airbag SUBARU TRIBECA 2008 Repair Manual

The Subaru advanced frontal airbag sys-
tem is designed to determine the activa-
tion or deactivation condition of the front
passenger’s SRS frontal airbag depend-
ing on the total load on the front passen-
ger ’s seat monitored by the front passen-
ger ’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 located on both
sides of the radiator panel and the impact
sensors in the airbag control module
detect a predetermined 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 passenger ’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 sequen-
tially or simultaneously, depending on the
severity of impact, backward-forward ad-
justment of the driver ’s seat position and
fastening/unfastening of the seatbelt 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 immediately
starts to deflate so that the driver
’s vision
is not obstructed. The time required from
detecting impact to the deflation of the
SRS airbag after deployment is shorter
than the blink of an eye.
Both when only the driver ’s SRS frontal
airbag deploys and the driver ’s and front
passenger ’s SRS frontal airbags deploy,
the driver ’s and front passenger ’s seatbelt
pretensioners operate at the same time.
Although it is highly unlikely that the SRS
airbag would activate in a non-accident
situation, should it occur, the SRS airbag
will deflate quickly, not obscuring vision
and will not interfere with the driver ’s
ability to maintain control of the vehicle.
When the SRS airbag deploys, a sudden,
fairly loud inflation noise will be heard and
some smoke will be released. These
occurrences are a normal result of the
deployment. This smoke does not indicate
a fire in the vehicle.
CAUTION
Do not touch the SRS airbag system
components around the steering
wheel and dashboard with bare
hands right after deployment. Doing
so can cause burns because the components can be very hot as a
result of deployment.
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. It is basically not designed
to deploy in lesser frontal impacts be-
cause the necessary protection can be
achieved by the seatbelt alone. Also, they
are basically not designed to deploy in
side or rear impacts or in rollover acci-
dents because deployment of only the
driver ’s SRS frontal airbag or both driver ’s
and front passenger ’s SRS frontal 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
the visible damage done to the vehicle
itself.
Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
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1-56
Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
!Examples of accidents in which the
driver ’s/driver ’s and front passen-
ger ’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 accidents
in which it is possible that the
driver ’s/driver ’s and front passen-
ger ’s SRS frontal airbag(s) will de-
ploy.
The only the driver ’s SRS frontal airbag or both 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 occur.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). If the vehicle strikes
an object, such as a telephone pole or
sign pole, or if it slides under a truck ’s load
bed, or if it sustains an oblique offset
frontal impact, the driver ’s/driver ’sand
front passenger ’s SRS frontal airbag(s)
may not deploy depending on the level of
accident forces involved. !
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 basically not
Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
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1-58
Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
to deploy 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 impactIn 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 not
be activated on the second impact.
& SRS side airbag and SRS
curtain airbagThe SRS side airbag is stored in the door
side of each front seat seatback, which
bears an “SRS AIRBAG ”label.
In a moderate to severe side impact
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 rear seat). An “SRS AIRBAG”mark is
located at the top of each center pillar.
In a moderate to severe side impact
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.
In a 7-seater model vehicle, 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
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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 rear
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. How-
ever, 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.
WARNING
. Never allow a child to kneel on
the front passenger ’s seat facing
the side window or to wrap his/
her arms around the front seatSeat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
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Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
seatback. In the event of an
accident, the force of the SRS
side airbag deployment could
injure the child seriously be-
cause 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 and hands out of the win-
dow. 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 the
vehicle ’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
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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 thefront 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 since
each has its own impact sensor. There-
fore, they may not both deploy in the same
accident. Also, the SRS side airbag and
SRS curtain airbag deploys independently
of the driver ’s and front passenger ’s SRS
frontal airbags in the steering wheel and
instrument panel.
An impact sensor is located in each of the left and right center pillars and rear wheel
houses. In addition, the rollover sensor is
inside the airbag control module. If a
center pillar impact sensor senses 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 it is a rear wheel
house impact sensor alone that senses a
sufficiently strong impact force, 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
curtain airbag. 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 is
applied.
When the SRS side airbag and SRS
Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
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1-62
Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
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 rear
seat). Doing so can cause burns
because the components can be
very hot as a result of deployment.
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 basically not designed
to deploy in a lesser side impact. Also,
they are basically not designed to deploy
in frontal or rear impacts because SRS side airbag and SRS curtain airbag
deployment would not help the occupant
in those situations.
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.
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!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 rear 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.
Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
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Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
!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 fallingIt 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.
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