Airbagsystem
ZA\WARNING
Changingthevehicle'ssuspensionincluding
useof unapprovedtire-rimcombinationscan
changeAdvancedAirbagperformanceandin-
creasetheriskofseriouspersonalinjuryina
crash.
—Neverinstallsuspensioncomponentsthat
donothavethesameperformancecharac-
teristicsasthecomponentsoriginallyinstal-
ledonyourvehicle.
—Neverusetire-rimcombinationsthathave
notbeenapprovedbyAudi.
Kneeairbags
Descriptionofkneeairbags
Thekneeairbagsystemcanprovidesupplemen-
talprotectiontoproperlyrestrained frontseat
occupants.
BFV-0186
Fig.156Driver'skneeairbag
Thedriverkneeairbagisintheinstrumentpanel
underneaththesteeringwheel>fig.156,the
airbagforthepassengerisataboutthesame
heightintheinstrumentpanelunderneaththe
glovecompartment.
Thekneeairbagoffersadditionalprotectionto
thedriver'sandpassenger'skneesandupperand
lowerthigh areasandsupplementstheprotec-
tionprovidedbythesafetybelts.
Ifthefrontairbagsdeploy,thekneeairbagsalso
deployinfrontalcollisionswhenthedeployment
thresholdstoredinthecontrolunitismet
=page197,Moreimportantthingstoknow
aboutfrontairbags.
204
Inadditiontotheirnormalsafetyfunction,safe-
tybeltshelpkeepthedriverorfrontpassengerin
positioninafrontalcollisionso thattheairbags
canprovidesupplementalprotection.
Theairbagsystemisnotasubstituteforyour
safetybelt.Rather,itispartoftheoveralloccu-
pantrestraintsysteminyourvehicle.Alwaysre-
memberthattheairbagsystemcanonlyhelpto
protectyouifyouarewearingyoursafetybelt
andwearingitproperly.Thisiswhyyoushouldal-
wayswearyoursafetybelt,notjustbecausethe
law
requiresyoutodoso>page180,General
notes.
Remembertoo,airbagswilldeployonlyonceand
onlyincertainkindsofaccidents-yoursafety
beltsarealwaystheretoofferprotectioninthose
accidentsinwhichairbagsarenotsupposedto
deployorwhenthey havealreadydeployed,for
examplewhenyourvehiclestrikesorisstruckby
anotherafterthefirstcollision.
Thisisjustoneofthereasonswhyanairbagis
notasubstituteforthesafetybelt.Theairbag
systemworksmosteffectivelywhenusedwith
thesafetybelts.Therefore,alwayswearyour
safetybeltscorrectly.
Itisimportanttorememberthatwhilethesup-
plementalkneeairbagsystemisdesignedtore-
ducethelikelihoodof seriousinjuries,otherinju-
ries,forexample,swelling,bruisingand minor
abrasionsandfrictionburnscanalsooccurwhen
anairbaginflates.
Thekneeairbagsystembasicallyconsistsof:
—Theelectroniccontrolmodule
—Twoinflatableairbags(airbagandgasgenera-
tor),oneforthedriverandoneforthefront
passenger
—Theairbagwarninglightintheinstrumentclus-
ter
Thekneeairbagsystemwillnotdeploy:
—whentheignitionisswitchedoff
—infrontalcollisionswhenthedeceleration
measuredbythecontrolunitistoolow
—insidecollisions
—inrear-endcollisions
8S1012721BA
Airbagsystem
—inrollovers
—intheeventofasystemmalfunction(warning/
indicatorlightison)>page18.
Z\WARNING
—Safetybeltsandtheairbagsystemcanonly
provideprotectionwhenoccupantsarein
theproperseatingposition>page197.
—Iftheairbagindicatorlight>page18
comes
whenthevehicleisbeingused,have
thesysteminspectedimmediatelybyyour
authorizedAudidealer.Itispossiblethat
theairbagwillinflatewhenitisnotsup-
posedto,orwillnotinflatewhenitshould.
Howkneeairbagswork
Theriskofinjurytothelegareacanbereduced
byfullyinflatedkneeairbags.
