2019 AUDI Q7 child restraint

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>page280,fig.237
andtellsyouthestatusoftheAdvancedAirbag
onthepassengerside.
—Asensorinthesafetybeltlatchforthedriver
andforthefrontseatpassengerthatsenses
whetherthatsafetybeltislatchedornotand
transmitsthisinformationtotheelectronic
controlunit.
276


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

4M0012721BG
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>page280.

ZAWARNING
To reducetheriskofinjurywhenanairbagin-
flates,alwayswearsafetybeltsproperly.
—Ifyouareunrestrained,leaningforward,sit-
tingsidewaysoroutofpositioninanyway,
yourriskofinjuryismuchhigher.
—Youwillalsoreceiveseriousinjuriesand
couldevenbekilledifyouareupagainstthe|>

277

Airbagsystem


airbagortooclosetoitwhenitinflates-
evenwithanAdvancedAirbag>page268.

TmtmeeRomanalLolimicedta
airbags

B4L-1300


Fig.236Inflatedfrontairbags
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
278
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>page280comeson
andstayson).
ZAWARNING
Sittinginthewrongpositioncanincreasethe
riskofseriousinjuryincrashes.

—Toreducetheriskofinjurywhentheairbags
inflate,thedriverandpassengersmustal-
wayssitinanuprightposition,mustnot
leanagainstorplaceanypartoftheirbody
tooclosetotheareawheretheairbagsare
located.
—Occupantswhoareunbelted,outofposition
ortooclosetotheairbagcanbeseriouslyin-
juredby anairbagasitunfoldswithgreat
forceintheblinkofaneye>page269.

ZXWARNING
Achildinarearward-facingchildsafetyseat
installedonthefrontpassengerseatwillbe
seriouslyinjuredandcanbekilledifthefront
airbaginflates-evenwithanAdvancedAirbag
System.

4M0012721BG
Airbagsystem

frontseatpassenger'sfrontalAdvancedAirbag.
ThePASSENGERAIRBAGOFF%;light:
—willcomeonifthefrontpassengerseatisnot
occupied;
—willcomeoniftheelectricalcapacitancemeas-
uredby thecapacitivepassengerdetectionsys-
temforthefrontpassengerseatequalsthe
combinedcapacitanceofaninfantuptoabout
oneyearofageandoneoftherearward-facing
orforward-facingchildrestraintslistedinFed-
eralMotorVehicleSafetyStandard208with
whichtheAdvancedAirbagSysteminyourvehi-
cle wascertified;Foralistingofthechildre-
straintsthatwereusedtocertifyyourvehicle's
compliancewiththeU.S.SafetyStandard
=>page292.
—willgooutifthefrontpassengerseatisoccu-
piedbyanadultasregisteredbythecapacitive
passengerdetectionsystem.
—ThePASSENGERAIRBAGOFF#;lightmust
comeonandstayoniftheignitionisonand...
—a-carbedhasbeeninstalledonthefrontpas-
sengerseat,or
—arearward-facingchildrestrainthasbeenin-
stalledonthefrontpassengerseat,or
—aforward-facingchildrestrainthasbeeninstal-
ledonthefrontpassengerseat,
—andiftheelectricalcapacitanceregisteredon
thefrontpassengerseatisequaltoorlessthan
thecombinedcapacitanceofatypical1year-
old infantandoneoftherearward-facingor
forward-facingchildrestraintslistedinFederal
MotorVehicleSafetyStandard208withwhich
theAdvancedAirbagSysteminyourvehiclewas
certified.
Ifthefrontpassengerseatisnotoccupied,the
frontairbagwillnotdeploy,andthePASSENGER
AIRBAGOFF3%;lightwillstayon.
Neverinstallarearward-facingchildrestrainton
thefrontpassengerseat,thesafestplacefora
child
inanykind ofchildrestraintisatoneofthe
seatingpositionsontherearseat>page269,
Childrestraintsonthefrontseat-someimpor-
tantthingstoknowand>page290,Childsafe-
ty.
IfthePASSENGERAIRBAGOFF3%;light
comeson...
IfthePASSENGERAIRBAGOFF#;lightcomes
onwhenoneoftheconditionslistedaboveis
met, besuretocheckthelightregularlytomake
certainthatthePASSENGERAIRBAGOFF7;
lightstaysoncontinuouslywhenevertheignition
ison.IfthePASSENGERAIRBAGOFF3;light
doesnotappearonanddoesnotstayonallthe
time,stopassoonasitissafe todosoand
—reactivatethesystembyturningtheignitionoff
formorethan4secondsandthenturningiton
again;
—removeandreinstallthechildrestraint.Make
surethatthechildrestraintisproperlyinstalled
andthatthesafetybeltforthefrontpassenger
seathasbeencorrectlyroutedthroughthe
childrestraintasdescribedinthechildrestraint
manufacturer'sinstructions;
—makesurethattheconvertiblelockingretractor
onthesafetybeltforthefrontpassengerseat
hasbeenactivatedandthatthesafetybelthas
beenpulledtight.
—makesurethatnoelectricaldevice(suchasa
laptop,CDplayer,electronicgamesdevice,
powerinverterorseatheaterforchildseats)is
placedorusedonthefrontpassengerseatif
thedeviceisconnectedtothe12-voltsocketor
thecigarettelightersocket;
—makesurethatnoseatheaterhasbeenretrofit-
tedorotherwiseaddedtothefrontpassenger
seat;
—makesurethatnothingcaninterferewiththe
safetybeltbucklesandthattheyarenotob-
structed;
—makesurethattherearenowetobjects(such
asawettowel)andnowaterorotherliquidson
thefrontpassengerseatcushion.
IfthePASSENGERAIRBAGOFF&,lightstill
doesnotcomeon...
IfthePASSENGERAIRBAGOFF%;lightstill
doesnotcomeonanddoesnotstayoncontinu-
ously(whentheignitionisswitchedon),
—takethechildrestraintoffthefrontpassenger
seatandinstallitproperlyatoneoftherear
281
>

