2002 SUBARU OUTBACK airbag

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If an accident occurs, this can increase the risk or severity of injury. Keep the lap belt as low as possible on your hips. In a colli-
sion, this spreads the force of the lap belt over stronger hipbones instead of across the weaker abdomen. Seatbelts provide maximum restraint when the occupant sits
well back and upright in the seat. To reduce the risk of sliding un-der the seatbelt in a collision, the front seatbacks should be al-ways used in the upright position while the vehicle is running. Ifthe front seatbacks are not used in the upright position in a colli-
sion, the risk of sliding under the lap belt and of the lap belt slid-ing up over the abdomen will increase, and both can result in se-rious internal injury or death. Do not put cushions or any other materials between occupants
and seatbacks or seat cushions. If you do so, the risk of slidingunder the lap belt and of the lap belt sliding up over the abdomenwill increase, and both can result in serious internal injury ordeath.
HS0231
Never place the shoulder belt under the arm or behind the back.
HS0230
Always wear the
seatbelts correctly.
Adjust the seatback to upright position. Sit well back and upright.
CAUTION
Metallic parts of the seatbelt can become very hot in a vehicle that has been closed up in sunny weather; they could burn an oc-cupant. Do not touch such hot parts until they cool.

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HB1029BB
The shoulder belt anchor height should be adjusted to the position
best suited for you. To lower the anchor height, push the release but-
ton and slide the anchor down. To raise the anchor height, slide the
anchor up. Pull down on the anchor to make sure that it is locked inplace.
Always adjust the anchor height so that the shoulder belt passes over the middle of the shoulder without touching the neck. nUnfastening the seatbelt
HB0303
Push
Push the button on the buckle.
Before closing the door, make sure that the belts are retracted prop-
erly to avoid catching the belt webbing in the door.

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erly to avoid catching the belt webbing in the door. Rear center seatbelt on wagon model
WARNING
Fastening the seatbelt with the webbing twisted can increase
the risk or severity of injury in an accident. When fastening the
belt after it is pulled out from the retractor, especially wheninserting the connector ’s tongue plate into the mating buckle (on
right-hand side), always check that the webbing is not twisted. Be sure to fasten both tongue plates to the respective
buckles. If the seatbelt is used only as a shoulder belt (with theconnector ’s tongue plate not fastened to the connector ’s buckle
on the right-hand side), it cannot properly restrain the wearer in
position in an accident, possibly resulting in serious injury ordeath.
HB1031BA
HB1030BA

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tor (tongue) attached at the webbing end into the buckle on the right-
hand side until a click is heard. If the belt stops before reaching the
buckle, return the belt slightly and pull it out more slowly. If the belt
still cannot be unlocked, let the belt retract slightly after giving it a
strong pull, then pull it out slowly again.
HB1034BA
3. Insert the center seatbelt tongue plate in the center seatbelt buckle
marked “CENTER” on the left-hand side until it clicks. To make the lap
part tight, pull up on the shoulder belt. And place the lap belt as lowas possible on your hips, not on your waist.
HS1019BA

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HB1037BA
HB1036BA
1. Insert a key or other hard pointed object into the slot in the con-
nector (buckle) on the right-hand side and push it in, and the connec-
tor (tongue) plate will disconnect from the buckle.
HB1048BA
HB1038CA
2. Allow the retractor to roll up the belt. You should hold the webbing
end and guide it back into the retractor while it is rolling up. Neatly
store the tongue plates in the recess in the retractor and then insert
the connector (tongue) plate into the slot located at the front of the
recess. NOTE When folding down the rear seat cushion, store the seatbelts in the seatbelt pocket to prevent them falling below the cushion.

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Front seatbelt pretensioners
WARNING
To obtain maximum protection, occupants should sit in an up-
right position with their seatbelts properly fastened. Refer to
“Seatbelts” section in this chapter.
Do not modify, remove or strike the front seatbelt retractor as-
semblies or surrounding area. This could result in accidental ac-tivation of the seatbelt pretensioners or could make the system
inoperative, possibly resulting in serious injury. Seatbelt preten-sioners have no user-serviceable parts. For required servicing of
front seatbelt retractors equipped with seatbelt pretensioners,
see your nearest SUBARU dealer. When discarding front seatbelt retractor assemblies or scrap-
ping the entire car due to collision damage or for other reasons,
consult your SUBARU dealer.
HB0373
Seatbelt retractor assembly (Pretensioner)
The driver
’s and front passenger ’s seatbelts have a seatbelt preten-
sioner. The seatbelt pretensioners are designed to be activated in the
event of an accident involving a moderate to severe frontal collision.
The pretensioner sensor also serves as a SRS frontal airbag sensor. If
the sensor detects a certain predetermined amount of force during a
frontal 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

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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 occur-
rences are normal and not harmful. This smoke does not indicate a
fire in the vehicle.
Once the seatbelt pretensioner has been activated, the seatbelt re-
tractor remains locked. Consequently, the seatbelt can not be pulled
out and retracted and therefore must be replaced. 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-
placed 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.

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System monitors
HB4010EC
A diagnostic system continually monitors the readiness of the seatbelt
pretensioner while the vehicle is being driven. The seatbelt preten-
sioners share the control module with the airbag system. Therefore, if
any malfunction occurs in a seatbelt pretensioner, the SRS airbag sys-
tem warning light will illuminate. The SRS airbag system warning light
will show normal system operation by lighting for about 6 seconds
when the ignition key is turned to the “ON” position.
The following components are monitored by the indicator: Front sub sensor (Right hand side)
Front sub sensor (Left hand side)
Airbag control module (including impact sensors)
Seatbelt pretensioner (Driver ’s side)
Seatbelt pretensioner (Passenger ’s side)
All related wiring
In the event of a malfunction indicated by any of following, the vehicle
should be taken promptly to your nearest SUBARU dealer to have the
system checked. Unless checked and repaired, the seatbelt preten-
sioners and airbags will not function reliably: Flashing or flickering of the indicator light.
No illumination of the warning light when the ignition switch is
first turned to the “ON” position.
Continuous illumination of the warning light.
Illumination of the warning light while driving.