Other things that can affect Advanced
Airbag performance
Changing the vehicle's suspension system can
change the way that the Advanced Airbag Sys
tem performs in a crash. For example, us ing
tire-r im combinations not approved by Aud i,
lowering the vehicle, changing the stiffness of
the suspension, including the springs, suspen sion struts, shock absorbers etc. can change
the forces that are measured by the a irbag
se nsors and sent to the electron ic control
u ni t. Some suspens ion changes c an, for exam
p le, increase the force levels measured by the
sensors and make the airbag system deploy in
crashes in w hic h it would not dep loy if the
changes had not been made. Other k inds of
changes may reduce the force levels meas
ured by the sensors and prevent the airbag
from deploying when it shou ld .
The sensors in the safety belt buckle for the
driver and front passenger seat tell the elec
tronic control module if the safety belt is
l atched or not. If the safety belt is being used,
the front airbag will deploy at a slightly high
e r rate of vehicl e deceleration than if the safe
ty belt is not being used. Therefore, in a par
ticular co llision, it is poss ible th at an a irbag
will not deploy at a seating position where the
safety be lt is bei ng used but will inflate at the
position whe re the safety belt is not being
used. It is important that nothing interfere
with the safety belt buckles so t hat the sen
sors can send the correct information about
safety belt use to the electron ic cont rol unit.
A WARNING
Cha nging the vehicle's s uspension inclu d
ing use of u napproved t ire-rim comb ina
ti ons can change Advan ced A irb ag pe r
formance and incre ase the risk of ser io us
personal in jury in a crash.
- Never ins tall suspe nsion compone nts
t h at d o not h ave the same per forman ce
characteristics as the components origi
nally installed on you r vehicle .
- Never use t ire-r im combinat ions that
have not bee n approved by A udi.
A irba g sy stem 13 7
A WARNING
Items stored between the safety be lt
buckle and the center console can cause
the sensors in the b uckle to send the
wrong informa tion to the e lectronic con
trol module a nd prevent t he A dvan ced Air
bag System from wo rking properly.
- Always ma ke sure t ha t nothing can inter
fe re wi th the safety belt buckles and that
t hey are not obs truc te d .
Side airbags
Description of side airbags
The airbag system can provide supplemental
protection to properly restrained occupants.
Fi g. 135 Side a irbag location in t he drive r's seat
The side airbags are located in the sides of the
front seat backrests~
fig. 135 and the rear
back rest* facing the doors . Th ey are id entified
by the wo rd "AIRBAG".
The side airbag sy stem basically consi st s of :
-the electron ic control modu le and external
side impact sensors
- the two side airbags located in the s ides of
the front backrests
- two rear side airbags (as an ordered
option)
- t he airbag warn ing light in the ins trument
cl uste r.
T he airbag system is mo nitored e lec tronically
t o m ake ce rtain tha t it is fu nction ing p ro perl y
at all times . Each time you turn on the ig ni
tion, the airbag system indicator light will
come on for a few seconds (self diagnostics) . ..,.
