steering AUDI TT ROADSTER 2015 User Guide

92 Driving Safel y
• Fasten your safety be lt and wear it properly .
Also instruct your passengers to fasten their
safety belts proper ly ¢
page 100.
What impairs driving safety?
Safe driving is directly related to the condi­
tion of the vehicle, the driver as well as the
driver's ability to concentrate on the rood
without being distracted.
The driver is responsible for the safety of the
vehicle and all of its occupants. If your ability
to drive is impaired, safety risks for everybody
in the vehicle increase and you also become a
hazard to everyone else on the road ¢
.&,.
Therefore:
• Do not let yourself be distracted by passen­
gers or by using a cellular telephone.
• NEVER drive when your dr iving ability is im­
paired (by medicat ions, alcohol, drugs, etc.) .
• Observe all traffic laws, rules of the road
and speed limits and plain common sense.
• ALWAYS adjust your speed to road, traffic
and weather conditions.
• Take frequent breaks on long trips . Do not
drive for more than two hours at a stretch .
• Do NOT drive when you are tired , under
pressure or when you are stressed.
A WARNING ,.
Impai red driving safety increases the risk
of serious personal injury and death when­
ever a vehicle is being used.
Proper occupant
seating positions
Proper seating position for the driver
The proper driver seating position is impor­
tant for safe, relaxed driving.
Fig. 99 The correct distance between driver and steer­
ing whee l
For your own safety and to reduce the risk of
injury in the event of an accident, we recom­
mend that you adjust the driver's seat to the
f o llow ing position:
• Adjust the driver's seat so that you can easi­
ly push the pedals all the way to the floo r
while keeping your knee(s) slightly bent
q &_.
• Adjust the angle of the seatback so that it is
in an upright position so that your back
comes in full contact with it when you drive.
• Adjust the steering wheel so that there is a
distance of at least 10 inches (25 cm) be­
tween the steering wheel and your breast bone¢
fig. 99 . If not possible, see your au­
thorized Audi dealersh ip about adaptive
equ ipment.
• Adjust the steering wheel so that the steer­
ing wheel and airbag cover points at your
chest and not at your face.
• Grasp the top of the steering whee l with
your elbow(s) slightly bent.
• Adjust the he ad 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 restraint so that it is as close to
this pos ition as possib le.
• Fasten and wear safety belts correctly
¢page 103.

~ Always keep both feet in the footwell so
that you are in control of the vehicle at all
times.
For detailed information on how to adjust the
driver's seat, see
c:> page 60.
A WARNING
Drivers who are unbelted, out of position
or too close to the airbag can be seriously
injured by an airbag as it deploys. To help
reduce the risk of serious personal injury:
- Always adjust the driver's seat and the
steering wheel so that there are at least
10 inches (25 cm) between your breast­
bone and the steering wheel.
- Always adjust the driver's seat and the
steering wheel so that there are at least
4 inches (10 cm) between the knees and
the lower part of the instrument panel.
- Always hold the steering wheel on the
outside of the steering wheel rim with
your hands at the 9 o'clock and 3 o'clock positions to help reduce the risk of per­
sonal injury if the driver's airbag inflates.
- Never hold the steering wheel at the
12 o'clock position or with your hands at
other positions inside the steering wheel
rim or on the steering wheel hub. Hold­
ing the steering wheel the wrong way
can cause serious injuries to the hands,
arms and head if the driver's airbag in­
flates
- Pointing the steering wheel toward your
face decreases the ability of the supple­
mental driver's airbag to protect you in a
collision .
- Always sit in an upright position and nev­
er lean against or place any part of your
body too close to the area where the air­
bags are located.
- Before driving, always adjust the front
seats and head restraints properly and make sure that all passengers are prop­
erly restrained.
- Never adjust the seats while the vehicle
is moving. Your seat may move unexpect-
Driving Safely 93
ed ly and you could lose control of the ve­
hicle .
- Never drive with the backrest reclined or
tilted far back! The farther the backrests
are tilted back, the greater the risk of in­
jury due to incorrect positioning of the safety belt and improper seating posi­
tion .
- Children must always ride in child seats
c:> page 129 . Special precautions apply
when installing a child seat on the front passenger seat
c:> page 108.
Proper seating position for the front
passenger
The proper front passenger seating position
is important for safe, relaxed driving .
