2017 AUDI A7 steering

Airbag syste m
Airbag system
Important information
Importance of wearing safety belts and
sitting properly
Airbags are only supplemental restraints . For
airbags to do their job, occupants must always
properly wear their safety belts and be in a prop ­
er seating position.
For your safety and the safety of your passen­
ge rs , before driving off, always :
"' Adjust the driver's seat and steering wheel
properly ¢
page 130,
"'Adjust the front passenge r's seat properly
¢ page 48,
"'Wear safety belts p roperly ¢ page 142 ,
"'Always properly use the proper child restraint
to protect children
¢ page 172.
In a coll is io n, airbags mus t inflate within the
blink of an eye and wi th considerab le force. The
supp lemental airbags can cause injuries if the
driv er or th e front s eat passeng er is not s eated
properly. Therefore in order to he lp the airbag to
do its job, it is important, both as a dr iver and as
a passenger to sit properly at all t imes.
By keeping room between your body and the
steering whee l and the front of the passenger
compartment, the a irbag can inflate fully and
completely and provide supplemental protect ion
in certain frontal collisions¢
page 130, Correct
passenger seating positions .
For details on the
operation of the seat adjustment con trols
¢ page 48.
It's especially important that children are proper ­
ly restra ined
¢ page 172 .
There is a lot that the driver and the passengers
can and must do to help the ind iv idual safety fea­
tures installed in your Audi work together as a
system .
Proper seating posit ion is important so that the
front airbag on the drive r side can do its job. If
you have a physical impairment or cond ition that
prevents you from s itting properly on the driver
seat with the safety be lt properly fastened and
148
reaching the peda ls, or if yo u have concerns w ith
regard to the function or operation of the Ad­
vanced Airbag System, please contact your a u­
thori zed Audi dea ler or qua lified workshop, or
ca ll Audi Customer Relations at 1-800-822-2834
for poss ib le modifications to your vehicle .
When the airbag system dep loys, a gas generator
will fill the airbags, break open the padded cov­ ers, and infla te between the steering wheel and
the driver and between the instrument panel and
t h e front passenger . T he a irbags w il l deflate im­
med iate ly after deployment so that the front oc­
cupants can see t hrou gh the windsh ie ld again
without i nterruption.
All of th is takes p lace in the b link of an eye, so
fast that many people don't even rea lize that the
a irbags have deployed. The airbags a lso infla te
with a g re at deal of force and nothing should be
i n the ir way when they deploy. Front airbags in
combination with properly worn safety belts slow
down and limit the occupant 's forward move­
ment . Together they he lp to prevent the driver
and front seat passenger from hitting pa rts of
the ins ide of the vehicle while reduc ing the fo rces
acting on the occupant dur ing the cras h. In th is
way they help to reduce the risk of injury to the
head and uppe r body i n the crash . Airbags do not
protect the arms or the lower pa rts of the body.
Both front airbags will not inflate in all frontal
collisions . The t riggering of the a irbag system de­
pends on the veh icle decelerat ion rate caused by
t h e coll is io n and regis tered by the ele ctroni c con­
tro l unit . If this ra te is be low the refe rence value
programmed in to the contro l unit, the airbags
will not be trigge red, even tho ugh the car may be
badly damaged as a resu lt of the collision. Vehi­
cle damage, rep air costs or even the lack of vehi­
cle damage is not necessarily an indication of
whether an a irbag should inflate or not .
Since the circumstances will vary cons iderab ly
between one co llision and another, it is not possi ­
ble to define a range of veh icle speeds that will
cover every poss ible kind and angle of impact
that w ill always t rigger t he a irbags . Important
factors i nclude, for examp le, the nat ure (hard or
soft) of the object which the ca r hits, the angle of
i mp act , vehicle speed , etc. The front airbags will .,.

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\.J - also not inflate in side or rear collisions, or in
ro llovers .
