This is just one of the reasons why an airbag is
not a substitute for the safety belt. The airbag
system works most effective ly when used with
the safety belts. Therefore, always wear your
safety belts correctly .
It is important to remember that while the
supp lemental knee a irbag system is des igned
to reduce the likelihood of serious injuries,
other injuries, for example, swel ling, bruising,
minor abrasions and friction burns can also
occur when an a irbag inflates.
The knee airbag system basically consist s
of:
- The electronic contro l module
- Two inflatable airbags (airbag and gas gen-
erator), one for the driver and one for the
front passenger
- The airbag indicator light in the instrument
panel
The knee airbag system will not deploy :
- when the ignition is turned off
- in frontal col lisions when the dece lerat ion
measured by the control unit is too low
- in s ide coll isions
- in rear-end collisions
- in rollovers
- in the event of a system malfunct ion (warn-
ing/indicator light is on)
¢ page 14 .
A WARNING
- Safety belts and the a irbag system can
only provide protection whe n occupants
are in t he proper sea t ing posit ion
¢page 110 .
- If the airbag indica t or light comes on
when the veh icle is being used, have the
system inspected immediately by your
authorized Audi dealer.
-
A irba g sy stem 11 7
How knee airbags work
The risk of injury to the leg area can be re-
duced by fully deployed knee airbags.
Fig. 97 Inf lated airbags protect ing in a frontal collision
The knee airbag system has been des igned so
that the airbags for the driver and front pas-
senger deploy in certain but not all frontal
collisions .
If t he fron t a irbags dep loy, t he knee a irbags
also dep loy in frontal collisions when the de-
ployment threshold stored in the contro l unit
is met .
When t he system deploys fill the a irbags with
a propellant gas, and inflate between t he low-
er part of the instrument pane l and the dr iver
and the lower part of the instr ument pane l
and the front passenger
¢ page 110, fig. 94 .
Although they are not a soft pillow, they can
"cushion" the impact and in this way they can
help to reduce the risk of injury to the lower
extremit ies.
All of th is t akes place in the blink of an eye, so
fast that many people don't even realize that
the airbags have deployed. The airbags a lso
inflate with a great deal of force and it is im-
portant for occupant safety that nothing
should be in their way when they deploy.
Fully inflated airbags in combination with
proper ly worn safety be lts s low down and lim-
it the occupant's forward movement and help
to reduce the risk of injury.
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