2006 SUBARU OUTBACK airbag

1-50 Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
T Operation
1) Driver’s side
2) Passenger’s side
The SRS airbag can function only when
the ignition switch is in the “ON” position.
The Subaru advanced frontal airbag sys- tem is designed to determine the activa-
tion or deactivation condition of the front
passenger’s SRS frontal airbag depend-
ing on the total load on the front passen-
ger’s seat monitored by the front passen-
ger’s occupant detection system weight
sensor. For this reason, only the driver’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 air-
bag control module detect a predeter-
mined amount of force during a frontal col-
lision, 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 in-
flate the SRS frontal airbag(s). The driv-
er’s and front passenger’s SRS frontal air-
bags use dual stage inflators. The two in-
flators of each airbag are triggered either
sequentially or simultaneously, depending
on the severity of impact, backward-for-
ward adjustment of the driver’s seat posi-
tion and fastening/unfas tening of the seat-
belt 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 passenger’s SRS frontal
airbag. After deployment, the SRS airbag
immediately starts to deflate so that the driver’s vision is not obstructed. The time
required from detecting impact to the de-
flation of the SRS airbag after deployment
is shorter than the blink of an eye.
Both when only the driver’s SRS frontal
airbag deploys and the driver’s and front
passenger’s 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 vision
and will not interfere with the driver’s abil-
ity 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 oc-
currences are a normal result of the de-
ployment. This smoke does not indicate a
fire in the vehicle.1
2
100534

Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
1-51
– CONTINUED –The driver’s SRS frontal airbag and front
passenger’s SRS frontal airbag are de-
signed to deploy in the event of an acci-
dent involving a moderate to severe fron-
tal collision. It is ba sically 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 fron-
tal airbag or both driver’s and front pas-
senger’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 function on a one-
time-only basis.
SRS airbag deployment depends on the
level of force experienced in the passen-
ger 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 it-
self.
V Examples of accident in which the
driver’s/driver’s and front passen-
ger’s SRS frontal ai rbag(s) will most
likely deploy.
A head-on collision against a thick con-
crete wall at a vehicle speed of 12 to 19
mph (20 to 30 km/h) or higher 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 activat-
ed when the vehicle is exposed to a frontal
impact similar in fashion and magnitude to
the collision described above. V Examples of the types of accidents
in which it is possible that the driv-
er’s/driver’s and front passenger’s
SRS frontal airbag (s) will deploy.
The only the driver’s SRS frontal airbag or
both driver’s and front passenger’s SRSDo not touch the SRS airbag system
components around the steering
wheel and dashboard with bare
hands right after deployment. Doing
so can cause burns because the
components can be very hot as a re-
sult of deployment.
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100277

1-52 Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
frontal airbags may be activated when the
vehicle sustains a hard impact in the un-
dercarriage area from the road surface
(such as when the vehicle plunges into a
deep ditch, is severely impacted or
knocked hard against an obstacle on the
road such as a curb). V Examples of the types of accidents
in which deployment of the driver’s/
driver’s and front passenger’s SRS
frontal ai rbag(s) is unlikely to de-
ploy.
There are many types of collisions which might not necessarily require deployment
of driver’s/driver’s and front passenger’s
SRS frontal airbag(s). If the vehicle strikes
an object, such as a telephone pole or
sign pole, or if it slides under a truck’s load
bed, or if it sustains an oblique offset fron-
tal impact, the driver’s/driver’s and front
passenger’s SRS frontal airbag(s) may
not deploy depending on the level of acci-
dent forces involved.
100278

Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
1-53
– CONTINUED –V Examples of the types of accidents
in which the driver’s/driver’s and
front passenger’s SRS frontal air-
bag(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 struck from the
side or from behind, or if it rolls onto its
side or roof, or if it is involved in a low-
speed frontal collision.
1) First impact
2) Second impact
In an accident where the vehicle is impact-
ed more than once, the driver’s and/or
front passenger’s SRS frontal airbag(s)
will deploy only once on the first impact.
Example: In the case of a double collision,
first with another vehicle, then against a
concrete wall in immediate succession,
once either or both of the driver’s and front
passenger’s SRS frontal airbags is/are ac-
tivated on the first im pact, it/they will not
be activated on the second impact. „ SRS side airbag and SRS cur-
tain airbag The SRS side airbag is stored in the door
side of each front seat seatback, which
bears an “SRS AIRBAG” label.
In a moderate to severe side impact colli-
sion, the SRS side airbag on the impacted
side of the vehicle deploys between the
occupant and the door panel and supple-
ments the seatbelt by reducing the impact
on the occupant’s chest and waist. The
SRS side airbag operates only for front
seat occupants.
The SRS curtain airbag on each side of
the cabin is stored in the roof side (be-
tween 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 colli-
sion, the SRS curtain airbag on the im-
pacted side of the vehicle deploys be-
tween the occupant and the side window
and supplements the seatbelt by reducing
the impact on the occupant’s head.
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1 100539

