2017 AUDI A5 CABRIOLET control

Airbag syste m
Front airbags
Description of front airbags
The airbag system can provide supplemental
protection to properly restrained front seat occu­
pants.
Fig. 146 Location of driver airbag: in steering whee l
Fig. 147 Location of front passenger's airbag: in the in­
strument panel
Your veh icle is equipped with an "Advanced Air­
bag System" in compliance with Un ited States
Federa l Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
(FMVSS)
208, as well as Canada Motor Vehicle
Safety Sta ndard (CMVSS)
208 as app licable at
the time your vehicle was manufactured. The
safety belts for the seats have "pretensioners"
that help to take slack out of the belt system.
The pretensioners are also activated by the elec­
tronic control unit for the airbag system.
The front safety be lts also have load limiters to
help reduce the forces applied to the body in a
crash.
The airbag for the driver is in the steering wheel
hub
<=>fig . 146 and the airbag for the front pas­
senger is in the instrument panel<=>
fig. 147. The
general location of the airbags is marked "AIR­
BAG".
1 34
There is a lot you need to know about the airbags
in your vehicle . We urge you to read the detailed
i nformation about airbags, safety belts and child
safety in this and the other chapters that make
up the owner's literature. Please be sure to heed
the WARNINGS -they are extremely important
for your safety and the safety of your passengers,
especially infants and small children .
.&_ WARNING -
Never rely on airbags alone for prote ct ion.
- Even when they deploy, airbags provide only supp lemental protection.
- Airbag work most effectively when used with properly worn safety be lts.
- Therefore, always wear your safety belts and make sure that everybody in your veh icle is
properly restrained .
.&_ WARNING
A person on the front passenger seat, espe­
cially infants and small ch ildren, wi ll receive
serious inju ries and can even be killed by be­
ing too close to the airbag when it inf lates.
- Although the Advanced Airbag System in
-
your vehicle is designed to turn off the front passenger airbag i f an infant or a small child
is on the front passenger seat, nobody can
absolutely guarantee that deployment un­
der these special conditions is impossible in
all conceivable situations that may happen
during the useful life of your vehicle.
- The Advanced Airbag System can deploy in
accordance with the "low risk" option under
the U.S. Federal Standard if a child that is
heav ier than the typical one-year old ch ild is
on the front passenger seat and the other
conditions for airbag deployment are met.
- Accident statistics have shown that children are generally safer in the rear seat area than
in the front seat ing pos ition.
- For their own safety, all chi ld ren, especially
12 years and younger, should always ride in
the back proper ly restrained for their age
and size .

a:,
a:,
...... N r--. N ...... 0
0
LL 00
Advanced front airbag system
Your vehicle is equipped with a front Advanced
Airbag System in compliance with Un ited States
F edera l Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208, as
well as Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
(CMVSS) 208 as applicable at the time your vehi­
cle was manufactured .
The front Advanced Airbag System supp lements
the safety belts to provide additional protection
for the driver 's and front passenger's heads and
upper bodies in frontal crashes . The airbags in­
f late only in frontal impacts when the veh icle de­
cele rat ion is high enough.
The front Advanced Airbag System for the front
seat occupants is not a substitute for your safety be lts . Rather, it is part of the overall occupant re­
s tra int system in your vehicle. Always remember
that the airbag system can on ly help to protect
you, if you are sitting upr ight, wear ing your safe­
ty belt and wear ing it prope rly . This is why you
and your passengers must always be prope rly re­
stra ined, not just beca use the law req uires yo u to
be .
The Advanced Airbag System in your veh icle has
been ce rtified to meet the "low r is k" requi re­
ments fo r 3 and 6 ye ar-old children o n the pas­
senger side and very sma ll adults on the drive r
side . The low risk dep loyment cr iteria are intend­
ed to help reduce the risk of injury through inter­
action with the front a irbag that can occur, for
examp le, by being too close to the steering wheel
and instrument panel when the airbag inflates .
