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The side curtain airbags a re located on both
sides of the interior above the front and rear
side windows ¢
fig. 184.
They are ident ified
by the word "AIRBAG" on the windshie ld
frame and the center roof pillar.
The side curtain airbag system supp lements
the safety belts and can help to reduce the
risk of injury for occupants' heads and upper
torso on the side of the vehicle that is struck
in a side collision . The side curta in airbag in-
flates in side impacts and only when the veh i-
cle acce lerat ion reg istered by the contro l unit
is high enoug h. If th is rate is below the refer-
ence value programmed into the con t rol un it,
the side airbags will not be triggered, 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 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 example, the nature (hard or soft)
of the impacting object, the ang le of impact,
ve hicle speed, etc. ¢ page 176, How side
cur-
tain airbags work.
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 colli-
sion so that the side curtain ai rbags can pro-
vide protection.
The airbag system is not a subst itute for your
safety belt. Rathe r, it is pa rt of the overall oc-
cupa nt restraint system in your veh icle. Al-
ways remember that the airbag system can
only help to protect you if you are wea ring
your safety belt and wearing it properly. This
is another reason why you shou ld a lways wear
your safety belts, not just because the law re-
qu ires you to do so ¢
page 148, General
notes .
It is important to remember that while the
side curta in a irbag system is designed to he lp
reduce the likelihood of serious injuries, other
injuries, for example, swelling, bruising, and
minor abrasions can also be associated w ith
these airbags. Remember too, these a irbags
will dep loy only once and only in certain kinds
A irbag sys tem
1 75
of accidents - your safety belts are always
there to offer protection.
The side curtain airbag system basically
consists of:
- The e lectronic control module and external
side impact sensors
- The side curtain airbags above t he front and
rear side windows
- The a irbag indicator light in the instr ument
panel
The airbag system is mon itored electronically
to make ce rtain it is functioning prope rly at all
times. Each t ime you t urn on the ignit ion, the
airbag system ind icator light will come on for
a few seconds (self diagnostics).
The side curtain airbag is not activated :
- if the ignition is turned off,
- in side collisions when the acceleration
measured by the sensor is too low,
- in rear-end collisions .
_&
WARNING
- Safety belts and the airbag system will
only provide prote ction when occupants
are in t he proper seating posi t ion
¢
page 64, General recommendations.
- If the ai rbag ind icator light comes on
when the vehicle is being used, have the
system inspected immediately by your
author ized Audi dealer . The side curtain
airbag may not work proper ly even when
the vehicle acce lerat ion in a s ide collision
is high enough to activate the airbag.
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