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A WARNING ,~
Improperly worn safety belts increase the risk
of serious personal injury and death whenever
a vehicle is being used.
- Always make sure that all vehicle occupants
are correctly restrained and stay in a correct
seating pos ition whenever the vehicle is be
ing used.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important information
r:=;,page 123.
Belt tensioners
How safety belt pretensioners work
In front, side and rear-end collisions above a
particular severity, safety belts are tensioned au
tomatically.
The safety belts are equipped with safety belt
pretensioners. The system is activated by sensors
in front, side and rear-end collisions of great se
verity. This tightens the belt and takes up belt
slack
r::;, .&. in Service and disposal of safety belt
pretensioneron page
127. Taking up the slack
helps to reduce forward occupant movement dur
ing a collision .
(JJ Note
Never let the belt remain over a rear seatback
that has been folded forward.
(D Tips
The safety belt pretensioner can only be acti
vated once.
- In minor frontal and side collisions, in rear
end collisions, in a rollover and in accidents
involving very little impact force, the safety
belt pretensioner are not activated.
- In the case of a side crash, the safety belt
pretensioners will activate on the driver's or
front passenger's sides only, depending on
which side of the vehicle the crash occurs.
- When the safety belt pretensioners are acti
vated, a fine dust is released. This is normal
and is not caused by a fire in the vehicle.
- The relevant safety requirements must be
observed when the vehicle or components
Safety belts
of the system are scrapped . An authorized
Audi dealer or qualified workshop is familiar
with these regulations and will be pleased
to pass on the information to you.
- Be sure to observe all safety, environmental
and other regulations if the vehicle or indi
vidual parts of the system, particularly the safety belt or airbag, are to be disposed. We
recommend you have your authorized Audi
dealer perform this service for you.
Service and disposal of safety belt preten
sioner
The safety belt pretensioners are parts of the
safety belts on your Audi . Installing, removing,
servicing or repairing of belt pretensioners can
damage the safety belt system and prevent it
from working correctly in a collision.
There are some important things you have to
know to make sure that the effectiveness of the
system will not be impaired and that discarded
components do not cause injury or pollute the
environment.
A WARNING
--
Improper care, servicing and repair proce-
dures can increase the risk of personal injury
and death by preventing a safety belt preten
sioner from activating when needed or acti
vating it unexpectedly:
- The belt pretensioner system can be activat
ed only once.
If belt pretensioners have
been activated, the system must be re
placed.
- Never repair, adjust, or change any parts of
the safety belt system.
- Safety belt systems including safety belt
pretensioners cannot be repaired. Special
procedures are required for removal, instal
lation and disposal of this system.
- For any work on the safety belt system, we
strongly recommend that you see your au
thorized Audi dealer or qualified technician
who has an Audi approved repair manual,
train ing and special equipment necessary.
127
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-a small adu lt or teenager is on the front pas
senger seat
- a passenger who is not sitting upright w ith
their back against a non-reclined backrest with
their feet on the vehicle floor in front of the
seat is on the front passenger seat.
I f the front passenger airbag deploys, the Federa l
Standard requires the airbag to meet the " low
risk" deployment criteria to help reduce the risk
of injury through interact ion with the airbag .
"Low risk" deployment occurs in those crashes
that take place at lower decelerations as defined
in the electron ic control unit.
c:> page 139
Alway s remember: Even though your vehicle is
equ ipped w ith Advanced A irbags, the safest place
for children is properly restrained on the back
seat. Please be sure to read the important infor mat ion in the sections that follow and be sure to
h eed a ll of the WARNINGS.
.&, WARNING
To reduce the risk of injury whe n an airbag in
flates, always wear sa fety belts proper ly.
- If you are unres trained, lean ing fo rward, sit
t ing s ideways or out of position in any way,
yo ur risk of in jury is much higher.
- You w ill also receive serious inju ries and
cou ld even be killed if you are up against the
airbag or too close to it when it inflates -
even with an Advanced Airbag
c> page 129.
