Child restraint systems
Infants and small children should always
be placed in an infant or child restraint
system in the rear seat while riding in thevehicle.
You should use an infant or child restraint
system that meets Federal Motor Vehicle
Safety Standards or Canada Motor Vehi-
cle Safety Standards, is compatible with
your vehicle and is appropriate for thechild’s age and size.
All child restraint systems are designed to
be secured in vehicle seats by lap belts or
the lap belt portion of a lap/shoulder belt
(except those covered under the section in
this manual, entitled “Installation of child
restraint systems by use of lower and tether anchorages (LATCH)
”F 1-30).
Children could be endangered in an
accident if their child restraints are not
properly secured in the vehicle. When
installing the child restraint system, care-
fully follow the manufacturer ’s instructions.
According to accident statistics, children
are safer when properly restrained in the
rear seating positions than in the front
seating positions.
All U.S. states and Canadian provinces
require that infants and small children be
restrained in an approved child restraint
system at all times while the vehicle ismoving.
WARNING
Never let a passenger hold a child
on his or her lap while the vehicle is
moving. The passenger cannot pro-
tect the child from injury in a colli-
sion, because the child will be
caught between the passenger and
objects inside the vehicle. Addition-
ally, holding a child in your lap or
arms in the front seat exposes that
child to another serious danger.
Since the SRS airbag deploys with
considerable speed and force, the
child could be injured or even killed.
Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags 1-23
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WARNING
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 children, especially if they
are not restrained or improperly
restrained. Because children are
lighter and weaker than adults, their
risk of being injured from deploy-
ment is greater.
For that reason, be sure to secure
ALL types of child restraint devices
(including forward facing child
seats) in the REAR seats at all times.
You should choose a restraint de-
vice which is appropriate for thechild ’s age, height and weight. Ac-
cording to accident statistics, chil-
dren are safer when properly re-
strained in the rear seating posi-
tions than in the front seating posi- tions.
WARNING
SINCE YOUR VEHICLE IS
EQUIPPED WITH A PASSENGER ’S
SRS AIRBAG, DO NOT INSTALL A
REARWARD FACING CHILD
SAFETY SEAT IN THE FRONT PAS-SENGER ’S SEAT. DOING SO RISKS
SERIOUS INJURY OR DEATH TO
THE CHILD BY PLACING THECHILD ’SHEADTOOCLOSETO
THE SRS AIRBAG. &
Choosing a child restraint system
Choose a child restraint system that is
appropriate for the child ’s age and size
(weight and height) in order to provide the
child with proper protection. The child
restraint system should meet all applic-
able requirements of Federal Motor Vehi-
cle Safety Standards for United States or
Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Standards
for Canada. It can be identified by looking
for the label on the child restraint system
or the manufacture ’s statement of com-
pliance in the document attached to the
system. Also it is important for you to
make sure that the child restraint system
is compatible with the vehicle in which it
will be used. Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
1-25
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other accessory in such a loca-
tion could be propelled through
the cabin with great force by the
curtain airbag, or it could prevent
correct deployment of the curtain
airbag. In either case, the result
could be serious injuries.
WARNING
Do not hang coat hangers or other
hard or pointed objects on the coat
hooks. If such items were hanging
on the coat hooks during deploy-
ment of the SRS curtain airbags,
they could cause serious injuries by
coming off the coat hooks and being
thrown through the cabin or by
preventing deployment of the cur- tain airbags.
Before hanging clothing on the coat
hooks, make sure there are no sharp
objects in the pockets. Hang cloth-
ing directly on the coat hooks with-
out using hangers.WARNING
Do not put any kind of cover or
clothes or other objects over either
front seatback and do not attach
labels or stickers to the front seat
surface on or near the SRS side
airbag. They could prevent proper
deployment of the SRS side airbag,
reducing protection available to the
front seat ’s occupant.
WARNING
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 children, especially if they
are not restrained or improperly
restrained. Bec ause children are
lighter and weaker than adults, their
risk of being injured from deploy-
ment is greater.
Consequently, we strongly recom-
mend that ALL children (including
those in child seats and those that
have outgrown child restraint de-
vices) sit in the REAR seat properly
restrained at all times in a child Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
1-39
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1-40Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
restraint device or in a seatbelt,
whichever is appropriate for thechild’s age, height and weight.
Secure ALL types of child restraint
devices (including forward facing
child seats) in the REAR seats at
all times.
According to accident statistics,
children are safer when properly
restrained in the rear seating posi-
tions than in the front seating posi-tions.
For instructions and precautions
concerning the child restraint sys-
tem, refer to “Child restraint sys-
tems ”F 1-23.WARNING
NEVER INSTALL A REARWARD FA-
CING 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.
WARNING
Never allow a child to stand up or
kneel on the front passenger ’s seat.
The SRS airbag deploys with con-
siderable force and can injure or
even kill the child.
WARNING
Never hold a child on your lap or in
your arms. The SRS airbag deploys
with considerable force and can
injure or even kill the child.