Alwa ys rememb er: Airbags will deploy only o nce,
and on ly in certain kinds of coll is ions. Your safety
be lts are always there to offer protection in those
situations in which airbags are not supposed to
deploy, or when they have a lready deployed; for
examp le, when your vehicle str ikes or is struck by
another vehicle after the first collis ion.
This is just one of the reasons why an airbag is a
supp lementary restraint and is not a substitute
for a safety belt. The airbag system works most effect ively when used with the safety belts.
T herefore, always properly wear your safety belts
c::> page 140.
A WARNING
Sitting too close to the steer ing whee l or in­
st rument panel will decrease the effect ive­
ness of the airbags and will inc rease the risk
o f persona l injury in a co llision.
- Never sit closer than 10 inches (25 cm) to
the steering wheel or instrument panel.
- If you cannot sit mo re than 10 inches
( 2 5 cm) from the steering wheel, inves ti­
gate whethe r adaptive equipment may be
available to help you reach the pedals and
increase your seating distance from the
steering wheel.
- All veh icle occupants and especially children
must be restrained properly whenever riding
in a vehicle. An unrestrained or improperly
restra ined child could be injured by striking
the inte rior or by being ejected from the ve­
hicle d uring a sudden maneuver or impact.
An unrestrained or imp roperly restrained
child is also at greate r ris k of inju ry or death
through contact with an infla ting airbag .
-If you are unrest rained, 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 m uch higher.
- Yo u will also receive serious injur ies and
c ou ld even be killed if you are up aga inst the
airbag or too close to it w hen it inf lates -
even with an Advanced Ai rbag.
-
Airb ag sys tem
-To reduce the r is k of injury when an airbag
inflates, always wear sa fety belts prope rly
c::> page 143, Safety belts.
- Always make certain that children age 12 or
younge r always ride in the rear seat. If chil­
dren are not properly restrained, they may be severely injured or killed when an airbag
inflates.
- Never let children r ide unrestrained or im­
p roperly restrained in the vehicle. Ad just the
front seats properly.
- Never ride with the back rest recl ined .
- Always sit as far as possible from the steer-
ing wheel or the instrument panel
c::> page 130.
- Always sit upright with your back against
the backrest of your seat .
- Never p lace your feet on the instrument
panel or on t he seat. Always keep both feet
on the floor in front of the seat to help pre­
vent ser ious injuries to the legs and hips if
the airbag inflates.
- Never recl ine the front passenger's seat to
transpo rt objects . Items can also move in to
the area of the s ide a irbag or the front air­
b ag d uring braking o r in a sudden maneu­
ver. Obje cts ne ar the airbags can be come
projecti les and cause injury when an airbag
inflates .
A WARNING ,____ -
Airbags that have deployed in a crash m ust be
replaced.
- Use on ly original equipment airbags ap­
proved by A udi and installed by a t rained
technician who has the necessary tools and
d iagnostic equipment to properly replace
any airbag in yo ur vehicle and assure system
effect iveness in a crash .
- Never permit salvaged or recycled airbags to
be installed in your vehicle.
Child restraints on the front seat - some
important things to know
.,. Be s ure to read the impo rtan t in format ion and
heed the WARN INGS for important deta ils
149

Airbag syste m
-An improper ly installed ch ild restraint can
interfere with the airbag as it deploys and
seriously injure or even kill the child -even
with an Advanced Airbag System .
- Always carefully follow the manufacture r's
instructions provided w ith the ch ild seat or
carr ier .
- Always make sure that there is nothing on
the front passenger seat that w ill cause the
capacit ive passenger detection system in
the seat to signa l to the A irbag System that
the seat is occupied by a person when it is
not, or to signa l that it is oc cupied by some·
one who is heav ier than the person actua lly
sitting on the seat. The presence of addi ·
tiona l objects could ca use the passenger
front airbag to be turned on when it should be off, or could cause the airbag to work in a
way that is different from the way it would have worked witho ut the object on the seat .
Front airbags
Description of front airbags
The airbag system can provide supplemental
protection to properly restrained front seat occu·
pants.
