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176
Airb a g sys t e m
at all t imes . Each time you turn on t he igni-
tion, the airbag system indicato r light will
come on for a few seconds (self diagnostics).
The side airbag sys t em supp lemen t s the safe-
ty belts and can help to reduce the risk of in-
jury to the driver's and front passenger's up-
per torso on the side of the vehicle that is
struck in a side col lision. The airbag deploys
only in s ide impacts and only when the veh icle
acceleration registered by the control un it is
high enough . If this rate is below the refer-
ence va lue programmed into the control unit,
the side airbags will not be t riggered, even
though the car may be badly damaged as a re-
sult of the collision . It is not possible to de-
fine an a irbag tr iggering range that will cover
every possible angle of impact, since the cir-
cumstances will vary considerably between
one collision and another. Important factors
include, for examp le, the nature (hard or soft)
of the impacting object, the ang le of impact,
ve hicle speed, etc.
¢
page 177, Important
safety instructions on the side airbag system.
Aside from the ir normal safety function, safe-
ty belts work to he lp keep the driver or front
passenger in posit ion in the event of a side
coll isio n so that the side a irbags can provide
protection.
The airbag system is
not
a substitute for your
safety bel t. Rathe r, it is pa rt of the overall oc-
cupa nt restraint system in your ve hicle. Al-
ways remember tha t the side airbag system
can only help to protect you if you are wear ing
your safety be lt and wear ing it prope rly. This
is another reason why you sho uld always wear
your safety be lts, not just beca use the law re-
q uires you to do so ¢
page 152, General
notes.
It is important to remember that whi le the
supp lemental side airbag system is designed
to reduce the likelihood of serious injur ies,
other injuries, for example, swell ing, bruising,
and minor abras ions can also be associated
with deployed s ide a irbags . Remember too,
side a irbags will deploy on ly once and on ly in
certain kinds of accidents - your safety belts
a re a lways there t o offer pro t ectio n.
Vehicle damage, repair costs or even the lack
of ve hicle damage are not necessarily a n indi-
cation of ove r-sensitive or failed airbag act iva-
t ion. In some coll is ions, both front and side
airbags may inflate. Remember too, that air-
bags will deploy only once a nd only in certain
kinds of col lis ions - you r safety belts are al-
ways there to offe r protection in those acc i-
den t s in which a irbags a re not supposed to
deploy or when t hey have a lready deployed .
The side airbag system will not deploy:
- when the ignit io n is t urned off
- in side collisions when the acceleration
measured by the sensor is too low
- in front-end collisions
- in rear-end collisions
- in rollove rs.
In some types of accidents t he fro nt airbags,
side cu rta in air bags and s ide a irbags may be
t rigge red togethe r.
A
WARNING
~
- Safety belts an d t he air bag system will
only provide protection when occupants
are in the proper seating position
¢page 177.
- If the airbag ind icator light comes on
when the vehicle is being used, have the
system inspected immediately by your
author ized Audi dealer. The airbag may
not work properly when the vehicle ac-
celeration in a side coll is ion is high
e noug h to activate t he a irbag .
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