.&_ WARNING
A child in a rearward-facing child safety seat
installed on the front passenger seat will be
ser iously injured and can be killed if the front
airbag inflates -even with an Advanced A irbag
System .
- Although the Advanced Airbag System in
your vehicle is designed to turn off the front
airbag when a rearward-facing child re
straint has been installed on the front pas senger seat, nobody can abso lutely g uaran
tee that deployment is impossible in a ll con
c eivable s ituations that may happen dur ing
the useful life of you r vehicle .
- The inflating a irbag w ill hit the child safety
sea t or infan t carrier wi th grea t fo rce and
Airbag syste m
will smash the child safety seat and child
aga inst the backrest, center armrest, door,
or roof.
- Always install rearward-facing ch ild re
straints in the back seat.
- If you must install a rearward fac ing child
safety seat on the front passenger seat be
cause of except iona l circumstances and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not
come on and stay on, immediately install
the r ear-facing child safety seat in a rear
seati ng position and have the airbag system
i n spected by yo ur authori zed Audi dealer.
.&_ WARNING
If, in except iona l circumstances, you m ust in
stall a forwa rd-facing child rest ra in t on the
front passenger's seat:
- Always make sure the forward- facing se at
has been des igned and certif ied by its man
ufacturer for use on a front seat with a pas
senger front and s ide a irbag .
- Never p ut the fo rward-facing child restraint
up against or very near the inst rument pan ·
el.
-Always move the passenger seat into its
rea rmost position in the seat's fore and aft
ad justment range, as far away from the a ir
bag as possible, before installing the for
ward-facing child restraint. The backrest must be adjusted to an upr ight position .
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
li ght comes on and stays o n all the time
whenever the ignit ion is switched on.
Advanced Airbag System components
The front passenger seat in you r vehicle has a lot
of ve ry impo rtant parts of the Advanced A irbag
System i n it. These parts in cl ude the we igh t
sensing mat, sensors, w iring, b racke ts, and more.
T he function of the system in the front passenger
seat is checked by the electronic control unit
whe n the ignition is on . The control unit monitors
the Advanced Airbag System and turns the airbag indicator light on when a malfunct ion in the sys
tem components is detected . The function of the
airbag indicator light is described in greater
II>
1 3 5
Airbag syste m
detail below . Because the front passenger seat
contains important parts of the Advanced Airbag
System, you must take care to prevent it from be ing damaged. Damage to the seat may prevent
the Advanced Airbag for the front passenger seat
from doing its job in a crash .
The front Ad vanced Airb ag System con sis ts
of the follow ing :
-Crash sensors in the front of the veh icle that
measure veh icle acceleration/decelerat ion to
provide information to the Advanced Airbag
System about the severity of the crash .
- An electronic control unit, with integrated crash sensors for front and side impacts. The
control un it "decides" whether to fire the front
airbags based on the informa tion rece ived from
the crash sensors. The con trol un it also "de
cides" whether the safety be lt pretensioners
shou ld be activated.
- An Advanced Airbag wi th gas generator and
control valve for the driver inside the steering
whee l hub.
- An Advanced Airbag with gas generator and
control va lve inside the instrument panel for
the front passenger.
- A weight -sensing mat under the upholste ry
padding of the front passenger seat cushion
that measures the total weight on the seat. The information registered is sent continuously to
the electronic control un it to regu late dep loy
ment of the front Advanced Airbag on the pas
senger side.
- An airbag monitoring system and indicator
light in the instrument cluster
r=> page 139.
-A sensor in each front seat registers the dis
tance between the respect ive seat and the
steering wheel or instrument panel. The infor
mation registered is sent cont inuously to the
electron ic co ntro l unit to regulate deployment
of the front Advanced Airbags.
- T he
PA SSENGER AIR B AG OFF light comes on
and stays on in the center of the instrument
pane l
c>page 139, fig . 135 and tells you when
the front Advanced A irbag on the passenger
side has been turned off.
