2006 SUBARU BAJA steering wheel

5
–
CONTINUED –
ment, the driver should always sit upright and
well back in the seat as far from the steering
wheel as practical while still maintaining full ve-
hicle control and the front passenger should
move the seat as far back as possible and sit
upright and well back in the seat.
Carefully read the sections “Seat, seatbelt and SRS
airbags” in chapter 1 of this owner’s manual for in-
structions and precautions concerning the seatbelt
system and SRS airbag system. „ Child safety
yNever hold a child on your lap or in your arms
while the vehicle is moving. The passenger
cannot protect the child from injury in a colli-
sion, because the child will be caught between
the passenger and objects inside the vehicle. y While riding in the vehicle, infants and small
children should always be placed in the REAR
seat in an infant or child restraint system which
is appropriate for the child’s age, height and
weight. If a child is too big for a child restraint system, the child should sit in the REAR seat
and be restrained using the seatbelts. Accord-
ing to accident statistics, children are safer
when properly restrained in the rear seating po- sitions than in
the front seating positions. Nev-
er allow a child to stand up or kneel on the seat. y Put children aged 12 and under in the REAR
seat properly restrained at all times in a child
restraint device or in a seatbelt. The SRS airbag
deploys with considerable speed and force and
can injure or even kill children, especially if
they are 12 years of age and under and are not
restrained or improperly restrained. Because
children are lighter and weaker than adults,
their risk of being injured from deployment is
greater. y NEVER INSTALL A REARWARD FACING
CHILD SAFETY SEAT IN THE FRONT SEAT.
DOING SO RISKS SERIOUS INJURY OR DEATH
TO THE CHILD BY PLACING THE CHILD’S
HEAD TOO CLOSE TO THE SRS AIRBAG. y Always use the child safety locks whenever a
child rides in the rear seat. Serious injury could
result if a child accidentally opened the door
and fell out. Refer to the “Door locks” section in
chapter 2.y Always lock the passenger’s windows using

1-2
Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbagsFront seats
y
Never adjust the seat while driving to avoid
the possibility of loss of vehicle control and of
personal injury. y Before adjusting the seat, make sure the
hands and feet of rear seat passengers are
clear of the adjusting mechanism. y Seatbelts provide maximum restraint when
the occupant sits well back and upright in the
seat. To reduce the risk of sliding under the
seatbelt in a collision, the front seatbacks
should be always used in the upright position
while the vehicle is running. If the front seat-
backs are not used in the upright position in a
collision, the risk of sliding under the lap belt
and of the lap belt sliding up over the abdomen
will increase, and both can result in serious in-
ternal injury or death.y The SRS airbags deploy with considerable
speed and force. Occupants who are out of
proper position when the SRS airbag deploys
could suffer very serious injuries. Because the
SRS airbag needs enough space for deploy-
ment, the driver should always sit upright and well back in the seat as far from the steering
wheel as practical while still maintaining full ve-
hicle control and the front passenger should
move the seat as far back as possible and situpright and well back in the seat.
Put children aged 12 and under in the rear seat
properly restrained at all times. The SRS airbag
deploys with considerable speed and force and
can injure or even kill children, especially if
they are 12 years of age and under and are not
HS1034BA

1-18
Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
Never place the shoulder belt under the arm or
behind the back. If an accident occurs, this can
increase the risk or severity of injury.
Metallic parts of the seatbelt can become very
hot in a vehicle that has been closed up in sun-
ny weather; they could burn an occupant. Do
not touch such hot parts until they cool.
T Front seatbelts
1. Adjust the seat position:
Driver’s seat: Adjust the seatback to the upright posi-
tion. Move the seatback as far from the steering wheel
as practical while still maintaining full vehicle control.
Front passenger’s seat: Adjust the seatback to the
upright position. Move the seat as far back as possi-
ble.
2. Sit well back in the seat.
3. Pick up the tongue plate and pull the belt out slowly.
Do not let it get twisted. If the belt stops before reach-
ing 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 tongue plate into the buckle until you
hear a click.
HS1050BA

1-48
Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
y
To obtain maximum protection in the event of
an accident, the driver and all passengers in the
vehicle should always wear seatbelts when the
vehicle is moving. The SRS airbag is designed
only as a supplement to the primary protection
provided by the seatbelt. It does not do away
with the need to fasten seatbelts. In combina-
tion with the seatbelts, it offers the best com-
bined protection in case of a serious accident.
Not wearing a seatbelt increases the chance of
severe injury or death in a crash even when the
vehicle has the SRS airbag.
For instructions and precautions concerning
the seatbelt system, see the “Seatbelts” sec-
tion in this chapter. y Do not sit or lean unnecessarily close to the
SRS airbag. Because the SRS airbag deploys
with considerable speed – faster than the blink
of an eye – and force to protect in high speed
collisions, the force of an airbag can injure an
occupant whose body is too close to SRS air-
bag.
It is also important to wear your seatbelt to help
avoid injuries that can result when the SRS air-
bag contacts an occupant not in proper posi- tion such as one thrown forward during pre-ac-
cident braking.
Even when properly positioned, there remains
a possibility that an occupant may suffer minor
injury such as abrasions and bruises to the
face or arms because of the SRS airbag deploy-
ment force. y
The SRS airbags deploy with considerable
speed and force. Occupants who are out of
proper position when the SRS airbag deploys
could suffer very serious injuries. Because the
SRS airbag needs enough space for deploy-
ment, the driver should always sit upright and
well back in the seat as far from the steering
wheel as practical while still maintaining full ve-
hicle control and the front passenger should
move the seat as far back as possible and sit
upright and well back in the seat. y Do not place any objects over or near the
SRS airbag cover or between you and the SRS
airbag. If the SRS airbag deploys, those objects
could interfere with its proper operation and
could be propelled inside the vehicle and cause
injury.

