Subaru Forester: Seatbelt pretensioners / Seatbelt with shoulder belt pretensioner

NOTE

This section is applicable to the following components.

• Rear passenger’s seatbelt (windowside)

The pretensioner sensor also serves as follows.

• SRS frontal airbag sensor
• Side impact sensor
• Rollover sensor

If the sensor detects a certain predetermined 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.

The rear passenger’s seatbelt (windowside) pretensioner includes a tension reducing device which limits the peak forces exerted by the seatbelt on the occupant in the event of a collision.

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 retractor remains locked. Consequently, the seatbelt can not be pulled out and retracted and therefore must be replaced.