2012 SUBARU OUTBACK all wheel

2
Chapter 12: Specifications
This chapter informs you about the dimen-
sions and capacities of your SUBARU.
Chapter 13: Consumer information and
Reporting safety defects
This chapter informs you about Tire
information, Uniform tire quality grading
standards and Reporting safety defects.
Chapter 14: Index
This is an alphabetical listing of all that’sin
this manual. You can use it to quickly find
something you want to read. & Safety warnings
You will find a number of WARNINGs,
CAUTIONs and NOTEs in this manual.
These safety warnings alert you to poten-
tial hazards that could result in injury to
you or others.
Please read these safety warnings as well
as all other portions of this manual care-
fully in order to gain a better understand-
ing of how to use your SUBARU vehicle
safely.
WARNING
A WARNING indicates a situation in
which serious injury or death could
result if the warning is ignored.
CAUTION
A CAUTION indicates a situation in
which injury or damage to your
vehicle, or both, could result if the
caution is ignored.
NOTE
A NOTE gives information or sugges-
tions how to make better use of yourvehicle. & Safety symbol
You will find a circle with a slash through it
in this manual. This symbol means “Do
not ”, “Do not do this ”,or “Do not let this
happen ”, depending upon the context. &
Abbreviation list
You will find several abbreviations in this
manual. The meanings of the abbrevia-
tions are shown in the following list.
Abbreviation Meaning
A/C Air conditioner A/ELR Automatic/Emergency locking retractor
ABS Anti-lock brake system
AKI Anti knock index
ALR Automatic locking retractor
AT Automatic transmission
ATF Automatic transmission fluid
AWD All-wheel drive CVT Continuously variable trans- mission
DRL Daytime running light EBD Electronic brake force distri- bution
ELR Emergency locking retractor
FWD Front-wheel drive
GAW Gross axle weight
GAWR Gross axle weight rating
GPS Global positioning system
GVW Gross vehicle weight
GVWR Gross vehicle weight rating

.The SRS airbags deploy with
considerable speed and force.
Occupants who are out of proper
position when the SRS airbag
deploys could suffer very serious
injuries. Because the SRS airbag
needs enough space for deploy-
ment, the driver should always
sit upright and well back in the
seat as far from the steering
wheel as practical while still
maintaining full vehicle control
and the front passenger should
move the seat as far back as
possible and sit upright and well
back in the seat.
For instructions and precautions, carefully
read the following sections. . For the seatbelt system, refer to “Seat-
belts ”F 1-12.
. For the SRS airbag system, refer to
“ *SRS airbag (Supplemental Restraint
System airbag) ”F 1-36. &
Child safety
WARNING
. Never 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 passen-
ger and objects inside the vehi-cle.
. While riding in the vehicle, in-
fants 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 using the seatbelts.
According to accident statistics,
children are safer when properly
restrained in the rear seating
positions than in the front seat-
ing positions. Never allow a child
to stand up or kneel on the seat.
. Put children in the REAR seat
properly restrained at all times in
a child restraint device or in a
seatbelt. The SRS airbag deploys with considerable speed and
force and can injure or even kill
children, 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.
. NEVER INSTALL A REARWARD
FACING CHILD SAFETY SEAT IN
THE FRONT SEAT. DOING SO
RISKS SERIOUS INJURY OR
DEATH TO THE CHILD BY PLA-
CING THE CHILD ’S HEAD TOO
CLOSE TO THE SRS AIRBAG.
. Always turn the child safety locks
to the “LOCK ”position whenever
a child rides in the rear seat.
Serious injury could result if a
child accidentally opened the
door and fell out. Refer to “Child
safety locks ”F 2-19.
. Always lock the passengers ’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
operating the power window. Re-
fer to “Windows ”F 2-20.
. Never leave unattended children,
adults or animals in the vehicle. 5
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Please don’t drink and drive.
Drunken driving is one of the most
frequent causes of accidents. Since alco-
hol affects all people differently, you may
have consumed too much alcohol to drive
safely even if the level of alcohol in your
blood is below the legal limit. The safest
thing you can do is never drink and drive.
However if you have no choice but to
drive, stop drinking and sober up comple-
tely before getting behind the wheel. & Drugs and driving
WARNING
There are some drugs (over the
counter and prescription) that can
delay your reaction time and impair
your perception, judgment and at-
tentiveness. If you drive after taking
them, it may increase your, yourpassengers ’and other persons ’risk
of being involved in a serious or
fatal accident.