1-54 Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
The SRS side airbag and SRS cur-
tain airbag are designed as only a
supplement to the primary protec-
tion provided by the seatbelt. They
do not do away with the need to fas-
ten seatbelts. It is also important to
wear your seatbelt to help avoid in-
juries that can result when an occu-
pant is not seated in a proper up-
right position.
100164y Do not sit or lean unnecessarily
close to either 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 de-
ployment may cause injuries if
your head or other parts of the
body are too close to the SRS side
airbag.
y Since your vehicle is equipped
with SRS curtain 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 cabin is stored in
the roof side (between the front
pillar and a point over the rear
seat), and it provides 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 inju-
ries if your head is too close to it. Do not rest your arm on either front
door or its internal trim. It could be
injured in the event of SRS side air-
bag deployment. 100165

Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
1-55
– CONTINUED –100166
100167y Never allow a child to kneel on the
front passenger’s seat facing the
side window or to wrap his/her
arms around the front seat seat-
back. In the event of an accident,
the force of the SRS side airbag
deployment could injure the child
seriously because his/her head or
arms or other parts of the body
are too close to the SRS side air-
bag.
Since your vehicle is also
equipped with a front passenger’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.
y Never allow a child to kneel on the
front and rear passenger’s seat
facing the side window. In the
event of an accident, the force of
the SRS curtain airbag deploy-
ment could injure the child seri-
ously because his/her head is
close to the SRS curtain airbag. y 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 de-
ployment, they could be propelled
dangerously toward the vehicle’s
occupants and cause injuries. 100168

1-56 Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
T Operation
The SRS side airbag and SRS curtain air-
bag can function only when the ignition
switch is in the “ON” position.
The driver’s and front passenger’s SRS
side airbags and SRS curtain airbags de-
ploy independently of each other since
each has its own impact sensor. There-
fore, they may not both deploy in the same
accident. Also, the SRS side airbag and
SRS curtain airbag deploys independently
of the driver’s and front passenger’s SRS
frontal airbags in the steering wheel and
instrument panel.
An impact sensor is located in each of the
left and right center pillars and rear wheel
houses. If a center pillar impact sensory Do not attach a hands-free micro-
phone or any other accessory to a
front pillar, a center pillar, a rear
pillar, the windshield, a side win-
dow, an assist grip, or any other
cabin surface that would be near a
deploying SRS curtain airbag. A
hands-free microphone or other
accessory in such a location
could be propelled through the
cabin with great force by the cur-
tain airbag, or it could prevent
correct deployment of the curtain
airbag. In either case, the result
could be serious injuries.
y Do not hang coat hangers or other
hard or pointed objects on the
coat hooks. If such items were
hanging on the coat hooks during
deployment of the SRS curtain air-
bags, they could cause serious in-
juries by coming off the coat
hooks and being thrown through
the cabin or by preventing deploy-
ment of the curtain airbags.
Before hanging clothing on the
coat hooks, make sure there are
no sharp objects in the pockets.
Hang clothing directly on the coat
hooks without using hangers. Do not put any kind of cover or
clothes or other objects over either
front seatback and do not attach la-
bels or stickers to the front seat sur-
face on or near the SRS side airbag.
They could prevent proper deploy-
ment of the SRS side airbag, reduc-
ing protection available to the front
seat’s occupant. 100280
100281

Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
1-57
– CONTINUED –senses an impact force above a predeter-
mined level in a side collision, the control
module causes both the SRS side airbag
and curtain airbag on the impacted side to
inflate regardless of whether the rear
wheel house impact sensor on the same
side senses an impact. If it is a rear wheel
house impact sensor alone that senses a
sufficiently strong impac t force, the control
module causes only the SRS curtain air-
bag on the impacted side to inflate. After
the deployment, the SRS side airbag im-
mediately starts to deflate. The time re-
quired from detection of an impact to de-
flation of an SRS side airbag after deploy-
ment is shorter than the blink of an eye.
The SRS curtain airbag remains inflated
for a while following deployment then
slowly deflates.
The SRS side airbag and SRS curtain air-
bag deploy even when no one occupies
the seat on the side on which an impact is
applied.
When the SRS side airbag and SRS cur-
tain airbag deploy, a sudden, fairly loud in-
flation noise will be heard and some
smoke will be released. These occurrenc-
es are a normal result of the deployment.
This smoke does not indicate a fire in the
vehicle. The SRS side airbag and SRS curtain air-
bag are designed to deploy in the event of
an accident involving a moderate to se-
vere side impact collision. It is basically
not designed to deploy in a lesser side im-
pact. Also, it is basically not designed to
deploy in frontal or rear impacts because
SRS side airbag and SRS curtain airbag
deployment would not help the occupant
in those situations.
Each SRS side airbag and SRS curtain
airbag are designed to function on a one-
time-only basis.
SRS side airbag and SRS curtain airbag deployment depend on the level of force
experienced in the passenger compart-
ment during 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 it-
self.
V Example of the type of accident in
which the SRS side airbag and SRS
curtain airbag will most likely de-
ploy.
A severe side impact near the front seat
activates the SRS side airbag and SRS
curtain airbag.Do not touch the SRS side airbag
system components around the
front seat seatback with bare hands
right after deployment. Doing so can
cause burns because the compo-
nents can be very hot as a result of
deployment.
After deployment, do not touch any
part of the SRS curtain airbag sys-
tem (from the front pillar to the part
of the roof side over the rear seat).
Doing so can cause burns because
the components can be very hot as
a result of deployment.
200320