2012 SUBARU OUTBACK warning

The seat heater operates when the igni-
tion switch is either in the“Acc ”or “ON ”
position.
To turn on the seat heater, press the “ LOW ”or “HIGH ”position on the switch,
as desired, depending on the tempera-ture.
Selecting the “HIGH ”position will cause
the seat to heat up quicker.
To turn off the seat heater, slightly press
the opposite side of the current position.
The indicator located on the switch illumi-
nates when the seat heater is in operation.
When the vehicle ’s interior is warmed
enough or before you leave the vehicle,
be sure to turn the switch off.
CAUTION
. There is a possibility that people
with delicate skin may suffer
slight burns even at low tempera-
tures if they use the seat heater
for a long period of time. When
using the heater, always be sure
to warn the persons concerned. .
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. Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
1-7
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1-8Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
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. &
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 (Outback –if
equipped) ”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
. When you fold down the seat-
back, check that there are no
passengers or objects on the
rear seat. Not doing so creates
a risk of injury or property da-
mage if the seatback suddenly
folds down.
. 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.
. When you return the seatback to
its original position, shake the
seatback slightly to confirm that
it is securely fixed in place. If the
seatback is not securely fixed in
place, the seatback may sud-
denly fold down in the event of
sudden braking, or objects may move out from the cargo area,
which could cause serious injury
or death.
. 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. Also,
make certain that the shoulder
belts are fully visible.
CAUTION
The rear seatback may fold down
quickly due to the internal spring.
Hold the seatback while pulling the
release lever to slow it down.
! Legacy
To fold down the seatback, perform the
following procedure.
1. Open the trunk lid. Refer to “Opening
the trunk lid (Legacy) ”F 2-9 or “To open
the trunk lid from inside ”F 2-24.1) Release lever
2. Pull the release lever on the side that
you want to fold down.
3. Fold the seatback down.
To return the seatback to its original
position, raise the seatback until it locks
into place and make sure that it is securelylocked. Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
1-9
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1-10Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
!Outback
Unlock the seatback by pulling the release
lever and then fold the seatback down.
To return the seatback to its original
position, raise the seatback until it locks
into place and make sure that it is securelylocked. &
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 crash. !
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

1-12Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
extended position. When the rear center
seating position is not occupied, lower the
head restraint to improve rearward visibi-
lity. &Armrest
To lower the armrest, pull on the armrest ’s
top edge.
WARNING
To avoid serious injury, passengers
must never be allowed to sit on the
center armrest while the vehicle is inmotion. 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
When securing a child restraint system on
the rear seats by using a seatbelt, the
seatbelt must be changed over to the
Automatic Locking Retractor (ALR) mode.
For instructions on how to install the child
restraint system using a seatbelt, refer to“Installing child restraint systems with A/
ELR seatbelt ”F 1-26.
When the child restraint system is re-
moved, make sure that the retractor is
restored to the Emergency Locking Re-
tractor (ELR) mode by allowing the seat-
belt to retract fully. & Seatbelt warning light
and chime
Refer to “Seatbelt warning light and
chime ”F 3-9.
& 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 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 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.

1-16Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
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.
4. To make the lap part tight, pull up on
the shoulder belt.
5. Place the lap belt as low as possible
on your hips, not on your waist. ! 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 center seatbelt on Outback
1) Center seatbelt tongue plate
2) Connector (tongue)
3) Connector (buckle)
4) Center seatbelt buckle
WARNING
Fastening the seatbelt with the web-
bing twisted can increase the risk or
severity of injury in an accident.
When fastening the belt after it is
pulled out from the retractor, espe-
cially when inserting the connec-tor ’s tongue plate into the mating
buckle (on right-hand side), always
check that the webbing is nottwisted.WARNING
Be sure to fasten both tongue plates
to the respective buckles. If the
seatbelt is used only as a shoulder
belt (with the connector ’s tongue
plate not fastened to the connec-tor ’s buckle on the right-hand side),
it cannot properly restrain the wear-
er in position in an accident, possi-
bly resulting in serious injury ordeath. Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
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