For your own safety and to reduce the risk of
injury in the event of an accident, we recom­
mend that you adjust the seat for the front
passenger to the following position :
~ Adjust the angle of the seatback so that it is
in an upright position and your back comes
in full contact with it whenever the vehicle is
moving.
~ Adjust the head restraint so that the upper
edge is as even w ith the top of your head as
possible but not lower than eye level and so
that it is as close to the back of your head as
possible
c:> page 94.
~ Keep both feet flat on the floor in front of
the front passenger seat .
~ Fasten and wear safety belts correctly
c:> page 103.
For detailed information on how to adjust the
front passenger's seat, see
c:> page 59 .
A WARNING
Front seat passengers who are unbelted,
out of position or too close to the airbag
can be seriously injured or killed by the air­
bag as it unfolds. To help reduce the risk of
serious personal injury:
•
•

Why safety belts?
Frontal collisions and the law of physics
Frontal crashes create very strong forces for
people riding in vehicles .
Fig. 102 Unbelted occupants in a ve hicle heading for a
wall
Fig. 103 The vehicle c ras hes into the wall.
The physical principles are simple. Both the
vehicle and the passengers possess energy
which varies with vehicle speed and body
weight . Engineers call this energy "kinetic en ­
ergy ."
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 energy increases 4 times!
Because the occupants in this vehicle are not
using safety belts
r::;, fig. 102, they will keep
moving at the same speed the vehicle was
moving just before the crash, until something
stops them -here, the wall
c:> fig . 103 .
The same principles apply to people sitting in
a vehicle that is involved in a frontal collision .
Even at city speeds of 20 to 30 mph (30 to 50
km/h), the forces acting on the body can
Safety belts 101
reach one ton (2,000 lbs, or 1,000 kg) or
more. At higher speeds, these forces are even
greater.
People who do not use safety belts are also
not attached to their vehicle. In a frontal colli­
sion they will also keep moving forward at the
speed their vehicle was travelling just before
the crash. Of course, the laws of physics don't
just apply to frontal collisions, they determine what happens in all kinds of accidents and col ­
lisions .
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!
Fig. 104 A driver not wear ing a safety belt is v io len tly
thrown forward
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 unrestrained oc­ cupant will slam violently into the steering
wheel, instrument panel, windshield, or what­
ever else is in the way r::;, fig . 104 . This impact
with the vehicle interior has all the energy
they had just before the crash.
Never rely on airbags 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.

108 Airbag sys tem
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, a lways:
• Adjust the driver's seat and steering wheel
properly
c:> page 92,
• Adjust the front passenger's seat properly
c:> page 60,
• Wear safety be lts properly c:> page 102,
• Always properly use the proper child re-
straint to protect children
c:> page 129.
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 are not
seated properly . Therefore in order to help the
a ir bag to do its job, it is important, both as a
d river and as a passenge r to sit properly at all
times.
By keeping room between your body and the
steering wheel and the front of the passenger
compa rtment, the airbag can inflate fully and
comp letely and provide supp lemental protec­
tion in ce rtain frontal collisions
c:> page 92,
Proper occupant seating positions . For detai ls
on the operat ion of the seat adjustment con­
trols
c:> page 60 and c:> page 61.
I t's especially important that children a re
properly restrained
c:> page 129.
There is a lot that the d river and the passen­
ger 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 drive r side ca n 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 pedals, 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
fi cat ions to your veh icle.
When the airbag system deploys, a gas gener ­
ator will f ill the a irbags, break open t he pad­
ded cove rs, and inflate between the steering
whee l and the dr ive r and between the instru­
ment pane l and the fron t passenger. The a ir­
bags will deflate immediately after dep loy­
ment so that the front occupants can see
t hr ough 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 that
the airbags have deployed. The airbags a lso
inflate with a great dea l of force and nothing
should be in their way when they deploy.
Front a irbags in combination wi th properly
worn safety belts slow down and lim it the oc ­
cupant's forward movement . T ogether they
help to prevent the drive r and passenger from
hitting parts of the inside the vehicle while re­
ducing the fo rces acting on t he occ upan t dur­
ing the crash . In this way they help to reduce
the risk of injury to the head and upper body in the crash. Airbags 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 triggering of the a irbag system
depends on the vehicle dece leration rate
caused by the co llision and registered by the
electron ic control unit. If th is rate is below
the reference value programmed in to the con­
trol unit , the airbags will not be triggered ,
even though the car may be badly damaged as
a resu lt of the co llision . Ve hicle damage, re­
pair costs o r even the lack of ve hicle damage
is not necessarily an indica tion of whether an
airbag shou ld inflate or not .