S 6
= o
Fig.157Inflatedairbagsprotectinginafrontalcollision
Thekneeairbagsystemhasbeendesignedso
thattheairbagsforthedriverandfrontpassen-
gerdeployincertainbut notallfrontalcollisions.
Ifthefrontairbagsdeploy,thekneeairbagsalso
deployinfrontalcollisionswhenthedeployment
thresholdstoredinthecontrolunitismet.
Whenthesystemdeploys,theairbagsfill witha
propellantgas,andinflatebetweenthelower
partoftheinstrumentpanelandthedriverand
thelowerpartoftheinstrumentpanelandthe
frontpassenger>page197,fig.154.
Althoughtheyarenotasoftpillow,theycan
“cushion”theimpact andinthiswaythey can
helptoreducetheriskofinjurytothelowerex-
tremities.
Allofthistakesplaceintheblinkofaneye,so
fastthatmanypeopledon'tevenrealizethatthe
airbagshavedeployed.Theairbagsalsoinflate
withagreatdeal offorceanditisimportantfor
occupantsafetythatnothingshouldbeintheir
waywhentheydeploy.
Fullyinflatedairbagsincombinationwithproper-
lywornsafetybeltsslowdownandlimittheoc-
cupant'sforwardmovementandhelptoreduce
theriskofinjury.
Importantsafetyinstructionsontheknee
airbagsystem
Airbagsareonlysupplementalrestraints.Always
wearsafetybeltscorrectlyandrideinaproper
seatingposition.
Thereisalotthatyou andyourpassengersmust
knowanddotohelpthesafetybeltsandairbags
toprovidesupplementalprotection.
ZAWARNING
Aninflatingkneeairbagcancauseseriousin-
jury.Wearingsafetybeltsincorrectlyandim-
properseatingpositions increasetheriskof
seriouspersonalinjuryanddeathwhenevera
vehicleisbeingused.
—Thekneeairbagsystemcannotprotectyou
properlyifyouareseatedtooclosetoanyof
theairbaglocations.Whenadjustingtheir
seatpositions,it isimportantthatboththe
driverandthefrontpassengerkeeptheir
upperbodiesandkneesatthefollowing
minimumsafedistances:
—atleast10in(25cm)betweenthechest
andthesteeringwheel/instrumentpanel.
—atleast4in(10cm)betweentheknees
andthelowerpartoftheinstrumentpan-
el.
—Theriskofpersonalinjuryincreasesifyou
leanforwardortotheside,oriftheseatis
improperlypositionedandyouarenot wear-
ingyoursafetybelt.Theriskincreaseseven
moreshould theairbagdeploy.
—Alwaysmakesurethatthekneeairbagcan
inflatewithoutinterference.Objectsbe-
tweenyouandtheairbagcanincreasethe
205
Airbagsystem
riskofinjuryinanaccidentbyinterfering
withthewaytheairbagdeploysorbybeing
pushedintoyouastheairbagdeploys.
—Neverletanybody,especiallychildrenor
animalsrideinthefootwellinfrontofthe
passengerseat.Iftheairbagdeploys,this
canresultinseriousorfatalinjuries.
—Nevercarryobjectsofanykindinthefoot-
wellareainfrontofthedriver'sorpas-
senger'sseat.Bulkyobjects(shopping
bags,forexample)caninterferewithor
preventproperdeploymentoftheairbag.
Smallobjectscanbethrownthroughthe
vehicleiftheairbagdeploysandinjureyou
oryourpassengers.
—Makesuretherearenocracks,deepscratch-
es orotherdamageintheareaoftheinstru-
mentpanelwherethekneeairbagsarelo-
cated.
—Ifchildrenareincorrectlyseated,theirrisk
ofinjuryincreasesinacollision>page212,
Childsafety.
Sideairbags
Descriptionofsideairbags
Theairbagsystemcanprovidesupplemental
protectiontoproperlyrestrained frontseatoccu-
pants.
1D6 S =
> c
oO
Thesideairbagsarelocatedinthesidesofthe
frontseatbackrests>fig.158facingthedoors.
Theyareidentifiedbytheword“AIRBAG”.
