2005 SUBARU IMPREZA WRX Owners Manual

1-22
Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
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 when
inserting 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 re-
spective buckles. If the seatbelt is used only as
a shoulder belt (with the connector’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 or death.
HS1054BAHS1055BA

1-23
Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
– CONTINUED –
1. Remove the tongue plate from the belt holder locat-
ed under the right rear quarter glass and pull out the
seatbelt slowly. 2. After drawing out the seatbelt, pass it through the
belt guide as follows: First insert one edge of the belt
into the open gap in the comfort guide; then slide the
rest of the belt in, so that the whole belt fits inside.
UG1535BAUG1508BA

1-24
Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
3. After confirming that the webbing is not twisted, in-
sert the connector (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.
4. Insert the center seatbelt tongue plate in the center
seatbelt buckle marked “CENTER” on the left hand side until it clicks.
HS1059BAHS1060BA

1-25
Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
– CONTINUED –
5. To make the lap part tight, pull up on the shoulder
belt.
6. Place the lap belt as low as possible on your hips,
not on your waist. V
Unfastening the seatbelt
Push the release button of the center seatbelt buckle
(on the left hand side) to unfasten the seatbelt.
NOTE
When the seatback is folded down for greater car-
go area, it is necessary to disconnect the connec- tor.
5
6
HS1061BB
HS1062BA

1-26
Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
1. Insert a key or other hard pointed object into the
slot in the connector (buckle) on the right hand side
and push it in, and the connector (tongue) plate will
disconnect from the buckle.
2. Allow the retractor to roll up the belt. You should
hold the webbing end and guide it back into the retrac-
tor while it is rolling up. Insert the tongue plate into the
belt holder.
HS1063BA
HS1064BA
UG1509BA

1-27
Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
– CONTINUED –
yDo not allow the retractor to roll up the seat-
belt too quickly. Otherwise, the metal tongue
plates may hit against the trim, resulting in
damaged trim. y Have the seatbelt fully rolled up so that the
tongue plates are neatly stored. A hanging
tongue plate can swing and hit against the trim
during driving, causing damage to the trim. „
Seatbelt maintenance
To clean the seatbelts, use a mild soap and lukewarm
water. Never bleach or dye the belts because this
could seriously affect their strength.
Inspect the seatbelts and attachments including the webbing and all hardware periodically for cracks, cuts,
gashes, tears, damage, loose bolts or worn areas. Re-
place the seatbelts even if only minor damage is
found.
y Keep the belts free of polishes, oils, chemi-
cals and particularly battery acid. y Never attempt to make modifications or
changes that will prevent the seatbelt from op-
erating properly.
UG1510BA

1-28
Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
Front seatbelt pretensioners
The driver’s and front passenger’s seatbelts 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 collision.
The pretensioner sensor also serves as the frontal
SRS airbag sensor. If the sensor detects a certain pre-
determined 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 effec-
tively restrains the front seat occupant.
When a seatbelt pretensioner is activated, an operat-
ing 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
therefore must be replaced.
NOTE y
Seatbelt pretensioners are not designed to acti-
vate in minor frontal impacts, in side or rear im-
pacts or in roll-over accidents. y The driver’s seat and passenger’s seat preten-
sioners and frontal SRS airbag operate simulta-
neously. y Pretensioners are designed to function on a
one-time-only basis. In the event that a preten-
sioner is activated, both the driver’s and front pas-
senger’s seatbelt retractor assemblies must be re-
placed only by an authorized SUBARU dealer.
When replacing seatbelt retractor assemblies, use
only genuine SUBARU parts. y If either front seatbelt does not retract or cannot
be pulled out due to a malfunction or activation of
the pretensioner, contact your SUBARU dealer as
soon as possible.
HS1067BA

1-29
Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
– CONTINUED –
yIf the front seatbelt retractor assembly or sur-
rounding area has been damaged, contact your
SUBARU dealer as soon as possible. y When you sell your vehicle, we urge you to ex-
plain to the buyer that it has seatbelt pretension-
ers by alerting him to the contents of this section.
y To obtain maximum protection, the occu-
pants should sit in an upright position with
their seatbelts properly fastened. Refer to the “Seatbelts” section in this chapter.y Do not modify, remove or strike the front
seatbelt retractor assemblies or surrounding
area. This could result in accidental activation
of the seatbelt pretensioners or could make the
system inoperative, possibly resulting in seri-
ous injury. Seatbelt pretensioners have no
user-serviceable parts. For required servicing
of front seatbelt retractors equipped with seat-
belt pretensioners, see your nearest SUBARU
dealer.y When discarding front seatbelt retractor as-
semblies or scrapping the entire vehicle due to
collision damage or for other reasons, consult
your SUBARU dealer.
„ System monitors
A diagnostic system continually monitors the readi-
ness of the seatbelt pretensioner while the vehicle is
being driven. The seatbelt pretensioners share the
control module with the SRS airbag system. There-
fore, if any malfunction occurs in a seatbelt preten-
sioner, the SRS airbag system warning light will illumi-
nate. The SRS airbag system warning light will show
normal system operation by lighting for about 6 sec-
onds when the ignition key is turned to the “ON” posi-
UG7020DA