Safetybelts
Safetybelts
Generalinformation
DEERLLL8aes
Wearingsafetybeltscorrectlysaveslives!
Thischapterexplainswhysafetybeltsareneces-
sary,howtheyworkandhowtoadjustandwear
themcorrectly.
>Readalltheinformationthatfollowsandheed
alloftheinstructionsandWARNINGS.
ZA\WARNING
Notwearingsafetybeltsorwearingthemim-
properlyincreasestheriskof seriouspersonal
injuryanddeath.
—Safetybeltsarethesinglemosteffective
meansavailabletoreducetheriskofserious
injuryanddeathinautomobileaccidents.
Foryourprotectionandthat ofyourpassen-
gers,alwayscorrectlywearsafetybelts
whenthevehicleismoving.
—Pregnantwomen,injured,orphysicallyim-
pairedpersonsmustalsousesafetybelts.
Likeallvehicleoccupants,theyaremore
likelytobeseriouslyinjurediftheydonot
wearSafetybelts.Thebestwaytoprotecta
fetusistoprotectthe mother-throughout
theentirepregnancy.
Numberofseats
YourAudihasatotaloffiveseatingpositions:
twointhefrontandthreeintherear.Eachseat-
ingpositionhasasafetybelt.
Z\WARNING
Notwearingsafetybeltsorwearingthemim-
properlyincreasestheriskof seriouspersonal
injuryanddeath.
—Neverstrapmorethanoneperson,including
smallchildren,intoanybelt.Itisespecially
dangeroustoplaceasafetybeltovera child
sittingonyourlap.
—Neverletmorepeoplerideinthevehicle
thantherearesafetybeltsavailable.
258
—Besureeveryoneridinginthevehicleis
properlyrestrainedwithaseparatesafety
beltorchildrestraint.
Safetybeltwarninglight
Yourvehiclehasawarningsystemforthedriver
andfrontseatpassengertoremindyouabout
theimportanceofbuckling-up.
B42-0526
Fig.220Safetybeltwarninglightintheinstrumentclus-
ter -enlarged
Beforedrivingoff,always:
>Fastenyoursafetybeltandmakesureyouare
wearingitproperly.
>Makesurethatyourpassengersalsobuckleup
and
properlyweartheirsafetybelts.
>Protectchildrenwitha childrestraintsystem
appropriateforthesizeandage.
Thewarninglightintheinstrumentcluster
lightsupwhentheignitionisswitchedonasa re-
mindertofastenthesafetybelts.Inaddition,
youwillhearawarningtoneforacertainperiod
oftime.
Fastenyoursafetybeltandmakesurethatyour
passengersalsoproperlyputontheirsafety
belts.
ZAWARNING
—Safetybeltsarethesinglemosteffective
meansavailabletoreducetheriskofserious
injuryanddeathinautomobileaccidents.
Foryourprotectionandthat ofyourpassen-
gers,alwayscorrectlywearsafetybelts
whenthevehicleismoving.
—Failuretopayattentiontothewarninglight
thatcomesoncouldlead topersonalinjury.
Safetybelts
mayalso lockwhenyoudriveupordownasteep
hillorthroughasharpcurve.Duringnormaldriv-
ingthebeltletsyoumovefreely.
Safetybeltpretensioners
Safetybeltswithpretensionershelptotighten
thesafetybeltandremoveslackwhenthepre-
tensionersareactivated>page264.Thefunc-
tionofthepretensionerismonitoredbyawarn-
inglight>page22.
Convertiblelockingretractor
Everysafetybeltexcept theoneonthedriver
seatisequippedwithaconvertiblelockingretrac-
torthatmustbeusedwhenthesafetybeltis
usedtoattacha childsafetyseat.Besuretoread
theimportantinformationaboutthisfeature
=>page299.
ZA\WARNING
Improperlypositionedsafetybeltscancause
seriousinjuryinanaccident>page262,
Safetybeltposition.
—Safetybeltsofferoptimumprotectiononly
whentheseatbackisuprightandbeltsare
properlypositionedonthebody.
—Alwaysmakesurethattherearseat backrest
towhichthecenterrearsafetybeltisat-
tachedissecurelylatchedwhenevertherear
centersafetybeltisbeingused.Iftheback-
restisnotsecurelylatched,thepassenger
willmoveforwardwiththebackrestduring
suddenbraking,inasuddenmaneuverand
especiallyinacrash.