Thesideairbagsinstalledforthefrontseating
positionshavebeendesignedandcertifiedto
helpreducetheriskofinjurythatcanbecaused
byairbagswhentheyinflate,particularlywhen
206
theoccupantsittingnexttoit isnot seatedprop-
erly.Thesideairbagforthefrontpassengerseat
canbeusedwithproperlyinstalledchildre-
straints.Pleasebesuretoreadtheimportantin-
formationandwarningswheneverusingachild
restraintinavehicle:Safetybelts>page180,
Airbagsystem>page188,Childsafety
=>page212.
Thesideairbagsystembasicallyconsistsof:
—theelectroniccontrolmoduleandexternalside
impactsensors
—thetwosideairbags locatedinthesidesofthe
frontbackrests
—theairbagwarninglightintheinstrumentclus-
ter.
Theairbagsystemismonitoredelectronicallyto
makecertainthatitisfunctioningproperlyatall
times.Eachtimeyouturnontheignition,theair-
bagsystemindicatorlightwillcomeonforafew
seconds(selfdiagnostics).
Thesideairbagsystemsupplementsthesafety
beltsandcanhelptoreducetheriskofinjuryto
thedriver'sandfrontpassenger'suppertorsoon
thesideofthevehiclethatisstruckinasidecol-
lision.Theairbagdeploysinsideimpactsandon-
lywhenthevehicleaccelerationregisteredby the
controlunitishighenough.Ifthisrateisbelow
thereferencevalueprogrammedintothecontrol
unit,thesideairbagswillnotbetriggered,even
thoughthecarmaybebadlydamagedasaresult
ofthecollision.Itisnotpossibletodefineanair-
bagtriggeringrangethatwillcovereverypossi-
bleangleofimpact,sincethecircumstanceswill
varyconsiderablybetweenonecollisionandan-
other.Importantfactorsinclude,forexample,
thenature(hardorsoft)oftheimpactingobject,
theangleofimpact,vehiclespeed,etc.
=page208,Importantsafetyinstructionson
thesideairbagsystem.
Asidefromtheirnormalsafetyfunction, safety
belts
worktohelpkeepthedriverorfrontpas-
sengerinpositionintheeventofasidecollision
sothatthesideairbagscanprovideprotection.
Theairbagsystemisnotasubstituteforyour
safetybelt.Rather,itispartoftheoveralloccu-
pantrestraintsysteminyourvehicle.Always>
8S1012721BA
Airbagsystem
rememberthatthesideairbagsystemcanonly
helptoprotectyouifyouarewearingyoursafety
beltandwearingitproperly.Thisisanotherrea-
sonwhyyoushouldalwayswearyoursafety
belts,notjustbecausethelawrequiresyoutodo
so>page180,Generalnotes.
Itisimportanttorememberthatwhilethesup-
plementalsideairbagsystemisdesignedtore-
ducethelikelihoodofseriousinjuries,otherinju-
ries,forexample,swelling,bruising,friction
burnsandminorabrasionscanalsobeassociated
withdeployedsideairbags.Remembertoo,side
airbagswilldeployonlyonceandonlyincertain
kindsofaccidents-yoursafetybeltsarealways
theretoofferprotection.
Vehicledamage,repaircostsoreventhelackof
vehicledamagearenotnecessarilyanindication
ofover-sensitiveorfailedairbagactivation.In
somecollisions,bothfrontandsideairbagsmay
inflate.Remembertoo,thatairbagswilldeploy
onlyonceandonlyincertainkindsofcollisions-
yoursafetybeltsarealwaystheretoofferprotec-
tioninthoseaccidentsinwhichairbagsarenot
supposedtodeployorwhentheyhavealready
deployed.
Thesideairbagsystemwillnotdeploy:
—whentheignitionisswitchedoff
—insidecollisionswhentheaccelerationmeas-
uredby thesensoristoolow
—infront-endcollisions
—inrear-endcollisions
—inrollovers.
Insometypesofaccidentsthefrontairbags,side
curtainairbags*andsideairbagsmaybetrig-
geredtogether.
ZXWARNING
—Safetybeltsandtheairbagsystemwillonly
provideprotectionwhenoccupantsarein
theproperseatingposition>page208.
