Safedriving
>Makesurethatchildrenarealwaysproperlyre-
strainedinachildrestraintthatisappropriate
fortheirsizeandage>page212.
ZAWARNING
Passengerswhoareimproperly seatedonthe
rearseatcanbeseriouslyinjuredinacrash.
—Eachpassengermustalwayssitonaseat of
theirownandproperlyfastenandwearthe
safetybeltbelongingtothatseat.
—Safetybeltsonlyoffermaximumprotection
whentheseatbackissecurelylatchedinthe
uprightpositionandthesafetybeltsare
properlypositionedonthebody.Bynotsit-
tingupright,arearseatpassengerincreases
theriskofpersonalinjuryfromimproperly
positionedsafetybelts!
Examplesofimproperseatingpositions
Theoccupantrestraintsystemcanonlyreduce
theriskofinjuryifvehicleoccupantsareproperly
seated.
Improperseatingpositionscancauseseriousin-
juryordeath.Safetybeltscanonlyworkwhen
theyareproperlypositionedonthebody.Im-
properseatingpositionsreducetheeffectiveness
of safety
beltsandwillevenincreasetheriskof
injuryanddeathbymovingthesafetybelttocrit-
icalareasofthebody.Improperseatingpositions
alsoincreasetheriskofseriousinjuryanddeath
whenanairbagdeploysandstrikesanoccupant
whoisnotintheproperseatingposition.Adriver
isresponsibleforthesafetyofallvehicleoccu-
pantsandespeciallyfor children.Therefore:
>Neverallowanyonetoassumeanincorrect
seatingpositionwhenthevehicleisbeingused
oA.
Thefollowingbulletinslistonlysomesamplepo-
sitionsthatwillincreasetheriskofseriousinjury
anddeath.Ourhopeisthattheseexampleswill
makeyoumoreawareofseatingpositionsthat
aredangerous.
Therefore,wheneverthevehicleismoving:
—neverstandupinthevehicle
178
—neverstandontheseats
—neverkneelontheseats
—neverridewiththeseatbackreclined
—neverliedownontheseats
—neverleanupagainsttheinstrumentpanel
—neversitontheedgeoftheseat
—neversitsideways
—neverleanout thewindow
—neverputyourfeetout thewindow
—neverputyourfeetontheinstrumentpanel
—neverrestyourfeetontheseatcushionorback
oftheseat
—neverrideinthefootwell
—neverrideinthecargoarea
ZA\WARNING
Improperseatingpositionsincreasetherisk
ofseriouspersonalinjuryanddeathwhenever
avehicleisbeingused.
—Alwaysmakesurethatallvehicleoccupants
stayinaproperseatingpositionandare
properlyrestrainedwheneverthevehicleis
beingused.
Driverandpassenger
sidefootwell
MalSelechletlina(ad(olary
ZAWARNING
Alwaysmakesurethatthekneeairbagcanin-
flatewithoutinterference.Objectsbetween
yourselfandtheairbagcanincreasetherisk
ofinjuryinanaccident byinterferingwiththe
waytheairbagdeploysorbybeingpushedin-
toyouastheairbagdeploys.
—Nopersons(children)oranimalsshouldride
inthefootwellinfrontofthepassenger
seat.Iftheairbagdeploys,thiscanresultin
serious orfatalinjuries.
—Noobjectsofanykindshouldbecarriedin
thefootwellareainfrontofthedriver'sor
passenger'sseat.Bulkyobjects(shopping
bags,forexample)canhamperorprevent
properdeploymentoftheairbag.Smallob-
jectscanbethrownthroughthevehicleif
8S1012721BA
Safedriving
theairbagdeploysandinjureyouoryour
passengers.
Pedalarea
The pedalsmustalwaysbefreetomoveand
mustneverbeinterferedwithby afloormator
anyotherobject.
Makesurethatallpedalsmovefreelywithoutin-
terferenceandthatnothingpreventsthemfrom
returningtotheiroriginalpositions.
Only usefloormatsthatleavethepedalareafree
andcan besecuredwithfloormatfasteners.
If abrakecircuitfails,increasedbrakepedaltrav-
elisrequiredto bringthevehicletoafullstop.
ZAWARNING
Pedalsthatcannotmovefreelycancauseloss
ofvehiclecontrolandincreasetheriskofseri-
ousinjury.
—Neverplaceanyobjectsinthedriver'sfoot-
well.Anobjectcouldgetintothepedalarea
andinterferewithpedalfunction.Incaseof
suddenbrakingoranaccident,youwould
notbeabletobrakeoraccelerate!
