Audi A7 Sportback 2016 Owner's Manual page 167

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be low the refe rence value programmed into the
control unit, the side curtain airbag will not be
tr iggered, even though the car may be badly
damaged as a result of the collision. It is not pos -
sible to define an airbag triggering range that
will cover every poss ible angle of impact, since
the circumstances will vary considerably between
one collision and another. Important factors in-
clude, for example, the nature (hard or soft) of
the impacting object, the angle of impact, vehicle
speed, etc. ¢ page 165, How side curtain air-
bags work.
Aside from the ir normal safety function , safety
be lts work to help keep the dr iver or front pas-
senger in posit ion in the event of a collision so
that the side curtain a irbags can provide protec-
tion.
The airbag system is not a subst itute for your
safety belt. Rather, it is part of the overall occu-
pant restraint system in your vehicle . Always re-
member that the airbag system can only help to
protect you if you are wear ing your safety be lt
and wearing it properly. This is another reason
why you should always wear your safety bel t s,
not just because the law requires you to do so
¢
page 135, General information.
It is important to remember that while the side
curta in airbag system is designed t o help reduce
the likelihood of serious injuries, other injur ies,
for example , swelling , bruising, fr iction burns
and minor abras ions can also be associated with
these airbags upon deployment . Remember too,
these airbags will deploy only once and only in
certain kinds of accidents -your safety belts are
always there to offer protectio n.
The side curtain airbag system basically
consists of :
- The elec t ronic contro l mod ule and externa l side
impact sensors
- The side curtain a irbags above the front and
rear side windows with ejection mitigation fea-
tures
- The airbag indicator light in the instrument
panel
The airbag system is monitored elect ron ically to
make certa in it is function ing properly at a ll
Ai r b ag sy s tem
times . Each time you switch on the ign ition, the
airbag system indicator light will come on for a
few seconds (self diagnostics).
The side curtain ai rbag is not activated:
- if t he ignition is sw itched off,
- in side collisions when the accele ration meas-
ured by the sensor is too low,
- in rear-end col lisions .
A
WARNING
- Safety belts and the airbag system will only
provide protection when occupan t s are in
the proper seating position ¢ page 52, Gen-
eral information.
- If the airbag ind icator light~ page 18
comes when the veh icle is being used, have
the system inspected immediately by your
authorized Audi dealer . It is possib le that
the airbag will inflate when it is not sup-
posed to, or will not inflate when it should.
How side curtain airbags work
Side curtain airbags con work together with side
airbags to help reduce the risk of head and upper
torso injuries for occupants who ore properly re-
strained .
Fig. 1 66
Illust rat ion of principle : Inflated side curtai n air-
bags on the left side
The side curtain airbags inflate betwee n the oc-
cupant and the windows on the side of the veh i-
cle that is struck in a side collision ¢ fig . 166 .
When the system is triggered, the side curtain
airbag is filled wit h propellant gas and breaks
t hrough a seam above the front and rear side
windows identified by the AIRBAG label. In order
ll>-
165