—Iftheairbagindicatorlight>page 18
comeswhenthevehicleisbeingused,have
thesysteminspectedimmediatelybyyour
authorizedAudidealer.Itispossiblethat
theairbagwillinflatewhenitisnotsup-
posedto,orwillnotinflatewhenitshould.
Howsupplementalsideairbagswork
Sideairbagsdeployinstantlyandcanhelpre-
ducetheriskofuppertorsoinjuriesforoccu-
pantswhoareproperlyrestrained.
oO cS
3S > c
oO
Fig.159Inflatedsideairbagonleftsideofvehicle
Whenthesystemistriggered,theairbagisfilled
withpropellantgasandbreaksthroughaseamin
theseatsurfaceareamarked“AIRBAG”.Itex-
pandsbetweenthesidetrimpanelandthepas-
senger.Inordertohelpprovidethisadditional
protection,thesideairbagmustinflatewithina
fractionofasecondatvery highspeedandwith
greatforce.Thesupplementalsideairbagcould
injureyouifyourseatingpositionisnotproperor
uprightorifitemsarelocatedintheareawhere
thesupplementalsideairbagexpands.Thisap-
pliesespeciallytochildren>page212,Child
safety.Supplementalsideairbagsinflatebe-
tweentheoccupantandthedoorpanelonthe
sideofthevehiclethatisstruckincertainside
collision>fig.159.
Althoughtheyarenotasoftpillow,theycan
“cushion” theimpactandinthiswaytheycan
helptoreducetheriskofinjurytotheupperpart
of
thebody.
Afinedustmaydevelopwhentheairbagdeploys.
Thisisnormal anddoesnotmeanthereisafire
inthevehicle.
207
Airbagsystem
Importantsafetyinstructionsontheside
airbagsystem
Airbagsareonlysupplementalrestraints.Always
properlywearsafetybeltsandrideinaproper
seatingposition.
Thereisalotthatyou andyourpassengersmust
knowandactaccordinglytohelpthesafetybelts
andairbagsdotheirjobtoprovidesupplemental
protection.
ZA\WARNING
Aninflatingsideairbagcancauseseriousor
fatalinjury.Improperlywearingsafetybelts
andimproperseatingpositionsincreasethe
riskofseriouspersonalinjuryanddeath
wheneveravehicleisbeingused.
—Inordertoreducetheriskofinjurywhenthe
supplementalsideairbaginflates:
—Alwayssitinanuprightpositionandnever
leanagainsttheareawherethesupple-
mentalsideairbagislocated.
—Neverleta childor anyoneelseresttheir
headagainstthesidetrimpanelinthe
areawherethe supplementalsideairbag
inflates.
—Alwaysmakesurethatsafetybeltsare
worncorrectly,
—Donotletanyonesittinginthefrontseat
puttheirhandoranyotherpartsoftheir
bodyoutofthewindow.
—
Alwaysmakesurethatthesideairbagcan
inflatewithoutinterference.
—Neverinstallseatcoversorreplacement
upholsteryoverthefrontseatbacksthat
have notbeenspecificallyapprovedbyAu-
di.
—Neveruseadditionalseatcushionsthat
covertheareaswherethesideairbagsde-
ploy.
—Damagetotheoriginalseatcoversorto
theseamintheareaofthesideairbag
modulemustalwaysberepairedimmedi-
atelyby anauthorizedAudidealer.
—Objectsbetweenyou andtheairbagcanin-
creasetheriskofinjuryinanaccidentbyin-
terferingwiththewaytheairbagunfoldsor
208
bybeingpushedintoyouastheairbagin-
flates.
—Neverplaceorattachaccessoriesorother
objects(suchascupholders,telephone
brackets,orevenlarge,bulkyobjects)on
thedoors,overorneartheareamarked
“AIRBAG”ontheseatbackrests.
—Suchobjectsandaccessoriescanbecome
dangerousprojectilesandcauseinjury
whenthesupplementalsideairbagde-
ploys.
—Nevercarryanyobjectsorpetsinthede-
ploymentspacebetweenthemandtheair-
bagsor allowchildrenorotherpassengers
totravelinthisposition.