—Alwaysmakesurethatnothingcanfallor
moveintothedriver'sfootwell.
1aColeyMelaMelehTeedel
Alwaysusefloormatsthatcanbesecurelyat-
tachedtothefloormatfastenersanddonotin-
terferewiththefreemovementofthepedals.
>Makesurethatthefloormatsareproperlyse-
curedand cannotmoveandinterferewiththe
pedals>A\.
Useonlyfloormatsthatleavethepedalareaun-
obstructedandthatarefirmlysecuredsothat
theycannotslipoutofposition.Youcanobtain
suitablefloormatsfromyourauthorizedAudi
Dealer.
FloormatfastenersareinstalledinyourAudi.Floor
matsusedinyourvehiclemustbeattached
tothesefasteners.Properlysecuringthefloor
matswillpreventthemfromslidingintoposi-
tionsthatcouldinterferewiththe pedalsorim-
pairsafeoperationofyourvehicleinotherways.
Z\WARNING
Pedalsthatcannotmovefreelycanresultina
lossofvehiclecontrolandincreasetheriskof
seriouspersonalinjury.
—Alwaysmakesurethatfloormatsareprop-
erlysecured.
—Neverplaceorinstallfloormatsorother
floorcoveringsinthevehiclethatcannot be
properlysecuredinplacetopreventthem
fromslippingandinterferingwiththeped-
alsortheabilitytocontrolthevehicle.
—Neverplaceorinstallfloormatsorother
floorcoveringsontopofalreadyinstalled
floormats.Additionalfloormatsandother
coveringswillreducethesizeofthe pedal
areaandinterferewiththepedals.
—Alwaysproperlyreinstallandsecurefloor
matsthathavebeentakenoutforcleaning.
—Alwaysmakesurethatobjectscannotfallin-
tothedriverfootwellwhilethevehicleis
moving.Objectscanbecometrappedunder
thebrakepedalandacceleratorpedalcaus-
ing a lossofvehiclecontrol.
179
8S1012721BA
Safetybelts
Althoughtheseexamplesarebasedonafrontal
collision,safetybeltscanalsosubstantiallyre-
ducetheriskofinjuryinotherkinds ofcrashes.
So,whetheryou'reonalongtripor justgoingto
thecornerstore,alwaysbuckleupandmakesure
othersdo,too.Accidentstatisticsshowthatvehi-
cleoccupantsproperlywearingsafetybeltshave
alowerriskofbeinginjuredandamuchbetter
chanceofsurvivinganaccident.Properlyusing
safetybeltsalsogreatlyincreasestheabilityof
thesupplementalairbagstodotheirjobinacol-
lision.Forthisreason,wearingasafetybeltisle-
gallyrequiredinmostcountriesincludingmuch
oftheUnitedStatesandCanada.
AlthoughyourAudiisequippedwithairbags,you
stillhavetowearthesafetybeltsprovided.Front
airbags,forexample,areactivatedonlyinsome
frontalcollisions.Thefrontairbagsarenotacti-
vatedinallfrontalcollisions,insideandrearcol-
lisions,inrolloversorincaseswherethereisnot
enoughdecelerationthroughimpacttothefront
of
thevehicle.Thesamegoesfortheotherairbag
systemsinyourAudi.So,alwayswearyoursafety
beltandmakesureeverybodyinyourvehicleis
properlyrestrained!
TanXelaeeetLiamidedlace]LeUatLilalg
rth)
Safetybeltsmustalwaysbecorrectlypositioned
across thestrongestbonesofyourbody.
>Alwayswearsafetybeltsasillustratedandde-
scribed
inthischapter.
>Makesurethatyoursafetybeltsarealways
readyforuseandarenotdamaged.
ZAWARNING
Notwearingsafetybeltsorwearingthemim-
properlyincreasestheriskof seriouspersonal
injuryanddeath.Safetybeltscanworkonly
whenusedcorrectly.
—Alwaysfastenyoursafetybeltscorrectlybe-
foredrivingoffandmakesureallpassen-
gersarecorrectlyrestrained.
—Formaximumprotection,safetybeltsmust
always bepositionedproperlyonthebody.
—Neverstrapmorethanoneperson,including
smallchildren,intoanybelt.
—Neverplaceasafetybeltovera childsitting
onyourlap.
—Alwayskeepfeetinthefootwellinfrontof
theseatwhilethevehicleisbeingdriven.
—Neverletanypersonridewiththeirfeeton
theinstrumentpanelorstickingoutthe
windoworontheseat.
—Neverremoveasafetybeltwhilethevehicle
ismoving.Doingsowillincreaseyourriskof
beinginjuredorkilled.