Airbagsystem

seatpositions.Havetheairbagsysteminspect-
edbyyourAudidealerimmediately.
—movethechildtoarearseatpositionandmake
sure thatthechildisproperlyrestrainedina
childrestraintthatisappropriateforitssize
andage.
ThePASSENGERAIRBAGOFF3%;light
shouldNOTcomeon...
ThePASSENGERAIRBAGOFF%;lightshould
NOTcomeonwhentheignitionisonandanadult
issittinginaproperseatingpositiononthefront
passengerseat.IfthePASSENGERAIRBAGOFF
%¥;lightcomesonandstaysonwhiledriving,un-
derthesecircumstances,makesurethat:
—theadultonthefrontpassengerseatisproper-
lyseatedonthecenteroftheseatcushionwith
hisorherbackupagainstthebackrestandthe
backrestisnotreclined,
—theadultisnottakingweightofftheseatby
holdingontothepassengerassisthandle
abovethefrontpassengerdoororsupporting
theirweightonthearmrest,
—thesafetybeltisbeingproperlywornandthat
thereisnotalotofslackinthesafetybeltweb-
bing,
—therearenoaftermarketseatcoversorcush-
ions orotherthings(such as blankets)onthe
frontpassengerseatthatmightcausetheca-
pacitivepassengerdetectionsystemto miscal-
culate
electricalcapacitance.
lacetamedClcwela)

monitoringtheAdvancedAirbagSystem

makesuretheadultisproperlyseatedand
restrainedatoneoftherearseatingposi-
tions.Havetheairbagsysteminspectedby
yourauthorizedAudidealerbeforetrans-
portinganyoneonthefrontpassengerseat.


Z\WARNING
Anairbagsystemthatisnotfunctioningprop-
erlycannotprovidesupplementalprotection
inafrontalcrash.
—Iftheairbagindicatorlight>page22
comeswhenthevehicleisbeingused,have
thesysteminspectedimmediatelybyyour
authorizedAudidealer.Itispossiblethat
theairbagwillinflatewhenitisnotsup-
posedto,orwillnotinflatewhenitshould.