—Neverattachthesafetybelttothe buckle
foranotherseat.Attachingthebelt tothe
wrongbucklewillreducesafetybelteffec-
tivenessandcancauseseriouspersonalin-
jury.
—Apassengerwhoisnotproperlyrestrained
canbeseriouslyinjuredbythesafetybeltit-
selfwhenitmovesfromthestrongerparts
ofthebodyintocriticalareasliketheabdo-
men.
—Alwayslocktheconvertiblelockingretractor
whenyouaresecuringa childsafetyseatin
thevehicle>page301.
262
SY)i-1aL-LhemLett(ela)
Correctbeltpositionisthekeytogettingmaxi-
mumprotectionfromsafetybelts.
B4H-0751
Fig.227Safetybeltposition
Standardfeaturesonyourvehiclehelpyouadjust
thepositionofthesafetybelttomatchyourbody
size.
—beltheightadjustmentforthefrontseats,
—height-adjustablefrontseats.
ZXWARNING
Improperlypositionedsafetybeltscancause
seriouspersonalinjuryinanaccident.
— Theshoulderbeltshouldlieasclosetothe
center ofthecollarboneaspossibleand
shouldfitwellonthebody.Holdthebelt
abovethelatchtongueandpullitevenly
acrossthechestsothatitsitsaslowaspos-
sibleonthepelvisandthereisnopressure
ontheabdomen.Thebeltshouldalwaysfit
snugly>fig.227.Pullonthebelttotighten
ifnecessary.
—Thelapbeltportionofthesafetybeltmust
bepositionedaslowaspossibleacrosspel-
visandneverovertheabdomen.Makesure
thebeltliesflatandsnug>fig.227.Pullon
thebelt totightenifnecessary.
—Aloose-fittingsafetybeltcan causeserious
injuriesbyshiftingitspositiononyourbody
fromthe strongbonestomorevulnerable,
softtissueandcauseserious injury.
—AlwaysreadandheedallWARNINGSand
otherimportantinformation>page260.
80A012721BG
Airbagsystem
theelectroniccontrolunit>page278,PASSEN-
GERAIRBAGOFF$#;ON®light.
Alwaysremember,achildsafetyseatorinfant
carrierinstalledonthefrontseatmaybestruck
andknockedoutofpositionbytherapidlyinflat-
ingpassenger'sairbaginafrontalcollision.The
airbagcouldgreatlyreducetheeffectivenessof
thechildrestraintandevenseriouslyinjurethe
childduringinflation.
Forthisreason,andbecausethebackseatisthe
safestplaceforchildren-whenproperlyrestrain-
edaccordingtotheirageandsize-westrongly
recommendthatchildrenalwayssitintheback
seat>page288,Childsafety.
ZAWARNING
Achildinarearward-facingchildsafetyseat
installedonthefrontpassengerseatwillbe
seriouslyinjuredandcanbekilledifthefront
airbaginflates-evenwithanAdvancedAirbag
System.
—Theinflatingairbagwillhitthechildsafety
seatorinfantcarrierwithgreatforceand
willsmashthechildsafetyseatandchild
againstthebackrest,centerarmrest,door
orroof.
—Alwaysinstallrear-facingchildsafetyseats
ontherearseat.
—Ifyoumustinstallarearwardfacingchild
safetyseatonthefrontpassengerseatbe-
causeofexceptionalcircumstancesandthe
PASSENGERAIRBAGOFF3%;lightdoesnot
comeonandstayon,immediatelyinstall
therear-facingchildsafetyseatinarear
seatingpositionandhavetheairbagsystem
inspectedbyyourauthorizedAudidealer.
—Forward-facingchildsafetyseatsinstalled
onthefrontpassenger'sseatmayinterfere
withthedeploymentoftheairbagandcause
seriouspersonalinjurytothechild.
facturerforuseonafrontseatwithapas-
sengerfrontandsideairbag.
—Neverputtheforward-facingchildrestraint
upagainstorverynear theinstrumentpan-
el.
—Alwaysmovethefrontpassengerseattothe
highestpositionintheupanddownadjust-
mentrangeandmoveitbacktotherear-
mostpositionintheseat'sforeandaftad-
justmentrange,asfarawayfromtheairbag
aspossible,beforeinstallingtheforward-
facingchildrestraint.
