, VDC is a stability-control system. When VDC senses that the vehicle is sliding due to understeer or oversteer, it will manage individual wheel braking and reduce engine power to help correct the slide – adding to driver control.
TIRE PRESSURE MONITORING SYSTEM (TPMS). This system measures air pressure in the vehicle’s tires and alerts the driver via a warning light if pressure has fallen below a safe level. Proper inflation is important to the vehicle’s consistent handling. TPMS is standard on the Subaru B9 Tribeca and six-cylinder Outback models.
OTHER ACTIVE-SAFETY FEATURES. Besides engine and chassis features, others play a part in active safety:
PASSIVE IMPACT PROTECTION
Passive-safety features don’t play a part in protecting a vehicle’s occupants until an impact occurs. Some of these features, like crumple zones and air bags, are not visible unless utilized. Others, like seatbelts, should be a part of every trip in your Subaru.
The word passive shouldn’t imply that these features and systems are slow. They have to react in fractions of a second to provide the award-winning protection of which they’re capable. Also, passive-safety features are designed to work together as a system to help protect vehicle occupants.
SEATBELTS. All Subaru vehicles have height-adjustable, three-point front seatbelts. By adjusting to an occupant’s height, the seatbelts provide improved protection. Three-point belts, which help to prevent a person’s torso from lurching forward, are standard for all seating positions.
The front seatbelts also have pretensioners with force limiters. In an impact, the pretensioners’ control unit signals them to reel in slack in the seatbelt, which helps to hold occupants in place, allowing air bags to be more effective. In impacts of sufficient force, devices in the pretensioners called force limiters unwind the seatbelts a little to help prevent injuries caused by the belts themselves.
AIR BAGS. Depending on the model, front, side-impact and side-curtain air bags inflate upon impact to help protect occupants. These are part of the Subaru Supplemental Restraint System, which is intended to work in conjunction with the primary restraint system – the seatbelts.
RING-SHAPED REINFORCEMENT FRAME. The cabin is surrounded by a frame made of high-strength steel. It’s intended to prevent intrusion and to protect the occupants in an impact. The Ring-Shaped Reinforcement Frame functions along with the front and rear crumple zones to absorb and redistribute impact energy away from cabin occupants in an accident.
COLLAPSIBLE STEERING COLUMN. In a frontal impact, the steering column collapses toward the front of the vehicle. This helps to absorb impact energy so that it’s not passed on to the driver.
ENGINE. The engine is held by bolts that shear in an impact. Due to its horizontal profile and low placement, it is designed to pass under the vehicle, minimizing intrusion into the passenger cabin.
OTHER PASSIVE-SAFETY FEATURES.