belt AUDI S3 SEDAN 2015 Owner's Guide

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A WARNING
A child in a rearward-facing child seat instal ­
led on the front passenger seat wi ll be seri ­
ously injured and can be killed if the front air­
bag inflates -even with an Advanced Airbag
System.
-Although the Advanced Airbag System in
your vehicle is designed to turn off the front
airbag when a rearward-facing child re­
straint has been installed on the front pas­ senger seat, nobody can absolutely guaran­
tee that deployment is impossible in all con­
c eivable s ituations that may happen dur ing
the useful life o f you r vehicle.
- The inflating a irbag w ill hit the child seat or
infant carrier w ith great force an d will
smash the ch ild seat and child agains t the
backrest, center armrest, doo r, or roo f.
- Alw ays install rearward- facing child re­
straints on the rear seat .
- If you must i nst all a rearw ard facing child
sea t on the front passenger sea t beca use of
excep tional circ umstances and the
PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF light does not come on
and stay on, immediately install the rear­
facing child seat in a rear seating position
and have the a irbag system inspected by
your Audi dealer.
A WARNING
If, in exceptional c ircumstances, you must in­
stall a forward-facing ch ild restraint on the
front passenge r's seat:
-Always make sure the forward-fac ing seat
has be en designed and certified by its man­
ufact urer for use on a fro nt seat wit h a pas­
senger front and side airbag.
- Never put the forwa rd-facing child rest raint
up against or ve ry nea r the i nstr ument pan ­
el.
-Always move t he passenger seat into its
rearmost position in the seat 's fore and aft
adjus tment range, as far away from the air ­
bag as possib le, before installing the fo r­
ward-facing c hild restraint . The backrest
must be adjusted to an up right position .
-
Airbag syste m
- Always make sure that there is nothing on
the front passenger seat that w ill cause the
capacitive passenger detection system in
the seat to signal to the Airbag System that
the seat is occup ied by a person when it is
not, or to signal that it is occupied by some­
one who is heavier than the person actually
sitt ing on the se at. T he presen ce of add i­
tion al ob jects could cause t he passenger
front airbag to be tu rned on when it shou ld
be off, or co uld cause the ai rbag to wo rk in a
way that is different from the way it would
have worked without the ob ject on the seat.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OF F light comes on and stays on all the time
wheneve r the ignit ion is switched on.
Advanced Airbag System components
The front passenger seat in yo ur vehicle has a lot
of very impo rtant parts of the Advanced A irbag
System in it . T hese pa rts include the capacitive
passenge r detection system, wir ing, brackets,
and more. The con trol unit mon itors the syste m
o n the front passenge r se at when the ig nition is
swi tched on and turns the airbag indicator ligh t
on when a malfunction in the one of the system
components is detected
¢ page 160 . Because
the front passenger seat contains important
parts of the Advanced A irbag System, yo u m ust
take care to prevent it from being damaged.
Damage to the seat may prevent the Advanced
Airbag System for the front passenger seat from
doing its job in a crash.
The front Advanced Airbag System consi sts
of the following:
- Crash sensors in the front of the vehicle that
measure vehicle acceleration/deceleration to
p rov ide i nfo rmat ion to the Advanced Airbag
System abo ut the sever ity o f the cr ash.
- An elect ron ic cont ro l unit, with integrated
cr ash senso rs for front and s ide imp acts. The
cont ro l uni t "dec ides" whet her to fire the fron t
airbags based on the info rmation received from
the crash sensors . The control unit a lso "de ­
cides" whether the safety belt pretens ione rs
should be activated. ..,.
155

Airbag syste m
-An Advanced Airbag wi th gas generator for the
driver inside the steering wheel hub.
- An Advanced Airbag with gas generator inside
the instrument pane l for the front passenger.
