Airb ag syst em
@ For the sake of the environment
Undep loyed airbag modu les and pretension
ers m ight be classified as Perchlorate Mater ia l
-special handling may apply, see
www.dtsc.ca.gov/hazardouswaste/perchlo rate. When the vehicle or parts of the re
straint system including a irbag modules safe
ty belts with pretensioners are scrapped, all
app licab le laws and regu lations must be ob
served. Your authori zed A udi dealer is fami lia r
w ith these requirements and we recommend
that you have yo ur dealer perform this service
for you.
Other things that can affect Advanced
Airbag performance
Changing the vehicle 's suspension system can
change the way that the Advanced A irbag System
pe rforms in a crash. For example, using t ire-rim
comb inat ions not approved by Audi, lowering the
ve hicl e, chang ing the stiffness of the suspension,
including the spr ings, suspension s truts, shock
absorbers etc . can change the forces that are
measured by the airbag sensors and sent to the
electronic control un it. Some suspension changes
can, for example, increase the force levels meas
ured by the sensors and make the airbag system
deploy in c rashes in which it wo uld not deploy if
the changes had not been made. Other ki nds of
changes may reduce the force levels measured by
the sensors and preve nt the airbag from deploy
i n g when i t should .
A WARNING
Changing the vehicle's s uspension including
use of unapproved ti re -rim comb inations can
change Advanced A irbag pe rformance and in
crease t he risk of serious persona l injury in a
crash.
- Never install suspension components that do not have the same performance charac
teristics as the components or iginally insta l
led on your veh icle.
- Never use tire-rim combinations that have
not been approved by Audi.
146
A WARNING
Items stored between t he safety be lt b uckle
and the center console can cause the sensors i n the buckle to send the wrong informat ion
to the electronic control module a nd prevent
the Adva nced Airbag System from wor king
properly.
- Always ma ke sure that nothing can interfere
w it h the safe ty belt bu ckles an d that they
are no t obstr ucted.
Knee airbags
Description of knee airbags
Applies to vehicles: with knee airbags
The knee airbag system can provide supplemen
tal protection to properly restrained front seat
occupants.
F ig. 151 Driver"s kn ee airbag
The driver knee airbag is i n the instrument panel
u nderneath the steer ing whee l~
fig. 151, the
k nee a irbag for the passenger is at abou t the
same height in the instrument pane l unde rneath
the g love compartment.
The knee air bag offers addi tional protec tion to
t h e d river 's and passenge r's knees and uppe r and
l ower thigh areas and supplements the protec
tion provided by the safety belts.
If t he front airbags dep loy, the knee a irbags also
deploy in fro ntal c ollisions when the dep loyment
th reshold stored in the control un it is me t
~ page 140, More important things to know
about front airbags.
In add it ion to their normal sa fe ty f unct io n, safe-
ty be lts he lp keep the driver or front passenger in ..,.
