!SUBARU advanced frontal airbag
operation
1) Driver’s side
2) Passenger’s side
The SUBARU advanced frontal airbag
system is designed to determine theactivation or deactivation condition of the
front passenger’s SRS frontal airbag
depending 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
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
airbag control module detect a predeter-
mined amount of force during a frontal
collision, the control module sends signals
to the airbag module(s) (only driver’s
module or both driver’s and front passen-
ger’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 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 imme-
diately starts to deflate so that the driver’s
vision is not obstructed and the driver’s
ability to maintain control of the vehicle isnot impaired. The time required from
detecting impact to the deflation of the
SRS airbag after deployment is shorter
than the blink of an eye.
The driver’s and front passenger’s seat-
belt pretensioners operate at the same
time in both of the following cases.
.When only the driver’s SRS frontal
airbag deploys
.When driver’s and front passenger’s
SRS frontal airbags deploy
The driver’s SRS frontal airbag and front
passenger’s SRS frontal airbag are de-
signed to deploy in the event of an
accident involving a moderate to severe
frontal collision. They are not designed to
deploy in most lesser frontal impacts
because the necessary protection can be
achieved by the seatbelt alone. Also, they
are not designed to deploy in most side or
rear impacts or in most rollover accidents
because deployment of these airbags
would not help the occupant in those
situations. The driver’s and front passen-
ger’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
Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags/*SRS airbag (Supplemental Restraint System airbag)
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Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags/*SRS airbag (Supplemental Restraint System airbag)
the visible damage done to the vehicle
itself.
!Examples of accident in which
the driver’s/driver’s and front
passenger’s SRS frontal
airbag(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 acti-
vated when the vehicle is exposed to a
frontal impact similar in fashion and
magnitude to the collision described
above.!Examples of the types of acci-
dents in which it is possible that
the driver’s/driver’s and front
passenger’s SRS frontal
airbag(s) will deploy
Only the driver’s SRS frontal airbag orboth driver’s and front passenger’s SRS
frontal airbags may be 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 impacted or
knocked hard against an obstacle on the
road such as a curb).
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!Examples of the types of accidents in which deployment of the driver’s/
driver’s and front passenger’s SRS frontal airbag(s) is unlikely to occur1) The vehicle strikes an object, such as a
telephone pole or sign pole.
2) The vehicle slides under the load bed of
a truck.
3) The vehicle sustains an oblique offset
frontal impact.
4) The vehicle sustains an offset frontal
collision.
5) The vehicle strikes an object that can
move or deform, such as a parked
vehicle.
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). In the event of
accidents like those illustrated, the dri-
ver’s/driver’s and front passenger’s SRS
frontal airbag(s) may not deploy depend-
ing on the level of accident forces in-
volved.
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Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags/*SRS airbag (Supplemental Restraint System airbag)
!Examples of the types of acci-
dents in which the driver’s/dri-
ver’s and front passenger’s SRS
frontal airbag(s) is not designed
to deploy in most cases
The driver’s and front passenger’s SRSfrontal 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 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
activated on the first impact, it/they will notbe activated on the second impact.
WARNING
If the vehicle is damaged in an
accident but the SRS frontal airbag
does not deploy, contact your
SUBARU dealer as soon as possi-
ble.
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!SRS seat cushion airbag operation
1) Driver’s side
2) Passenger’s side
WARNING
The SRS seat cushion airbag is
designed not to deploy when the
seatbelt for the corresponding seat
is not fastened. For safety, all per-
sons in the vehicle should fasten
their seatbelts.
The SRS seat cushion airbags are de-
signed to deploy simultaneously when the
SRS frontal airbags deploy. For details
about the operating conditions, refer to
“SUBARU advanced frontal airbag opera-
tion”F1-57.
The front passenger’s SRS seat cushion
airbag is designed not to deploy in either
of the following conditions.
.The front passenger’s seatbelt is not
fastened (even when the front passen-
ger’s frontal airbag ON indicator illumi-
nates while the OFF indicator remains off).
.The front passenger’s frontal airbag
ON indicator is off while the OFF indicator
illuminates.
NOTE
When the front passenger’s SRS fron-
tal airbag is deactivated by the occu-
pant detection system, the front pas-
senger’s SRS seat cushion airbag is
also deactivated.
!SRS side airbag and SRS curtain
airbag operation
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
deploys independently of the driver’s and
front passenger’s SRS frontal airbags in
the steering wheel and instrument panel.
An impact sensor, which senses impact
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Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags/*SRS airbag (Supplemental Restraint System airbag)
force, is located in each of the following
locations.
.In the left and right front doors
.In the left and right center pillars
.In the left and right rear wheel houses
.In the airbag control module
.In the left and right front fenders (only
SRS curtain airbags are designed to
deploy when the front sub sensors sense
a severe impact.)
A rollover sensor is also located inside the
airbag control module.
If the impact sensor that is located in the
airbag control module and one of the
center pillar impact sensors or front door
impact sensors together 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.
If the impact sensor that is located in the
airbag control module and one of the rear
wheel house impact sensors together
sense an impact force above a predeter-
mined level in a side collision, the control
module causes only the SRS curtain
airbag on the impacted side to inflate.Even if a frontal collision occurs, both right
and left SRS curtain airbags will deploy
when the front sensor and the control unit
determine that the impact results from an
offset frontal collision.
The SRS curtain airbags are designed to
deploy when the driver’sSRSfrontal
airbag deploys or the driver’s and pas-
senger’s SRS frontal airbags deploy in a
frontal collision, and also when the system
determines that the collision is an offset
frontal collision. The SRS curtain airbags
are basically designed not to deploy in a
frontal collision when the SRS frontal
airbags do not deploy or the system
determines that the collision is other than
an offset frontal collision.
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 same
time.
After the 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 inflatedfor 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 is
applied.
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. They are not
designed to deploy in most lesser side
impact. Also, they are not designed to
deploy in most rear impacts because SRS
side airbag and SRS curtain airbag
deployment would not help the occupant
in those situations.
The SRS side airbag and SRS curtain
airbag deployment depend on the level of
force experienced in the passenger com-
partment 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.
The SRS curtain airbags are also de-
signed to deploy when the vehicle is in an
extremely inclined state such as during a
rollover. They are not designed to deploy
in most lesser inclined state.
Each SRS side airbag and SRS curtain
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airbag are designed to function on a one-
time-only basis.!Example of the type of accident
in which the SRS side airbag will
most likely deploy
A severe side impact near the front seat or
the rear seat.
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Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags/*SRS airbag (Supplemental Restraint System airbag)
!Examples of the types of accidents in which the SRS curtain airbag will most
likely deploy1) The vehicle is involved in a severe side
impact near the front seat or the rear
seat.
2) The vehicle rolls onto its side or the roof.
3) The angle of vehicle tip-up is marginal or
the skidding vehicle’s tires hit a curb-
stone laterally.
4) An offset frontal collision that is severe
enough to deploy the front airbag.
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