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168
Airb a g sys tem
The side curtain airbags are located on both
sides of the interior above the front and rear
side windows ¢
fig. 165 .
They are ident ified
by the word "AIRBAG" on the windshie ld
frame and the center roof pillar.
The side curtain airbags contain features that
provide ejection m itigat ion to he lp prevent ve-
hicle occupants or parts of their bodies from
be ing completely or partially ejected from the
vehicle interior in certain side impacts and ve-
hicle rollovers.
The s ide curtain airbag system supp lements
the safety belts and can help to reduce the
risk of injury for occupants' heads and upper
torso. The side curtain airbag inflates in side
impacts and only when the vehicle acce lera-
tion registered by the control unit is high
enough. If t his rate is below the reference val-
ue programmed into the control unit, the side
curtain ai rbag 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 tr igger ing range that will cover
every possible angle of impact, since the cir-
cumstances will vary considerably between
one coll ision and another. Important factors
include, for examp le, the natu re (hard or soft)
of the impacting object, the ang le of impact ,
vehicle speed, etc. ¢
page 169, How side cur-
tain airbags work.
Aside from the ir normal safety function, safe-
ty belts wor k to he lp keep t he d river or front
passenger in posi t ion in the event of a colli-
sion so tha t the side curta in ai rbags can pro-
vide protection.
The airbag system is not a subst itute for your
safety be lt . Rathe r, it is par t of t he overall oc-
cupant restraint system in your vehicle . Al-
ways remember that the airbag system can
on L y help to protect you if you are wearing
your safety belt and wear ing it properly. This
is another reason w hy you should always wear
your safety belts, not just because the law re-
qu ires you to do so ¢
page 136, General
notes .
It
is important to remembe r that wh ile the
side curtain airbag system is designed to help
reduce the likelihood of ser ious injuries, other
injur ies, for example, swelling, br uis ing, fric-
t ion burns and minor abras ions can also be as-
sociated w ith these airbags upo n deployment .
Remember too, these airbags will deploy only
once a nd on ly in certain kinds of accide nts -
your safety belts a re always the re to offer pro-
tection .
The side curtain airbag system basically
consists of:
- The e lectro n ic control module and external
side impa ct sensors
- The side curtain a irbags above the front and
rea r s ide windows wit h ejection mitigation
fe atu res
- The a irbag indicator light in the inst rument
pa nel
The airbag system is mon itored electronically
to make ce rtain it is functioning prope rly at all
t imes. Each time you sw itch on the ign ition,
t he a irbag system ind icator light will come on
for a few seconds (sel f diagnos t ics) .
The side curtain airbag is not activated:
- if the ignition is sw itched off,
- in side collisions whe n the acceleration
measu red by the sensor is too low,
- in rear-end collisions.
A
WARNING
- Safety belts and the airbag system will
only provide protection when occupants
are in the proper seating posi t ion
¢ page 52, General recommendations.
- If the ai rbag ind icator light
¢ page 19
comes when the veh icle is being used,
have t he system inspe cted immedia t ely
by your aut hori zed Audi d eale r.
It
is pos-
sible t hat the airbag will infla t e when it
is not supposed to, or will not inflate
when it should.
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