2004 SUBARU LEGACY Owners Manual

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Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
Never allow a child to kneel on the front pas-
senger’s seat facing the side window or to wrap
his/her arms around the front seat seatback. In
the event of an accident, the force of SRS side
airbag deployment could seriously injure or
even kill the child because his/her head or arms
or other body parts are close to the side airbag.
Since your vehicle is also equipped with a pas-
senger’s SRS frontal airbag, children aged 12
and under should be placed in the rear seat
anyway and should be properly restrained at all
times.
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Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
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Do not attach accessories to the door trim or
near either SRS side airbags and do not place
objects near the SRS side airbags. In the event
of the SRS side airbag deployment, they could
be propelled dangerously toward the vehicle’s
occupants and cause injuries.
Do not put any kind of cover or clothes or other
objects over either front seatback and do not
attach labels or stickers to the front seat sur-
face on or near the SRS side airbag. They could
prevent proper deployment of the SRS side air-
bag, reducing protection available to the front
seat’s occupant.
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Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
T
Operation
A) SRS side airbag deploys as soon as a collision oc- curs.
B) After deployment, SRS side airbag starts to deflate im- mediately. The SRS side airbag can function only when the igni-
tion switch is in the “ON” position.
The driver’s and front passenger’s SRS side airbags
deploy independently of each other since each has its
own impact sensor. Also, the SRS side airbag deploys
independently of the frontal airbags in the steering
wheel and instrument panel.
An impact sensor is incorporated into each of the ve-
hicle’s center pillars. If either sensor detects a certain
predetermined amount of force during a side impact
collision, the control module sends a signal to the side
airbag module on the impacted side of the vehicle, in-
structing it to inflate the SRS side airbag. Then the
side airbag module produces gas, which instantly in-
flates the SRS side airbag. After the deployment, the
SRS side airbag immediately starts to deflate. The
time required from detecting impact to the deflation of
the SRS side airbag after deployment is shorter than
the blink of an eye.
The SRS side airbag deploys even when no one occu-
pies the seat on the side of which an impact is applied.
When the SRS side airbag deploys, a sudden, fairly
loud inflation noise will be heard and some smoke will
be released. These occurrences are normal result of
the deployment. This smoke does not indicate a fire in
A B
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Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
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the vehicle.
Do not touch the SRS side airbag system com-
ponents around the front seatback with bare
hands right after deployment. Doing so can
cause burns because the components can be
very hot as a result of deployment.
The SRS side airbag is designed to deploy in the event
of an accident involving a moderate to severe side im-
pact collision. It is basically not designed to deploy in
lesser side impact. Also, it is basically not designed to
deploy in frontal or rear impacts because SRS side air-
bag deployment would not help the occupant in those
situations.
Each SRS side airbag is designed to function on a one-time-only basis.
SRS side airbag deployment depends on the level of
force experienced in the passenger compartment dur-
ing a side impact collision. That level differs from one
type of collision to another, and it may have no bearing
on the visible damage done to the vehicle itself. V
Example of the type of accident in which the
SRS side airbag will most likely deploy.
A severe side impact near the front seat activates the
SRS side airbag.
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Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags V
Examples of the types of accidents in which the SRS side airbag
is unlikely to deploy.
1 2
3 4 5
UB1167BB
1) The vehicle is involved in an ob-
lique side impact.
2) The vehicle is involved in a side impact in an area outside the vicin-
ity of the passenger compartment.
3) The vehicle strikes a telephone pole or similar object.
4) The vehicle is involved in a side impact from a motorcycle.
5) The vehicle rolls onto its side or roof.

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Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
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There are many types of collisions which might not
necessarily require SRS side airbag deployment. In
the event of accidents like those illustrated below, the
SRS side airbag may not deploy depending on the lev-
el of accident forces involved. V
Examples of the types of accidents in which the
SRS side airbag will basically not deploy.
1) The vehicle is involved in a frontal collision with anoth- er vehicle (moving or stationary).
2) The vehicle is struck from behind.
1 2
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Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
The SRS side airbag is basically not designed to de-
ploy if the vehicle is involved in a frontal collision or is
struck from behind. Examples of such accidents are il-
lustrated below.
1) First impact!
2) Second impact!!
In an accident where the vehicle is struck from the side
more than once, the SRS side airbag deploys only
once.
Example: In the case of a double side impact collision,
first with one vehicle and immediately followed by an-
other from the same direction, once the SRS side air-
bag is activated on the first impact, it will not be acti- vated on the second. „
SRS airbag system monitors
SRS airbag system warning light
A diagnostic system continually monitors the readi-
ness of the SRS airbag system (including front seat-
belt pretensioners) while the vehicle is being driven.
The SRS airbag system warning light “AIRBAG” 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 indi-
1 2
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Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
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cator: yFront sub sensor (Right hand side)
y Front sub sensor (Left hand side)
y Airbag control module (including impact sensors)
y Frontal airbag module (Driver’s side)
y Frontal airbag module (Passenger’s side)
y Side airbag sensor (Driver’s side – if equipped)
y Side airbag sensor (Passenger’s side – if equipped)
y Side airbag module (Driver’s side – if equipped)
y Side airbag module (Passenger’s side – if
equipped)y Seatbelt pretensioner (Driver’s side)
y Seatbelt pretensioner (Passenger’s side)
y All related wiring
In the event of a malfunction indicated by any of follow-
ing, the vehicle should be taken promptly to your near-
est SUBARU dealer to have the system checked. Un-
less checked and repaired, the SRS airbags will not
function reliably: y Flashing or flickering of the indicator light.
y No illumination of the warning light when the ignition
switch is first turned to the “ON” position.y Continuous illumination of the warning light.
y Illumination of the warning light while driving. „
SRS airbag system servicing
yWhen discarding an airbag module or scrap-
ping the entire car damaged by a collision, con-
sult your SUBARU dealer. y 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 nearest SUBARU dealer. Tampering with
or disconnecting the system’s wiring could re-
sult in accidental inflation of the SRS airbag or
could make the system inoperative, which may
result in serious injury. The wiring harnesses of
the SRS airbag system are covered with yellow
insulation and system connectors are yellow
for easy identification.
If you need service or repair in areas listed be-
low, we recommend that you have an autho-
rized SUBARU dealer perform the work. The
SRS airbag control module, impact sensors
and airbag modules are stored in these areas.