- A capacitive passenger dete ct ion system under­
neath the front passenge r seat cover. This sys ­
tem measures the e lectrical capacitance of the
person in the seat. The information registered
is sent continuously to the electronic control
unit to regulate deployment of the front Ad­
vanced Airbag on the passenger s ide.
- An airbag monitoring system and indicator
light in the instrument cluster¢
page 160.
-A sensor in each front seat registers the dis­
tance between the respect ive seat and the
steering wheel or instrument panel. The infor­
mation registered is sent cont inuously to the
electronic control unit to regulate deployment
of the front Advanced Airbags.
- The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
and stays on in the center of the instrument
pane l¢
page 198 a nd tells you when the front
Advanced Airbag on the passenger side has been t urned off .
- A sensor in the safety belt latch for the dr iver
and for the front seat passenger that senses
whether that safety belt is latched or not and
transmits this information to the e lectronic
control unit .
_&. WARNING
Damage to the front passenger seat can pre­
vent the front airbag from work ing properly.
- Improper repair or disassembly of the front
passenger and driver seat w ill prevent the
Advanced Airbag System from funct ioning
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 veh icle.
- Never remove the upholstery from the front
passenger seat.
- Never disassemble or remove parts from the
seat or disconnect wires from it.
156
- Never carry sharp objects in yo ur poc kets or
put them on the seat. The capacitive pas­
senger detection mat in the front passenger
seat will not function properly if it is punc­
tured.
- Never carry things on you r lap or carry ob­
jects on the front passenger seat. Such ob­
jects can influence the capacitance regis­
tered by the capac itive passenger detection
sy stem, so that in correct info rmation is pro­
vided to the airbag cont rol uni t.
- Never store items under the front passenger
se at. P arts of the Advanced Airbag System
under the passenger seat could be dam­
aged, p reventing t hem and the airbag sys­
tem from wo rking properly.
- Never p lace sea t covers or rep lacement up ­
holstery that have not been specifically ap­
proved by Audi on the front seats .
- Seat covers can prevent the Advanced Air ­
bag System from recognizing c hild re­
straints or occupants on the front passenger
seat and prevent the side a irbag in the seat
backrest from deploying properly.
- If a seat heater has been retrofitted or oth­
erw ise added to the front passenger seat,
never install any child restraint system on
this seat.
- Never use cushions, pillows, b lankets, or
sim ila r items on the front passenger seat .
The additional layers prevent the capacitive
passenger detection system from accurately
measuring the capacitance of the child safe­
ty seat and/or the person on the seat and
thus keep the Adv ance d Airbag System from
wo rking properly .
- Never p lace or u se any e lectr ic al device
(s uc h a s a laptop, CD player, elec tronic
games device, power inve rter or seat heater
for child seats) on the front passenger seat if the device is connected to the 12 -volt
socket or the cigarette lighter soc ket. Such
dev ices can influence the capac itance regis­
tered by the capac itive passe nger detection
system, so that incorrect info rmation is pro-
vided to the ai rbag cont rol unit.
~

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-If you must use a child restraint on the front
passenger seat and the child restraint man­
ufacturer's instructions requ ire the use of a
towel, foam cushion or someth ing else to
properly position the child restraint, make
certain that the
P A SSENG ER AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on whenever the
child restrain t is ins talled on the fron t pas­
senger seat.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not come on and stay on, immed iately in­
sta ll child restra int in a rear seating position
and have the airbag system inspected by
yo ur Audi dealer .
&_ WARNING
If the front passenger seat gets wet, dry it im­
mediately.
-If liquid soaks into the front passenger seat,
this can keep the airbag system from work­ ing properly and may, for instance, deacti­
vate the passenger frontal a irbag. If th is
happens, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light will come on and stay on together with
the a irbag indicator light
II in the inst ru­
me nt cluster.
- If liquid is poo led on the seat, but has not
soa ked in, this may a lso keep the airbag sys­
tem from wor king proper ly and cause the
passenger fron tal ai rbag to be ena bled
(turned on), even tho ugh there is a properly
installed chi ld restraint system on the seat .
