seats AUDI S3 2009 Owner's Guide

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& WARNING (continued)
• Always hold the steering wheel on the outside of the steering
wheel rim with your hands at the 9 o'clock and 3 o'clock positions
to help reduce the risk of personal injury if the driver's airbag
inflates.
• Never hold the steering wheel at the 12 o'clock position or with
your hands at other positions inside the steering wheel rim or on
the steering wheel hub. Holding the steering wheel the wrong way
can cause serious injuries to the hands, arms and head if the
driver's airbag deploys .
• Pointing the steering wheel toward your face decreases the
ability of the supplemental driver's airbag to protect you in a colli­
sion.
• Always sit in an upright position and never lean against or
place any part of your body too close to the area where the airbags
are located.
• Before driving, always adjust the front seats and head
restraints properly and make sure that all passengers are properly
restrained .
• Never adjust the seats while the vehicle is moving. Your seat
may move unexpectedly and you could lose control of the vehicle .
• Never drive with the backrest reclined or tilted far back! The
farther the backrests are tilted back, the greater the risk of injury
due to incorrect positioning of the safety belt and improper
seating position.
• Children must always ride in child safety seats~
page 169.
Special precautions apply when installing a child safety seat on
the front passenger seat~
page 147. •
Controls and equip­ ment Safety first
Vehicle operation
Proper seating position for the front
passenger
The proper front passenger seating position is important
for safe, relaxed driving.
For your own safety and to reduce the ris k of injury in the
event of an accident, we recommend that you adjust the
seat for the front passenger to the following pos ition:
- Adjust the angle of the seatback so that it is in an upright
position and your back comes in full contact with it
whenever the vehicle is mov ing.
- Adjust the head restraint so that the upper edge is as
even with the top of your head as possible but not lower
than eye level and so that it is as close to the back of your
head as possible::::;,
page 131.
Keep both feet flat on the floor in front of the front
passenger seat.
- Fasten and wear safety belts correctly::::;,
page 141.
For detailed information on how to adjust the front passenger's
seat, see~ page
74.
& WARNING
Front seat passengers who are unbelted, out of position or too
close to the airbag can be seriously injured or killed by the airbag
as it unfolds. To help reduce the risk of serious personal injury :
• Passengers must always sit in an upright position and never
lean against or place any part of their body too close to the area
where the airbags are located.
• Passengers who are unbelted, out of position or too close to the
airbag can be seriously injured by an airbag as it unfolds with
great force in the blink of an eye. ..
Vehicle care Do-it-yourself service Technical data

........ _o_ r_iv _i_ n""' g::;._ S_ a_f _e _ly =---------------------------------------------------
& WARNING (continued)
• Always make sure that there are at least 10 inches (25 cm)
between the front passenger's breastbone and the instrument
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 passenger seat and
head restraint properly.
• Always keep your feet on the floor in front of the seat . Never
rest them on the seat, instrument panel, out of the window, etc.
The airbag system and safety belt will not be able to protect you
properly and can even increase the risk of injury in a crash.
• Never drive with the backrest reclined or tilted far back! The
farther the backrests are tilted back, the greater the risk of injury due to incorrect positioning of the safety belt and improper
seating position.
• Children must always ride in child safety seats~
page 169.
Special precautions apply when installing a child safety seat on
the front passenger seat~
page 147. •
Proper seating positions for passengers in
rear seats
Rear seat passengers must sit upright with both feet on
the floor consistent with their physical size and be prop­
erly restrained whenever the vehicle 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 following:
- Make sure that the seatback is securely latched in the
upright position =>
page 83.
-Adjust the head restraint so that the upper edge is as
even with the top of your head as possible but no lower
than eye level=>
page 131.
-Keep both feet flat in the footwell in front of the rear seat .
- Fasten and wear safety belts properly=>
page 141.
-Make sure that children are always properly restrained in
a child restraint that is appropriate for their size and age
=>
page 169.
& 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 seatback
is securely latched in the upright position and the safety belts are
properly positioned on the body. By not sitting upright, a rear seat
passenger increases the risk of personal injury from improperly
positioned safety belts!
• Always adjust the head restraint properly so that it can give
maximum protection. •

-L..___.:D=-:.. r.:....iv .:....i:..:. n..:.: g;a...: S=-= a:..:.f -=e :..:..IY !,__ ________________________________________________ _
examples will make you more aware of seating positions that are
dangerous.
Therefore, whenever the vehicle is moving:
• never stand up in the vehicle
• never stand on the seats
• never kneel on the seats
• never ride with the seatback reclined
• never lie down on the rear seat
• never lean up against the instrument panel
• never sit on the edge of the seat
• never sit sideways
• never lean out the window
• never put your feet out the window
• never put your feet on the instrument panel
• never rest your feet on the seat cushion or back of the seat
• never ride in the footwell
• never ride in the cargo area
& WARNING
Improper seating positions increase the risk of serious personal
injury and death whenever a vehicle is being used.
• Always make sure that all vehicle occupants stay in a proper
seating position and are properly restrained whenever the vehicle
is being used. •
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 fasteners.
If a brake circuit fails, increased brake pedal travel is required to
bring the vehicle to a full stop.
& 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 function. In case
of sudden braking or an accident, 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 dr iver 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~
&- .,