- A sensor below the safety belt la tch for the
front seat passenge r to measure the tension on
136 the safety belt
. The tension on the safety be lt
and the weight registered by the weight-sens
ing mat help the control unit "decide" whether
the front a irbag for the front passenger seat
should be turned
off or not c> page 130, Child
restraints on the front seat -some important
things to know.
- A sensor in the safety belt latch for the driver
and for the front seat passenger that senses
whether that safety belt is latched or not and transm its this info rmat ion to the elect ro ni c
cont ro l unit .
_&. WARNING
Damage to the fron t passenger seat can pre
vent the front a irbag from working properly.
- I mproper repa ir or d isassembly of the front
passenger and driver seat will p revent the
Advanced Airbag System from functioning properly.
- Repairs to the front passenge r seat must be
performed by qualified and properly trained
wo rkshop personne l.
- Never remove the front passenger o r driver
seat from the vehicle .
- Never remove the upho lstery from the front
passenger seat.
- Never d isassemble o r remove par ts from the
seat or disconnect w ires from it.
- Never carry sharp obje cts in yo ur pocke ts or
place them on the seat. If the weight-sens
ing mat in the passenger seat is p unctured
it cannot work properly.
- Never carry things on you r lap or carry ob
jects on the passenger seat. S uch items can
increase the weight registe red by the
weight-sensing mat and send the wrong in formation to the airbag contro l unit.
- Never store items under the front passenger
seat. Parts of the Advanced Airbag System
under the passenger seat could be dam
aged, preventing them and the airbag sys
tem from wo rking prope rly.
- Never p lace seat covers or rep lacement up
holstery that have not been specifically ap
proved by Audi on the front seats.
- Seat covers can prevent the Advanced Air bag System from recogniz ing ch ild
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restraints or occupants on the front passen
ger seat and prevent the side airbag in the
seat backrest from deploying properly.
- Never use cushions, pillows, blankets or
similar items on the front passenger seat.
The additional padding will prevent the
we ight-sensing mat in the seat from accu
rately registering the child rest raint or per
son on the seat and prevent the Advanced
Airbag System from functioning properly.
- If you must use a child restra int on the front
passenge r seat and the child rest rain t man
ufac turer's instructions requ ire the use of a
towel, foam c ushion or someth ing e lse to
properly position the child restraint, make
certain that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on whenever the
child restraint is installed on the front pas
senger seat.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not come on and stay on, immediately in
stall child restra int i n a rear seating position
and have the a irbag system inspected by
your authorized Aud i dealer.
How the Advanced Airbag System
components work together
The front Advanced Airbag System and the s ide
a irbags supplement the protect ion offered by the
front three-point safety belts with pretensioners
and load limiters and the adjustable head re
straints to help reduce the risk of injury in a wide
range of accident and crash situations . Be sure to
read the important information about safety and
heed the WARNINGS in this chapter.
Dep loyment of the Advanced Airbag System and
the act ivation of the safety belt pretensioners de
pend on the deceleration measured by the crash
sensors and registered by the electronic control
un it . Crash sever ity depends on speed a nd decel
e rat ion as well as the mass and st iff ness of the
ve hicle or objec t involved in the crash.
On the passenger s ide, regard less of safety belt
use, the a irbag w ill be turned off if the weight on
the passenge r seat is less than the amount pro
grammed in the electronic con trol un it . The front
Ai rb ag system
airbag on the passenger side will also be turned
off if one of the child safety seats that has been certified under Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard 208 has been recogni zed on the seat .
The
P A SSENGER AIR B AG OFF light comes on
and stays on to tell you when the front Advanced
Airbag on the passenger side has been turned off
q page 130, Child restraints on the front seat -
some important things to know .
_&. WARNING
To reduce the risk of inju ry when an airbag i n
flates, a lways wear safety belts properly.
- If you are unrestra ined, leaning forward, sit
ting sideways or out of posi tion in any way,
your risk of injury is m uch higher.
- You will a lso receive serious injuries and
could even be killed if you are up aga inst the
airbag or too close to it when it inflates -
even with an Advanced Airbag
qpoge 129.