—Neverwearbeltstwisted.
—Neverwearbeltsoverrigidorbreakableob-
jectsinoronyourclothing,suchaseye
glasses,pens,keys,etc.,asthesemaycause
injury.
—Neverallowsafetybeltstobecomedam-
agedbybeingcaughtindoororseathard-
ware.
—Donotweartheshoulderpartofthebelt
underyourarmorotherwiseoutofposition.
—Severallayersofheavyclothingmayinter-
ferewithcorrectpositioningofbeltsandre-
ducetheoveralleffectiveness ofthesystem.
—Alwayskeepbeltbucklesfreeofanything
thatmaypreventthe bucklefromlatching
securely.
—Neverusecomfortclipsordevicesthatcre-
ateslackintheshoulderbelt.However,spe-
cialclipsmayberequiredfortheproper use
ofsomechildrestraintsystems.
—Tornorfrayedsafetybeltscantearand
damagedbelthardwarecanbreakinanacci-
dent.Inspectbeltsregularly.Ifwebbing,
bindings,buckles,orretractorsaredam-
aged,havebeltsreplacedby anauthorized
Audidealerorqualifiedworkshop.
—Safetybeltsthathavebeenwornandloaded
inanaccidentmustbereplacedwiththe
correctreplacementsafetybeltby anau-
thorizedAudidealer.Replacementmaybe
necessaryevenifdamagecannotbeclearly
seen.Anchoragesthatwereloadedmustal-
sobeinspected.
—Neverremove,modify,disassemble,ortry
torepairthesafetybeltsyourself.
183
Safetybelts
—Alwayskeepthebeltsclean.Dirtybeltsmay
notworkproperlyandcanimpairthefunc-
tionoftheinertiareel>tableInterior
cleaningonpage272.
Safetybelts
eetLiamhay
Safetyfirst-everybodybuckleup!
|
B4H-0462
Fig.148Beltbuckleandtongueonthedriver'sseat
Toprovidemaximumprotection,safetybelts
mustalways bepositionedcorrectlyonthewear-
er'sbody.
>Adjustthefrontseatproperly>page40,Front
seats.
>Makesuretheseatbackoftherearseatbenchis
inanuprightpositionandsecurelylatchedin
placebeforeusingthebelt>/\.
>Pullthesafetybeltevenlyacrossthechestand
pelvis>fig.148,>A\.
> Insertthetongueintothecorrectbuckle of
yourseatuntilyouhearitlatchsecurely.
>Pullonthebelttomakesurethatitissecurely
latchedinthebuckle.
Automaticsafetybeltretractors
Everysafetybeltisequippedwithanautomatic
beltretractorontheshoulderbelt.Thisfeature
locksthebeltwhenthebeltispulledoutfast,
duringhardbrakingandinanaccident.Thebelt
mayalsolockwhenyoudriveupordownasteep
hillorthroughasharpcurve.Duringnormaldriv-
ingthebeltletsyoumovefreely.
Safetybeltpretensioners
Safetybeltswithpretensionershelptotighten
thesafetybeltandremoveslackwhenthepre-
184
tensionersareactivated>page186.Thefunc-
tionofthepretensionerismonitoredbyawarn-
inglight>page18.
Convertiblelockingretractor
Everysafetybeltexcepttheoneonthedriver
seatisequippedwithaconvertiblelockingretrac-
torthatmustbeusedwhenthesafetybeltis
usedtoattachachildseat.Besuretoreadthe
importantinformationaboutthisfeature
=>page223.
Z\WARNING
Improperlypositionedsafetybeltscancause
seriousinjuryinanaccident>page185,
Safetybeltposition.
—Safetybelts offeroptimumprotectiononly
whentheseatbackisuprightandbeltsare
properlypositionedonthebody.
—Alwaysmakesurethattherearseatbackrest
issecurelylatchedwhenever therearsafety
beltisbeingused.Ifthebackrestisnotse-
curelylatched,thepassengerwillmovefor-
wardwiththebackrestduringsuddenbrak-
ing,inasuddenmaneuverandespeciallyin
acrash.
—Neverattachthesafetybelt tothe buckle
foranotherseat.Attachingthebelttothe
wrongbucklewillreducesafetybelteffec-
tivenessandcancauseseriouspersonalin-
jury.
—Apassengerwhoisnotproperlyrestrained
canbeseriouslyinjuredbythesafetybeltit-
selfwhenitmovesfromthestrongerparts
ofthebodyintocriticalareasliketheabdo-
men.
—Alwayslocktheconvertiblelockingretractor
whenyouaresecuringachildseatintheve-
hicle>page225.
