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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
149,
How side curtain air-
bags work
.
Aside from their normal safety function, safety
be lts work to help keep the driver or front pas-
senger in posit ion in the event of a collision so
that the side curtain airbags can provide protec-
tion
.
The airbag system is not a subst itute for your
safety belt. Rather, it is part of the overa
ll
occu-
pant restraint system in your veh icle
.
Always re
-
member that the airbag system can only help to
protect you if you a re wea ring your safety belt
and wear ing it properly. Th is is anot he
r
reason
why you should always wea
r
your safety be lts
,
not
ju
st because the law requires you to do so
¢
page 121, General information.
It
is important to remember that wh ile the s ide
curta in a irbag system is des igned
t
o he lp red uce
the likelihood of ser ious injuries, other
inju
ries,
for example, swelling, bruising, and minor abra
-
sions can a lso be associated with these airbags
.
Remember too, these a irbags w
ill
dep loy only
once and only in certa in kinds of acc idents - your
safety be lts are always there to offer protection.
The side curtain airbag system basically
consists of
:
-
The electronic contro
l
module and external s ide
impact sensors
- The side curtain airbags above the front and
rear s ide windows
-
The airbag indicator light in the instrument
panel
The airbag system is monitored e lectronically to
make certain it is functioning properly at all
times. Each time you turn on the ignit ion, the air-
bag system ind icator light will come on for a few
seconds (self d iagnost ics).
The side curtain airbag is not activated:
- if t he ignition is turned off,
-
in s ide collisions when the acce lerat
ion
meas
-
ured by
t
he senso
r
is too low,
Airb
a
g
sys
tem
-
in rea r-end col lisions,
-
in rollover
s
.
A
WARNING
-
-
Safety belts and
t
he airbag system will only
provide protection when occupants are in
the proper seating posit ion
¢
page 54,
Seats and storage.
-
If the ai rbag indicator light
¢
page 19
comes when the veh icle is being used, have
the system inspected immediately by your
author ized Audi dealer. It is possib le that
the airbag will inflate when it is not sup
-
posed
t
o, or w
ill
not inflate w hen it should.
How side curtain airbags work
Side curtain airbags can work together with side
airbags to help reduce the risk of head and upper
torso injuries for occupants who are properly
re-
strained
.
E
Fig. 140
Illus
tr
atio
n of
principle: Inflated s ide
cur
ta in
air-
bags
on
the left side
The side curtain airbags inflate between the
oc-
cupant a nd the w indows on the side of the ve hi-
cle that is st ruck
in
a side collision
¢
fig. 140.
When the system is t riggered, the s ide curta in
airbag is filled w ith propellant gas and breaks
th rough a seam above the front a nd rear side
windows iden
t
ified by the AIRBAG label. In o rder
to help provide
t
his addition
a
l pro
t
ect ion,
t
he
side cu rtain a
irba
g m ust infl ate w ith
in
the blink
of a
n
eye
at
very high spee
d
and with g reat force.
The side curtain airbag cou ld injure you if your
seating position is not prope
r
or upright or if
items are located in the area where the supple
-
mental s ide curtain a irbag inflates. This applies
especially to ch ildren
¢
page 151.
..,.
149
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