sensor AUDI Q5 2014 Owner's Manual

134 Parking system
- On -when the parking system is switched
on, either the visua l d isplay or the picture
from the rearview camera is disp layed .
Warning tones
-Front volum e -front sensor vol ume
- Front frequ enc y-front sensor frequency
-Re ar volum e -rear sensor volume
- Rear frequenc y -rear sensor frequency
- In -ca r entertainme nt fader /Mu sic volume
w hile pa rking -
when the parking system is
switched on , the volume of the active audio
source is lowered .
The new ly adjusted value is briefly heard from
the signal generator.
@ Tips
- The warning tones can a lso be adjusted
directly by the v is ual disp lay or the p ic­
ture from the rearview camera. Simp ly
press the
Sett ings contro l button.
- Changed settings are activated when
parking system is switched on again.
- The settings are automatically stored
and ass igned to the remote control key.
Trailer hitch
Applies to vehicles: with Audi parking system plus w ith
rea rview camera a nd trailer hitch
For vehi cles with a facto ry installed trai ler
hitch, or a trai ler hitch installed according to
factory specifications, the parking system rear
sensors do not come on whenever you shift in­
to reverse gear or when you press the
P, #J\.
switch. Remember, there is no warning for
d istances to the rear . The front sensors re ­
main activated. The visual display switches to
the trailer towing mode. The picture from the
rearv iew camera will not show the orientation
l ines nor the blue su rfaces.
If you install a hitch yourself, th is function
may not work .
Error messages
Applies to vehicles: wi th Audi parking sys te m plus with
rearv iew camera
T he re is an error in the system if t he LED on
the
p, q~ switch is blinking and you hea r a con­
t in uous alarm for a few se conds after switch­
ing on the parking system or when the park­
ing system is already activated . Have yo ur au­
thorized Audi dea ler correct the error.
(D Tips
If the error is not corrected before you
switch off the ignition, when you switch on
the parking system again, the LED in the
Pw J\. switch will blink.

Homelink
Universal remote
control
Description
Applies to vehicles: with Home link
The HomeLink universal remote control can
be programmed with the remote control for
devices that are already present.
With Home Link, you can control devices such
as the garage door, security systems, house
lights , etc. comfortably from the inside of you
vehicle.
Homelink makes it possible for you to rep lace
three different remote controls from dev ices
in your home with one universal remote. This
feature works for most garage door and exte­
rior door motor signals. Programming the in­
dividual remote control for your remote con ­
trol takes place near the center of the radiator
grille. There is a control module attached at
this location .
A one-time programming of the sensor must be performed before you are able to use sys­
tems with Homelink. If the system does not activate after performing the one-time pro­
gramming, check whether the system uses a rolling code¢
page 138 for vehicles without
the MMI*.
& WARNING
-
- Never use the Homelink transmitter
with any garage door opener that does
have not the safety stop and reverse fea­
ture as requ ired by federa l safety stand­
ards. This includes any garage door open­
er model manufactured before April 1,
1982.
-A garage door opener which cannot de­
tect an object, signaling the door to stop
and reverse does not meet current feder­
al safety standards . Using a garage door
opener without these features increases
risk of serious injury or death.
Homelink 135
- For safety reasons never release the
parking brake or start the engine while
anyone is standing in front of the vehicle .
- A garage door or an estate gate may
sometimes be set in motion when the
Homelink remote control is being pro­
grammed. If the device is repeatedly ac­
tivated, th is can overstrain motor and
damage its electrical components - an
overheated mo to r i s a fire hazard!
- To avoid possib le injuries or property
damage, please always make abso lutely
certa in that no persons or objects are lo­
cated in the range of motion of any
equipment being operated.
(0 Tips
- If you would like more information on
Homelink, where to purchase the Home­
Link compat ible products, or would like
to purchase the Home Link Home Light­
ing Package, please call toll-free :
1-800-355-3515.
-For Declaration of Compliance to United
States FCC and Industry Canada regula­
tions
¢ page 296.
