Subaru 2006 B9 Tribeca - Manual (Page 52)

Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
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Front seatbelt pretensioners
The driver’s and front passenger’s seat-
belts have a seatbelt pretensioner. The
seatbelt pretensioners for the driver’s seat
and front passenger’s seat operate at the
same time as the frontal, and side SRS
airbags.
The pretensioner sensor also serves as
the frontal and side SRS airbag sensors. If
the sensor detects a certain predeter-
mined amount of force during a frontal col-
lision or a side impact collision, the front
seatbelt is quickly drawn back in by the re-
tractor to take up the slack so that the belt
more effectively restrains the front seat
occupant.
When a seatbelt pretensioner is activated,
an operating noise will be heard and a
small amount of smoke will be released.
These occurrences are normal and not
harmful. This smoke does not indicate a
fire in the vehicle.
Once the seatbelt pretensioner has been
activated, the seatbelt retractor remains
locked. Consequently, the seatbelt can
not be pulled out and retracted and there-
fore must be replaced.
NOTE
y Seatbelt pretensioners are not de-
signed to activate in minor frontal im-
pacts, in minor side impacts or rear im-
pacts or in roll-over accidents.
y
The seatbelt pretensioners for the
driver’s seat and front passenger’s
seat operate at the same time as the
frontal, and side SRS airbags.
y
Pretensioners are designed to func-
tion on a one-time-only basis. In the
event that a pretensioner is activated,
both the driver’s and front passenger’s
seatbelt retractor assemblies must be
replaced and only by an authorized
SUBARU dealer. When replacing seat-
belt retractor assemblies, use only
genuine SUBARU parts.
y
If either front seatbelt does not re-
tract or cannot be pulled out due to a
malfunction or activation of the preten-
sioner, contact your SUBARU dealer as
soon as possible.
y
If the front seatbelt retractor assem-
bly or surrounding area has been dam-
aged, contact your SUBARU dealer as
soon as possible.
y
When you sell your vehicle, we urge
you to explain to the buyer that it has
seatbelt pretensioners by alerting him
to the contents of this section.
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y To obtain maximum protection,
occupants should sit in an upright
position with their seatbelts prop-
erly fastened. Refer to “Seatbelts”
section in this chapter.
y Do not modify, remove or strike
the front seatbelt retractor assem-
blies or surrounding area. This
could result in accidental activa-
tion of the seatbelt pretensioners
or could make the system inoper-
ative, possibly resulting in seri-
ous injury. Seatbelt pretensioners
have no user-serviceable parts.
For required servicing of front
seatbelt retractors equipped with
seatbelt pretensioners, see your
nearest SUBARU dealer.