instrument cluster AUDI A8 2013 Owner's Manual

102 Audi la ne ass is t
Audi lane assist
Lane assist
Description
Appl ies to vehicles: with lane assist
Lane assist helps you keep your vehicle in your
lane .
Lane assist detects lane marker lines within
the limits of the system using a camera in the
windshield. If you are approaching a detected
lane marker line and it appears likely that you
will leave the lane, the system will warn you
with a light vibration . Lane assist is operable
when the line marking the lane is detected on
at least one s ide of the vehicle .
The system will not warn you before cross ing
a lane marker line if you have activated the
turn signal. In t his case, it assumes tha t you
a re changing lanes intent ionally.
The system is designed for driv ing on free­
ways and expanded highways and thus works
on ly at speeds of 40 mph (65 km/h) o r more.
.&_ WARNING
- Lane ass ist will not keep your vehi cle in
yo ur lane. The system only warns the
dr iver w hen the vehicle is leaving the
lane. The driver is always responsib le for
keeping the vehicle in the lane.
- The camera is not able to detect all lane
boundary lines and in some cases might
also detect lane structures or objects as
boundary lines. This can lead to incorrect
warnings or warnings that fail to go off
at all.
- The camera's visibility can be impaired by
vehicles ahead of you, for instance, or by
rain, snow, heavy spray or light shin ing
in to the camera lens. This can cause lane
assist to fa il to detec t bou ndary lines.
- Activating and deactivating
Applies to
vehicles: with lane assist
Fig. 104 Turn s igna l lever: Lane assist button
Fig . 105 Windsh ield: Lane assist camera viewing win ­
dow
"' Press the q fig. 104 button to activate or
deactivate t he system. The • or. ind ica­
t or l ight in the instrument cluster will il l u­
m inate or go o ut.
Instrum ent cluster indicator light
• Re ady:
The green indicator light shows
that th e system is ready to use . Th e system
can now warn you if yo u are about to cross a
known lane mar ker line.
• Not ready: The yellow indicator light
shows that the system is t urned on bu t unable
to send a warning . This can be due to the fol­
lowing :
- There is no lane boundary line .
- The relevant lane marker lines are not de-
tected (for example, markings in a construc ­
tion zone or because they are obst ructed by
snow, d irt, water or backlighting) .
- The vehicle's speed is below the speed need·
ed to activate it, wh ich is about 40 mph (65
km/h).
- The lane is narrower than about 8
ft. (2.5
m) .

- The curve is too sharp.
(0 Tips
Make s ure the camera's fie ld of view
¢fig. 105 is not obstr ucted by st ickers,
deposits or anything else . For information
on cleaning, refer to
r::;, page 218 .
Lane assist display in the instrument
cluster
Applies to vehicles: with la ne ass ist
Fig . 106 Instrument cluste r: la n e assist is switched on
and is wa rning
Fig. 107 Instrument cluste r: lane assist is switched on
but not ready to provide warnings
You can call up the lane assist display us ing
the buttons in the mult ifunct ion steer ing
wheel
r::;, page 23.
When lane assist is switched on, the system
indicates which lines are detected by display­
ing solid lines on the left and/or right side of
your vehicle:
Audi lane a ssis t 10 3
White line(s) Lane assist is switched on and
ready to provide warnings on
the side that is indicated
¢fig . 106.
Red line
(left or right) Lane
assist is warning you
that you are about to leave
your lane
r:::;, fig. 106.
Gray line(s} Lane assist is switched on but
is not ready to provide warn­
ings
¢fig. 107 .
Messa ges i n th e i nstrum ent clu st e r
di spla y
When the lane assist turns off automatically,
the instrument cluster indicator goes out and
one of the follow ing messages appears o n the
display:
A udi l ane ass is t: cu rre nt ly una vailab le. No
c amer a vie w
This message appears if the camera is no lon­
ger functional after the system has continu­
ously failed to detect the lane markings. This
could happen if :
-The camera field of view
r::;, page 102,
fig . 105 is dirty or covered in ice. Clean the
area on the windsh ield.
- The camera field of view is fogged over. Wait
until the fog has cleared before switching
lane assist on .
- The system has been unable to detect the
lanes for an extended period of time due to
road conditions such as lanes covered in
snow . Sw itch lane assist back on when the
lines are more visible.
