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Airb a g syste m
The side airbags are located in the sides of the
front seat backrests
c:>
fig . 119
facing the doors.
They are identif ied by the word "AIRBAG".
The s ide airbag syste m basically consists of:
- the electronic control modu le and external side
impact senso rs
- the two airbags located in the sides of the front
backrests
- the a irbag warn ing light in the instrument clus -
ter .
The a irbag sys t em is monitored electronically to
make certa in that it is functioning properly at all
times. Each time you turn on the ign it ion, the air-
bag system ind icator light will come on for a few
seconds (self d iagnost ics).
The s ide a irbag 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 veh icle that is struck in a side col-
lision . The airbag deploys on ly in side impacts
and only when the veh icle acce leration registered
by the contro l unit is high enough. If this rate is
be low the reference value programmed into the
control unit, th e sid e airbags will not be trig -
gered, even though the car may be badly dam-
aged as a result of the collision. It is not possible
to define an airbag triggering range that w ill cov-
er every poss ible angle of impact, since the cir-
cumstances w ill vary cons iderably between one
coll ision and another. Important factors include,
for example, t he nat ure (hard or soft) of the im-
pacting object, the ang le of impact , vehicle
speed, etc.
c:>
page 133, Important safety in-
structions on the side airbag system.
Aside from their normal safety function, safety
be lts work to help keep the driver or front pas-
senger in position in the event of a side collision
so that th e sid e airbags can provide protection.
The a irbag system is
not
a subst itute for your
safety belt . Rather, it is part of the overa ll occu -
pant restraint system in your vehicle. Always re-
m ember that the side airbag system can only
he lp to protect you if you are wearing your safety
be lt and wearing it properly. This is another rea-
son why you should always wear your safety
132
belts, not just because the law requires you to do
so
c:>
pag e 109, General information .
It is impo rtan t to remembe r that w hile the sup-
plementa l side airbag system is designed to re-
duce the likelihood of ser ious injuries, other inju-
ries, for example, swelling, bruising , and minor
abras ions can also be associated w ith deployed
s ide a irbags. Remember too, s ide airbags will de-
ploy only once and only in certain kinds of acci-
dents - your safety belts are always there to offer
protect ion .
Vehicle damage, repair costs or even the lack of
vehicle da mage are not necessar ily an ind ication
of over -sens itive or fa iled airbag activat ion. In
some collisions , both front and side airbags may
inflate . Remember too, that a irbags w ill dep loy
o nly once and on ly in certain kinds of collisions -
you r safety be lts are always t here to offe r 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 the ignit io n is tu rned off
- in side collisions when the acceleration meas-
ured by the sensor is too low
- in front-end coll is ions
- in rear-end collisions
- in rollovers .
In some types of accidents the front ai rbags, side
curtain airbags and sid e airbags may be trigg ered
together .
A
WARNING
- Safety belts and the airbag system will only
provide protect ion when occupants are in
the proper seat ing pos ition
c:> p age 133 .
- If the airbag ind icator light
c:>
page 14
comes when the veh icle is being used, have
the system inspected immediately by your
author ized Audi dealer . It is possible that
the airbag will inflate when it is not sup -
posed t o, or will not inflate when it sho uld.
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