Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags -> Seatbelt pretensioners for Your Subaru Forester SUV 2024

Seatbelt pretensioners 57  
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If the seatbelt retractor assembly or  
surrounding area has been da-  
maged, contact your SUBARU deal-  
er as soon as possible.  
When you sell your vehicle, we urge  
you to inform the buyer that the  
vehicle is equipped with seatbelt  
pretensioners. Also, notify the buyer  
of the contents in this section.  
seatbelt retractors equipped with  
seatbelt pretensioners, consult  
your SUBARU dealer.  
1-6. Seatbelt pretensioners  
The following seatbelts have a seatbelt  
pretensioner.  
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When discarding seatbelt retrac-  
tor assemblies equipped with  
seatbelt pretensioners or scrap-  
ping the entire vehicle due to  
collision damage or for other  
reasons, consult your SUBARU  
dealer.  
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Driver’s seatbelt  
Front passenger’s seatbelt  
Rear passenger’s seatbelt (window-  
side)  
The seatbelt pretensioners are designed  
to be activated in the event of an accident  
involving a moderate to severe frontal and  
side collision and rollover accident.  
& Seatbelt with shoulder belt  
pretensioner  
NOTE  
NOTE  
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Seatbelt pretensioners are not de-  
signed to activate in minor impacts  
or in rear impacts.  
This section is applicable to the follow-  
ing components.  
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WARNING  
Rear passenger’s seatbelt (window-  
side)  
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Pretensioners are designed to func-  
tion on a one-time-only basis. In the  
event that a pretensioner is acti-  
vated, both the driver’s and front  
passenger’s seatbelt retractor as-  
semblies should be replaced only  
by an authorized SUBARU dealer.  
When replacing seatbelt retractor  
assemblies, use only genuine  
SUBARU parts.  
If a seatbelt that has a seatbelt  
pretensioner does not retract or  
cannot be pulled out due to a mal-  
function or activation of the preten-  
sioner, contact your SUBARU dealer  
as soon as possible.  
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To obtain maximum protection,  
the occupants should sit in an  
upright position with their seat-  
belts properly fastened. Refer to  
“Seatbelts” P48.  
Do not modify, remove or strike  
the seatbelt retractor assemblies  
equipped with seatbelt preten-  
sioners or surrounding area. This  
could result in accidental activa-  
tion of the seatbelt pretensioners  
or could make the system inop-  
erative, possibly resulting in ser-  
ious injury. Seatbelt preten-  
sioners have no user-serviceable  
parts. For required servicing of  
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The pretensioner sensor also serves as  
– CONTINUED –  
Seatbelt pretensioners  
58  
follows.  
The front seatbelt pretensioner includes a  
tension reducing device which limits the  
peak forces exerted by the seatbelt on the  
occupant in the event of a collision.  
The adaptive force limiter will select a  
reducing load to the suit body size of  
occupant as detected by the occupant  
detection system sensors.  
& Seatbelt with shoulder belt  
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Front impact sensor  
Side impact sensor  
Rollover sensor  
and lap belt pretensioners  
NOTE  
This section is applicable to the front  
seatbelt.  
If the sensor detects a certain predeter-  
mined amount of force during frontal or  
side collisions or rollover accidents, any  
seatbelt that has a seatbelt pretensioner is  
quickly drawn back in by the retractor to  
take up the slack so that the belt more  
effectively restrains the seat occupant.  
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.  
The rear passenger’s seatbelt (window-  
side) pretensioner includes a tension  
reducing device which limits the peak  
forces exerted by the seatbelt on the  
occupant in the event of a collision.  
Once the seatbelt pretensioner has been  
activated, the seatbelt pretensioner re-  
mains locked. Consequently, the seatbelt  
cannot be pulled out and retracted and  
therefore must be replaced.  
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.  
1
2
Seatbelt retractor assembly (shoulder  
belt pretensioner and adaptive force  
limiter)  
& System monitors  
Lap belt pretensioner  
A diagnostic system continually monitors  
the readiness of the seatbelt pretensioner  
with the ignition switch in the “ON” position.  
The seatbelt pretensioners share the  
control module with the SRS airbag  
system. Therefore, if any malfunction  
occurs in a seatbelt pretensioner, the  
SRS airbag system warning light will  
illuminate. For details, refer to “SRS airbag  
system monitors” P105.  
The shoulder belt pretensioner is supple-  
mented by a lap belt pretensioner, which is  
located at the base of the center pillar. Like  
the shoulder belt pretensioner, the lap belt  
pretensioner instantaneously pulls in the  
belt to eliminate slack if a certain level of  
frontal collision force is detected. As a  
result, the seatbelt restrains the front seat  
occupant more effectively.  
Once the seatbelt pretensioner has been  
activated, the seatbelt retractor remains  
locked. Consequently, the seatbelt can not  
be pulled out and retracted and therefore  
must be replaced.  
Seatbelt pretensioners 59  
retractors, have the work performed  
by your authorized SUBARU dealer.  
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Installation of a tire of different  
size and construction from the  
tires specified on the vehicle  
placard attached to the driver’s  
door pillar or specified for indivi-  
dual vehicle models in this Own-  
er’s Manual.  
& System servicing  
WARNING  
When discarding a seatbelt re-  
NOTE  
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If the front or side part of the vehicle is  
damaged in an accident to the extent  
that the seatbelt pretensioner does not  
operate, contact your SUBARU dealer  
as soon as possible.  
tractor assembly or scrapping  
the entire vehicle damaged by a  
collision, consult your SUBARU  
dealer.  
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Tampering with or disconnecting  
the system’s wiring could result  
in accidental activation of the  
seatbelt pretensioner and/or  
SRS airbag or could make the  
system inoperative, which may  
result in serious injury. Do not  
use electrical test equipment on  
any circuit related to the seatbelt  
pretensioner and SRS airbag sys-  
tems. For required servicing of  
the seatbelt pretensioner, con-  
sult your nearest SUBARU deal-  
er.  
& Precautions against vehicle  
modification  
Always consult your SUBARU dealer if you  
want to install any accessory parts to your  
vehicle.  
CAUTION  
Do not perform any of the following  
modifications. Such modifications  
can interfere with proper operation  
of the seatbelt pretensioners.  
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Attachment of any equipment  
(bush bar, winches, snow plow,  
skid plate, etc.) other than genu-  
ine SUBARU accessory parts to  
the front end.  
CAUTION  
For the locations of the sensors and  
control modules, refer to “Compo-  
nents” P84.  
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Modification of the suspension  
system or front end structure.  
If you need service or repair in those  
areas or near the front seatbelt