belt AUDI A8 2013 Owner's Manual

138 Driving Safel y
Proper adjustment of head restraints
Correctly adjusted head restraints are an im­
portant part of your vehicle's occupant re­
straint system and can help to reduce the risk
of injuries in accident situations.
Fig . 15 4 Head restr ain t: vi ewed fro m the front
The head restraints must be correctly adjust­
ed to achieve the best protection.
i,.. For adjustable head restraints: adjust the
head restraint so the upper edge is as even
as possible with the top of your head. If that
is not possible, try to adjust the head re­
stra int so that it is as close to th is position
as possible.
c:> fig . 154.
Ad justing head restraints c:> page 64 .
Crash - activ e head rest raint s
In the even t of a rear-end collision, it is possi ­
b le that the crash-act ive head res traint s on
the driver's seat and front passenger 's seat
1>
are triggered . On head restraints that have
been triggered, the padding protrudes for­
wards by several centimeters. Drive the vehi­ cle to your authori zed Aud i dealer without de­
lay and have the function of the active head
restra ints restored .
A WARNING
-
Driv ing without head rest raints or w ith
head restra ints that are not properly ad­
jus ted in creases the risk of serious o r fatal
neck injury dram atically. To help reduce
the risk of in jury:
1l Vehicle s w ith recl in ing rear seat : Th is f unctio n is not
ava ilab le for t he fro nt pass enge r's seat.
-Always drive with the head restraints in
place and properly adjusted.
- Every person in the vehicle must have a
properly adjusted head restraint.
- Always make sure each person in the ve­
hicle properly adj usts their head re­
straint. Adjust the head restraint so the
upper edge is as even as possible with
the top of your head. If that is not possi­
ble, t ry to adjust the head rest raint so
that it is as close to this posit ion as pos­
sible.
- Never attempt to adjust head restraint
while driving. If you have driven off and
m ust adjust the driver headrest for any
reason, first stop the vehicle safely be­
fore at tempting to adjust the head re ­
straint .
- Ch ild ren mus t always be properly re­
strained in a child rest rain t that is appro ­
priate for their age and size
c:> page 176.
Examples of improper seating positions
The occupant restraint system can only re­
duce the risk of injury if vehicle occupants are
properly seated.
Improper seating posi tions can cause se rious
i njury or death. Safety belts can on ly wo rk
when they are properly positioned on the body. Improper seating positions reduc e the
effectiven ess of safety belts and wi ll even in­
crease the r isk of injury and death by moving
the safety belt to crit ica l areas of t he body.
Improper seating positions a lso increase the
risk of serious in jury and death when an a ir­
bag deploys and str ikes an occupant who is
not in the proper seating position. A dr iver is
responsible fo r the safety of all ve hicle occu­
pants and espec ially for child ren . The re fore :
i,.. Never allow anyone to assume an incorrect
s eating position when the vehicle is bei ng
used
c:> & - .,.

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 .

-Failure to pay attention to the warning
light that come on, could lead to person­
al injury.
Why safety belts?
Frontal collisions and the law of physics
Frontal crashes create very strong forces for
people riding in vehicles .
Fig. 156 Unbelted occupants in a ve hicle heading for a
wall
Fig. 157 The vehicle cras hes into the wall
The physical principles are simple. Both the
veh icle and the passengers possess energy
which varies w ith veh icle speed and body
weight . Engineers call this energy "kinetic en­
e rgy."
The higher the speed of the vehicle and the
greater the vehicle's weight, the more energy
that has to be "absorbed" in the crash.
Vehicle speed is the most significant factor . If
the speed doubles from 15 to 30 mph (25 to
50 km/h), the ene rgy increases 4 t imes!
Because the passengers of th is vehicle are not
using safety belts¢
fig. 156, they will keep
mov ing at the same speed the vehicle was
mov ing just before the crash, unt il something
stops them - here, the wall ¢
fig. 157.
Safety belts 145
The same principles apply to people s itting in
a vehicle that is involved in a frontal collision.