If you are taking any drugs, check with
your doctor or pharmacist or read the
literature that accompanies the medication
to determine if the drug you are taking can
impair your driving ability. Do not drive after taking any medications that can
make you drowsy or otherwise affect your
ability to safely operate a motor vehicle. If
you have a medical condition that requires
you to take drugs, please consult with
your doctor.
Never drive if you are under the influence
of any illicit mind-altering drugs. For your
own health and well-being, we urge you
not to take illegal drugs in the first place
and to seek treatment if you are addicted
to those drugs.
& Driving when tired or sleepyWARNING
When you are tired or sleepy, your
reaction will be delayed and your
perception, judgment and attentive-
ness will be impaired. If you drive
when tired or sleepy, your, your
passengers ’and other persons ’
chances of being involved in a
serious accident may increase.
Please do not continue to drive but
instead find a safe place to rest if you
are tired or sleepy. On long trips, you
should make periodic rest stops to refresh
yourself before continuing on your journey.
When possible, you should share the driving with others. &
Car phone/cell phone and driving
CAUTION
Do not use a car phone/cell phone
while driving; it may distract your
attention from driving and can lead
to an accident. If you use a car
phone/cell phone, pull off the road
and park in a safe place before
using your phone. In some States/
Provinces, only hands-free phones
may legally be used while driving. 7
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&Warning and indicator lights
Mark Name Page
Seatbelt warning light 3-9
Front passenger ’s
seatbelt warning light 3-9
SRS airbag system
warning light3-11
CHECK ENGINE warn-
ing light/Malfunction in-
dicator light3-12
Coolant temperature
low indicator light/Cool-
ant temperature high
warning light3-13
Charge warning light 3-14
Oil pressure warning light
3-14
Engine oil level warning light3-14
AT OIL TEMP warning
light (AT and CVT mod- els)3-14
/ABS warning light 3-16 Mark Name Page
/Brake system warning light
3-17
Hill Holder indicator light3-19
Door open indicator light
3-19
Low fuel warning light 3-19
All-Wheel Drive warn-
ing light (AT and CVT models)3-20
Vehicle Dynamics Con-
trol warning light/Vehi-
cle Dynamics Control
operation indicator light3-20
Vehicle Dynamics Con-
trol OFF indicator light
3-21
Security indicator light 3-21
Turn signal indicator lights
3-22
High beam indicator light3-22
Front fog light indicator
light (if equipped)3-23Mark Name Page
Cruise control indicator light
3-23
Cruise control set indi-
cator light3-23
Headlight indicator light 3-23
Low tire pressure
warning light
(U.S. spec. models)3-15
/Front passenger
’s fron-
tal airbag ON indicator light 3-11
/Front passenger
’s fron-
tal airbag OFF indicator light 3-11
Shift-up indicator 3-22
Windshield washer fluid
warning light
3-1919

1-2Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
Front seats
WARNING
. Never adjust the seat while driv-
ing to avoid loss of vehicle con-
trol and personal injury.
. Before adjusting the seat, make
sure the hands and feet of rear
seat passengers or cargo are
clear of the adjusting mechan-ism.
. After adjusting the seat, push it
slightly to make sure it is se-
curely locked. If the seat is not
securely locked, it may move or
the seatbelt may not operate
properly.
. Do not put objects under the front
seats. They may interfere with
front seat locking and cause anaccident.
. 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.
. The SRS airbags deploy with
considerable speed and force.
Occupants who are out of proper
position when the SRS airbag
deploys could suffer very serious
injuries. Because the SRS airbag
needs enough space for deploy-
ment, the driver should always
sit upright and well back in the
seat as far from the steering
wheel as practical while still
maintaining full vehicle control
and the front passenger should
move the seat as far back as
possible and sit upright and well
back in the seat.
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. Consequently, we
strongly recommend that ALL chil-
dren (including those in child seats
and those that have outgrown child
restraint devices) sit in the REAR
seat properly restrained at all times
in a child restraint device or in a
seatbelt, whichever is appropriate

1) Rear wheel house impact sensor (left-hand side)
2) Curtain airbag module (left-hand side)
3) Front door impact sensor (left-hand side)
4) Curtain airbag module (right-hand side)
5) Front passenger ’s occupant detection
control module
6) Center pillar impact sensor (left-hand side)
7) Seatbelt pretensioner (left-hand side)
8) Side airbag module (left-hand side)
9) Seatbelt buckle switch (right-hand side)
10) Rear wheel house impact sensor (right- hand side)
11) Side airbag module (right-hand side)
12) Seatbelt pretensioner (right-hand side)
13) Center pillar impact sensor (right-hand side)
14) Front passenger ’s occupant detection
system weight sensor
15) Front door impact sensor (right-hand side) &
SUBARU advanced frontal
airbag system, SRS side air-
bag and SRS curtain airbag
Your vehicle is equipped with a SUBARU
advanced frontal airbag system that com-
plies with the new advanced frontal airbag
requirements in the amended Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS)
No. 208.
