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This is jus t one of the reasons why a n a irbag is
not a substitute for the safety belt . The airbag
system works most effective ly when used wit h
the safety belts. Theref ore, always wear your
safety belts correctly .
It is important to remember that while t he
supp lemental knee a irbag system is des igned
to reduce the likelihood of serious injur ies,
other injuries, for example, swel ling, bruising,
minor abrasions and friction burns can also
occur when a n a irbag inflates .
The knee airb ag system basically consist s
of:
- The electronic contro l modu le
- Two inflatable airbags (airbag and gas gen-
erator), one for the driver and one for the
front passenger
- The airbag indicator light in the instrument
panel
The knee airbag system will not deploy :
- when the ignition is turned off
- in frontal col lis ions when the dece lerat ion
measured by the contro l unit is too low
- in s ide coll isions
- in rear-end collisions
- in rollovers
- in the event of a system malfunct ion (warn-
ing/ indicator light is on)
~
page 14.
A
WARNING
- Saf ety belts and the a irbag system can
only provide protection whe n occupants
are in t he proper sea t ing posit io n
~page 120.
- If the air bag indica t or light comes on
when the veh icle is be ing used, have the
system inspected immediately by your
authorized Audi dealer.
-
A irba g sy stem
12 7
How knee airbags work
The risk of injury to the leg area can be re-
duced by fully deployed knee airbags.
Fig. 122
Inflated airbags protect ing in a frontal colli-
sion
The knee airbag system has been designed so
that the airbags for the driver and fro nt pas-
senger deploy in certain but not all frontal
collisions .
If
the front a irbags dep loy, the knee a irbags
also deploy in frontal col lis ions when the de-
ployment threshold sto red in the control unit
is met.
When the system deploys fill the airbags with
a propellant gas, and inflate between the low-
er part of the instrume nt pane l and the dr iver
and the lower part of the instr ument pane l
and the front passe nger ~ page 120, fig. 119.
Although they are not a soft pillow, they can
"cushion" the impact and in th is way they can
help to reduce the risk of injury to the lower
extremit ies.
All of th is takes place in the blink of an eye, so
fast that many people don't even realize that
the a irbags have deployed. The airbags a lso
inflate wit h a g reat dea l of fo rce and it is im-
po rtant for occup a nt safety t hat no t hing
sho uld be in t heir way whe n they d eploy.
Fully inflated airbags in combination with
properly worn safety be lts s low dow n and lim-
it t he occup an t's forward movemen t and help
to reduce the risk of inju ry.
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