122 Airb a g sys t e m
about the same height in the instrument pan -
e l underneath the g love compartment.
The knee a irbag offers add it iona l pro t ect ion
to the driver's and passenger 's knees and up-
per and lower thigh areas and supp lements
the protection by the safety be lts .
If the front airbags deploy , the knee airbags
a lso deploy in frontal collisions when the de-
ployment thresho ld stored in the cont rol unit
is met ¢
page 115, More important things to
know about front airbags.
In addi t ion to their normal safety function,
safety belts he lp keep the driver or front pas -
senger in position in a frontal collisio n so that
the airbags can prov ide supplemental protec-
tion.
The airbag system is not a substitute for your
safety be lt . Rather, it is part of the overall oc-
cupant restraint system in your veh icle. Al-
ways remember that the airbag system can
only help to protect you if you are wearing
your safety belt and wear ing it properly . This
is why you shou ld always wear you r safety
be lt, not just because the law requires you to
do so
¢ page 98, General notes.
The safety belt buck le for the dr iver and front
seat passenger have switches that te ll the a ir-
bag control module if the safety belt is being
used or not. If the safety belt is being used,
the knee airbag will deploy at a slightly highe r
rate of deceleration than if the belt is not be-
ing used . Therefore, in a partic ular collision , it
is possible that an airbag will not deploy at a
seating position where the safety belt is being
used but will inflate at the position where the
safety belt is not be ing used.
Remembe r too, airbags will deploy only once
and on ly in certain kinds of accidents -your
safety belts are always there to offer protec-
tion in those accidents in which airbags are
not supposed to deploy or when they have a l-
ready deployed, fo r example whe n your veh i-
cle str ikes or is struck by another after the
firs t collis io n .
This is j ust one of the reasons why an airbag is
not a substitute for the safety be lt. The airbag
system works most effect ively when used with
the safety belts. Therefore, always wear your
safety belts correct ly.
It is important to remember that while the
supplementa l knee airbag system is designed
to reduce the likelihood of ser ious injuries,
other injur ies, for example, swelling, bru is ing,
minor abrasions and friction bu rns can a lso
occur when an airbag inflates.
The knee airbag system basically consist s
of:
- The e lectronic control module
- Two inflatable a irbags (airbag and gas gen-
erator), one for the driver and one for the
front passenge r
- The a irbag ind icator light in the instrument
panel
The knee airbag syst em w ill not depl oy:
- when the ignition is t urned off
- in frontal collisions when the deceleration
measured by the contro l unit is too low
- in side collisions
- in rea r-end collisions
- in rollove rs
- in the event of a system malfunction (warn -
ing/ind icator light is on)
¢ page 13 .
A WARNING
- Safety belts and th e airbag system can
only provide prot e ction when occupa nts
a re in t he proper se ating posi t ion
¢page 115.
- If the airbag ind icator light come s when
the vehicle is be ing used, have the sys-
tem inspected immediate ly by your au -
thor ized Audi dealer.
-
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