Wet towels or other wet things on the seat c u shion can have the same effect. If the
front passenger fronta l airbag is turned on,
the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light will go
o ut.
How the Advanced Airbag System
components work together
The fron t Advanced A irbag Sys tem and the s ide
ai rbags supplement the pro tect ion offered by the
front three-point safety be lts with pretensioners
and load limiters and the adjustable head re­
straints* to he lp red uce the risk of in jury in a
wide range of acc ident and cras h situations. Be
Airbag syste m
su re to read the important information about
safety and heed the WARNINGS in this chapter .
Deployment o f the Adv anced A irbag System and
the ac tivation of the sa fety belt pretensione rs de ­
pend on the dece lerat ion meas ured by the crash
sensors and registered by the e lectronic control
u nit . Cras h seve rity depends on speed and decel­
eration as we ll as the mass and stiffness of the
vehicle or object involved in the crash .
On t he passenger side, regardless of safety belt
u se, the front passenger fronta l airbag will be
turned off if the electrical capacitance meas ured
by the capacitive passenger detection system on
the front passenger seat is less than the amount programmed in the electronic control unit . T he
front passeng er fronta l airbag will a lso be turned
off if the capac itance meas ured by t he system for
the front passenger sea t eq uals tha t of an inf ant
of about one year o f age in one of t he chi ld seats
that was used to certify the Advanced Airbag Sys­
tem under Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
208. The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes
on and stays on to tell you when the front Ad­
vanced Airbag System on the passenger side has been turned
off c::>page 160 .
&_ WARNING
-To reduce the risk of in jury w hen an a irbag in-
flates, always wear safety belts prope rly .
- If you are unrestra ined, leaning forward, sit­
ting sideways or out of posit ion i n any way,
your r is k of injury is m uch higher.
- You will a lso receive se rious injur ies an d
could even be killed if you a re up aga inst th e
ai rbag or too close to i t when i t in flates -
even with an A dvan ced Airb ag
<=:> page 14 8.
157

Airb ag syst em
More important things to know about front
airbags
Fig. 130 Inflated front airbags
Safety belts are important to help keep front seat
occupants in the proper seated position so that
ai rbags can unfold properly and provide supple­
mental protection in a frontal collision.
The front airbags are designed to provide addi­
tional protection for the chest and face of the
d river and the front seat passenger when:
- safety belts are worn properly,
- the seats have been posit ioned so that the oc-
cupant is properly seated as far as poss ible
from the a irbag,
- and for adjustable head restraints: the head re-
straints have been properly adjusted .
Because airbags inflate in the blink of an eye with
great force, things you have on your lap or have
placed on the seat could become dangerous pro­
jectiles, and be pushed into you if the airbag in­
flates.
When an airbag deploys, fine dust is released.
This is normal and is not caused by a fire in the
veh icle. This dust is made up mostly of a powder
used to lubricate the airbags as they deploy .
It
could irritate sk in .
It is important to remember that while the sup­
plemental a irbag system is designed to reduce
the likelihood of serious injuries, other injuries,
for example swell ing, bruising and m inor abra­
sions, can also happen when a irbags inflate. Air­
bags do not protect the arms or the lower parts
of the body. Front airbags supplement the three­ point safety belts only in some frontal collisions
158
in which the vehicle dece le ration is high enough
to deploy the airbags.
Front airbags will not depl oy:
- if the ignition is sw itched off when a c rash oc-
curs ,
- in side co llisions,
- in rear-end col lisions,
- in rollovers,
- when the crash deceleration measured by the
airbag system is less than the minimum thresh­
old needed for airbag deployment as registered
by the electronic control unit.
The front pa ssenger a ir b ag als o will n ot
deploy:
- when the front passenger seat is not occupied,
- when the e lectrical capacitance measured by
the capacit ive passenger detection system for
the front passenger seat indicates that the pas ­
senger s ide frontal airbag must be switched off
by the electronic control unit (the
PASSENGER
A IR BAG OFF
light ¢ page 160 and how they
work comes on and stays on).
