1-40 Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
Never hold a child on your lap or in
your arms. The SRS airbag deploys
with considerable force and can in-
jure or even kill the child.
100125
The SRS airbag deploys with con-
siderable speed and force. Occu-
pants who are out of proper position
when the SRS airbag deploys could
suffer very serious injuries. Be-
cause 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 practical while
still maintaining full vehicle control
and the front passenger should
move the seat as far back as possi-
ble and sit upright and well back in
the seat.
100155
It is also important to wear your
seatbelt to help avoid injuries that
can result when the SRS airbag con-
tacts an occupant not in proper po-
sition 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 pro-
pelled inside the vehicle and cause
injury.
100156
Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags 1-45
CONTINUED
When a heavy article is placed on the
seat.
When the front passenger s seat is occu-
pied by an adult, observe the following
precautions. Failure to do so may lessen
the load on the front passenger s seat, de-
activating the front passenger s SRS fron-
tal 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 us-
ing 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 passenger s seat and side trim/pillar,
door or center console 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
occupied by an adult
This can be caused by the adult incorrect-
ly sitting in the front passenger s seat.
Turn the ignition switch to the OFF posi-
tion. 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 seatbelt, position his/
her legs out forward, and adjust the seat
to the rearmost position. Turn the ignition
switch to the
ON position. If the OFF in-
dicator remains illuminated while the ON
indicator remains extinguished, take the
following actions.
Turn the ignition switch to the OFF po-
sition.
Ensure that there is no article, book,
shoe, or other object trapped under the
seat, at the rear of the seat, or on the side
of the seat.
Ensure that the backward-forward posi-
tion and seatback of front passenger s
seat are locked into place securely by
moving the seat back and forth.
Next, turn the ignition switch to the ON
position and wait 6 seconds to allow the
system to complete self-checking. Follow-
ing the system check, both indicators ex-
tinguish for 2 seconds. Now, the ON indi-
cator should illuminate while the OFF indi-
cator remains extinguished.
If the OFF indicator still illuminates while
the ON indicator remains extinguished,
ask the occupant to move to the rear seat
and immediately contact your SUBARU
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 air-
bag system. If you have any questions,
you may contact the following Subaru dis-
tributors:
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
1-48 Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
case of the front passenger s SRS frontal
airbag. After deployment, the SRS airbag
immediately starts to deflate so that the
driver s vision is not obstructed. The time
required from detecting impact to the de-
flation of the SRS airbag after deployment
is shorter than the blink of an eye.
Both when only the driver s SRS frontal
airbag deploys and the driver s and front
passenger s SRS frontal airbags deploy,
the driver s and front passenger s seatbelt
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 vision
and will not interfere with the driver s abil-
ity 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 oc-
currences are a normal result of the de-
ployment. This smoke does not indicate a
fire in the vehicle.
The driver s SRS frontal airbag and front
passenger s SRS frontal airbag are de-
signed to deploy in the event of an acci-
dent involving a moderate to severe fron-
tal collision. 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 fron-
tal airbag or both driver s and front pas-
senger 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 function on a one-
time-only basis.
SRS airbag deployment depends on the
level of force experienced in the passen-
ger 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 it-
self.
Examples of accident in which the
driver
s/driver s and front passen-
ger s SRS frontal airbag(s) will most
likely deploy.
A head-on collision against a thick con-
crete wall at a vehicle speed of 12 to 19
mph (20 to 30 km/h) or higher activates
only the driver s SRS frontal airbag or both
driver s and front passenger s SRS frontal
airbags. The airbag(s) will also be activat-
ed when the vehicle is exposed to a frontal
impact similar in fashion and magnitude to
the collision described above.
Do not touch the SRS airbag system
components around the steering
wheel and dashboard with bare
hands right after deployment. Doing
so can cause burns because the
components can be very hot as a re-
sult of deployment.
100301
Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags 1-53
CONTINUED
Operation
1) SRS side airbag deploys as soon as a
collision occurs.
2) SRS side airbag protects the front pas- senger s head and chest.
3) After deployment, SRS side airbag starts to deflate immediately.
