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Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
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!Seatbelt maintenance
To clean the seatbelts, use a mild soap and lukewarm
water. Never bleach or dye the belts because this
could seriously affect their strength.
Inspect the seatbelts and attachments including the
webbing and all hardware periodically for cracks, cuts,
gashes, tears, damage, loose bolts or worn areas. Re-
place the seatbelts even if only minor damage is
found.
" Keep the belts free of polishes, oils, chemi-
cals and particularly battery acid. " Never attempt to make modifications or
changes that will prevent the seatbelt from op-
erating properly.
Front seatbelt pretensioners
The driver’s and front passenger’s seatbelts have a
seatbelt pretensioner. The seatbelt pretensioners are
designed to be activated in the event of an accident in-
volving a moderate to severe frontal collision.
The pretensioner sensor also serves as a SRS frontal
airbag sensor. If the sensor detects a certain predeter-
mined amount of force during a frontal collision, the
front seatbelt is quickly drawn back in by the retractor
to take up the slack so that the belt more effectively re-
strains the front seat occupant.
When a seatbelt pretensioner is activated, an operat-
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11 -1 3
Maintenance and service
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3.0-liter models
A) Upper level
B) Lower level
4. Pull out the dipstick again and check the oil level on
it. If it is below the lower level, add oil to bring the level
up to the upper level.
" Use only engine oil with the recommended
grade and viscosity. " Be careful not to spill engine oil when adding
it. If oil touches the exhaust pipe, it may cause
a bad smell, smoke, and/or a fire.
If you check the oil level just after stopping the engine,
wait a few minutes for the oil to drain back into the oil
pan before checking the level.
To prevent overfilling the engine oil, do not add any
additional oil above the upper level when the engine is cold.
In 2.5-liter-engine models, the dipstick has a notch
above the upper level.
Just after driving or while the engine is warm, the en-
gine oil level reading may be in a range between the
upper level and the notch mark. This is caused by ther-
mal expansion of the engine oil. ! Changing the oil and oil filter
Change the oil and oil filter according to the mainte-
nance schedule in the “Warranty and Maintenance
Booklet”.
The engine oil and oil filter must be changed more fre-
quently than listed in the maintenance schedule when
driving on dusty roads, when short trips are frequently
made, or when driving in extremely cold whether.
1. Warm up the engine by letting the engine idle for
about 10 minutes to ease draining the engine oil.
A
B
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11 -5 7
Maintenance and service
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tires. Doing so can dangerously reduce control-
lability, resulting in an accident.
! Wheel replacement
When replacing wheels due, for example, to damage,
make sure the replacement wheels match the specifi-
cations of the wheels that are fitted as standard equip-
ment. Replacement wheels are available from SUBA-
RU dealers.
Use only those wheels that are specified for
your vehicle. Wheels not meeting specifica-
tions could interfere with brake caliper opera-
tion and may cause the tires to rub against the
wheel well housing during turns. The resulting
loss of vehicle control could lead to an acci-
dent.
Aluminum wheels
Aluminum wheels can be scratched and damaged
easily. Handle them carefully to maintain their appear-
ance, performance, and safety. " When any of the wheels is removed and replaced
for tire rotation or to change a flat, always check the
tightness of the wheel nuts after driving approximately
600 miles (1,000 km). If any nut is loose, tighten it to
the specified torque." Never apply oil to the threaded parts, wheel nuts, or
tapered surface of the wheel." Never let the wheel rub against sharp protrusions or
curbs. " Be sure to fit tire chains on uniformly and completely
around the tire, otherwise the chains may scratch the
wheel." When wheel nuts, balance weights, or the center
cap is replaced, be sure to replace them with genuine
SUBARU parts designed for aluminum wheels.