.&, WARNING
Sitt ing in the wrong position can increase the
risk of serious injury in cras hes.
- To reduce the risk of injury when the airbags
inflate, the driver and passenge rs must al­
ways sit in an upright position, must not lean aga inst or place any part of thei r body
too close to the area w here the airbags are
located.
- Occupants who are unbelted, out of position
or too close to the airbag can be seriously
injured by an airbag as it unfolds with great
force in the blink of an eye
~ page 149 .
A WARNING
A child in a rearward-facing ch ild seat insta l­
led on t he front passenger seat w ill be ser i­
ously injured and can be k illed if the front a ir­
bag inflates -even with an Advanced Airbag
Sys tem.
- The infla ting air bag will hit the ch ild seat o r
infant carrier wi th grea t fo rce and will

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The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light will show
the status of the front seat passenger's frontal
Advanced Airbag a few seconds after the igni·
tion is switched on and the airbag indicator
light goes off. The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light:
- will stay on if the front passenger seat is not
occupied;
- will stay on if the electrical capacitance meas­
ured by the capacitive passenger detection sys­
tem for the front passenger seat equals the combined capacitance of an infant up to about
one year of age and one of the rearward-fac ing
or forward-facing child restraints listed in Fed­
eral Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 wit h
wh ich the Advanced Airbag System in your vehi­
cle was certified; For a listing of the child re­
stra ints that were used to certify your vehicle's
compliance with the U.S. Safety Standard
¢page 174.
-will go out if the front passenger seat is occu­
pied by an adult as registered by the capacitive
passenger detection system.
-The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light must come
on and stay on if the ignition is on and ...
- a car bed has been installed on the front pas­
senger seat, or
- a rearward-facing chi ld restraint has been in­
stalled on the front passenger seat, or
- a forward-facing child restraint has been insta l­
led on the front passenger seat,
- and if the electr ical capacitance regis tered on
the front passenger seat is equa l to or less than
the combined capacitance of a typical 1 year ­
o ld infant and one of the rearward -facing or
forward-facing child restraints listed in Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 with which
the Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle was certified .
If the front passenger seat is not occupied, the
front airbag will not deploy, and the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light will stay on. Never install a
rearward -facing child restraint on the front pas ·
senger seat , the safest place for a child in any
kind of child restra int is at one of the seating po­
sitions on the rear seat ¢
page 149, Child re-
Airbag system
straints on the front seat -some important
things to know
and ¢ page 172 , Child safety.
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG light comes
on ...
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
when one of the conditions listed above is met,
be sure to check the light regularly to make cer­
ta in that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF li ght
stays on continuously whenever the ignition is
on . If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not appea r on and does not stay on all the time,
stop as soon as it is safe to do so and
- reactivate the system by turning the ign ition
off
for more than 4 seconds and then turning it on
aga in;
- remove and reinstall the child restraint. Make
sure that the child restraint is properly installed
and that the safety belt for the front passenger
seat has been correctly routed through the
child restraint as described in the chi ld restraint
manufacturer's instru ction s;
- make sure that the convertible locking retractor
on the s,;1fety belt fo r the front passenger seat
has been activated and that the sa fe ty belt has
been pu lled tight.
- make sure that no electrical device (such as a
laptop, CD player, electronic games device,
power inverter or seat heater fo r child seats) is
placed or used on the front passenger seat if
the device is connected to the 12-volt socket or
the ci garette lighter socket;
- make sure that no seat heater has been retrofit ­
ted or otherwise added to the front passenger
seat;
- make sure that nothing can interfere with the
safety belt buckles and that they are not ob­
structed;
- make sure that there are no wet objects (such as a wet towel) and no water or other liquids on
the front passenger seat cush ion.
