2009 SUBARU FORESTER warning

1-60Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
cle damaged by a collision, con-
sult your SUBARU dealer.
. The SRS airbag has no user-
serviceable parts. Do not use
electrical test equipment on any
circuit related to the SRS airbag
system. For required servicing of
the SRS airbag, see your nearest
SUBARU dealer. Tampering with
or disconnecting the system ’s
wiring could result in accidental
inflation of the SRS airbag or
could make the system inopera-
tive, which may result in serious
injury.
CAUTION
If you need service or repair in areas
indicated in the following list, have
an authorized SUBARU dealer per-
form the work. The SRS airbag
control module, impact sensors
and airbag modules are stored in
these areas. . Under the center console
. On both the right and left sides at
the front of the vehicle
. Steering wheel and column and
nearby areas .
Top of the dashboard on front
passenger ’s side and nearby
areas
. Each front seat and nearby area
. Inside each center pillar
. In each roof side (from the front
pillar to a point over the rear seat)
. Between the rear seat cushion
and rear wheel house on each side
. Under the rear center seat
In the event that the SRS airbag is
deployed, replacement of the system
should be performed only by an author-
ized SUBARU dealer. When the compo-
nents of the SRS airbag system are
replaced, use only genuine SUBARUparts. NOTE
In the following cases, contact your
SUBARU dealer as soon as possible. . The front part of the vehicle was
involved in an accident in which only
the driver ’s SRS frontal airbag or both
driver ’s and front passenger ’sSRS
frontal airbags did not deploy.. The pad of the steering wheel, the
cover over the front passenger ’s SRS
frontal airbag, or either roof side (from the front pillar to a point over the rear
seat) is scratched, cracked, or other-
wise damaged..
Center pillar, rear wheel house or
rear sub frame, or an area near these
parts, was involved in an accident in
which the SRS side airbag and SRS
curtain airbag did not deploy.. The fabric or leather of either front
seatback is cut, frayed, or otherwisedamaged. & Precautions against vehicle modification
WARNING
. To avoid accidental activation of
the system or rendering the sys-
tem inoperative, which may re-
sult in serious injury, no modifi-
cations should be made to any
components 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

1) Rotate the lock lever rearward.
2) Close the door.
To lock the door from the outside without
the key, rotate the lock lever rearward and
then close the door.
To lock the door from the outside using the
power door locking switch, push the front
side of the switch ( “LOCK ”side) and then
close the door. In this case, all closed
doors and the rear gate are locked at the
same time.
Always make sure that all doors and the
rear gate are locked before leaving yourvehicle. NOTE
Make sure that you do not leave the key
inside the vehicle when locking the doors from the outside without the key.
& Locking and unlocking from
the inside
1) Lock
2) Unlock
To lock the door from the inside, rotate the
lock lever rearward. To unlock the door
from the inside, rotate the lock leverforward.
The red mark on the lock lever appears
when the door is unlocked.
Pull the inside door handle to open an
unlocked door.
Always make sure that all doors and the
rear gate are closed before starting todrive.
WARNING
Keep all doors locked when you
drive, especially when small chil-
dren are in your vehicle.
Along with the proper use of seat-
belts and child restraints, locking
the doors reduces the chance of
being thrown out of the vehicle in anaccident.
It also helps prevent passengers
from falling out if a door is acciden-
tally opened, and intruders from
unexpectedly opening doors and
entering your vehicle.
& Battery drainage prevention function
When a door or the rear gate is not
completely closed and the dome light,
ignition switch light, and door open warn-
ing light remain illuminated as a result, the
lights are automatically turned off by the
battery drainage prevention function after
10 minutes of illumination to prevent the
battery from going dead. The operational/
non-operational setting of this function can
be changed by a SUBARU dealer. Con-
tact the nearest SUBARU dealer if you
would like to change the setting. Keys and doors
2-5
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2-18Keys and doors
&Shock sensors (dealer op- tion)
The shock sensors trigger the alarm
system when they sense impacts applied
to the vehicle and when any of their
electric wires are cut. The alarm system
causes the horn to sound and the turn
signal lights to flash for a short time when
the sensed impact is weak, but it warns of
a strong impact or multiple impacts by
sounding the horn and flashing the turn
signal lights, both lasting approximately 30seconds.
If you desire, your SUBARU dealer can
connect them and set them for activation
or deactivation. NOTE . The shock sensors are not always
able to sense impacts caused by break-
ing in, and cannot sense an impact that
does not cause vibration (such as
breaking the glass using a rescuehammer).. The shock sensors may sense vi-
bration as indicated in the following
examples and trigger the alarm system.
Select the settings of the alarm system
and shock sensors appropriately de-
pending on where you usually park
your vehicle. Examples:
Vibration from a construction site
Vibration in a multistory car park
Vibration from trains
. You can have the sensitivity of the
shock sensors adjusted to your pre-
ference by your SUBARU dealer. Child safety locks
Each rear door has a child safety lock that
prevents the doors from being opened
even if the inside door handle is pulled.
When the child safety lock lever is in the
lock position, the door cannot be opened
from inside regardless of the position of
the inner door handle lock lever. The door
can only be opened from the outside.
WARNING
Always turn the child safety locks to the “LOCK ”position when children
sit on the rear seat. Serious injury
could result if a child accidentally
opens the door and falls out.

