, have belts replaced by an au­
thorized Audi dealer or qualified work­ shop.
- Safety belts that have been worn and
loaded in an accident must be replaced
with the correct replacement safety belt
by an authorized Audi dealer . Replace­
ment may be necessary even if damage
cannot be clearly seen . Anchorages that
were loaded must also 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 function of the inertia reel~
ta­
ble Cleaning interior on page 172.
Safety belts
Fastening safety belts
Safety first -everybody buckle up!
Fig. 112 Be lt buck le and to ngue o n th e drive r's seat

108 Safet y belt s
To provide maximum protection, sa fety belts
must always be positioned correctly on the
wearer 's body .
.,. Adjust the front seat and head restr aint
properly ¢
page 51, Front seats .
.,. Make sure the seatback of the rear seat
bench is in an upright pos ition and securely
latched in place befo re using the belt¢.&, .
.,. Hold the belt by the tongue and pull it even­
l y across the chest and pelvis¢.&, .
.,. Inse rt the tongue into the correct buckle of
you r seat until you hea r it latch securely
¢ fig . 112.
.,. Pull on the be lt to m ake s ure th at it is se-
curely latched in the b uckle .
Automatic safety belt retractors
Every safety belt is eq uipped w ith an automat­
ic belt retractor on the shoulder be lt . T his fea­
ture locks the be lt when the belt is pulled out
fast, dur ing hard bra king and in an acci dent.
The belt may also lock when yo u drive up or
down a steep hill or through a sharp curve. During normal driving the belt lets you move
freely .
Safety belt pret ensioners
The sa fe ty belts are equippe d wi th a be lt pre­
tensioner that helps to tigh ten the safety bel t
and remove s lack when the pretensioner is ac ­
tivated. The function of the pretensioner is
monitored by a warning light
¢ page 16.
Convertible lock ing retractor
Every sa fe ty belt ex cep t the one on the dr iver
seat is eq uipped w it h a co nvertib le lock ing re ­
tracto r th at
mu st be used when the safety
be lt is used to attach a child sa fety seat . Be
sure to read the important inf ormation about
this feature ¢
page 143.
A WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can
cause serious injury in a n accident
¢ page 108, Safety belt posit ion.
- Safety belts offe r optimum protection
only when the seatback is up right and
-
be lts are properly posit ioned on the
body.
- Always make sure that the rear seat
backrest to wh ich the center rear safety
be lt is attached is securely latched when­
ever the rea r center safety belt is being
used. If the backrest is not secure ly
latched, t he passenger w ill move for­
ward with the ba ckr est dur ing sudd en
bra king, in a sudden maneuver and espe­
ci ally in a crash .
- Neve r attach the safety be lt to t he buck­
le for ano ther sea t. At taching the belt to
the wrong buckle will redu ce s afe ty be lt
effec tiveness and can cause serio us per ­
sonal injury.
- A passenger who is not properly restrain­
ed can be seriously injured by the safety
be lt itself w hen it moves from the stro n­
ger parts of the body into cr itical areas
like the abdomen .
- Always loc k the convertible locking re­
tractor when you are secu ring a child
safety seat in the vehicle
c:> page 145 .
Safety belt position
Correct belt position is the key to gett ing
maximum protection from safety belts.
Fig . 11 3 Safe ty bel t pos it ion
Standard features on your veh icle help you ad ­
j u st the pos ition of the safety be lt to match
you r body si ze.
- be lt height adjustment for the front seats,
- he ight-adjustable front seats.
1111-