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG light still does
not come on ...
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light still does
not come on and does not stay on continuously
(when the ignition is sw itched on),
111-
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Airbag syste m
-take the chi ld restraint off the front passenger
seat and install it properly at one of the rear seat positions. Have the airbag system inspect­
ed by your Audi dealer immediately .
- move the child to a rear seat position and make
sure that the chi ld is properly restrained in a
child restra int that is appropriate for its si ze
and age .
The PA SSENGER AIR B AG light sh ould NOT
c ome on ...
The PASS ENGER AIR B AG OFF light should 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
PAS SENGER AIR B AG OFF
light comes on and stays on or flashes fo r about
5 seconds while driving, under these circumstan­
ces, make sure that:
- the adult on the front passenger seat is proper­
ly seated on the center of the seat cushion with
his or her back up aga inst the ba ckrest and the
backrest is not reclined,
- the adult is not taking weight off the seat by
holding on to the passenger assist handle
above the front passenger door or suppo rting
their weight on the armrest,
- the safety belt is bei ng p roperly wor n and that
there is not a lot of s lack in the safety be lt web ­
bing,
- the re are no aftermarket seat covers or cush­
ions or other things (such as blankets) on the
front passenger seat that might cause the ca­ pacitive passenger detection system to miscal­
cu late electrical capacitance.
Important safety instructions on
monitoring the Advanced Airbag System
.&_ WARNING
- If the status of the Adv a need Airbag System
has changed while the vehicle is moving, the
PA SS ENGE R AI R BA G OFF light blinks for
about 5 seconds to catch the driver's atten­
t ion. If this happens, always stop as soon as
it is safe to do so and check the steps descri ­
bed above .
162
-If the PA SSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not go off when an adult who is not very
small is sitting on the front passenger seat
after tak ing the steps described above,
make sure the adult is properly seated and
restrained at one of the rear seating posi­
tions. Have the airbag system inspected by
your author ized Audi dealer befo re trans­
port ing anyone on the front passenger seat.
.&_ WARNING
-
An airbag system that is not functioning prop­
erly cannot provide supplemental protection
in a frontal crash .
- If the airbag indicator light~
page 20
comes when the vehicle is being used, have
the system inspected immediately by your
authorized Audi dealer. It is possible that
the airbag will inflate when it is not sup­
posed to, or will not inflate when it should .
.&_ WARNING
If the front airbag inflates, a child without a
child restraint, or in a rearward -facing child
safety seat, or in a forward-fac ing ch ild re­
straint that has not been proper ly installed
will be ser iously injured and can be killed.
- Even though your vehicle is equipped with
an Advanced A irbag System, make ce rtain
that a ll children, especially 12 years and
younger, a lways ride on the back seat prop­
erly restrained for their age and size.
- Always install forward o r rear-facing child
seats on the rear seat -even with an Ad­
vanced Airbag System.
- If you must install a rearwa rd-facing child
seat on the front passenger seat because of
exceptiona l circumstances and the
PASSEN·
G ER AIR BAG OF F
light does not appear and
stay on, immediately install the rear-facing
child seat in a rear seating position and have
the airbag system inspected by your Audi
dealer .
- If, in exceptional c ircumstances, you must
install a forward-facing child restraint on
the front passenger seat, always move the

Airb ag syst em
entered in your Audi Warranty & Mainte­
nance booklet under
AIRBAG REPLACEMENT
RECORD.
- For safety reasons in severe accidents, the
alternator and starter are separated from
the vehicle battery with a pyrotechnic circuit interrupter .
- Work on the pyrotechnic circ uit inter rupt­
er must only be performed by a qualified
technicians w ho have the experience, in­
formation and special tools necessary to perform the work safely.
- If the veh icle or the circuit interrupter is
scrapped, a ll applicable safety precautions
must be followed.