In addition , the system has been certified to
comp ly with the "suppression" requi rements of
the Safety Standard, to turn off the front a irbag
for i nfants 12 months old and younger who are
restrained on the front passenger seat in child re ­
stra ints that are listed in the Standa rd
¢ page 152, Child restraints and Advanced Air­
bags.
"Suppress ion" requ ires the front a irbag on the
passenger side to be turned off if:
- a ch ild up to about one year of age is restra ined
on the front passenger seat in one of the rear­
facing or forward -fac ing infant restra ints listed
Airb ag sys tem
in Federal Motor Veh icle Safety Standard 208
with which the Advanced Airbag System in your
veh icle was certif ied. For a List ing of the child
restraints that were used to certify your vehi ­
cle's compliance with the US Safety Standard
¢ page 152,
-weight less than a threshold level stored in the
con trol un it is detected on the front passenger
seat .
When a person is detected on the front passen­ ger seat, weighing more than the total weight of
a chi ld that is about
1 year old restra ined in one
of the rear-facing or forward -fac ing infant re ­
straints (listed in Federal Motor Veh icle Safety
Standard 208 with w hich the Advanced A irbag
System in your veh icle was certified), the front
airbag on the passenge r side may o r may not de­
ploy .
T he
PAS SENGER AIR BAG OFF lig ht comes o n
whe n the elect ronic con trol uni t detects a tota l
weight on the fron t passenger sea t th at req uires
the front a irbag to be turned off . If the
PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on, the
front airbag on the passenger side has not been
turned off by the control unit and can dep loy if
the control unit senses an impact that meets the
condit io ns stored in its memory .
If the total weight on the front passenger seat is
more than that of a typica l 1 year-old, but less
than the weight of a small adult, the front airbag
o n the passenger s ide may deploy (the
PAS SEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on) .
For example , the ai rb ag may deploy if :
- a small ch ild that is heav ier than a typ ica l 1
yea r-o ld child is on the front passenger seat
(regard less of whether the child is in one of the
child safety seats listed
¢ page 152),
- a child who has outgrown c hild restraints is on
the front passenger seat.
If the front passenge r a irbag is t urned off, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light in the center of
the instr ument pane l wi ll come on and stay on .
T he front airbag on the passenger s ide m ay
not
deploy (the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not illuminate and stay lit) if: ..,.
135

Airbag syste m
-a small adu lt or teenager is on the front pas ­
senger seat
- a passenger who is not sitting upright with
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 dep loys, the Feder ­
al Standard requires the airbag to meet the "low
risk" deployment criteria to help reduce the risk
of injury through interaction with the airbag.
"Low risk" deployment occurs in those crashes
that take place at lower decelerations as def ined
in the electronic control unit.¢
page 140
Alway s remember: Even though your vehicle is
equ ipped w ith Advanced Airbags, 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
heed a ll of the WARN INGS.
A WARNING
To red uce the risk of inj ury when an ai rbag in­
fla tes, a lways wear safety bel ts p roperly.
- If you are unrestrained, leaning fo rwa rd, s it­
t ing s ideways or o ut of pos ition in any way,
yo ur risk of in jury is much h igher .
- Yo u will also re ceive serious injur ies 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¢
page 130.
A WARNING
A child in a rearward-facing chi ld safety seat
installed on the front passenger seat wi ll be
ser iously injured and can be killed if the front
airbag inflates - even w ith an Advanced Airbag
System.
- Although the Advanced A irbag 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 absolutely g uaran­
tee that deployment is impossible in all con­
ceivable s ituations that may happen during
the usef ul life of your vehicle .
- The inflating a irbag w il l hit the child safety
seat or infant c arrier wi th great force and
136
w ill smash the child safety seat and child
aga inst the back rest, center armrest, door,
or roof.
- Always install rearward-facing child re­
straints in the back seat.
- If you must install a rearward facing child
safety seat on the front passenger seat be­
cause of exceptional circumstances and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not
come on and stay on, immediately install
the rea r-facing child safety seat in a rear
seating posi tion and have the ai rbag system
inspected by your au thori zed Au di dealer.