1-46Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
controlled by the SUBARU advanced
frontal airbag system. !Driver ’s SRS frontal airbag
The driver ’s SRS frontal airbag uses a
dual stage inflator. The inflator operates in
different ways depending on the severity
of impact.
Have the system inspected by your
SUBARU dealer immediately if the SRS
airbag system warning light illuminates. ! Front passenger ’s SRS frontal air-
bag
The front passenger ’s SRS frontal airbag
uses a dual stage inflator. The inflator
operates in different ways depending on
the severity of impact.
The total load on the seat is monitored by
the passenger ’s occupant detection sys-
tem weight sensor under the seat.
Using the total seat load and seatbelt
buckle switch, the occupant detection
system determines whether the frontpassenger ’s SRS frontal airbag should or
should not be inflated.
The occupant detection system may not
inflate the front passenger ’s SRS frontal
airbag even when the driver ’s SRS frontal
airbag deploys. This is normal.CAUTION
Observe the following precautions.
Failure to do so may prevent the
SUBARU advanced frontal airbag
system from functioning correctly
or cause the system to fail. . Do not apply any strong impact
to the front passenger ’sseat
such as by kicking.
. Do not spill liquid on the front
passenger ’s seat. If liquid is
spilled, wipe it off immediately.
. Do not remove or disassemble
the front passenger ’s seat.
. Do not install any accessory
(such as an audio amplifier) other
than a genuine SUBARU acces-
sory under the front passenger ’s
seat.
. Do not place anything (shoes,
umbrella, etc.) under the front passenger ’s seat.
. Do not use the front passenger ’s
seat with the head restraint re- moved.
. Do not leave any articles on the
front passenger ’s seat or the
seatbelt tongue and buckle en-
gaged when you leave your ve- hicle.
. Do not place a magnet near the
seatbelt buckle and the seatbelt
retractor.
. Do not use front seats with their
backward-forward position and
seatback not being locked into
place securely. If any of them are
not locked securely, adjust them
again. For adjusting procedure,
refer to “Manual seat ”F1-3
(models equipped with manual
seats only).
If the seatbelt buckle switch and/or frontpassenger ’s occupant detection system
have failed, the SRS airbag system
warning light will illuminate. Have the
system inspected by your SUBARU deal-
er immediately if the SRS airbag system
warning light illuminates.
If your vehicle has sustained impact, this
may affect the proper function of the
SUBARU advanced frontal airbag system.
Have your vehicle inspected at your
SUBARU dealer. ! Passenger ’s frontal airbag ON and
OFF indicators
Refer to “Front passenger ’s frontal airbag
ON and OFF indicators ”F 3-11.
!Conditions in which front passen- ger’s SRS frontal airbag is not
activated
The front passenger ’s SRS frontal airbag
will not be activated when any of the
following conditions are met regarding the
front passenger ’s seat:
. The seat is empty.
. The seat is equipped with a rearward
facing child restraint system and an infant
is restrained with it. (See WARNING thatfollows.) . The seat is equipped with a forward
facing child restraint system and a small
child is restrained with it. (See WARNING
that follows.) . The seat is equipped with a booster
seat and a small child is in the booster
seat. (See WARNING that follows.) . The seat is relieved of the occupant
load for a time exceeding the predeter-
mined monitoring time period. . The seat is occupied by a child who
has outgrown a child restraint system
(See WARNING that follows.) or by a
small adult. . The front passenger ’s occupant detec-
tion system is malfunctioning.WARNING
NEVER INSTALL A REARWARD FA-
CING CHILD SEAT IN THE FRONT
PASSENGER ’S SEAT EVEN IF THE
FRONT PASSENGER ’S SRS FRON-
TAL AIRBAG IS DEACTIVATED. Be
sure to install it in the REAR seat in
a correct manner. Also, it is strongly
recommended that any forward fa-
cing child seat or booster seat be
installed in the REAR seat, and that
even children who have outgrown a
child restraint system be also
seated in the REAR seat. This is
because children sitting in the frontpassenger ’s seat may be killed or
severely injured should the frontpassenger ’s SRS frontal airbag de-
ploy. REAR seats are the safest
place for children.
CAUTION
When the front passenger ’s seat is
occupied by a child, observe the
following precautions. Failure to do
so may increase the load on the
front passenger ’s seat, activating
the front passenger ’s SRS frontal
airbag even though that seat is
occupied by a child. .
Do not place any article on the
seat other than the child occu-
pant and a child restraint system.
. Do not place more than one child
on the seat.
. Do not install any accessory
such as a table or TV onto theseatback.
. Do not store a heavy load in the
seatback pocket.
. Do not allow the rear seat occu-
pant to place his/her hands or
legs on the front passenger ’s
seatback, or allow him/her to pull
the seatback.
! If the front passenger ’s frontal air-
bag ON indicator illuminates and the
OFF indicator turns off even when
an infant or a small child is in a child
restraint system (including boosterseat)
1. Turn the ignition switch to the “LOCK ”
position.
2. Remove the child restraint system
from the seat.