—Alwaysmakesurethatthesafetybeltupper
anchorageisbehindthechildrestraintand
notnexttoorinfrontofthechildrestraint
so thatthesafetybeltwillbeproperlyposi-
tioned.
—MakesurethatthePASSENGERAIRBAG
OFF7%;lightcomesonandstaysonallthe
timewhenevertheignitionisswitchedon.
ZA\WARNING
To reducetheriskofseriousinjury,makesure
thatthePASSENGERAIRBAGOFF#;light
willbedisplayedwheneverachildrestraintis
installedonthefrontpassengerseatandthe
ignitionisswitchedon.
—IfthePASSENGERAIRBAGOFF#;light
doesnotstayon,performthechecksdescri-
bed>page278,MonitoringtheAdvanced
AirbagSystem.
—Takethechildrestraint offthefrontpassen-
gerseatandinstallitproperlyatoneofthe
rearseatpositionsifthePASSENGERAIR
BAGOFF#¥%;lightdoesnotstayon.
—Havetheairbagsysteminspectedbyyour
authorizedAudidealerimmediately.
—Alwayscarefullyfollowinstructionsfrom
childrestraintmanufacturerswheninstal-
lingchildrestraints.
ZA\WARNING
If,inexceptionalcircumstances,youmustin-
stallaforward-facingchildrestraintonthe
frontpassenger'sseat:
—Alwaysmakesuretheforward-facingseat
hasbeendesignedandcertifiedbyitsmanu-
Z\WARNING
If,inexceptionalcircumstances,youmustin-
stallaforwardorrearward-facingchildre-
straintonthefrontpassenger'sseat:
269
Airbagsystem
ThefrontAdvancedAirbagSystemforthefront
seatoccupantsisnotasubstituteforyoursafety
belts.Rather,itispart oftheoveralloccupantre-
straintsysteminyourvehicle.Alwaysremember
thattheairbagsystemcanonly helptoprotect
you,ifyouaresittingupright,wearingyoursafe-
tybeltandwearingitproperly.Thisiswhyyou
and
yourpassengersmustalways beproperlyre-
strained,notjustbecausethelawrequiresyouto
be.
TheAdvancedAirbagSysteminyourvehiclehas
beencertifiedtomeetthe“lowrisk”require-
mentsfor3and6year-oldchildrenonthepas-
sengersideandverysmalladultsonthedriver
side.Thelowriskdeploymentcriteriaare intend-
edtohelpreducetheriskofinjurythroughinter-
actionwiththefrontairbagthatcanoccur,for
example,bybeingtooclosetothesteeringwheel
andinstrumentpanelwhentheairbaginflates.
Inaddition,thesystemhasbeencertifiedto
complywiththe“suppression”requirementsof
theSafetyStandard,toturnoffthefrontairbag
forinfants12monthsoldandyoungerwhoare
restrainedonthefrontpassengerseatinchildre-
straintsthatarelistedintheStandard
=page290,ChildrestraintsandAdvancedAir-
bags.
“Suppression”requiresthefrontairbagonthe
passengersidetobeturnedoffif:
—achilduptoaboutoneyearofageisrestrained
onthefrontpassengerseatinoneoftherear-
facing orforward-facinginfantrestraintslisted
inFederalMotorVehicleSafetyStandard208
withwhichtheAdvancedAirbagSysteminyour
vehiclewascertified.Foralistingofthechild
restraintsthatwereusedtocertifyyourvehi-
cle'scompliancewiththeUSSafetyStandard
=>page290,
—Whenapersonisdetectedonthefrontpassen-
gerseat thathasanelectricalcapacitancethat
ismorethanthetotalelectricalcapacitanceof
achildthatisabout1yearoldrestrainedinone
oftherear-facingorforward-facinginfantre-
straints(listedinFederalMotorVehicleSafety
Standard208withwhichtheAdvancedAirbag
Systeminyourvehiclewascertified),thefront
272
airbagonthepassengersidemayormaynot
deploy.
ThePASSENGERAIRBAGOFF#;lightcomeson
whentheelectroniccontrolunitdetectsatotal
electricalcapacitanceonthefrontpassengerseat
thatrequiresthefrontairbagtobeturnedoff.If
thePASSENGERAIRBAGOFF3;lightdoesnot
comeon,thefrontairbagonthepassengerside
hasnotbeenturnedoffby thecontrolunitand
candeployifthecontrolunitsenses animpact
thatmeetstheconditionsstoredin itsmemory.
