2012 SUBARU TRIBECA Owners Manual

1-60Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
! 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 not to deploy in most cases 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
impacted more than once, the driver ’s
and/or front passenger ’s SRS frontal
airbag(s) will deploy only once on the firstimpact.
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
activated on the first impact, it/they will not
be activated on the second impact. &
SRS side airbag and SRS
curtain airbag
The SRS side airbag is stored in the door
side of each front seat seatback, which
bears an “SRS AIRBAG ”label.
Inamoderatetoseveresideimpact
collision, the SRS side airbag on the
impacted side of the vehicle deploys
between the occupant and the door panel
and supplements the seatbelt by reducing
the impact to 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
(between the front pillar and a point over
the second-row seat). An “SRS AIRBAG ”
mark is located at the top of each center
pillar.
Inamoderatetoseveresideimpact
collision, the SRS curtain airbag on the
impacted side of the vehicle deploys
between the occupant and the side
window and supplements the seatbelt by
reducing the impact on the occupant ’s
head.
In a rollover, SRS curtain airbags on both
sides of the vehicle deploy between the
occupant and the side window and sup-
plement the seatbelt by reducing the
impact to the occupant ’s head.

The SRS curtain airbag does not operate
for third-row seat occupants.
WARNING
The SRS side airbag and SRS
curtain 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
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.
WARNING
. 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,
theforceofSRSsideairbag
deployment may cause injuries
if your head or other parts of the
body are too close to the SRS
side airbag.
. 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. Also, do not put your head,
arms and hands out of the win-
dow. 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 sec-
ond-row seat), and it provides
protection by deploying rapidly
(faster than the blink of an eye) in
the event of a side impact or a
rollover. However, the force of its
deployment may cause injuries if
your head is too close to it.
WARNING
Do not rest your arm on either front
door or its internal trim. It could be
injured in the event of SRS side
airbag deployment. Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
1-61
– CONTINUED –

1-62Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
WARNING
. Never allow a child to kneel on
the front passenger ’s seat facing
the side window or 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 airbag.
Since your vehicle is also
equipped with a front passen-ger
’s SRS frontal airbag, children
aged 12 and under should be
placed in a rear seat anyway and
should be properly restrained at
all times.
. Never allow a child to kneel on
any passenger ’s seat facing the
side window or put their head,
arms or hands out of the window.
In the event of an accident, the
force of the SRS curtain airbag
deployment could injure the child
seriously because his/her head is
close to the SRS curtain airbag.
WARNING
. 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
deployment, they could be pro-
pelled dangerously toward thevehicle ’s occupants and cause
injuries.
. 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 loca-
tion could be propelled through
the cabin with great force by the
curtain airbag, or it could prevent
correct deployment of the curtain
airbag. In either case, the result
could be serious injuries.
WARNING
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 deploy-
ment of the SRS curtain airbags,
they could cause serious injuries by
coming off the coat hooks and being
thrown through the cabin or by preventing deployment of the cur-
tain airbags.
Before hanging clothing on the coat
hooks, make sure there are no sharp
objects in the pockets. Hang cloth-
ing directly on the coat hooks with-
out using hangers.WARNING
Do not put any kind of cover or
clothes or other objects over either
front seatback and do not attach
labels or stickers to the front seat
surface on or near the SRS side
airbag. They could prevent proper
deployment of the SRS side airbag,
reducing protection available to the front seat
’s occupant.
! Operation
The SRS side airbag and SRS curtain
airbag 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
deploy independently of each other be-
cause each has its own impact sensor.
Therefore, they may not both deploy in the
same accident. Also, the SRS side airbag
and SRS curtain airbag deploys indepen-
dently of the driver ’s and front passen-
ger ’s SRS frontal airbags in the steering
wheel and instrument panel.
An impact sensor, which senses impact
force, is located in each of the left and Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
1-63
– CONTINUED –

1-64Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
right center pillars and rear wheel houses.
Another impact sensor, which also senses
impact force, is located under the second-
row center seat. In addition, a rollover
sensor is located inside the airbag controlmodule.
If one of the center pillar impact sensors
and the impact sensor that is located
under the second-row center seat to-
gether sense an impact force above a
predetermined 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. At this time,
the driver ’s and front passenger ’s seatbelt
pretensioners also operate at the sametime.
If one of the rear wheel house impact
sensors and the impact sensor that is
located under the second-row center seat
together sense an impact force above a
predetermined level in a side collision, the
control module causes only the SRS
curtain airbag on the impacted side to inflate.
If the rollover sensor detects rollover of the
vehicle, the control module inflates the
SRS curtain airbags. At this time, the
driver ’s and front passenger ’s seatbelt pretensioners also operate at the sametime.
After deployment, the SRS side airbag
immediately starts to deflate. The time
required from detection of an impact to
deflation of an SRS side airbag after
deployment 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
airbag deploy even when no one occupies
the seat on the side on which an impact isapplied.
When the SRS side airbag and SRS
curtain airbag deploy, a sudden, fairly loud
inflation noise will be heard and some
smoke will be released. These occur-
rences are a normal result of the deploy-
ment. This smoke does not indicate a fire
in the vehicle.
CAUTION
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
system (from the front pillar to the
part of the roof side over the
second-row seat). Doing so can
cause burns because the compo-
nents can be very hot as a result ofdeployment.
The SRS side airbag and SRS curtain
airbag are designed to deploy in the event
of an accident involving a moderate to
severe side impact collision. Also, in the
case of a rollover, the SRS curtain airbag
deploys. They are not designed to deploy
in most lesser side impact. Also, they are
not designed to deploy in most frontal or
most rear impacts because SRS side
airbag and SRS curtain airbag deploy-
ment would not help the occupant in thosesituations.
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
itself. Also, the SRS curtain airbag de-
ploys depending on the vehicle’s position
and inclination at the time of the rollover. !
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. Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
1-65
– CONTINUED –

1-66Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
! Examples of the types of accidents in which the SRS curtain airbag will most
likely deploy.
1) A severe side impact near the front seat
or the second-row seat activates the
SRS curtain airbag.
2) The vehicle rolls onto its side or the roof.
3) If the angle of vehicle tip-up is marginal or if the skidding vehicle ’s tires hit a
curbstone laterally.

!Examples of the types of accidents in which it is possible that the SRS side
airbag and the SRS curtain airbag will deploy.1) Hitting a curb, edge of pavement or hard
surface
2) Falling into or jumping over a deep hole
3) Landing hard or vehicle falling
It is possible that the SRS side and curtain
airbags will deploy if a serious impact
occurs to the underside of your vehicle.
Some examples are shown in the illustra-tion. Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
1-67
– CONTINUED –