Safety belts -----------------=-------
Safety belts
General notes
Always wear safety belts!
Wearing safety belts correctly saves lives!
This chapter explains why safety belts are necessary, how
they work and how to adjust and wear them correctly.
- Read all the information that follows and heed all of the
instruct ions and WARNINGS.
& WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them improperly 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 acci­
dents . For your protection and that of your passengers , always
correctly wear safety belts when the vehicle is moving.
• Pregnant women, injured, or physically impaired 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. •
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.
Controls and equip­ ment Safety first
Vehicle operation
& WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them improperly 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 (on USA models only) to remind you about
t he importance of buckling-up.
Before driving off, always:
Fig. 132 Safety belt
warning light in the
instrument cluster -
enlarged
- Fasten your safety belt and make sure you are wearing it
properly.
1J,,
Vehicle care Do-it-yourself service Technical data

Because the passengers of this vehicle are not using safety belts
=:> page 138, fig. 133, they will keep moving at the same speed the
vehicle was moving just before the crash, until something stops
them -here, the wall
=:> page 138, fig. 134.
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 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
safety belts?
In crashes unbelted occupants cannot stop themselves
from flying forward and being injured or killed. Always
wear your safety belts!
Safety first
Fig . 135 A driver not
wearing a safety belt is
violently thrown
forward
Safety belts
Fig . 136 A rear
passenger not wearing
a safety belt will fly
forward and strike 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 occupant will slam
violently into the steering wheel, instrument panel, windshield, or
whatever else is in the way=:> fig. 135. This impact with the vehicle
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, including the driver,
must wear safety belts correctly in order to minimize 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
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. 136. In a
frontal collision they will be thrown forward violently, where they can hit and injure the driver and/or front seat passenger. •
Vehicle care I I Technical data

__ ....:::S~a ~f ~e ~t ~y _: b~ e~lt ~s!._ _____________________________________________ _
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!
Fi g. 137 Driver is
co rrec tly res trai ned in
a sudden braking
m an euver
Safety belts used properly can make a big difference . 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 that can cause serious injuries. In addition,
safety be lts reduce the danger of being thrown out of the vehic le.
Safety belts attach passengers to the car and g ive them the benefit
of being s lowed 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 time, the safety belts make the forces on the body
more "tolerable" and less like ly to cause injury.
Although these examples are based on a frontal collision , safety
belts can also substantially reduce the risk of injury in othe r 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. Acci ­
dent statistics show that vehicle occupants proper ly wearing safety
bel ts have a lower risk of being injured and a much better chance o f
surviving an accident . Proper ly using safety belts also greatly
increases the abi lity of the supplementa l airbags to do their job in a
collision. For this reason, wearing a safety be lt is legally required in
most countries including much of the United States and Canada . Although your Audi is equipped with airbags, you sti
ll have to wear
the safety belts provided . Fron t airbags, for example, are activated
only in some frontal collisions . T he front airbags are not activated in
all frontal col lisions, in side and rear collisions, in roll overs or in
cases where there is not enough dece leration 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
every ­
body in your vehic le is properly restrained! •
Important safety instructions about safety
belts
Safety belts must always be correctly positioned across
t he strongest bones of your body.
Always wear safety belts as illustrated and described in
this chapter.
Make sure tha t your safe ty belts are a lways ready for use
and are not damaged .
& WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or w earing them improperl y increas es
the ri sk of s eriou s pers onal inj ury an d death . S afe ty belt s can work
onl y w hen used corre ctl y.
• Alway s fas te n yo ur sa fe ty belt s corre ctl y befo re dri ving off and
mak e sure all p assenger s ar e correctly re strain ed.
• For m aximum protect ion , safet y belt s mu st alway s be p osi­
ti oned properly on the body .
• Never strap more th an one person , includi ng sm all child ren ,
into any belt.
• Never pla ce a sa fety belt ove r a child sitting on your l ap .
• Alway s keep feet in t he foot well
in front of the seat while t he
vehicle is being driven .
~

