2003 SUBARU FORESTER Owners Manual

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Keys and doors
Security system (if equipped)
The security system helps to protect your vehicle and
valuables from theft. The horn sounds and the turn
signal lights flash if someone attempts to break into
your vehicle. The starter motor is also interrupted to
prevent starting the vehicle without a key.
The system can be armed and disarmed with the re-
mote transmitter.
The system does not operate when the key is inserted
into the ignition switch.
System operation
The security system will give the following alarm indi-
cations when triggered: The turn signal lights will flash and the horn will
sound intermittently. In addition, the starter motor will
not operate. The alarm automatically resets after 30 seconds;
however, the alarm will reactivate if the vehicle is tam-
pered with again. The alarm will continue for six times
if any sensor continues to be activated.
The alarm is triggered by: Opening a door or the rear gate.
Application of physical shock to the vehicle (e.g. breaking glass or forced entry). Note that there are two
alarm levels for shock: warning and alarm. In warning
mode, the alarm detects lower level vibrations and
triggers 2 warning chirps on the horn and two flashes
on the lights as a deterrent to would be vandals. In
alarm mode, higher levels of shock are detected and
the system will go into full alarm.
Ignition switch being turned on while in armed state.
NOTE
With the valet mode selected, the security system
does not operate when the remote transmitter is
used for locking and unlocking. The security sys-
tem indicator light in the combination meter flash-
es twice per second to show that the valet mode is
selected. For details, refer to “Valet mode” in this section. Arming the system
To arm the system using remote transmitter
1. Close all windows.
2. Remove the key from the ignition switch.
3. Open the doors and get out of the vehicle.
4. Make sure that the engine hood is locked.
5. Close all doors and the rear gate.

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Keys and doors
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1) PresstoArmthesystem.
2) Press to Disarm the system. Security system — indicator light
6. Briefly press the “LOCK/ARM” button (for less than
two seconds). All doors and the rear gate will lock, an
electronic chirp will sound one time, the turn signal
lights will flash one time and the indicator light starts
flashing slowly (approximately once every two sec-
onds).
If any of the doors or the rear gate is not fully closed,
an electronic chirp sounds five times, the turn signal
lights flash five times to alert you that the doors or the
rear gate are not properly closed. When you close the
door, the system will automatically arm and doors will
automatically lock.
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Keys and doors

