2006 Subaru Forester Owner's Manual - Page 50

Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags 1-21 tractor to take up the slack so that the belt more effectively restrains the front 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. 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. NOTE Seatbelt pretensioners are not designed to activate in minor frontal impacts, in minor side impacts or in rear impacts or in roll-over accidents. The driver's seat and passenger's seat pretensioners and frontal SRS airbag operate simultaneously. The driver's and passenger's seatbelt pretensioners and the SRS side airbag operate simultaneously. Pretensioners are designed to function on a one-time-only basis. In the event that a pretensioner is activated, both the driver's and front passenger's seatbelt retractor assemblies must be replaced only by an authorized SUBARU dealer. When replacing seatbelt retractor assemblies, use only genuine SUBARU parts. If either front seatbelt does not retract or cannot be pulled out due to a malfunction or activation of the pretensioner, contact your SUBARU dealer as soon as possible. If the front seatbelt retractor assembly or surrounding area has been damaged, contact your SUBARU dealer as soon as possible. When you sell your vehicle, we urge you to explain to the buyer that it has seatbelt pretensioners by alerting him to the contents of this section. Do not modify, remove or strike the front seatbelt retractor assemblies or surrounding area. This could result in accidental activation of the seatbelt pretensioners or could make the system inoperative, possibly resulting in serious injury. Seatbelt pretensioners have no user-serviceable parts. For required servicing of front seatbelt retractors equipped with seatbelt pretensioners, see your nearest SUBARU dealer. When discarding front seatbelt retractor assemblies or scrapping the entire vehicle due to collision damage or for other reasons, consult your SUBARU dealer. To obtain maximum protection, the occupants should sit in an upright position with their seatbelts properly fastened. Refer to the "Seatbelts" section in this chapter. - CONTINUED -