Ifthetotalelectricalcapacitanceregisteredon
thefrontpassengerseatismorethanthatofa
typical1year-old,butlessthantheweightofa
smalladult,thefrontairbagonthepassenger
sidemaydeploy(thePASSENGERAIRBAGOFF
8%;lightdoesnotcomeon).
Forexample,theairbagmaydeployif:
—asmallchildthatisheavierthanatypical1
year-oldchildisonthefrontpassengerseat(re-
gardlessofwhetherthechildisinoneofthe
childsafetyseatslisted>page290),
—achildwhohasoutgrownchildrestraintsison
thefrontpassengerseat.
Ifthefrontpassengerairbagisturnedoff,the
PASSENGERAIRBAGOFF#;lightinthe head-
linerwillcomeonandstayon.
Ifthefrontpassengerairbagdeploys,theFederal
Standardrequirestheairbagtomeetthe“low
risk”deploymentcriteriatohelpreducetherisk
ofinjurythroughinteractionwiththeairbag.
“Lowrisk”deploymentoccursinthosecrashes
that takeplaceatlowerdecelerationsasdefined
intheelectroniccontrolunit.>page278
Alwaysremember:Eventhoughyourvehicleis
equippedwithAdvancedAirbags,thesafest place
forchildrenisproperlyrestrainedontheback
seat.Pleasebesuretoreadtheimportantinfor-
mationinthesectionsthatfollowandbesureto
heedalloftheWARNINGS.
ZAWARNING
Toreducetheriskofinjurywhenanairbagin-
flates,alwayswearsafetybeltsproperly.>
80A012721BG
Airbagsystem
—Ifyouareunrestrained,leaningforward,sit-
tingsidewaysoroutofpositioninanyway,
yourriskofinjuryismuchhigher.
—Youwillalsoreceiveseriousinjuriesand
couldevenbekilledifyouareupagainstthe
airbagortooclosetoitwhenitinflates-
evenwithanAdvancedAirbag>page266.
Z\WARNING
Achildinarearward-facingchildsafetyseat
installedonthefrontpassengerseatwillbe
seriouslyinjuredandcanbekilledifthefront
airbaginflates-evenwithanAdvancedAirbag
System.
—AlthoughtheAdvancedAirbagSystemin
yourvehicleisdesignedtoturnoffthefront
airbagwhenarearward-facingchildre-
strainthasbeeninstalledonthefront pas-
sengerseat,nobodycanabsolutelyguaran-
teethatdeploymentisimpossibleinallcon-
ceivablesituationsthatmayhappenduring
the
usefullife ofyourvehicle.
—Theinflatingairbagwillhitthechildsafety
seatorinfantcarrierwithgreatforceand
willsmashthe childsafetyseatandchild
againstthebackrest,centerarmrest,door,
orroof.
—Alwaysinstallrearward-facingchildre-
straintsontherearseat.
—Ifyoumustinstallarearwardfacingchild
safetyseatonthefrontpassengerseatbe-
causeofexceptionalcircumstancesandthe
PASSENGERAIRBAGOFF3;lightdoesnot
comeonandstayon,immediatelyinstall
therear-facingchildsafetyseatinarear
seatingpositionandhavetheairbagsystem
inspectedbyyourauthorizedAudidealer.
Z\WARNING
If,inexceptionalcircumstances,youmustin-
stallaforward-facingchildrestraintonthe
frontpassenger'sseat:
—Alwaysmakesuretheforward-facingseat
hasbeendesignedandcertifiedbyitsmanu-
facturerforuseonafrontseatwithapas-
sengerfrontandsideairbag.
—Neverputtheforward-facingchildrestraint
upagainstorverynear theinstrumentpan-
el
—Alwaysmovethefrontpassengerseattothe
highestpositionintheupanddownadjust-
mentrangeandmoveitbacktotherear-
mostpositionintheseat'sforeandaftad-
justmentrange,asfarawayfromtheairbag
aspossible,beforeinstallingtheforward-
facingchildrestraint.
—Alwaysmakesurethatthesafetybeltupper
anchorageisbehindthechildrestraintand
notnexttoorinfrontofthechildrestraint
so thatthesafetybeltwillbeproperlyposi-
tioned.