1-53
Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
– CONTINUED –
Never hold a child on your lap or in your arms.
The SRS airbag deploys with considerable
force and can injure or even kill the child.
The SRS airbag deploys with considerable
speed and force. Occupants who are out of
proper position when the SRS airbag deploys
could suffer very serious injuries. Because the
SRS airbag needs enough space for deploy-
ment, the driver should always sit upright and
well back in the seat as far from the steering
wheel as practical while still maintaining full ve-
hicle control and the front passenger should
move the seat as far back as possible and sit
upright and well back in the seat.
It is also important to wear your seatbelt to help
HS1069BAHS1084BA

1-54
Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
avoid injuries that can result when the SRS air-
bag contacts an occupant not in proper posi-
tion such as one thrown
toward the front of the
vehicle during pre-accident braking.
Do not put any objects over the steering wheel
pad and dashboard. If the SRS frontal airbag
deploys, those objects could interfere with its
proper operation and could be propelled inside
the vehicle and cause injury.
Do not attach accessories to the windshield, or
fit an extra-wide mirror over the rear view mir-
ror. If the SRS airbag deploys, those objects
could become projectiles that could seriously
injure vehicle occupants.
HS1085BA
HS1086BA

1-56
Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
The SRS airbag can function only when the ignition
switch is in the “ON” position.
If the front sub sensors inside the both front fenders
and the impact sensors in the airbag control module
detect a certain predetermined amount of force during
a frontal collision, the control module sends signals to
the frontal airbag modules instructing them to inflate
the SRS frontal airbags. Then both airbag modules
produce gas, which instantly
inflates driver’s and pas-
senger’s SRS frontal airbags. After deployment, the
SRS airbags immediately starts to deflate so that the
driver’s vision is not obstr ucted. The time required
from detecting impact to the deflation of the SRS air-
bag after deployment is shorter than the blink of aneye.
The front passenger’s SRS frontal airbag deploys to-
gether with driver’s SRS frontal airbag even when no
one occupies the front passenger’s seat.
When the SRS frontal airbags deploy, the driver’s and
front passenger’s seatbelt 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 a 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.
The SRS frontal airbag is designed to deploy in the
event of an accident involving a moderate to severe
frontal collision. It is basically not designed to deploy
in lesser frontal impacts because the necessary pro-
tection can be achieved by the seatbelt alone. Also, it
is basically not designed to deploy in side or rear im-
pacts or in roll-over accidents because deployment of
the SRS frontal airbag would not help the occupant in
those situations. The SRS airbag is designed to func-
tion on a one-time-only basis.
SRS airbag deployment depends on the level of force

1-62
Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
the following, have an authorized SUBARU
dealer perform the work. The SRS airbag con-
trol module, impact sensors and airbag mod-
ules are stored in these areas. y
Under the center console
y Inside each front fender
y Steering wheel and column and nearby areas
y Top of the dashboard on front passenger’s
side and nearby areas
y Inside each center pillar
In the event that the SRS airbag is deployed, re-
placement of the system should be performed only by an authorized SUBARU dealer. When the
components of the SRS airbag system are re-
placed, use only genuine SUBARU parts.
To ensure their long-term reliability, the SRS airbags
must be inspected by a SUBARU dealer ten years af-
ter the date of manufacture, which is shown on the cer-
tification label attached to the driver’s door.
NOTE
In the following cases, co ntact your SUBARU deal-
er as soon as possible. y The front part of the vehicle was involved in an
accident in which the SRS frontal airbags did not deploy.y
The pad section of the steering wheel or front
passenger’s frontal airbag cover is scratched,
cracked, or otherwise damaged. „ Precautions against vehicle modifica- tion
yTo avoid accidental activation of the system
or rendering the system inoperative, which may
result in serious injury, no modifications
should be made to any components or wiring of
the SRS airbag system.
This includes following modifications:
yInstallation of cust om steering wheels
y Attachment of addition al trim materials to
the dashboardy Installation of additi onal electrical/elec-
tronic equipment such as a mobile two-way
radio on or near the SRS airbag system com-
ponents and/or wiring is not advisable. This
could interfere with proper operation of the
SRS airbag system.