
.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
– CONTINUED – 

1) Rear window defogger button(page 3-34)
2) Fuel filler lid and cap (page 7-3) 
3) Child safety locks (page 2-19) 
4) Towing hook (page 9-13)
5) Tie-down hooks (page 9-14) 
6) Trunk lid (page 2-23) 
7) Rear gate (page 2-26) 
8) Bulb replacement (page 11-49) 
9) Rear wiper switch (page 3-33) 11
– CONTINUED –  

Front seats........................................................... 1-2
Manual seat (if equipped) .................................... 1-3
Power seat (if equipped) ...................................... 1-4
Head restraint adjustment .................................... 1-6
Seat heater (if equipped) .................................... 1-6
Rear seats ............................................................ 1-7
Reclining the seatback (Outback) ......................... 1-8
Folding down the rear seatback ........................... 1-9
Head restraint adjustment ................................... 1-10
Armrest ............................................................. 1-12
Seatbelts ............................................................. 1-12
Seatbelt safety tips ............................................. 1-12
Emergency Locking Retractor (ELR) ................... 1-13
Automatic/Emergency Locking Retractor (A/ELR) ............................................................ 1-13
Seatbelt warning light and chime ........................ 1-14
Fastening the seatbelt ........................................ 1-14
Seatbelt maintenance ......................................... 1-20
Front seatbelt pretensioners ............................. 1-21
System monitors ................................................ 1-22
System servicing ................................................ 1-22 Precautions against vehicle modification
............ 1-22
Child restraint systems ..................................... 1-23
Where to place a child restraint system .............. 1-24
Choosing a child restraint system ...................... 1-25
Installing child restraint systems with A/ELR seatbelt ........................................................... 1-26
Installing a booster seat ..................................... 1-29
Installation of child restraint systems by use of lower and tether anchorages (LATCH) .............. 1-30
Top tether anchorages ....................................... 1-33
*SRS airbag (Supplemental Restraint System airbag) ................................................ 1-36
General precautions regarding SRS airbag system ............................................................ 1-36
Components ...................................................... 1-42
SUBARU advanced frontal airbag system, SRS side airbag and SRS curtain airbag .................. 1-45
System operation ............................................... 1-50
SRS airbag system monitors .............................. 1-62
SRS airbag system servicing ... .......................... 1-63
Precautions against vehicle modification ............ 1-64
Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags1 

Keys..................................................................... 2-2
Key number ........................................................ 2-2
Immobilizer .......................................................... 2-3
Security ID plate .................................................. 2-3
Security indicator light ........................................ 2-4
Key replacement ................................................. 2-4
Door locks ........................................................... 2-4
Locking and unlocking from the outside .. ............ 2-4
Locking and unlocking from the inside ................ 2-5
Battery drainage prevention function ................... 2-6
Power door locking switches ............................. 2-6
Key lock-in prevention function ........................... 2-7
Remote keyless entry system ............................ 2-7
Locking the doors ............................................... 2-8
Unlocking the doors ............................................ 2-9
Opening the trunk lid (Legacy) ............................. 2-9
Unlocking the rear gate (Outback) ........................ 2-9
Vehicle finder function ......................................... 2-9
Sounding a panic alarm ...................................... 2-10
Selecting audible signal operation ...................... 2-10
Replacing the battery ......................................... 2-10
Replacing lost transmitters ................................. 2-12 Alarm system
..................................................... 2-15
System alarm operation ..................................... 2-15
Activating and deactivating the alarm system ..... 2-15
If you have accidentally triggered the alarm system ............................................................ 2-16
Arming the system ............................................ 2-16
Disarming the system ........................................ 2-17
Valet mode ........................................................ 2-18
Passive arming .................................................. 2-18
Tripped sensor identification .............................. 2-19
Shock sensors (dealer option).. .......................... 2-19
Child safety locks .............................................. 2-19
Windows ............................................................. 2-20
Power window operation by driver ..................... 2-20
Power window operation by passengers ............. 2-22
Initialization of power window .. .......................... 2-23
Trunk lid (Legacy) .............................................. 2-23
To open and close the trunk lid from outside . ..... 2-23
To open the trunk lid from inside. ....................... 2-24
Internal trunk lid release handle ......................... 2-24
Rear gate (Outback) ........................................... 2-26
Moonroof (if equipped) ...................................... 2-27
Moonroof switches ............................................ 2-28
Sun shade ......................................................... 2-29 Keys and doors
2 

!Disarming the system
To disarm the system, briefly press the “
” button on the transmitter.
& Tripped sensor identification
The security indicator light flashes when 
the alarm system has been triggered.
Also, the number of flashes indicates the
location of unauthorized intrusion or the
severity of impact on the vehicle. 
When the ignition switch is turned to the “ ON ”position, the indicator light will
illuminate for 1 second and then flash asfollows: . When a door or rear gate (Outback)
was opened: 5 times. When the trunk (Legacy) was opened:
4 times . When a strong impact or multiple
impacts were sensed: twice (only models 
with shock sensors (dealer option)) . When a light impact was sensed: once
(only models with shock sensors (dealer option))
& 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 is 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 like those shown in the follow-
ing 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 construction site
– Vibration in 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 locksWARNING
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.
Each rear door has a child safety lock that 
prevents the door 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 Keys and doors
2-19
– CONTINUED –  

2-20Keys and doors
the outside.
Windows
WARNING
To avoid serious personal injury 
caused by entrapment, always con-
form to the following instructions
without exception. . When operating the power win-
dows, be extremely careful to 
prevent anyone ’s fingers, arms,
neck, head or other objects 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. &
Power window operation by driver
! Driver ’s side power window
switches
1) Lock switch 
2) For driver ’s window
3) For front passenger ’s window
4) For rear left passenger ’s window
5) For rear right passenger ’s window
All door windows can be controlled by the 
power window switch cluster at the driver
side door.  

WARNING
Never allow any child to get in the 
trunk and play with the release
handle. If the driver starts the vehi-
cle without knowing that a child is
inside the trunk and the child opens
the lid using the release handle, the
child could fall out and be killed or
seriously injured.
CAUTION
. Do not close the lid while grip-
ping the release handle. The 
handle may be damaged.
. Do not use the handle as a hook
to fasten straps or ropes to 
secure your cargo in the trunk. 
Such use may result in damage
of the handle.
. Load the trunk so that cargo
cannot strike the release handle.
If the cargo hits the handle while
the vehicle is being driven, the
handle may be pulled and the
trunk lid may open. That may
cause cargo to fall out of the
trunk, which could create a traffic
safety hazard. !
Inspection
Perform the following steps at least twice
a year to check the release handle for
correct operation. 
1. Open the trunk lid.
2. Use a flat-head screwdriver with a thin 
blade. Slide the flat-head screwdriver
blade from the slit aperture of the lock
assembly fully to the end until you hear a click.
This places the latch in the locked posi- tion.
3. Move the release handle, from outside 
the vehicle, in the direction of the arrow to
check if the latch is released. Keys and doors
2-25
– CONTINUED –    

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 vehicle battery, a
malfunction in the door locking/unlock-
ing system or other causes, you can
unlock it by manually operating the
rear gate lock release lever. For the
procedure, refer to
“Rear gate (Out-
back) –if the rear gate cannot be
unlocked ”F 9-20. Moonroof (if equipped)
WARNING
Never let anyone ’shands,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 involved in an accident. 
To avoid serious personal injury 
caused by entrapment, you must
conform to the following instruc-
tions without exception. . 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. Keys and doors
2-27
– CONTINUED –