It is not possib le to define a range of vehicle
speeds that w ill cove r every possib le kind and .,.

angle of impact that will always trigger the
airbags, since the circumstances will vary con­
siderably between one collision and another.
Important factors include, for example, the nature (hard or soft) of the object which the
car hits, the angle of impact, vehicle speed,
etc. The front airbags will also not inflate in
side or rear collisions, or in ro ll-overs .
A lwa ys
rem ember : Airbags will deploy only
once, and only in certa in kinds of collisions .
Your safety belts are always there to offer pro­
tection in those s ituations in which airbags
are not supposed to deploy , or when they have
a lready deployed ; fo r example , when yo ur ve­
h icle strikes or is struck by another after the
first collision .
This is just one of the reasons why an a irbag is
a supplementary restra int and is not a s ubst i­
tute for a safety belt . The airbag system
works most effectively when used with the
safety belts. Therefore, always properly wear
your safety belts
¢ page 100.
A WARNING
Sitting too close to the steer ing wheel or
instrument panel will decrease the effec­
tiveness of the airbags and will increase
the risk of pe rsonal injury in a co llision .
- Never sit closer than 10 inches (25 cm)
to the stee ring wheel or instrument pan­
el.
- If you cannot sit more than 10 inches
(25 cm) from the steer ing whee l, investi­
gate whether adaptive equipment may
be available to held you reach the pedals
and increase your seating dis tance from
the steering wheel.
- If you are unrestrained, lean ing fo rward,
sitting sideways or out of position in any
way, yo ur risk of inj ury is much highe r.
- You w il l also receive serio us inju ries and
cou ld even be killed if you are up against
the airbag or too close to it when it in ­
flates -even with an Advanced Airbag.
- To reduce the r isk o f injury when an air ­
bag inflates, a lways wear safety belts
proper ly ¢
page 103, Safety belts .
Airbag sys tem 109
-If ch ildren are not prope rly restrained,
they may be severely injured or killed
when an airbag inflates.
- Never let ch ildren ride unrestra ined or
improperly restrained in the vehicle. Ad­
just the front seats properly.
- Always sit as far as possible from the steer ing whee l or the instrument panel
¢ page 92, Proper occupant seating po­
sitions.
- Always sit upright with your back against
the backrest of your seat.
- Never p lace your feet on the instrument
panel or on t he seat. Always keep both
feet on the f loor in front of the seat to
help prevent serious in ju ries to the legs
a nd hips if the airbag inflates.
A WARNING
A irbags that have deployed in a crash must
be replaced.
- Use on ly orig inal equipment airbags ap­
proved by Aud i and i nstalled by a trai ned
technician who has the ne cessary too ls
and d iagnost ic equipment to properly re­
place any airbag in your vehicle and as­
sure system effectiveness in a crash.
- Never perm it salvaged or recycled air ­
bags to be installed in you r vehicle .
Child restraints on the front seat - some
important things to know
.. Be s ure to read the important in forma tion
and head the WARNINGS for important de ­
tails about ch ildren and Advanced A irbags
¢ page 129.
The airbag on the passenger side makes the
front seat a pote ntially dange rous place for a
c hi ld to ride . The front seat is not the safest
pla ce for a child in a fo rward-facing child safe ­
ty seat.
It can be a very d angerous place for a n
infant or a chi ld in a rearwa rd -fa cing seat.
The Advanced A irbag System in you r vehicle
has been ce rtified to comply wit h the Require­
ments of United States Fede ral Motor Vehicle
1111>
•
•

112 Airbag system
Front airbags
Description of front airbags
The airbag system can provide supplemental
protection to properly restrained front seat occupants.
Fig . 110 Locat ion of driver airbag: in steering wheel
Fig. 111 Locatio n of front passenger 's ai rbag: in t he in·
strument panel
Your vehicle is equipped with an "Advanced
Airbag System" in compliance with United
States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
(FMVSS) 208 as applicable at the time your
vehicle was manufactured . The safety belts
for the front seats have "pretensioners" that
help to take slack out of the belt system. The
pretensioners are also activated by the elec·
tronic control unit for the airbag system.
The front safety belts also have load limiters
to help reduce the forces applied to the body in a crash.
