2006 SUBARU OUTBACK child restraint

3
– CONTINUED –Vehicle symbols There are some of the symbols you may
see on your vehicle. Mark Name
CAUTION
Passengers’ windows lock
Fuel
Front fog lights
Parking lights
Hazard warning flasher
Cigarette lighter
Seat heater
Child restraint lower anchor-
ages Child restraint top tether an-
chorages
Horn
Windshield wiper deicer
Wiper intermittent
Windshield wiper and wash-
er
Rear window wiper and
washer
Lights
Parking lights, tail lights, li-
cense plate lights and instru-
ment panel illumination
Head lights
Turn signal
Illumination brightnessMark Name
Engine hood
Trunk lid (Sedan)
Fan speed
Instrument panel outlets
Instrument panel outlets and
foot outlets
Foot outlets
Windshield defroster and
foot outlets
Windshield defroster
Rear window defogger/Out-
side mirror defogger
Air recirculation
Outside air
Engine oilMark Name

5
– CONTINUED –„ Child safety y 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
collision, because the child will be
caught between the passenger
and objects inside the vehicle.
y 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 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. y Put 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 of being injured
from deployment is greater.
y NEVER INSTALL A REARWARD
FACING CHILD SAFETY SEAT IN
THE FRONT SEAT. DOING SO
RISKS SERIOUS INJURY OR
DEATH TO THE CHILD BY PLAC-
ING THE CHILD’S HEAD TOO
CLOSE TO THE SRS AIRBAG.
y 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. y Always 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 “Power windows” section
in chapter 2.
y Never 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.
y Help prevent young children from
locking themselves in the trunk.
When leaving the vehicle, either
close all windows and lock all
doors or cancel the inside trunk
lid release. Also make certain that
the trunk is closed. On hot or sun-
ny days, the temperature in a
trunk could quickly become high
enough to cause death or serious
heat-related injuries including
brain damage to anyone locked
inside, particularly for small chil-
dren.

6
Carefully read the sect ions “Child restraint
systems”,“*SRS airbag (Supplemental
Restraint System airbag)”, and “Seatbelts”
in chapter 1 of this owner’s manual for in-
structions and precau tions concerning the
child restraint system, seatbelt system
and SRS airbag system.
„ Engine exhaust gas (carbon
monoxide) „ Drinking and driving
Drunken driving is one of the most fre-
quent causes of accidents. Since alcohol
affects all people differently, you may
have consumed too much alcohol to drive
safely even if the level of alcohol in your
blood is below the legal limit. The safest
thing you can do is never drink and drive.
However if you have no choice but to
drive, stop drinking and sober up com-
pletely before getting behind the wheel.y Never inhale engine exhaust gas.
Engine exhaust gas contains car-
bon monoxide, a colorless and
odorless gas which is dangerous,
or even lethal, if inhaled.
y Always properly maintain the en-
gine exhaust system to prevent
engine exhaust gas from entering
the vehicle.
y Never run the engine in a closed
space, such as a garage, except
for the brief time needed to drive
the vehicle in or out of it. y Avoid remaining in a parked vehi-
cle for a lengthy ti me while the en-
gine is running. If that is unavoid-
able, then use th e ventilation fan
to force fresh air into the vehicle.
y Always keep the front ventilator
inlet grille free from snow, leaves
or other obstructions to ensure
that the ventilation system always
works properly.
y If at any time you suspect that ex-
haust fumes are entering the vehi-
cle, have the problem checked
and corrected as soon as possi-
ble. If you must drive under these
conditions, drive only with all win-
dows fully open.
y Keep the trunk lid or rear gate
closed while driving to prevent ex-
haust gas from entering the vehi-
cle. Drinking and then driving is very
dangerous. Alcohol in the blood-
stream delays your reaction and im-
pairs your perception, judgment and
attentiveness. If you drive after
drinking – even if you drink just a lit-
tle – it will increase the risk of being
involved in a serious or fatal acci-
dent, injuring or killing yourself,
your passengers and others. In ad-
dition, if you are injured in the acci-
dent, alcohol may increase the se-
verity of that injury.
Please don’t drink and drive.