-For security reasons, we recommend that
you clear the programmed buttons be­
fore selling the vehicle.
Operation
App lies to vehicles : with Homeli nk
Fig. 148 Headl iner: controls
Req uirement: The buttons must be program-
med
<:!)page 136 or ¢page 137. ..,_

164 Airbag sys te m
- 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 forward-facing child restraint. The backrest must be adjusted to an upr ight
posit ion.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the
t ime w henever the ignition is switched
on.
Advanced Airbag System components
The fron t passenger sea t in your vehicle h as a
lot of very important par ts of the Advanced
Airbag System in it. These parts include t he
weight -sensing 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 ignit ion is on.
The control unit mon itors the Advanced Air­
bag System and turns the airbag indicator
l ight on when a ma lfunction in t he system
components is detected. The func tion of the
a ir bag ind icator light is described in greater
detai l be low . Because the front passenger
seat contains important parts of the Ad­
vanced A irbag System, you m ust take care to
prevent it from be ing damaged. Damage to
the seat may prevent the Advanced Airbag for
the front passenger seat from doing its job in
a crash .
The front Advanced Airb ag Sy stem
consists of the following:
- Crash sensors in the front of the veh icle that
measure veh icle acceleration/deceleration
to provide information to the Advanced Air­
bag System abou t the seve rity of the crash.
- An electron ic co ntrol unit, with integ rated
crash sensors for front and side impacts .
T he cont ro l unit "dec ides " w het her to fire
the front airbags based on the information
received from the crash senso rs . The contro l
unit a lso "decides" whethe r the safety be lt
pretensioners should be activated . -
An Advanced A irbag w ith gas generator and
cont ro l valve for the d river inside the steer­
ing wheel h ub.
- An Advanced A irbag with gas ge nerator and
contro l valve inside the instrument pane l for
the front passenger.
- A weight-sensing mat under the up ho lstery
pad ding of the front passenger seat cushion
that measures the total weight on the seat.
The informat ion registered is sent continu­
ously to the electronic contro l unit to regu­
late deployment of the front Advanced Air­ bag on the passenger side .
- An airbag monitor ing system and i ndicator
light in the i nstr ument cluster ~
page 168 .
-A sensor in each front seat registers the dis­
tance between the respective seat a nd the
steer ing whee l o r i ns trument panel. The i n­
formation registered is sent cont inuously to
t he ele ctr onic cont ro l uni t to regula te de­
p loyment o f the front Advance d Airbags .
- The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF ligh t comes
on and st ays on in the cen ter o f the instr u­
ment panel
~ page 168, fig . 168 and tells
you whe n the front Advanced Airbag on the
passenger side has been tu rned off .
- A sensor below the safety be lt latch for the
front seat passenger to measure the tension on the safety be lt . The tension on the safety
be lt and the weight registered by the
weight-sensing mat he lp the control unit
"decide" whether the front airbag for the
front passenger seat should be turned off or
not
~ pag e 158, Child restraints on the
front seat -some important things to
know.
- A senso r in the safety belt latch fo r th e d riv­
er and fo r the front sea t passenger tha t
senses w het he r th at safety bel t is latched or
not and transmi ts this information to the
electronic control unit.
A WARNING
Damage to the front passenger seat can
p revent the front airbag from work ing
properly.
-

-Improper repair or disassembly of the
front passenger and driver seat will pre­
vent the Advanced Airbag System from
functioning properly .
- Repairs to the front passenger seat must
be performed by qualified and properly
trained workshop personnel.
- Never remove the front passenger or
driver seat from the vehicle .
- Never remove the upholstery from the
front passenger seat .
- Never disassemble or remove parts from
the seat or disconnect wires from it.
- Never carry sharp objects in your pockets
or place them on the seat. If the weight­
sensing mat in the passenger seat is
punctured it cannot work properly.