Even at c ity speeds of 20 to 30 mph (30 to 50
km/h), the forces acting on the body can
reach one ton (2,000 lbs, or 1,000 kg) or
more . At greater speeds, these fo rces are even
higher.
Peop le who do not use safety belts are also
not attached to their vehicle . In a frontal colli­
s ion they will also keep moving forward at the
speed their vehicle was travelling just before
the crash . Of co urse, the laws of physics don't
just app ly to frontal collisions, they determine
what happens in all kinds of accidents and col­
li s ions.
What happens to occupants not wearing
safety belts?
In crashes unbelted occupants cannot stop
themselves from flying forward and being in­
jured or killed. Always wear your safety belts!
F ig . 158 A driver not wea ring a safety be lt is vio lently
th rown forwa rd
Fig. 159 A rear passenger not wearing a safety belt
w ill fly forward a nd strike the driver
Unbelted occupants are not able to resist the
tremendous forces of impact by holding tight
or bracing themselves. Without the benefit of
safety restraint systems, the unrestra ined .,..

146 Safety belts
occupant will slam violently into the steering
wheel, instrument panel, windshield, or what­
ever else is in the way
c::> fig. 158. This impact
with the vehicle interior has all the energy
t hey had just before the crash.
Never rely on a irbags alone for protection.
Even when they deploy, airbags provide only
additional protection. Airbags are not sup­
posed to deploy in all kinds of accidents. Al­
though your Audi is equipped with airbags, all
vehicle occupants, including the driver , must
wear safety belts correctly in order to mini­
mize the risk of severe injury or death in a
crash.
Remember too, that airbags will deploy only
once and that your safety belts are always
there to offer protection in those accidents in
which airbags are not supposed to deploy or
when they have already deployed . Unbelted
occupants can also be thrown out of the vehi­
cle where even more severe or fatal injuries
can occur.
It is also important for the rear passengers to
wear safety belts correctly. Unbelted passen­
gers in the rear seats endanger not only them­
selves but also the driver and othe r passen­
gers
~ fig. 159. In a frontal collision they will
be thrown forward violently, where they can
hit and injure the driver and/or front seat pas­
senger .
Safety belts protect
People think it's possible to use the hands to
brace the body in a minor collision . It's simply
not true !
Fig. 160 Driver is co rr ect ly re strain ed in a sudd en brak­
ing maneuve r
Safety belts used properly can make a big dif­
ference. Safety belts help to keep passengers
in their seats, gradually reduce energy levels
applied to the body in an accident, and help
prevent the uncontrolled movement tha t can
cause serious injuries . In addition, safety belts
reduce the danger of being thrown out of the
vehicle .
Safety belts attach passengers to the car and
give them the benefit of being slowed down
more gently or "softly" through the "give" in
the safety belts, crush zones and other safety
features engineered into today's vehicles. By
"absorbing " the kinetic energy over a longer
period of ti me, the safety belts make the
forces on the body more "tolerable" and less
likely to cause injury.
Although these examples are based on a fron­
tal collision, safety belts can also substantial­
ly reduce the r isk of injury in other kinds of
crashes. So, whether you're on a long trip or
just going to the corner store, always buckle up and make sure others do, too. Accident sta­
tistics show that vehicle occupants properly
wearing safety belts have a lower risk of being
injured and a much better chance of surviving
an accident. Properly using safety belts also
greatly increases the ability of the supplemen­
tal airbags to do their job in a collision . For
this reason, wearing a safety belt is legally re­
quired in most countries including much of
the United States and Canada.
Although your Audi is equipped with airbags,
you still have to wear the safety belts provid­
ed. Front airbags , for example, are activated
only in some frontal collisions. The front air­
bags are not activated in all frontal collisions,
in side and rear collisions, in roll overs or in
cases where there is no t enough decelera tion
through impact to the front of the vehicle .
The same goes for the other airbag systems in
your Audi . So, always wear your safety belt
and make sure everybody in your vehicle is
properly restrained!

Important safety instructions about
safety belts
Safety belts must always be correctly posi­
tioned across the strongest bones of your
body.
