Audi A7 Sportback 2014 Owner's Manual page 172

1 7 0 Airbag syst em
Always remember that the side airbag system
can only help to protect you if you are wearing
your safety belt and wear ing it properly. This
is another reason why you should a lways wear
your safety belts, not just because the law re-
qu ires you to do so
Q
page 140, General
notes.
It is important to remember that while the
supplemental side a irbag system is designed
to reduce the likelihood of serious injur ies,
other injuries, for example, swell ing, bruising,
friction burns and minor abrasions can also be
associa t ed with deployed side airbags. Re-
member too, side airbags will deploy only
once and only in certain kinds of accidents -
your safety be lts are always there to offer pro-
tection .
Vehicle damage, repa ir costs or even the lack
of vehicle damage are not necessar ily an indi-
cation of over-sensitive or failed airbag activa-
tion. In some collisions, both front and side
a irbags may inflate. Remember too, that air-
bags will dep loy only once and only in certain
kinds of collisions - your safety belts are al-
ways there to offer protection in those acci-
dents in wh ich a irbags are not supposed to
deploy or when they have already deployed .
The side airbag system will not deploy:
- when the ign ition is switched off
- in sid e collisions when the acce leration
measured by the sensor is too low
- in front-end col lisions
- in rear -end collisions
- in rollovers.
In some types of acc idents the front airbags,
side curta in a irbags and side airbags may be
tr iggered together.
.&_
WARNING
- Safety belts and t he ai rbag syst em w ill
only prov ide protec t ion whe n occ upants
are in t he proper seating posit ion
Q page 171.
- If the airbag indicator light
Q
page 19
comes when the vehicle is being used,
-
have the system inspected immediately
by your authorized Audi dealer. It is pos-
sible that the airbag will inflate when it
is not supposed to, or will not inflate
when it should .
How supplemental side airbags work
Side airbag s deploy instantly and can help re-
duce the risk of upper torso injuries for occu-
pants who are properly restrained .
Fig. 168 Inflated side airbags on left side of vehicle,
rear side airbag
When the system is triggered, t he a irbag is
filled with propellant gas and breaks through
a seam in the seat su rface area marked "AIR-
BAG ".
It
expands between the side trim panel
and the passenger. In order to help provide
t his addit io nal prote ction, the side airbag
mus t inflate with in a fra ction of a second at
very high speed and with great force. The sup-
pleme nta l side airbag could injure you if your
seat ing position is not proper or up right or if
items are located in the area where the sup-
plementa l side airbag expands. This applies
especially to ch ildren
Q
page
175 ,
Child Safe-
ty . Supplemental side airbags inflate be -
tween the occupa nt and the door panel on the
side of the vehicl e that is str uck in certai n side
collision
Q
fig. 168 .
Although they are not a soft pillow, they can
"cushion" the impact and in this way they can
help to reduc e the risk of inju ry to the upp er
part of the body.
A fine dust may deve lop when the airbag de -
ploys . This is normal and does not mean there
is a fi re in th e vehicle .