Subaru Forester: Seatbelt pretensioners / Seatbelt with shoulder belt and lap belt pretensioners

NOTE

This section is applicable to the front seatbelt.

1. Seatbelt retractor assembly (shoulder belt pretensioner and adaptive force limiter)
2. Lap belt pretensioner

The shoulder belt pretensioner is supplemented 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.

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.

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.

Once the seatbelt pretensioner has been activated, the seatbelt pretensioner remains locked. Consequently, the seatbelt cannot be pulled out and retracted and therefore must be replaced.

System monitors

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”.