ZAWARNING
—IfthestatusoftheAdvancedAirbagSystem
haschangedwhilethevehicleismoving,the
PASSENGERAIRBAGOFF%;ON@light
blinks forabout5secondstocatchthedriv-
er'sattention.Ifthishappens,alwaysstop
assoonasitissafe todosoandcheckthe
stepsdescribedabove.
—IfthePASSENGERAIRBAGOFF%;light
doesnotgooffwhenanadultwhoisnot
verysmallissittingonthefrontpassenger


seataftertakingthestepsdescribedabove,
ZA\WARNING
Ifthefrontairbaginflates,a childwithouta
childrestraint,orinarearward-facingchild
safetyseat,orinaforward-facingchildre-
straintthathasnotbeenproperlyinstalled
willbeseriouslyinjuredandcanbekilled.
—Eventhoughyourvehicleisequippedwith
anAdvancedAirbagSystem,makecertain
thatallchildren,especially12yearsand
younger,alwaysrideonthebackseatprop-
erlyrestrainedfortheirageandsize.
—Alwaysinstallforwardorrear-facingchild
safetyseatsontherearseat-evenwithan
AdvancedAirbagSystem.
—Ifyoumustinstallarearward-facingchild
safetyseatonthefrontpassengerseatbe-
causeofexceptionalcircumstancesandthe
PASSENGERAIRBAGOFF#;lightdoesnot
appearandstayon,immediatelyinstallthe
rear-facingchildsafetyseatinarearseating
positionandhavetheairbagsysteminspect-
edbyyourauthorizedAudidealer.
—If,inexceptionalcircumstances,youmust
installaforward-facingchildrestrainton
thefrontpassengerseat,alwaysmovethe
seatintoitsrearmostpositionintheseat's
foreandaftadjustmentrange,asfaraway
fromtheairbagaspossible.Thebackrest
mustbeadjustedtoanuprightposition.
MakesurethatthePASSENGERAIRBAG

282

Airbagsystem


thevehiclebatterywithapyrotechniccircuit
interrupter.
—Workonthepyrotechniccircuitinterrupter
mustonlybeperformedbyaqualified
technicianswhohavetheexperience,in-
formationandspecialtoolsnecessaryto
performtheworksafely.
—Ifthevehicleorthecircuitinterrupteris
scrapped,allapplicablesafetyprecautions
mustbefollowed.

OldtmeaeMar eeelaaNCle-\e)
Airbagperformance
Changingthevehicle'ssuspensionsystemcan
changethewaythattheAdvancedAirbagSystem
performsinacrash.Forexample,usingtire-rim
combinationsnotapprovedbyAudi,loweringthe
vehicle,changingthestiffnessofthesuspension,
includingthesprings,suspensionstruts,shock
absorbersetc.canchangetheforcesthatare
measuredbytheairbagsensorsandsenttothe
electroniccontrolunit.Somesuspensionchanges
can,forexample,increasetheforcelevelsmeas-
uredbythesensorsandmaketheairbagsystem
deployincrashesinwhichitwouldnotdeployif
thechangeshadnotbeenmade.Otherkindsof
changesmayreducetheforcelevelsmeasuredby
thesensorsandpreventtheairbagfromdeploy-
ingwhenitshould.


Z\WARNING
Changingthevehicle'ssuspensionincluding
useof unapprovedtire-rimcombinationscan
changeAdvancedAirbagperformanceandin-
creasetheriskofseriouspersonalinjuryina
crash.
—Neverinstallsuspensioncomponentsthat
donothavethesameperformancecharac-
teristicsasthecomponentsoriginallyinstal-
ledonyourvehicle.
—Neverusetire-rimcombinationsthathave
notbeenapprovedbyAudi.

