0 co ......
"' ,....
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00
re commend that children a lway s sit in t he b ack
seat ~
page 134, Child safety .
A WARNING
A child in a rearward-faci ng chi ld safety seat
installed on the front passen ger seat w ill be
seriously injured and can be killed if the front airbag inflates -even w ith an Advanced A irbag
System .
- The inflating a irbag w ill hit the child safety
seat or infant carrier with great force and
will smash the ch ild safety seat and child
against the backrest, center armrest, door
o r roof.
- Always install rear-facing child safety seats
on the rear seat.
- If you must install a rearward fac ing ch ild
safety seat on the front passenger seat be
cause of exceptiona l circumstances and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not
come on and stay on, immed iate ly install
the rear-fac ing ch ild safety seat in a rear
seating posit ion and have the airbag system
inspected by your authorized Audi dea ler.
- Forward-fac ing ch ild safety seats installed
on the front passenger's seat may interfere
with the deployment of the airbag and cause serious personal injury to the child.
A WARNING
If, in except ional circumstances, you must in
stall a forward-facing chi ld restraint on the
front passenger's seat:
- Always make sure the forward-fac ing seat
has been designed and ce rtified by its man
ufacturer fo r use on a fron t seat with a pas
senger front and s ide a irbag.
- Never put the forward-facing child restraint
up against or ve ry near the instrument pan
el.
- Always move the front passenger seat to
the highest position in t he up an d down ad
justment range and move it b ack to the
re ar most position in the se at's fore and a ft
adjustment range, as far away from the air
bag as possib le, before insta llin g the for
ward-facing child restraint .
Airbag sys tem
-Always make sure that the safety be lt upper
anchorage is behind the ch ild restraint and
not next to or in front of the child restraint
so that the safety be lt will be properly posi
tioned .
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
li ght comes on and stays on a ll the time
wheneve r the ignit ion is switched on.
A WARNING
-To reduce the risk of serious injury, ma ke sure
that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF ligh t will
be d isplayed whenever a c hild rest raint is i n
st alle d on the front passenger seat and the
i gni tion is switched on.
- I f the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not stay on, perform the checks de scribe d
q page 124, Monitoring the Advanced Air
bag System .
- Take the child restra int off the front passen
ger seat and install it properly at one of the rear seat positions if the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG O FF
light does not stay on.
- Have the ai rbag system inspected by your
author ized Audi dealer immed iate ly .
- Always carefully follow instructions from
child restraint manufacturers when instal
ling child restra ints.
A WARNING
-If, in exceptional c ircumstances, you must in
stall a forward or rearward-facing child re
stra int on the front passenger's seat :
- Improper installat ion of child restraints can
reduce the ir effectiveness or even prevent
them from providing any protect ion.
- An improperly installed child restra int can
interfere with the airbag as it deploys and
serio usly injure or even ki ll the chi ld -even
with an Advanced A irbag Sys tem.
- Always carefully follow the manufacturer's
instr uctions provided with the child safe ty
seat o r ca rr ie r.
- Never p lace add itiona l items on the seat
that can increase t he total weight registered
by the weight-sensing mat and can caus e in
jury in a crash .
117
0 co ......
"' ,....
"' ...... 0 0 :::,
00
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
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 belts. Rather, it is part of the overall occupant re
straint system in your vehicle. Always remember
that the a irbag system can only help to protect
you, if you are sitting upr ight, wear ing your safe
ty belt and wear ing it properly. This is why you
and your passengers m ust always be properly re
stra ined, not just because the law requ ires you to
be .
The Advanced Airbag System i n your veh icle has
been certified to meet the " low r is k" requ ire
ments for 3 and 6 year-o ld children on the pas
senger side and very sma ll adults on the driver
side . The low risk dep loyment criteria are intend
ed to he lp 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 w ith 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 c hild re
stra ints that are listed in the Standard
~ page 136, Child restraints and Advanced Air
bags.
"S uppress ion" requ ires the front a irbag on t he
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 o r forward-fac ing infant restra ints listed
in Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
208
with wh ich the Advanced Airbag System in your
vehicle was ce rtified. For a l isti ng of the ch ild
restraints that were used to certify your vehi
cle's compliance with the US Safety Standard
~ page 136,
Airb ag sys tem
-weight less than a threshold leve l stored in the
control unit is detected on the front passenger
seat.
When a person is detected on the front passen ger seat, weigh ing more than the total weight of
a chi ld that is about 1 year old restrained in one
of the rear -facing or forward-fac ing infant re
straints (listed in Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
208 with which the Advanced A irbag
System in your veh icle was certified), the front
airbag on the passenger side may or may not de
ploy.
