Remember too, airbags will deploy only once
and only in certain kinds of accidents - your
safety belts are a lways there to offer protec -
tion in those accidents in which airbags are
not supposed to deploy or when they have al-
ready deployed, for example when your vehi-
cle str ikes or is struck by another afte r the
first coll is ion.
This is just one of the reasons why an a irbag is
not a substitute for the safety belt . The airbag
system wo rks most effectively when used with
the safety belts . Therefore, always wear your
safety bel t s correctly .
It is important to remember that while the
supplemental knee a irbag system is des igned
to reduce the likelihood of serious injur ies,
ot her injuries , fo r example, swel ling , bruising
and minor abras ions and frict ion bu rns ca n al-
so occur when an airbag inflates.
The knee airbag system basically consists
of :
- The elec t ronic control mod ule
- Two inf latab le airbags (airbag and gas gen-
erato r), one for the driver and one for t he
front passenger
- The airbag ind icator light in the instrument
pane l
The knee airbag system will not deploy:
- when the ign ition is switc hed off
- in frontal collisions when the decelerat ion
measured by the control unit is too low
- in side collisions
- in rear-end collisions
- in rollovers
- in the event of a system malfunct io n (warn-
ing/indicator light is on)
r::!>page 18.
& WARNING
- Safety belts and the airbag system can
only provide protection when occupants
are in the proper seating posit ion
c::>page 160.
- If the airbag indicator light c::> page 18
comes when the vehicle is be ing used,
have the system inspected immediately
A irba g sy stem 16 7
by your authorized Audi dealer. It is pos-
sib le that the airbag will inflate when it
is not supposed to , or will not inflate
when it should .
How knee airbags work
The risk of injury to the leg area can be re-
duced by fully inflated knee airbags.
Fig. 1 70 Inflated airbags protect ing in a fronta l colli·
sion
The knee airbag system has been designed so
that the airbags for the driver and front pas-
senger deploy in certain but not all frontal
collisions.
If the front airbags dep loy, the knee airbags
also dep loy in fronta l collisions when the de-
ployment thresho ld stored in the control unit
is met.
When the system deploys, the airbags fill
with a propellant gas, and inflate between the
lower part of the instrument panel and the
driver and the lower part of the instrument
panel and the front passe nger
c::> page 160,
fig . 167 .
Although they are not a soft pillow, they can
"cushion" the impact and in th is way they can
help to reduce the risk of injury to the lower
extremit ies .
All of this takes place in the blink of an eye , so
fast that many people don't even realize tha t
the a irbags have deployed . The airbags also
inflate with a great deal of force and it is im-
portant fo r occupant safety that nothing
shou ld be in t heir way when t hey deploy.
i,..
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