Alwaysusethebuilt-incoathooksonlyfor
lightweightclothing.Neverleaveanyheavy
orsharp-edgedobjectsinthepocketsthat
mayinterferewithsideairbagdeployment
andcancausepersonalinjuryinanaccident.
Alwayspreventthesideairbagsfrombeing
damagedbyheavyobjectsknockingagainst
orhittingthesidesoftheseatbacks.
Theairbagsystemcanonlybetriggered
once.Iftheairbaghasbeentriggered,the
systemmustbereplacedbyanauthorized
Audidealership.
Damage (cracks,deepscratchesetc.)tothe
originalseatcoversor totheseaminthe
areaofthesideairbagmodulemustalways
berepairedimmediatelybyanauthorized
Audidealer.
Ifchildrenareseatedimproperly,theirrisk
ofinjuryincreasesinthecaseofanaccident
=page212,Childsafety.
Neverattempttomodifyanycomponentsof
theairbagsysteminanyway.
Inasidecollision,sideairbagswillnotfunc-
tionproperlyifsensorscannotcorrectly
measureincreasingairpressureinsidethe
doorswhenairescapesthroughlarger,un-
closed
openingsinthedoorpanel.
—Neverdrivewithinteriordoortrimpanels
removed.
8S1012721BA
Airbagsystem
—Neverdrivewhenpartshavebeenremoved
fromtheinsidedoorpanelandtheopen-
ingstheyleavehave notbeenproperly
closed.
—Neverdrivewhenloudspeakersinthe
doorshavebeenremovedunlessthe
speakerholeshavebeenproperlyclosed.
—Alwaysmakecertainthatopeningsare
coveredorfilledifadditionalspeakersor
otherequipmentisinstalledintheinside
doorpanels.
—Alwayshaveworkonthedoorsdonebyan
authorizedAudidealerorqualifiedwork-
shop.
Sidecurtainairbags
Descriptionof side curtainairbags
Theside curtainairbagsystemcanprovidesup-
plementalprotectiontoproperlyrestrainedoc-
cupants.
= 3 s
z©
Fig.160Sidecurtainairbags,driver'sside:sidecurtainair-
baglocation
Thesidecurtainairbagsarelocatedonbothsides
oftheinteriorabovethefrontandrearsidewin-
dows>fig.160.Theyareidentifiedbytheword
“AIRBAG”onthewindshieldframe andthecen-
terroofpillar.
Thesidecurtainairbags containfeaturesthat
provideejectionmitigationtohelppreventvehi-
cleoccupantsorparts oftheirbodiesfrombeing
completelyorpartiallyejectedfromthevehicle
interiorincertainsideimpactsandvehicleroll-
overs.
Thesidecurtainairbagsystemsupplementsthe
safetybeltsandcanhelptoreducetheriskofin-
juryforoccupants'headsanduppertorso.The
sidecurtainairbaginflatesinsideimpactsand
onlywhenthevehicleaccelerationregisteredby
thecontrolunitishighenough.Ifthisrateisbe-
lowthereferencevalueprogrammedintothe
controlunit,thesidecurtainairbagwillnotbe
triggered,eventhoughthecarmaybebadly
damagedasaresultofthecollision.Itisnotpos-
sibletodefineanairbagtriggeringrangethat
willcovereverypossibleangleofimpact,since
thecircumstanceswillvaryconsiderablybetween
onecollisionandanother.Importantfactorsin-
clude,forexample,thenature(hard orsoft)of
theimpactingobject,theangleofimpact,vehicle
speed,etc.>page210,Howsidecurtainairbags
work.
Aside
fromtheirnormalsafetyfunction,safety
beltsworktohelpkeepthedriverorfrontpas-
sengerinpositionintheeventofacollisionso
thatthesidecurtainairbagscanprovideprotec-
tion.
Theairbagsystemisnotasubstituteforyour
safetybelt.Rather,itispartoftheoveralloccu-
pantrestraintsysteminyourvehicle.Alwaysre-
memberthattheairbagsystemcanonlyhelpto
protectyouifyouarewearingyoursafetybelt
andwearingitproperly.Thisisanotherreason
whyyoushouldalwayswearyoursafetybelts,
notjustbecausethelawrequiresyoutodoso
=>page180,Generalnotes.