@ For the sake of the environment
Undep loyed airbag modu les and pretension ­
ers might be classified as Perchlorate Materia l
- specia l hand ling may apply, see
www.dtsc.ca.gov/hazardouswaste/perchlo­ rate. W hen the veh icle or parts of the re­
straint system including a irbag modules and
safety belts with prete nsioners are scrapped ,
all applicable laws and regulat ions must be
observed. Your authorized A udi dealer is fa­
m iliar with the se requirements a nd we recom­
mend that you have your dealer perform this
service for yo u.
Other things that can affect Advanced
Airbag performance
Changing the vehicle's suspension system ca n
change the way that the Advanced A irbag System
performs in a crash. For example, using t ire- rim
combinat ions not approved by Audi, lower ing the
ve hicl e, chang ing the stiffness of the suspension,
includ ing the spr ings, suspension s truts, shoc k
absorbers etc. can change the forces that are
measured by the a irbag sensors and sent to the
e lectronic control unit. Some suspension changes
can, for example, increase the force levels meas ­
ured by the sensors and make the a irbag system
deploy in c rashes in which it wou ld not deploy if
the changes had not been made. Other ki nds of
changes may reduce the force levels measured by
164
the sensors and p revent the airbag from dep loy ­
ing when it shou ld .
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
ter istics as the components origina lly instal­
led on you r vehicle.
- Never use tire-rim combinations that have
not been approved by Audi.
Knee airbags
Description of knee airbag s
Applies to vehicles: with knee airbags
The knee airbag system can provide supplemen­
tal protection to properly restrained front seat
occupants .
Fig. 132 Driver 's knee a irbag
The driver knee airbag is i n the instrument panel
u nderneath the steer ing wheel ~
fig. 132 , the
airbag fo r the passenger is at abou t the same
height in the i nstr ument panel underneath the
glove comp artment.
The knee airbag offers additional protection to
the d river's and passenge r's kn ees and uppe r and
lower thigh areas and supplements the protec­
tion provided by the safety belts.
If the front a irbags deploy, the knee a irbags also
deploy in fronta l co llisions when the dep loyment
th reshold stored in the con trol un it is met
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¢ page 158, More impor tant things to know
about front airbags .
In addition to their normal safety function, safe­
ty belts help keep the driver or front passenger in position in a fronta l co llision so that the airbags
can provide supp lemental protection.
The airbag system is not a s ubst itute for yo ur
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 wearing your safety belt
and wearing it properly. This is why you should al­
ways wear your safety belt, not just because the law requires you to do so~
page 140, General
notes.
Remember too, airbags will deploy only once and
only in certain kinds of accidents -your safety
be lts are a lways there to offer protection in those
accidents in which airbags are not supposed to
deploy or when they have already deployed, for
examp le when yo ur vehicle str ikes or is struck by
anothe r after the first collision .
This is just one of the reasons why an a irbag is
not a substitute for the safety belt . The airbag
sys tem works most effective ly when used with
the safety belts. Therefore, always wear your
safety bel ts correctly .
It is important to remember that whi le the sup­
p lemental knee a irbag sys tem is designed to re­
d uce the likelihood of serious i njur ies , o ther inj u­
ries, for examp le, swe lling, bruising and m inor
abrasions and friction b urns can a lso occur when
an airbag inf lates.
The kne e airbag system basically consist s of:
- T he elec tronic control mod ule
- Two inflatab le airbags (airbag and gas genera-
tor), one for the drive r and one fo r the front
passenge r
- T he airbag ind icator light in the instrument
pane l
The knee airb ag system will not deploy:
- when the ign it ion is swi tched off
- in frontal collis ions when the dece lerat ion
measured by the control unit is too low
Ai rb ag system
- in side co llisions
- in rear-end col lisions
- in rollove rs
- in the event of a system malfunction (war ning/
ind icator light is on) ¢
page 20.
,&. WARNING
-Safety belts and the airbag system can only
prov ide protection when oc cupan ts are in
the proper seating position~
page 158 .