G)Tips
Forinformationonsafetybeltpretensioners,
referto>page186.
8S1012721BA
Safetybelts
S11ayaLheLetta(ola)
Correctbeltpositionisthekeytogettingmaxi-
mumprotectionfromsafetybelts.
B4H-0751
Fig.149Safetybeltposition
Pregnantwomenmustalsobecorrectly
taclice)
Thebestwaytoprotectthefetusistomakesure
thatexpectantmothersalwayswearsafetybelts
correctly-throughoutthepregnancy.
ZA\WARNING
Improperlypositionedsafetybeltscancause
seriouspersonalinjuryinanaccident.
— Theshoulderbeltshouldlieasclosetothe
centerofthecollarboneaspossibleand
shouldfitwellonthebody.Holdthebelt
abovethelatchtongueandpullitevenly
acrossthechestsothatitsitsaslowaspos-
sibleonthepelvisandthereisnopressure
ontheabdomen.Thebeltshouldalwaysfit
snugly>fig.149.Pullonthebelttotighten
ifnecessary.
—Aloose-fittingsafetybeltcan causeserious
injuriesbyshiftingitspositiononyourbody
fromthe strongbonestomorevulnerable,
softtissueandcauseseriousinjury.
—AlwaysreadandheedallWARNINGSand
otherimportantinformation>page183.
Fig.150Safetybeltpositionduringpregnancy
Toprovidemaximumprotection,safetybelts
mustalways bepositionedcorrectlyonthe wear-
er'sbody>page185.
»Adjust thefrontseatproperly>page40,Front
seats.
> Pullthesafetybeltevenlyacrossthechestso
thatitsitsaslowaspossibleonthepelvisand
thereisnopressureontheabdomen
>fig.150,>A\.
>Insertthetongueintothecorrectbuckleof
yourseatuntilyouhearitlatchsecurely
=>page184,fig.148.
> Pullonthebelt tomakesurethatitissecurely
latchedinthebuckle.
ZA\WARNING
Improperlypositionedsafetybeltscancause
seriouspersonalinjuryinanaccident.
—Expectantmothersmustalwayswearthe
lapportionofthesafetybeltaslowaspos-
sibleacrossthepelvisandbelowtheround-
ingoftheabdomen.
—AlwaysreadandheedallWARNINGSand
otherimportantinformation>A\inFasten-
ingsafetybeltsonpage184.
185
Airbagsystem
electroniccontrolunittoregulatedeployment
ofthefrontAdvancedAirbags.
—ThePASSENGERAIRBAGOFF3;lightcomes
onandstaysonintheheadliner>page200,
fig.155andtellsyouwhenthefrontAdvanced
Airbagonthepassengersidehasbeenturned
off.
—Asensorinthesafetybeltlatchforthedriver
andforthefrontseatpassengerthatsenses
whetherthatsafetybeltislatchedornotand
transmitsthisinformationtotheelectronic
controlunit.
ZA\WARNING
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-
teredby thecapacitivepassengerdetection
system,sothatincorrectinformationispro-
videdtotheairbagcontrolunit.
—Neverstoreitemsunderthefrontpassenger
seat.PartsoftheAdvancedAirbagSystem
underthepassengerseatcouldbedam-
aged,preventingthemandtheairbagsys-
temfromworkingproperly.
—Neverplaceseatcoversorreplacementup-
holsterythathave notbeenspecificallyap-
provedbyAudionthefrontseats.
—SeatcoverscanpreventtheAdvancedAirbag
Systemfromrecognizingchildrestraintsor
occupantsonthefrontpassengerseatand
preventthesideairbagintheseat backrest
fromdeployingproperly.
—Ifaseatheaterhasbeenretrofittedor oth-
erwiseaddedtothefrontpassengerseat,
neverinstallanychildrestraintsystemon
thisseat.
—Neverusecushions,pillows,blankets,or
similaritemsonthefrontpassengerseat.
Theadditionallayerspreventthecapacitive
passengerdetectionsystemfromaccurately
measuringthecapacitanceofthechildsafe-
tyseatand/orthe personontheseatand
thuskeeptheAdvancedAirbagSystemfrom
workingproperly.
—Neverplaceoruseanyelectricaldevice
(suchasalaptop,CDplayer,electronic
gamesdevice,powerinverterorseatheater
forchildseats)onthefrontpassengerseat
ifthedeviceisconnectedtothe12-volt
socketorthecigarettelightersocket.Such
devicescaninfluencethecapacitanceregis-
teredbythecapacitivepassengerdetection
system,so thatincorrectinformationispro-
videdtotheairbagcontrolunit.
