SUBARU OUTBACK 2004 4.G Workshop Manual

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Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
Fastening the seatbelt with the webbing twisted
can increase the risk or severity of injury in an
accident. When fastening the belt after it is
pulled out from the retractor, especially when
inserting the connector’s tongue plate into the
mating buckle (on right-hand side), always
check that the webbing is not twisted.
Be sure to fasten both tongue plates to the re-
spective buckles. If the seatbelt is used only as
a shoulder belt (with the connector’s tongue
plate not fastened to the connector’s buckle on
the right-hand side), it cannot properly restrain
the wearer in position in an accident, possibly
resulting in serious injury or death.
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Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
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Rear-center seatbelt is stowed in the recess of the
ceiling.
1. Remove the connector (tongue) plate from the
holder located at the front of the recess by pulling the
connector (tongue) plate rearward. 2. Pull out the seatbelt slowly from the overhead re-
tractor.
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Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
3. After confirming that the webbing is not twisted, in-
sert the connector (tongue) attached at the webbing
end into the buckle on the right-hand side until a click
is heard. If the belt stops before reaching the buckle,
return the belt slightly and pull it out more slowly. If the
belt still cannot be unlocked, let the belt retract slightly
after giving it a strong pull, then pull it out slowly again.
4. Insert the center seatbelt tongue plate in the center
seatbelt buckle marked “CENTER” on the left-hand side until it clicks.
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Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
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5. To make the lap part tight, pull up on the shoulder
belt. And place the lap belt as low as possible on your
hips, not on your waist. V
Unfastening the seatbelt
Push the release button of the center seatbelt buckle
(on the left-hand side) to unfasten the seatbelt.
NOTE
When the seatback is folded down for greater lug-
gage space, it is necessary to disconnect the con-
nector.
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0
1. Insert a key or other hard pointed object into the
slot in the connector (buckle) on the right-hand side
and push it in, and the connector (tongue) plate will
disconnect from the buckle.
2. Allow the retractor to roll up the belt. You should
hold the webbing end and guide it back into the retrac-
tor while it is rolling up. Neatly store the tongue plates
in the recess in the retractor and then insert the con-
nector (tongue) plate into the slot located at the front of the recess.
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Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
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yDo not allow the retractor to roll up the seat-
belt too quickly. Otherwise, the metal tongue
plates may hit against the trim, resulting in
damaged trim. y Have the seatbelt fully rolled up so that the
tongue plates are neatly stored. A hanging
tongue plate can swing and hit against the trim
during driving, causing damage to the trim. 1) Seatbelt pocket
2) Buckles of rear center seatbelt
NOTE
When folding down the rear seat cushion, store
the seatbelts in the seatbelt pocket to prevent
them falling below the cushion. „
Seatbelt maintenance
To clean the seatbelts, use a mild soap and lukewarm
water. Never bleach or dye the belts because this
could seriously affect their strength.
Inspect the seatbelts and attachments including the
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Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
webbing and all hardware periodically for cracks, cuts,
gashes, tears, damage, loose bolts or worn areas. Re-
place the seatbelts even if only minor damage is
found.
y
Keep the belts free of polishes, oils, chemi-
cals and particularly battery acid. y Never attempt to make modifications or
changes that will prevent the seatbelt from op-
erating properly.
Seatbelt extender
If the front seatbelts are not long enough to permit the
tongue plate to engage with the seatbelt buckle, an
optional seatbelt extender is available from your
SUBARU dealer. When ordering an extender, only or-
der one particularly designed for your vehicle. Several
different types of extenders are available to match var-
ious varieties of front seatbelt designs. See your
SUBARU dealer for assistance.
The extender adds approximately 8 inches (200 mm)
of length and it can be used for either the driver or front
passenger seating position.
Be sure to observe the following when using
the seatbelt extender.
Failure to follow these instructions and warn-
ings could reduce the effectiveness of the seat-
belt and result in more serious injury in the
event of a collision.y Never use the extender when the belt itself is
long enough to permit it to be buckled properly.