The airbag for the driver is in the steer ing
wheel hub ¢
fig. 110 and the airbag for the
front passenger is in the instrument panel
¢
fig . 111. The general location of the airbags
is marked "AIRBAG".
There is a lot you need to know about the air­
bags in your vehicle. We urge you to read the detailed information abo
ut airbags, safety
belts and child safety in this and the other
chapters that make up the owner's literature .
P lease be sure to heed the WARNINGS -they
are extremely important for your safety and
the safety of your passengers, especially in­
fants and small children .
A WARNING
Never rely on airbags alone for protection .
- Even when they deploy, airbags provide only supplemental protect ion.
- Airbag work most effective ly when used
with properly worn safety belts.
- Therefore, always wear your safety belts
and make sure that eve rybody in your ve­
h icle is p roperly restrained.
A WARNING
A person on the front passenger seat, es­
pec ially infants and sma ll children, w ill re­
ceive serious injuries and can even be kil­
l ed by be ing too close to the airbag when
i t inflates .
- Al tho ugh the Advanced Airbag System in
your veh icle is designed to tur n
off the
front passenger airbag if an infant or a
small child is on the front passenger
seat, nobody can absolutely guarantee
that deployment under these special
conditions is impossible in all conceiva­
b le situations that may happen during
the useful life of your vehicle .
- The Advanced Airbag System can dep loy
in accordance with the "low risk" option
under the U.S . Federal Standa rd if a child
that is heav ie r th an the typical one-year
old ch ild is on the front passenger seat
and the other condi tions for a irbag de­
p loyment are met .
- F or its own safe ty, a child sho uld always
ride properly restrained for its age and
size .
Advanced front airbag system
-
Your vehicle is equipped with a front Advanced
Airbag System in compliance with United ..,_

118 Airbag sys te m
- The inflating airba g will hit the child
safety seat or infant carri er w it h great
force and w ill smash the ch ild safety seat
and child against the backrest, cente r
arm r est, door or ro of.
- Ne ver install a r earward facing child
sa fety seat on the fro nt passenger seat
unl ess the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
ligh t co me s on and stays on. If the PA S­
SENGER AIR BAG OFF
ligh t does no t
come on and stay on, the inflating airbag
will hit the child safety seat or infant car ­
rier with great force and will smash the
child safety seat and child against the
backrest, door or roof. Have the airbag
system inspected immediately by your
authorized Audi dealer .
A WARNING
Objects between you and the a irbag will
increase the risk of injury in a crash by in­
terfering with the way the airbag unfolds
or by being pushed into you as the a irbag
inflates.
- Never hold th ings in your hands or on
yo ur lap when the vehicle is in use.
- Never transport items on or in the area
of the front passenge r seat. Objects
c ou ld move into the area of the front air­
bags dur ing braking or other s udden ma­
neuver and become dange rous projec ­
tiles that can cause serious personal in­
jury if the airbags inflate.
- Never place o r attach accessories or oth­
er objects (such as cup ho lders, tele­
phone brackets, large, heavy or b ulky ob­
jects) on the doors, over or near the area
marked "AIRBAG" on the steering wheel,
instrument panel, seat backrests or be­
tween those a reas and yourself. These
objects co uld cause injury in a crash, es­
pecially when the airbags inflate.
- Never recline the front passenger's seat
to transport objects. Items can also
move in to the area o f the side airb ag or
the front airbag dur ing braking or in a
sudden maneuver. Objects near the air -
-
bags can become projectiles and cause
inju ry, partic ularly when the seat is re­
clined.
A WARNING
The fine dust created when airbags deploy
can cause breathing prob lems for people
with a history of asthma or other breath­
i ng cond itions.
- To reduce the risk of breath ing problems,
those with asthma o r othe r respiratory
conditions shou ld get fresh air righ t
away by getting o ut of the ve hicle or
open ing win dows or doors.
- I f you are i n a collision in which airbags
deploy, wash your hands and fa ce with
mild soap and wate r before ea ting.
- Be ca reful not to get the dust into your
eyes, o r into any c uts or s cratches.
- If the res id ue should get into your eyes,
flush them w ith wate r.
Monitoring the
Advanced Airbag System
tii Airbag monitoring indicator light
Two separate indicators monitor the function
of the Advan ced Airbag Sy stem: the airbag
monitoring indicator light and the
PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF
light.
