SUBARU OUTBACK 2005 4.G Repair Manual

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Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
5. Insert the center seatbelt tongue plate in the center
seatbelt buckle marked “CENTER” on the left hand
side until it clicks.
6. 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.
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"Unfastening the seatbelt
Push the release button of the center seatbelt buckle
(on the left hand side) to unfasten the seatbelt.0
1. Insert a key or other hard pointed object into the
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Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
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 plate
in the recess in the retractor and then insert the con-
nector (tongue) plate into the slot located at the front
of the recess.
"
Do 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. " 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.
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!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
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.
" Keep the belts free of polishes, oils, chemi-
cals and particularly battery acid. " Never attempt to make modifications or
changes that will prevent the seatbelt from op-
erating properly.
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-
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Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
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 "
Seatbelt pretensioners are not designed to acti-
vate in minor frontal impacts, in side or rear im-
pacts or in roll-over accidents. " The driver’s seat and passenger’s seat preten-
sioners and frontal airbag operate simultaneous- ly. " 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. " 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. "
If the front seatbelt retractor assembly or sur-
rounding area has been damaged, contact your
SUBARU dealer as soon as possible. " 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." To obtain maximum protection, occupants
should sit in an upright position with their seat-
belts properly fastened. Refer to “Seatbelts”
section in this chapter." 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." When discarding front seatbelt retractor as-
semblies or scrapping the entire vehicle due to
collision damage or for other reasons, consult

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Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
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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 7 seconds when the ignition key is turned to the “ON” position.
The following components are monitored by the indi- cator: "
Front sub sensor (Right hand side)
" Front sub sensor (Left hand side)
" Airbag control module (including impact sensors)
" Frontal airbag module (Driver’s side)
" Frontal airbag module (Front passenger’s side)
" Side airbag sensor (Center pillar right hand side)
" Side airbag sensor (Center pillar left hand side)
" Side airbag module (Driver’s side)
" Side airbag module (Front passenger’s side)
" Side airbag sensor (Rear wheel house right hand
side) " Side airbag sensor (Rear wheel house left hand
side)" Curtain airbag module (Right side)
" Curtain airbag module (Left side)
" Seatbelt pretensioner (Driver’s side)
" Seatbelt pretensioner (Front passenger’s side)
" Seatbelt buckle switch (Driver’s side)
" Seatbelt buckle switch (Front passenger’s side)
" Driver’s seat position sensor
" Front passenger’s occupant detection system
weight sensor" Front passenger’s occupant detection control mod-
ule
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"
Front passenger’s frontal airbag ON and OFF indi-
cator " All related wiring
If the warning light exhibits any of the following
conditions, there may be a malfunction in the
seatbelt pretensioners and/or SRS airbag sys-
tem. Immediately take your vehicle to your
nearest SUBARU dealer to have the system
checked. Unless checked and properly re-
paired, the seatbelt pretensioners and/or SRS
airbags will operate improperly (e.g. SRS air-
bags may inflate in a very minor collision or not
inflate in a severe collision), which may in-
crease the risk of injury. "Flashing or flickering of the indicator light
" No illumination of the warning light when the
ignition switch is first turned to the “ON” posi- tion " Continuous illumination of the warning light
"Illumination of the warning light while driving !
System servicing
"When discarding a seatbelt retractor assem-
bly or scrapping the entire vehicle damaged by
a collision, consult your SUBARU dealer. " Tampering with or disconnecting the sys-
tem’s wiring could result in accidental activa-
tion of the seatbelt pretensioner and/or airbag
or could make the system inoperative, which
may result in serious injury. The wiring har-
nesses of the seatbelt pretensioner and SRS
airbag systems are covered with yellow insula-
tion and the connectors of the system are yel-
low for easy identification. Do not use electrical
test equipment on any circuit related to the
seatbelt pretensioner and airbag systems. For
required servicing of the seatbelt pretensioner,
see your nearest SUBARU dealer.
The front sub sensors are located in both front
fenders and the airbag control module includ-
ing the impact sensors is located under the
center console. If you need service or repair in

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those areas or near the front seatbelt retrac-
tors, we recommend that you have an autho-
rized SUBARU dealer perform the work.
NOTE
If the front part of the vehicle is damaged in an ac-
cident to the extent that the seatbelt pretensioner
does not operate, contact your SUBARU dealer as
soon as possible. !Precautions against vehicle modifica- tion
Always consult your SUBARU dealer if you want to in-
stall any accessory parts to your vehicle.
Do not perform any of the following modifica-
tions. Such modifications can interfere with
proper operation of the seatbelt pertensioners. " Attachment of any equipment (bush bar,
winches, snow plow, skid plate, etc.) other than
genuine SUBARU accessory parts to the front
end." Modification of the suspension system or
front end structure. "
Installation of a tire of different size and con-
struction from the tires specified on the tire
placard attached to the door jamb.

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Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
Child restraint systems
Infants and small children should always be placed in
an infant or child restraint system in the rear seat while
riding in the vehicle. You should use an infant or child
restraint system that meets Federal Motor Vehicle
Safety Standards or Canada Motor Vehicle Safety
Standards, is compatible with your vehicle and is ap-
propriate for the child’s age and size. All child restraint
systems are designed to be secured in vehicle seats
by lap belts or the lap belt portion of a lap/shoulder belt
(except those covered under the section in this manu-
al, entitled “Installation of child restraint systems by
use of lower and tether anchorages (LATCH)”).
Children could be endangered in an accident if their
child restraints are not properly secured in the vehicle.When installing the child restraint system, carefully fol-
low the manufacturer’s instructions.
According to accident statistics, children are safer
when properly restrained in the rear seating positions
than in the front seating positions.
All U.S. states and Canadian provinces require that in-
fants and small children be restrained in an approved
child restraint system at all times while the vehicle is
moving.
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Never let a passenger hold a child on his or her
lap while the vehicle is moving. The passenger
cannot protect the child from injury in a colli-
sion, because the child will be caught between
the passenger and objects inside the vehicle.
Additionally, holding a child in your lap or arms
in the front seat exposes that child to another
serious danger. Since the SRS airbag deploys
with considerable speed and force, the child
could be injured or even killed.
Children should be properly restrained at all
times. Never allow a child to stand up, or to
kneel on any seat. Unrestrained children will be
thrown forward during sudden stop or in an ac-
cident and can be injured seriously.
Additionally, children standing up or kneeling
on or in front of the front seat are exposed an-
other serious danger. Since the SRS airbag de-
ploys with considerable speed and force, the
child could be injured or even killed.
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