—Ifyoumustuseachildrestraintonthefront
passengerseatandthechildrestraintman-
ufacturer'sinstructionsrequirethe useofa
towel,foamcushionorsomethingelseto
properlypositionthechildrestraint,make
certainthatthePASSENGERAIRBAGOFF
3%;lightcomesonandstaysonwhenever
thechildrestraintisinstalledonthefront
passengerseat.
—IfthePASSENGERAIRBAGOFF%;light
doesnotcomeonandstayon,immediately
installchildrestraintinarearseatingposi-
tionandhavetheairbagsysteminspected
byyourAudidealer.
ZAWARNING
Ifthefrontpassengerseat getswet,dryitim-
mediately.
196
8S1012721BA
Airbagsystem
causeinjuryinacrash,especiallywhenthe
airbagsinflate.
—Neverreclinethefrontpassenger'sseatto
transportobjects.Itemscanalsomoveinto
theareaofthesideairbagorthefrontair-
bagduringbrakingorinasuddenmaneuver.
Objectsnear theairbagscanbecomeprojec-
tilesandcauseinjury,particularlywhenthe
seatisreclined.
—Neverplaceortransportobjectsonthefront
passengerseat.Objectsonthefrontpassen-
gerseatcouldcause thecapacitivesensorin
theseattosignaltoairbagsystemthatthe
seatisoccupiedbyapersonwhenitinfactis
not,orthatthepersonontheseatisheavier
thanheorsheactuallyis.Thechangein
electriccapacitancebecauseofsuchobjects
cancausethepassengerfrontairbagtobe
turnedonwhenitshouldbeoff,orcan
causetheairbagtoworkinawaythatisdif-
ferentfromthewayitwouldhaveworked
withoutobjectsontheseat.
—Alwaysmakesurethatthereisnothingon
thefrontpassengerseatthatwillcausethe
capacitivepassengerdetectionsystemin
theseattosignaltotheAirbagSystemthat
theseatisoccupiedbyapersonwhenitis
not,ortosignalthatitisoccupiedbysome-
onewhoisheavierthanthepersonactually
sittingontheseat.Thepresenceofanob-
jectcouldcausethepassengerfrontairbag
tobeturnedonwhenitshouldbeoff,or
couldcausetheairbagtoworkinawaythat
isdifferentfromthewayitwouldhave
workedwithouttheobjectontheseat.
—Nevertiltthefrontpassengerseat backrest
forwardwhenthevehicleismoving.Anin-
flatingairbagwillforcethebackrestback-
wardandcaninjurerearseatoccupants.
gettingoutofthevehicleoropeningwin-
dowsordoors.
—Ifyouareinacollisioninwhichairbagsde-
ploy,washyourhandsandfacewithmild
soapandwaterbeforeeating.
—Becarefulnottogetthe dustintoyoureyes,
orintoanycuts orscratches.
—Iftheresidueshould getintoyoureyes,
flushthemwithwater.
ZA\WARNING
Thefinedustcreatedwhenairbagsdeploycan
cause
breathingproblemsforpeoplewitha
historyofasthmaorotherbreathingcondi-
tions.
—Toreducetheriskofbreathingproblems,
thosewithasthmaorotherrespiratorycon-
ditionsshouldgetfreshairrightawayby
Monitoringthe
AdvancedAirbagSystem
Airbagmonitoringindicatorlight
Twoseparateindicatorsmonitorthefunctionof
theAdvancedAirbagSystem:thekalightand
thePASSENGERAIRBAGOFF#;ON@light.
TheAdvancedAirbagSystemaswellastheside
airbagsandsidecurtainairbagswithejection
mitigationfeatures(includingtheelectroniccon-
trolunit,sensorsandsystemwiring)areall
monitoredcontinuouslytomakesurethatthey
arefunctioningproperlywhenevertheignitionis
on.Everytimeyouturnontheignition,theair-
bagsystemindicatorlightBjwiltcomeonfora
fewseconds(functioncheck).
The systemmustbeinspectedwhenthe
indicatorlightBa:
—doesnotcomeonwhentheignitionisswitched
on,
—doesnotgooutafewsecondsafteryouhave
switched
ontheignition,or
—comesonwhiledriving.
Ifanairbagsystemmalfunctionisdetected,the
indicatorlightwillcomeontoserveasaconstant
remindertohavethesysteminspectedimmedi-
ately.
If amalfunctionoccurs thatturnsthefrontair-
bagonthepassengersideoff,thePASSENGER
AIRBAGOFF4%;lightwillcomeonandstayon
whenever theignitionison.
199
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