The
PAS SEN GER AIR BA G OFF light comes on
when the electronic control unit detects a tota l
we ight on the front passenger seat that requ ires
the front a irbag to be turned off. If the
P A SSEN ·
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on, the
front airbag on the passenger side has not been
turned off by the con trol unit and can dep loy i f
the control unit senses an impact that meets the
conditions stored in its memory.
If the to tal weight on the front passenger sea t is
more than that of a typ ica l 1 year-old, but less
than the weight of a small adult, the front airbag on the passenger side may deploy (the
PASSEN
GER AIR BAG O FF
light does not come on).
For e xample , the air bag ma y deplo y 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
(regardless of whethe r the child is in one of the
child safety seats liste d
~page 136),
-a child who has outgrown c hild rest raints is on
t he front passenge r seat.
If the front passenger a irbag is turned off, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light in the center of
t h e in str ument pane l wi ll come on and s tay on.
The front airbag on the passenger side may
not
deploy (the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not ill umi nate and s tay lit) if:
- a small adult or teenager is on the front pas
senger seat
- a passenger who is not s itting 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 . .,,.
119
Airbag syste m
If the front passenger airbag deploys , 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 defined in the electronic control unit . ~
page 124
Alway s rem ember: Even though you r veh icle is
equipped with Advanced Airbags, the safest place
for children is properly restrained on the back
seat. Please be sure to read the important infor
mat io n in the sections that follow and be sure to
heed a ll of the WARN INGS .
_& WARNING
To reduce the risk of inj ury when an airbag in
flates, a lways wear safety belts properly .
-If you are unrestrained, leaning forwa rd, s it
t ing s ideways or o ut of pos ition in any way,
yo ur risk of injury is much higher .
- Yo u will also receive 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 r:!> page 114.
_& WARNING
A child in a rearward-facing child 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 rea rward-facing child re
straint has been insta lled on the front pas
senger seat, nobody can absolutely guaran
tee that deployment is impossible in all con
ceivable s ituations that may happen during
the useful life o f you r vehicle .
- T he inflating a irbag w ill hit the child safety
seat or infant carrier with great force and
will smash the chi ld safety seat and child
against the backrest, center armrest, door,
or roof.
- Always install rearward-facing chi ld re
straints in the back seat.
120
- If you must install a rearwa rd facing child
safety seat on the front passenger seat be
cause of exceptional circumstances and the
PA SS EN GER AIR BAG OFF light does not
come on and stay on, immediately install
the rea r-facing child safety seat in a rear
seating position and have the ai rbag system
inspected by your authori zed Aud i dealer.
_& WARNING
If, in exceptional ci rcums tances , you must in
stall a forward-facing child restraint on the
front passenger's seat :
- Always make sure the forward-facing 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 forward -facing child restraint
up against or very near the instrument pan
el.
- Always move the front passenger seat to
the highest posit ion in the up and down ad
justment range and move it back to the
rearmost posit ion in the seat's fore and aft
adjustment range, as far away from the a ir
bag as poss ible, before installing the for
ward-facing chi ld restrain t.
- Always make sure that the safety be lt upper
anchorage is behind the ch ild restraint and
not next to o r in front of the child rest raint
so that the safety be lt will be p roperly posi
tioned.
- Always move the passenge r seat into its
rearmost posit ion i n the seat's fo re and aft
ad justmen t range, as far away from the a ir
bag as poss ible, before install ing the for
ward-facing chi ld restraint. The backrest
must be adjusted to an upright position.
- Ma ke sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
li ght comes on and stays on all the time
whenever the ign it ion is switched on.
' Advanced Airbag System components
The front passenger seat in your veh icle has a lot
of very impo rtant parts of the Advanced A irbag
System in it . These parts include the weight-
sensing mat, sensors , wir ing, brackets, and .,.
Airbag syste m
damaged, preventing them and the airbag
system from working properly.
- Never place 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 recognizing child re
straints or occupants on the front passenger
seat and prevent the side a irbag in the seat
backrest from deploying properly.
- Never use cush ions, pillows, blankets or
similar items on the front passenger seat.
The add it ional padding will prevent the
weight-sens ing mat in the seat from acc u
rately reg istering the ch ild restraint or per
son on the seat and prevent the Advanced
Airbag System from funct ioning properly.
- If you must use a child rest raint on the front
passenge r seat and the child restraint man
ufacturer 's instructions require the use of a
towel, foam cushion or something else to properly position the ch ild restraint, make
certain that the
PA SSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on whenever the
child restraint is installed on the front pas
senger seat.