- If th e ai rbag ind icator light 9 page 20
comes when the veh icle is being used, have
the system inspected immediately by your
authorized Audi dealer .
It is possible that
the airbag will inflate when it is not sup­
posed to, or will not inflate when it should.
How knee airbags work
Applies to vehicles: wit h knee airbags
The risk of injury to the leg area can be reduced
by fully inflated knee airbags .
Fig . 1 33 Inflated a irbags p rotect ing in a fro nta l co llision
The knee airbag system has been designed so
that the airbags for the driver and front passen­
ger dep loy in certai n but not all fronta l collisions.
If the front ai rbags dep loy, the knee a irbags also
deploy in frontal co llisions when the deployment
threshold stored in the control un it is met .
When the system deploys, the airbags fill with a compressed propellant gas, and inflate between
the lowe r part of the i nstr ument panel and the
driver and the lower part of the instrument pane l
and the front passenger ¢
page 158, fig. 130.
Although they are not a soft pillow , they can
" cushion " the impact and in th is way they can
165

Airb ag syst em
help to reduce the risk of injury to the lower ex­
trem ities.
All of this takes place in the blink of an eye, so
fast that many people don' t even realize that the
airbags have deployed. The airbags also in flate
with a great deal of force and it is important for
occ upant safety that noth ing shou ld be in their
way when they deploy.
Fully inflated airbags in combination with proper­
ly worn safety belts slow down and limit the oc­
cupant's forward movement and he lp to reduce
the risk of injury.
Important safety instructions on the knee
airbag system
Applies to veh icles: w ith kn ee a irbags
Airbags are only supplemen tal res traints. Always
wear safety belts correctly and ride in a proper
seating position.
There is a lot that you and your passengers must know and do to help the safety belts and airbags
to prov ide supplemental protection .
A WARNING
An inflating knee airbag can cause ser ious in­
jury . Wearing safety belts incor rectly and im­
prope r seating positions inc rease the risk of
ser ious persona l injury and death w henever a
vehicle is being used.
- T he knee airbag system ca nnot pro tect you
properly if you are seated too close to any of
the airbag locat ions. When adjusting their
seat positions, it is important that both the dr iver and the front passenger keep the ir
upper bodies and knees at the following
min imum safe distances:
- at least 10 inches ( 25 cm) between the
chest and the s teer ing whee l/i nstr ument
panel.
- at least 4 i nches ( 10 cm) betwee n the
knees and the lower part of the inst ru ­
ment panel.
- The r is k of persona l injury in creases i f you
lean forward or to the s ide, or if the seat is
improperly positioned and you are not wear-
166
ing your safety belt . The risk increases even
more should the a irbag deploy.
- Always make sure that the knee airbag can
inflate w ithout interference . Objects be­
tween you and the airbag can increase the r isk of injury in an accide nt by interfering
w ith the way the airbag deploys or by being
pushed into yo u as the a irbag deploys .
- Neve r let anybody, especia lly children or
anima ls ride in the footwell in front of the
passenger seat. If the airbag deploys, this
can resu lt in serious or fatal injur ies .
- Neve r carry ob jects of any kind in the foot­
well area in front of the driver's or pas ­
senger's seat. Bulky objects (shopping bags, for examp le) can interfere with or
prevent proper deployment of the airbag .
Small objects can be thrown through the
vehicle if the airbag deploys and injure yo u
or your passe ngers .
- Make sure the re are no cracks, deep scratch­
es o r othe r damage in the area of the instr u­
men t panel where the knee a irbags are lo­
ca ted .
- I f ch ildren are incorrec tly seated, their risk
of injury increases in a coll is io n
¢ page 172, Child safety.
Side airbags
Description of side airbags
The airbag system can provide supplemen tal
protection to properly restrained occupants .
