2001 SUBARU OUTBACK sensor

Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags1-29
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HB0373
Seatbelt retractor assembly (Pretensioner)
The d river
’s and front p asseng er ’s seatb elts have a seatb elt p reten-
sioner. The seatb elt p retensioners are d esig ned to b e ac tivated in the
event of an ac c id ent involving a mod erate to severe frontal c ollision.
The p retensioner sensor also serves as a SRS fronta l airb ag sensor. If
the sensor d etec ts a c ertain p red etermined amount o f forc e d uring a
frontal c ollision, the front seatb elt is q uic kly d r awn b ac k in b y the re-
trac tor to take up the slac k so that the b elt more effec tively restrains
the front seat oc c up ant.
When a seatb elt p retensioner is ac tivated , an op era ting noise will b e
heard and a small amount of smoke will b e released . These oc c ur-
renc es are normal and not harmful. This smoke d oes not ind ic ate a
fire in the vehic le.
Onc e the seatb elt p retensioner has b een ac tivated , the seatb elt re-
trac tor remains loc ked . Conseq uently, the seatb elt c an not b e p ulled
out and retrac ted . NOTE Seatbelt pretensioners are not designed to activate in minor
frontal impacts, in side or rear impacts or in roll-over accidents. The driver ’s seat and passenger ’s seat pretensioners and fron-
tal airbag operate simultaneously. Pretensioners are designed to function on a one-time-only ba-
sis. In the event that a pretensioner is activated, both the driver ’s
and front passenger ’s seatbelt retractor assemblies must be re-

1-30placed and only by an authorized SUBARU dealer. When replac-
ing seatbelt retractor assemblies, use only genuine SUBARUparts.
If either front seatbelt does not retract or cannot be pulled out
due to a malfunction or activation of the pretensioner, contactyour SUBARU dealer as soon as possible. If the front seatbelt retractor assembly or surrounding area
has been damaged, contact your SUBARU dealer as soon as pos-sible. When you sell your vehicle, we urge you to explain to the buy-
er that it has seatbelt pretensioners by alerting him to the con-tents of this section. System monitors
HB4010EC
A d iag nostic system c ontinually monitors the read in ess of the seatb elt
p retensioner while the vehic le is b eing d riven. The seatb elt p reten-
sioners share the c ontrol mod ule with the airb ag sy stem. Therefore, if
any malfunc tion oc c urs in a seatb elt p retensioner, the SRS airb ag sys-
tem warning lig ht will illuminate. The SRS airb ag s ystem warning lig ht
will show normal system op eration b y lig hting for a b out 6 sec ond s
when the ig nition key is turned to the “ON ” p osition.
The following c omp onents are monitored b y the ind ic ator:
Front sub sensor (Rig ht hand sid e)
Front sub sensor (Left hand sid e)
Airb ag c ontrol mod ule (inc lud ing imp ac t sensors)

Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags1-31
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Seatb elt p retensioner (Driver ’s sid e)
Seatb elt p retensioner (Passeng er ’s sid e)
All related wiring
In the event of a malfunc tion ind ic ated b y any of f ollowing , the vehic le
should b e taken p romp tly to your nearest SUBARU d ea ler to have the
system c hec ked . Unless c hec ked and rep aired , the se atb elt p reten-
sioners and airb ag s will not func tion reliab ly:
Flashing or flic kering of the ind ic ator lig ht.
No illumination of the warning lig ht when the ig nit ion switc h is
first turned to the “ON ” p osition.
Continuous illumination of the warning lig ht.
Illumination of the warning lig ht while d riving .
System servicing
WARNING
When discarding a seatbelt retractor assembly or scrapping
the entire car damaged by a collision, consult your SUBARU deal-
er. Tampering with or disconnecting the system ’s wiring could re-
sult in accidental activation of the seatbelt pretensioner and/orairbag or could make the system inoperative, which may result in
serious injury. The wiring harnesses of the seatbelt pretensionerand SRS airbag systems are covered with yellow insulation andthe connectors of the system are yellow for easy identification.Do not use electrical test equipment on any circuit related to theseatbelt pretensioner and airbag systems. For required servicing
of the seatbelt pretensioner, see your nearest SUBARU dealer.
CAUTION
The front sub sensors are located in both front fenders and theairbag control module including the impact sensors is locatedunder the center console. If you need service or repair in those
areas or near the front seatbelt retractors, we recommend thatyou have an authorized SUBARU dealer perform the work.

Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags1-57
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NOTE When you sell your vehicle, we urge you to explain to the buyer that
it is equipped with SRS airbags by alerting him to the applicablesection in this owner
’s manual.
Components
HB1079DB
1 Airb ag c ontrol mod ule
(inc lud ing imp ac t sensors)
2 Airb ag mod ule (d river ’s sid e)
3 Airb ag mod ule
(p asseng er ’s sid e)
4 Front sub sensor
(left hand sid e)
5 Front sub sensor
(rig ht hand sid e)
6 Seatb elt p retensioner
(d river ’s sid e) 7
Seatb elt p retensioner
(p asseng er ’s sid e)
8 Sid e airb ag mod ule
(d river ’s sid e — if eq uip p ed )
9 Sid e airb ag mod ule
(p asseng er ’s sid e — if
eq uip p ed )
Q Sid e airb ag sensor
(d river ’s sid e)
W Sid e airb ag sensor
(p asseng er ’s sid e)
E Airb ag wiring (yellow)

Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags1-61
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SRS airbags deploy as soon as a collision occurs. After deployment, SRS airbags start to deflate immediately so that the driver
’s
vision is not obstructed.
OM-H0384
Driver’
s side Passenger ’s side
The SRS airb ag c an func tion only when the ig nition switc h is in the
“ ON ” p osition.
If the front sub sensors insid e the b oth front fend ers and the imp ac t
sensors in the airb ag c ontrol mod ule d etec t a c erta in p red etermined
amount of forc e d uring a frontal c ollision, the c on trol mod ule send s
sig nals to the frontal airb ag mod ules instruc ting t hem to inflate the
SRS frontal airb ag s. Then b oth airb ag mod ules p rod u c e g as, whic h
instantly inflates d river ’s and p asseng er ’s SRS frontal airb ag s. After
the d ep loyment, the SRS airb ag s immed iately start t o d eflate so that
the d river ’s vision is not ob struc ted . The time req uired from d etec ting
imp ac t to the d eflating SRS airb ag after d ep loyment is shorter than
the b link of an eye.
The front p asseng er ’s SRS frontal airb ag d ep loys tog ether with d riv-
er ’s SRS frontal airb ag even when no one oc c up ies the front p assen-
g er ’s seat.
When the SRS frontal airb ag s d ep loy, the d river ’s and front p assen-
g er ’s seatb elt p retensioners op erate at the same time.
Althoug h it is hig hly unlikely that the SRS airb ag would ac tivate in a
non-ac c id ent situation, should it oc c ur, the SRS ai rb ag will d eflate
q uic kly, not ob sc uring vision and will not interfer e with the d river’s
ab ility to maintain c ontrol of the vehic le.

1-68SRS side airbag deploys as soon as a collision occurs.
After deployment, SRS sideairbag starts to deflate immedi-
ately. HB0359
The SRS sid e airb ag c an func tion only when the ig nition switc h is in
the “ON ” p osition.
The d river ’s and front p asseng er ’s SRS sid e airb ag s d ep loy ind ep en-
d ently of eac h other sinc e eac h has its own imp ac t sensor. Also, the
SRS sid e airb ag d ep loys ind ep end ently of the fronta l airb ag s in the
steering wheel and instrument p anel.
An imp ac t sensor is inc orp orated into eac h of the v ehic le’s c enter p il-
lars. If either sensor d etec ts a c ertain p red etermi ned amount of forc e
d uring a sid e imp ac t c ollision, the c ontrol mod ule send s a sig nal to
the sid e airb ag mod ule on the imp ac ted sid e of the vehic le, instruc t-
ing it to inflate the SRS sid e airb ag . Then the sid e airb ag mod ule p ro-
d uc es g as, whic h instantly inflates the SRS sid e ai rb ag . After the d e-
p loyment, the SRS sid e airb ag immed iately starts to d eflate. The time
req uired from d etec ting imp ac t to d eflating of the SRS sid e airb ag af-
ter d ep loyment is shorter than the b link of an eye.
The SRS sid e airb ag d ep loys even when no one oc c up i es the seat on
the sid e of whic h an imp ac t is ap p lied .

1-72
SRS airbag system monitors
HB4010EC
A d iag nostic system c ontinually monitors the read in ess of the SRS air-
b ag system (inc lud ing front seatb elt p retensioners) while the vehic le is
b eing d riven. The SRS airb ag system warning lig ht “AIRBAG ” will show
normal system op eration b y lig hting for ab out 6 sec ond s when the ig ni-
tion key is turned to the “ON ” p osition.
The following c omp onents are monitored b y the ind ic ator:
Front sub sensor (Rig ht hand sid e)
Front sub sensor (Left hand sid e)
Airb ag c ontrol mod ule (inc lud ing imp ac t sensors)
Frontal airb ag mod ule (Driver ’s sid e)
Frontal airb ag mod ule (Passeng er ’s sid e)
Sid e airb ag sensor (Driver ’s sid e — if eq uip p ed )
Sid e airb ag sensor (Passeng er ’s sid e — if eq uip p ed )
Sid e airb ag mod ule (Driver ’s sid e — if eq uip p ed )
Sid e airb ag mod ule (Passeng er ’s sid e — if eq uip p ed )
Seatb elt p retensioner (Driver ’s sid e)
Seatb elt p retensioner (Passeng er ’s sid e)
All related wiring
In the event of a malfunc tion ind ic ated b y any of f ollowing , the vehic le
should b e taken p romp tly to your nearest SUBARU d ea ler to have the
system c hec ked . Unless c hec ked and rep aired , the SR S airb ag s will not
func tion reliab ly:

Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags1-73
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Flashing or flic kering of the ind ic ator lig ht.
No illumination of the warning lig ht when the ig nit ion switc h is first
turned to the “ON ” p osition.
Continuous illumination of the warning lig ht.
Illumination of the warning lig ht while d riving .
SRS airbag system servicing
WARNING
When discarding an airbag module or scrapping the entire car
damaged by a collision, consult your SUBARU dealer. The SRS airbag has no user-serviceable parts. Do not use
electrical test equipment on any circuit related to the SRS airbag
system. For required servicing of the SRS airbag, see your near-
est SUBARU dealer. Tampering with or disconnecting the sys-
tem’ s wiring could result in accidental inflation of the SRS airbag
or could make the system inoperative, which may result in seri-
ous injury. The wiring harnesses of the SRS airbag system arecovered with yellow insulation and system connectors are yellowfor easy identification.
CAUTION
If you need service or repair in areas listed below, we recommend
that you have an authorized SUBARU dealer perform the work. The
SRS airbag control module, impact sensors and airbag modules
are stored in these areas.
Under the center console
Inside each front fender
Steering wheel and column and nearby areas
Top of the dashboard on front passenger ’s side and nearby
areas Each front seat and nearby area (only for vehicle with SRS
side airbags) Inside each center pillar