2001 SUBARU FORESTER Owners Manual

Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags1-13
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Fastening the seatbelt
WARNING
Never use a belt that is twisted or reversed. In an accident, this
can increase the risk or severity of injury. Never place the shoulder belt under the arm or behind the
back. If an accident occurs, this can increase the risk or severity
of injury. Keep the lap belt as low as possible on your hips. In a colli-
sion, this spreads the force of the lap belt over stronger hipbones instead of across the weaker abdomen. Seatbelts provide maximum restraint when the occupant sits
well back and upright in the seat. To reduce the risk of sliding un-der the seatbelt in a collision, the front seatbacks should be al-ways used in the upright position while the vehicle is running. Ifthe front seatbacks are not used in the upright position in a colli-
sion, the risk of sliding under the lap belt and of the lap belt slid-ing up over the abdomen will increase, and both can result in se-rious internal injury or death. Do not put cushions or any other materials between occupants
and seatbacks or seat cushions. If you do so, the risk of slidingunder the lap belt and of the lap belt sliding up over the abdomenwill increase, and both can result in serious internal injury ordeath.
HS0231
Never place the shoulder belt under the arm or behind the back.
HS0230
Always wear the
seatbelts correctly.
Adjust the seatback to upright position. Sit well back and upright.

1-14CAUTION
Metallic parts of the seatbelt can become very hot in a vehicle that has been closed up in sunny weather; they could burn an oc-cupant. Do not touch such hot parts until they cool.
Front seatbelts
OM-H0044OM-H0043
1. Ad just the seat p osition:
Driver’ s seat: Ad just the seatb ac k to the up rig ht p osition. Move the
seatb ac k as far from the steering wheel as p rac tic a l while still main-
taining full vehic le c ontrol.Front passenger ’s seat: Ad just the seatb ac k to the up rig ht p osition.
Move the seat as far b ac k as p ossib le.
2. Sit well b ac k in the seat.
3. Pic k up the tong ue p late and p ull the b elt out sl owly. Do not let it
g et twisted . If the b elt stop s b efore reac hing the b uc kle, return the
b elt slig htly and p ull it out more slowly. If the b elt still c annot b e
unloc ked , let the b elt retrac t slig htly after g ivin g it a strong p ull, then
p ull it out slowly ag ain.
4. Insert the tong ue p late into the b uc kle until you hear a c lic k.
5. To make the lap p art tig ht, p ull up on the should er b elt. And p lac e
the lap b elt as low as p ossib le on your hip s, not o n your waist.

Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags1-15
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n
Adjusting the front seat shoulder belt anchor height
WARNING
When wearing the seatbelts, make sure the shoulder portion of the webbing does not pass over your neck. If it does, adjust the
seatbelt anchor to a lower position. Placing the shoulder beltover the neck may result in neck injury during sudden braking orin a collision.
HB1029BB
The should er b elt anc hor heig ht should b e ad justed to the p osition
b est suited for you. To lower the anc hor heig ht, p u sh the release b ut-
ton and slid e the anc hor d own. To raise the anc hor heig ht, slid e the
anc hor up . Pull d own on the anc hor to make sure tha t it is loc ked in
p lac e.
Always ad just the anc hor heig ht so that the should e r b elt p asses over
the mid d le of the should er without touc hing the nec k.

1-16n
Unfastening the seatbelt
HB0303
Push
Push the b utton on the b uc kle.
Before c losing the d oor, make sure that the b elts a re retrac ted p rop -
erly to avoid c atc hing the b elt web b ing in the d oor .
Rear seatbelts (except rear center seatbelt)
OM-H0044OM-H0043
1. Sit well b ac k in the seat.
2. Pic k up the tong ue p late and p ull the b elt out sl owly. Do not let it
g et twisted . If the b elt stop s b efore reac hing the b uc kle, return the
b elt slig htly and p ull it out more slowly. If the b elt still c annot b e
unloc ked , let the b elt retrac t slig htly after g ivin g a strong p ull on it,
then p ull it out slowly ag ain.
3. Insert the tong ue p late into the b uc kle until you hear a c lic k.

Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags1-17
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4. To make the lap p art tig ht, p ull up on the should
er b elt. And p lac e
the lap b elt as low as p ossib le on your hip s, not o n your waist.
n Adjusting the rear seat shoulder belt anchor height
WARNING
When wearing the seatbelts, make sure the shoulder portion of the webbing does not pass over your neck. If it does, adjust the
seatbelt anchor to a lower position. Placing the shoulder beltover the neck may result in neck injury during sudden braking orin a collision.
HS1020BB
The should er b elt anc hor heig ht should b e ad justed to the p osition
b est suited for you. To ad just the should er b elt an c hor heig ht, p ush
the release b utton and slid e the anc hor d own or up . Pull d own on the
anc hor to make sure that it is loc ked in p lac e.
Always ad just the anc hor heig ht so that the should e r b elt p asses over
the mid d le of the should er without touc hing the nec k.

1-18n
Unfastening the seatbelt
HB0303
Push
Push the b utton on the b uc kle.
Before c losing the d oor, make sure that the b elts a re retrac ted p rop -
erly to avoid c atc hing the b elt web b ing in the d oor .
Rear center seatbelt
WARNING
Before fastening the seatbelt, confirm that the seatbelt is
routed through the seatbelt comfort guide. A seatbelt not routed through the guide can cause neck injuries during sudden brakingor in a collision since it may slip up on your neck. Fastening the seatbelt with the webbing twisted can increase
the risk or severity of injury in an accident. When fastening the
belt after it is pulled out from the retractor, especially wheninserting the connector ’s tongue plate into the mating buckle (on
right-hand side), always check that the webbing is not twisted. Be sure to fasten both tongue plates to the respective buckles.
If the seatbelt is used only as a shoulder belt (with the connec-
tor’ s tongue plate not fastened to the connector ’s buckle on the
right-hand side), it cannot properly restrain the wearer in positionin an accident, possibly resulting in serious injury or death.

Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags1-19
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HB1031BA
HB1030BA
HS1017BB
HS1025BB
HB1032BA
1. Pull out the seatb elt slowly from the overhead re
trac tor, then p ass
the seatb elt throug h the seatb elt c omfort g uid e loc ated b esid e the
1. Center seatb elt tong ue
p late
2. Connec tor (tong ue)
3. Connec tor (b uc kle)
4. Center seatb elt b uc kle

1-20head rest.
HB1033CA
2. After c onfirming that the web b ing is not twisted ,
insert the c onnec -
tor (tong ue) attac hed at the web b ing end into the b uc kle on the rig ht-
hand sid e until a c lic k is heard . If the b elt stop s b efore reac hing the
b uc kle, return the b elt slig htly and p ull it out mo re slowly. If the b elt
still c annot b e unloc ked , let the b elt retrac t slig htly after g iving it a
strong p ull, then p ull it out slowly ag ain.
HB1034BA
3. Insert the c enter seatb elt tong ue p late in the c e nter seatb elt b uc kle
marked “CENTER ” on the left-hand sid e until it c lic ks. To make the lap
p art tig ht, p ull up on the should er b elt. And p lac e the lap b elt as low
as p ossib le on your hip s, not on your waist.