2006 SUBARU OUTBACK Owners Manual

1-32 Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
following the instructions provided by its
manufacturer.
3. Insert the tongue plate into the buckle
until you hear a click. Take care not to
twist the seatbelt.
Make sure the shoulder belt is positioned
across the center of child’s shoulder and
that the lap belt is positioned as low as
possible on the child’s hips.
4. To remove the booster seat, press the
release button on the seatbelt buckle and
allow the belt to retract. „ Installation of child restraint
systems by use of lower and
tether anchorages (LATCH)
y Never use a belt that is twisted or
reversed. In an accident, this can
increase the risk or severity of in-
jury to the child. 100142y Never place the shoulder belt un-
der the child’s arm or behind the
child’s back. If an accident oc-
curs, this can increase the risk or
severity of injury to the child.
y The seatbelt should fit snugly in
order to provide full restraint.
Loose fitting belts are not as ef-
fective in preventing or reducing
injury.
y Place the lap belt as low as possi-
ble on the child’s hips. A high-po-
sitioned lap belt will increase the
risk of sliding under the lap belt
and of the lap belt sliding up over
the abdomen, and both can result
in serious internal injury or death.
y Make sure the shoulder belt is po-
sitioned across the center of
child’s shoulder. Placing the
shoulder belt over the neck may
result in neck injury during sud-
den braking or in a collision. y Child restraint systems and seat-
belts can become hot in a vehicle
that has been closed up in sunny
weather; they could burn a small
child. Check the child restraint
system before you place a child in
it.
y Do not leave an unsecured child
restraint system in your vehicle.
Unsecured child restraint sys-
tems can be thrown around inside
of the vehicle in a sudden stop,
turn or accident; they can strike
and injure vehicle occupants as
well as result in serious injuries or
death to the child.

Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
1-33
– CONTINUED –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 dedi-
cated anchorages provided on the vehicle
body.
The lower and tether anchorages are
sometimes referred to as the LATCH sys-
tem ( L ower A nchors and T ethers for CH il-
dren). Your vehicle is equipped with four lower
anchorages (bars) and three upper an-
chorages (tether anchorages) for accom-
modating such chil d 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 lower anchorage is located where
the seat cushion meets the seatback.
SedanWhen 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. 100652
100311 TOP TETHER
100268

1-34 Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
Station wagon
The tether anchorages (upper anchorag-
es) are provided for all the seating posi-
tions (middle and both window-side ones)
of the rear seat. Sedan
Station wagon
You will find marks “ ” at the bottom of
the rear seat seatba cks. These marks in- dicate the positions of the lower anchorag-
es (bars).
Each lower anchorage is located where
the seat cushion meets the seatback. 0
1. Sedan: Make the clearance betweenTOP TETHER
100269 100653
100654When 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.
100519

Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
1-35
– CONTINUED –the seat cushion and seatback a little wid-
er to locate the two anchorages (bars) for
the position where you want to install the
child restraint system.
Station wagon: Remove the two covers
from the selected side of the rear seat-
back to expose the anchorages (bars) to
be used for installation of the child re-
straint 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”.100655 100520
100656

1-36 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 ch ild 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 Tether anchorage location
V Sedan
Three tether anchorages are installed on
the rear shelf behind the rear seat head
restraint. Open the cover flap to use each
anchorage. V Station wagon
Three tether anchorages, i.e., ones for the
right, center and left positions, are already
installed on the rear edge of the roof.
Open the cover flap to use each anchor-
age.100657
TOP TETHER
100268 TOP TETHER
100269

Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
1-37
– CONTINUED –T To hook the top tether
V Sedan
1. Remove the head restraint at the seat-
ing position where the child seat has been
installed with the seatbelt or lower anchor-
ages; lift up the head restraint while press-
ing the release button.
Store the head restraint in the trunk. Avoid
placing the head restraint in the passen-
ger compartment to prevent it from being
thrown around in the passenger compart-
ment in a sudden stop or a sharp turn. 2. Open the cover flaps to use the an-
chorages.
3. Fasten the top tether hook of the child
restraint system to the appropriate upper
anchorage.
4. Tighten the top tether securely. V Station wagon 0
1. Remove the head restraint at the seat-
ing position where the child restraint sys-
tem has been installed with the seatbelt or200290 TOP TETHER
200309
200310Do not route the top tether over the
head restraint. It may happen that
the top tether cannot be fastened
tightly.
When the child restraint system is to
be secured using the top tether,
pass the top tether under the head
restraint between the head restraint
stay posts. If the top tether still can-
not be fastened ti ghtly, remove the
head restraint.
100270

1-38 Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
lower anchorages; lift up the head re-
straint while pressing the release button.
Store the head restrain t 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. 3. Fasten the top tether hook of the child
restraint system to the appropriate upper
anchorage.
4. Tighten the top tether securely. *SRS airbag (Supplemental
Restraint System airbag) *SRS: This stands for supplemental re-
straint system. This name is used be-
cause the airbag system supplements the
vehicle’s seatbelts.
Your vehicle is equipped with a crash
sensing and diagnostic module, which will
record the use of the seatbelt(s) by the
driver and/or front passenger when any of
the SRS frontal, side and curtain airbags
deploys.
„ Vehicle with SRS airbags and
lap/shoulder restraints for
driver, front passenger, and
window-side rear passengers Your vehicle is equipped with a supple-
mental restraint system in addition to a
lap/shoulder belt at each front seating po-
sition and each rear window-side seating
positions. The supplemental restraint sys-
tem (SRS) consists of six airbags.
The configurations are as follows:
y Driver’s and front passenger’s frontal
airbags
y Driver’s and front passenger’s side air-
bags
y Curtain airbags (for driver, front pas-100271
Always remove the head restraint
when mounting a child restraint sys-
tem with a top teth er. Otherwise, it
may happen that the top tether can-
not be fastened tightly. 200308

Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
1-39
– CONTINUED –senger, and window-side rear passen-
gers)
These SRS airbags are designed only
as a supplement to the primary protec-
tion provided by the seatbelt.
The system also controls front seatbelt
pretensioners. For operation instructions
and precautions conc erning the seatbelt
pretensioner, see the “Front seatbelt pre-
tensioners” section in this chapter.
y To 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 airbag is designed only as a
supplement to the primary protec-
tion provided by the seatbelt. It
does not do away with the need to
fasten seatbelts. In combination
with the seatbelts, it offers the
best combined protection 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. For instructions and precautions
concerning the seatbelt system,
see the “Seatbelts” section in this
chapter.
y Do not sit or lean unnecessarily
close to the SRS airbag. Because
the SRS airbag deploys with con-
siderable speed – faster than the
blink of an eye – and force to pro-
tect in high speed collisions, the
force of an airbag can injure an
occupant whose body is too close
to SRS airbag.
It is also important to wear your
seatbelt to help avoid injuries that
can result when the SRS airbag
contacts an occupant not in prop-
er position such as one thrown
forward during pre-accident brak-
ing.
Even when properly positioned,
there remains a possibility that an
occupant may suffer minor injury
such as abrasions and bruises to
the face or arms because of the
SRS airbag deployment force. y The 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.
y Do 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.