Windows &Power windows
WARNING
To avoid serious personal injury
caused by entrapment, you must
do the following. . When operating the power win-
dows, be extremely careful to
prevent anyone ’s fingers, arms,
neck or head from being caught
in the window.
. Always lock the passengers ’win-
dows using the lock switch when
children are riding in the vehicle.
. Before leaving the vehicle, al-
ways remove the key from the
ignition switch for safety and
never allow an unattended child
to remain in the vehicle. Failure
to follow this procedure could
result in injury to a child operat-
ing the power window.
The power windows operate only when
the ignition switch is in the “ON ”position. !
Driver ’s side switches
1) Lock switch
2) For driver ’s window (with one-touch auto
down feature)
3) For front passenger ’s window
4) For rear left window
5) For rear right window
All door windows can be controlled by the
power window switch cluster at the driver
side door. !
Operating the driver ’s window1) Open
2) Automatically open
3) Close
To open:
Push the switch down lightly and hold it.
The window will open as long as the
switch is held.
This switch also has a one-touch auto
down feature that allows the window to be
opened fully without holding the switch.
Push the switch down until it clicks and
release it, and the window will fully open.
To stop the window halfway, pull the
switch up lightly.
To close:
Pull the switch up lightly and hold it. The
window will close as long as the switch is Keys and doors
2-19
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Rear gate
The rear gate can be locked and unlocked
using either the remote keyless entry
system or the power door lockingswitches.
Refer to the“Power door locking switches ”
and “Remote keyless entry system ”sec-
tions in this chapter.
To open:
Unlock the rear gate and push the rear
gate opener button to open the rear gate.
To close:
Lower the rear gate slowly and push down
firmly until the latch engages.
The rear gate can be lowered easily if you
pull it down holding the recessed grip.
WARNING
. To prevent dangerous exhaust
gas from entering the vehicle,
always keep the rear gate closed
while driving. .
Do not attempt to shut the rear
gate while holding the recessed
grip. Also avoid closing the rear
gate by pulling on the recessed
grip from inside the cargo space.
There is a danger of your hand
being caught and injured.
CAUTION
. Do not jam a plastic bag in or
place cellophane tape on the rear
gate stays or scratch the stays
while loading or unloading cargo.
That could cause leakage of gas
from the stays, which may result
in their inability to hold the rear
gate open.
. Be careful not to hit your head or
face on the rear gate when open-
ing or closing the rear gate and
when loading or unloading car-go.
NOTE
If the rear gate cannot be unlocked due
to a discharged battery, a fault in the
door locking/unlocking system or other
causes, you can unlock it by manually
operating the rear gate lock release
lever. Keys and doors
2-21
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2-22Keys and doors
For the procedure, refer to the “Rear
gate –if the rear gate cannot be
opened ”section in chapter 9 “In case
of emergency ”. Moonroof (if equipped)
WARNING
. Never let anyone ’s hands, arms,
head or any objects protrude
from the moonroof. A person
could be seriously injured if the
vehicle stops suddenly or turns
sharply or if the vehicle is in-
volved in an accident.
To avoid serious personal injury
caused by entrapment, you must
do the following.
. Before closing the moonroof,
make sure that no one ’s hands,
arms, head or other objects will
be accidentally caught in themoonroof.
. Before leaving the vehicle, al-
ways remove the key from the
ignition switch for safety and
never allow an unattended child
to remain in the vehicle. Failure
to follow this procedure could
result in injury to a child operat-
ing the moonroof. .
Never try to check the anti-en-
trapment function by deliberately
placing part of your body in themoonroof.
CAUTION
. Do not sit on the edge of the open
moonroof.
. Do not operate the moonroof if
falling snow or extremely cold
conditions have caused it to
freeze shut.
1) Open/close switch
2) Open
3) Close

