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Airbag
system
Important
things
to
know
Importance of wearing safety belts and
sitting properly
Airbags are only supplemental restraints. For
airbags to do their job , occupants must al-
ways wear their safety belts properly and be
in a proper seating position.
For your safety and the safety of your passen-
gers, before driving off, always:
"" Adjust the dr iver's seat and steering wheel
properly
q
page 92,
"" Adjust the front passenger's seat properly
¢ page 93 ,
"" Wear safety be lts properly
¢
page 102,
"" Always use the proper child restraint to pro-
tect children properly q page 130.
In a collision, airbags must inflate within the
blink of an eye and with considerable force .
The supplemental
airbags can cause injuries if
the driver or the front seat passenger is not
seated properly . Therefore in order to help the
a irbag to do its job, it is important, both as a
driver and as a passenge r to s it properly at all
times.
By keeping room between your body and the
steer ing whee l and the front of the passenger
compartment,
the airbag can inflate fully and
comp letely and provide supplemental
protec -
tion in certain frontal collisions
q
page 92,
Proper occupant seating positions. For details
on the operation of the seat adjustment con-
trols
q
page 60.
It's especially important that children are
properly restrained
q
page 130.
There is a lot that the driver and the passen-
gers can and must do to help the individual
safety features installed in your Audi work to-
gether as a system.
Proper seat ing pos ition is important so that
the front airbag on the driver side can do its
job. If you have a physical impairment or con-
Airbag
system
109
dition that prevents you from sitting properly
on the driver seat with the safety belt properly
fastened and reaching the peda ls, or if you
have concerns with regard to the function or
operation of the airbag system, please con-
tact your authorized Audi dealer or qualified
workshop , or call Audi Customer Relations at
1-800-822-2834
for possible modification to
your vehicle.
When the airbag system dep loys, a gas gener -
ator will f ill the a irbags, break open the pad-
ded covers, and inflate between the steer ing
whee l and the dr iver and between the instru-
ment panel and the front passenger. The air-
bags will deflate immediately after deploy-
ment so that the front occupants can see
through the windshie ld again without inter-
ruption .
All of th is takes place in the blink of an eye, so
fast that many people don't even realize that
the airbags have deployed. The airbags a lso
inflate with a great dea l of force and nothing
should be in their way when they deploy.
Front airbags in comb ination with properly
worn safety belts slow down and lim it the oc-
cupant's forward movement . Together they
help to prevent the driver and front seat pas-
senger from hitting parts of the inside of the
vehicle while reducing t he forces acting on the
occupant during the crash. In this way they
help to reduce the risk of injury to the head
and upper body in the crash. Airbags do not
protect the arms or the lower parts of the
body.
Both front airbags will not inflate in all fronta l
collisions . The triggering of the airbag system
depends on the vehicle de ce lerat ion rate
caused by the collision and regis t e red by the
elec t ron ic control uni t . If th is rate is below
the reference value programmed into the con -
trol unit, the airbags will not be trigge red ,
even though the car may be badly damaged as
a result of the collision . Vehicle damage, re-
pair costs or even the lack of vehicle dama ge
is not necessarily an indication of whether an
airbag should inflate or not .
•
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