More important things to know about front
airbags
Fi g. 1 34 Inflated fro nt a irbags
-.... N 0 :i:
~
Safety be lts are important to he lp keep front seat
occupants in the proper seated position so that
airbags can unfold properly and provide supple
mental protection in a frontal coll ision.
T he front airbags a re des igned to provide addi
tiona l protection for the chest and face of the
driver and the front seat passenger when:
- safety belts are worn properly,
- t he seats have bee n positioned so tha t the oc-
cupant is properly seated as far as possible
from the airbag, ..,
137
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-Never place or attach accessories or other
objects (such as cupholders, telephone
brackets, large, heavy or bulky objects) on
the doors, over or near the area marked "AIRBAG" on the steer ing wheel, instru
ment pane l, seat backrests or between
those areas and yourse lf. These obje cts
c ou ld cause injury in a crash, especially
when the airbags inflate.
- Never recline the front passenger's seat to
transport objects. Items can also move into
the area of the side airbag or the front air
bag during braking or in a sudden mane u
ver. Objects near the airbags can become projectiles and cause injury, particu larly
when the seat is reclined.
A WARNING
The fine dust created when a irbags deploy can
cause breathing prob lems for people with a
history of asthma or other breathing condi
tions.
- To reduce the r isk of breathing prob lems ,
those w ith asthma or other resp iratory con
ditions should get fresh air r ight away by
gett ing out of the veh icle or opening w in
dows or doo rs.
- If you are in a coll is io n in which a irbags de
ploy, wa sh you r hands and face with mild
soap and w ater before eati ng.
- B e caref ul not to ge t the dust into you r eyes,
o r in to any cuts or s cratc he s.
- If the residue should get into you r eyes,
flush them with water.
Monitoring the
Advanced Airbag System
Airbag monitoring indicator light
Two separate indicators monitor the function of
the Advanced Airbag System: the airbag moni
toring indicator light and the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
light.
The Advanced Airbag System (includ ing the elec
tronic control unit, sensor circuits and system
wir ing) is mon itored cont inuo usly to make sure
that it is funct ion ing properly whenever the ign i-
Ai rb ag system
tio n is on . Each time yo u turn on t he ignit ion, the
II airbag monitoring indicator light wi ll come on
for a few seconds (self diagnostics).
The system must be inspected when th e II
indicator light :
-does not come on when the ignition is sw itched
on,
- does not go out a few seconds after you have switched on the ignition, or
- comes on while driving.
If an airbag system malfunction is detected, the
indica to r li gh t will fi rs t st art flashing to catch the
dr ive r's a tten tion a nd then stay o n cont inuo usly
to serve as a constant reminder to have the sys
tem inspected immediately.
If a malfu nction occurs tha t turn s the front air
bag on the p assenger side off, the PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF light will come on and stay on
whenever the ignition is on.
A WARNING
-
An a irbag system that is not functioning prop-
erly cannot provide supplemental protection i n a frontal crash.
- If the airbag ind icator light r:::;, page 19
comes when the veh icle is being used, have
the system inspected immediately by your
author ized Audi dealer. It is possible that
the airbag will inflate when it is not sup
posed to, or will not inflate when it s hould.
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
Fi g. 1 35 Sect ion from the instru ment pa nel : PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF light
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light is loca ted in
the center of the ins trument panel
r=;, fig . 135. .,..
139
Airbag system
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light will come on
and stay on to tell you when the front Advanced
Airbag on the passenger side has been t urned off
by the electron ic control unit. Each time you turn
on the ignition, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light will flash for a few seconds and:
- will stay on if the front passenger seat is not
occupied,
- will stay on if there is a small child or child re
straint on the front passenger seat,
- will go out if the front passenger seat is occu
pied by an adult as registered by the weight
sensing mat .
The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light must come
on and stay on
if the ignition is on and
- a car bed has been installed on the front seat ,
or
- a rearward-fac ing ch ild restra int has been in
stalled on the front passenger seat, or
- a fo rward-facing child restraint has been instal
led on the front passenger seat, or
- the weight registered on the front passenger
seat is equal to or less than the comb ined
weight of a typical 1 year-old restrained in one
of the rear-facing or forwa rd-facing infant re
straints listed in Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard 208 with which the Advanced Airbag
System in your vehicle was certified .
