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- the two side airbags located in the sides of the
front backrests
- two rear side airbags
- the a irbag warning light in the inst rument clus-
te r.
The airbag system is monitored electronically to
make certain that it is functioning properly at all
times. Each time you sw itch on the ign it ion, the
a irbag syst em indicator light will come on for a
few seconds (self diagnostics).
The side a irbag system supp lements the safety
be lts and can he lp to reduce the risk of injury to
the dr iver's, front a nd rear passenger's upper to r-
so on the side of the vehicle that is struck in a
side col lision . The airbag dep loys only in side im-
pacts and on ly when the vehicle acceleration reg-
istered by the control un it is high enough. If this
rate is below the reference value programmed
in-
to the control un it, the s ide curta in a irbag w ill
not be triggered, even though the car may be
badly damaged as a result of the collision.
It
is
not possib le to define an airbag triggering range
that will cover eve ry poss ible angle of impa ct,
since t he circums t ances will vary considerab ly be-
tween one collision and a nother. Impo rtant fac-
tors incl ude, fo r example, the nature (hard or
soft) of the impacting object, the ang le of im-
pact, vehicle speed, etc .
c>
page 164, Important
safety instructions on the side airbag system.
Aside from their normal safety function, safety
be lts work to he lp keep the driver or front pas-
senger in position in the event of a side collision
so that the s ide a irbags can provide protection.
The airbag system is
not
a substitute 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 s ide airbag system can only
help to protect you if you are wearing your safety
belt and wea ring it properly . This is another rea-
son why you shou ld always wear your safety
be lts, not just because the law requ ires yo u to do
so
c>
page 138, General information.
It is important to remember that wh ile the sup-
plemental side a irbag system is designed to re-
duce t he like lihood of serious injur ies, other inju-
ries, fo r example, swell ing, bruising, a nd m inor
Airb a g sys tem
abras ions can also be assoc iated wit h deployed
side airbags . Remember too, side airbags will de-
ploy only once and only in ce rtain kinds of acci-
dents - yo ur safety belts are always there to offer
protect ion.
Vehicle damage, repair costs or even the lack of
vehicle damage are not necessar ily an ind ication
of over-sens it ive or fa iled a irbag activation. In
some collisions, both front and side airbags may
inflate . Remember too, that a irbags w ill deploy
only once and only in certai n kinds of collisions -
you r safety belts are always there to offer protec-
t io n in t hose accide nts in wh ich airbags are no t
supposed to deploy o r when t hey have al ready
deployed.
The side airbag system will not deploy:
- when t he ignit ion is switched off
- in side co llisions whe n the acceleration meas-
ured by the sensor is too low
- in front-end collis ions
- in rear -end co llisions
- in rollovers.
In some types of accidents t he front a irbags, side
curt ain airbags a nd side air bags may be t riggered
togethe r.
.&,
WARNING
~
- Safety belts and the airbag system will only
provide protect ion when occupants are in
the proper seat ing pos ition
c>
page 164.
- If the ai rbag ind icator light
c>
page 18
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.
163
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