2007 SUBARU FORESTER child seat

3
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Vehicle symbols
There are some of the symbols you may
see on your vehicle.Mark Name WARNING
CAUTION
Power door lock
Passenger’s windows lock
Fuel
Front fog lights
Parking lights
Hazard warning flasher
Engine hood
Seat heater
Child restraint top tether an-
chorages
Child restraint lower anchor- ages Horn
Windshield wiper deicer
Wiper intermittent
Windshield washer
Windshield wiper mist (for single wipe) Rear window wiper Rear window washer
Lights
Mark NameParking lights, tail lights, li-
cense plate light and instru-
ment panel illumination
Head lights
Headlight beam leveler
Illumination brightness
Fan speed
Instrument panel outlets
Instrument panel outlets and
foot outlets
Foot outlets
Windshield defroster and
foot outlets
Windshield defroster
Outside mirror defogger
Mark Name

5
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„
Child safety
Carefully read the sections “Child restraint
systems”,“*SRS airbag (Supplemental
Restraint System airbag)”, and “Seatbelts”
in chapter 1 of this Owner’s Manual for in-
structions and precautions concerning the
child restraint system, seatbelt system
and SRS airbag system.
yNever 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.
yWhile 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 being injured
from deployment is greater.
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.
yAlways 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
“Child safety locks” section in
chapter 2.
yAlways 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 “Windows” section in chap-
ter 2.
yNever 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.

12 „Interior
T Passenger compartment area
12 3
4
5
6
000122 1) Lower anchorage for child restraint
system (page 1-32)
2) Seatbelt (page 1-10)
3) Moonroof (page 2-21)
4) Parking brake lever (page 7-20)
5) Front seat (page 1-2)
6) Rear seat (page 1-7)

1
Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
Front seats .......................................................... 1-2Manual seat ............................................................. 1-3
Power seat (if equipped) ........................................ 1-4
Lumbar support (Driver’s seat only) ..................... 1-5
Head restraint adjustment ..................................... 1-6
Active head restraint .............................................. 1-6
Seat heater (if equipped) ................................... 1-7
Rear seats ........................................................... 1-7 Head restraint adjustment ..................................... 1-8
Folding down the rear seatback ............................ 1-9
Armrest (if equipped) ......................................... 1-10
Seatbelts ............................................................. 1-10 Seatbelt safety tips ................................................. 1-10
Emergency Locking Retractor (ELR) .................... 1-11
Automatic/Emergency Locking Retractor (A/ELR) .................................................................. 1-12
Seatbelt warning light and chime .......................... 1-12
Fastening the seatbelt ............................................ 1-13
Seatbelt maintenance ............................................. 1-19
Seatbelt extender ............................................... 1-20
Front seatbelt pretensioners ............................. 1-21 System monitors .................................................... 1-22
System servicing .................................................... 1-23
Precautions against vehicle modification ............ 1-23
Child restraint systems ..................................... 1-24 Where to place a child restraint system ............... 1-25
Choosing a child restraint system ........................ 1-26
Installing child restraint systems with A/ELR seatbelt .................................................................. 1-27 Installing a booster seat ......................................... 1-30
Installation of child restraint systems by use of
lower and tether anchorages (LATCH) ............... 1-32
Top tether anchorages ........................................... 1-34
*SRS airbag (Supplemental Restraint System airbag) .............................................................. 1-36Vehicle with driver’s and front passenger’s SRS airbags and lap/shoulder restraints ........... 1-36
Subaru advanced frontal airbag system .............. 1-40
SRS side airbag (if equipped) ................................ 1-52
SRS airbag system monitors ................................. 1-57
SRS airbag system servicing ................................ 1-58
Precautions against vehicle modification ............ 1-59

1-2 Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
Sea t, s eatbelt and SRS airb agsFront seats
yNever adjust the seat while driv-
ing to avoid the possibility of loss
of vehicle control and of personal
injury.
yBefore adjusting the seat, make
sure the hands and feet of rear
seat passengers are clear of the
adjusting mechanism.
ySeatbelts 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 upright 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.
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.
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Put 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.
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.

Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags 1-3
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„
Manual seat
T 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-
back is securely locked into place.
The seatback placed in a reclined position
can spring back upward with force when
released. When operating the reclining le-
ver to return the seatback, hold it lightly so
that it may be raised back gradually.
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.
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To prevent the passenger from slid-
ing under the seatbelt in the event of
a collision, always put the seatback
in the upright position 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.
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1-10 Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
Armrest (if equipped)
To lower the armrest, pull on the top edge
of the armrest.Seatbelts „Seatbelt safety tips
To avoid the possibility of serious
injury, passengers must never be al-
lowed to sit on the center armrest
while the vehicle is in motion.
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yAll 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.
yAll belts should fit snugly in order
to provide full restraint. Loose fit-
ting belts are not as effective in
preventing or reducing injury.
yEach 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.
yReplace 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.
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. 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.

Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags 1-11
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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. T
Infants or small children
Use a child restraint system that is suit-
able for your vehicle. See information on
“Child restraint systems” in this chapter. T Children
If a child is too big for a child restraint sys-
tem, the child should sit in the rear seat
and be restrained using the seatbelts. Ac- cording to accident statistics, children are
safer when properly restrained in the rear
seating positions than in the front seating
positions. Never allow a child to stand up
or kneel on the seat.
If the shoulder portion of the belt crosses
the face or neck, adjust the shoulder belt
anchor height (window-side seating posi-
tions only) and then if necessary move the
child closer to the belt buckle to help pro-
vide a good shoulder belt fit. Care must be
taken to securely place the lap belt as low
as possible on the hips and not on the
child’s waist. If the shoulder portion of the
belt cannot be properly positioned, a child
restraint system should be used. Never
place the shoulder belt under the child’s
arm or behind the child’s back.
T
Expectant mothers
Expectant mothers also need to use the
seatbelts. They should consult their doctor
for specific recommendations. The lap
belt should be worn securely and as low
as possible over the hips, not over the
waist. „ Emergency Locking Retrac-
tor (ELR)
The driver’s seatbelt has an Emergency
Locking Retractor (ELR).
The emergency locking retractor allows
normal body movement but the retractor
locks automatically during a sudden stop,
impact or if you pull the belt very quickly
out of the retractor.
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 TOTHE SRS AIRBAG.
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 pre-
cautions concerning the child re-
straint system, see the “Child re-
straint systems” section in this
chapter.
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