If the front passenger seat is not occupied, the
front airbag will not deploy, and the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light will stay on. Never install a
rearward -facing chi ld restraint on the front pas
senger seat, the safest place for a child in any
kind of child restraint is at one of the seating po
sitions on the rear seat
c> page 130, Child re
straints on the front seat -some important
things to know
and c> page 151, Child safety.
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
when one of the condit ions listed above is met,
be sure to check the light regularly to make cer
tain that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
stays on continuously whenever the ignition is
on.
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not appear and not stay on all the time, stop as
soon as it is safe to do so and
140
- reactivate the system by turning the ignition off
and then turning it on again ;
- remove and reinstall the child restraint. Make
sure that the child restraint is properly installed
and that the safety belt for the front passenger
seat has been co rrectly routed around the child
restraint as described in the ch ild restra int
manufacturer's instructions;
- make sure that the convertible locking retractor
on the safety belt for the front passenger seat
has been activated and that the safety belt has
been pulled tight. The belt must not be loose or
have loops of s lack so that the sensor below the
safety belt latch on the seat can do its job
<=>page 160.
-make sure that things that may increase the
we ight of the child and child safety seat are not
being transported on the front passenger seat;
- make sure that the safety belt tension sensor is
not blocked. Shake the safety belt latch on the
front passenger seat back and forth;
- If a strap or tethe r is be ing used to tie the child
safety seat to the front passenger seat, make
sure that it is not so tight that it causes the
weight-sensing mat to measure more weight than is actually on the seat.
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light still does
not come on
and does not stay on continuously
(when the ignition is switched on),
- take the child restra int off the front passenger
seat and install it p roperly at one of the rear
seat positions. Have the airbag system inspect
ed by yo ur authorized Audi dealer immediately.
- move the child to a rear seat position and make
sure that the child is properly restrained in a
child restraint that is appropr iate for its size
and age .
The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light sho uld NOT
come on when the ignit ion is on and an ad ult is
sitting in a proper seating position on the front
passenger seat. If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on or flashes for about
5 seconds while dr iv ing, under these c ircumstan
ces, make sure that:
- the adult on the front passenger seat is proper-
ly seated on the center of the seat cushion with ..,.
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@ For the sake of the environment
Undep loyed airbag modu les and pretension
ers might be classified as Perchlorate Mater ial
-special handling may apply, see
www.dtsc.ca.gov/hazardouswaste/perchlo rate. When the vehicle or parts of the re
straint system includ ing a irbag modules safe
ty belts with pretensioners are scrapped, a ll
app licable laws and regu lations must be ob
served. Your author ized Audi dealer is fam iliar
w ith these requirements and we recommend
that you have your 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
performs in a crash. For example, using t ire-rim
comb inat ions not approved by Audi, lowering the
vehicle, chang ing the stiffness of the s uspension,
including the springs, suspension struts, shock
absorbers etc . can change the forces that are
measured by the airbag sensors and sent to the
e lectronic 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 crashes in which it wou ld not deploy if
the changes had not been made . Other kinds of
changes may reduce the force levels measured by
the sensors and prevent the airbag from deploy ing when it should.
A WARNING
Changing the vehicle 's s uspension including
use of unapproved tire-rim combinations can
change Advanced Airbag performance and in
crease the risk of ser ious personal injury in a
crash.
- Never install suspens ion components that
do not have the same performance charac
teristics as the components or iginally instal
led on your veh icle.
- Never use tire-rim combinations that have
not been approved by Audi.
Ai rb ag system
A WARNING
-Items stored between the safety be lt buckle
and the center console can cause the sensors i n the buckle to send the w rong informat ion
to the electronic control module and prevent
the Advanced A irbag System from wor king
properly.
- Always ma ke sure that nothing can interfere
wit h the safety belt buckles a nd that they
are not obstr ucted.