~ Always wear safety belts as illustrated and
described in this chapter.
~ Make sure that your safety belts are always
ready for use and are not damaged.
A WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them
improperly increases the risk of serious
personal injury and death. Safety belts can
work only when used correctly .
- Always fasten your safety be lts correctly
before driving off and make sure all pas­
sengers are correc tly restrained.
- For maximum protection, safety belts must always be positioned properly on
the body .
- Never strap more than one person, in­
cluding small children, into any belt.
- Never place a safety belt over a child sit ­
ting on your lap.
- Always keep feet in the footwell in front
of the seat while the vehicle is being d riv­
en .
- Never let any person ride with their feet on the instrument panel or sticking out
the window or on the seat.
- Never remove a safety belt while the ve­
hicle is moving. Doing so will increase
your risk of be ing injured or killed.
- Never wear belts twisted.
- Never wear belts over rigid or breakable
objects in or on your clothing, such as
eye glasses, pens, keys, etc., as these may cause injury.
- Never allow safety belts to become dam­
aged by being caught in door or seat
hardware .
- Do not wear the shoulder part of the belt
under your arm or otherwise out of posi ­
tion .
Safety belts 147
-Several layers of heavy clothing may in­
terfere with correct positioning of belts and reduce the overall effectiveness of
the system .
- Always keep belt buckles free of anything
tha t may prevent the buckle from latch­
ing securely .
- Never use comfort clips or devices that
create slack in the shoulder belt . Howev­
er, special clips may be requ ired for the
proper use of some child restraint sys­
tems .
- Torn or frayed safety belts can tear, and
damaged belt hardware can break in an
accident. Inspect belts regularly.
If web­
bing , bindings, buckles , or retractors are
damaged, have belts replaced by an au­
thorized Audi dealer or qualified work­ shop.
- Safety belts that have been worn and
loaded in an accident must be replaced
with the correct replacement safety belt
by an authorized Audi dealer . Replace­
ment may be necessary even if damage
cannot be clearly seen . Anchorages that
were loaded must also be inspected.
- Never remove, modify, disassemble, or
try to repair the safety belts yourself.
- Always keep the bel ts clean. Dirty belts
may not work properly and can impair
the function of the inertia reel
c::> page 225, Safety belts .
Safety belts
Fastening safety belts
Safety first -everbody buckle up!
Fig. 161 B el t b uckle and to ngue on the drive r's se at

148 Safet y belt s
To provide maximum protection, sa fety belts
must always be positioned correctly on the
wearer 's body .
.,. Adjust the front seat and head restra int
properly ¢
page 57, General recommenda­
t ions .
.,. Hold the be lt by the tongue and pull it
evenly across the chest and pelvis ¢
_&..
.,. Insert the tongue into the correct buckle of
your seat until you hear it latch securely
¢ fig . 161.
.,. Pull on the be lt to make sure that it is se-
cu rely latched in the buckle .
Automatic safety belt retractors
Every safety belt is equipped w ith an automat­
i c belt retractor on the shoulder belt. Th is fea ­
ture locks the be lt when the belt is pulled out
fast, dur ing hard braking and in an accident.
The belt may also lo ck when you drive up or
down a steep hill or throug h a sharp curve.
During normal driving the belt lets you move
freely.
Safety belt pretensioners
The safety belts are equipped with a be lt p re­
tensione r that helps to t ighten the safety bel t
and remove s lack when the pretensio ner is ac­
tivated ¢
page 150. The function of the pre ­
tensioner is monitored by a warning light
c:;, page 18 .
Switchable locking feature
Every safe ty belt excep t the one on the driver
seat is eq uipped w ith a swit chab le locking fea ­
ture that
mus t be used when the safety bel t is
used to attach a child seat . Be s ure to read the
important information abo ut this feat ure
¢ page 186.
A WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can
cause-se rious injury in an accident
¢ page 148, Safety belt position .
-Safety belts offer optimum pr otection
only when the seatback is upright and
belts are prope rly positioned on the
body.
