160 Airbag syst em
dea ler is familiar with these requir ements
and we recommend that you have your
dea ler perform this serv ice for you.
Other things that can affect Advanced
Airbag performance
Changing the vehicle's suspension system can
change the way that the Advanced Airbag Sys-
tem pe rforms in a crash. For example, us ing
tire-r im combinations not app roved by Audi,
lowering the vehicle, changing the stiffness of
the suspension, including the springs, suspen-
sion struts, shock absorbers etc. can change
the forces that are measured by the airbag
sensors and sent to the electronic control
un it. Some suspension changes can, for exam-
ple, increase the force levels measured by the
sensors a nd make the airbag system deploy in
crashes in which it would not dep loy if the
changes had not been made . Other kinds of
changes may reduce the force levels meas -
ured by the sensors and prevent the airbag
from deploying when it should .
The sensors in the safety belt buckle fo r the
driver and front passe nger seat tell the elec-
tronic control module if the safety belt is
latched or not.
If the safety belt is being used,
the front airbag will deploy at a slightly high-
er rate of vehicle deceleration than if the safe-
ty belt is not being used. Therefore, in a par-
ticular collision, it is poss ible that an a irbag
will not deploy at a seating position whe re the
safety belt is being used but will inflate at the
position whe re the safety belt is not bei ng
used. It is important tha t noth ing inte rfe re
with the safety belt buckles so t hat t he sen-
sors can send the correct information about
safety belt use to the electronic contro l unit.
A WARNING
Changing the vehicle 's suspension includ-
ing use of unapproved tire-rim combina-
tions can change Advanced Airbag per-
formance and increase the risk of ser ious
personal inj ury in a crash.
- Never install suspension components
that do not have the same performance
characterist ics as the components origi-
na lly installed on your vehicle.
- Never use tire-rim com binations that
have not been approved by Audi.
A WARNING
=
-
Items stored between the safety be lt
buckle and the center console can cause
the sensors in the buckle to send the
wrong information to the e lectronic con-
trol module and prevent the Advanced Air-
bag System from wo rking prope rly.
- Always make sure that nothing can inter-
fe re with the safety belt buckles and that
they are not obstructed.
Side airbags
Description of side airbags
The airbag system can provide supplemental
protection to properly restrained occupants.
Fig . 157 Side airbag location in t he drive r's seat
The side airbags are located in the sides of the
front seat backrests¢ fig. 157 and the rear
back rest facing the doors. They are ident ified
by the wo rd "AIRBAG".
The side airbag system basically consist s of:
- the electronic contro l modu le and external
side impact sensors
- the two airbags located in the sides of t he
front backrests and the two airbags* located
in the rear backrest
- the airbag warning light in the instrument
cluster .
The airbag system is mon itored e lect ronically
to make ce rtain tha t it is function ing properly ..,.
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