2007 SUBARU FORESTER Owners Manual

Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags 1-53
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100167
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 seatback. In
the event of an accident, the force of
the SRS side airbag deployment
could injure the child seriously be-
cause his/her head or arms or other
parts of the body are too close to the
SRS side airbag. Since your vehicle
is also equipped with a 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.
100623
Do not attach accessories to the
door trim or near either SRS side air-
bags and do not place objects near
the SRS side airbags. In the event of
the SRS side airbag deployment,
they could be propelled dangerous-
ly toward the vehicle’s occupants
and cause injuries.
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1-54 Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
TOperation
1) SRS side airbag deploys as soon as a collision occurs.
2) SRS side airbag protects the front pas- senger’s head and chest.
3) After deployment, SRS side airbag starts to deflate immediately. The SRS side airbag can function only
when the ignition switch is in the “ON” po-
sition.
The driver’s and front passenger’s SRS
side airbags deploy independently of each
other since each has its own impact sen-
sor. Also, the SRS side airbag deploys in-
dependently of the frontal airbags in the
steering wheel and instrument panel.
An impact sensor is incorporated into
each of the vehicle’s center pillars. If ei-
ther sensor detects a certain predeter-
mined amount of force during a side im-
pact collision, the control module sends a
signal to the side airbag module on the im-
pacted side of the vehicle, instructing it to
inflate the SRS side airbag. Then the side
airbag module produces gas, which in-
stantly inflates the SRS side airbag. After
deployment, the SRS side airbag will de-
flate in a few seconds.
The SRS side airbag deploys even when
no one occupies the seat on the side on
which an impact is applied.
When the SRS side airbag deploys, a sud-
den, fairly loud inflation noise will be heard
and some smoke will be released. These
occurrences are a normal result of the de-
ployment. This smoke does not indicate a
fire in the vehicle.
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.
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Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags 1-55
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The SRS side airbag is designed to de-
ploy in the event of an accident involving a
moderate to severe side impact collision.
It is basically not designed to deploy in a
lesser side impact. Also, it is basically not
designed to deploy in frontal or rear im-
pacts because SRS side airbag deploy-
ment would not help the occupant in those
situations.
Each SRS side airbag is designed to func-
tion on a one-time-only basis.
SRS side airbag deployment depends on
the level of force experienced in the pas-
senger compartment 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 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.
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.
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1-56 Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
VExamples of the types of accidents in which the SRS side airbag is unlikely to
deploy.
1 3 2 4 5
1006271) The vehicle is involved in an oblique
side-on impact.
2) The vehicle is involved in a side-on impact in an area outside the vicinity
of the passenger compartment.
3) The vehicle strikes a telephone pole or similar object.
4) The vehicle is involved in a side-on impact from a motorcycle.
5) The vehicle rolls onto its side or roof.
There are many types of collisions which
might not necessarily require SRS side
airbag deployment. In the event of acci-
dents like those illustrated, the SRS side
airbag may not deploy depending on the
level of accident forces involved.

Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags 1-57
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V
Examples of the types of accidents
in which the SRS side airbag will ba-
sically not deploy.
1) The vehicle is involved in frontal collision with another vehicle (moving or station-
ary).
2) The vehicle is struck from behind. The SRS side airbag is basically not de-
signed to deploy if the vehicle is involved
in a frontal collision or is struck from be-
hind. Examples of such accidents are il-
lustrated.
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 on the first
impact.
Example: In the case of a double side im-
pact collision, first with one vehicle and
immediately followed by another from the
same direction, once the SRS side airbag
is activated on the first impact, it will not be
activated on the second. „
SRS airbag system monitors
A diagnostic system continually monitors
the readiness of the SRS airbag system
(including front seatbelt pretensioners)
while the vehicle is being driven. The SRS
airbag system warning light “ ” will
show normal system operation by lighting
for approximately 6 seconds when the ig-
nition switch is turned to the “ON” position.
The following components are monitored
by the indicator: y Front 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 (Front passen-
ger’s side)
1
2
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1-58 Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
ySide airbag sensor (Center pillar right-
hand side) y Side airbag sensor (Center pillar left-
hand side) y Side airbag module (Driver’s side)
y Side airbag module (Front passenger’s
side)y Seatbelt pretensioner (Driver’s side)
y Seatbelt pretensioner (Front passen-
ger’s side)y Seatbelt buckle switch (Driver’s side)
y Seatbelt buckle switch (Front passen-
ger’s side)y Driver’s seat position sensor
y Front passenger’s seatbelt tension sen-
sory Front passenger’s occupant detection
system weight sensor y Front passenger’s occupant detection
control module y Front passenger’s frontal airbag ON
and OFF indicator y All related wiring„ SRS airbag system servicing
If the warning light exhibits any of
the following conditions, there may
be a malfunction in the seatbelt pre-
tensioners and/or SRS airbag sys-
tem. Immediately take your vehicle
to your nearest SUBARU dealer to
have the system checked. Unless
checked and properly repaired, the
seatbelt pretensioners and/or SRS
airbags will not operate properly in
the event of a collision, which may
increase the risk of injury.
yFlashing or flickering of the warn-
ing light
yNo illumination of the warning
light when the ignition switch is
first turned to the “ON” position
yContinuous illumination of the
warning light
yIllumination of the warning light
while driving
yWhen discarding an airbag mod-
ule or scrapping the entire vehicle
damaged by a collision, consult
your SUBARU dealer.
yThe SRS airbag has no user-ser-
viceable parts. Do not use electri-
cal 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 discon-
necting the system’s wiring could
result in accidental inflation of the
SRS airbag or could make the sys-
tem inoperative, which may result
in serious injury. The wiring har-
nesses of the SRS airbag system
are covered with yellow insulation
and system connectors are yellow
for easy identification.

Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags 1-59
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In the event that the SRS airbag is de-
ployed, replacement of the system
should be performed only by an autho-
rized SUBARU dealer. When the com-
ponents of the SRS airbag system are
replaced, use only genuine SUBARU
parts.
To ensure their long-term reliability, the
SRS airbags must be inspected by a SUB-
ARU dealer ten years after the date of
manufacture, which is shown on the certi-
fication plate attached to the driver’s door-jamb.
NOTE
In the following cases, contact your
SUBARU dealer as soon as possible. y The front part of the vehicle was in-
volved in an accident in which only the
driver’s SRS frontal airbag or both driv-
er’s and front passenger’s SRS frontal
airbags did not deploy. y The pad section of the steering
wheel or front passenger’s frontal air-
bag cover is scratched, cracked, or
otherwise damaged.
In addition, if your vehicle is equipped
with SRS side airbags, contact your
SUBARU dealer as soon as possible in
the following cases. y Either center pillar or a nearby area
of the vehicle was involved in an acci-
dent in which the SRS side airbag did
not deploy.y The fabric or leather of either front
seatback is cut, frayed, or otherwise
damaged. „
Precautions against vehicle
modificationIf you need service or repair in areas
listed below, have an authorized
SUBARU dealer perform the work.
The SRS airbag control module, im-
pact sensors and airbag modules
are stored in these areas. yUnder 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 ar- eas
y Each front seat and nearby area
y Inside each center pillar
y To avoid accidental activation of
the system or rendering the sys-
tem inoperative, which may result
in serious injury, no modifications
should be made to any compo-
nents or wiring of the SRS airbag
system.
This includes following modifica-
tions:
yInstallation of custom steering
wheels
yAttachment of additional trim
materials to the dashboard
yInstallation of custom seats
yReplacement of seat fabric or
leather
yInstallation of additional fabric
or leather on the front seat

1-60 Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
Always consult your SUBARU dealer if
you want to install any accessory parts on
your vehicle.
yInstallation of additional electri-
cal/electronic equipment such
as a mobile two-way radio on or
near the SRS airbag system
components and/or wiring is
not advisable. This could inter-
fere with proper operation of the
SRS airbag system.
Do not perform any of the following
modifications. Such modifications
can interfere with proper operation
of the SRS airbag system. y Attachment of any equipment
(brush bar, winches, snow plow,
skid plate, etc.) other than genu-
ine SUBARU accessory parts to
the front end.
y Modification of the suspension
system or front end structure.
y Installation of a tire of different
size and construction from the
tires specified on the vehicle plac-
ard attached to the driver’s door
pillar or specified for individual
vehicle models in this Owner’s
Manual.yAttachment of any equipment
(side steps or side sill protectors,
etc.) other than genuine SUBARU
accessory parts to the side body.