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The side airbag system supplements
the safety
be lts and can help to reduce the risk of injury to
the dr iver's and front passenger's upper torso on
the side of the vehicle that is struck in a side col-
lision . The airbag deploys in side impacts and on-
ly when the vehicle acceleration registered by the
control unit is high enough . If this rate is below
the reference value programmed into the control
u nit, the side a irbags will not be triggered, even
though the car may be badly damaged as a resu lt
of the collision.
It
is not possible to define an a ir-
bag triggering range that will cover every possi -
ble ang le of impact, since the circumstances will
vary considerably between one coll ision and an -
other. Important factors include , for example ,
the nature (hard or soft) of the impacting object,
the ang le of impact, vehicle speed, etc .
c::,
page 210, Important safety instructions on
the side airbag system .
Aside from their normal safety function, safety
be lts work to he lp keep the driver or front pas-
senger in pos it ion in the event of a side collision
so that the s ide a irbags can provide protection .
The airbag system is no t a substitute for your
safety belt . Rather, it is part of the overall occu -
pant restraint system in your veh icle . Always re-
member that the side airbag system can only
he lp to protect yo u if you a re wea ring your safety
be lt and wea ring it properly. This is another rea-
son why you shou ld always wear your safety
be lts, not just because the law requires you to do
so c::> page 182 , General notes.
It
is important t o remember that while the s up-
plemental side airbag system is designed to re-
duce the likelihood of serious injur ies, other inju-
ries, for example, swelling, bruising, friction
burns and minor abrasions can a lso be associated
with deployed side a irbags. Remember too , side
airbags will deploy only once and only in certain
kinds of acc idents - your safety belts are always
there to offer protection .
Vehicle damage, repair costs or even the lack of
vehicle damage are not necessarily an indication
of over-sensitive or failed airbag activation . In
some coll is ions, both front and s ide a irbags may
inflate. Remember too, that airbags will deploy
only once and only in certain kinds of coll is ions -
Airb a g sys tem
you r safety belts are always there to offer protec-
tion in those accidents in which airbags are not
supposed to deploy or when they have already
deployed .
The side airbag system w ill not deploy :
- when the ignit io n is switched off
- in side collisions whe n the acceleration meas-
ured by the sensor is too low
- in front-end coll isio ns
- in rear-end collisions
- in rollovers .
In some types of accidents the front airbags, side
curtain airbags and side airbags may be triggered
together .
A
WARNING
-
- Safety belts and the airbag system will only
prov ide protect ion when occupants are in
the proper seat ing pos ition
c::>
page 210 .
- If the airbag ind icator light c::> page 15
comes when the veh icle is being used, have
the system inspected immedia t ely by your
author ized Audi dealer.
It
is possib le t hat
the airbag will inflate when it is not sup-
posed to, or w ill not inf late w hen it should.
How supplemental side airbags work
Side airbags deploy ins tantly and can help re-
duce the risk of upper torso injuries for occu-
pants who ore properly restrained.
Fig. 1 66
Inflated side airba gs on left side of vehicle
When the system is triggered, the airbag is filled
with propellant gas and breaks through a seam in
the seat s urface area marked "AIRBAG".
It
ex-
pands between the side trim panel a nd the
.,.
209
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