-
- Never attach the safety belt to the buck­
le for another seat. Attaching the belt to
the wrong buckle will reduce safety be lt
effectiveness and can cause serio us per­
sonal injury .
- A passenger who is not properly restrain­
ed can be seriously injured by the safety
be lt itself when it moves from the stron­
ge r parts of the body into cr itica l ar eas
like the abdomen.
- Always lock the conve rtible locking re­
t ra cto r when you are se cu ring a c hild
s eat in t he veh icle
¢page 188.
(D Tips
For informa tion on safety belt pretension­
ers, refer to¢
page 150.
Safety belt position
Correct belt position is the key to getting
maximum protection from safety belts.
F ig . 16 2 Safety bel t pos it ion
U se the heig ht adjus tme nt to ch ange the posi­
tio n of the shoulder belt of the front sa fety
belts.
A WARNING
'-
Improperly positioned safety be lts can
cause ser ious personal inju ry in an acc i­
dent.
-
- The shou lder belt should lie as close to
the center of the collar bone as possible
and should fit well on t he body. Hold the
be lt above the latch tongue and pull it
evenly across the chest so that it sits as low as possib le on the pelv is an d th ere is
no pressure o n the abdomen. The belt ..,.

should alwaysfitsnugly¢fig.162. Pull
on the belt to tighten if necessary.
- A loose-fitting safety belt can cause seri­
ous injuries by shifting its position on
your body from the strong bones to more vulnerable, soft tissue and cause serious
injury .
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important information
¢page 147.
Pregnant women must also be correctly
restrained
The best way to protect the fetus is to make
sure that expectant mothers always wear
safety belts correctly -throughout the preg­
nancy.
Fig. 163 Safety belt pos it io n during p regnancy
To provide maximum protection, safety belts
must always be positioned correctly on the
wearer's body
c> page 148.
.,. Adjust the front seat and head restraint cor­
rectly ¢
page 5 7, General recommenda­
tions.
.,. Hold the belt by the tongue and pull it
evenly across the chest and pelvis
¢ fig . 163, ¢ &_ .
.,. Insert the tongue into the correct buckle of
your seat until you hear it latch securely
¢ page 147, fig. 161.
.,. Pull on the belt to make sure that it is se­
curely latched in the buckle.
Safety belts 149
A WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can
cause serious personal injury in an acc i­
dent.
- Expectant mothers must always wear the
lap portion of the safety belt as low as
possible across the pelvis and below the
round ing of the abdomen.
-Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important information¢
& in Fas­
tening safety belts on page 148.
Unfastening safety belts
Unbuckle the safety belt with the red release
button only a~er the vehicle has stopped .
Fig. 164 Releas ing the tong ue fro m the buckle
.,. Push the red release button on the buckle
o:::> fig. 164. The belt tongue will spring out
of the buckle
¢ .&_ .
0 .... N 9 I ;&
.,. Let the belt wind up on the retractor as you
guide the belt tongue to its stowed position .
A WARNING
=
Never unfasten safety belt while the vehi-
cle is moving . Doing so will increase your
risk of being injured or killed.
Adjusting safety belt height
You can adjust the height of the driver's and
front passenger 's safety belts.
The safety belt height adjustors for the front
seats can be used to adjust the height of the
shoulder portion of the safety belt so that it is
positioned correctly . .,,..

150 Safety belts
The s hou lder belt should lie as close to the
center of the collar bone as possib le and
should fit well on the body¢
A in Safety belt
position on page 148.
P ower saf ety belt h eight adju stment *
You can ad just the height of the safety belts
using the mu ltifunction button on the driver
or front passenge r seat ¢
page 59.
A WARNING
Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important informat ion¢
page 147.
You can also adjust the height of the front
seats to change the position of the safety
be lts.
Improperly worn safety belts
Incorrectly positioned safety belts can cause
severe injuries.
