Audi A3 2016 Owner's Manual page 182

Sa f e ty belts
Autom atic safet y belt retractors
Every safety belt is equ ipped with an automa t ic
be lt retractor on the shoulder belt. This feature
locks the belt when the belt is pulled out fast,
during hard braking and in a n accident . The belt
may a lso 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 pret ensioners
The safety belts are equipped with a belt preten-
sioner that helps to t ighten the safety belt and
remove slack when the pretensioner is activated
c;,
page 182 . The function of the pretensioner is
mon itored by a warn ing light
c;,page 21.
Convertible locking retracto r
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 219 .
.&_
WARNING
Improperly pos it ioned safety be lts can cause
ser ious injury in an accident ¢
page 180,
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 bac k-
rest to which the center rea r safety belt* is
attached is secure ly latched whenever the
rear center safety belt is being used. If the
backrest is not securely latched, the passen-
ger will move forward with the backrest dur-
ing 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-
t iveness and can cause serious persona l in-
jury.
- A passenger who is not properly restrained
can be seriously inj ured by the safety be lt it-
self when it moves from the stronger parts
180
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
c;, p age 221.
(D
Tips
For information on safety belt pretensioners,
refer to
c;,
page 182 .
Safety belt position
Correct belt position is the key to getting maxi-
mum protection from safety belts.
Fig. 158 Safety belt posit ion
Use the height adjustment to change the posit ion
of the shoulder belt of the front safety belts .
.&_
WARNING
Imp roperly positioned safety belts can cause
serio us pe rsonal injury in an accident.
- The shou lde r belt should lie as close to the
center of the collar bone as possib le and
should fit well on the body. Hold t he belt
above the latch to ngue and pull it evenly
across the chest so t hat it sits as low as pos -
sible on the pe lvis and there is no pressure
on the abdomen. The belt should a lways f it
snug ly
c;,
fig. 158. 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
c::>
fig. 158 . Pull on
the belt to tighten if necessary. Ii-