- Never carry things on your lap or carry
objects on the passenger seat . Such
items can increase the weight registered
by the weight-sensing mat and send the
wrong information to the airbag control
unit.
- Never store items under the front pas­
senger seat. Parts of the Advanced Air­
bag System under the passenger seat
could be damaged, preventing them and
the airbag system from working proper­
ly.
- Never place seat covers or replacement
upholstery that have not been specifical­
ly approved by Audi on the front seats.
- Seat covers can prevent the Advanced
Airbag System from recognizing child re­
straints or occupants on the front pas­
senger seat and prevent the side airbag in the seat backrest from deploying prop­
erly.
- Never use cushions, pillows, blankets or
similar items on the front passenger
seat . The additional padding will prevent
the weight-sensing mat in the seat from
accurately registering the child restraint
or person on the seat and prevent the
Advanced Airbag System from function­
ing properly.
- If you must use a child restraint on the
front passenger seat and the child re-
Airbag system 165
straint manufacturer's instructions re­
quire the use of a towel, foam cushion or
something else to properly position the
child restraint, make certain that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes
on and stays on whenever the child re­
straint is installed on the front passen­
ger seat.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, immedi­
ately install child restraint in a rear seat­
ing position and have the airbag system
inspected by your authorized Audi dealer .
How the Advanced Airbag System
components work together
The front Advanced Airbag System and the
side airbags supplement the protection of­
fered by the front three-point safety belts
with pretensioners and load limiters and the
adjustable head restraints to help reduce the
risk of injury in a wide range of accident and
crash situations. Be sure to read the impor­
tant information about safety and heed the
WARNINGS in this chapter.
Deployment of the Adv a need Airbag System
and the activation of the safety belt preten­
sioners depend on the deceleration measured
by the crash sensors and registered by the
electronic control unit. The amount of infla­
tion of the front airbags can also be adapted
to the front sea t position, depending on the
distance between the respective front seat
and the steering wheel or instrument panel as registered by sensors in the seats. Crash se­
verity depends on speed and deceleration as
well as the mass and stiffness of the vehicle
or object involved in the crash.
On the passenger side, regardless of safety
belt use, the airbag will be turned off if the
weight on the passenger seat is less than the
amount programmed in the electronic control
unit. The front airbag on the passenger side
will also be turned off if one of the child safe-
ty seats that has been certified under Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 has been
recogni zed on the seat . The
PASSENGER AIR .,,.
•
•

168 Airbag system
Monitoring the
Advanced Airbag System
Airbag monitoring indicator light
Two separate indicators monitor the function
of the Advanced Airbag System: the airbag
monitoring indicator light and the
PASSEN ­
GER AIR BA G OFF
light.
The Advanced Airbag System (including the
electronic control unit, sensor circuits and sys­
tem wiring) is monitored continuously to
make sure that it is functioni ng properly
whenever the ignit ion is on. Each t ime you
turn on the ignition, the airbag monitoring in­
d icator light
fl will come on fo r a few seconds
(self diagnosti cs) .
The system must be inspected when the
indicator light
fl:
- does not come on when the ignit ion is
swit ched on,
- does not go out a few seconds after yo u
have swi tched on the ign ition, o r
- comes on w hile d riving .
If an airbag system malfunction is detected,
the indicator light will first start flash ing to
catch the driver's atte ntion and then stay on
continuously to se rve as a constant reminder
to have the system inspected immediately .
If a malfunction occurs that turns the front
a irbag on the passenger side off, the
PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF
li ght will come on and stay
on whenev er the ignition is on.
A WARNING
An air bag system that is not func tioni ng
prope rly ca nnot provide supplemen tal p ro­
t ect ion in a fron tal cr ash .
-If the airbag indic ator light¢ p age 1 6
comes whe n the vehicle is be ing used,
have t he system inspected immediate ly
by yo ur aut ho rized Aud i dea ler . It is pos­
sible that the a irbag will inf late when it
is not s upposed to, or w ill not inflate
when it should.
