Subaru 2004 Legacy - Manual (Page 99)

1-74
Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
T Operation
A) SRS side airbag deploys as soon as a collision oc-
curs.
B) After deployment, SRS side airbag starts to deflate im-
mediately.
The SRS side airbag can function only when the igni-
tion 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 ve-
hicle’s center pillars. If either sensor detects a certain
predetermined 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, in-
structing it to inflate the SRS side airbag. Then the
side airbag module produces gas, which instantly in-
flates the SRS side airbag. After the deployment, the
SRS side airbag immediately starts to deflate. The
time required from detecting impact to the deflation of
the SRS side airbag after deployment is shorter than
the blink of an eye.
The SRS side airbag deploys even when no one occu-
pies the seat on the side of 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 result of
the deployment. This smoke does not indicate a fire in
A
B
UB0359