2005 SUBARU LEGACY steering wheel

7
–
CONTINUED –
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 “Seat, seatbelt and SRS
airbags” in chapter 1 of this owner’s manual for in-
structions 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’s age, height and
weight. If a child is too big for a child restraint system, the child should sit in the REAR seat
and be restrained using the seatbelts. Accord-
ing to accident statistics, children are safer
when properly restrained in the rear seating po-
sitions than in the front seating positions. Nev-
er allow a child to stand up or kneel on the seat. "
Put children aged 12 and under in the REAR
seat properly restrained at all times in a child
restraint device or in a seatbelt. 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 being injured from deployment is
greater. " NEVER INSTALL A REARWARD FACING
CHILD SAFETY SEAT 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. " Always use the child safety locks whenever a
child rides in the rear seat. Serious injury could
result if a child accidentally opened the door
and fell out. Refer to the “Door locks” section in
chapter 2." Always lock the passenger’s windows using

1-2
Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbagsFront 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
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." 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

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Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
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.
Metallic parts of the seatbelt can become very
hot in a vehicle that has been closed up in sun-
ny weather; they could burn an occupant. Do
not touch such hot parts until they cool.
!
Front seatbelts
1. Adjust the seat position:
Driver’s seat: Adjust the seatback to the upright posi-
tion. Move the seatback as far from the steering wheel
as practical while still maintaining full vehicle control.
Front passenger’s seat: Adjust the seatback to the
upright position. Move the seat as far back as possi-
ble.
2. Sit well back in the seat.
3. Pick up the tongue plate and pull the belt out slowly.
Do not let it get twisted. If the belt stops before reach-
ing the buckle, return the belt slightly and pull it out
more slowly. If the belt still cannot be unlocked, let the
belt retract slightly after giving it a strong pull, then pull
it out slowly again.
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Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
These SRS airbags are designed only as a supple-
ment to the primary protection provided by the
seatbelt.
The system also controls front seatbelt pretensioners.
For operation instructions and precautions concerning
the seatbelt pretensioner, see the “Front seatbelt pre-
tensioners” section in this chapter.
"
To obtain maximum protection in the event of
an accident, the driver and all passengers in the
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
vehicle 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-ac-
cident 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 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." Do not place any objects over or near the

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Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
– CONTINUED –
!Subaru advanced frontal airbag sys- tem
Your vehicle is equipped with a Subaru advanced
frontal airbag system that complies with the new ad-
vanced frontal airbag requirements in the amended
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No.
208.
The Subaru advanced frontal airbag system automat-
ically determines the deployment force of the driver’s
SRS frontal airbag at the time of deployment as well as
whether or not to activate the front passenger’s SRS
frontal airbag and, if activated, the deployment force of
the SRS frontal airbag at the time of deployment.
Your vehicle has warning labels on the driver’s and
front passenger’s sun visors beginning with the phrase
“EVEN WITH ADVANCED AIR BAGS” and a tag at-
tached to the glove box lid beginning with the phrase
“Even with Advanced Air Bags”. Make sure that you
carefully read the instructions on the warning labels
and tag.
Always wear your seatbelt. Subaru advanced frontal
airbag system is a supplemental restraint system and
must be used in combination with a seatbelt. All occu-
pants should wear a seatbelt or be seated in an appro-
priate child restraint system.
The driver’s SRS frontal airbag is stowed in the center
portion of the steering wheel. The front passenger’s SRS frontal airbag is stowed near the top of the dash-
board under an “SRS AIRBAG” mark.
In a moderate to severe frontal collision, the driver’s
and front passenger’s SRS frontal airbags deploy and
supplement the seatbelts by reducing the impact on
the driver’s and front passenger’s head and chest.
NEVER INSTALL A REARWARD FACING CHILD
SAFETY SEAT IN THE FRONT SEAT. DOING SO
RISKS SERIOUS INJURY OR DEATH TO THE
CHILD BY PLACING THE CHILD’S HEAD TOO
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1-67
Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
– CONTINUED –
The SRS airbag deploys 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 sit
upright and well back in the seat.
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 toward the front of the
vehicle during pre-accident braking.
Do not put any objects over the steering wheel
pad and dashboard. If the SRS frontal airbag
deploys, those objects could interfere with its
proper operation and could be propelled inside
the vehicle and cause injury.
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Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
the side of the seat. "
Ensure that the backward-forward position and
seatback of front passenger’s seat are locked into
place securely by moving the seat back and forth.
(Models equipped with manual seats only)" Next, turn the ignition switch to the “ON” position
and let the system complete the self check. Now, the
ON indicator should illuminate while the OFF indicator
remains extinguished.
If the OFF indicator still illuminates while the ON indi-
cator remains extinguished, ask the occupant to move
to the rear seat and immediately contact your SUBA-
RU dealer for an inspection. ! Effect vehicle modifications made for persons
with disabilities may have on Subaru advanced
frontal airbag system operation (U.S. only)
Changing or moving any parts of the front seats, seat
belts, front bumper, front side frame, instrument panel,
combination meter, steering wheel, steering column,
tire, suspension or floor panel can affect the operation of the Subaru advanced airbag system. If you have
any questions, you may contact the following Subaru
distributors: bia>
Subaru of America, Inc.
Customer Dealer Services Department P.O. Box 6000
Cherry Hill, NJ 08034-6000
1-800-SUBARU3 (1-800-782-2783)

Schuman Carriage Motors, Inc.
1234 South Beretania Street, Honolulu, HI 96814
808-592-4497

Triple J Enterprises, Inc.
P. O. Box 6066, Tamuning, Guam 96931
671-646-9126

Trebol Subaru of Puerto Rico, Inc.
P. O. Box 11204, San Juan, Puerto Rico 00910
787-793-2828
There are no Subaru distributors in any other U.S. ter-
ritories as of May 2004. If you are in such an area,
please contact the Subaru distributor or dealer from
which you bought your vehicle.

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Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
from detecting impact to the deflation of the SRS air-
bag after deployment is shorter than the blink of aneye.
Both when only the driver’s SRS frontal airbag deploys
and the driver’s and front passenger’s SRS frontal air-
bags deploy, the driver’s and front passenger’s seat-
belt pretensioners operate at the same time.
Although it is highly unlikely that the SRS airbag would
activate in a non-accident situation, should it occur,
the SRS airbag will deflate quickly, not obscuring vi-
sion and will not interfere with the driver’s ability to
maintain control of the vehicle.
When the SRS airbag deploys, a sudden, fairly loud
inflation noise will be heard and some smoke will be
released. These occurrences are normal result of the
deployment. This smoke does not indicate a fire in the
vehicle.
Do not touch the SRS airbag system compo-
nents around the steering wheel and dash-
board with bare hands right after deployment.
Doing so can cause burns because the compo-
nents can be very hot as a result of deployment.
Driver’s SRS frontal airbag and front passenger’s SRS
frontal airbag are designed to deploy in the event of an
accident involving a moderate to severe frontal colli-
sion. It is basically not designed to deploy in lesser
frontal impacts because the necessary protection can
be achieved by the seatbelt alone. Also, they are basi-
cally not designed to deploy in side or rear impacts or
in roll-over accidents because deployment of only the
driver’s SRS frontal airbag or both driver’s and front
passenger’s SRS frontal airbags would not help the
occupant in those situations. The driver’s and front
passenger’s SRS frontal airbags are designed to func-
tion on a one-time-only basis.
SRS airbag deployment depends on the level of force
experienced in the passenger compartment during a
collision. That level differs from one type of collision to
another, and it may have no bearing on the visible
damage done to the vehicle itself.