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Airb a g syste m
The side airbag system supplements
the safety
belts 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 only in side impacts
and only when the vehicle acceleration registered
by the control unit is high enough . If this rate is
below the reference value programmed into the
control unit, the side a irbags will not be tr ig-
gered, even tho ugh the car may be badly dam-
aged as a result of the collision. It is not possible
to define an airbag triggering range that will cov-
er every possible angle of impact, since the cir-
cumstances will vary cons iderably between one
coll is ion and another. Important factors include,
for example, the nature (hard or soft) of the im-
pacting object, the ang le of impact, vehicle
speed , etc.
r::;,
page 167, Important safety in-
structions on the side airbag system .
Aside from their normal safety function, safety
belts work to help keep the driver or front pas -
senger in pos it io n in the event of a side collision
so that t he side a irbags can provide protection .
The airbag system is
not
a subst itute for your
safety belt. Rathe r, it is part of the overa ll occu -
pant restraint system in your vehicle . Always re-
member that the side airbag system can only
he lp to protect yo u if you are wea ring your safety
be lt and we ar ing it properly. This is ano t her rea-
son why you should always wear your safety
be lts, not just because the law requires you to do
so
r::;,
page 143, General information.
It is important t o remember that whi le the sup-
plemental side a irbag system is des igned to re -
duce the likelihood of serious injuries, other inju-
ries , for example, swelling, bruising, and minor
abrasions can also be associated with deployed
side airbags . Remember too , side airbags will de-
ploy o nly once and only in certain kinds of acci-
dents - your safety belts are always there to offer
protection .
Vehicle damage, repa ir costs or even the lack of
veh icle damage are not necessarily an indication
of over -sensitive or failed airbag activation . In
some coll is ions, both front a nd side a irbags may
inflate. Remembe r too, that airbags will deploy
only once and only in certain kinds of coll is ions -
166
your safety be lts 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 will not deploy:
- when t he ign it ion is tu rned off
- in side collisions whe n the accele ration meas-
ured by the sensor is too low
- in front-end collis ions
- 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
provide protect ion when occupants are in
the prope r seat ing pos ition
r::;,
page 167.
- If the a irbag ind icator light <=>
page 16
comes when the veh icle is being used, have
the system inspected immediately by your
author ized Audi dealer. It is possib le t hat
the airbag will inflate when it is not sup-
posed to, or will not inf late when it sho uld.
How supplemental side airbags work
Side airbags deploy instantly and can help re-
duce the risk of upper torso injuries for occu-
pants who are properly restrained.
Fig. 1 70
Infl ated side airbags 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
.,..
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