12
„ InteriorT Passenger compartment area 1 2
345 0000731) Lower anchorages for child restraint
system (page 1-32)
2) Seatbelt (page 1-11)
3) Center console (page 6-5)
4) Front seat (page 1-2)
5) Rear seat (page 1-7)

1
Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbagsFront seats .......................................................... 1-2 Manual seat ............................................................. 1-3
Power seat (if equipped) ...... ............................ ...... 1-4
Reclining the seatback ........................................... 1-4
Head restraint adjustment ..................................... 1-5
Active head restraint .......... .................................... 1-6
Lumbar support (if equipped) ................................ 1-6
Seat heater (if equipped) ................................... 1-7
Rear seats ........................................................... 1-7 Folding down the rear seat – Station wagon ....... 1-8
Head restraint adjustment ..................................... 1-8
Armrest (if equipped) ......................................... 1-10 Loading long objects (Sedan) ............................... 1-10
Seatbelts ............................................................. 1-11 Seatbelt safety tips ................................................. 1-11
Emergency Locking Retractor (ELR) .................... 1-12
Automatic/Emergency Locking Retractor
(A/ELR) .................................................................. 1-13
Seatbelt warning light and chime .......................... 1-13
Fastening the seatbelt ............................................ 1-15
Seatbelt maintenance ............................................. 1-21
Front seatbelt pretensioners ............................. 1-21 System monitors .................................................... 1-22
System servicing .................................................... 1-23
Precautions against vehicle modification ............ 1-24
Child restraint systems ..................................... 1-25
Where to place a child restraint system ............... 1-26
Choosing a child restraint system ........................ 1-27 Installing child restraint systems with A/ELR
seatbelt .................................................................. 1-28
Installing a booster seat ......................................... 1-31
Installation of child restraint systems by use of
lower and tether anchorages (LATCH) ............... 1-32
Top tether anchorages ........................................... 1-36
*SRS airbag (Supplemental Restraint System
airbag) .............................................................. 1-38 Vehicle with SRS airbags and lap/shoulder
restraints for driver, front passenger, and
window-side rear passengers ............. ............ .... 1-38
Subaru advanced frontal airbag system .............. 1-43
SRS side airbag and SRS curtain airbag .............. 1-53
SRS airbag system monitors ............................. .... 1-59
SRS airbag system servicing ............................ .... 1-60
Precautions against vehicle modification ............ 1-61

1-2 Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
Front seats y Never adjust the seat while driv-
ing to avoid the possibility of loss
of vehicle control and of personal
injury.
y Before adjusting the seat, make
sure the hands and feet of rear
seat passengers are clear of the
adjusting mechanism.
y Seatbelts provide maximum re-
straint 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 uprigh t position while
the vehicle is running. If the front
seatbacks are not used in the up-
right 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 internal
injury or death. 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.
100082Put 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 restrained or
improperly restrained. Because chil-
dren are lighter and weaker than
adults, their risk of being injured
from deployment is greater. Conse-
quently, we strongly recommend
that ALL children (including those in
child seats and those that have out-
grown child restraint 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 restraint
devices (including forward facing
child seat) in the REAR seats at all
times.

Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
1-3
– CONTINUED –„ Manual seatT Fore and aft adjustment Pull the lever upward and slide the seat to
the desired position. Then release the le-
ver and move the seat back and forth to
make sure that it is securely locked into
place.
T Reclining the seatback
Pull the reclining lever up and adjust the
seatback to the desired position. Then re-
lease the lever and make sure the seat is
securely locked into place.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.
According to accident statistics,
children are safer when properly re-
strained in the rear seating posi-
tions than in the front seating posi-
tions. For instructions and precau-
tions concerning child restraint sys-
tems, see the “Child restraint sys-
tems” section in this chapter.
100244 100085To prevent the passenger from slid-
ing under the seatbelt in the event of
a collision, always put the seatback
in the upright posi tion while the ve-
hicle is in motion. Also, do not place
objects such as cushions between
the passenger and the seatback. If
you do so, 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 inter-
nal injury or death.
100245

Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
1-11
– CONTINUED –Seatbelts „ Seatbelt safety tipsy Secure long objects properly to
prevent them from shooting for-
ward and causing serious injury
during a sudden stop or sharp
cornering. Tie long objects down
with a rope or something equiva-
lent.
y Avoid loading objects longer than
6.6 ft (2 m) 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.
200293y 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.
y All belts should fit snugly in order
to provide full re straint. Loose fit-
ting belts are not as effective in
preventing or reducing injury.
y Each seatbelt is designed to sup-
port only one person. Never use a
single belt for two or more per-
sons – even children. Otherwise,
in an accident, serious injury or
death could result.
y Replace all seatbelt assemblies
including retractors and attaching
hardware worn by occupants of a
vehicle that has been in a serious
accident. The entire assembly
should be replaced even if dam-
age is not obvious. y Put 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. Consequent-
ly, we strongly recommend that
ALL children (including those in
child seats and those that have
outgrown child restraint devices)
sit in the REAR seat properly re-
strained at all times in a child re-
straint device or in a seatbelt,
whichever is appropriate for the
child’s height and weight.
Secure ALL types of child re-
straint devices (including forward
facing child seats) in the REAR
seats at all times.