- If the
PASSEN GER AIR B AG OFF light does
not come on and stay on, immed iately in
stall child restraint in a rear seating position
and have the airbag system inspected by
yo ur autho rized Aud i deale r.
How the Advanced Airbag System
components work together
The front Advanced Airbag System and the side
airbags supplement the protection offered by the
front three-po int safety belts and the adjustable
head restraints to help reduce the risk of injury in
a w ide range of acc ident and crash s ituations . 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 act ivat ion of the safety belt pretensioners de
pend on the deceleration measured by the crash
sensors and registered by the electronic control
un it. Crash severity depends on speed and de cel-
122
eration as well as the mass and stiffness of the
vehicle or object involved in the crash .
On the passenger side, regard less of safety be lt
u se, the airbag will be turned off if the weight on
the passenger seat is less than the amount pro
grammed in the electronic control unit . The front
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
PASSENGER A IR BAG OFF lig ht comes o n
and stays on to te ll you when the front Advanced
Airbag on the passenger side has been turned off
q page 115, Child restraints on the front seat
some important things to know.
A WARNING
To reduce the ris k of injury when an airbag in
f lates, always wea r safety belts properly.
- If you are un restrained, leaning forward, sit
ting sideways or out of position i n any way,
your risk of injury is much higher.
- You will a lso receive serious injuries and
could even be killed if you are up against the
airbag or too close to it when it inflates -
even with an Advanced Airbag
q page 114.
More important things to know about front
airbags
Fig . 114 Inflated front a irbags
Safety be lts are important to help keep front
seat occupants in the proper seated position so
that airbags can unfold properly and prov ide sup-
plemental protection in a fronta l collision . ..,.
a
co
...... N r--. N
'"' 0 0 ::, co
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
Fig. 115 Sect ion from the instrument panel: PASSENGER
AIR BAG O FF light
The PA SSENGER AIR BAG O FF ligh t is located i n
the center of the instrument panel¢
fig. 115 .
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light will come on
and stay on to tell you when the front Advanced
Ai rbag on the passenger side has been turned off
by the electronic control unit . Each time you turn
on the ignition, the
PASSEN GER AIR BAG OFF
light will flash for a few seconds and:
- will stay on if the front passenger sea t is not
occupied,
- will stay on if the re is a small child or child re
straint on the front passenger seat,
- will go ou t if the front passenge r seat is occu
pied by an adul t as reg istered by the weight
sensing mat.
The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light mu st come
on and stay on
if the ignition is on and
- a car bed has been installed on t he front seat,
o r
- a rearward-facing child restraint 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 registered on the front passenger
seat is equal to or less than the combined
weight of a typical 1 year-old restrained in one
of the rear-facing or forward-fac ing infant re
straints listed in Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Sta ndard 208 w ith w hic h the Adva nced A irbag
System in your veh icle was certified.
I f the front passenger seat is not occupied, the
front a irbag w ill not deploy, and the
PASSENGER
Airb ag sys tem
AIR BAG OFF light wi ll stay on. Never install a
rearward-facing child restraint on the front pas
senger seat, the safest place for a ch ild in any
k ind of child restraint is at one of the seating po
sitions on the rear seat¢
page 115, Child re
straints on the front seat -some important
things to know
and ¢ page 134, Child safety.
If the PAS SENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
when one of the conditions listed above is met,
be su re to check the light regularly to make cer
ta in that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF li ght
stays on continuously whenever the ignition is
on. If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF li ght does
not appear and not s tay o n all the time, stop as
soon as it is safe to do so and
- reactivate the system by turning the ignit ion
off and then t urning it on again;
- remove and re insta ll the child restraint . Make
sure that the child restraint is properly insta l
led and tha t the safety belt for the fro nt pa s
senger seat has bee n correct ly routed around
the child res traint as desc ribed in the c hild re
stra int man ufactu rer's instructions;
- make sure that the convert ible lo ck ing retrac
t or on the safety belt for the front passenger
seat has been activated and that the safety belt
has been pulled tight. The belt m ust not be
loose or have loops of slack so that the sensor
below the safety belt latc h on the seat can do
its job¢
page 144 .
-make sure that things that may increase the
weight of the child and ch ild safety seat are not
be ing transported on the front passe nger seat;
- make sure that the safety be lt tens ion sensor is
not blocked . Shake the safety belt latch on the
front passe nger seatback 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 that it causes the
weight-sens ing mat to measu re more weight
t han is actually on the seat.
