2007 SUBARU FORESTER Owners Manual

Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags 1-29
– CONTINUED –
ELR function of the retractor. That
function is restored by allowing the
seatbelt to retract fully. T
Installing forward facing child re-
straint
1. Place the child restraint system in the
rear seating position.
2. Run the lap and shoulder belt through
or around the child restraint system follow-
ing the instructions provided by its manu-
facturer.
3. Insert the tongue plate into the buckle
until you hear a click. 4. Take up the slack in the lap belt.
5. Pull out the seatbelt fully from the re-
tractor to change the retractor over from
the Emergency Locking Retractor (ELR)
to the Automatic Locking Retractor (ALR)
function. Then, allow the belt to rewind
into the retractor. As the belt is rewinding,
clicks will be heard which indicate the re-
tractor functions as ALR.
6. Before having a child sit in the child re-
straint system, move it back and forth and
right and left to check if it is firmly secured.
Sometimes a child restraint can be more
firmly secured by pushing it down into the
seat cushion and then tightening the seat-
belt.
7. Pull at the shoulder portion of the belt
to confirm that it cannot be pulled out (ALR
properly functioning).
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1-30 Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
8. If the child restraint system requires a
top tether, latch the hook onto the top teth-
er anchor and tighten the top tether. See
the “Top tether anchorages” for additional
instructions.
9. To remove the child restraint system,press the release button on the seatbelt
buckle and allow the belt to retract com-
pletely. The belt will return to the ELR
mode. Unhook the top tether hook from
the top tether anchor.
NOTE
When the child restraint system is no
longer in use, remove it and restore the
ELR function of the retractor. That
function is restored by allowing the
seatbelt to retract fully. „ Installing a booster seat
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yChild 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.
yDo 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.
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.

Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags 1-31
– CONTINUED –
1. Place the booster seat in the rear seat-
ing position and sit the child on it. The
child should sit well back on the booster
seat.
2. Run the lap and shoulder belt through
or around the booster seat and the child
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.
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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.
yNever 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.
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yThe seatbelt should fit snugly in
order to provide full restraint.
Loose fitting belts are not as ef-
fective in preventing or reducing
injury.
yPlace 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.
yMake 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.

1-32 Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
„Installation of child restraint
systems by use of lower and
tether anchorages (LATCH)
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 Tethers 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.
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.
yDo 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.
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 1-33
– CONTINUED –
The tether anchorages (upper anchorag-
es) are provided for all the seating posi-
tions (center and both window-side ones)
of the rear seat.
You will find marks “ ” at the bottom of
the rear seat seatbacks. These marks in- 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.
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1-34 Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
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”.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 anchorages
Your 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.
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Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags 1-35
– CONTINUED –
T
Anchorage location
1) For left seat
2) For center seat
3) For right seat
Three upper anchorages are installed on
the rear edge of the roof. Open the cover flaps to use the tether an-
chorages. T
To 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.
3
TOP TETHER 2
1
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1-36 Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
*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 and side airbags deploys. „Vehicle with driver’s and
front passenger’s SRS air-
bags and lap/shoulder re-
straints
Your vehicle is equipped with a supple-
mental restraint system in addition to a
lap/shoulder belt at each front seating po-
sition.
The supplemental restraint system (SRS)
consists of two airbag (driver’s and front
passenger’s frontal airbags) or four air-
bags (driver’s and front passenger’s fron-
tal airbags and driver’s and front passen-
ger’s side airbags).
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 concerning the seatbelt
pretensioner, see the “Front seatbelt pre-
tensioners” section in this chapter.
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.
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.