Subaru IMPREZA 2002 Owner's Manual page 78

A) SRS side airbag deploys as soon as a
collision occurs.
B) After deployment, SRS side airbag
starts to deflate immediately.
The SRS side airbag deploys even when no one oc-
cupies 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 normal re-
sult of the deployment. This smoke does not indi-
cate a fire in the vehicle.
The SRS side airbag is designed to deploy in the
event of an accident involving a moderate to severe
side impact collision. It is basically not designed to
deploy in lesser side impact. Also, it is basically not
designed to deploy in frontal or rear impacts be-
HB0359
cause SRS side airbag deployment would not help
the occupant in those situations.
Each SRS side airbag is designed to function on a
one-time-only basis.
SRS side airbag deployment depends on the level
Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
CAUTION
Do not touch the SRS side airbag system
components around the front seatback with
bare hands right after deployment. Doing so
can cause burns because the components
can be very hot as a result of deployment.
– CONTINUED –
1-55