Front Seatbelt Pretensioners - Subaru 2007 B9 Tribeca Owner's Manual

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Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags

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. If the vehicle rolls over, they oper-
ate simultaneously with the curtain airbag.
The front and side airbag sensors and the
rollover sensor are used as the preten-
sioner sensors. If a sensor detects a cer-
tain predetermined amount of force during
a frontal collision, a side impact collision
or a rollover collision of the vehicle, the
front seatbelt is quickly drawn back in by
the retractor 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
100121
Seatbelt pretensioners are not de-
signed to activate in minor frontal im-
pacts, in minor side impacts or rear im-
pacts.
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. If the ve-
hicle rolls over, they operate simulta-
neously with the curtain airbag.
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.
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.
If the front seatbelt retractor assem-
bly or surrounding area has been dam-
aged, contact your SUBARU dealer as
soon as possible.
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.
To obtain maximum protection,
occupants should sit in an upright
position with their seatbelts prop-
erly fastened. Refer to "Seatbelts"
section in this chapter.