2010 SUBARU OUTBACK warning

.Do not put anything on the seat
which insulates against heat,
such as a blanket, cushion, or
similar items. This may cause the
seat heater to overheat.
NOTE
Use of the seat heater for a long period
of time while the engine is not running
can cause battery discharge. Rear seats
WARNING
Seatbelts provide maximum re-
straint when the occupant sits well
back and upright in the seat. Do not
put cushions or any other materials
between occupants and seatbacks
or seat cushions. 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 internal injury ordeath.
WARNING
Never stack luggage or other cargo
higher than the top of the seatback
because it could tumble forward and
injure passengers in the event of a
sudden stop or accident. Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
1-7
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1-8Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
&Reclining the seatback (Out- back)
WARNING
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
vehicle is in motion.
CAUTION
If the vehicle is equipped with a
cargo area cover, observe the fol-
lowing precautions. . Be careful not to pinch your hand
between the headrest and the cargo area cover when you re-
cline the rear seat.
. Move the front cover of the cargo
area cover backward so that the
cover is not damaged by the
reclined seatback. Refer to “Car-
go area cover ”F 6-15.
Pull the lever and adjust the seatback to
the desired position.
Then release the lever and make sure the
seatback is securely locked into place. &
Folding down the rear seat- back
WARNING
. After returning the rear seat to its
original position, be certain to
place all of the seatbelts and the
tab attached to the seat cushion
above the seat cushion. And
make certain that the shoulder
belts are fully visible.
. Never allow passengers to ride
on the folded rear seatback or in
the cargo area or trunk. Doing so
may result in serious injury ordeath.
. Secure all objects and especially
long items properly to prevent
them from being thrown around
inside the vehicle and causing
serious injury during a sudden
stop, a sudden steering maneu-
ver or a rapid acceleration.

1-10Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
&Head restraint adjustment
Both the rear window side seats and the
rear center seat are equipped with headrestraints.
WARNING
. Never drive the vehicle with the
head restraints removed because
they are designed to reduce the
risk of serious neck injury in the
event that the vehicle is struck
from the rear. Therefore, when
you remove the head restraints,
you must reinstall all head re-
straints to protect vehicle occu-pants.
. All occupants, including the dri-
ver, should not operate a vehicle
or sit in a vehicle ’s seat until the
head restraints are placed in their
proper positions in order to mini-
mize the risk of neck injury in the
event of a collision. !
Rear window side seating position
1) Head restraint
2) Release button
To raise:
Pull the head restraint up.
To lower:
Push the head restraint down while
pressing the release button on the top of
the seatback.
To remove:
While pressing the release button, pull out
the head restraint.
To install:
Install the head restraint into the holes that
are located on the top of the seatback until
the head restraint locks.
The head restraint should be adjusted so that the center of the head restraint is
closest to the top of the occupant
’s ears.
When the seats are not occupied, lower
the head restraints to improve rearward
visibility.
NOTE
For Legacy, it is not possible to remove
or install the head restraint without
folding down the rear seatback. Fold
down the rear seatback and then
remove or install the head restraint.

1-12Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
Armrest
To lower the armrest, pull on the top edge
of the armrest.
WARNING
To avoid the possibility of serious
injury, passengers must never be
allowed to sit on the center armrest
while the vehicle is in motion. Seatbelts &
Seatbelt safety tips
WARNING
. All persons in the vehicle should
fasten their seatbelts BEFORE
the vehicle starts to move. Other-
wise, the possibility of serious
injury becomes greater in the
event of a sudden stop or acci-dent.
. All belts should fit snugly in order
to provide full restraint. Loose
fitting belts are not as effective in
preventing or reducing injury.
. Each seatbelt is designed to
support only one person. Never
use a single belt for two or morepersons –even children. Other-
wise, in an accident, serious
injury or death could result.
. Replace all seatbelt assemblies
including retractors and attach-
ing hardware worn by occupants
of a vehicle that has been in a
serious accident. The entire as-
sembly should be replaced even
if damage is not obvious. .
Put children in the rear seat
properly restrained at all times.
The SRS airbag deploys with
considerable speed and force
and can injure or even kill chil-
dren, especially if they are not
restrained or improperly re-
strained. Because children 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 outgrown child re-
straint devices) sit in the REAR
seat properly restrained at all
times in a child restraint device
or in a seatbelt, whichever is
appropriate for the child ’s height
and weight.
Secure ALL types of child re-
straint devices (including for-
ward facing child seats) 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 THECHILD ’S HEAD TOO CLOSE TO
THE SRS AIRBAG.