Audi lane as sis t: Cu rrent ly una va ilable
A temporary malfunction is preventing lane
assist from operating. Try switching lane as­
sist on again later.
Audi lane assis t: Sy stem f ault !
Drive to your authorized Audi dealer soon to
have the malf unctio n corrected.

112 Night vision assistant
Night vision assistant
Description
Applies to vehicles: with night v isio n ass istant
Fig. 114 Display: n ight vis ion assistant
"Night vis ion assistant with pedestrian detec­
tion" uses an infrared camera to monitor the
area in front of you r vehicle at night. Within
the limits of the system, it can display objects
up to about 1000 feet (300 meters) away. The
heat image of a pedestrian detected by the
camera is shown in the instrument cluster dis­
p lay ¢
fig. 114. Warm areas appear lighter
and cold areas appear darker.
Pedestrian detection
Applies to vehicles: with nig ht v isio n ass istant
Fig. 115 Display: yellow pedestr ian marking
Fig. 116 Display: symbol when infrared image is not
visib le
Night vision assistant can detect pedestrians
that are between about 50 and 300 feet (15
and 90 meters) in front of the vehicle, under
ideal conditions.
If a pedestrian is detected
when it is dark outside and the vehicle head­
lights are switched on, the pedestrian is high­
lighted in yellow¢
fig. 115, ¢page 113,
General information.
If another display such
as navigation replaces the image from the
night vision assistant, the symbo l
~11 appears
in a tab
¢fig . 116 .
(D Tips
If the night v ision assistant image does
not appear when the system is switched
on, you can access it with the buttons on
the multifunction steering wheel
¢page 24.
Pedestrian warning
Applies to vehicles: wit h night vision assistant
Fig. 117 D isp lay: pedestrian warning
Fig. 118 Disp lay: pedestr ian warning w ith another dis­
play
If a pedestr ian is detected in an area in fron t
of the vehicle that the system considers criti­
ca l, the pedestrian is highlighted in red
¢
fig . 117 and a warning tone sounds. This
area is based on the vehicle speed and

118 Autom atic Tran smissi on
preve nt the vehicle from "creep ing" , you
must keep your foot on the brake in all
selector lev er positions except P and N
when the e ng ine is r unning. Do not inad­
vertently press the accelerator pe dal
w hen the veh icl e is stationary . Otherwise
the vehicle will s tart to move immediate­
ly, even if the park ing brake is se t. This
cou ld result in a c rash.
- Do not ride the brakes or press the brake
peda l too often or too long when dr iving
down a hill. Constant braking causes the
brakes to ove rheat and s ubstant ially re­
duces braking performance, increases
braking distance or causes comp lete fail­
ure of the brake system.
Hill descent control
The hill descent control system assists the
driver when driving down declines.
H ill descent control is activated when these­
lector lever is in D/S and you press t he b rake
pedal. The transmission automat ically se lects
a gear that is suitab le for the incline. Hill de­
scent control tries to maintain the speed ach­ ieved at the time of brak ing, within physical
and techn ical limitations. If may still be nec­
essary to adjust the speed with the brakes .
H ill descent control switches off once the de­
cline levels out or you press the accelerator
pedal.
Hill descent control is also activated when the
speed is set by starting the cruise control sys­
tem c:>
page 90.
A WARNING -
Hill descent control ca nnot overcome
physical limitations, so it may not be able
t o maintain a constant speed under all
condi tion s. Alw ays be ready to ap pl y the
bra kes.
Shifting manually
The shift paddles allow the driver to shift the
gears manually .
Fig . 1 25 Steer ing whee l: sh ift in g manually
" To shift to a higher or lowe r gear tempo rari ­
ly, tap the
0 or 0 shift padd le c:> fig. 125.
" To switch manual mode on, press the~
button. An M and the gear that is current ly
engaged appear in the instrument cluster
disp lay @ c:>
page 115, fig. 122.
" To shift up one gear, tap the rig ht shift pad­
dle
0 c:> fig . 125 .
" To s hift down one gear, tap the left shift
paddle Q.
" To swi tch manual mode off, press the~
but ton again, or
" Move the se lector lever back and release it .
T he transm iss io n automatically sh ifts up or
down before cr itical engine spee d is reached.
T he transm iss ion only allows manual sh ifting
whe n the eng ine speed is w ith in the pe rmit­
ted range .