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
Hazard warning flasher ....................................... 3-5
Meters and gauges. ............................................. 3-5
Combination meter illumination ........................... 3-5
Canceling the function for meter/gauge needle movement upon turning on the ignition switch ............................................................... 3-6
Speedometer ....................................................... 3-6
Odometer/Trip meter ............................................ 3-6
Tachometer ......................................................... 3-7
Fuel gauge .......................................................... 3-8
Warning and indicator lights .............................. 3-9
Seatbelt warning light and chime ......................... 3-9
SRS airbag system warning light ........................ 3-11
Front passenger ’s frontal airbag ON and OFF
indicators ......................................................... 3-11
CHECK ENGINE warning light/Malfunction indicator lamp .................................................. 3-12
Coolant temperature low indicator light/Coolant temperature high warning light ......................... 3-13
Charge warning light .......................................... 3-13
Oil pressure warning light .................................. 3-13
AT OIL TEMP warning light (AT vehicles).. ........... 3-14
Low tire pressure warning light (U.S.-spec. models) .......................................... 3-14 ABS warning light
.............................................. 3-15
Brake system warning light ................................ 3-16
Low fuel warning light ....................................... 3-17
Hill start assist warning light (MT vehicles) .... ..... 3-17
Door open warning light .................................... 3-17
All-Wheel Drive warning light (AT vehicles) .... ..... 3-17
Vehicle Dynamics Control operation indicator light ................................................................ 3-18
Vehicle Dynamics Control warning light/Vehicle Dynamics Control OFF indicator light ............... 3-18
Security indicator light ....................................... 3-19
SPORT mode indicator light (AT vehicles) ..... ..... 3-20
Selector lever and gear 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 ........................ 3-21
Front fog light indicator light (if equipped) ..... ..... 3-21
Headlight indicator light ..................................... 3-21
Clock .................................................................. 3-21
Information display ............................................ 3-22
Outside temperature indicator .. .......................... 3-22
Average fuel consumption ................................. 3-23
Light control switch ........................................... 3-24
Headlights ......................................................... 3-24
High/low beam change (dimmer) ........................ 3-25
Headlight flasher ............................................... 3-25
Daytime running light system ... .......................... 3-25
Automatic headlight beam leveler (vehicles with HID headlights) ................................................ 3-26
Instruments and controls
3

Ignition switch
WARNING
. Never turn the ignition switch to
“ LOCK ”while the vehicle is
being driven or towed because
that will lock the steering wheel,
preventing steering control. And
when the engine is turned off, it
takes a much greater effort than
usual to steer.
. Before leaving the vehicle, al-
ways remove the key from the
ignition switch for safety and
never allow an unattended child
to remain in the vehicle. Failure
to follow this procedure could
result in injury to a child or
others. Children could operate
the power windows, the moon-
roof or other controls or even
make the vehicle move.
CAUTION
Do not attach a large key holder or
key case to either key. If it banged
against your knees or hands while
you are driving, it could turn the
ignition switch from the “ON ”posi- tion to the
“Acc ”or “LOCK ”posi-
tion, thereby stopping the engine.
Also, if the key is attached to a
keyholder or to a large bunch of
other keys, centrifugal force may act
on it as the vehicle moves, resulting
in unwanted turning of the ignitionswitch.
The ignition switch has four positions:
LOCK, Acc, ON and START. NOTE . Keep the ignition switch in the
“ LOCK ”position when the engine is
not running. . Using electrical accessories for a
long time with the ignition switch in the“ ON ”or “Acc ”position can cause the battery to go dead..
If the ignition switch will not move
from the “LOCK ”position to the “Acc ”
position, turn the steering wheel
slightly to the left and right as you turn
the ignition switch. & 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
steering wheel slightly to the right and left
as you turn the key. ! Automatic transmission vehicles
Instruments and controls 3-3
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