Wear ing safety be lts imprope rly can cause se ­
rio us inj ury or death. Safety be lts can on ly
wo rk when they are correct ly positioned on
the body. Improper seating positions reduce
the effect iveness of safety belts and will even
increase the r isk of injury and death by mov­
ing the safety belt to cr itical areas of the
body. Imprope r seat ing pos it ions also in­
crease the risk of serious in jury and death
when an air bag deploys and str ikes a n occu­
pant who is not in the correct seating posi­
tion . A driver is responsib le for the sa fety of
all vehicle occupants and especially for chi l­
dren. Therefore:
~ Never permit anyone to ass ume an incorrect
sitting position in the vehicle w hile traveling
¢&_ .
A WARNING
Imprope rly worn safety belts increase the
r isk of serious personal injury and death
whenever a veh icle is being used. -
Always make sure that all vehicle occu­
pants are correctly restrained and stay in
a correct seating position whenever the
veh icle is being used .
- Always read and heed all WAR NINGS and
other important information
¢ page 147.
Safety belt preten­
sioners
How safety belt pretensioners work
In front, side and rear -end collisions above a
particular severity and in a rollover , safety
belts are tensioned automatically.
Reversible safety belt tensioners
T he safety belts on the fro nt sea ts ar e e qui p­
ped with powe r reversib le tensioners . The fo l­
lowing functions a re ava ilab le when the driv ­
er's/front passenger's safety belts are fas­
tened :
- Automatic tens ioners : at the start of a drive,
the safety belts automat ica lly adjust to the
passenger after a certain time period or ve ­
hicle speed. To switch the automatic ten­
sioners off, select the following in the MMI:
! CARI function button> Car systems > Vehi­
cle settings > Seats > Driver's seat or Pas­
s enger's seat
> Automatic belt t ensioner >
Off .
-In certain dr iv ing s ituations, the safety belts
may tighten w ith a revers ible tens ion ing
fu nction
¢ page 196.
-The safety be lts may a lso t ighten with th is
reve rsible tensioning function in minor co lli­
sion s.
Pyrotechnic safety belt pretensioners
The safety belts are equ ipped with safety belt
pretensioners . The system is act ivated by se n­
sors i n front, s ide and rear-end co llisions of
great severity and in a rollover. This tig htens
t h e belt and t akes up belt slack¢.&.
in Service
and disposal of safety belt pretensi oner on
page 151.
Taking up the slack helps to reduce 1111>

forward occupant movement during a colli­
sion.
A WARNING
- It is possible for the pretensioners to de­
ploy incorrectly.
- The pyrotechnic system can only provide
protection for one collision . If the pyro­
technic pretensioners deploy, the preten­
sioning system must be replaced.
(D Tips
The pyrotechnic safety belt pretensioners
can only deploy once.
- The safety belt pretensioners do not de­
ploy in minor frontal and side collisions,
in rear-end collisions, in rollovers and in
collisions involving very little impact
force .
- A fine dust is released when the pyro­
technic safety belt pretensioners deploy.
This is normal and is not caused by a fire
i n the veh icle.
- The relevant safety requirements must
be observed when the vehicle or compo­
nents of the system are scrapped . A
qualified dea lership is familiar with
these regulations and will be pleased to
pass on the information to you.
- Be sure to observe all safety, environ­
mental and other regulations if the vehi­
cle or individual parts of the system, par­
ticularly the safety belt or airbag, are to
be disposed. We recommend you have
your authorized Audi dealer perform this
service for you.
Service and disposal of safety belt
pretension er
The safety belt pretensioners are parts of the
safety belts on your Audi . Installing, remov­
ing, servicing or repairing of belt pretension­
ers can damage the safety belt system and prevent it from working correctly in a colli­
sion.
There are some important things you have to know to make sure that the effectiveness of
Safety belts 151
the system will not be impaired and that dis­
carded components do not cause injury or pol­
lute the environment .
A WARNING
Improper care, servicing and repair proce­
dures can increase the risk of personal in­
jury and death by preventing a safety belt
pretensioner from activating when needed
or activating it unexpectedly :
- The belt pretensioner system can be acti­ vated only once .
If belt pretensioners
have been activated, the system must be
replaced.
- Never repair, adjust, or change any parts
of the safety be lt system.
- Safety belt systems including safety belt
pretensioners cannot be repaired. Spe­
cial procedures are required for removal,
installation and disposal of this system.