F ig. 15 5 Location of d river airbag : in stee ring w heel
152
Fig. 156 Locat io n of fro nt passenger 's a irbag : in th e in ­
s trumen t pane l
Your vehicle is equipped with an "Advanced Air·
bag System" in compliance with United States
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
(FMVSS) 208, as well as Canada Motor Vehicle
Safety Standard (CMVSS) 208 as applicable at
the time your veh icle was manufactured . The
safe ty belts fo r the seats have "pretensioners"
that help to take slack out of the belt system.
The pretensioners are also activated by the e lec·
tronic control unit for the airbag system .
The front safety belts also have load limiters to help reduce the forces applied to the body i n a
c rash .
The airbag for the driver is in the steering wheel
hub ~
fig. 155 and the airbag for the front pas·
senger is in the instr ument panel~
fig . 156. The
general lo cat io n of the a irbags is marked "AIR·
BAG".
There is a lot you need to know abo ut the a irbags
i n your vehicle. We urge you to read the deta iled
i n forma tion abo ut airbags, safety be lts and ch ild
safety in this and the other chapte rs that make
u p the owner's literature. P lease be sure to heed
the WARNINGS· they are extremely important
for your safety and the safety of your passengers,
especially infants and small children.
A WARNING -
Never rely on airbags alone for protect ion.
- Even when they deploy, airbags provide only
supp lemental protection.
- Airbag work most effectively when used
wit h proper ly worn safety belts.

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\.J ' -Therefore, always wear your safety belts and
make sure that everybody in your vehicle is
properly restrained.
- Always hold the steering wheel with both
hands on the outside of the steering wheel
rim at the 9:00 o'clock and 3:00 o'clock po­
sitions to help reduce the risk of personal in­
jury if the driver's airbag inflates .
- Never hold the steering wheel at the 12
o'clock position or with your hands any­
where inside the steering wheel or on the steering wheel hub. Holding the steering
wheel the wrong way increases the risk of
severe injury to the arms, hands, and head if
the driver airbag deploys.
& WARNING
Objects between you and the airbag will in ­
crease the risk of injury in a crash by interfer­
ing with the way the airbag unfolds and/or by
being pushed into you as the airbag inflates.
- Always make sure nothing is in the front air-
-
bag deployment zone that could be struck
by the airbag when it inflates.
- Objects in the zone of a deploying airbag
can become projectiles when the airbag de­
ploys and cause serious personal injury.
- Never hold things in your hands or on your
lap when the vehicle is in use.
- Never place accessories or other objects
(such as cup holders, telephone brackets,
note pads, navigation systems, or things
that are large, heavy, or bulky) on the doors;
never attach then to the doors or the wind­
shield; never place them over or near or at­
tach them to the area marked ,,AIRBAG" on
the steering wheel, instrument panel or the seat backrests; never place them between
these areas and you or any other person in
the vehicle .
- Never attach objects to the windshield
above the passenger front airbag, such as
accessory GPS navigation units or music
players. Such objects could cause serious in­
jury in a collision, especially when the air­ bags inflate .
Airbag system
-Never recline the front passenger seat to
transport objects. Items can also move into
the deployment area of the side airbags or
the front airbag during breaking or in a sud­
den maneuver. Objects near the airbags can
fly dangerously through the passenger com­
partment and cause injury, particularly
when the seat is reclined and the airbags in­
flate.
& WARNING
= -
A person on the front passenger seat, espe­
cially infants and small children, will receive
serious injuries and can even be killed by be­ ing too close to the airbag when it inflates.
- Although the Advanced Airbag System in
your vehicle is designed to turn off the front
passenger airbag if 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" opt ion for 3-
and 6-year-old children under the U.S. Fed­
eral Standard if a child with electrical capac­ itance greater than the combined capaci­
tance of a typical one-year old infant re­
strained in one of the forward facing or rear­
ward-facing child seats with which your ve­
hicle was certified is on the front passenger
seat and the other conditions for airbag de­
ployment 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 children, especially
12 years and younger, should always ride in
the back properly restrained for their age
and size.