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF l ight
Fig . 168 Sec tion fro m the instr ument pa ne l: PASSEN ­
GER AIR SAG OFF lig ht
T he PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light is loca ted
i n the center of t he in st rument p anel
¢fig. 168 .
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light w ill come
o n and stay o n to tell you w hen the front Ad ­
van ced Air bag o n the pas senge r side has been
tu rned off by the ele ct ronic contro l uni t. Each
t ime you turn on the ignition, the
PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF
light will flas h for a few
seconds and:
- will stay on if the front passenger seat is not
occupied,
- wil l sta y on if t here is a small ch ild or child
restrai nt on the front passenge r seat,
- will go out i f th e front p assenge r sea t is oc­
cupied by an adult as registered by the
weight -sensing mat .
T he
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light must
come on and stay on
if the igni tion is on and
- a car bed has been installed on the front
seat, or
- a rearward-facing child restraint has been
installed on the front passenger seat, o r
- a forward-fac ing ch ild restra int has been in­
s talled on the front passenger seat, or
- the weight reg iste red on the front passen­
ger seat is equal to or less than t he com­
b ined weight of a typical 1 year -o ld restra in­
ed in one of the rea r-facing or forwa rd-fac­
ing infant restra ints listed in Federal Motor
Veh icle Safety Stan dard 208 wi th wh ich the
Advanced A irbag System in you r vehicle wa s
cert ified.
II>-

If the fron t passenger seat is not occupied,
the front airbag will not deploy, and the
PAS­
SENGER AIR BAG OF F
light will stay on. Nev­
er in sta ll a rearward-fac ing ch ild restra int on
t he fron t passenger seat, the safest place for
a child in any kind of child restraint is at one
of the seating positions on the rear seat
¢ page 158, Child restraints on the front seat
- some important things to know
and
¢ page 178, Child Safety .
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light c om es
on
when one of the conditions listed above is
met, be sure to check the light regularly to
make certa in that the
PAS SENGER AIR BAG
O FF
light stays on cont inuous ly whenever the
ignition is on . If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light does not appear and not stay on all
the time, stop as soon as it is safe to do so
and
- reactivate the system by turning the ignition
off and then t urning it on again;
- remove and reinstall the child restraint .
Make sure that the child restraint is properly
installed and that the sa fety be lt for the
front passenger seat has been correct ly
routed around the child restraint a s desc ri­
bed in the child restraint manufacturer 's in­
structions;
- make sure that the convertible locking fea­
ture on the safety be lt for the front passen ­
ger seat has been activated and that the
safety belt has been pulled tight . The belt
mus t not be loose o r have loops of slack so
that the sensor below the safety be lt latch
on the seat can do its job ¢
page 188.
-make su re that th ings that may increase the
weight of the ch ild and child safe ty seat are
not being transported on the front passen ­
ger seat ;
- make su re that the safety bel t tension sen ­
sor is not b locked . Shake t he safety belt
l atch on the front passenger seatback and
forth;
- If a strap or tether is being used to tie the
child safety seat to the front passenger
seat, make sure that it is not so tight that it
A irbag system 169
causes the weight -sensing mat to measure
more weight than is act ually on the seat .
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light still
d oes not come on
and does not stay on con ­
tin uous ly (when the ignition is switched on) ,
- take the child rest ra int off the front passen-
ge r seat and install it properly a t one of the
rear seat positions. Have the airbag system
inspected by yo ur authorized Audi dealer
immediate ly .
- move the child to a rear seat position and
make sure t hat the child is properly restrain­
ed in a c hild restra int that is appropriate for
its size and age.
