2006 SUBARU FORESTER child restraint

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Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
Some types of child restraint systems can
be installed on the rear seat of your vehi-
cle without use of the seatbelts. Such child
restraint systems are secured to the des-
ignated anchorages provided on the vehi-
cle body.The lower and tether anchorages are
sometimes referred to as the LATCH sys-
tem (
Lower Anchors and T ethers for CHil-
dren).
Your vehicle is equipped with four lower
anchorages (bars) and three upper an-
chorages (tether anchorages) for accom-
modating such child restraint systems.
The lower anchorages (bars) are used for
installing a child restraint system only on
the rear seat window-side seating posi-
tions. For each window-side seating posi-
tion, two lower anchorages are provided.
Each anchor bar is located where the seat
cushion meets the seatback. The tether anchorages (upper anchorag-
es) are provided for all the seating posi-
tions (middle and both window-side ones)
of the rear seat.
You will find marks “ ” at the bottom of
the rear seat seatbacks. These marks in-
When you install a child restraint
system, follow the manufacturer’s
instructions supplied with it. After
installing the child restraint system,
check to ensure that it is held se-
curely in position. If it is not held
tight and secure, the danger of your
child suffering personal injury in the
event of an accident may be in-
creased.
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Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
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dicate the positions of the lower anchorag-
es (bars).
Each lower anchorage is located where
the seat cushion meets the seatback.
1. Use the “ ” marks to locate the two
lower anchorages (bars) for the position
where you want to install the child restraint
system. 2. While following the instructions sup-
plied by the child restraint system manu-
facturer, connect the lower hooks onto the
lower anchorages located at “ ” marks
on the bottom of the rear seatback. When
the hooks are connected, make sure the
adjacent seatbelts are not caught.
3. [If your child restraint system is of a
flexible attachment type (which uses teth-
er belts to connect the child restraint sys-
tem properly to the lower anchorages)]
While pushing the child restraint into the
seat cushion, pull both left and right lower
tether belts up to secure the child restraint
system firmly by taking up the slack in the
belt.
4. Connect the top tether hook to the teth-
er anchorage and firmly tighten the tether.
For information on how to set the top teth-
er, read the following “Top tether anchor-
ages”.
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Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
5. Before seating a child in the child re-
straint system, try to move seat back and
forth and left and right to verify that it is
held securely in position.
6. To remove the child restraint system,
follow the reverse procedures of installa-
tion.
If you have any question concerning this
type of child restraint system, ask your
SUBARU dealer.„Top tether anchoragesYour vehicle is equipped with three top
tether anchorages so that a child restraint
system having a top tether can be in-
stalled in the rear seat. When installing a
child restraint system using top tether,
proceed as follows, while observing the in- structions by the child restraint system
manufacturer.
Since a top tether can provide additional
stability by offering another connection
between a child restraint system and the
vehicle, we recommend that you use a top
tether whenever one is required or avail-
able.
T
Anchorage location
1) For left seat
2) For center seat
3) For right seatThree upper anchorages are installed on
the rear edge of the roof.
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TOP TETHER 2
1
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Open the cover flaps to use the tether an-
chorages.
TTo hook the top tether
1. Remove the head restraint at the seat-
ing position where the child restraint sys-
tem has been installed with the lower an-
chorages or seatbelt; lift up the head re-
straint while pressing the release button.
Store the head restraint in the cargo area.
Avoid placing the head restraint in the
passenger compartment to prevent it from
being thrown around in the passenger
compartment in a sudden stop or a sharp
turn. 2. Open the cover flaps to use the an-
chorages. Fasten the top tether hook of
the child restraint system to the appropri-
ate top tether anchorage.
3. Tighten the top tether securely.
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Always remove the head restraint
when mounting a child restraint sys-
tem with a top tether. Otherwise, it
may not be possible to fasten the
top tether tightly.
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Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
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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.yDo not place any objects over or
near the SRS airbag cover or be-
tween you and the SRS airbag. If
the SRS airbag deploys, those ob-
jects could interfere with its prop-
er operation and could be pro-
pelled inside the vehicle and
cause injury.
yPut children aged 12 and under in
the rear seat properly restrained
at all times. The SRS airbag de-
ploys 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 re-
strained. Because children are
lighter and weaker than adults,
their risk of being injured from de-
ployment is greater.
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Consequently, we strongly rec-
ommend that ALL children (in-
cluding those in child seats and
those that have outgrown child re-
straint devices) sit in the REAR
seat properly restrained at all
times in a child restraint device or
in a seatbelt, whichever is appro-
priate for the child’s age, height
and weight. Secure ALL types of child re-
straint devices (including forward
facing child seats) in the REAR
seats at all times.According to accident statistics,
children are safer when properly
restrained in the rear seating posi-
tions than in the front seating po-
sitions.For instructions and precautions
concerning the child restraint sys-
tem, see the “Child restraint sys-
tems” section in this chapter. 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.
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„Subaru advanced frontal air-
bag systemYour vehicle is equipped with a Subaru
advanced frontal airbag system that com-
plies with the new advanced frontal airbag
requirements in the amended Federal Mo-
tor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No.
208.
