2005 SUBARU OUTBACK ESP

7
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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

1-16
Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
and heavier than 55 lbs (25 kg). Such objects
can interfere with the driver’s proper operation
of the vehicle, possibly causing an accident
and serious injury.
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 result. " Replace all seatbelt assemblies including re-
tractors and attaching hardware worn by occu-
pants of a vehicle that has been in a serious ac-
cident. The entire assembly should be replaced
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
force and can injure or even kill children, espe-
UB1533BA

1-27
Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
– CONTINUED –
Fastening the seatbelt with the webbing twisted
can increase the risk or severity of injury in an
accident. When fastening the belt after it is
pulled out from the retractor, especially when
inserting the connector’s tongue plate into the
mating buckle (on right hand side), always
check that the webbing is not twisted.
Be sure to fasten both tongue plates to the re-
spective buckles. If the seatbelt is used only as
a shoulder belt (with the connector’s tongue
plate not fastened to the connector’s buckle on
the right hand side), it cannot properly restrain
the wearer in position in an accident, possibly
resulting in serious injury or death.
HS1054BAHS1055BA

1-40
Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
!
Where to place a child restraint system
The following are SUBARU’s recommendations on
where to place a child restraint system in your vehicle.
A: Front passenger’s seat
You should not install a child restraint system due to
the hazard to children posed by the passenger’s air-
bag.
B: Rear seat, window-side seating positions
Recommended positions for all types of child restraint
systems.
In these positions, Automatic/Emergency Locking Re-
tractor (A/ELR) seatbelts and lower anchorages (bars)
are provided for installing a child restraint system. C: Rear seat, center seating position
Installing a child restraint system is not recommended,
although the A/ELR seatbelt is provided in this posi- tion.
Some types of child restraints might not be able to be
secured firmly due to projection of the seat cushion.
In this seating position, you should use only a child re-
straint system that has a bottom base that fits snugly
against the contours of the seat cushion and can be
securely retained using the seatbelt.
"
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, 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’s age, height and
weight. According to accident statistics, chil-
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Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
– CONTINUED –
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 vehicle and cause
injury.
"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’s
age, height and weight.
Secure ALL types of child restraint devices (in-
cluding forward facing child seats) in the REAR
seats at all times.
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 concerning
the child restraint system, see the “Child re-
straint systems” section in this chapter. "
NEVER INSTALL A REARWARD FACING
CHILD 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." Never allow a child to stand up, or to kneel on
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1-73
Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
– CONTINUED –
take the following actions. "Ensure that no article is placed on the seat other
than the occupant. " Ensure that there is no article left in the seat-
back pocket.
If the ON indicator still illuminates while the OFF
indicator extinguishes despite the fact that the ac-
tions noted above have been taken, seat the child/
small adult in the rear seat and immediately con-
tact your SUBARU dealer for an inspection. Even
if the system has passed the dealer inspection, it
is recommended that on subsequent trips the
child/small adult always take the rear seat.
Children who have outgrown a child restraint system
should always wear the seatbelt irrespective of wheth-
er the airbag is deactivated or activated. ! Conditions in which front passenger’s SRS
frontal airbag is activated
The front passenger’s SRS frontal airbag will be acti-
vated for deployment upon impact when any of the fol-
lowing conditions is met regarding the front passen-ger’s seat. " When the seat is occupied by an adult.
" When a heavy article is placed on the seat.
When the front passenger’s seat is occupied by an adult, observe the following precautions. Failure to do
so may lessen the load on the front passenger’s seat,
deactivating the front passenger’s SRS frontal airbag
despite the fact that the seat is occupied by an adult. "
Do not allow the rear seat occupant to lift the front
passenger’s seat cushion using his/her feet. " Do not place any article under the front passenger’s
seat, or squeeze any article from behind and under the
seat. This may lift the seat cushion. " Do not squeeze any article between the front pas-
senger’s seat and side trim/pillar, door or center con-
sole box. This may lift the seat cushion. " If the passenger’s frontal airbag OFF indicator
illuminates and the ON indicator extinguishes
even when the front passenger’s seat is occu-
pied by an adult
This can be caused by the adult incorrectly sitting in
the front passenger’s seat. Turn the ignition switch to
the “OFF” position. Ask the front passenger to set the
seatback to the upright position, sit up straight in the
center of the seat cushion, correctly fasten the seat-
belt, position his/her legs out forward, and adjust the
seat to the rearmost position. If the OFF indicator re-
mains illuminated while the ON indicator remains ex-
tinguished, take the following actions. " Ensure that there is no article, book, shoe, etc.
trapped under the seat, at the rear of the seat, or on

2-4
Keys and doors
Immobilizer (if equipped)
The immobilizer system is designed to prevent an un-
authorized person from starting the engine. Only keys
registered with your vehicle’s immobilizer system can
be used to operate your vehicle. Even if an unregis-
tered key fits into the ignition switch and can be turned
to the “START” position, the engine will automatically
stop after several seconds.
Each immobilizer key contains a transponder in which
the key’s ID code is stored. When a key is inserted into
the ignition switch and turned to the “ON” position, the
transponder transmits the key’s ID code to the immo-
bilizer system’s receiver. If the transmitted ID code
matches the ID code registered in the immobilizer sys-
tem, the system allows the engine to be started. Since
the ID code is transmitted and acted upon almost in-
stantly, the immobilizer system does not impede nor-
mal starting of the engine.
If the engine fails to start, pull out the key once before
trying again. (Refer to the “Ignition switch” section [chapter 3].)
This device complies with Part 15 of the FCC
Rules and with RSS-210 of Industry Canada. Oper-
ation is subject to the following two conditions: (1)
This device may not cause harmful interference,
and (2) this device must accept any interference
received, including interference that may cause
undesired operation.
Changes or modifications not expressly approved
by the party responsible for compliance could
void the user’s authority to operate the equipment.
NOTE
To protect your vehicle from theft, please pay
close attention to the following security precau- tions: "
Never leave your vehicle unattended with its
keys inside. " Before leaving your vehicle, close all windows
and lock the doors and rear gate. " Do not leave spare keys or any record of your
key number in the vehicle.
Do not get the key wet. If the key gets wet, wipeit dry with a cloth immediately.