Advanced front airbag system
Your vehicle is equipped with a front Advanced
Airbag System in compliance with United States
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208, as
well as Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Standard ..,.
153

Airbag syste m
(CMVSS) 208 as applicable at the time your veh i­
cle was manufactured.
The front Advanced Airbag System supp lements
the safety belts to prov ide additional protection
for the driver's and front passenger 's heads and
upper bodies in frontal crashes. The airbags in­
flate only in frontal impacts when the veh icle de­
celerat 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 overa ll occupant re­
stra int system in your vehicle. Always remember
that the airbag system can only help to protect
you, if you are sitting upright, wearing your safe­
ty belt and wearing it properly. This is why you
and your passengers must always be properly re­
stra ined, not just because the law requ ires you to
be.
The Advanced Airbag System in your veh icle has
been cert ified to meet the " low r isk" require­
ments for 3 and 6 yea r-o ld children on the pas­
senge r side and very sma ll adults on the driver
side . The low r isk dep loyment cr iteria are intend ­
ed to he lp reduce the risk of injury through inter­
action with the front airbag that can occur, for
examp le, by being too close to the steering wheel
and instrument panel when the airbag inflates.
I n addition, the system has been certified to
comp ly with the "suppression" requirements of
the Safety Standard, to turn off the front a irbag
for infants 12 months old and younger who are
restrained on the front passenger seat in ch ild re­
stra ints that are listed in the Standard
c::> page 17 4, Child restraints and Advanced front
airbag system.
"Suppression" requ ires the front a irbag on the
passenger side to be turned off if:
- a chi ld up to about one year of age is restrained
on the front passenger seat in one of the rear­
facing or forward-facing infant restraints listed
in Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208
with wh ich the Advanced Airbag System in your
vehicle was certified. For a listing of the ch ild
r estra ints tha t were used to certify your veh i­
cle's compl iance with the US Safety Standard
c::> page 174,
154
- When a pe rson is detected on the front passen ­
ger seat that has an electrical capacitance that
is more than the total e lectr ica l capacitance of
a child that is about
1 year old restrained in one
of the rear-fac ing or forward-facing infant re­
straints ( listed in Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard 208 with which the Advanced Airbag
System in your vehicle was certified), the front
airbag on the passe nger side may or may not
dep loy.
The
PASSENGER AIR BA G OFF light comes o n
whe n the elect ronic control unit detects a tota l
electrica l capacitance on the front passenge r seat
t h at req uires the front a irbag to be turned off. If
the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF li ght does not
come on, the front airbag on the passenger side
has not been turned
off by the contro l unit and
can deploy if the contro l unit senses an impact
that meets the cond itions stored in its memory.
If the total e lectrica l capacitance registered o n
the front passenger seat is more than that of a
typ ica l 1 year-o ld, but less than the weight of a
small adult, the front a irbag on the passenger
s ide may deploy (the
PASSENG ER AIR BAG OF F
light does not come on).
For e xample , the airb ag ma y deploy if :
-a small ch ild tha t is heav ier than a typica l 1
yea r-old child is on the front passenger seat
(regard less of whether the child is in one of the
child seats listed
c::, page 174),
- a child who has outgrown ch ild restraints is on
the front passenger seat.
If the front passenger a irbag is tu rned off, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light in the center of
the instr ument pane l will come on and stay on .
If the front passenger a irbag deploys, the Feder ­
al Sta ndard requ ires the ai rbag to meet the " low
risk" dep loyment criteria to he lp reduce the r isk
of inj ury through interaction with the airbag .
" Low risk" deployment occurs in those crashes
that take p lace at lower decelerations as defined
i n the electronic contro l unit
<=> page 160.
Always rem ember : Even tho ugh your vehicle is
equipped with Advanced Airbags, the safest place
for children is properly restrained on the back
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\.J ' A WARNING
A child in a rearward-facing child seat instal­
led on the front passenger seat will be seri ­
ously injured and can be killed if the front air­
bag inflates - even with an Advanced Airbag
System .