T he
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light sho uld
NOT come on when the ignition is on and an
adult is sitting in a proper seating position on
the front passenger seat. If the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
ligh t comes on and stays on or
flashes for about 5 seconds wh ile driving, un­
der these c ircumstances , make sure that:
- the adult on the front passenger seat is
properly seated on the center of the seat
cushion wi th his or her back up aga inst the
backrest and the backrest is not recl ined
¢ page 140, Proper occupant seating posi­
tions,
- the adult is not tak ing weight off the seat by
holding on to the passenger assist handle
above the front passe nger door or support ­
ing their weight on the armrest ,
- the safety belt is being properly wo rn and
tha t there is not a lot of s lack in the safety
be lt webbing ,
- ac cesso ry seat covers or cushions o r other
t hings tha t may cause an incorrect reading
or impression on the we ight-sensing mat
under the upho lstery of the seat have been
removed from the front passenger seat,
- a sa fety belt exten der has not been left in
the safety belt latch for the front passenger
seat.
In add it ion to the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
li ght in the cente r of the instrumen t panel,
the message
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF or
PASSENGER AIR BAG ON wi ll briefly appear ll-
•
•

172 Airbag system
dealer is familiar with these requirements
and we recommend that you have your
dealer perform this service for you.
Other things that can affect Advanced
Airbag performance
Changing the vehicle's suspension system can
change the way that the Advanced Airbag Sys­
tem performs in a crash. For example, using
tire-rim combinations not approved by Audi, lowering the vehicle, changing the stiffness of
the suspension, including the springs, suspen­
sion struts, shock absorbers etc. can change
the forces that are measured by the airbag
sensors and sent to the electronic control
unit. Some suspension changes can, for exam­ ple, increase the force levels measured by the
sensors and make the airbag system deploy in
crashes in which it would not deploy if the
changes had not been made . Other kinds of
changes may reduce the force levels meas­
ured by the sensors and prevent the airbag
from deploying when it should.
The sensors in the safety belt buckle for the
driver and front passenger seat tell the elec­
tronic control module if the safety belt is
latched or not.
If the safety belt is being used,
the front airbag will deploy at a slightly high­
er rate of vehicle deceleration than if the safe­
ty belt is not being used. Therefore, in a par­
ticular 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 being
used. It is important that nothing interfere
with the safety belt buckles so that the sen­
sors can send the correct information about
safety belt use to the electronic control unit.
A WARNING
Changing the vehicle's suspension includ­
ing use of unapproved tire-rim combina­
tions can change Advanced Airbag per­
formance and increase the risk of serious
personal injury in a crash.
- Never install suspension components
that do not have the same performance characteristics as the components origi­
nally installed on your vehicle.
- Never use tire-rim combinations that
have not been approved by Audi.
A WARNING
= -
Items stored between the safety belt
buckle and the center console can cause
the sensors in the buckle to send the
wrong information to the electronic con­
trol module and prevent the Advanced Air­
bag System from working properly.
- Always make sure that nothing can inter­
fere with the safety belt buckles and that
they are not obstructed.
Side airbags
Description of side airbags
The airbag system can provide supplemental
protection to properly restrained occupants.
Fig. 169 Side a irbag location in the driver's seat
The side airbags are located in the sides of the
front seat backrests¢
fig. 169 and the rear
backrest* facing the doors. They are identified
by the word "AIRBAG".
The side airbag system basically consists of:
-the electronic control module and external
side impact sensors
- the two airbags located in the sides of the
front backrests and the two airbags* located
in the rear backrest
- the airbag warning light in the instrument
cluster.
The airbag system is monitored electronically
to make certain that it is functioning properly ..,.

at all times. Each time you turn on the igni­
tion, the airbag system indicator light will
come on for a few seconds (self diagnostics).
The s ide a irbag sys tem supp lements the safe­
ty belts and can help to reduce the risk of in ­
jury to the driver's and front passenge r's up­
per torso on the side of the vehicle that is
struck in a side co llision. The airbag deploys
only in s ide impacts and on ly when the veh icle
acceleration registered by the control u nit is
h igh enough . If this rate is below the refer­
ence va lue programmed into the control un it,
the side airbags will not be triggered, even
though the ca r may be badly damaged as a re ­
sult of the collision .
