Seatbelt Maintenance; Front Seatbelt Pretensioners; Seatbelt With Shoulder Belt Pretensioner - Subaru Outback 2011 Owner's Manual

. 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.
& 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.
Replace the seatbelts even if only minor
damage is found.
CAUTION
. Keep the belts free of polishes,
oils, chemicals and particularly
battery acid.
. Never attempt to make modifica-
tions or changes that will prevent
the seatbelt from operating prop-
erly.

Front seatbelt pretensioners

The driver's and front passenger's seat-
belts have a seatbelt pretensioner. The
seatbelt pretensioners are designed to be
activated in the event of an accident
involving a moderate to severe frontal
collision.
& Seatbelt with shoulder belt
pretensioner
The pretensioner sensor also serves as
the frontal SRS airbag sensor. If the
sensor detects a certain predetermined
amount of force during a frontal collision,
the front seatbelt is quickly drawn back in
by the pretensioner to take up the slack so
that the belt more effectively restrains the
front seat occupant.
Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
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 cannot
be pulled out and retracted and therefore
must be replaced.
NOTE
. Seatbelt pretensioners are not de-
signed to be activated in minor frontal
impacts, in side or rear impacts or in
roll-over accidents.
. The driver's and passenger's seat-
belt pretensioners and frontal SRS air-
bag operate simultaneously.
. Pretensioners are designed to func-
tion on a one-time-only basis. In the
event that a pretensioner is activated,
we recommend that you have both the
driver's and front passenger's seatbelt
retractor assemblies replaced with
genuine SUBARU parts by your author-
ized SUBARU dealer.
. If either front seatbelt does not
retract or cannot be pulled out due to
a malfunction or activation of the
pretensioner, we recommend that you
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