2009 Subaru Forester Owner's Manual - Page 44

Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags 1-19 You should hold the webbing end and guide it back into the retractor while it is rolling up. Neatly store the tongue plate in the recessed compartment and then insert the connector (tongue) plate into the slot. . Have the seatbelt fully rolled up so that the tongue plates are neatly stored. A hanging tongue plate can swing and hit against the trim during driving, causing damage to the trim. Front seatbelt pretensioners & Seatbelt maintenance To clean the seatbelts, use a mild soap and lukewarm water. Never bleach or dye the belts because this could seriously affect their strength. Inspect the seatbelts and attachments including the webbing and all hardware periodically for cracks, cuts, gashes, tears, damage, loose bolts or worn areas. Replace the seatbelts even if only minor damage is found. CAUTION . Do not allow the retractor to roll up the seatbelt too quickly. Otherwise, the metal tongue plates may hit against the trim, resulting in damaged trim. CAUTION . Keep the belts free of polishes, oils, chemicals and particularly battery acid. . Never attempt to make modifications or changes that will prevent the seatbelt from operating properly. The driver's and front passenger's seatbelts have a seatbelt pretensioner. The seatbelt pretensioners for the driver's seat and front passenger's seat operate at the same time as the frontal, and side SRS airbags. If the vehicle rolls over, they operate simultaneously with the curtain airbag. The front and side airbag sensors and the rollover sensor are used as the pretensioner sensors. If a sensor detects a certain predetermined amount of force during a frontal collision, a side impact collision or a rollover collision, the front seatbelt is quickly drawn back in by the retractor to take up the slack so that the belt more effectively restrains the front - CONTINUED -