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-Insert t he tongue into the correct b uckle of y our seat
unt il you h ea r it la tc h securely~ fig. 138.
Pull on t he belt to make sure that it is securely latched in
the buckle.
Aut om ati c sa fe ty belt re tra cto rs
Eve ry safety be lt 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 a lso lock
when you drive up or down a steep hill or through a sharp curve .
During normal driving the belt lets you move free ly.
Safety belt prete nsi oners
The safety belts are equipped with a be lt pretensioner that he lps to
tighten the sa fety be lt and remove slack when the pretensioner is
activated. The function of the pretensioner is monitored by a
warning light=>
page 14 .
Swit chable locking fe ature
Every safety belt except the one on the driver sea t is equipped with
a switchab le locking feature that
must be used when the safety belt
is used to a ttach a chi ld safe ty sea t. Be sure to read the important
information about this feature=>
page 179.
& WARNING
Improper ly positioned safet y belts can cause seriou s inj ury in an
accident =>
page 14 2, "S afety belt po sitio n".
• Safet y belts offer opt imum protection on ly when the seat back
i s upright and belt s are properly po sition ed on t he bod y.
• Always make sure that the rear seat backrest to whi ch the
c enter r ear sa fet y belt i s atta ched i s sec ure ly lat ched whe nev er
the rear center saf ety belt i s being us ed. If the ba ckrest is not
s ecu rely lat ched, the pas senge r will mo ve fo rward with the back ­
rest dur ing sudden braking , in a sudden maneu ver and e spec iall y
in a cra sh.
& W AR N ING (continu ed )
• Never attach the safety belt to the buck le for anothe r seat .
Atta ch ing th e be lt to the wrong buckle will reduce safety belt
e ffe cti venes s and can ca use seriou s per son al injur y.
• A p assenger who i s not prope rly re str ained can be s eriousl y
injured by the saf ety belt it self wh en it m ove s from the stronger
p art s of the body into criti ca l area s like the abd omen .
• Alway s lock the convert ible lo ck ing retractor when you are
s ecu ring a ch ild safety se at in the ve hi cle =>
page 18 1. •
Safety belt position
Correct belt posi ti o n is the key to getting maximum
protecti on f rom safety be lts.
Fig . 1 3 9 He ad r est ra in t
an d safe ty belt p osi­
tion a s seen from th e
sid e
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,
• automatic belt height adjustment for the rear seats.

___ S_a_ f_ e_ t-= y_ b_e_ l_ t _s _______________________________________________ _
& 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 possible across the pelvis and below the
rounding of the abdomen.
• Always read and heed all WARNINGS and other important infor­
mation ~
& in "Fastening safety belts" on page 141. •
Unfastening safety belts
Unbuckle the safety belt with the red release button only
after the vehicle has stopped.
Fig . 141 Releasing the
tongue from the buckle
-Push the red release button on the buckle=> fig. 141. The
belt tongue will spring out of the buckle=>& .
- Let the be lt wind up on the retractor as you guide the belt
tongue to its stowed pos ition.
& WARNING
Never unfasten safety belt while the vehicle is moving. Doing so
will increase your risk of being injured or killed .•
Adjusting safety belt height
With the aid of the safety belt height adjustment, the three
point safety belt strap routing can be fitted to the shoulder area, according to body size.
Fig . 142 Safety belt
height adjustment for
the front seats -loop­
around fittings
Push the loop -around fittings up => fig. 142 @ , or
- squeeze together the G) button , and push the loop ­
around f ittings
down @.
- Pull the belt to make sure that the upper attachment is
properly e ngaged .
& WARNING
Always read and heed all WARNINGS and other important informa­
tion
~ page 140.
[ i ] Tips
• The shoulder belt part should route approximately over the
middle of you r shoulder -und er no circu mstanc es should it route
over your neck and throat area
~ & in "Safety belt position" on
pag e 142. ~

