SUBARU TRIBECA 2012 1.G Owners Manual

1-62Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
WARNING
. Never allow a child to kneel on
the front passenger ’s seat facing
the side window or wrap his/her
arms around the front seat seat- back. In the event of an accident,
the force of the SRS side airbag
deployment could injure the child
seriously because 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 or hands out of the window.
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 thevehicle ’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 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 the front 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 be-
cause each has its own impact sensor.
Therefore, they may not both deploy in the
same accident. Also, the SRS side airbag
and SRS curtain airbag deploys indepen-
dently of the driver ’s and front passen-
ger ’s SRS frontal airbags in the steering
wheel and instrument panel.
An impact sensor, which senses impact
force, is located in each of the left and Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
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1-64Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
right center pillars and rear wheel houses.
Another impact sensor, which also senses
impact force, is located under the second-
row center seat. In addition, a rollover
sensor is located inside the airbag controlmodule.
If one of the center pillar impact sensors
and the impact sensor that is located
under the second-row center seat to-
gether 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. At this time,
the driver ’s and front passenger ’s seatbelt
pretensioners also operate at the sametime.
If one of the rear wheel house impact
sensors and the impact sensor that is
located under the second-row center seat
together sense an impact force above a
predetermined level in a side collision, 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
SRS curtain airbags. At this time, the
driver ’s and front passenger ’s seatbelt pretensioners also operate at the sametime.
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 isapplied.
When the SRS side airbag and SRS
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
second-row seat). Doing so can
cause burns because the compo-
nents can be very hot as a result ofdeployment.
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 not designed to deploy
in most lesser side impact. Also, they are
not designed to deploy in most frontal or
most rear impacts because SRS side
airbag and SRS curtain airbag deploy-
ment would not help the occupant in thosesituations.
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. Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
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1-66Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
! 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 second-row 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.

!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 falling
It 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. Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
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1-68Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
! Examples of the types of accidents in which the SRS side airbag is unlikely to
deploy.
1) The vehicle is involved in an oblique
side-on impact.
2) The vehicle is involved in a side-on impact in an area outside the vicinity of
the passenger compartment.
3) The vehicle strikes a telephone pole or similar object.
4) The vehicle is involved in a side-on impact from a motorcycle.
5) The vehicle rolls onto its side or the roof.
There are many types of collisions which
might not necessarily require SRS side
airbag deployment. In the event of acci-
dents like those illustrated, the SRS side
airbag may not deploy depending on the
level of accident forces involved.

!Examples of the types of accidents in which the SRS curtain airbag is unlikely
to deploy.1) The vehicle is involved in an oblique
side-on impact.
2) The vehicle is involved in a side-on impact in an area outside the vicinity of
the passenger compartment.
3) The vehicle is involved in a side-on impact from a motorcycle.
There are many types of collisions which
might not necessarily require SRS curtain
airbag deployment. In the event of acci-
dents like those illustrated, the SRS
curtain airbag may not deploy depending
on the level of accident forces involved. Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
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1-70Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
! Examples of the types of accidents
in which the SRS side airbag and
SRS curtain airbag will basically not
deploy.
1) The vehicle is involved in frontal collision
with another vehicle (moving or station- ary). 2) The vehicle is struck from behind.
The SRS side airbag and SRS curtain
airbag are not designed to deploy in most
cases if the vehicle is involved in a frontal
collision or is struck from behind. Exam-
ples of such accidents are illustrated.
1) First impact
2) Second impact
A) SRS curtain airbag
B) SRS side airbag
In an accident where the vehicle is struck
from the side more than once, the SRS
side airbag and SRS curtain airbag deploy
only once on the first impact.
Example: In the case of a double side
impact collision, first with one vehicle and
immediately followed by another from the
same direction, once the SRS side airbag and SRS curtain airbag are activated on
the first impact, they will not be activated
on the second. !
Example of the type of accident in
which the SRS curtain airbag will
basically not deploy.The SRS curtain airbags are not basically
designed to deploy if the vehicle pitches
end over end.

&SRS airbag system monitors
A diagnostic system continually monitors
the readiness of the SRS airbag system
(including front seatbelt pretensioners)
while the vehicle is being driven. The
SRS airbag system warning light “AIR-
BAG ”will show normal system operation
by lighting for approximately 6 seconds
when the ignition switch is turned to the“ ON ”position.
The following components are monitored
by the indicator. . Front sub sensor (right-hand side)
. Front sub sensor (left-hand side)
. Airbag control module (including im-
pact and rollover sensors). Frontal airbag module (driver ’s side)
. Frontal airbag module (front passen- ger
’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). Curtain airbag sensor (rear wheel
house right-hand side). Curtain airbag sensor (rear wheel
house left-hand side). Curtain airbag module (right-hand side)
. Curtain airbag module (left-hand side)
. Satellite safing sensor (under the sec-
ond-row center seat) . Seatbelt pretensioner (driver ’s side)
. Seatbelt pretensioner (front passen-
ger ’s side)
. Seatbelt buckle switch (front passen-
ger ’s side)
. Front passenger ’s seatbelt tension
sensor . Front passenger ’s occupant detection
system weight sensor. Front passenger ’s occupant detection
control module. Front passenger ’s frontal airbag ON
and OFF indicator. All related wiring
WARNING
If the warning light exhibits any of
the following conditions, there may
be a malfunction in the seatbelt
pretensioners and/or SRS airbag
system. Immediately take your vehi-
cle to your nearest SUBARU dealer
to have the system checked. Unless
checked and properly repaired, the
seatbelt pretensioners and/or SRS
airbags will operate improperly (e.g.
SRS airbags 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 warn-
ing light
. No illumination of the warning
light when the ignition switch is
first turned to the “ON ”position
. Continuous illumination of the
warning light
. Illumination of the warning light
while driving
Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
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