If removal of heavy clothing is all that is needed
to permit the seatbelt to be buckled properly,
remove the heavy clothing and do not use the

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extender. yDo not use the extender if the buckle of the
extender rests over the abdomen. y Do not let someone else use the extender.
Use of an extender when it is not needed could
reduce the effectiveness of the seatbelt and re-
sult in more serious injury in the event of a col-
lision.y Use the extender only for the front seatbelts
and only for the model for which it was original-
ly provided. Never use the extender for the rear
seatbelts or for a different model.
NOTE
When the seatbelt extender is used by a pregnant
passenger, consult a doctor to get approval in ad-
vance. To connect the extender to the seatbelt, insert the
tongue plate into the seatbelt buckle so that the
“PRESS” signs on the buckle-release buttons of the
extender and the seatbelt are both facing outward as
shown in the diagram. You will hear a click when the
tongue plate locks into the buckle.
When releasing the seatbelt, press on the buckle-re-
lease button on the extender, not on the seatbelt. This
helps to prevent damage to the vehicle interior and ex-
tender itself.
For the safety of others, the extender should be re-
moved after each use, especially if the next person us-
ing the seatbelt does not need one.
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Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
Front seatbelt pretensioners
The driver’s and front passenger’s seatbelts have a
seatbelt pretensioner. The seatbelt pretensioners are
designed to be activated in the event of an accident in-
volving a moderate to severe frontal collision.
The pretensioner sensor also serves as a SRS frontal
airbag sensor. If the sensor detects a certain predeter-
mined amount of force during a frontal collision, the
front seatbelt is quickly drawn back in by the retractor
to take up the slack so that the belt more effectively re-
strains the front seat occupant.
When a seatbelt pretensioner is activated, an operat-
ing 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
therefore must be replaced.
NOTE y
Seatbelt pretensioners are not designed to acti-
vate in minor frontal impacts, in side or rear im-
pacts or in roll-over accidents. y The driver’s seat and passenger’s seat preten-
sioners and frontal airbag operate simultaneous- ly. y Pretensioners are designed to function on a
one-time-only basis. In the event that a preten-
sioner is activated, both the driver’s and front pas-
senger’s seatbelt retractor assemblies must be re-
placed and only by an authorized SUBARU dealer.
When replacing seatbelt retractor assemblies, use
only genuine SUBARU parts. y If either front seatbelt does not retract or cannot
be pulled out due to a malfunction or activation of
the pretensioner, contact your SUBARU dealer as
soon as possible.
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yIf the front seatbelt retractor assembly or sur-
rounding area has been damaged, contact your
SUBARU dealer as soon as possible. y When you sell your vehicle, we urge you to ex-
plain to the buyer that it has seatbelt pretension-
ers by alerting him to the contents of this section.
y To obtain maximum protection, occupants
should sit in an upright position with their seat-
belts properly fastened. Refer to “Seatbelts”
section in this chapter.y Do not modify, remove or strike the front
seatbelt retractor assemblies or surrounding
area. This could result in accidental activation
of the seatbelt pretensioners or could make the
system inoperative, possibly resulting in seri-
ous injury. Seatbelt pretensioners have no
user-serviceable parts. For required servicing
of front seatbelt retractors equipped with seat-
belt pretensioners, see your nearest SUBARU
dealer.y When discarding front seatbelt retractor as-
semblies or scrapping the entire car due to col-
lision damage or for other reasons, consult
your SUBARU dealer.
„ System monitors
SRS airbag system warning light
A diagnostic system continually monitors the readi-
ness of the seatbelt pretensioner while the vehicle is
being driven. The seatbelt pretensioners share the
control module with the airbag system. Therefore, if
any malfunction occurs in a seatbelt pretensioner, the
SRS airbag system warning light will illuminate. The
SRS airbag system warning light will show normal sys-
tem operation by lighting for about 6 seconds when
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