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• With the front seats, the height adjustment of the seat can also
be used to adjust the position of the safety belts. •
Improperly worn safety belts
Incorrectly positioned safety belts can cause severe inju­
ries.
Wearing safety belts improperly can cause serious injury or
death. Safety belts can only work when they are correctly positioned on the body. Improper seating posit ions reduce
the effectiveness of safety belts and w ill even increase the
risk of injury and death by moving the safety belt to critical
areas of the body . Improper seating positions also increase
the r isk of serious injury and death when an airbag deploys
and strikes an occupant who is not in the correct seating position. A driver is responsible for the safety of all vehicle
occupants and especially for children. Therefore:
-Never permit anyone to assume an incorrect sitting posi -
tion in the vehicle while traveling~& .
The following lists only some examples of improperly worn safety
bel ts that will increase the risk of serious injury and death. Our hope
is that these examples will make you more aware of seating posi­
tions that are dangerous.
Therefore, whenever the vehicle is moving:
• never wear the shoulder belt under your arm
• never let the shoulder belt pass over your neck
• never wear the safety belt loosely
• never place the lap belt portion of the safety belt across your
abdomen ~& -
Controls and equip­
ment Safety first Vehicle operation
& WARNING
Improperly worn
safety belts increase the risk of serious personal
injury and death whenever a vehicle is being used.
• Always make sure that all vehicle occupants are correctly
restrained and stay in a correct seating position whenever the
vehicle is being used.
• Always read and heed all WARNINGS and other important infor­
mation ~
page 140. •
Safety belt pretensioners
How safety belt pretensioners work
In front, side and rear end collisions above a particular
severity, safety belts are tensioned automatically.
The safety belts are equipped with safety belt pretensioners . The
system is activated by sensors in front, side and rear -end collisions
of great severity . This tightens the belt and takes up belt slack~ &
in "Service and disposal of safety belt pretensioner " on
page 146.
Taking up the slack helps to reduce forward occupant movement
during a collision.
0 Note
Never let the belt remain over a rear seat back that has been folded
forward.
[ i] Tips
The safety belt pretensioners can only be activated once.
• In minor frontal and side collisions, in rear -end collisions, in a
rollover and in accidents involving very little impact force , the safety
belt pretensioner are not activated . .,_
Vehicle care Do-it-yourself service Technical data

___ A_ ir_ b_ a-g _ s_y _s_ t_ e_ m _________________________________________________ _
repair costs or even the lack of vehicle dama ge is not necessa rily an
in dic ati on of wh ether a n airb ag s hould infl ate or not.
S inc e th e circumsta nces w ill vary considerably b etw een one colli ­
s ion and anothe r, it is not po ssib le to define a range of vehic le
speeds t hat w ill cover eve ry po ssib le kin d a nd a ngle of im pact tha t
wi ll a lwa ys trigger the airbags . Impo rtant facto rs include, fo r
e xa mpl e, the natu re (ha rd o r sof t) o f th e object whic h th e car h its,
the ang le of impact, vehic le speed, etc. The front airbags will also
n o t in flate in s id e or rear co ll is ions, o r in ro ll-ov ers.
Always remember : Airba gs will d ep loy only once, and on ly in c ertain
k inds o f co llision s. Yo ur s afe ty bel ts are a lways the re t o offe r protec ­
ti on i n th ose si tuat io n s in whic h airba gs a re not suppose d to deploy,
or when they have a lready dep loyed; f or examp le, when yo ur veh ic le
str ikes o r is struc k by anot her ve hicle a fte r th e fir st coll isio n.
T his is just one of the reasons why an airbag is a supplementary
res train t an d is not a su bstit u te fo r a sa fe ty belt. T he ai rbag system
works most effectively when used with the safety be lts . T herefore,
a lw ays pro per ly wea r your safe ty be lts ~
page 137.
& WARNING
Sitting too close to the steering wheel or instrument panel will
decrease the effectiveness of the airbags and will increase the risk
of personal injury in a collision.
• Never sit closer than 10 inches (25 cm) to the steering wheel or
instrument panel .
• If you cannot sit more than 10 inches (25 cm ) from the steering
wheel , investigate whether adaptive equipment may be available
to help you reach the pedals and increase your seating distance
from the steering wheel.
• If you are unrestrained , leaning forward, sitting sideways or out
of position in any way, your risk of injury is much higher.
• You will also receive serious injuries and could even be killed if
you are up against the airbag or too close to it when it inflates -
even with an Advanced Airbag .
& WARNING (continued)
• To reduce the risk of injury when an airbag inflates , always
wear safety belts properly=:>
page 141, "Safety belts".
• Always make certain that children age 12 or younger always
ride in the rear seat. If children are not properly restrained , they
may be severely injured or killed when an airbag inflates.
• Never let children ride unrestrained or improperly restrained in
the vehicle. Adjust the front seats properly .
• Never ride with the backrest reclined.
• Always sit as far as possible from the steering wheel or the
instrument panel=:>
page 128.
• Always sit upright with your back against the backrest of your
seat .
• Never place your feet on the instrument panel or on the seat.
Always keep both feet on the floor in front of the seat to help
prevent serious injuries to the legs and hips if the airbag inflates.
• Never recline the front passenger's seat to transport objects.
Items can also move into the area of the side airbag or the front
airbag during braking or in a sudden maneuver. Objects near the
airbags can become projectiles and cause injury when an airbag
i nflates .
& WARNING
Airbags that have deployed in a crash must be replaced .
• Use only original equipment airbags approved by Audi and
installed by a trained technician who has the necessary tools and
diagnostic equipment to properly repla ce any ai rbag in your
vehicle and assure system effectiveness in a crash .
• Never permit salvaged or recycled airbags to be installed in
your vehicle. •