3. By referring to the child restraint manufacturer ’s recommendations as well
as the child restraint system installation
procedures in “Child restraint systems ”
Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
1-47
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1-48Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
F1-23, correctly install the child restraint
system.
4. Turn the ignition switch to the “ON ”
position and make sure that the front passenger ’s frontal airbag ON indicator
turns off and the OFF indicator illuminates.
If still the ON indicator remains illuminated
while the OFF indicator turns off, take the
following actions. . Ensure that no article is placed on the
seat other than the 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)
If the ON indicator still remains illuminated
while the OFF indicator turns off after
taking relevant corre ctive actions de-
scribed above, relocate the child restraint
system to the rear seat and immediately
contact your SUBARU dealer for aninspection.
NOTE
When a child who has outgrown a child
restraint system or a small adult is
seated in the front passenger ’s seat, the SUBARU advanced frontal airbag
system may or may not activate the
front passenger
’s SRS frontal airbag
depending on the occupant ’s seating
posture. If the front passenger ’s SRS
frontal airbag is activated (the ON
indicator remains illuminated while
the OFF indicator turns off), take the
following actions. . Ensure that no article is placed on
the seat other than the occupant. . Ensure that there is no article left in
the seatback pocket.
If the ON indicator still remains illumi-
nated while the OFF indicator turns off
despite the fact that the actions noted
above have been taken, seat the child/
small adult in the rear seat and im-
mediately contact your SUBARU dealer
for an inspection. Even if the system
has passed the dealer inspection, it is
recommended that on subsequent trips
the child/small adult always take the
rear seat.
Children who have outgrown a child
restraint system should always wear the
seatbelt irrespective of whether the airbag
is deactivated or activated. ! Conditions in which front passen- ger’s SRS frontal airbag is activated
The front passenger ’s SRS frontal airbag will be activated for deployment upon
impact when any of the following condi-
tions is met regarding the front passen-ger
’s seat.
. When the seat is occupied by an adult.
. When a heavy article is placed on the
seat.
CAUTION
When the front passenger ’s seat is
occupied by an adult, observe the
following precautions. Failure to do
so may lessen the load on the frontpassenger ’s seat, deactivating the
front passenger ’s SRS frontal airbag
despite the fact that the seat is
occupied by an adult. This may
result in personal injury. . Do not allow the rear seat occu-
pant to lift the front passenger ’s
seat cushion using his/her feet.
. Do not place any article under the
front passenger ’s seat, or
squeeze any article from behind
and under the seat. This may lift
the seat cushion.
.Do not squeeze any article be-
tween the front passenger ’s seat
and side trim/pillar, door or cen-
ter console box. This may lift the
seat cushion.
! If the passenger ’s frontal airbag OFF
indicator illuminates and the ON
indicator turns off even when the
front passenger ’s seat is occupied
by an adult
This can be caused by the adult incor-
rectly sitting in the front passenger ’s seat.
1. Turn the ignition switch to the “LOCK ”
position.
2. Ask the front passenger to set the
seatback to the upright position, sit up
straight in the center of the seat cushion,
correctly fasten the seatbelt, position his/
her legs out forward, and adjust the seat to
the rearmost position.
3. Turn the ignition switch to the “ON ”
position.
If the OFF indicator remains illuminated
while the ON indicator remains off, take
the following actions.
1. Turn the ignition switch to the “LOCK ”
position.
2. Ensure that there is no article, book,
shoe, or other object trapped under the
seat, at the rear of the seat, or on the side of the seat.
3. Ensure that the backward-forward
position 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)
4. Turn the ignition switch to the “ON ”
position and wait 6 seconds to allow the
system to complete self-checking. Follow-
ing the system check, both indicators turn
off for 2 seconds. Now, the ON indicator
should illuminate while the OFF indicator
remains off.
If the OFF indicator still remains illumi-
nated while the ON indicator remains off,
ask the occupant to move to the rear seat
and immediately contact your SUBARU
dealer for an inspection. ! Effect vehicle modifications made
for persons with disabilities may
have on SUBARU advanced frontal
airbag system operation (U.S. only)
Changing or moving any parts of the front
seats, seatbelts, front bumper, front side
frame, instrument panel, combination me-
ter, steering wheel, steering column, tire,
suspension or floor panel can affect the
operation of the SUBARU advanced air-
bag system. If you have any questions,
you may contact the following SUBARUdistributors:
Subaru of America, Inc.
Customer Dealer Services Department
P.O. Box 6000
Cherry Hill, NJ 08034-6000
1-800-SUBARU3 (1-800-782-2783)
Servco Subaru Inc., dba Subaru Hawaii
2850 Pukoloa Street, Suite 202, Honolulu,
HI 96819 808-839-2273
’s Corporation dba Prestige Automo-
bile
491, East Marine Drive, Route 1 Dededo, Guam 671-633-2698
Trebol Motors
P.O. Box 11204, San Juan, Puerto Rico 00910 787-793-2828
There are currently no SUBARU distribu-
tors in any other U.S. territories. If you are
in such an area, please contact the
SUBARU distributor or dealer from which
you bought your vehicle. Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
1-49
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