A WARNING
If, in exceptional ci rcums tances, you must in­
stall a forw ard-facing child res traint on the
front passenger's seat:
- Always make sure the forward-fa cing sea t
has been des igned and certified by its man ­
ufacturer for use on a front seat with a pas­
senger front and side airbag.
- Never put the fo rward -facing child restraint
up against or very nea r the instrument pan ·
el.
-Always move the passenge r seat into its
rearmost position in the seat's fo re and aft
ad justment range, as far away from the a ir­
bag as poss ible, before install ing the for­
ward-facing chi ld restraint. The backrest
m ust be adjusted to an upr ight position.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
li ght comes on and stays on all t he time
wheneve r the ign it ion is switched on.
Advanced Airbag System components
The fro nt passenge r seat i n your veh icle has a lot
of ve ry important parts of the Advanced A irbag
System i n it. These parts incl ude t he weight­
sens ing mat, senso rs, wir ing, bracke ts, and
more . The f unction o f the system in the front
passenger seat is checked by the electro nic con­
tro l unit when the ignition is on . The control unit
monitors the Advanced Airbag System and turns
the airbag ind icator light on when a malfunction
i n the system components is detected. The func-
tion of the a irbag ind icator light is described in .,_

a:,
a:,
...... N r--. N ...... 0
0
LL 00
greater detail below. Because the front passen­
ger seat contains important parts of the Ad­
vanced A irbag System, you must take care to pre ­
vent it from being 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 S ystem con sis ts
of the follo wing :
-Crash sensors in the front of the vehicle that
measure vehicle acceleration/decelerat io n 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
contro l unit "decides" whether to fire the front
airbags based on the information received from
the crash sensors. The control unit also "de ­
cides" whether the safety be lt pretensioners
shou ld be activated.
- An Advanced Airbag with gas generator and
contro l valve for the driver inside the steering
whee l hub .
- An Advanced Airbag with gas generator and
contro l valve inside the instrument pane l for
the front passenger.
- A weight -sensing mat under the upho lstery
padding of the front passenger seat cushion
that measures the total weight on the seat . The
information registered is sent continuously to
the electron ic control unit to regulate deploy­
ment of the front Adva need A irbag on the pas­
senger side.
- An airbag monitoring system and indicator
light i n the instrument cluster
¢page 140.
-A sensor in each front seat registers the dis­
tance between the respective seat and the
steering wheel or instrument panel. The infor­
mation reg istered is sent cont inuous ly to the
electronic control unit to regulate deployment
of the fro nt Adv a need A irbags.
- T he
PASS EN GE R AIR BAG OFF light comes on
and stays on in the center of the instrument
pane l¢
page 140, fig . 149 and tells you when
the front Advanced Airbag on the passenge r
side has been turned off.
- A sensor below the safety belt latch fo r the
front seat passenger to meas ure the tension on
Airb ag sys tem
the sa fety belt. The tension on the safety belt
and the weight registered by the weight-sens­
ing mat help the control unit "decide" whether
the front airbag for the front passenger seat
should be turned off or not¢
page 131, 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
transmits this information to t he electronic
cont rol un it.
_& WARNING
Damage to the front passenge r seat can pre­
vent the front airbag from working properly.
- Imp roper repair or disassembly of the front
passenger and driver seat will p revent the
Advanced Airbag System from f unctioning
properly.
- Repairs to the front passenger seat must be
performed by qualified and properly trained
workshop personne l.
- Never remove the front passenger or driver
seat from the vehicle.
- Never remove the upholstery from the front
passenger seat.
- Never d isassemble o r remove par ts from the
seat o r disconnect w ires from it.
- Never carry sh arp objects in your pocke ts or
p lace them on the seat. If the weight-sens­
ing mat in the passenger seat is punctu red
it cannot work proper ly.
- Never carry things on your lap or carry ob­
jects on the passenger seat. S uch items can
increase the weight reg istered by the
weight-sensing mat and send the wrong in­
formation to the airbag control unit.