T he Advanced A irbag Sys tem ( incl uding the
ele ctron ic cont rol unit, sensor circ uits and sys ­
tem wir ing) is monitored continuously to
make sure that it is functioning properly
whenever the ignition is on. Eac h time you
turn on the ignition, the a irbag monitoring in­
dicator light . will come on for a few sec­
onds (self diagnostics).
The system must be inspected when the
i ndicator light•=
-does not come on when the ignition is
sw itched on,
- does not go out a few seconds after you
have switched on the ignit ion, or

-If you must install a rearward facing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptional circumstan­ ces and the
PA SSE NGER AI R BAG OFF
light does not appear and stay on have
the a irbag system inspected by your Audi
dealer.
- A tight tether or other strap on a rear­
ward-fac ing child restra int attached to
the front passenger seat can put too much pressure on the weight-sens ing
mat in the seat and register more weight
than is actually on the seat. The heavier
weight registered can make the system
work as though an adu lt were on the seat
and deploy the Advanced Airbag when it
must be suppressed caus ing serious or
even fatal injury to the child .
- If, in exceptional circ umstances, you
must install a forward-facing child re­
st raint on the front passenger seat, a l­
ways move the seat into its rearmost po­
sit ion in the seat's fo re and aft adjust­
ment range, as far away from the airb ag
as possib le . The backrest m ust be adjust­
ed to an upright position. Make sure that
the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
comes on and stays on all the t ime when­
ever the ignition is switched on.
A WARNING
- If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not go out when an adult is sitting
on the front passenger seat after taking
the steps described above, have the air­
bag system inspected by your Aud i deal­
er before transporting anyone on the
front passenger seat.
(Di Tips
If the weight-sensing mat in the front pas­
senger seat detects an empty seat, the
front airbag on the pa ssenge r side will be
t urned off, and
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
w ill stay on .
Airbag system 12 1
Repair, care and disposal of the airbags
Parts of the airbag system are i nstalled at
many diffe rent p laces o n your Aud i. Insta llin g,
removing, servicing or repa iring a part in an
area of the vehicle can damage a part of an
airbag system and prevent that system from
working properly in a coll is ion.
T he re a re some important t hings you have to
know to make sure that the effectiveness o f
the system wi ll not be impaired and that dis­
carded components do not cause injury or pol ­
lute the environment.
A WARNING
Improper care, serv ic ing and repair proce­
dures can increase the risk of personal in­
jury and death by preventing an a irbag
from deploying when needed or deploying
an a irbag unexpec tedly:
- Never cover, obst ruct, or change the
steer ing whee l horn pad or airbag cover
or the inst rument panel or mod ify them
in any w ay .
- Never attach any objects s uch as c up
holders or telephone mountings to the
surfaces covering the a irbag un its .
- For cleaning the horn pad or instr ument
panel, use only a soft, dry cloth or one
mo istened with pla in water. Solvents or
cleaners could damage the airbag cover
or change the st iffness or strength of the
material so that the airbag cannot de­
ploy and protect properly.
- Never repair, adjust, or change any parts
of the a irbag system.
- All work on the steering wheel, instru­
ment panel, front seats or e lectr ica l sys­
tem (including the installation of audio
equ ipment, cellular telephones and CB
radios, etc.) must be performed by a
qualified technic ian who has the training
and specia l equipment necessary.
- For any work on the airbag system, we
strongly recommend that you see your
author ized Audi dealer or qualified work-
shop.
~
•
•

_& WARNING
Items stored between the safety belt
buckle and the center console can cause
the sensors in the buckle to send the
wrong informat ion to the electronic con­
trol modu le and prevent the Advanced A ir­
bag System from working properly.
- Always make sure that noth ing ca n inte r­
fere w ith the safety belt buck les and that
t hey are not obstructed.
Knee airbags
Description of knee airbags
The knee airbag system can provide supple­
mental protection to properly restrained
front seat occupants.
F ig . 11 4 Drive r's a irbag
The driver knee a irbag is in the instrument
panel underneath the steering whee l
~ fig. 114, the airbag for the passenger is at
about the same height in the i nstrument pan­
e l underneath the g love compartment.
The knee airbag offers additiona l protection
to the driver's and passenger's knees and up­
per and lower thigh areas and supp lements
the protect ion by the safety be lts .
I f the front airbags deploy, the knee airbags
a lso deploy i n frontal collisions when the de­
p loyment threshold sto red in the cont ro l uni t
is met ~
page 117, More important things to
know about front airbags .
