2012 Subaru Legacy Owner's Manual - Page 177

Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags 1-55 wheel and instrument panel. An impact sensor, which senses impact force, is located in each of the following locations. . In the left and right front doors . In the left and right center pillars . In the left and right rear wheel houses . In the airbag control module For Outback models, a rollover sensor is also located inside the airbag control module. If the impact sensor that is located in the airbag control module and one of the center pillar impact sensors or front door impact sensors together sense an impact force above a predetermined level in a side collision, the control module causes both the SRS side airbag and curtain airbag on the impacted side to inflate regardless of whether the rear wheel house impact sensor on the same side senses an impact. If the impact sensor that is located in the airbag control module and one of the rear wheel house impact sensors together sense an impact force above a predetermined level in a side collision, the control module causes only the SRS curtain airbag on the impacted side to inflate. For Outback models, if the rollover sensor detects rollover of the vehicle, the control module inflates the SRS curtain airbags. At this time, the driver 's and front passenger's seatbelt pretensioners also operate at the same time. After the deployment, the SRS side airbag immediately starts to deflate. The time required from detection of an impact to deflation of an SRS side airbag after deployment is shorter than the blink of an eye. The SRS curtain airbag remains inflated for a while following deployment then slowly deflates. The SRS side airbag and SRS curtain airbag deploy even when no one occupies the seat on the side on which an impact is applied. The SRS side airbag and SRS curtain airbag are designed to deploy in the event of an accident involving a moderate to severe side impact collision. They are basically not designed to deploy in a lesser side impact. The SRS side airbag and SRS curtain airbag deployment depend on the level of force experienced in the passenger compartment during a side impact 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. For Outback models, the SRS curtain airbags are also designed to deploy when the vehicle is in an extremely inclined state such as during a rollover. They are basically not designed to deploy in a lesser inclined state. The SRS side airbag and SRS curtain airbag are basically not designed to deploy in frontal or rear impacts because the SRS side airbag and SRS curtain airbag deployment would not help the occupant in those situations. Each SRS side airbag and SRS curtain airbag are designed to function on a onetime-only basis. - CONTINUED -