The eng ine braking effect increases when you
downsh ift when going downhill .
Kick-down
Kick-down enables maximum acceleration .
When you press the accelerator pedal down
beyond the resistance point, the automatic
transmission downsh ifts into a lower gear, de­
pending on veh icle speed and eng ine RPM . It
shifts up into the next higher gear once the
max imum specified engine RP M is reached .
Iii>

120 Automatic Transmission
Parking lock emergency release
The parking lock must be released using the
emergency release before towing the vehicle .
@
Fig. 126 Dr iver's side footwell: releasing t he park ing
lock us ing t he emergency release
Fig. 127 Drive r's s ide footwe ll: resetting th e pa rking
l ock
The emergency release is located under the
floor mat on the driver's side. You operate the
emergency re lease from the dr iver's seat.
Releasing the parking lock using the
emergency release
• To prevent the vehicle from rolling uninten­
tionally, set the park ing brake© ¢
page 85
or press the brake peda l.
.. There are two slits on the cover. Position
the screwdriver from the vehicle tool kit in
one of the s lits on the cover and pry the cov­
er off.
• Pull the band@ in the direction of the ar­
row until the release lever locks in place
¢ fig . 126.
• Fold the uppe r section of the release lever
down into the recess.
Resetting the parking lock
• Press the button @ and the release lever at
the same time . You can now push the lever back into its original pos
ition . Make sure the
lever locks in place
¢fig. 127.
.. Install the cover .
T he indicator light
[O] and the N position indi­
cator in the instrument cluster turn on when
the parking lock is released using the emer­
gency release . The message
Risk of rolling! P
not possible . Please set the park ing brake
a l­
so appears.
A WARNING
If you release the park ing lock using the
emergency release, secure your vehicle
with the pa rking brake or the brake pedal
i f the parking brake is not working. The ve­
hicle can roll away if it is not secured and
cause a crash.

144 Safety belts
Safety belts
General notes
Always wear safety belts!
Wearing safety belts correctly saves lives!
This chapter exp lains why safety be lts are nec ­
essary, how they work and how to adjust and
wear them correctly .
.. Read a ll the information that fo llows and
heed all of the instructions and WARNINGS.
A WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them
improperly increases the risk of serious
personal injury and death .
- Safety belts are the sing le most effective
means available to reduce the risk of se­
rious injury and death in automob ile acci­
dents . For your protection and that of
your passenge rs, always co rrectly wear
safety belts when the vehicle is moving .
- Pregnant women, injured, or physically
impaired persons must also use safety
belts. Like all veh icle occupants, they are
more like ly to be seriously injured if they
do not wear safety be lts . The best way to
protect a fetus is to protect the mother -
throughout the entire pregnancy.
Number of seats
Your Audi has a total of five seating positions: two in the front and three in the rear. In some
vehicles, there are four seat ing pos itions: two
in the front and two in the rear. Each seating
position has a safety belt.
A WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them
improperly increases the risk of ser ious
personal injury and death .
- Never strap more than one person, in­
cluding small ch ildren, into any belt.
It is
especially dangerous to place a safety
belt over a child sitting on your lap. -
Never let more people ride in the vehicle
than there are safety belts available.
- Be s ure everyone riding in the vehicle is
properly restrained with a separate safe­
ty belt or child restra int.
~ Safety belt warning light
Your vehicle has a warning system for the
driver and front seat passenger to remind you
about the importance of buckling-up.
F ig. 155 Safety bel t warni ng light in the instr ument
cl uster -en larged
Befor e dr ivi ng o ff, alway s:
.. Fasten your safety belt and make sure you
are wearing it properly .
.. Make sure that your passengers a lso buck le
up and properly wear their safety be lts.
.. Protect children with a child restraint sys-
tem appropriate for the s ize and age .
The warning light . in the instrument cluster
lights up when the ignition is on as a reminder
to fasten the safety belts. In addit ion, you will
hear a warning tone for a certain per iod of
t ime .
Fasten your sa fet y belt and m ake s ure th at
y ou r passenge rs also prope rly put on the ir
s afe ty belt s.
A WARNING
--Safety belts are the s ingle most effective
means available to reduce the risk of se­
rious inju ry and death in automobile acci­
dents. Fo r you r protection and that of
your passengers, a lways cor rectly wear
safety belts when the vehicle is moving .