—Alwaysmakesurethatthereisnothingon
thefrontpassengerseatthatwillcausethe
capacitivepassengerdetectionsystemin
theseattosignaltotheAirbagSystemthat
theseatisoccupiedbyapersonwhenitis
not,ortosignalthatitisoccupiedbysome-
onewhoisheavierthanthepersonactually
sittingontheseat.Thepresenceofaddi-
tionalobjectscouldcausethepassenger
frontairbagtobeturnedonwhenitshould
beoff,orcouldcausetheairbagtoworkina
waythatisdifferentfromthewayitwould
haveworkedwithouttheobjectontheseat.
—MakesurethatthePASSENGERAIRBAG
OFF$¥;lightcomesonandstaysonallthe
timewhenevertheignitionisswitchedon.
EeeWelemyeeey
Thefrontpassengerseatinyourvehiclehasalot
ofveryimportantparts oftheAdvancedAirbag
Systeminit.Theseparts includethecapacitive
passengerdetectionsystem,wiring,brackets,
andmore.Thecontrolunitmonitorsthesystem
onthefrontpassengerseatwhentheignitionis
switchedonandturnstheairbagindicatorlight
onwhenamalfunctionintheoneofthesystem
componentsisdetected>page278.Becausethe
frontpassengerseatcontainsimportantpartsof
theAdvancedAirbagSystem,youmusttakecare
topreventitfrombeingdamaged.Damageto>
273
Airbagsystem
theseatmaypreventtheAdvancedAirbagSys-
temforthefrontpassengerseatfromdoingits
jobinacrash.
ThefrontAdvancedAirbagSystemconsists
ofthefollowing:
—Crashsensorsinthefrontofthevehiclethat
measurevehicleacceleration/decelerationto
provideinformationtotheAdvancedAirbag
Systemabouttheseverityofthecrash.
— Anelectroniccontrolunit,withintegrated
crashsensorsforfrontandsideimpacts.The
controlunit“decides”whethertofirethefront
airbagsbasedontheinformationreceivedfrom
thecrashsensors.Thecontrolunitalso“de-
cides”whetherthesafetybeltpretensioners
shouldbeactivated.
— AnAdvancedAirbagwithgasgeneratorand
controlvalveforthedriver insidethesteering
wheelhub.
— AnAdvancedAirbagwithgasgeneratorand
controlvalveinsidetheinstrumentpanelfor
thefrontpassenger.
—Acapacitivepassengerdetectionsystemunder-
neaththefrontpassengerseatcover.Thissys-
temmeasurestheelectricalcapacitanceofthe
personintheseat.Theinformationregistered
issent continuouslytotheelectroniccontrol
unit toregulatedeploymentofthefrontAd-
vancedAirbagonthepassengerside.
— Anairbagmonitoringsystemandindicator
lightEaintheinstrumentcluster.
—Asensorineachfrontseatregistersthedis-
tancebetweentherespectiveseatandthe
steeringwheelorinstrumentpanel.Theinfor-
mationregisteredissent continuouslytothe
electroniccontrolunittoregulatedeployment
ofthefrontAdvancedAirbags.
—ThePASSENGERAIRBAGOFF#;ON@light
comesonintheheadliner>page278,fig.234
andtellsyouthestatusoftheAdvancedAirbag
onthepassengerside.
—Asensorinthesafetybeltlatchforthedriver
andforthefrontseatpassengerthatsenses
whetherthatsafetybeltislatchedornotand
transmitsthisinformationtotheelectronic
controlunit.
274
ZAWARNING
Damagetothefrontpassengerseatcanpre-
ventthefrontairbagfromworkingproperly.
—Improperrepairordisassemblyofthefront
passengeranddriverseatwillpreventthe
AdvancedAirbagSystemfromfunctioning
properly.
—Repairstothefrontpassengerseatmustbe
performedbyqualifiedandproperlytrained
workshoppersonnel.
—Neverremovethefrontpassengeror driver
seatfromthevehicle.
—Neverremovetheupholsteryfromthefront
PassengerSeat.
—Neverdisassembleorremovepartsfromthe
seatordisconnectwiresfromit.
—Nevercarrysharpobjectsinyourpocketsor
putthemontheseat.Thecapacitivepassen-
gerdetectionmatinthefrontpassenger
seatwillnotfunctionproperlyifitispunc-
tured.