If th e PA SS ENGER AIR BA G OFF light still does
not come on
and does not stay on continuously
(whe n the ignition is switc hed on),
- take the child restraint off the front passenger
seat and insta ll it properly at one of the rear
Iii--
125
Airbag syste m
seat positions. Have the airbag system inspect
ed by your authorized Audi dealer immediately .
- move the chi ld to a rear seat position and make
sure that the child is properly restrained in a
child restraint that is appropriate for its size
and age .
The
P ASSE NGER AIR BAG O FF light shou ld NOT
come on when the ignition is on and an adult is
sitting in a proper seating position on the front passenger seat. If the
P AS SENGER AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on or flashes for about
5 seconds while driving, under these circumstan
ces, make sure that:
- the adu lt on the front passenger seat is proper
ly seated on the center of the seat cushion with
his or her back up aga inst the backrest and the
backrest is not recl ined
c> page 98, Correct pas
senger seating positions,
- the adult is not taking weight off the seat by
holding on to the passenger assist handle
above the front passenger door or supporting
their we ight on the arm rest ,
- the safety belt is be ing properly worn and that
there is not a lot of slack in the safety belt web bing,
- accessory seat covers or cushions or other
th ings that may cause an inco rrect read ing o r
imp ression on the weight-sens ing mat under
the upho ls tery of the seat have been removed
from the front passenger seat,
- a safety be lt extende r has not been left in the
sa fety belt latch for the front passenge r seat .
I n addition to the
PASS ENGER AIR BAG OFF
light in the center of the inst rument panel, the
message
PA SSENGER AIR BAG OFF or PA SSEN
GER AIR BAG ON
wi ll briefly appear in the inst ru
ment cluster display . This is to inform the driver
of th e current front passenger airbag status.
Important safety instructions on
monitoring the Advanced Airbag System
_& WARNING
An airbag system that is not funct ion ing prop
er ly cannot provide supplemental p rotection
in a frontal crash.
126
- If the airbag indicator light c> page 14
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 wi ll not inflate when it should.
_& WARNING
I f the front a irbag inflates, a ch ild without a
chi ld restraint, in a rea rward-facing chi ld safe
ty seat or in a forward -fac ing chi ld restrain t
that has not been proper ly ins talled will be
seriously injured and can be killed .
- Even tho ugh you r vehicle is equipped with
an Advanced A irbag System, make certain
that a ll children, espec ia lly 12 years and
younger , always ride on the back seat prop
erly restrained for their age and size .
- Always install forward or rear-facing child
safety seats on the rear seat -even with an
Advanced A irbag System .
- If you must insta ll a rearward-facing child
safety seat on the front passenger seat be
cause of exceptional circumstances and the
PA SSEN GER AIR BA G OFF light does not
appear and stay on, immediately install the
rear-facing child safety seat in a rear seat ing
position and have t he a irbag system in
spected by yo ur autho rized Aud i dea le r.
- A t ight tether or other strap on a rearward
facing chi ld restraint attached to the front
passenger sea t can put too much pressure
on the weight-sensing mat in the seat and
register more weight than is actually on the
seat. The heavier weight registered can
make the system work as though an adu lt
were on the seat and deploy the Advanced
Airbag when it must be suppressed causing
serious or even fatal injury to the child .
- 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 ad justment range, as far away
from the airbag as poss ible. The back res t
m ust be adjus ted to an upr ight position.
Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
Airbag syste m
passenger. In order to he lp provide this add ition
al protection, the side airbag must inflate within
a fraction of a second at very high speed and w ith
great force. The supplemental side airbag could injure you if your seating position is not proper or
upright or if items are located in the area where
the supplemental side airbag expands . This ap
plies especially to children
q page 134, Child
safety.
Supplemental side ai rbags inf late be
tween the occ upan t and the door pane l on the
side of the vehicle that is struck in certa in side
collision
q fig . 117.
Although they are not a sof t pillow, they ca n
"c ushion" the impact and in t his way they can
he lp to reduce the risk of injury to the upper part
of the body .
A fine dust may deve lop when the airbag deploys.
This is normal and does not mean there is a fire
in the vehicle.
Important safety instructions on the side
airbag system
Airbags ore only supplemental restraints . Always
properly wear safety belts and ride in a proper
seating position.
There is a lot that yo u and your passengers must
know and act accord ingly to help the safety be lts
and airbags do the ir job to provide supplemental
protection.
A WARNING
An inflating side airbag can cause serious or
fatal injury. Improperly wearing safety belts
and improper seating positions increase the
r isk of se rious personal injury and death
w henever a vehicle is being used.