1-14Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
Retractor (ALR) mode.
When the child restraint system is re-
moved, make sure that the seatbelt
retracts fully and the retractor returned to
the Emergency Locking Retractor (ELR)mode.
For instructions on how to convert the
retractor to the ALR mode and restore it to
the ELR mode, refer to “Installing child
restraint systems with A/ELR seatbelt ”
F 1-28.
& Seatbelt warning light
and chime
NOTE
If your seatbelt warning device does
not operate as described in the follow-
ing, it may be out of order. Have the
device inspected and, if necessary,
repaired by the nearest SUBARU deal-
er.
Your vehicle is equipped with a seatbelt
warning device at the driver ’s and front
passenger ’s seat, as required by current
safety standards.
With the ignition switch turned to the “ON ”
position, this device reminds the driver
and front passenger to fasten their seat-
belts by the warning lights in the locations
indicated in the following illustration and achime.
Driver ’s warning light
Front passenger ’s warning light
! Operation
If the driver and/or front passenger have/
has not yet fastened the seatbelt(s) when the ignition switch is turned to the
“ON ”
position, the seatbelt warning light(s) will
flash for 6 seconds, to warn that the
seatbelt(s) is/are unfastened. If the dri-ver ’s seatbelt is not fastened, a chime will
also sound simultaneously.
NOTE . If the driver ’s and/or front passen-
ger ’s seatbelt(s) are/is still not fastened
6 seconds later, the seatbelt warning
device operates as follows according
to the vehicle speed.
–At speeds lower than approxi-
mately 9 mph (15 km/h)
The warning light(s) for unfastened
seatbelt(s) will alternate between
steady illumination and flashing at
15-second intervals. The chime will
not sound. – At speeds higher than approxi-
mately 9 mph (15 km/h)
The warning light(s) for unfastened
seatbelt(s) will alternate between
flashing and steady illumination at
15-second intervals and the chime
will sound while the warning light(s)
is/are flashing.
. It is possible to cancel the warning
operation that follows the 6-second
warning after turning ON the ignition
switch. When the ignition switch is

turned ON next time, however, the
complete sequence of the warning
operation resumes. For further details
about canceling the warning operation,
please contact your SUBARU dealer.
If there is no passenger on the front passenger’s seat, the seatbelt warning
device for the front passenger ’s seat will
be deactivated. The front passenger ’s
occupant detection system monitors
whether or not there is a passenger on
the front passenger ’s seat.
Observe the following precautions. Failure
to do so may prevent the device from
functioning correctly or cause the device
to fail. . Do not install any accessory such as a
table or TV onto the seatback.. Do not store a heavy load in the
seatback pocket.. Do not allow the rear seat occupant to
place his/her hands or legs on the front passenger ’s seatback, or allow him/her to
pull the seatback. . Do not use front seats with their back-
ward-forward position and seatback not
being locked into place securely. If any of
them are not locked securely, adjust them
again. For the adjusting procedure, referto “Manual seat ”F 1-3 (models equipped
with manual seats only). If the seatbelt warning device for the frontpassenger
’s seat does not function cor-
rectly (e.g., it is activated even when the
front passenger ’s seat is empty or it is
deactivated even when the front passen-
ger has not fastened his/her seatbelt),
take the following actions. . Ensure that no article is placed on the
seat other than a child restraint system
and the child occupant. . Ensure that there is no article left in the
seatback pocket.. Ensure that the backward-forward po-
sition and seatback of front passenger ’s
seat are locked into place securely by
moving the seat back and forth. (Models
equipped with manual seats only)
& Fastening the seatbelt
WARNING
. Never use a belt that is twisted or
reversed. In an accident, this can
increase the risk or severity of
injury.
. Keep the lap belt as low as
possible on your hips. In a colli-
sion, this spreads the force of the
lap belt over stronger hip bones
instead of across the weakerabdomen. .
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 upright posi-
tion while the vehicle is running.
If the front seatbacks are not
used in the upright 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.
. Do not put cushions or any other
materials betwe en occupants
and seatbacks or seat cushions.
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 internal injury ordeath.
Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
1-15
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1-16Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
WARNING
Never place the shoulder belt under
the arm or behind the back. If an
accident occurs, this can increase
the risk or severity of injury.
CAUTION
Metallic parts of the seatbelt can
become very hot in a vehicle that
has been closed up in sunny weath-
er; they could burn an occupant. Do
not touch such hot parts until theycool. !
Front seatbelts
1. Adjust the seat position: Driver ’s seat: Adjust the seatback to the
upright position. Move the seat as far from
the steering wheel as practical while still
maintaining full vehicle control.
Front passenger ’s seat: Adjust the seat-
back to the upright position. Move the seat
as far back as possible.
2. Sit well back in the seat.
3. Pick up the tongue plate and pull the
belt out slowly. Do not let it get twisted. If
the belt stops before reaching the buckle,
return the belt slightly and pull it out more
slowly. If the belt still cannot be unlocked,
let the belt retract slightly after giving it a
strong pull, then pull it out slowly again.
4. Insert the tongue plate into the buckle until you hear a click.
5. To make the lap part tight, pull up on
the shoulder belt.
6. Place the lap belt as low as possible
on your hips, not on your waist.

!Adjusting the front seat shoulder
belt anchor height
The shoulder belt anchor height should be
adjusted to the position best suited for the
driver/front passenger. Always adjust the
anchor height so that the shoulder belt
passes over the middle of the shoulder
without touching the neck.
To raise:
Slide the anchor up.
To lower:
Push the release button and slide the
anchor down.
Pull down the anchor to make sure that it
is locked in place.
WARNING
When wearing the seatbelts, make
sure the shoulder portion of the
webbing does not pass over your
neck. If it does, adjust the seatbelt
anchor to a lower position. Placing
the shoulder belt over the neck may
result in neck injury during sudden
braking or in a collision.
! Unfastening the seatbelt
Push the button on the buckle.
Before closing the door, make sure that
the belts are retracted properly to avoid
catching the belt webbing in the door. !
Rear seatbelts (except rear center
seatbelt on Outback)
1. Sit well back in the seat.
2. Pick up the tongue plate and pull the
belt out slowly. Do not let it get twisted. If
the belt stops before reaching the buckle,
return the belt slightly and pull it out more
slowly. If the belt still cannot be unlocked,
let the belt retract slightly after giving a
strong pull on it, then pull it out slowlyagain.3. Insert the tongue plate into the buckle
until you hear a click. Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
1-17
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