- The inflating airbag will hit the child seat or
infant carrier with great force and will
smash the child seat and child against the backrest , center armrest, door or roof.
- Always install rear-facing child seats on the
rear seat.
- If you must install a rearward facing child
seat on the front passenger seat because of
exceptional circumstances and the
PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on
and stay on, immediately install the rear­
facing child seat in a rear seating position and have the a irbag system inspected by
your Audi dealer.
A WARNING
Objects between you and the airbag will in­
crease the risk of injury in a crash by interfer­
ing with the way the airbag unfolds or by be­
ing pushed into you as the airbag inflates .
- Never hold things in your hands or on your
lap when the vehicle is in use .
- Never transport items on or in the area of
the front passenger seat . Objects could
move into the area of the front airbags dur­
ing braking or other sudden maneuvers and
become dangerous projectiles that can
cause serious personal injury if the airbags
inflate.
- Never place or attach accessories or other
objects (such as cup holders, telephone
brackets , large, heavy or bulky objects) on
the doors, over or near the area marked "AIRBAG" on the steering wheel, instru­
ment panel, seat backrests or between
those areas and yourself . These objects
could 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-
-
Airbag system
bag during braking or in a sudden maneu ­
ver. Objects near the airbags can become
projectiles and cause injury, particularly
when the seat is reclined.
- Never place or transport objects on the
front passenger seat. Objects on the front
passenger seat could cause the capacitive
sensor in the seat to signal to airbag system
that the seat is occupied by a person when it
in fact is not, or that the person on the seat
is heavier than he or she actually is . The
change in electric capacitance because of
such objects can cause the passenger front
airbag to be turned on when it should be
off, or can cause the airbag to work in a way
that is different from the way it would have
worked without objects on the seat.
- Always make sure that there is nothing on
the front passenger seat that will cause the
capacitive passenger detection system in
the seat to signal to the Airbag System that
the seat is occupied by a person when it is
not , or to signal that it is occupied by some­
one who is heavier than the person actually
sitting on the seat. The presence of an ob ­
ject could cause the passenger front airbag to be turned on when it should be off, or
could cause the airbag to work in a way that is different from the way it would have
worked without the object on the seat.
A WARNING
-The fine dust created when airbags deploy can
cause breathing problems for people with a history of asthma or other breathing condi­
tions .
- To reduce the risk of breathing problems,
those with asthma or other respiratory con­
ditions should get fresh air right away by
getting out of the vehicle or opening win­
dows or doors.
- If you are in a collision in which airbags de­
ploy, wash your hands and face with mild
soap and water before eating.
- Be careful not to get the dust into your eyes,
or into any cuts or scratches.
- If the residue should get into your eyes,
flush them with water .
159

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\.J - -If, in exceptional circumstances, you must
install a forward-facing child restraint on
the front passenger seat, always move the
seat into its rearmost position in the seat 's
fore and aft adjustment range, as far away
from the airbag as possible . The backrest
must be adjusted to an upright position.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the time
whenever the ignition is switched on.
_& WARNING
- If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not go out when an adult is sitting on the
front passenger seat after taking the steps
described above, make sure the adult is
properly seated and restrained at one of the
rear seating positions .
- Have the airbag system inspected by your
Audi dealer before transporting anyone on
the front passenger seat .
(D Tips
If the capacitive passenger detection system
determines that the front passenger seat is
empty, the frontal airbag on the passenger
side will be turned off, and the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light will stay on.
Repair , care and disposal of the airbags
Parts of the airbag system are installed at many
different places on your Audi. Installing , remov­
ing , servicing or repairing a part in an area of the
vehicle can damage a part of an airbag system
and prevent that system from working properly
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.
_& WARNING
Improper care, servicing and repair proce­
dures can increase the risk of personal injury
and death by preventing an airbag from de-
-
Airbag system
ploying when needed or deploying an airbag
unexpectedly :
- Never cover, obstruct, or change the steer­
ing wheel horn pad or airbag cover or the in­
strument panel or modify them in any way.