- Never store items under the front passenger
seat. Parts of the Advanced Airbag System
under the passenger seat could be dam­
aged, p reventing them and the airbag sys­
tem from working p roper ly.
- Never p lace seat covers or replacement up­
holstery that have not been specifically ap­
p roved by A udi on the front seats.
- Seat covers can prevent the Advanced A ir­
bag System from recognizing chi ld
137

Airbag syste m
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
weight-sens ing mat in the seat from accu­
rately reg istering the ch ild restraint or per­
son on the seat and prevent the Advanced
Airbag System from funct ioning prope rly.
- If you must use a child restraint on the front
passenge r seat and the child restraint man­
ufact urer's instructions require the use of a
towel, foam cushion or something else to properly position the chi ld restraint, make
certain that the
PASSENGER A IR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on whenever the
child restraint is installed on the front pas­
senger seat.
- If the
PAS SENGER AIR BAG O FF light does
not come on and stay on, immediately in­
stall child restraint in a rear seating position and have the airbag system inspected by
you r authorized Aud i deale r.
How the Advanced Airbag System
components work together
The front Advanced Airbag System and the side
ai rbags supplement the protection offered by the
front three-point safety belts with pretensioners and load limiters and the adjustable head re ­
stra ints to help reduce the r isk 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 th is chapter .
Deployment of the Advanced Airbag System and
the activation of the safety belt pretensioners de­
pend on the deceleration measured by the crash
sensors and registered by the electronic control
unit . Crash severity depends on speed and decel­
eration as we ll as the mass and stiffness of the
vehicle or object involved in the crash.
On the passenger s ide, regardless of safety belt
use, the a irbag will be t urned off if the weight on
the passenge r seat is less than the amount p ro­
g rammed in the e lectron ic cont rol unit . T he front
1 38
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 recogn ized on the seat.
The
PAS SEN GER AI R BA G OFF light comes on
and stays on to te ll you when the front Advanced
Airbag on the passenger side has been turned off
¢ page 131, Child restraints on the front seat ­
some important things to know .
.&_ WARNING
To reduce the risk of injury when an airbag in­
f lates, always wear safety belts properly.
- I f you are unrestrained, leaning forward, sit­
ting sideways or ou t of position in any way,
your ris k of injury is much highe r.
- You will a lso receive ser ious injuries and
could even be killed if yo u are up against the
airbag or too close to i t when it inflates -
even with an Advanced Airbag
r::!;>page 130.
More important things to know about front
airbags
Fig. 14 8 Inflated front a irbags
-,... N 0 :i: ;;i;
Safety be lts are important to help keep front
seat occupants in the proper seated position so
that airbags can unfo ld properly and prov ide sup­
plemental protection in a fronta l co llision.
The front airbags a re designed to provide addi­
tional protection for the chest and face of the driver and the front seat passenger when:
- safety belts are worn properly,
- t he seats have been positioned so that the oc-
cupant is properly seated as far as possib le
from the airbag,
Ill-

The PASSENGER AIR BAG O FF light is located in
the c enter of the instrument panel¢
fig. 149 .
The PASS ENGER AIR BAG OFF light will come on
and stay on to tell you when the front Advanced
Airbag on the passenger side has been turned off
by the el ectronic control unit . Each time you turn
on the ignition, the
P ASSENGER 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 the re is a sma ll child or child re­
straint on the front passenger seat,
- wi ll go out if the front passenge r seat is occu ­
pied by an adult as registered by the weight­
sensing mat .
The
PA SSENGER AIR BAG O FF light mu st c ome
on and sta y on
if the igni tion is on and
- a car bed has been insta lled on the front seat,
o r
- a rearward-facing child restrai nt has been in­
stalled on the front passenger seat , or
- a forward -facing child restra int has been instal ­
led on the front passenger seat, or
- the weight reg istered on the front passenger
seat is equal to or less than the comb ined
weight of a typical 1 yea r-o ld restrained in one
of the rear-facing or forward-fac ing infant re­
strain ts listed in Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard 208 w ith which the Advanced A irbag
System in your vehicle was certified.
