Airb a g syste m
combinations not approved by Audi, lowering the
vehicle, changing the stiffness of the suspension,
including the spr ings, suspension struts , shock
absorbers etc. can change the forces that are
measured by the airbag sensors and sent to the
electronic control unit . Some suspens ion changes
can, for example, increase the force levels meas-
ured by the sensors and make the airbag system
deploy in crashes in wh ich it would not deploy if
the changes had not been made. Other kinds of
changes may reduce the force levels measured by
the sensors and prevent the airbag from deploy-
ing when it should.
A WARNING
Changing the vehicle's suspension including
use of unapproved tire-rim combinations can
change Advanced Airbag performance and in-
crease the risk of serious personal injury in a
crash.
- Never install suspension components that
do not have the same performance charac-
teristics as the components or iginally insta l-
led o n your veh icle.
- Never use tire-rim comb inations that have
not been approved by Audi.
Knee airbags
Description of knee airbags
The knee airbag system can provide supplemen-
tal protection to properly restrained front seat
occupants.
Fig. 163 Driver's knee air bag
The driver knee a irbag is in the instrument panel
underneath the steering wheel ¢ fig. 163, the
a irbag for the passenger is at about the same
206
.
height in the instrument panel underneath the
glove compartment.
The knee airbag offers add itional protection to
the d river's and passenge r's knees and upper and
lower thigh areas and supp lements the protec-
tion provided by the safety belts .
If the front airbags deploy, the knee airbags also
deploy in frontal collis ions when the deployment
threshold stored in the cont rol unit is met
¢ page 199, More important things to know
about front airbags.
In addition to their normal safety funct ion, safe-
ty belts help keep the driver or front passenge r in
position in a frontal collision so that the airbags
can provide supplemental protection.
The airbag system is not a substit ute for your
safety belt . Rather, it is part of the overall occu-
pant restraint system in your vehicle . Always re-
member that the airbag system can only help to
protect you if you are wear ing your safety belt
and wearing it properly. This is why you should
always wear your safety be lt, not just because
the law requires you to do so
¢ page 182, Gener-
al notes .
Remember too, airbags will deploy only once and
on ly in certain kinds of accidents - your safety
belts are a lways there to offer protection in those
accidents in which a irbags are not supposed to
deploy or when they have already dep loyed, for
example when your veh icle strikes or is st ruck by
another after the first collision .
This is just one of the reasons why an airbag is
not a substitute for the safety be lt . The airbag
system wo rks most effectively when used with
the safety belts. Therefo re, always wear your
safety belts correctly .
It is impor t ant to remembe r that whi le the sup-
plemental knee airbag system is designed to re-
duce the likelihood of serious injuries , other inju-
ries, for example, swelling, bruising and minor
abrasions and friction burns can also occur when
an a irbag inflates.
The knee airbag system basically consists of:
- The e lectron ic cont rol mod ule IJ>
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