- Never attach any objects such as cup holders
or telephone mountings to the surfaces cov­
ering the airbag units.
- For cleaning the horn pad or instrument
panel, use only a soft, dry cloth or one mois­
tened with plain water. Solvents or cleaners
could damage the airbag cover or change
the stiffness or strength of the material so
that the airbag cannot deploy and protect properly.
- Never repair, adjust, or change any parts of
the airbag system.
-All work on the steering wheel, instrument
panel, front seats or electrical system (in­
cluding the installation of audio equipment,
cellular telephones and CB radios , etc.)
must be performed by a qualified technician
who has the training and special equipment
necessary.
- For any work on the airbag system, we
strongly recommend that you see your au­
thorized Audi dealer or qualified workshop.
- Never modify the front bumper or parts of
the vehicle body.
- Always make sure that the side airbag can
inflate without interference:
- Never install seat covers or replacement
upholstery over the front seatbacks that
have not been specifically approved by
Audi .
- Never use additional seat cushions that
cover the areas where the side airbags in­
flate.
- Damage to the original seat covers or to
the seam in the area of the side airbag
module must always be repaired immedi­
ately by an authorized Audi dealer.
- The airbag system can deploy only once. Af­
ter an airbag has been deployed, it must be
replaced with new replacement parts de­
signed and approved especially for your
Audi model version. Replacement of com­ plete airbag systems or airbag components
163

Airbag syste m
Although they are not a soft pillow, they can
"cushion" the impact and in this way they can
he lp to reduce the risk of injury to the lower ex­
tremities .
All of this takes place in the blink of an eye, so
fast that many people don't even realize that the airbags have deployed. The a irbags also 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 comb ination with proper­
ly worn safety belts slow down and limit the oc­
cupant's forward movement and help to reduce
the risk of inju ry.
Important safety instructions on the knee
airbag system
App lies to : ve hicles w ith knee a irbags
Airbags are only supplemental restraints . Always
wear safety belts correctly and ride in a proper
seating position.
There is a lot that you and your passengers must
know and do to help the safety belts and airbags
to provide supplemental protection .
,&. WARNING
An inflating knee airbag can cause ser ious in ­
jury. Wearing safety bel ts incorrectly and im­
proper seating positions increase the r isk of
serious personal injury and death whenever a
vehicle is being used.
- The knee airbag system cannot protect you properly if you are seated too close to any of
the airbag locat ions. When adjusting their
seat positions, it is important that both the driver and the front passenger keep their
upper bodies and knees at the following
min imum safe distances:
- at least 10 inches (25 cm) between the
chest and the steering wheel/instrument panel.
- at least 4 inches (10 cm) between the
knees and the lower part of the instru­ ment panel.
- The risk of persona l injury increases if you
lean forward or to the s ide, or if the seat is
166 improperly positioned and you are not wear­
ing your safety belt. The risk increases even
more should the airbag deploy.
- Always make sure that the knee a irbag can
inflate w ithout interference. Objects be­
tween you and the airbag can increase the
r isk of injury in an accident by interfering
w ith the way the airbag deploys or by being
pushed i nto you as the a irbag deploys.
- Never let anybody, especia lly children or
anima ls ride in the footwell in front of the
passenger seat. If the airbag deploys, this
can result in serious or fatal injuries .
- Never carry objects of any kind in the foot ­
well area in front of the driver's or pas­ senger's seat. Bulky objects (shopp ing
bags, for example) can interfere with or
prevent proper dep loyment of the a irbag.
Small objects can be thrown through the
vehicle if the airbag deploys and injure you
or your passengers.
- Ma ke sure there are no crac ks, deep scratch­
es o r other damage in the area of the i nst ru­
ment panel where the knee airbags are lo ­
cated .
- If children are incorrec tly seated, their risk
of injury increases in a coll is ion
c:::> page 172, Child safety.
Side airbags
Description of side airbags
The airbag system can provide supplemental
protection to properly restrained occupants .
Fig. 161 S ide a irbag locatio n in th e driver 's seat