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Remember too, airbags will deploy only once and
only in certain kinds of accidents -your safety
belts are always there to offer protection in those
accidents in which airbags are not supposed to
deploy or when they have already deployed, for
examp le when your vehicle strikes or is struck by
another after the f irst collis ion.
This is just one of the reasons why an airbag is
not a substitute for the safety belt. The airbag
system works most effectively when used with
the safety belts. Therefore, always wear your
safety belts correct ly.
It is important to remember that while the sup-
plemental knee a irbag system is designed to re-
duce the likelihood of serious injuries, other inju-
ries , for example, swelling, bruising and minor
ab rasions and friction burns can also occu r when
an airbag inflates.
The knee airbag system basically consists of:
- The electronic control module
- Two inflatable airbags (airbag and gas genera-
tor), one for the driver and one for the front
passenger
- The airbag indicator light in the instrument
panel
The knee airbag system will not deploy:
- when the ign ition is switched off
- in frontal collisions when the deceleration
measured by the control unit is too low
- in side collisions
- in rear-end collisions
- in rollovers
- in the event of a system malfunction (warning/
indicator light is on)
cf;>
page 18.
A
WARNING
- Safety belts and the airbag system can only
provide protection when occupants are in
the proper seating position
cf;>
page 151.
- If the airbag indicato r light
c:::>
page 18
comes when the vehicle is be ing used, have
the system inspected immed iat e ly by your
authorized Audi dealer. It is possible that
the airbag will inf late when it is not s up-
posed to, or will not inflate when it should.
Airbag
system
How knee airbags work
App lies t o vehic les : with knee airbags
The risk of injury to the leg area can be reduced
by fully inflated knee airbags .
Fig. 161
Inflated airbags protecting in a fronta l collision
The knee airbag system has been designed so
that the airbags for the driver and front passen-
ger dep loy in certain but not all fronta l collisions.
If the front airbags deploy, the knee airbags also
deploy in frontal coll ision s when the deployment
threshold stored in the control unit is met .
When the system deploys, the airbags fill with a
propellant gas, and inflat e between t he lower
part of the instrument panel and the driver and
the lower part of the instr ument panel and the
front passenger
c:;>
page 151, fig. 158.
Although they are not a soft pillow, they can
"cushion" the impact and in this way they can
help to reduce the risk of injury to the lower ex-
tremities.
All of th is takes place in th e blink of an eye, so
fa st that many people don't even real ize that the
airbags have deployed. The airbags a lso inflate
with a great deal of force and it is important for
occupant safety that nothing should be in their
way when they deploy.
Fully inflated airbags in combination with proper-
ly worn safety belts slow down and limit the oc-
cupant's forward movement and help to reduce
the risk of injury.
159
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