To arm the system using power door locking
switches
1. Close all windows.
2. Remove the key from the ignition switch.
3. Open the doors and get out of the vehicle.
4. Make sure that the engine hood is locked.
5. Close the doors and the rear gate but leave only the
driver’s door or the front passenger’s door open.
6. Push the front side (“LOCK” side) of the power door
locking switch to set the door locks.
7. Close the door. An electronic chirp will sound one
time, the turn signal lights will flash one time and the
indicator light will start flashing slowly (approximately
once every two seconds) to inform you that the system has armed.
NOTE
The system can be armed even if the engine hood,
the windows and/or mo
onroofs are opened. Al-
ways make sure that they are fully closed before
arming the system. Disarming the system
Briefly press the “UNLOCK/DISARM” button (for less
than two seconds) on the remote transmitter. The driv-
er’s door will unlock, an electronic chirp will sound two
times, the turn signal lights will flash two times and the
indicator light will go off.
To unlock all other doors and the rear gate, briefly
press the “UNLOCK/DISARM” button a second time. Emergency disarming
If you cannot disarm the system using the transmitter
(i.e. the transmitter is lost, broken or the transmitter
battery is too weak), you can disarm the system with-
out using the transmitter.
To disarm the system:
1. Unlock the door with the key and then open the
door.
2. The alarm will sound.
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Keys and doors
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3. Insert the key into the ignition switch and cycle it
from the “LOCK” to the “ON” position three (3) times
within 5 seconds .
Valet mode
When you choose the valet mode, the security system
does not operate. In valet mode, the remote transmit-
ter is used only for locking and unlocking the doors
and rear gate and panic activation.
To enter the valet mode, open the driver’s door and
keep the “UNLOCK/DISARM” button depressed for
more than two seconds . The security system status
indicator light will continue to flash two times per sec-
ond indicating that the system is in the valet mode.
To exit valet mode, open the driver’s door and keep
the “UNLOCK/DISARM” button pressed for more
than two seconds . The indicator will stop flashing.
NOTE
If the remote transmitter is used to lock or unlock
the doors while the valet mode is selected, the
turn signal lights do not flash but an electronic
chirp is emitted.
Passive arming
When passive arming mode has been programmed by
the dealer, arming of the system is automatically ac-
complished without using the remote transmitter. Note
that in this mode, DOORS MUST BE MANUALLY LOCKED. To enter the passive mode
0
1. Remove the side sill cover on the driver’s side.
1) Open the driver’s door.
2) Remove the two clips fastening the front portion
of the cover with a screwdriver.
3) Remove the side sill cover by pulling it up.
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Keys and doors
1) Connector for SRS airbag system (yellow)
2) White (1P)
2. Connect the white (1 pole) connector.
3. Turn the ignition switch from the “LOCK” to the
“ON” position.
4. Install the side sill cover.
To place the system in active arming mode (remote re-
quired for activation), disconnect the white connector.
Do not disconnect or tamper with any yellow
connector and/or any harness covered with yel- low insulation and/or tape.
Doing so could result in accidental inflation of
the SRS airbag or could make the SRS airbag
system inoperative, which may result in serious
injury.
Arming the system
1. Turn the ignition switch to the “ON” position.
1) ON
2) LOCK
2. Turn the ignition switch from “ON” to “LOCK” posi-
tion and remove the key from the ignition switch.1
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Keys and doors
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3. Open the doors and get out of the vehicle.
4. Before closing the doors, lock all doors with the in-
side door lock levers.
5. Close the doors. The system will automatically arm
after one minute.
In the passive mode, the system can also be armed
with the remote transmitter or with the power door
locking switches. If the remote transmitter or power
door locking switch is used to lock the vehicle, arming
will take place immediately regardless of whether or
not the passive mode has been selected.
In passive mode, the system will automatically
activate the alarm but WILL NOT automatically
lock the doors. In order to lock the doors you
must either lock them as indicated in step 4
above or with the key once they have been
closed. Failure to lock the doors manually will
result in a higher security risk.
Disarming the system
To disarm the system, briefly press the “UNLOCK/
DISARM” button on the transmitter. Tripped sensor identification
If an electronic chirp sounds four times and the turn
signal lights flash four times when you disarm the sys-
tem, this indicates that the alarm was triggered. The
number of times the indicator light flashes indicates
what sensor caused the alarm condition.
To enter identification mode:
1. Open the driver’s door and leave it open.
2. Turn the ignition switch to the “ON” position two
times. (“LOCK” “ON” “LOCK” “ON” 
“LOCK”)
3. The indicator light will start flashing.
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Keys and doors
The indicator light provides the following indications.
Flashing one time:
Any door or the rear gate has
been opened.
Flashing three times: The impact sensor in the sys-
tem’s unit has been activated. This may indicate that
your vehicle has been shocked or tampered with by
some outside force and/or unauthorized person.
Flashing four times: The ignition switch has been
turned on or the battery has been disconnected.
NOTE
The battery must be reconnected before the indi-
cator light will flash.
To exit this mode, close the door and turn the ignition
switch to the “ON” position.
Child safety locks
1) Lock
2) Unlock
Each rear door has a child safety lock that prevents
the doors from being opened even if the inside door
handle is pulled.
When the child safety lock lever is in the lock position,
the door cannot be opened from inside regardless of
the position of the inner door handle lock lever. The
door can only be opened from the outside.
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Keys and doors
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Always use the child safety lock whenever a
child rides in the rear seat. Serious injury could
result if a child accidentally opened the door
and fell out.
Windows Power windows
To avoid serious personal injury, you must ob-
serve the following warnings:When operating the power windows, be ex-
tremely careful to prevent anyone