2005 SUBARU LEGACY Owners Manual

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Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
the side of the seat. "
Ensure that the backward-forward position and
seatback of front passenger’s seat are locked into
place securely by moving the seat back and forth.
(Models equipped with manual seats only)" Next, turn the ignition switch to the “ON” position
and let the system complete the self check. Now, the
ON indicator should illuminate while the OFF indicator
remains extinguished.
If the OFF indicator still illuminates while the ON indi-
cator remains extinguished, ask the occupant to move
to the rear seat and immediately contact your SUBA-
RU dealer for an inspection. ! Effect vehicle modifications made for persons
with disabilities may have on Subaru advanced
frontal airbag system operation (U.S. only)
Changing or moving any parts of the front seats, seat
belts, front bumper, front side frame, instrument panel,
combination meter, steering wheel, steering column,
tire, suspension or floor panel can affect the operation of the Subaru advanced airbag system. If you have
any questions, you may contact the following Subaru
distributors: bia>
Subaru of America, Inc.
Customer Dealer Services Department P.O. Box 6000
Cherry Hill, NJ 08034-6000
1-800-SUBARU3 (1-800-782-2783)

Schuman Carriage Motors, Inc.
1234 South Beretania Street, Honolulu, HI 96814
808-592-4497

Triple J Enterprises, Inc.
P. O. Box 6066, Tamuning, Guam 96931
671-646-9126

Trebol Subaru of Puerto Rico, Inc.
P. O. Box 11204, San Juan, Puerto Rico 00910
787-793-2828
There are no Subaru distributors in any other U.S. ter-
ritories as of May 2004. If you are in such an area,
please contact the Subaru distributor or dealer from
which you bought your vehicle.

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Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
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!Operation
A) Driver’s side
B) Passenger’s side
The SRS airbag can function only when the ignition switch is in the “ON” position.
The Subaru advanced frontal airbag system is de-
signed to determine activation or deactivation condi-
tion of the front passenger’s SRS frontal airbag de-
pending on the total load on the front passenger’s seat
monitored by the front passenger’s occupant detection
system weight sensor. For this reason, only the driv-
er’s SRS frontal airbag may deploy in the event of a
collision, but this does not mean failure of the system.
If the front sub sensors inside both front fenders and
the impact sensors in the airbag control module detect
a predetermined amount of force during a frontal colli-
sion, the control module sends signals to the airbag
module(s) (only driver’s module or both driver’s and
front passenger’s modules) instructing the module(s)
to inflate the SRS frontal airbag(s). The driver’s and
front passenger’s SRS frontal airbags use dual stage
inflators. The two inflators of each airbag are triggered
either sequentially or simultaneously, depending on
the severity of impact, backward-forward adjustment
of the driver’s seat position and fastening/unfastening
of the seatbelt in the case of the driver’s SRS frontal
airbag and depending on the severity of impact and
the total load on the seat in the case of the front pas-
senger’s SRS frontal airbag. After the deployment, the
SRS airbag immediately start to deflate so that the
driver’s vision is not obstructed. The time required
A
B
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Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
from detecting impact to the deflation of the SRS air-
bag after deployment is shorter than the blink of aneye.
Both when only the driver’s SRS frontal airbag deploys
and the driver’s and front passenger’s SRS frontal air-
bags deploy, the driver’s and front passenger’s seat-
belt pretensioners operate at the same time.
Although it is highly unlikely that the SRS airbag would
activate in a non-accident situation, should it occur,
the SRS airbag will deflate quickly, not obscuring vi-
sion and will not interfere with the driver’s ability to
maintain control of the vehicle.
When the SRS 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 the
vehicle.
Do not touch the SRS airbag system compo-
nents around the steering wheel and dash-
board with bare hands right after deployment.
Doing so can cause burns because the compo-
nents can be very hot as a result of deployment.
Driver’s SRS frontal airbag and front passenger’s SRS
frontal airbag are designed to deploy in the event of an
accident involving a moderate to severe frontal colli-
sion. It is basically not designed to deploy in lesser
frontal impacts because the necessary protection can
be achieved by the seatbelt alone. Also, they are basi-
cally not designed to deploy in side or rear impacts or
in roll-over accidents because deployment of only the
driver’s SRS frontal airbag or both driver’s and front
passenger’s SRS frontal airbags would not help the
occupant in those situations. The driver’s and front
passenger’s SRS frontal airbags are designed to func-
tion on a one-time-only basis.
SRS airbag deployment depends on the level of force
experienced in the passenger compartment during a
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.