The SRS side airbag can function only
when the ignition switch is in the ON po-
sition.
The driver s and front passenger s SRS
side airbags deploy independently of each
other since each has its own impact sen-
sor. Also, the SRS side airbag deploys in-
dependently of the frontal airbags in the
steering wheel and instrument panel.
An impact sensor is incorporated into
each of the vehicle s center pillars. If ei-
ther sensor detects a certain predeter-
mined amount of force during a side im-
pact collision, the control module sends a
signal to the side airbag module on the im-
pacted side of the vehicle, instructing it to
inflate the SRS side airbag. Then the side
airbag module produces gas, which in-
stantly inflates the SRS side airbag. After
deployment, the SRS side airbag will de-
flate in a few seconds.
The SRS side airbag deploys even when
no one occupies the seat on the side on
which an impact is applied.
When the SRS side airbag deploys, a sud-
den, fairly loud inflation noise will be heard
and some smoke will be released. These
occurrences are normal result of the de-
ployment. This smoke does not indicate a
fire in the vehicle.
Do not put any kind of cover or
clothes or other objects over either
front seatback and do not attach la-
bels or stickers to the front seat sur-
face on or near the SRS side airbag.
They could prevent proper deploy-
ment of the SRS side airbag, reduc-
ing protection available to the front
seat s occupant.
1 2 3
100625
1-58 Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
In the event that the SRS airbag is de-
ployed, replacement of the system
should be performed only by an autho-
rized SUBARU dealer. When the com-
ponents of the SRS airbag system are
replaced, use only genuine SUBARU
parts.
To ensure their long-term reliability, the
SRS airbags must be inspected by a
SUBARU dealer ten years after the date
of manufacture, which is shown on the
certification plate attached to the driver s door jamb.
NOTE
In the following cases, contact your
SUBARU dealer as soon as possible.
The front part of the vehicle was in-
volved in an accident in which only the
driver s SRS frontal airbag or both driv-
er s and front passenger s SRS frontal
airbags did not deploy.
The pad section of the steering
wheel or front passenger s frontal air-
bag cover is scratched, cracked, or
otherwise damaged.
In addition, if your vehicle is equipped
with SRS side airbags, contact your
SUBARU dealer as soon as possible in
the following cases.
Either center pillar or a nearby area
of the vehicle was involved in an acci-
dent in which the SRS side airbag did
not deploy.
The fabric or leather of either front
seatback is cut, frayed, or otherwise
damaged.
Precautions against vehicle
modification
If you need service or repair in areas
listed in the following, have an au-
thorized SUBARU dealer perform
the work. The SRS airbag control
module, impact sensors and airbag
modules are stored in these areas.
Under the center console
Inside each front fender
Steering wheel and column and
nearby areas
Top of the dashboard on front
passenger s side and nearby ar-
eas
Each front seat and nearby area
Inside each center pillar
To avoid accidental activation of
the system or rendering the sys-
tem inoperative, which may result
in serious injury, no modifications
should be made to any compo-
nents or wiring of the SRS airbag
system.
This includes following modifica-
tions:
Installation of custom steering
wheels
Attachment of additional trim
materials to the dashboard
Installation of custom seats
Replacement of seat fabric or
leather
Installation of additional fabric
or leather on the front seat
3
Instruments and controls
Ignition switch .................................................... 3-3
LOCK .............................................. ......................... 3-3
ACC ............................................... ........................... 3-4
ON ................................................ ............................ 3-4
START ............................................. ......................... 3-4
Key reminder chime ................................ ............... 3-5
Ignition switch light ............................. ................... 3-5
Key interlock release (AT vehicles only) .......... .... 3-5
Hazard warning flasher ............................ .......... 3-6
Meters and gauges (WRX-STI) ....................... ... 3-6
Combination meter illumination .................... ........ 3-6
Cancelling sequential illumination of the combination meter ................................. .............. 3-6
Speedometer ....................................... .................... 3-6
Odometer/Trip meter ............................... ............... 3-7
Tachometer ........................................ ..................... 3-7
Fuel gauge ........................................ ....................... 3-8
Temperature gauge ................................. ............... 3-8
Outside temperature indicator ..................... ......... 3-9
REV indicator light and buzzer (WRX-STI) ....... 3-9 Setting the alarm-level engine speed .............. ..... 3-10
Deactivating the REV alarm system ................. ..... 3-11
Meters and gauges (Except WRX-STI) ............. 3-1 1
Speedometer ....................................... .................... 3-11
Odometer/Trip meter ............................... ............... 3-11
Tachometer ........................................ ..................... 3-12
Fuel gauge ........................................ ....................... 3-12
Temperature gauge ................................. ............... 3-13
Outside temperature indicator ..................... ......... 3-13Warning and indicator lights ......................
