2003 SUBARU FORESTER child restraint

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Engine hood
Seat heater
Child restraint top tether anchorages
Child restraint lower anchorages
Horn
Windshield wiper deicer
Wiper intermittent
Windshield wiper and washer
Rear window wiper and washer
Mark NameLights
Parking lights, tail lights, license plate
light and instrument panel illumination
Head lights
Illumination brightness
Fan speed
Instrument panel outlets
Instrument panel outlets and foot
outlets
Foot outlets
Windshield defroster and foot outlets
Windshield defroster
Mark Name

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ment, the driver should always sit upright and
well back in the seat as far from the steering
wheel as practical while still 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.
Carefully read the sections “Seatbelts” and “*SRS air-
bag (Supplemental Restraint System airbag)” in chap-
ter 1 of this owner’s manual for instructions and
precautions concerning the seatbelt system and SRS
airbag system. Child safety
Never hold a child on your lap or in your arms
while the vehicle is moving. The passenger
cannot protect the child from injury in a colli-
sion, because the child will be caught between
the passenger and objects inside the vehicle. While riding in the vehicle, infants and small
children should always be placed in the REAR
seat in an infant or child restraint system which
is appropriate for the child

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Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
Front seats

Never adjust the seat while driving to avoid
the possibility of loss of vehicle control and of
personal injury. Before adjusting the seat, make sure the
hands and feet of rear seat passengers are
clear of the adjusting mechanism. Seatbelts provide maximum restraint when
theoccupantsitswellbackanduprightinthe
seat. To reduce the risk of sliding under the
seatbelt in a collision, the front seatbacks
should be always used in the upright position
while the vehicle is running. If the front seat-
backs are not used in the upright position in a
collision, the risk of sliding under the lap belt
and of the lap belt sliding up over the abdomen
will increase, and both can result in serious in-
ternal injury or death.
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, especially if
they are 12 years of age and under and are not
restrained or improperly restrained. Because
children are lighter and weaker than adults,
their risk of being injured from deployment is
greater. For that reason, we strongly recom-
mendthatALLchildren(includingthosein
child seats and those that have outgrown child
restraint devices) sit in the REAR seat properly
HS1034BA

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Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
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restrained at all times in a child restraint device
or in a seatbelt, whichever is appropriate for the
child

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Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
1. Lower the headrests.
2. Unlock the seatback by pulling the release knob
and then fold the seatback down.
To return the seatback to its original position, raise the
seatback until it locks into place and make sure that it
is securely locked.

After returning the rear seatback to its origi-
nal position, make certain that the shoulder
belts are fully visible. Never allow passengers to ride on the folded
rear seatback or in the cargo area. Doing so
may result in serious injury or death. Secure lengthy items properly to prevent
them from shooting forward and causing seri-
ous injury during a sudden stop.
Seatbelts Seatbelt safety tips
All persons in the vehicle should fasten their
seatbelts BEFORE the vehicle starts to move.
Otherwise, the possibility of serious injury be-
comes greater in the event of a sudden stop or
accident. All belts should fit snugly in order to provide
full restraint. Loose fitting belts are not as ef-
fective in preventing or reducing injury. Each seatbelt is designed to support only
one person. Never use a single belt for two or
more persons — even children. Otherwise, in
an accident, serious injury or death could re-
sult. Replace all seatbelt assemblies including re-
tractors and attaching hardware worn by occu-
pants of a vehicle that has been in a serious
accident. The entire assembly should be re-
placed even if damage is not obvious. Put children aged 12 and under in the rear
seat properly restrained at all times. The SRS
airbag deploys with considerable speed and

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Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
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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 devices) sit in the REAR seat
properly restrained at all times in a child re-
straint device or in a seatbelt, whichever is ap-
propriate for the child

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Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags

Expectant mothers
Expectant mothers also need to use the seatbelts.
They should consult their doctor for specific recom-
mendations. The lap belt should be worn securely and
as low as possible over the hips, not over the waist. Emergency Locking Retractor (ELR)
The driver’s seatbelt has an Emergency Locking Re-
tractor (ELR).
The emergency locking retractor allows normal body
movement but the retractor locks automatically during
a sudden stop, impact or if you pull the belt very quick-
ly out of the retractor.
Automatic/Emergency Locking Retrac-
tor (A/ELR)
Each passenger’s seatbelt has an Automatic/Emer-
gency Locking Retractor (A/ELR). The Automatic/
Emergency Locking Retractor normally functions as
an Emergency Locking Retractor (ELR). The A/ELR
has an additional locking mode “Automatic Locking
Retractor (ALR) mode” intended to secure a child re-
straint system. When the seatbelt is once drawn out
completely and is then retracted even slightly, the re-
tractor locks the seatbelt in that position and the seat-
belt cannot be extended. As the belt is rewinding,
clicks will be heard which indicate the retractor func-
tions as an ALR. When the seatbelt is retracted fully,
the ALR mode is released.
When securing a child restraint system on the rear
seats by the use of the seatbelt, the seatbelt must be
changed over to the Automatic Locking Retractor
(ALR) mode.
When the child restraint system is removed, make
sure that the seatbelt retracts fully and the retractor re-
turned to the Emergency Locking Retractor (ELR) mode.
For instructions on how to convert the retractor to the
ALR mode and restore it to the ELR mode, see the
“Child restraint systems” section in this chapter.
HS1107AA

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Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
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, especially if
they are 12 years of age and under and are not
restrained or improperly restrained. Because
children are lighter and weaker than adults,
their risk of being injured from deployment is
greater.
For that reason, be sure to secure ALL types of
child restraint devices (including forward fac-
ing child seats) in the REAR seats at all times.
You should choose a restraint device which is
appropriate for the child