2006 SUBARU FORESTER Owners Manual

ForewordCongratulations on choosing a SUBARU vehicle. This Owner’s
Manual has all the information necessary to keep your SUBARU in
excellent condition and to properly maintain the emission control
system for minimizing emission pollutants. We urge you to read
this manual carefully so that you may understand your vehicle and
its operation. For information not found in this Owner’s Manual,
such as details concerning repairs or adjustments, please contact
the dealer from whom you purchased your SUBARU or the nearest
SUBARU dealer.
The information, specifications and illustrations found in this man-
ual are those in effect at the time of printing. FUJI HEAVY INDUS-
TRIES LTD. reserves the right to change specifications and de-
signs at any time without prior notice and without incurring any ob-
ligation to make the same or similar changes on vehicles previous-
ly sold. This Owner’s Manual applies to all models and covers all
equipment, including factory installed options. Some explanations,
therefore may be for equipment not installed in your vehicle.
Please leave this manual in the vehicle at the time of resale. The
next owner will need the information found herein.FUJI HEAVY INDUSTRIES LTD., TOKYO, JAPAN
is a registered trademark of FUJI HEAVY INDUSTRIES LTD.
© copyright 2005 FUJI HEAVY INDUSTRIES LTD.
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This manual describes the following vehicle types.* The illustrated vehicle is one of the FORESTER series.
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Warranties„Warranties for U.S.A.All SUBARU vehicles distributed by
Subaru of America, Inc. and sold at retail
by an authorized SUBARU dealer in the
United States come with the following
warranties:
ySUBARU Limited Warranty
y Emission Control Systems Warranty
y Emissions Performance Warranty
All warranty information, including details
of coverage and exclusions, is in the
“Warranty and Maintenance Booklet”.
Please read these warranties carefully.„ Warranties for CanadaAll SUBARU vehicles distributed by
Subaru Canada, Inc. and sold at retail by
an authorized SUBARU dealer in Canada
come with the following warranties:
ySUBARU Limited Warranty
y Anti-Corrosion Warranty
y Emission Control Warranty
All warranty information, including details
of coverage and exclusions, is in the War-
ranty and Service Booklet. Please read
these warranties carefully. T
2.5XT (Canada model only)
TAll models except Canada model
2.5XT
How to use this owner’s man-ual„Using your Owner’s manualBefore you operate your vehicle, carefully
read this manual. To protect yourself and
extend the service life of your vehicle, fol-
low the instructions in this manual. Failure
to observe these instructions may result in
serious injury and damage to your vehicle.
This manual is composed of fourteen
chapters. Each chapter begins with a brief
table of contents, so you can usually tell at
a glance if that chapter contains the infor-
mation you want.
Chapter 1: Seat, seatbelt and SRS air-
bags
This chapter informs you how to use the
seat and seatbelt and contains precau-
tions for the SRS airbags.
Chapter 2: Keys and doors
This chapter informs you how to operate
the keys, locks and windows.
Chapter 3: Instruments and controls
This chapter informs you about the opera-
tion of instrument panel indicators and
how to use the instruments and other
switches.
Chapter 4: Climate Control
This chapter informs you how to operate
2.5XT models are equipped with
High Intensity Discharge (HID) head-
lights that contain mercury. For that
reason, it is necessary to remove
HID headlights before vehicle dis-
posal. Once removed, please reuse,
recycle or dispose of the HID head-
lights as hazardous waste.
This vehicle does not contain mer-
cury devices or parts.
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2 the climate control.
Chapter 5: Audio
This chapter informs you how to operate
your audio system.
Chapter 6: Interior equipment
This chapter informs you how to operate
interior equipment.
Chapter 7: Starting and operating
This chapter informs you how to start and
operate your SUBARU.
Chapter 8: Driving tips
This chapter informs you how to drive your
SUBARU in various conditions and ex-
plains some safety tips on driving.
Chapter 9: In case of emergency
This chapter informs you what to do if you
have a problem while driving, such as a
flat tire or engine overheating.
Chapter 10: Appearance care
This chapter informs you how to keep your
SUBARU looking good.
Chapter 11: Maintenance and service
This chapter informs you when you need
to take your SUBARU to the dealer for
scheduled maintenance and informs you
how to keep your SUBARU running prop-
erly.
Chapter 12: Specifications
This chapter informs you about dimension
and capacities of your SUBARU.
Chapter 13: Consumer information and
Reporting safety defectsThis chapter informs you about Uniform
tire quality grading standards and Report-
ing safety defects.