Itisimportanttorememberthatwhiletheside
curtainairbagsystemisdesignedtohelpreduce
thelikelihoodof seriousinjuries,otherinjuries,
forexample,swelling,bruising,frictionburns
andminorabrasionscanalsobeassociatedwith
theseairbagsupondeployment.Remembertoo,
theseairbagswilldeployonlyonceandonlyin
certainkindsofaccidents-yoursafetybeltsare
alwaystheretoofferprotection.
Thesidecurtainairbagsystembasically
consistsof:
—Theelectroniccontrolmoduleandexternalside
impactsensors
—Thesidecurtainairbagsabovethefrontand
rearsidewindowswithejectionmitigationfea-
tures
209
Airbagsystem
—Theairbagindicatorlightintheinstrument
panel
Theairbagsystemismonitoredelectronicallyto
makecertainitisfunctioningproperlyatall
times.Eachtimeyouswitchontheignition,the
airbagsystemindicatorlightwillcomeonfora
fewseconds(selfdiagnostics).
Thesidecurtainairbagisnotactivated:
—iftheignitionisswitchedoff,
—insidecollisionswhentheaccelerationmeas-
uredby thesensoristoolow,
—inrear-endcollisions.
ZXWARNING
—Safetybeltsandtheairbagsystemwillonly
provideprotectionwhenoccupantsarein
theproperseatingposition>page40,
Frontseats.
—Iftheairbagindicatorlight>page18
comeswhenthevehicleisbeingused,have
thesysteminspectedimmediatelybyyour
authorizedAudidealer.Itispossiblethat
theairbagwillinflatewhenitisnotsup-
posedto,orwillnotinflatewhenitshould.
Howsidecurtainairbagswork
Sidecurtainairbagscanworktogetherwithside
airbagstohelpreducetheriskofheadandupper
torsoinjuriesforoccupantswhoareproperlyre-
strained.
2 S 3 =
= c
oa
Fig.161Illustrationofprinciple:Inflatedsidecurtainair-
bagsontheleftside
Thesidecurtainairbagsinflatebetweentheoc-
cupantandthewindowsonthesideofthevehi-
clethatisstruckinasidecollision>fig.161.
210
Whenthesystemistriggered,thesidecurtain
airbagisfilledwithpropellantgasandbreaks
throughaseamabovethefrontandrearside
windowsidentifiedby theAIRBAGlabel.Inorder
tohelpprovidethisadditionalprotection,the
sidecurtainairbagmustinflatewithintheblink
ofaneyeatveryhighspeedandwithgreatforce.
The
sidecurtainairbagcouldinjureyouifyour
seatingpositionisnotproperoruprightorif
itemsarelocatedintheareawherethesupple-
mentalsidecurtainairbaginflates.Thisapplies
especiallytochildren>page212.
Althoughtheyarenotasoftpillow,sidecurtain
airbagscan“cushion”theimpactandinthisway
they canhelptoreducetheriskofinjurytothe
headandtheupperpartofthebody.
Afinedustmaydevelopwhentheairbagdeploys.
Thisisquitenormalanddoesnotmeanthereisa
fireinthevehicle.
acetamideMelmale)
curtainairbagsystem
Airbagsareonlysupplementalrestraints.Always
properlywearsafetybeltsandrideinaproper
seatingposition.
Thereisalotthatyouandyourpassengersmust
knowanddotohelpthesafetybeltsandairbags
dotheirjobtoprovidesupplementalprotection.
ZAWARNING
Improperlywearingsafetybeltsandimproper
seatingpositionsincreasetheriskofserious
personalinjuryanddeathwheneveravehicle
isbeingused.
—Neverletoccupantsplaceanyparts oftheir
bodiesintheareafromwhichthesidecur-
tainairbaginflate.
—Alwaysmakesurethatthesidecurtainair-
bags
caninflatewithoutinterference.
—Usethebuilt-incoathooksonlyforlight-
weightclothing.Neverleaveanyheavyor
sharp-edgedobjectsinthepocketsthatmay
interferewithairbagdeploymentandcan
causepersonalinjuryinacollision.
—Neverusehangerstohangclothesonthe
hooks.