—Nevercarrythingsonyourlaporcarryob-
jectsonthefrontpassengerseat.Suchob-
jectscaninfluencethecapacitanceregis-
teredbythecapacitivepassengerdetection
system,so thatincorrectinformationispro-
videdtotheairbagcontrolunit.
—Neverstoreitemsunderthefrontpassenger
seat.PartsoftheAdvancedAirbagSystem
underthepassengerseatcouldbedam-
aged,preventingthemandtheairbagsys-
temfromworkingproperly.
—Neverplaceseatcoversorreplacementup-
holsterythathavenotbeenspecificallyap-
provedbyAudionthefrontseats.
—SeatcoverscanpreventtheAdvancedAirbag
Systemfromrecognizingchildrestraintsor
occupantsonthefrontpassengerseatand
preventthesideairbagintheseat backrest
fromdeployingproperly.
—Ifaseatheaterhasbeenretrofittedor oth-
erwiseaddedtothefrontpassengerseat,
neverinstallanychildrestraintsystemon
thisseat.
—Neverusecushions,pillows,blankets,or
similaritemsonthefrontpassengerseat.
Theadditionallayerspreventthecapacitive
80A012721BG
Airbagsystem
passengerdetectionsystemfromaccurately
measuringthecapacitanceofthechildsafe-
tyseatand/orthepersonontheseatand
thuskeeptheAdvancedAirbagSystemfrom
workingproperly.
—Neverplaceoruseanyelectricaldevice
(suchasalaptop,CDplayer,electronic
gamesdevice,powerinverterorseatheater
forchildseats)onthefrontpassengerseat
ifthedeviceisconnectedtothe12-volt
socketorthecigarettelightersocket.Such
devicescaninfluencethecapacitanceregis-
teredby thecapacitivepassengerdetection
system,sothatincorrectinformationispro-
videdtotheairbagcontrolunit.
—Ifyoumustusea childrestraintonthefront
passengerseatandthechildrestraintman-
ufacturer'sinstructionsrequirethe useofa
towel,foamcushionorsomethingelseto
properlypositionthechildrestraint,make
certainthatthePASSENGERAIRBAGOFF
¥;lightcomesonandstaysonwhenever
thechildrestraintisinstalledonthefront
passengerseat.
—IfthePASSENGERAIRBAGOFF7%;light
doesnotcomeonandstayon,immediately
installchildrestraintinarearseatingposi-
tionandhavetheairbagsysteminspected
byyourAudidealer.
ZAWARNING
Ifthefrontpassengerseat getswet,dryitim-
mediately.
—Ifliquidsoaksintothefrontpassengerseat,
thiscankeeptheairbagsystemfromwork-
ingproperlyandmay,forinstance,deacti-
vatethepassengerfrontalairbag.Ifthis
happens,thePASSENGERAIRBAGOFF3;
lightwillcomeonandstayontogetherwith
theairbagindicatorlightkaintheinstru-
mentcluster.
—Ifliquidispooledontheseat,but hasnot
soakedin,thismayalsokeeptheairbagsys-
temfromworkingproperlyandcausethe
passengerfrontalairbagtobeenabled
(turnedon),eventhoughthereisaproperly
installedchildrestraintsystemontheseat.
Wettowelsorotherwetthingsontheseat
cushioncanhavethesameeffect.Ifthe
frontpassengerfrontalairbagisturnedon,
thePASSENGERAIRBAGOFF3;lightwill
turnoff.
HowtheAdvancedAirbagSystem
componentsworktogether
ThefrontAdvancedAirbagSystemandtheside
airbagssupplementtheprotectionofferedbythe
frontthree-pointsafetybeltsandtheadjustable
headrestraintstohelpreducetheriskofinjuryin
awiderangeofaccidentandcrashsituations.Be
suretoreadtheimportantinformationabout
safetyandheedtheWARNINGSinthischapter.
DeploymentoftheAdvancedAirbagSystemand
theactivationofthesafetybeltpretensionersde-
pendonthedecelerationmeasuredbythecrash
sensorsandregisteredbytheelectroniccontrol
unit.Crashseveritydependsonspeedanddecel-
erationaswellasthemassandstiffnessofthe
vehicleorobjectinvolvedinthecrash.