The Subaru advanced frontal airbag sys-
tem automatically determines the deploy-
ment force of the driver’s SRS frontal air-
bag at the time of deployment as well as
whether or not to activate the front pas-
senger’s SRS frontal airbag and, if activat-
ed, the deployment force of the SRS fron-
tal 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. The subaru
advanced frontal airbag system is a sup-
plemental restraint system and must be
used in combination with a seatbelt. All
occupants should wear a seatbelt or be
seated in an appropriate 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 dashboard
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.
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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 the front passenger’s seat.
The SRS airbag deploys with con-
siderable force and can injure or
even kill the child.
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Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
vanced frontal airbag system from func-
tioning correctly or cause the system to
fail.
yDo not apply any strong impact to the
front passenger’s seat such as by kicking.
y Do not spill liquid on the front passen-
ger’s seat. If liquid is spilled, wipe it off im-
mediately.
y Do not remove or disassemble the front
passenger’s seat.
y Do not install any accessory (such as
an audio amplifier) other than a genuine
SUBARU accessory under the front pas-
senger’s seat.
y Do not place anything (shoes, umbrella,
etc.) under the front passenger’s seat.
y The front passenger’s seat must not be
used with the head restraint removed.
y Do not leave any article including a child
restraint system on the front passenger’s
seat or the seatbelt tongue and buckle en-
gaged when you leave your vehicle.
y Do not place a magnet near the seatbelt
buckle and the seatbelt retractor.
y Do not use front seats with their back-
ward-forward position and seatback not
being locked into place securely. If any of
them are not locked securely, adjust them
again. For adjusting procedure, refer to
the “Manual seat” in the front seats sec-
tion in Chapter 1 in this owner’s manual.
(Models equipped with manual seats only) y
If you use an optional seatbelt extender,
remove it after each use. (Refer to the
“Seatbelt extender” section in this chap-
ter.)
If the seatbelt buckle switch and/or front
passenger’s occupant detection system
have failed, the SRS airbag system warn-
ing light will illuminate. Have the system
inspected by your SUBARU dealer imme-
diately if the SRS airbag system warning
light comes on.
If your vehicle has sustained impact, this
may affect the proper function of the
Subaru advanced frontal airbag system.
Have your vehicle inspected at your
SUBARU dealer.
NOTEThe front passenger’s SRS side airbag
and seatbelt pretensioner are not con-
trolled by the Subaru advanced frontal
airbag system. T
Passenger’s frontal airbag ON and
OFF indicators
1) U.S.-spec. models
2) Canada-spec. models
or :Front passenger’s frontal
airbag ON indicator
or :Front passenger’s frontal
airbag OFF indicatorThe front passenger’s frontal airbag ON
and OFF indicators show you the status of
the front passenger’s SRS frontal airbag.
The indicators are located next to the
clock in the central portion of the instru-
ment panel.
When the ignition switch is turned to the
“ON” position, both the ON and OFF indi-
cators illuminate for 6 seconds during
which time the system is checked. Follow-
ing the system check, both indicators ex-
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tinguish for 2 seconds. After this, one of
the indicators illuminates depending on
the status of the front passenger’s SRS
frontal airbag reached by the Subaru ad-
vanced frontal airbag system monitoring.
If the front passenger’s SRS frontal airbag
is activated, the passenger’s frontal airbag
ON indicator will illuminate while the OFF
indicator will remain extinguished.
If the front passenger’s SRS frontal airbag
is deactivated, the passenger’s frontal air-
bag ON indicator will remain extinguished
while the OFF indicator will illuminate.
With the ignition switch turned to the “ON”
position, if both the ON and OFF indica-
tors remain lit or extinguished simulta-
neously even after the system check peri-
od, the system is faulty. Contact your
SUBARU dealer immediately for an in-
spection.
TConditions in which front passen-
ger’s SRS frontal airbag is not acti-
vated
The front passenger’s SRS frontal airbag
will not be activated when any of the fol-
lowing conditions are met regarding the
front passenger’s seat:
y The seat is empty.
y The seat is equipped with a rearward
facing child restraint system and an infant
is restrained with it. (See WARNING that follows.)
y
The seat is equipped with a forward fac-
ing child restraint system and a small child
is restrained with it. (See WARNING that
follows.)
y The seat is equipped with a booster
seat and a small child is in the booster
seat. (See WARNING that follows.)
y The seat is relieved of the occupant
load for a time exceeding the predeter-
mined period.
y The seat is occupied by a child who has
outgrown a child restraint system (See
WARNING that follows.) or a small adult.
y The front passenger’s occupant detec-
tion system is faulty.
When the front passenger’s seat is occu-
pied by a child, observe the following pre-
cautions. Failure to do so may increase
the load on the front passenger’s seat, ac-
tivating the front passenger’s SRS frontal
airbag even though that seat is occupied
by a child.
y Do not place any article on the seat oth-
er than the child occupant and a child re-
straint system.NEVER INSTALL A REARWARD
FACING CHILD SEAT IN THE FRONT
PASSENGER’S SEAT EVEN IF THE
FRONT PASSENGER’S SRS FRON-
TAL AIRBAG IS DEACTIVATED. Be
sure to install it in the REAR seat in
a correct manner. Also, it is strongly
recommended that any forward fac-
ing child seat or booster seat be in-
stalled in the REAR seat, and that
even children who have outgrown a
child restraint system be also seat-
ed in the REAR seat. This is because
children sitting in the front passen-
ger’s seat may be killed or severely
injured should the front passenger’s
SRS frontal airbag deploy. REAR
seats are the safest place for chil-
dren.
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