In addition to their normal safety function,
safety belts he lp keep the driver or front pas ­
senger in posit ion in a frontal coll is ion so that
A irba g sy stem 123
the ai rbags can provide supplemental protec­
tion .
T he airbag system is no t a subs tit ute for your
sa fety be lt . Rather, it is part of the overall oc­
cupant restraint system in your vehicle . A l­
ways remember that the airbag system can
only he lp to protect you if you are wearing
your safety be lt and wearing it properly. This
is why you should always wear your safety
belt, not just because the law requires you to
do so
r::;, page 100, General notes .
Remember too, airbags will deploy on ly once
and only in certain kinds of accidents -your
safety belts are always there to offer protec­
t ion in those accidents in wh ich airbags are
not supposed to dep loy o r when they have al­
r eady deployed, for example when your vehi ­
cl e strikes or is struck by another after the
f irst collision.
This is just one of the reasons why an airbag is
not a s ubstitute fo r the safety be lt. The ai rbag
system works most effect ively when used with
the safety be lts. Therefore, always wear yo ur
sa fety belts correct ly .
It is impo rtant to remembe r that wh ile the
s u pplementa l knee airbag system is designed
to reduce the likelihood of ser ious inju ries,
other injur ies, for example, swelling, bru ising,
minor ab rasions and friction burns can a lso
occur when an airbag inflates.
The knee airbag system basically consists
of:
- The e lectronic control module
- Two in flatable ai rbags (a irbag and gas gen -
erator), one for the d river and one for the
front passenger
- The ai rbag indicator light in the instrument
panel
The knee airbag system will not deploy:
- when the ignit io n is t urned off
- in frontal collisions when the deceleration
meas ured by the control unit is too low
- in side co llisions
- in rear-end collisions
- in rollovers

124 Airbag system
-in the event of a system malfunction (warn ­
ing/indicator light is on )
r=:> page 15.
.&_ WARNING
-Safety belts and the airbag system can
only provide protection when occupants
are in the proper seating position
¢page 117.
-If the airbag indicator light comes when
the vehicle is being used, have the sys­
tem inspected immediately by your au­
tho rized Aud i deale r.
How knee airbags work
The risk of injury to the leg area can be re­
duced by fully inflated knee airbags.
F ig . 115 Inflated a irbags p rotecti ng in a fro ntal coll i­
s ion
The knee airbag system has been designed so
that the airbags for the driver and front pas­
senger deploy in certain but not all frontal
coll is ions.
If the front airbags deploy, the knee airbags
also deploy in frontal collisions when the de­ p loyment threshold stored in the control unit
i s met.
When the system dep loys, the airbags fill
with a propellant gas, and inflate between the lower part of the instrument panel and the
d river and the lower part of the instrument
panel and the front passenge r<=>
page 117,
fig. 112.
Although they are not a soft pillow, they can
"cush ion" the impact and in this way they can
he lp to reduce the r isk of injury to the lowe r
extremities. All o
f th is takes place in the b link o f an eye, so
fast that many peop le don't even realize that
the a irbags have deployed. The airbags a lso
inflate with a great deal of force and it is im­
portant for occupant safety that nothing
shou ld be in their way when they deploy.
Fully inflated a irbags in combination with
proper ly worn safety belts s low down and lim­
it the occupant's forward movement and help
to reduce the risk of injury .
Important safety instructions on the
knee airbag system
Airbags are only supplemental restraints . Al­
ways wear safety belts correctly and ride in a
proper seating position.
The re is a lot that you and you r passenger
must know and do to he lp the safety belts and
airbags to prov ide s upplemen ta l pro te ct io n .
.&_ WARNING
An inflat ing knee a irbag c an cause se rious
in ju ry. Wea ring safety belts incorrectly and
improper seat ing positions increase the
risk of ser ious persona l injury and death
whenever a vehicle is being used.
- The knee airbag system cannot protect
you properly if you a re seated too close
to any of the airbag locat ions. When ad­
justing their seat pos itions, it is impor­
tant that bot h the driver and the front
passenger keep the ir upper bod ies and
knees at the following minimum safe
d istances:
- at least 10 inches (25 cm) between the
chest and the steering wheel/inst ru­
ment panel.
- at least 4 inches (10 cm) between the
knees and the lower part of the instru­
ment panel.
- The risk of personal inj ury increases if
you lean forward or to the s ide, or if the
seat is improperly positioned and you are
not wearing yo ur safety belt . The risk in­
creases even more should the a irbag de­
p loy .