Childsafety
Childsafety
Importantinformation
Introduction
Therearseatisgenerally the safestplaceina
collision.
Thephysicalprinciplesofwhathappenswhen
yourvehicleisinacrashapplyalsotochildren
=page182,Whathappenstooccupants not
wearingsafetybelts?.Butunlikeadultsand
teenagers,theirmusclesandbonesarenotfully
developed.Inmanyrespectschildrenareat
greaterriskofseriousinjuryincrashesthan
adults.
Becausechildren'sbodiesarenotfullydeveloped,
theyrequirerestraintsystemsespeciallyde-
signedfortheirsize,weight,and bodystructure.
ManycountriesandallstatesoftheUnited
StatesandprovincesofCanadahavelawsrequir-
ingthe useofapprovedchildrestraintsystems
forinfantsandsmallchildren.
Inafrontalcrashataspeedof20-35mph
(30-56km/h)theforcesactingona13lbs (6kg)
infantwillbemorethan20timestheweightof
thechild.Thismeanstheweightofthechild
wouldsuddenlybemorethan260lbs(120kg).
Undertheseconditions,onlyanappropriatechild
restraintproperlyusedcanreducetheriskofseri-
ousinjury.Childrestraints,likeadultsafetybelts,
mustbe usedproperlytobeeffective.Usedim-
properly,theycanincreasetheriskof seriousin-
juryinanaccident.
Allchildren,especiallythose12yearsand young-
ermustalwaysrideinthebackseatproperlyre-
strainedfortheirageandsize.Ifyoumustinstall
achildrestraintonthefrontpassengerseatin
exceptionalcircumstances,besuretoreadand
heedtheimportantinformationandwarnings
=page189.Infantsandotherchildrenwhoare
properlyrestrainedinanappropriatechildre-
straintthatisfortheirsizeandagecanbenefit
fromtheprotectionthatsupplementalsideair-
bagsprovideinsomekindsofcrashes.
Formoreinformationpleaseseeinformationpro-
videdbythe:
212
—NationalHighwayTrafficSafetyAdministration
(NHTSA),currentlyat:http://www.safercar.gov
(fortheUSA)
—TransportCanadaInformationCentre,currently
at:http://www.tc.gc.ca(forCanada)
Consultthechildsafetyseatmanufacturer'sin-
structionsinordertobesuretheseatisrightfor
yourchild'ssize>page216,Importantsafety
instructionsforusingchildsafetyseats.Please
besuretoreadandheedalloftheimportantin-
formationandWARNINGSaboutchildsafety,Ad-
vancedAirbags,andtheinstallationofchildre-
straintsinthischapter.
ThereisalotyouneedtoknowabouttheAd-
vancedAirbagsinyourvehicleandhowtheywork
wheninfantsandchildreninchildrestraintsare
onthefrontpassengerseat.Becauseofthelarge
amountofimportantinformation,wecannotre-
peatitallhere.Weurgeyoutoreadthedetailed
informationinthisowner'smanualaboutairbags
andtheAdvancedAirbagSysteminyourvehicle
andtheveryimportantinformationabouttrans-
portingchildrenonthefrontpassengerseat.
PleasebesuretoheedtheWARNINGS-theyare
extremelyimportantforyoursafetyandthesafe-
tyofyourpassengers,especiallyinfantsand
smallchildren.
ZAWARNING
—Accidentstatisticshaveshownthatchildren
aregenerallysaferintherearseatareathan
inthefrontseatingposition.Alwaysrestrain
anychildage12andunderintherear.
—Allvehicleoccupantsandespeciallychildren
mustberestrainedproperlywheneverriding
inavehicle.Anunrestrainedorimproperly
restrainedchildcouldbeinjuredbystriking
theinteriororbybeingejectedfromtheve-
hicleduringasuddenmaneuverorimpact.
Anunrestrainedorimproperlyrestrained
childisalsoatgreaterriskofinjuryordeath
throughcontactwithaninflatingairbag.
—Asuitablechildrestraintproperlyinstalled
andusedatoneoftherearseatingpositions
providesthehighestdegreeofprotection
forinfantsandsmallchildreninmostacci-
dentsituations.