284
Sideairbags
eyegydaUrey
Theairbagsystemcanprovidesupplemental
protectiontoproperlyrestrainedoccupants.
QS
2
==ao

Fig.238Sideairbaglocationinthedriver'sseat
Thesideairbagsarelocatedinthesidesofthe
frontseatbackrests>fig.238andtherearback-
rest*facingthedoors.
Thesideairbagsinstalled forthefrontseating
positionshavebeendesignedandcertifiedto
helpreducetheriskofinjurythatcanbecaused
byairbagswhentheyinflate,particularlywhen
theoccupantsittingnexttoitisnot seatedprop-
erly.Thesideairbagforthefrontpassengerseat
canbeusedwithproperlyinstalledchildre-
straints.Pleasebesuretoreadtheimportantin-
formationandwarningswheneverusingachild
restraintinavehicle:Safetybelts>page260,
Airbagsystem>page268,Childsafety
=>page290.
Thesideairbagsystembasicallyconsistsof:
—theelectroniccontrolmoduleandexternalside
impactsensors
—thetwosideairbags locatedinthesidesofthe
frontbackrests
—tworearsideairbags*
—theairbagwarninglightintheinstrumentclus-
ter.
Theairbagsystemismonitoredelectronicallyto
makecertainthatitisfunctioningproperlyatall
times.Eachtimeyouturnontheignition,theair-
bagsystemindicatorlightwillcomeonforafew
seconds(selfdiagnostics).

Airbagsystem

sidetrimpanelandthepassenger.Inorderto
helpprovidethisadditionalprotection,theside
airbagmustinflatewithinafractionofasecond
atveryhighspeedandwithgreatforce.Thesup-
plementalsideairbagcouldinjureyouifyour
seatingpositionisnotproperoruprightorif
itemsarelocatedintheareawherethesupple-
mentalsideairbagexpands.This appliesespe-
ciallytochildren>page290,Childsafety.Sup-
plementalsideairbagsinflatebetweentheoccu-
pantandthedoorpanelonthesideofthevehicle
thatisstruckincertainsidecollision>fig.239.
Althoughtheyarenotasoftpillow,theycan
“cushion”theimpactandinthiswaytheycan
helptoreducetheriskofinjurytotheupperpart
ofthebody.
Afinedustmaydevelopwhentheairbagdeploys.
Thisisnormalanddoesnotmeanthereisafire
inthevehicle.
echAUResc)
Eleeel)
Airbagsareonlysupplementalrestraints.Always
properlywearsafetybeltsandrideinaproper
seatingposition.
Thereisalotthatyou andyourpassengersmust
knowandactaccordinglytohelpthesafetybelts
andairbagsdotheirjobtoprovidesupplemental
protection.

Z\WARNING
Aninflatingsideairbagcancauseseriousor
fatalinjury.Improperlywearingsafetybelts
andimproperseatingpositionsincreasethe
riskofseriouspersonalinjuryanddeath
wheneveravehicleisbeingused.
—Inordertoreducetheriskofinjurywhenthe
supplementalsideairbaginflates:
—Alwayssitinanuprightpositionandnever
leanagainsttheareawherethesupple-
mentalsideairbagislocated.
—Neverleta childor anyoneelseresttheir
headagainstthesidetrimpanelinthe
areawherethe supplementalsideairbag
inflates.

286


—Alwaysmakesurethatsafetybeltsare
worncorrectly,
— Donotletanyonesittinginthefrontseat
puttheirhandoranyotherpartsoftheir
bodyoutofthewindow.
—Alwaysmakesurethatthesideairbagcan
inflatewithoutinterference.
—Neverinstallseatcoversorreplacement
upholsteryoverthefrontseatbacksthat
havenotbeenspecificallyapprovedbyAu-
di.
—Neveruseadditionalseatcushionsthat
covertheareaswherethesideairbagsde-
ploy.
—Damagetotheoriginalseatcoversor to
theseamintheareaofthesideairbag
modulemustalwaysberepairedimmedi-
atelyby anauthorizedAudidealer.
—Objectsbetweenyouandtheairbagcanin-
creasetheriskofinjuryinanaccidentbyin-
terferingwiththewaytheairbagunfoldsor
bybeingpushedintoyouastheairbagin-
flates.
—Neverplaceorattachaccessoriesorother
objects(such ascupholders,telephone
brackets,orevenlarge,bulkyobjects)on
thedoors,overorneartheareamarked
“AIRBAG”ontheseatbackrests.
—Suchobjectsandaccessoriescanbecome
dangerousprojectilesandcauseinjury
whenthesupplementalsideairbagde-
ploys.
—Nevercarryanyobjectsorpetsinthede-
ploymentspacebetweenthemandtheair-
bagsorallowchildrenorotherpassengers
totravelinthisposition.
—Alwaysusethebuilt-incoathooks*onlyfor
lightweightclothing.Neverleaveanyheavy
orsharp-edgedobjectsinthepocketsthat
mayinterferewithsideairbagdeployment
andcancausepersonalinjuryinanaccident.
—Alwayspreventthesideairbagsfrombeing
damagedbyheavyobjectsknockingagainst
orhittingthesidesoftheseatbacks.
— Theairbagsystemcanonlybetriggered
once.Iftheairbaghasbeentriggered,the