I f the front passenger seat is no t occupied, the
fron t air bag w ill not deploy, and the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light will stay on . Never install a
rearward -fac ing child restraint on the front pas ­
senger s eat, the safest p lace for a child in any
kind of child restraint is at one of the seating po­
sitions on the rear seat ¢
page 131, Child re­
s train ts on the front sea t-some impor tan t
things to know
and ¢ page 1 SO, 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-
gi tain that the PASSENGER AIR BA G OFF light ......
~ stays on cont inuously whenever the ign ition is
~ on . If the PASSENGER A IR BAG OFF lig ht does
0 LL 00
Airb ag sys tem
not appear and not stay on all the time, stop as
soon as it is safe to do so and
- react ivate the system by tur ning t he ignit ion
off and then t urn ing it on again ;
- remove and re insta ll th e chi ld restrain t. M ake
sure that the chi ld restraint is properly ins ta l­
led and that the safety belt for the front pas­
senger seat has bee n correct ly routed around
the child restraint as desc ribed in the c hild re­
straint manufacture r's instruct ions;
- make sure that the convertible locking retrac­
tor on the safety belt for the front passenge r
seat has been activated and that the safety belt
has been pulled tight. The belt must not be
loose or have loops of slack so that the sensor
below the safety belt latch on the seat can do its job
¢ page 159.
-make sure that th ings that may increase the
weight of the child and ch ild safety seat are not
be ing transported on the front passenger seat ;
- make sure that the safety belt tens ion sensor is
not b locked . Shake the safety belt la tch on the
front passenger seat bac k and forth;
- If a strap or tether is being used to tie the child
safety seat to the front passenger seat, make
sure that it is not so tight t hat i t causes the
weight-sensing mat to me asu re more weight
than is actua lly on the sea t.
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light still do es
not come on
and does not stay on co nti nuously
(whe n the ignition is switched on),
- take the child restraint off the front passenge r
seat and install it p roper ly at one of the rear
seat pos itions . Have the airbag system inspect­
ed by yo ur au thori zed Aud i deale r immedi ately .
- move the child to a rear seat pos ition and ma ke
sure that t he chi ld is proper ly rest rained in a
child restra int that is appropr iate for its s ize
and age .
T he
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF lig ht should NOT
come on when the ignit io n is on and an adu lt is
s itting in a prope r seat ing pos ition on the front
passenge r seat. If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on or flashes for about
5 seconds whi le dr iv ing, under these c ircumstan-
ces, make sure that :
Ill-
141

Airbag system
@ For the sake of the environment
Undeployed airbag modu les and pretension­
ers might be classified as Perchlorate Materi­
al -special handling may apply, see
www.dtsc.ca.gov/hazardouswaste/perchlo­ rate . When the vehicle or parts of the re­
straint system including airbag modules safe­
ty belts with pretens ioners are scrapped, all
applicable laws and regulat ions must be ob­
served. Your authorized Audi dealer is familiar
with 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
cha nge the way that the Advanced Airbag System
pe rforms in a crash. For example, using tire-r im
comb inat ions not approved by Audi, lower ing the
veh icle, changing the stiffness of the suspens ion,
including the spr ings, suspension struts, shock
absorbers etc . can change the forces that are
measured by the airbag sensors and sent to the
electronic control unit . Some suspens ion changes
can, for example, increase the force levels meas­
ured by the sensors and make the airbag system
deploy in crashes in wh ich it would not deploy if
the changes had not been made. Other ki nds of
changes may reduce the force levels measured by
the sensors and preven t the airbag from deploy­
ing when it should .
A WARNING
Changing the vehicle's suspension including
use of unapproved tire-rim combinations can
change Advanced A irbag performance and in ­
crease the risk of serious personal injury in a
crash.