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Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
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"Examples of accident in which the driver’s/driv-
er’s and front passenger’s SRS frontal airbag(s)
will most likely deploy.
A head-on collision against a thick concrete wall at a
vehicle speed of 12 to 19 mph (20 to 30 km/h) or high-
er activates only the driver’s SRS frontal airbag or both
driver’s and front passenger’s SRS frontal airbags.
The airbag(s) will also be activated when the vehicle is
exposed to a frontal impact similar in fashion and mag-
nitude to the above-mentioned collision. "
Examples of the types of accidents in which it
is possible that the driver’s/driver’s and front
passenger’s SRS frontal airbag(s) will deploy.
The only the driver’s SRS frontal airbag or both driv-
er’s and front passenger’s SRS frontal airbags may be
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Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
activated when the vehicle sustains a hard impact in
the undercarriage area from the road surface (such as
when the vehicle plunges into a deep ditch, is severely
bumped or knocked hard against an obstacle on the
road such as a curb).
"
Examples of the types of accidents in which de-
ployment of the driver’s/driver’s and front pas-
senger’s SRS frontal airbag(s) is unlikely to de-
ploy.
There are many types of collisions which might not
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Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
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necessarily require deployment of driver’s/driver’s and
front passenger’s SRS frontal airbag(s). If the vehiclestrikes an object, such as a telephone pole or sign
pole, or if it slides under a truck’s load bed, or if it sus-
tains an oblique offset frontal impact, the driver’s/driv-
er’s and front passenger’s SRS frontal airbag(s) may
not deploy depending on the level of accident forces involved. "
Examples of the types of accidents in which the
driver’s/driver’s and front passenger’s SRS
frontal airbag(s) will basically not deploy.
The driver’s and front passenger’s SRS frontal airbags
are designed basically not to deploy if the vehicle is
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Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
struck from side or from behind, or if it rolls onto its
side or roof, or if it is involved in a low-speed frontal
collision.
A) First impact
B) Second impact
In an accident where the vehicle is impacted more
than once, the driver’s and/or front passenger’s SRS
frontal airbag(s) will deploy only once on the first im-
pact.
Example: In the case of a double collision, first with an-
other vehicle, then against a concrete wall in immedi-
ate succession, once either or both of the driver’s and
front passenger’s SRS frontal airbags is/are activated on the first impact, it/they will not be activated on the
second impact. !
SRS side airbag and SRS curtain air- bag
The SRS side airbag is stored in the door side of each
front seatback, which bears an “SRS AIRBAG” label.
In a moderate to severe side impact collision, the SRS
side airbag on the impacted side of the vehicle de-
ploys between the occupant and the door panel and
supplements the seatbelt by reducing the impact on
the occupant’s chest.
The SRS curtain airbag on each side of the cabin is
stored in the roof side (between the front pillar and a
point over the rear seat). An “SRS AIRBAG” mark is lo-
cated at the top of each center pillar.
In a moderate to severe side impact collision, the SRS
curtain airbag on the impacted side of the vehicle de-
ploys between the occupant and the side window and
supplements the seatbelt by reducing the impact on
the occupant’s head.
The SRS side airbag and SRS curtain airbag are
designed as only a supplement to the primary
protection provided by the seatbelt. It does not
B
A
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Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
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do away with the need to fasten seatbelts. It is
also important to wear your seatbelt to help
avoid injuries that can result when an occupant
is not seated in a proper upright position.
"Do not sit or lean unnecessarily close to ei-
ther front door. The SRS side airbag is stored in
both front seat seatbacks next to the door, and
it provides protection by deploying rapidly
(faster than the blink of an eye) in the event of a
side impact collision. However, the force of SRS side airbag deployment may cause injuries
if your head or other body parts are too close to
the SRS side airbag. "
Since your vehicle is equipped with SRS cur-
tain airbags, do not sit or lean unnecessarily
close to the front or rear door on either side.
The SRS curtain airbag on each side of the cab-
in is stored in the roof side (between the front
pillar and a point over the rear seat), and it pro-
vides protection by deploying rapidly (faster
than the blink of an eye) in the event of a side
impact. However, the force of its deployment
may cause injuries if your head is too close to
it.
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