It is not possible to de­
fine an ai rbag triggering range that will cover
every possible angle of impact, since the cir­
cumstances wi ll vary considerably between
one co llision and another. Important factors
include, for examp le, the nat ure (hard or soft)
of the impacting object, the ang le of impact,
veh icle speed, etc. c::>
page 174, Important
safety instructions on the side airbag system.
Aside from the ir norma l safety function, safe­
ty belts work to he lp keep the driver or front
passenger in posit ion in the event of a side
coll is ion so that the side a irbags can provide
p rotection.
The airbag system is
not a substitute for your
safety bel t. Rathe r, it is pa rt of the overall oc­
cupant restraint system i n your veh icle . Al­
ways remember that the side airbag sys tem
can only he lp to p rotec t you if yo u are wear ing
your safety belt and wear ing it properly. This
is another reason w hy you sho uld a lways wear
your safety belts, not just beca use the law re­
q uir es you to do soc::>
page 149, General
notes.
It is important to remember that while the
supp lemental side a irbag system is designed
to reduce the like lihood of serious injur ies,
other in juries, for example, swell ing, bruising,
and minor abras ions can also be associated
w ith deployed s ide a irbags. Remember too,
side a irbags w ill deploy on ly once and o nly in
certain kinds of accidents - you r safety belts
are a lways there to offer prote ction.
A irbag system 173
Vehicle damage, repair costs o r even t he lack
of ve hicle damage are not necessarily a n indi­
cation o f ove r-sensitive or failed airbag activa­
tion. In some coll is ions, both front and side
airbags may i nflate. Remember too, that air­
bags will deploy only o nce a nd only in certain
ki nds of coll is ions -your safety belts are al­
ways t he re to offe r protection in those acc i­
den ts in which a irbags a re no t supposed to
deploy or when they have already deployed .
The side airbag system will not deploy:
-when the ignit io n is turned off
- in side co llisions whe n the acceleration
measured by the sensor is too low
- in front-end collisions
- in rear -end co llisions
- in rollove rs .
In some types of ac cidents the front airbags,
s ide cu rtain air bags and s ide air bags may be
trigge red togethe r.
&_ WARNING ~
- Safety belts and the airbag system wi ll
only provide protection when occupants
are in the proper seating position
c::>page 174.
-If the airbag ind icator light c::> page 16
comes when the veh icle is being used,
have the system inspected immediate ly
by your authorized Audi dealer. It is pos­
sible t hat the airbag will inflate when it
is not supposed to, or will not infla te
when it should.
•
•

-Objects between you and the airbag can
increase the risk of injury in an accident
by interfering with the way the airbag
unfolds or by being pushed into you as
the airbag inflates .
- Never place or attach accessories or
other objects (such as cupholders, tele­
phone brackets, or even large, bulky
objects) on the doors, over or near the
area marked "AIRBAG" on the seat
backrests.
- Such objects and accessories can be­
come dangerous projectiles and cause
injury when the supplemental side air­
bag deploys .
- Never carry any objects or pets in the
deployment space between them and
the airbags or allow children or other
passengers to travel in this position .
- Always use the built -in coat hooks only
for lightweight clothing . Never leave any
heavy or sharp-edged objects in the
pockets that may interfere with side air­
bag deployment and can cause personal
injury in an accident.
- Always prevent the side a irbags from be­
ing damaged by heavy objects knocking
against or hitting the sides of the seat­
backs.
- The airbag system can only be trigge red
once.
If the airbag has been triggered,
the system must be replaced by an au­
thorized Audi dealership .
- Damage (cracks, deep scratches etc .) to
the original seat covers or to the seam in
the area of the side airbag module must
always be repaired immediately by an au­
thorized Audi dealer .
- If children are seated improperly, their
risk of injury increases in the case of an
accident ~ page 178, Child Safety .
- Never attempt to modify any compo­
nents of the airbag system in any way .
- In a side collision, side airbags will not
function properly if sensors cannot cor­ rectly measure increasing air pressure in ­
side the doors when air escapes through
Airbag system 175
larger, unclosed openings in the door
panel.