154 Airbag sys te m
Child restraints on the front seat - some
important things to know
• Be sure to read the impo rtant in formation
and heed the WARNINGS for important de­
ta ils about ch ildren and Advanced Airbags
i=> page 176.
Even though your vehicle is equipped with an
Advanced Airbag System, make certain that
all children, especially those 12 years and
younger, a lways ride in the back seat properly
restra ined for their age and size. The airbag
on the passenger side makes the front seat a potentially dangerous place for a child to r ide .
The front seat is not the safest place fo r a
chi ld in a fo rward-facing chi ld seat.
It can be a
ve ry dangerous p lace for an infant or a ch ild in
a rearward -facing seat.
The Advanced Airbag System i n your veh icle
has been certified to comply with the require­
men ts of United States Federa l Mo to r Veh icle
Safety Standard 208 as applicable at the time
your vehicle was manufactured.
The Standa rd requires the fron t air bag on t he
passenger side to be turned off ("sup­
p ressed") if a ch ild up to about one yea r of
age restrained in one of the rear-facing or for­
ward-facing infant restraints listed in Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 with which
the Advanced A irbag System in your vehicle
was certified has been installed on the front passenger seat . For a listing of the child re ­
straints that were used to certify compliance
with the US Safety Standard
c> page 178.
The PASS ENGE R AIR BAG OFF light in the in­
strument panel tells you when the front Ad­
vanced A irbag on the passenger side has been
turned off by t he e lectronic control unit.
Each t ime you sw itch on the ignit ion, the
PAS­
SENGER AIR BAG OFF
l ight will come on for a
few seconds and:
- will stay on if the front passenger seat is not
occupied ,
- will stay on if there is a small child or child
restraint on the front passenger seat, -
will go off if the front passenger seat is oc ­
cupied by an adult as registered by the
weight -sensing mat
c::> page 163, Monitor­
ing the Advanced Airbag System.
T he PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
when the control unit detects a tota l weight
on the front passenger seat that req uires the
front a irbag to be turned off .
If the total weight on the front passenge r
seat is more than that of a typica l 1 year -old
child b ut less than the weight of a small
adult, the front airbag on the passenger side
can deploy (the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
li ght does not come on). If the PAS SENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on, the
front a irbag on the passenger side has not
been turned off by the elect ronic con trol unit
and can deploy if the control unit se nses an
impact that meets the cond itions stored in its
memory .
For exampl e, th e airbag ma y deplo y if:
-a small ch ild that is heav ie r than a typical 1
year-old ch ild is on the front passenger seat
( r egard less of whether the child is in one of
the child seats listed
c> page 178), or
- a child who has outgrown ch ild restraints is
on t he front passenger seat.
If the front passenger airbag is turned off, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on in
the instrument cluster and stays on.
The front airbag on the passenger side may
not deploy (the P A SSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not illum inate and stay lit) even if a
small adult o r teenager, or a passenger who is
not sitt ing up rig ht w ith their back against a
non- re cli ned ba ck rest w it h thei r feet on the
vehicle floor in front of the sea t is on the front
passenge r seat
c::> page 135, Proper seating
position for the driver.
If the front passenger a irbag dep loys, the
F ede ra l St andard req uires the airbag to meet
the "low risk" dep loyment criteria to reduce
the risk of injury t hro ugh interaction wit h the
airbag. "Low risk" dep loyment occ urs in those
crashes that take place at lower dece lerat ions ..,_

-Always make sure the forward-facing
seat has been des igned and certified by
its manufacturer for use on a front seat
with a passenger front and side airbag.
- Never put the forward-facing child re­
straint up aga inst or very near the instru­
ment panel.
- Always move the passenger seat into its
rearmost position in the seat's fore and
aft adjustment range, as far away from
the a irbag as poss ible, before insta lling
the fo rward -facing child restraint. T he
b ackres t m ust be adjus ted to an upr igh t
posit ion.
- Make su re that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and s tays on all the
t ime whenever the ignition is switched
on .
Advanced Airbag System components
The front passenger seat in your vehicle has a
l ot of very important parts of the Advanced
Airbag System in it. These parts include the
weight-sens ing mat, sensors, wiring, brack­
ets, and more . The function of the system in
the front passenger seat is checked by the
e lectronic control un it when the ign it ion is on .
