Subaru 2008 Forester Owner's Manual page 82

event of the SRS side airbag deploy-
ment, they could be propelled dan-
gerously toward the vehicle's occu-
pants and cause injuries.
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
1) SRS side airbag deploys as soon as a
collision occurs.
2) SRS side airbag protects the front
passenger's head and chest.
3) After deployment, SRS side airbag starts
to deflate immediately.
Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
The SRS side airbag can function only
when the ignition switch is in the "ON"
position.
The driver's and front passenger's SRS
side airbags deploy independently of each
other since each has its own impact
sensor. Also, the SRS side airbag deploys
independently of the frontal airbags in the
steering wheel and instrument panel.
An impact sensor is incorporated into
each of the vehicle's center pillars. If
either sensor detects a certain predeter-
mined amount of force during a side
impact collision, the control module sends
a signal to the side airbag module on the
impacted side of the vehicle, instructing it
to inflate the SRS side airbag. Then the
side airbag module produces gas, which
instantly inflates the SRS side airbag.
After deployment, the SRS side airbag
will deflate in a few seconds.
The SRS side airbag deploys even when
no one occupies the seat on the side on
which an impact is applied.
When the SRS side 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.
– CONTINUED –
1-53