- Never drive with interior door trim pan­
els removed .
- Never drive when parts have been re­
moved from the inside door panel and
the open ings they leave have not been
properly closed.
- Never drive when loudspeakers in the
doors have been removed unless the
speaker holes have been p roperly
closed.
- Always make certain that openings are
covered or filled if additiona l speakers
or other equipment is installed in the
inside door panels .
- Always have work on the doors done by
an authorized Audi dealer or qualified
workshop.
Side curtain airbags
Description of side curtain airbags
The side curtain airbag sy stem can provide
supplemental protection to properly restrain ­
ed occupants .
e R
'
a: a, m
Fig. 171 Side curta in syst em , dri ver's side: sid e cur tain
airb ag loc ation
The side curtain airbags are located on both
sides of the interior above the front and rear
side windows ~ fig . 171 . They are identified
by the word "AIRBAG" on the windshield
frame and the center roof pillar.
T he side curtain airbag system supplements
the safety belts and can help to reduce the risk of injury for occupants' heads and upper
torso on the side of the vehicle that is struck .,.

17 6 Airbag syst em
in a side collision. The side curtain airbag in­
f lates in side impacts and on ly when the vehi­
cle acce lerat ion reg istered by the contro l unit
is high enough. If this rate is below the refer­
ence value programmed into the control unit,
the side airbags will not be triggered, even
though the car may be badly damaged as a re­
sult of the collision.
It is not possible to de­
fine an a irbag tr igger ing range that will cover
every possible angle of impact, since the c ir­
cumstances w ill vary considerably between
one co llision and another . Important factors
include, for examp le, the nat ure (hard or soft)
of the impacting object, the ang le of impact,
vehicle speed, etc.
c:> page 176, How side cur­
tain airbags work.
Aside from their normal safety function, safe­
ty belts work to he lp keep the driver or front
passenger in position in the event of a co lli­
sion so that the side curtain airbags can pro­
vide p rotection.
The airbag system is not a subst itute for your
safety belt. 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 wea ring
your safety be lt and wear ing it prope rly. This
i s ano ther reason why you shou ld always wear
your safety be lts, not jus t be ca use the law re­
qu ires you to do soc;,
page 149, General
notes.
It
is important to remember that whi le the
side curtain a irbag sys tem is designed to he lp
reduce the like lihood o f serious injuries, other
inj uries, for example, swelling, bruising, and
minor abrasions can also be associated with
these airbags. Remember too, these airbags
will dep loy only once and only in certain k inds
of acc idents - your safety belts are always
there to offer protection.
The side curtain airb ag system b asic all y
consists of:
- The electronic control module and externa l
s ide impact sensors
- The side curtai n airbags above the front and
rear side w indows -
The airbag indicator light in the instrument
panel
T he airbag system is mo nitore d elec tronically
to make certain i t is func tioning properly at all
t imes . Each t ime yo u turn on the ignition, the
airbag system indicator light will come on for
a few seconds (sel f diagnostics).
The side curtain airbag is not activated:
- if the ignition is tur ned off,
- in side co llisions whe n the accele ration
mea sured by the sensor is too low,
- in rear-end col lisions.
A WARNING
- Safety belts and the airbag system will
only provide pro te ction when occupant s
are i n the proper seating posi tion
c:>page 61, General recommendations.
- If th e airbag ind ic a tor light c:>page 16
comes when the veh icle is being used,
have the system ins pected immediately
by your authorized A udi dealer. It is pos­
sible that the airbag will inflate when it
is not supposed to, or will not inflate
when it should.
How side curtain airbags work
Side curtain airbags can work together with
side airbags to help reduce the risk of head
and upper torso injuries for occupants who
are properly restrained.
Fi g. 172 Illustration of p rinciple: I nflated side curtai n
a irbags on the left side
The side c urtain airbags inflate be tween the
occupant and the windows on the s ide of the
Ill-