The control un it mon itors the Advance d Air ­
bag Sys tem and turn s the a irbag i ndica tor
light on when a ma lfunction in t he system
compo nents is detected . The function of the
ai rbag indicator light is described in greater
deta il below. Because the front passenger
seat contains important parts of the Ad­
va nced A irbag System, you must take care to
prevent it from being damaged . Damage to
the seat may p revent the Advanced A irbag for
the front passenger seat from doing its job in
a crash .
The front Advanced Airb ag System
consists of the following:
- Crash senso rs in the front of the veh icle that
measu re ve hicle accelera tion/decele ra ti on
to provide info rm ation to the Advanced Air ­
bag System abo ut the severity of the crash.
A irbag system 159
-An elect ron ic cont ro l unit, with integrated
crash sensors for front and side impacts .
The control un it "decides" whether to f ire
the front a irbags based on the informat ion
received from the crash sensors. The control
unit also "decides" whether the safety belt
prete nsione rs shou ld be act iva ted.
- An Advanced A irbag w it h gas generator and
cont ro l valve for the d river ins ide the steer ­
ing wheel h ub.
- An Advanced A irbag w ith gas generator and
cont ro l valve inside the instrument pa ne l for
the front passenger .
- A weight -sensing mat unde r the upho lstery
padding of the front passenge r seat cushion
that measures the to tal weight o n the seat.
The info rmat ion reg iste red is sent continu­
ously to the elect ronic con trol u nit to regu ­
la te deployment of the front Advanced Air ­
bag on the passenger side .
- An airbag moni tor ing sys tem and ind icator
light in the instr ument cluster
¢ page 163.
-A sen sor in each fron t seat regis ters the dis ­
t ance betwee n the respec tive seat and the
steering whee l or instrument panel. The i n­
formation registered is sent cont inuo usly to
the electron ic contro l unit to regulate de­
ployment of the front Advanced A irbags .
- The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes
on and stays on in the center o f the instr u­
ment panel¢
page 163, fig. 168 and tells
you whe n the front Advanced Airbag on the
passe nger side has been tu rned off.
- A sensor below the safety belt latch for the
front seat passenger to measure t he tension
on the safety belt. The tension o n the safety
be lt and the weight regis tered by the
weigh t-sensi ng mat he lp the cont rol uni t
"de cide" whe ther the front airbag fo r the
front passenge r seat should be turned off or
not
~ page 154, Child restraints on the
front seat -some important things to
know.
- A sensor in t he safety be lt latch fo r the d riv­
er and for the front seat passenger that
senses w hethe r th at safety belt is latched or
not and transmits this information to the
electronic control unit.
•
•

-a safety be lt extender has not been left in
the safety belt latch for the front passenger
seat .
I n addition to the
P ASS ENGER AIR B AG OFF
light in the center of the instrument panel,
the message
PA SSENGE R AIR BAG OFF or
PASSENGER AI R BAG ON will briefly appear
in the instrument cluster display . Th is is to in­
form the driver of the current front passenger
airbag status .
Important safety instructions on
monitoring the Advanced Airbag System
A WARNING
An airbag system that is not functioning
properly cannot provide supplemental pro­
tection in a frontal crash.
- If the airbag indicator light
c:> page 18
comes when the vehicle is be ing used,
have the system inspected immediately
by your authorized Aud i deale r. It is pos­
sible that the a irbag will inf late when it
is not supposed to, or w ill not inflate
when it sho uld.
A WARNING
If the front airbag inflates, a ch ild without
a child restraint, or in a rearward-facing
child safety seat, or in a forward-facing
child restraint that has not been properly
installed will be serio usly injured and can
be killed.
- Even though your vehicle is equipped
with an Advanced Airbag System, make certain that all children, especially 12
years and younger, always ride on the
back seat properly restrained fo r their
age and size .
- Always install forward or rear-facing
child seats on the rea r seat -even w ith
an Advanced Airbag System.
- If you must install a rearward-facing
child seat on the front passenge r seat
because of exceptiona l circumstances
and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF l igh t
does not appea r and s tay on, immediate-
A irbag system 165
ly insta ll the rear-facing child seat in a
rear seat ing pos ition and have the airbag
system inspected by your Audi dealer.
