Subaru 2007 Forester, Owner'S Manual

Page: 50 / 357

Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
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Front seatbelt pretensioners
The driver ’ s and front passenger ’ s seat-
belts have a seatbelt pretensioner. The
seatbelt pretensioners are designed to be
activated in the event of an accident in-
volving a moderate to severe frontal colli-
sion.
Also, the seatbelt pretensioners are de-
signed to be activated in the event of an
accident involving a moderate to severe
side impact collision.
The pretensioner sensor also serves as
the frontal and side SRS airbag sensors. If
the sensors detect a certain predeter-
mined amount of force during a frontal col-
lision or a side impact collision, the front
seatbelt is quickly drawn back in by the re-
tractor to take up the slack so that the belt
more effectively restrains the front seat
occupant.
When a seatbelt pretensioner is activated,
an operating noise will be heard and a
small amount of smoke will be released.
These occurrences are normal and not
harmful. This smoke does not indicate a
fire in the vehicle.
Once the seatbelt pretensioner has been
activated, the seatbelt retractor remains
locked. Consequently, the seatbelt can
not be pulled out and retracted and there-
fore must be replaced.
NOTE
Seatbelt pretensioners are not de-
signed to activate in minor frontal im-
pacts, in minor side impacts or in rear
impacts or in roll-over accidents.
The driver ’ s seat and passenger ’ s
seat pretensioners and frontal SRS air-
bag operate simultaneously.
The driver ’ s and passenger ’ s seat-
belt pretensioners and the SRS side
airbag operate simultaneously.
Pretensioners are designed to func-
tion on a one-time-only basis. In the
event that a pretensioner is activated,
both the driver ’ s and front passenger ’ s
seatbelt retractor assemblies must be
replaced only by an authorized SUBA-
RU dealer. When replacing seatbelt re-
tractor assemblies, use only genuine
SUBARU parts.
If either front seatbelt does not re-
tract or cannot be pulled out due to a
malfunction or activation of the preten-
sioner, contact your SUBARU dealer as
soon as possible.
If the front seatbelt retractor assem-
bly or surrounding area has been dam-
aged, contact your SUBARU dealer as
soon as possible.
When you sell your vehicle, we urge
you to explain to the buyer that it has
seatbelt pretensioners by alerting him
to the contents of this section.
100121
To obtain maximum protection,
the occupants should sit in an up-
right position with their seatbelts
properly fastened. Refer to the
“ Seatbelts ” section in this chap-
ter.