Chapter 14: Index
This is an alphabetical listing of all that’s in
this manual. You can use it to quickly find
something you want to read.
„
Safety warningsYou will find a number of WARNINGs,
CAUTIONs and NOTEs in this manual.
These safety warnings alert you to poten-
tial hazards that could result in injury to
you or others.
Please read these safety warnings as well
as all other portions of this manual careful-
ly in order to gain a better understanding
of how to use your SUBARU vehicle safe-
ly.
NOTEA NOTE gives information or sugges-
tions how to make better use of your
vehicle.„Safety symbolYou will find a circle with a slash through it
in this manual. This symbol means “Do
not”, “Do not do this”, or “Do not let this
happen”, depending upon the context.
A WARNING indicates a situation in
which serious injury or death could
result if the warning is ignored.
A CAUTION indicates a situation in
which injury or damage to your vehi-
cle, or both, could result if the cau-
tion is ignored.
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Vehicle symbolsThere are some of the symbols you may
see on your vehicle.
Mark Name
CAUTION
Power door lock
Passenger’s windows lock
Fuel
Front fog lights
Parking lights
Hazard warning flasher
Cigarette lighter
Engine hood
Seat heater
Child restraint top tether an-
chorages
Child restraint lower anchor-
ages
Horn
Windshield wiper deicer
Wiper intermittent
Windshield washer
Windshield wiper mist (for
single wipe)
Rear window wiper
Rear window washer
Mark Name
Lights
Parking lights, tail lights, li-
cense plate light and instru-
ment panel illumination
Head lights
Headlight beam leveler
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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Safety precautions when driving„Seatbelt and SRS airbag
Carefully read the sections “Seatbelts”
and “*SRS airbag (Supplemental Re-
straint System airbag)” in chapter 1 of this
owner’s manual for instructions and pre-
cautions concerning the seatbelt system
and SRS airbag system.
Outside mirror defogger
Rear window defogger
Air recirculation
Engine oil
Washer
Door lock (Transmitter)
Door unlock (Transmitter)
Mark Name
y
All persons in the vehicle should
fasten their seatbelts BEFORE the
vehicle starts to move. Otherwise,
the possibility of serious injury
becomes greater in the event of a
sudden stop or accident.yTo obtain maximum protection in
the event of an accident, the driv-
er and all passengers in the vehi-
cle should always wear seatbelts
when the vehicle is moving. The
SRS (Supplemental Restraint Sys-
tem) airbag does not do away with
the need to fasten seatbelts. In
combination with the seatbelts, it
offers the best combined protec-
tion in case of a serious accident.Not wearing a seatbelt increases
the chance of severe injury or
death in a crash even when the ve-
hicle has the SRS airbag.
yThe SRS airbags deploy with con-
siderable speed and force. Occu-
pants who are out of proper posi-
tion when the SRS airbag deploys
could suffer very serious injuries.
Because the SRS airbag needs
enough space for deployment, the
driver should always sit upright
and well back in the seat as far
from the steering wheel as practi-
cal while still maintaining full ve-
hicle control and the front passen-
ger should move the seat as far
back as possible and sit upright
and well back in the seat.
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„Child safety
Carefully read the sections “Child restraint
systems”,“*SRS airbag (Supplemental
Restraint System airbag)”, and “Seatbelts”
in chapter 1 of this owner’s manual for in-
structions and precautions concerning the
child restraint system, seatbelt system
and SRS airbag system.
yNever 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
collision, because the child will be
caught between the passenger
and objects inside the vehicle.yWhile 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 us-
ing the seatbelts. According to ac-
cident statistics, children are saf-
er when properly restrained in the
rear seating positions than in the
front seating positions. Never al-
low a child to stand up or kneel on
the seat.
yPut children aged 12 and under in
the REAR seat properly restrained
at all times in a child restraint de-
vice or in a seatbelt. The SRS air-
bag 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 improp-
erly restrained. Because children
are lighter and weaker than
adults, their risk being injured
from deployment is greater.yNEVER 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.yAlways 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
“Child safety locks” section in
chapter 2.
yAlways lock the passenger’s win-
dows using the lock switch when
children are riding in the vehicle.
Failure to follow this procedure
could result in injury to a child op-
erating the power window. Refer
to the “Windows” section in chap-
ter 2.yNever leave unattended children
in the vehicle. They could acci-
dentally injure themselves or oth-
ers through inadvertent operation
of the vehicle. Also, on hot or sun-
ny days, temperature in a closed
vehicle could quickly become
high enough to cause severe or
possibly fatal injuries to them.
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