- A tight tether or other strap on a rear­
ward-facing child restraint attached to
the front passenger seat can put too
much pressure on the weight-sensing
mat in the seat and reg ister more weight
than is actually on the seat. The heavier
weight registered can make the system
work as tho ugh an adult were on the seat
and deploy the Advanced Airbag when it
m ust be suppressed causing serious or
even fata l injury to the chi ld .
- If, in exceptiona l circumstances, you
m ust install a forward-facing child re­
straint on the front passenger seat, al ­
ways move the seat into its rearmost po­ sition in the seat's fore and aft adjust­
ment range, as fa r away from the a irbag
as poss ible . The backrest must be ad just­
ed to an upright pos ition. Make sure that
the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
comes on and stays on a ll t he time when­
ever the ignit ion is switched on .
A WARNING
=
-If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not go out when an ad ult is sitting
on the front passenger seat after taking
the steps described above, make sure the
adu lt is properly seated and restra ined at
one of the rear seat ing pos itions.
- Have the airbag system inspected by
your Aud i dea ler before transporting
anyone on the front passenger seat.
(D Tips
If the weight-sensing mat in the front pas­
senger seat detects an empty seat, the
front airbag on the passenger side will be
turned off, and the
PASS ENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light will stay on .
Repair, care and disposal of the airbags
Parts of the airbag system are i nstalled at
many diffe rent p laces o n your Aud i. Insta lling, .,.
•
•

1 7 0 Airbag system
of the passenger seat. If the airbag de­
ploys, this can resu lt in serious or fata l
injuries.
- Never carry objects of any kind in the
footwell area in front of the driver's or
passenger's seat. Bulky objects (shop­
p ing bags, for examp le) can interfere
with or p revent proper dep loyment of
the airbag . Small objects can be
thrown through the vehicle i f the a ir­
bag deploys and injure you or yo ur pas­
sengers.
- Make sure there are no cra ck s, deep
scratches or ot her damage in the area of
the instrument pane l where the knee air­
bags are located .
- If children are incorrect ly sea ted, their
risk of inj ury i ncreases in a collision
¢ page 176, Child Safety .
Side airbags
Description of side airbags
The airbag system can provide supplemental
protection to properly restrained occupants.
----
Fi g. 1 71 Side a irbag loca tion in the driver's seat
The side airbags are lo cated i n the sides of the
front seat ba ckrests
¢fig. 171 and the rear
backrest facing the doors. They are identified
by the word "AIRBAG" .
The s ide airbag system ba sically consis ts of :
-the electronic control module and external
s ide impact sensors
- the two side airbags located in the sides of
the front backrests
- two rear side airbags -
the airbag warning light in the ins trument
cluster .
T he airbag system is mon itored elec tronically
to make certain tha t it is f unctioning p roperly
at all times. Each time you switch on the igni ­
tion, the airbag system indicator light will
come on for a few seconds (se lf diagnostics) .
T he side airbag system supplements the safe­
ty belts and can help to reduce the risk of in ­
jury to the driver's, front and rear passenger's
u pper torso on the side of the vehicle that is
struck in a side collision. The airbag dep loys
only in side impacts and only when the vehicle
acce lerat ion reg istered by the contro l unit is
high enough. If this rate is be low the refe r­
ence value p rog rammed into the control unit,
the side ai rbags will not be triggered, even
t h ough the car may be bad ly damaged as a re­
s ul t of the co llision. It is not possib le to de­
fine an airbag triggering range that will cover every possib le ang le of impact, since the cir­
cumstances will vary cons iderably between
one collis ion and another. Important factors
include, for example, the nature (hard or soft)
of the impacting object, the angle of impact,
vehicle speed, etc. ¢
page 172, Important
safety instructions on the side airbag system .
Aside from their normal safety function, safe­
ty be lts work to help keep the driver or front
passenge r in position in t he event of a s ide
co llision so that the side airbags can provide
protection.
The airbag system is
not a substitute for your
safety belt . Rather, it is part of the overa ll oc­
c u pant restraint system in you r vehicle . A l­
ways remember that t he side ai rbag system
c a n only help to protect you if you are wea ring
your sa fety be lt and wearing it p roperly. This
is another reason why you should always wear
your safety belts, not j ust because the law re­
quires yo u to do so¢
page 144, General
notes.
It is important to remembe r that w hile the
supplementa l side airbag system is designed
to reduce the likelihood of ser ious injuries,
other injur ies, for example, swelling, bru is ing, ..,..