The SUBARU advanced frontal airbag
system automatically determines the de-
ployment force of the driver ’s SRS frontal
airbag at the time of deployment as well as
whether or not to activate the frontpassenger ’s SRS frontal airbag and, if
activated, the deployment force of the
SRS frontal airbag at the time of deploy-ment.
Your vehicle has warning labels on the driver ’s and front passenger ’s sun visors
beginning with the phrase “EVEN WITH
ADVANCED AIR BAGS ”and a tag
attached to the glove box lid beginning
with the phrase “Even with Advanced Air
Bags ”. Make sure that you carefully read
the instructions on the warning labels andtag.
Always wear your seatbelt. The SUBARU
advanced frontal airbag system is a
supplemental restraint system and must
be used in combination with a seatbelt. All occupants should wear a seatbelt or be
seated in an appropriate child restraintsystem.
For the locations of the driver
’s SRS
frontal airbag, front passenger ’sSRS
frontal airbag, SRS side airbag and SRS
curtain airbag, refer to “Components ”F 1-
42.
In a moderate to severe frontal collision,
the driver ’s and front passenger ’s SRS
frontal airbags deploy and supplement the
seatbelts by reducing the impact on thedriver ’s and front passenger ’s head and
chest.
Inamoderatetoseveresideimpact
collision, the SRS side airbag on the
impacted side of the vehicle deploys
between the occupant and the door panel
and supplements the seatbelt by reducing
the impact to the occupant ’s chest and
waist.
Inamoderatetoseveresideimpact
collision, the SRS curtain airbag on the
impacted side of the vehicle deploys
between the occupant and the side
window and supplements the seatbelt by
reducing the impact to the occupant ’s
head.
NOTE
The SRS side airbag, SRS curtain air-
bag and seatbelt pretensioner are not Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
1-45
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.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: of Columbia>
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 Shen
’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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wheel and instrument panel.
An impact sensor, which senses impact
force, is located in each of the followinglocations. .In the left and right front doors
. In the left and right center pillars
. In the left and right rear wheel houses
. In the airbag control module
For Outback models, a rollover sensor is
also located inside the airbag controlmodule.
If the impact sensor that is located in the
airbag control module and one of the
center pillar impact sensors or front door
impact sensors together sense an impact
force above a predetermined level in a
side collision, the control module causes
both the SRS side airbag and curtain
airbag on the impacted side to inflate
regardless of whether the rear wheel
house impact sensor on the same side
senses an impact.
If the impact sensor that is located in the
airbag control module and one of the rear
wheel house impact sensors together
sense an impact force above a predeter-
mined level in a side collision, the control
module causes only the SRS curtain
airbag on the impacted side to inflate. For Outback models, if the rollover sensor
detects rollover of the vehicle, the control
module inflates the SRS curtain airbags.
At this time, the driver
’s and front passen-
ger ’s seatbelt pretensioners also operate
at the same time.
After the deployment, the SRS side airbag
immediately starts to deflate. The time
required from detection of an impact to
deflation of an SRS side airbag after
deployment is shorter than the blink of
an eye.
The SRS curtain airbag remains inflated
for a while following deployment then
slowly deflates.
The SRS side airbag and SRS curtain
airbag deploy even when no one occupies
the seat on the side on which an impact isapplied.
The SRS side airbag and SRS curtain
airbag are designed to deploy in the event
of an accident involving a moderate to
severe side impact collision. They are
basically not designed to deploy in a
lesser side impact.
The SRS side airbag and SRS curtain
airbag deployment depend on the level of
force experienced in the passenger com-
partment during a side impact collision.
That level differs from one type of collision to another, and it may have no bearing on
the visible damage done to the vehicleitself.
For Outback models, the SRS curtain
airbags are also designed to deploy when
the vehicle is in an extremely inclined
state such as during a rollover. They are
basically not designed to deploy in a
lesser inclined state.
The SRS side airbag and SRS curtain
airbag are basically not designed to
deploy in frontal or rear impacts because
the SRS side airbag and SRS curtain
airbag deployment would not help the
occupant in those situations.
Each SRS side airbag and SRS curtain
airbag are designed to function on a one-
time-only basis.
Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
1-55
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