- For any work on the safety belt system,
we strongly recommend that you see
your authorized Audi dealer or qualified
technician who has an Audi approved re­
pair manual, training and special equip­
ment necessary.
@ For the sake of the environment
Undeployed airbag modules and preten­
sioners might be classified as Perchlorate
Material -special handling may apply, see
www .dtsc.ca.gov/hazardouswaste/per-
ch lorate. When the vehicle or parts of the
restraint system including airbag modules
safety belts with pretensioners are scrap­
ped, all applicable laws and regulations
must be observed. Your authorized Audi
dealer is fami liar with these requirements
and we recommend that you have your
dealer perform this service for you. •
•

152 Airbag sys te m
Airbag system
Important things to know
Importance of wearing safety belts and
sitting properly
Airbags are only supplemental restraints. For
airbags to do their job , occupants must al­
ways properly wear their safety belts and be
in a proper seating position.
F or your safety and the safety of your passen­
gers, before driving off, always:
• Adjust the dr iver's seat and steering wheel
properly ¢
page 135,
• Adjust the front passenger's seat properly
r=;page 58,
• Wear safety be lts properly r=; page 147,
• Always properly use the proper child re-
stra int to protect children¢
page 176.
In a collision, airbags must inflate within the
blink of an eye and with considerable force .
The supplemental airbags can cause injuries if
the dr iver or the front seat passenger is not
seated properly . Therefore in order to he lp the
a irbag to do its job, it is important, both as a
d river and as a passenger to sit properly at all
times.
By keeping room between your body and the
steering wheel and the front of the passenger
compartment, the airbag ca n inflate fully and
comp letely and provide supp lemental protec­
tion in certain frontal collisions¢
page 135,
Proper occupant seating positions.
F or detai ls
on the operat ion of the seat adjustment con­
trols ¢
page 58.
It's especially important that children a re
properly restrained ¢
page 176.
There is a lot that the driver and the passen­
gers can and must do to help the individua l
safety features ins talled in your A udi work to­
gether as a system.
Prope r seat ing pos ition is important so that
the front airbag on the driver s ide can do i ts
job. If yo u have a physical impa irment or con- dition that prevents you from sitting properly
on the driver seat with the safety belt properly
fastened and reaching the peda ls , or if you
have concerns with regard to the function or
operation of the Advanced Airbag System,
please contact your author ized Audi dealer or
qualified workshop, or call Audi Customer Re­
lations at 1-800-822-2834 for poss ible modi­
ficat ions to your ve hicle.
When the airbag system deploys, a gas gener ­
ator will f il l the a irbags, break open t he pad­
ded cove rs, and i nflate between the steer ing
whee l and the dr iver and between the instru­
ment pane l and the front passenger. The a ir­
bags will deflate immediately after dep loy­
ment so that the front occupants can see
t h rough the windshie ld again witho ut inter­
ruption .
All of th is takes p lace in the b link of an eye, so
fast that many peop le don't even realize tha t
the airbags have deployed. The airbags a lso
inflate with a great dea l of force and nothing
shou ld be in their way when they deploy.
Front airbags in combination with properly
wor n safety belts slow down and lim it the oc ­
cupant's forward movement . T ogether they
help to prevent the drive r and front seat pas­
senger from hitting pa rts of the inside of the
vehicle while reducing the forces acting on the
occupant dur ing the crash . In this way they
help to reduce the risk of injury to the head
and upper body in the crash. A irbags do not
protect the arms or the lower parts of the
body.
Both front airbags wi ll not inflate in all fronta l
collisions . The t riggering of the airbag system
depends on the vehicle dece lerat ion rate
caused by the co llision and registered by the
electron ic control unit. If th is rate is below
the reference value programmed into the con ­
t rol unit , the airbags will not be trigge red,
even though the car may be badly damaged as
a res ult of the co llision . Ve hicl e damage, re­
pair costs or even the lack of ve hicle damage
is not necessari ly an indication of whether an
airbag shou ld inflate or not .
IJll-