2003 SUBARU FORESTER belt

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Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
ing Retractor (ELR) to the Automatic Locking Retrac-
tor (ALR) function. Then, allow the belt to rewind into
the retractor. As the belt is rewinding, clicks will be
heard which indicate the retractor functions as ALR.
6. Before having a child sit in the child restraint sys-
tem, move it back and forth to check if it is firmly se-
cured. Sometimes a child restraint can be more firmly
secured by pushing it down into the seat cushion and
then tightening the seatbelt.
7. Pull at the shoulder portion of the belt to confirm
that it cannot be pulled out (ALR properly functioning).
If the child restraint system requires a top tether, latch
the hook onto the top tether anchor and tighten the top
tether. See the “Top tether anchorages” for additional
instructions.
8. To remove the child restraint system, press the re-
lease button on the seatbelt buckle and allow the belt
to retract completely. The belt will return to the ELR mode.
If you have any question concerning this type of child
restraint system, ask your SUBARU dealer.
NOTE
When the child restraint system is no longer in
use, remove it and restore the ELR function of the
retractor. That function is restored by allowing the
seatbelt to retract fully.
When you install a child restraint system, fol-
low the manufacturer

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Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
–CONTINUED –
Installation of child restraint systems
by use of lower and tether anchorages
Some types of child restraint systems can be installed
on the rear seat of your vehicle without use of the seat-
belts. Such child restraint systems are secured to the
designated anchorages provided on the vehicle body.
Your vehicle is equipped with four lower anchorages
(bars) and three upper anchorages (tether anchorag-
es) for accommodating such child restraint systems. The lower anchorages (bars) are used for installing a
child restraint system only on the rear seat window-
side seating positions. For each window-side seating
position, two lower anchorages are provided.
HS1075BA
HS1076BA

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Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
The tether anchorages (upper anchorages) are pro-
vided for all the seating positions (middle and both
window-side ones) of the rear seat.
You will find marks “ ” at the bottom of the rear
seat seatbacks. These marks indicate the positions of
the lower anchorages (bars).
HS1077BAHS1078BA

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Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
–CONTINUED –
Each lower anchorage is located where the seat cush-
ion meets the seatback.
1. Use the “ ” marks to locate the two lower an-
chorages (bars) for the position where you want to in-
stall the child restraint system.
2. While following the instructions supplied by the
child restraint system manufacturer, connect the con-
nectors of the child restraint system to the lower an-
chorages.
When the connectors are fastened, make sure that the
adjacent seatbelts are not caught.
If your child restraint system is of a flexible attachment
type (which uses tether straps to connect the child re- straint system proper to the lower anchorages), firmly
tighten the straps after connecting the connectors.
3. Connect the top tether hook to the tether anchor-
age and firmly tighten the tether.
For information on how to set the top tether, read the
following “Top tether anchorages”.
4. Before seating a child in the child restraint system,
try to move seat back and forth to verify that it is held
securely in position.
If you have any question concerning this type of child
restraint system, ask your SUBARU dealer.
When you install a child restraint system, fol-
low the manufacturer

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Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags

Top tether anchorages
Anchorage location
1) For left seat
2) For center seat 3) For right seat
Three anchorages, i.e., ones for the right, center and
left positions, are already installed on the rear edge of
the roof. Open the cover flaps to use the anchorages. To hook the top tether
1. Remove the rear seat headrest at the seating posi-
tion where the child restraint system has been in-
stalled with the seatbelt or lower anchorages; lift up
the headrest while pressing the release button. Store
the headrest in the cargo area. Avoid placing the
headrest in the passenger compartment to prevent it
from being thrown around in the passenger compart-
ment in a sudden stop or a sharp turn.
3
2
1
HS1080BB
HS1081BA

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Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
–CONTINUED –
F: Front of vehicle
1) Top tether hook
2) Upper anchorage
2. Fasten the top tether hook of the child restraint sys-
tem to the appropriate upper anchorage.
3. Tighten the top tether securely.
Always remove the headrest when mounting a
child restraint system with a top tether. Other-
wise, it may not be possible to fasten the top
tether tightly. *SRS airbag (Supplemental Restraint
System airbag)
*SRS: This stands for supplemental restraint system.
This name is used because the airbag system supple-
ments the vehicle’s seatbelts.
Vehicle with driver

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Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
vehicle should always wear seatbelts when the
vehicle is moving. The SRS airbag is designed
only as a supplement to the primary protection
provided by the seatbelt. It does not do away
with the need to fasten seatbelts. In combina-
tion with the seatbelts, it offers the best com-
bined protection in case of a serious accident.
Not wearing a seatbelt increases the chance of
severe injury or death in a crash even when the
car has the SRS airbag.
For instructions and precautions concerning
the seatbelt system, see the “Seatbelts” sec-
tions in this chapter.
Do not sit or lean unnecessarily close to the
SRS airbag. Because the SRS airbag deploys
with considerable speed – faster than the blink
of an eye – and force to protect in high speed
collisions, the force of an airbag can injure an
occupant whose body is too close to SRS air-
bag.
It is also important to wear your seatbelt to help
avoid injuries that can result when the SRS air-
bag contacts an occupant not in proper posi-
tion such as one thrown forward during pre-
accident braking.
Even when properly positioned, there remains
a possibility that an occupant may suffer minor injury such as abrasions and bruises to the
face or arms because of the SRS airbag deploy-
ment force.
The SRS airbags deploy with considerable
speed and force. Occupants who are out of
proper position when the SRS airbag deploys
could suffer very serious injuries. Because the
SRS airbag needs enough space for deploy-
ment, the driver should always sit upright and
well back in the seat as far from the steering
wheel as practical while sti ll maintaining full ve-
hicle control and the front passenger should
move the seat as far back as possible and sit
upright and well back in the seat. Do not place any objects over or near the
SRS airbag cover or between you and the SRS
airbag. If the SRS airbag deploys, those objects
could interfere with its proper operation and
could be propelled inside the car and cause in-
jury.

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Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
–CONTINUED –
Put children aged 12 and under in the rear
seat properly restrained at all times. The SRS
airbag deploys with considerable speed and
force and can injure or even kill children, espe-
cially if they are 12 years of age and under and
are not restrained or improperly restrained. Be-
cause children are lighter and weaker than
adults, their risk of being injured from deploy-
ment is greater.
For that reason, we strongly recommend that
ALL children (including those in child seats and
those that have outgrown child restraint devic- es) sit in the REAR seat properly restrained at
all times in a child restraint device or in a seat-
belt, whichever is appropriate for the child