- In order to reduce the risk of injury when
the supplemental s ide airbag inflates:
- Always sit in an upright position and never
lean aga inst the area where the s upple-
mental side airbag is located.
- Never let a chi ld or anyone else rest their
head against the side trim panel in the
area where the supp lemental s ide airbag
inflates.
130 -
Always make sure that safety belts are
worn correctly,
- Do not let anyone sitting in the front seat
put their hand or any other parts of their
body out of the window.
- Always make sure that the side airbag can
inflate w ithout interference.
- Never install seat covers or replacement
upholstery ove r the front seatbacks that
have not been specifica lly approved by
A udi.
- Never use addi tional seat cush ions that
cover the areas where the side airbags de
ploy .
- Damage to the orig inal se at cove rs or to
the seam in the area of the s ide airbag
module must a lways be repaired immedi
ate ly by an authorized Audi dealer.
- Objects be tween you and the airbag can in
crease the r is k of injury in an acc ident by in
terfering with the way the airbag unfolds or by being p ushed into you as the airbag in
flates.
- Never place or attach accessor ies or other
obje cts (s uch as cupholders, telephone
bracke ts, or even l arge, bulk y objec ts) on
the doors, over or near the area marked
"AIRBAG" on the seat backrests .
- Such objec ts and accessories can be come
dange rous projecti les and cause injury
when the supplemental side airbag de ploys.
- Never carry any objects or pets in the de
ployment space between them and the
airbags or allow children or other passen
gers to trave l in this position.
- Always use the b uilt-in coat hooks only fo r
lightweight clothing. Never leave any heavy
or sharp-edged objects in the pockets that
may inte rfere with s ide a irbag deployment
a nd can cause personal injury in an accident .
- Always prevent the side airbags from being
damaged by heavy objects knocking against
or hitting the sides of the seatbacks.
- The a irbag system can only be triggered
once . If the airbag has been triggered, the
system must be replaced by an autho rized
Aud i dea le rship.
~
Airbag system
soft) of the impacting object, the angle of im
pact, vehicle speed, etc .
q page 132, How side
curtain airbags work.
Aside from their normal safety function, safety
belts work to help keep the driver or front pas
senger in position in the event of a collision so
that the side curtain airbags can provide protec
tion .
The airbag system is not a substitute for your
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 wearing it properly . This is another reason
why you should always wear your safety belts, not just because the law requires you to do so
q page 106, General information.
It is important to remember that while the side
curtain airbag system is des igned to help reduce
the likelihood of serious injuries, other injuries,
for example, swe lling, bruising, and m inor abra
sions can also be associated with these airbags.
Remember too, these airbags will dep loy o nly
once and only in certain kinds of accidents -your
safety belts are always there to offer protection .
The side curtain airbag system basically
consists of:
- The electronic control module and external side
impact sensors
- The side curtain airbags above the front and
rear side windows with ejection mitigation fea
tures
- The airbag indicator light in the instrument
panel
The airbag system is monito red electronically to
make certa in it is fun ction ing properly at all
times. Each time you turn on the ignition, the air
bag system indicator light will come on for a few
seconds (self diagnostics) .
The side curtain airbag is not activated:
-if the ignit ion is tu rned off,
- in s ide collisions when the accelerat io n meas-
ur ed by the sensor is too low,
- in rear-end collisions.
132
A WARNING
-Safety belts and the airbag system will only
provide protect ion when occupants are in
the proper seating position
~ page 42,
Front seats .
-If the airbag ind icator light q page 14
comes when the veh icle is being used, have
the system inspected immediately by your
authorized Audi dealer. It is possible that
the airbag will inflate when it is not sup
posed to, or will not inflate when it should.
How side curtain airbags work
Side curtain airbags can work together with side
airbags to help reduce the risk of head and upper
torso injuries for occupants who are properly re
strained.
Fig. 119 Il lustratio n of pr inciple: I nflated s ide curta in air
bags on t he le ft s ide
The side curtain airbags inflate between the oc
cupant and the w indows on the side of the veh i
cle that is struck in a side collision
~ fig. 119.
When the system is triggered, the side curta in
airbag is filled with propellant gas and breaks
through a seam above the front and rear side
windows identified by the AIRBAG label. In order
to help provide this additional protection, the
side curtain airbag must inflate within the blink
of an eye at very high speed and with great force .
The side curtain airbag could injure you if your
seat ing position is not prope r or upright or if
i tems a re located in the area where the supple
mental sid e cu rtain airbag inflates. This applies
especially to children ~
page 134.
Although they are not a soft pillow, side curtain
airbags can "cush ion" the impact and in this way .,.