Subaru IMPREZA 2002 Owner's Manual page 70

When the SRS airbag deploys, a sudden, fairly loud
inflation noise will be heard and some smoke will be
released. These occurrences are normal result of
the deployment. This smoke does not indicate a fire
in the vehicle.
CAUTION
Do not touch the SRS airbag system compo-
nents around the steering wheel and dash-
board with bare hands right after deployment.
Doing so can cause burns because the com-
ponents can be very hot as a result of deploy-
ment.
The SRS frontal airbag is designed 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 because the neces-
sary protection can be achieved by the seatbelt
alone. Also, it is basically not designed to deploy in
side or rear impacts or in roll-over accidents be-
cause deployment of the SRS frontal airbag would
not help the occupant in those situations. The SRS
airbag is designed to function on a one-time-only
basis.
SRS airbag deployment depends on the level of
Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
force experienced in the passenger 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.
n When will the SRS frontal airbag most likely
deploy?
A head-on collision against a thick concrete wall at a
vehicle speed of 12 to 19 mph (20 to 30 km/h) acti-
vates the SRS frontal airbag. The SRS frontal airbag
will also be activated when the vehicle is exposed to
a frontal impact similar in fashion and magnitude to
the above-mentioned collision.
HG1017BA
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