- Never install suspension components that
do not have the same performance charac­
teristics as the components originally insta l­
led on your veh icle .
- Never use tire-rim comb inations that have
not been approved by Audi.
144
A WARNING
Items stored between the safety belt buckle
and the center console can cause the sensors in the buckle to send the wrong information
to the electronic control module and prevent
the Advanced A irbag System from working
properly.
- Always make sure that nothing can inte rfe re
w ith the safety belt buckles and that they
are not obstructed.
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.
Fig. 150 Driver's knee a irbag
The driver knee airbag is in the instrument panel
underneath the steering whee l~
fig. 150, the
knee airbag for the passenger is at about the
same height in the instrument panel underneath
the g love compartment.
The knee airbag offers additional protection to
the driver's and passenger's knees and uppe r and
l ower thigh areas and supp lements the protec­
tion provided by the safety belts .
If the front airbags deploy, the knee airbags also
deploy in frontal collis ion s when the deployment
th reshold stored in the control unit is met
~ page 138, More important things to know
about front airbags.
In addition to their normal safety funct ion, safe-
ty belts help keep the driver or front passenger in
IJJ>

position in a frontal collision so that the airbags
can provide supplemental protection.
The airbag system is not a s ubst itute for yo ur
safety belt. Rather, it is part of the overa ll occu­
pant restraint system in your vehicle. Always re­
member that the airbag system can only help to
protect you if you are wearing your safety belt
and wear ing it properly . This is why you should
always wear your safety belt, not just because
the law requires you to do soc::,
page 122, Gener ­
al information.
Remember too, airbags will deploy only once and
only in certain k inds of accidents -your safety
be lts
a re always there to offer protection in those
accidents in which airbags are not supposed to
deploy or when they have a lready dep loyed, for
examp le when yo ur vehicle str ikes or is str uck by
anothe r afte r the f irst collis ion.
This is just one of the reasons why an airbag is
not a substitute for the safety belt. The a irbag
sys tem wo rks most effec tively when used with
the safety belts. Therefore , al ways wear your
safety bel ts cor rect ly .
It is important to remember that while the sup­
p lemental knee a irbag sys tem is designed to re­
d uce the like lihood of serious injur ies, other inju­
ries, fo r example, swell ing, b ruising, and m inor
abrasions and fr iction burns can also occu r when
an airbag inflates.
The kne e airbag system basically consists of:
- The electronic contro l modu le
- Two inf latab le airbags (airbag and gas genera-
tor), one for the dr ive r and one fo r the front
passenge r
- T he airbag ind icator light in the instrument
pane l
The knee airbag system will not deploy:
-when the ignition is turned off
- in frontal collisions when the deceleration
measured by the control unit is too low
- in side collisions
~ -in rear-end collisions ......
~ -in rollovers N ...... 0
0
LL co
Airb ag sys tem
-in the event of a system malfunction (warning/
indicator light is on)
c::, poge 17.
A WARNING
-
-Safety belts and the airbag system can only
provide protect ion when occupants are in
the proper seat ing pos ition c::,
page 138.
-If the airbag indicator light c::, page 17
comes w hen 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 w ill not inflate w hen it should.
How knee airbags work
Applies to: vehicles with knee airbags
The risk of injury to the leg area can be reduced
by fully deployed knee airbags.
F ig . 15 1 Inflated ai rbags protecting in a fronta l co llision
T he knee air bag system has been designed so
t h at the airbags fo r the driver and front passen­
ger dep loy in certain but not all fronta l co llisions.
If t he front airbags deploy, the knee a irbags also
deploy in frontal coll is ions when t he deploy ment
th reshold stored in the cont rol unit is met .
When the system deploys, the a irbags fi ll with a
prope llant gas, and infla te between the lower
part o f the instrument panel and t he driver an d
the lowe r part of the instrument panel and the
front passenger
c::, page 138, fig . 148 .
Although they are not a soft pillow, they can
cush io n the impact and in th is way they can help
to red uce the risk of in jury to the lower extremi-
ties . ""
145