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at all t imes . Each t ime you turn on the igni-
tion, the airbag system indicator light will
come on fo r a few seconds (self diagnostics).
The side a irbag system supp lements 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 collision. The airbag deploys
only in s ide impacts and on ly when the veh icle
acceleration registered by the control unit is
high enough . If this rate is below the refer-
ence va lue programmed into the control un it,
the side airbags will not be triggered, even
though the ca r may be badly damaged as a re-
sult of the collision .
It
is not possible to de-
fine an airbag triggering 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 angle of impact,
veh icle speed, etc.
c::>
page 162, 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 is ion so that the side a irbags can provide
protection.
The airbag system is
not
a substitute for your
safety belt. Rather, it is pa rt of the overall oc-
cupant restraint system in your veh icle . Al-
ways remember t hat the side airbag sys t em
can only help to protec t you if you a re wear ing
your safety belt and wear ing it properly. This
is another reason why you sho uld a lways wear
your safety belts, not just beca use the law re-
q ui res you to do so
c::>
page 13
7,
General
notes.
It
is important to remember that while the
supp lemental side airbag system is designed
to reduce the likelihood of serious injur ies,
other inju ries, for example, swell ing, bruising,
and minor abras ions can also be associated
with deployed s ide a irbags. Remember too,
side a irbags w ill deploy on ly once and o nly in
certain kinds of accidents - you r safety belts
are a lways t here t o offer prote ct io n.
A irbag sys tem
16 1
Vehicle damage, repair costs or even t he lack
of vehicle damage are not necessarily a n ind i-
cation of ove r-sensitive or failed airbag activa -
tion. In some coll is ions, both front and side
airbags may inflate. Remember too, that air-
bags will deploy only o nce and only in certain
kinds of coll is ions - your safety belts are al-
ways t he re to offe r protection in those acc i-
den t s in which a irbags are not supposed to
deploy or when they have a lready deployed .
The side airbag system will not deploy:
- when the ignit ion is turned off
- in side collisions whe n 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 the front airbags,
side cu rt ain air bags and s ide air bags may be
trigge red togethe r.
&_
WARNING
~
- Safety belts and t he airbag system will
only provide protection when occupants
are in the proper seating position
c::>
page 162.
- If the airbag ind icator light
c::>
page 20
comes when the veh icle is being used,
have the system inspected immediate ly
by your authorized Audi dealer. It is pos-
sible t hat the airbag will inflate when it
is not supposed to, or will not infla t e
when it should.
•
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