Fig. 134 Sid e a irbag locat io n in t he dri ver's seat
The side airbags are located in the sides of the
fron t seat backrests ¢
fig. 134 and the rear back­
res t faci ng the doors.

M N
0 > co ,...., \!) 1.1'1
1.1'1
1.1'1
,....,
The side airbags installed for the front seating
positions have been designed and certified to
he lp reduce the risk of in jury that can be caused
by airbags when they inflate, part icu larly when
the occupant sitt ing next to it is not seated prop­
erly . The side airbag for the front passenger seat
can be used with properly i nstalled child re­
straints . Pl ease be sure to read the important in­
fo rmation and wa rnings whenever using a child
r estra int in a vehicle: Safety belts
q page 140,
Airbag system qpage 148, Child safety
qpage 172.
The s ide airba g syste m ba sicall y co nsis ts of :
-the e lectronic control module and external side
i mpact sensors
- the two airbags located in the sides of the front
backrests and the two a irbags* located in the
rear backrest
- the a irbag warning light in the inst rument clus-
te r.
The airbag system is monitored electron ica lly to
make certa in that it is functioning properly at all
times. Each time you switch on the ignition, the
ai rbag system indicator light will come on for a
few seconds (self d iagnost ics) .
The s ide airbag system supplements the safety
belts and can help to reduce the r isk of injury to
the dr iver's, front and rear passenger's upper to r­
so on the side of the veh icle that is struc k in a
side col lision. The airbag deploys only in s ide im­
pacts and o nly when the vehi cle acceleration reg­
is tered by the control unit is high enough . If this
rate is below t he reference value programmed in­
to the contro l unit, the side airbags will not be
tr iggered, even though the car may be badly
damaged as a result of the co llision. It is not pos­
sible to define an airbag tr igger ing range that
will cover every poss ible angle of impact, since
the circumstances wi ll vary considerably between
one co llision and another . Important factors in­
clude, for example, the nature (ha rd or soft) of
the impa cting object, the angle of impact, vehicle
speed, etc.
q page 168, Important safety in ­
structions on the side airbag system.
Aside from the ir normal safety func tion, safety
be lts work to help keep the dr iver or front pas -
Airbag syste m
senger in posi tion in the event o f a side co llision
so that the side airbags ca n provide protection.
T he airbag system is
not a substi tute for you r
sa fety belt . Rather, it is part o f the overa ll occu ­
pant restrain t system in yo ur vehicle. A lways re ­
member that the side airbag system ca n only
help to protect yo u if you are wearing your safety
belt and wearing it properly. This is another rea­
son why you should a lways wear your safety
belts, not just because the law requires you to do
so
q page 140, General notes .
It is important to remember that wh ile the sup ­
plemental side airbag system is designed to re­
duce the like lihood of serious injur ies, othe r inju­
ries, fo r example, swell ing, bruising, frict ion
burns and m inor abrasions can a lso be associated
with deployed side airbags. Remember too, s ide
airbags will deploy only once and only in cer tain
ki nds of accidents - yo ur safe ty belts are always
t h ere to offer protection.
Vehicle damage , repair costs o r even the lack of
vehicle dam age are no t necessari ly an indica tion
of over-sensitive o r failed airbag activation. In
some collisions, bo th front and side airbags may
inflate. Remember too, that ai rbags wi ll dep loy
on ly once and on ly in certa in kinds of co llisions -
your safety belts are always there to offer protec­
t ion in those accidents in which airbags are not
supposed to deploy or when they have already
deployed .
The side airbag system will not deploy:
- when the ignit ion is switched off
- in side co llisions when the acceleration meas -
ured by the senso r is too low
- in front-end collisions
- in re ar-en d co llisions
- in rollove rs.
In some types of accidents t he front airbags, side
cu rtain airbags and s ide a irbags may be tr iggered
togethe r.
&_ WARNING
- Safety belts and the airbag system will only
p rovide p rotec tion when o ccupants are i n
the proper seating position
q page 1 68 .
167