Knee airbags
Description of knee airbags
Appl ies to vehicles: wit h knee airbags
The knee airbag system can provide supplemen
tal protection to properly restrained front seat
occupants.
Fig. 136 Dr iver 's knee ai rbag
T he driver knee airbag is in the instrument panel
u nderneath the steer ing whee l~
fig. 136, the
knee airbag for the passenger is at abou t the
same height in the instrument pane l underneath
the g love compartment.
T he knee airbag offe rs additional p rotection to
the driver's and passenge r's knees and uppe r and
lower thigh areas and supp lements the protec
tion provided by the safety belts.
If the front a irbags dep loy, the knee a irbags also
deploy in fronta l co llisions when the dep loyment
th resho ld stored in the control unit is met
~ page 13 7, More important things to know
about front airbags.
In add ition to their normal sa fety f unct ion, safe-
ty be lts he lp keep the driver or fro nt passenger in .,.
143
Airbag syste m
-the e lectronic control module and external side
impact sensors
- the two side airbags located in the sides of the
front backrests
- the a irbag warning light in the inst rument clus-
ter.
The airbag system is monitored electron ica lly to
make certa in that it is functioning properly at all
times. Each time you tu rn on the ignition, the a ir
bag system indicator light will come on for a few
seconds (se lf diagnostics).
The s ide a irbag system supplements the safety
be lts and can he lp to reduce the r isk of injury to
the driver's and front passenger's upper torso on
the side of the vehicle that is struck in a side col
lision. The airbag dep loys only in side impacts
and only when the vehicle accelerat ion registered
by the control unit is high enough. If this rate is
below the reference value programmed into the
control unit, the side airbags will not be trig
gered, even though the car may be bad ly dam
aged as a result of the coll is ion. It is not poss ible
to define an airbag triggering range that will cov
er every possible ang le o f impact , since the c ir
cumstances wi ll vary considerably between one
collision and another . Important factors include,
for examp le, the nature (hard or soft) of the im
pacting object, the ang le of impact, vehicle
speed, etc. ¢
page 147, Important safety in
structions on the side airbag system .
Aside from their normal safety function, safety
be lts work to help keep the dr iver or front pas
senger in pos it ion in the event of a s ide collision
so that the side a irbags can provide protect ion.
The airbag system is
not a substitute for your
safety belt. Rather, it is part of the overall occu pant restraint system in your vehicle. Always re
member that the s ide airbag system can only
help to protect you if you are wear ing your safety
be lt and wearing it properly . This is another rea
son why you should always wear you r safety
be lts, not j ust because the law requ ires you to do
so ¢
page 121, General information.
It is important to remember that while the sup
p lemental side a irbag system is des igned to re
duce the likelihood of serio us in juries, o ther inj u-
146
ries , fo r example, swelling, bruising, and minor
abrasions can a lso be associated with dep loyed
s ide a irbags. Remember too, side a irbags w ill de
ploy only once and only in certain kinds of acci
dents - your safety belts are always there to offer
protection .
Vehicle damage, repair costs or even the lack of
vehicle damage are not necessarily an indication
of over-sensitive or failed airbag activation . In
some collisions, both front and side airbags may i nflate . Remembe r too, that a irbags w ill deploy
o nl y once and only in certa in kinds of collisions -
you r safety be lts a re a lways there to offer p rotec
t ion in those accidents in wh ich airbags are not
supposed to deploy or when they have a lready
deployed .
The side airbag system will not deploy:
-when the ignit ion is turned off
- in side collisions when the accelerat ion meas -
ured by the sensor is too low
- in front-end collis ions
- in rear-end collisions
- in rollovers.
In some types of accidents the front airbags, side
cu rtain airbags and side a irbags may be triggered
together .
A WARNING
-Safety belts and the airbag system will only
provide protection when occupants are in
the proper seating position¢
page 147.
-If the airbag ind icator light¢ page 19
comes when the veh icle is being used, have
the system inspected immediately by your
author ized Audi dealer. It is possible that
the airbag will inflate when it is not sup
posed to, or will not inflate when it should.