2004 SUBARU LEGACY Owners Manual

1-1
1
Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
Front seats .................................................... 1-2 Fore and aft adjustment ................................... 1-3
Seat cushion angle and height adjustment (Power seat only) ........................................... 1-4
Reclining the seatback ..................................... 1-5
Head restraint adjustment ................................ 1-7
Lumbar support (if equipped) .......................... 1-8
Seat heater (if equipped) .............................. 1-9
Rear seats ..................................................... 1-10 Armrest (if equipped) ........................................ 1-11
Headrest adjustment – Rear center seating position on Station wagon ............................ 1-13
Folding down the rear seat – Station wagon .. 1-14
Seatbelts ....................................................... 1-18 Seatbelt safety tips ........................................... 1-18
Emergency Locking Retractor (ELR) .............. 1-19
Automatic/Emergency Locking Retractor (A/ELR) ............................................................ 1-20
Seatbelt warning light and chime ................... 1-20
Fastening the seatbelt ...................................... 1-20
Seatbelt maintenance ....................................... 1-31
Seatbelt extender ......................................... 1-32
Front seatbelt pretensioners ....................... 1-34 System monitors ............................................... 1-35
System servicing .............................................. 1-36
Precautions against vehicle modification ...... 1-37
Child restraint systems ................................ 1-37 Where to place a child restraint system ......... 1-39
Choosing a child restraint system .................. 1-41 Installing child restraint systems with A/ELR
seatbelt ............................................................ 1-41
Installing a booster seat ................................... 1-46
Installation of child restraint systems by use
of lower and tether anchorages (LATCH) .... 1-48
Top tether anchorages ..................................... 1-52
*SRS airbag (Supplemental Restraint System airbag) ........................................... 1-57Vehicle with driver’s and front passenger’s SRS airbags and lap/shoulder restraints ..... 1-57
SRS frontal airbag ............................................ 1-62
SRS side airbag (if equipped) .......................... 1-70
SRS airbag system monitors ........................... 1-78
SRS airbag system servicing .......................... 1-79
Precautions against vehicle modification ...... 1-80

1-2
Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbagsFront seats
y
Never adjust the seat while driving to avoid
the possibility of loss of vehicle control and of
personal injury. y Before adjusting the seat, make sure the
hands and feet of rear seat passengers are
clear of the adjusting mechanism. y Seatbelts provide maximum restraint when
the occupant sits well back and upright in the
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.y 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 still maintaining full ve-
hicle control and the front passenger should
move the seat as far back as possible and situpright and well back in the seat.
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
HS1034BA

1-3
Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
– CONTINUED –
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-
mend 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 restraint device
or in a seatbelt, whichever is appropriate for the
child’s age, height and weight.
Secure ALL types of child restraint devices (in-
cluding forward facing child seat) in the REAR
seats at all times.
NEVER INSTALL A REARWARD FACING CHILDSEAT IN THE FRONT SEAT. DOING SO RISKS
SERIOUS INJURY OR DEATH TO THE CHILD
BY PLACING THE CHILD’S HEAD TOO CLOSE
TO THE SRS AIRBAG.
According to accident statistics, children are
safer when properly restrained in the rear seat-
ing positions than in the front seating posi-
tions. For instructions and precautions con-
cerning child restraint systems, see the “Child
restraint systems” section in this chapter. „
Fore and aft adjustment
T Manual type
Pull the lever upward and slide the seat to the desired
position. Then release the lever and move the seat-
back and forth to make sure that it is securely locked
into place.
UB1058BA

1-4
Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
T
Power seat (if equipped)
To adjust the seat forward or backward, move the con-
trol switch forward or backward. „
Seat cushion angle and height adjust-
ment (Power seat only)
UB1060BA
UB1078BA

1-5
Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
– CONTINUED –
To adjust the angle and height of the seat cushion,
move the control switch in the corresponding direction. „
Reclining the seatback
To prevent the passenger from sliding under
the seatbelt in the event of a collision, always
put the seatback in the upright position while
the vehicle is in motion. Also, do not place ob-
jects such as cushions between the passenger
and the seatback. If you do so, the risk of slid-
ing under the lap belt and of the lap belt sliding
up over the abdomen will increase, and both
can result in serious internal injury or death.
UB1062BA
HS1037BA

1-6
Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
T
Manual type
Pull the reclining lever up and adjust the seatback to
the desired position. Then release the lever and make
sure the seat is securely locked into place.
The seatback placed in a reclined position can spring
back upward with force when released. When operat-
ing the reclining lever to return the seatback, hold it
lightly so that it may be raised back gradually. T
Power seat (if equipped)
To adjust the angle of the seatback, move the control switch.
NOTE
While adjusting the seatback, you can not at the
same time adjust the seat position or the seat
cushion angle and height.
UB1072BAUB1084BA

1-7
Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
– CONTINUED –
„Head restraint adjustment
To raise the head restraint, pull it up. To lower it, push
the head restraint down while pressing the release
button on the top of the seatback.
The head restraint should be adjusted so that the cen-
ter of the head restraint is closest to the top of the oc-
cupant’s ears.
Never drive the vehicle with the head restraints
removed because they are designed to reduce
the risk of serious neck injury in the event that
the vehicle is struck from the rear.
NOTE
If the seatback is reclined rearward to the same
level as the rear seat cushion with the head re-
straint removed, a wide flat bed is made available.
y Never drive your car with the seats converted
in a flat bed position. If you do so, occupants
will have a greater chance of being injured even
during simple deceleration, acceleration and
cornering since no firm restraint will be avail-
able for them. y Before you lie on the flat bed to take a rest,
read the description “Parking your vehicle” in
Chapter 7 carefully and follow the instructions.
UB1016BA