....... 3-14
Seatbelt warning light and chime .................. ........ 3-14
SRS airbag system warning light ................... ....... 3-15
Front passenger s frontal airbag ON and OFF
indicators ........................................ ...................... 3-15
CHECK ENGINE warning light/Malfunction indicator lamp .................................... ................... 3-16
Charge warning light .............................. ................ 3-16
Oil pressure warning light ........................ ............. 3-16
AT OIL TEMPerature warning light (AT vehicles) ..................................... .................... 3-17
Rear differential oil temperature warning light (WRX-STI) ......................................... ..................... 3-17
ABS warning light ................................. .................. 3-17
Brake system warning light ........................ ........... 3-18
Door open warning light ........................... ............. 3-19
All-Wheel Drive warning light (AWD AT vehicles
if equipped) ..................................... ................... 3-19
Intercooler water spray warning light (WRX-STI) ......................................... ..................... 3-19
Selector lever position indicator (AT vehicles) ... . 3-20
Turn signal indicator lights ...................... .............. 3-20
High beam indicator light ......................... .............. 3-20
Cruise control indicator light .................... ............. 3-20
Cruise control set indicator light ................ .......... 3-20
Driver s control center differential auto indicator
light (WRX-STI) ................................... .................. 3-20
Driver s control center differential indicator and
warning lights (WRX-STI) .......................... .......... 3-21
Headlight indicator light (WRX-STI) ............... ....... 3-21
REV indicator light (WRX-STI) ..................... .......... 3-21
Instruments and controls
Clock .................................................................... 3-22
Light control switch .............................. ............. 3-22
Headlights ........................................ ....................... 3-22
High/low beam change (dimmer) ..................... ..... 3-23
Headlight flasher ................................. ................... 3-23
Daytime running light system ...................... ......... 3-23
Turn signal lever ................................. ................ 3-24
Illumination brightness control ................... ...... 3-25
Headlight beam leveler (U.S.-spec. WRX-STI) .............................. ........ 3-25
Parking light switch .............................. ............. 3-25
Front fog light button (if equipped) .............. .... 3-26
Wiper and washer .................................. ............. 3-26
Windshield wiper and washer switches .............. . 3-27
Rear window wiper and washer switch Wagon ............................................ .................... 3-28
Rear window defogger button ....................... .... 3-29
Windshield wiper deicer (if equipped) ............. . 3-30
Intercooler water spray switch (WRX-STI) ....... 3-3 1
Mirrors ........................................... ...................... 3-32
Inside mirror ..................................... ...................... 3-32
Outside mirrors ................................... .................... 3-33
Tilt steering wheel ............................... ............... 3-35
Horn .............................................. ....................... 3-35
Instruments and controls 3-3
CONTINUED
Instrum ents and controlsIgnition switch
The ignition switch has four positions:
LOCK, ACC, ON and START.
LOCK
The key can only be inserted or removed
in this position. The ignition switch will lock
the steering wheel when you remove the
key.
If turning the key is difficult, turn the steer-
ing wheel slightly to the right and left as
you turn the key.
Automatic transmission vehicles
The key can be turned from ACC to
LOCK only when the selector lever is in
the P position.Manual transmission vehicles
The key can be turned from ACC to
LOCK only when the key is pushed in
while turning it.
300564
300565
300566
Never turn the ignition switch to LOCK while the vehicle is being
driven or towed because that will
lock the steering wheel, prevent-
ing steering control. And when
the engine is turned off, it takes a
much greater effort than usual to
steer.
300115