Airbagsystem

thatthesidecurtainairbagscanprovideprotec-
tion.
Theairbagsystemisnotasubstituteforyour
safetybelt.Rather,itispartoftheoveralloccu-
pantrestraintsysteminyourvehicle.Alwaysre-
memberthattheairbagsystemcanonlyhelpto
protectyouifyouarewearingyoursafetybelt
andwearingitproperly.Thisisanotherreason
whyyoushouldalwayswearyoursafetybelts,
notjustbecausethelawrequiresyoutodoso
=>page260,Generalinformation.
Itisimportanttorememberthatwhiletheside
curtainairbagsystemisdesignedtohelpreduce
thelikelihoodof seriousinjuries,otherinjuries,
forexample,swelling,bruising,frictionburns
andminorabrasionscanalsobeassociatedwith
theseairbagsupondeployment.Remembertoo,
theseairbagswilldeployonlyonceandonlyin
certainkindsofaccidents-yoursafetybeltsare
alwaystheretoofferprotection.
Thesidecurtainairbagsystembasically
consistsof:
—Theelectroniccontrolmoduleandexternalside
impactsensors
—Thesidecurtainairbagsabovethewindowsof
theouterseatingpositionswithejectionmiti-
gationfeatures
—Theairbagindicatorlightintheinstrument
panel
Theairbagsystemismonitoredelectronicallyto
makecertainitisfunctioningproperlyatall
times.Eachtimeyouturnontheignition,theair-
bagsystemindicatorlightwillcomeonforafew
seconds(selfdiagnostics).
Thesidecurtainairbagisnotactivated:
—iftheignitionisturnedoff
—insidecollisionswhentheaccelerationmeas-
uredby thesensoristoolow
—inrear-endcollisions.

ZAWARNING
—Safetybeltsandtheairbagsystemwillonly
provideprotectionwhenoccupantsarein
theproperseatingposition>page53,
Frontseats.

288

-Iftheairbagindicatorlight>page22
comeswhenthevehicleisbeingused,have
thesysteminspectedimmediatelybyyour
authorizedAudidealer.Itispossiblethat
theairbagwillinflatewhenitisnotsup-
posedto,orwillnotinflatewhenitshould.
Howsidecurtainairbagswork
Sidecurtainairbagscanworktogetherwithside
airbagstohelpreducetheriskofheadandupper
torsoinjuriesforoccupantswhoareproperlyre-
strained.


B4M-0163

Fig.241Illustrationofprinciple:Inflatedsidecurtainair-
bagsontheleftside
Thesidecurtainairbagsinflatebetweentheoc-
cupantandthewindowsinasidecollision
>fig.241.
Whenthesystemistriggered,thesidecurtain
airbagisfilledwithpropellantgasandbreaks
throughaseamabovethefrontandrearside
windowsidentifiedby theAIRBAGlabel.Inorder
tohelpprovidethisadditionalprotection,the
sidecurtainairbagmustinflatewithintheblink
ofaneyeatveryhighspeedandwithgreatforce.
The
sidecurtainairbagcouldinjureyouifyour
seatingpositionisnotproperoruprightorif
itemsarelocatedintheareawherethesupple-
mentalsidecurtainairbaginflates.Thisapplies
especiallytochildren>page290.
Althoughtheyarenotasoftpillow,sidecurtain
airbagscan“cushion”theimpactandinthisway
they canhelptoreducetheriskofinjurytothe
headandtheupperpartofthebody.
Afinedustmaydevelopwhentheairbagdeploys.
Thisisquitenormalanddoesnotmeanthereisa
fireinthevehicle.