2012 Subaru Impreza Owner's Manual - Page 125

Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags 1-49 After deployment, the SRS airbag immediately starts to deflate so that the driver 's vision is not obstructed and the driver 's ability to maintain control of the vehicle is not impaired. The time required from detecting impact to the deflation of the SRS airbag after deployment is shorter than the blink of an eye. Both when only the driver 's SRS frontal airbag deploys and the driver 's and front passenger 's SRS frontal airbags deploy, the driver 's and front passenger 's seatbelt pretensioners operate at the same time. The driver 's SRS frontal airbag and front passenger 's SRS frontal airbag are designed to deploy in the event of an accident involving a moderate to severe frontal collision. They are basically not designed to deploy in lesser frontal impacts because the necessary protection can be achieved by the seatbelt alone. Also, they are basically not designed to deploy in side or rear impacts or in rollover accidents because deployment of only the driver 's SRS frontal airbag or both driver 's and front passenger 's SRS frontal airbags would not help the occupant in those situations. The driver 's and front passenger 's SRS frontal airbags are designed to function on a one-time-only basis. SRS airbag deployment depends on the level of force experienced in the passenger compartment during a collision. That level differs from one type of collision to another, and it may have no bearing on the visible damage done to the vehicle itself. ! Example of accident in which the driver's/driver 's and front passenger's SRS frontal airbag(s) will most likely deploy. A head-on collision against a thick concrete wall at a vehicle speed of 12 to 19 mph (20 to 30 km/h) or higher activates only the driver 's SRS frontal airbag or both driver 's and front passenger 's SRS frontal airbags. The airbag(s) will also be activated when the vehicle is exposed to a frontal impact similar in fashion and magnitude to the collision described above. - CONTINUED -