Onthepassengerside,regardlessofsafetybelt
use,thefrontpassengerfrontalairbagwillbe
turnedoffiftheelectricalcapacitancemeasured
bythecapacitivepassengerdetectionsystemon
thefrontpassengerseatislessthantheamount
programmedintheelectroniccontrolunit.The
frontpassengerfrontalairbagwillalsobeturned
offifthecapacitancemeasuredby thesystemfor
thefrontpassengerseatequalsthat ofaninfant
ofaboutoneyearofagein oneofthechildseats
thatwasusedtocertifytheAdvancedAirbagSys-
temunderFederalMotorVehicleSafetyStandard
208.ThePASSENGERAIRBAGOFF%;light
comesonandstaysontotellyouwhenthefront
AdvancedAirbagSystemonthepassengerside
hasbeenturnedoff>page278.
ZAWARNING
To reducetheriskofinjurywhenanairbagin-
flates,alwayswearsafetybeltsproperly.
—Ifyouareunrestrained,leaningforward,sit-
tingsidewaysoroutofpositioninanyway,
yourriskofinjuryismuchhigher.
—Youwillalsoreceiveseriousinjuriesand
couldevenbekilledifyouareupagainstthe|>
275
Airbagsystem
airbagortooclosetoitwhenitinflates-
evenwithanAdvancedAirbag>page266.
TmtmeeRomanalLolimicedta
airbags
B4L-1300
Fig.233Inflatedfrontairbags
Safetybeltsareimportanttohelpkeepfrontseat
occupantsintheproperseatedpositionsothat
airbagscanunfoldproperlyandprovidesupple-
mentalprotectioninafrontalcollision.
Thefrontairbagsaredesignedtoprovideaddi-
tionalprotectionforthechestandfaceofthe
driverandthefrontseatpassengerwhen:
—safetybeltsarewornproperly
—theseatshavebeenpositionedsothattheoc-
cupantisproperlyseatedasfaraspossible
fromtheairbag
—andtheheadrestraintshavebeenproperlyad-
justed
Becauseairbagsinflateintheblinkofaneyewith
greatforce,thingsyouhaveonyourlaporhave
placedontheseatcouldbecomedangerouspro-
jectiles,andbepushedintoyouiftheairbagin-
flates.
Whenanairbagdeploys,finedustisreleased.
Thisisnormalandisnotcausedbyafireinthe
vehicle.Thisdustismadeupmostlyofapowder
usedtolubricatetheairbagsastheydeploy.It
couldirritateskin.
Itisimportanttorememberthatwhilethesup-
plementalairbagsystemisdesignedtoreduce
thelikelihoodof seriousinjuries,otherinjuries,
forexampleswelling,bruisingandminorabra-
sions,canalsohappenwhenairbagsinflate.Air-
bagsdonotprotectthearmsorthelowerparts
276
ofthebody.Frontairbagssupplementthethree-
pointsafetybeltsonlyinsomefrontalcollisions
inwhichthevehicledecelerationishighenough
todeploytheairbags.
Frontairbagswillnotdeploy:
—iftheignitionisswitchedoffwhenacrashoc-
curs
—insidecollisions
—inrear-endcollisions
—inrollovers
—whenthecrashdecelerationmeasuredbythe
airbagsystemislessthantheminimumthresh-
old neededforairbagdeploymentasregistered
bytheelectroniccontrolunit
Thefrontpassengerairbagalsowillnot
deploy:
—whenthefrontpassengerseatisnotoccupied,
—whentheelectricalcapacitancemeasuredby
thecapacitivepassengerdetectionsystemfor
thefrontpassengerseatindicatesthatthepas-
sengersidefrontalairbagmustbeswitchedoff
bytheelectroniccontrolunit(thePASSENGER
AIRBAGOFF#;light>page278comeson
andstayson).
ZAWARNING
Sittinginthewrongpositioncanincreasethe
riskofseriousinjuryincrashes.
—Toreducetheriskofinjurywhentheairbags
inflate,thedriverandpassengersmustal-
wayssitinanuprightposition,mustnot
leanagainstorplaceanypartoftheirbody
tooclosetotheareawheretheairbagsare
located.
—Occupantswhoareunbelted,outofposition
ortooclosetotheairbagcanbeseriouslyin-
juredby anairbagasitunfoldswithgreat
forceintheblinkofaneye>page267.
ZXWARNING
Achildinarearward-facingchildsafetyseat
installedonthefrontpassengerseatwillbe
seriouslyinjuredandcanbekilledifthefront
airbaginflates-evenwithanAdvancedAirbag
System.