Page 12 of 594

&Modification of your vehicle
CAUTION
Your vehicle should not be modified
other than with genuine SUBARU
parts and accessories. Other types
of modifications could affect its
performance, safety or durability,
and may even violate governmental
regulations. In addition, damage or
performance problems resulting
from modification may not be cov-
ered under warranties.
&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.
&Driving vehicles equipped
with navigation system
WARNING
Do not allow the monitor to distract
your attention from driving. Also, do
not operate the controls of the
navigation system while driving.
The loss of attention to driving
could lead to an accident. If you
wish to operate the controls of the
navigation system, first take the
vehicle off the road and stop it in a
safe location.
&Driving with pets
Unrestrained pets can interfere with your
driving and distract your attention from
driving. In a collision or sudden stop,
unrestrained pets or cages can be thrown
around inside the vehicle and hurt you or
your passengers. Besides, the pets can
be hurt under these situations. It is also for
their own safety that pets should be
properly restrained in your vehicle. Re-
strain a pet with a special traveling
harness which can be secured to the rear
seat with a seatbelt or use a pet carrier
which can be secured to the rear seat by
routing a seatbelt through the carrier ’s handle. Never restrain pets or pet carriers
in the front passenger
’s seat. For further
information, consult your veterinarian,
local animal protection society or pet
shop.
& Tire pressures
Check and, if necessary, adjust the
pressure of each tire (including the spare)
at least once a month and before any long
journey.
Check the tire pressure when the tires are
cold. Use a pressure gauge to adjust the
tire pressures to the values shown on the
tire placard. For detailed information, refer
to“Tires and wheels” F11-21.
WARNING
Driving at high speeds with exces-
sively low tire pressures can cause
the tires to deform severely and to
rapidly become hot. A sharp in-
crease in temperature could cause
tread separation, and destruction of
the tires. The resulting loss of
vehicle control could lead to an
accident.
7
Page 20 of 594
&Steering wheel
! Except Crosstrek models
1) Audio control switches (page 5-63)/
Talk switch for voice command system
(page 5-82)/Hands-free phone switches
(page 5-73)
2) Cruise control (page 7-45)
3) Shift paddle (page 7-26)
4) Multi information display control switches (page 3-38)
5) SRS airbag (page 1-39)
6) Horn (page 3-111)
–CONTINUED –
15
Page 21 of 594
!Crosstrek models1) Audio control switches (page 5-63)/
Talk switch for voice command system
(page 5-82)/Hands-free phone switches
(page 5-73)
2) Cruise control (page 7-45)
3) Shift paddle (page 7-26)
4) Multi information display control switches (page 3-38)
5) SRS airbag (page 1-39)
6) Horn (page 3-111)
16
Page 73 of 594

Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags/*SRS airbag (Supplemental Restraint System airbag)
occupants and cause injuries.
. Do not attach a hands-free micro-
phone or any other accessory to
a front pillar, a center pillar, a rear
pillar, the windshield, a side win-
dow, an assist grip, or any other
cabin surface that would be near
a deploying SRS curtain airbag.
A hands-free microphone or
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
Place children in the rear seat
properly restrained at all times. The
SRS airbag deploys with consider-
able speed and force and can injure
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Page 81 of 594

Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags/*SRS airbag (Supplemental Restraint System airbag)
SRS airbag system warning light (type A)
SRS airbag system warning light (type B)
.If the SRS airbag system warning light
illuminates, keep the seat dry until the
warning light turns off. If the SRS airbag
system warning light stays on even when the seat has dried, do not allow anyone to
sit on the front passenger
’s seat and have
the system checked by your SUBARU
dealer.
. If the SRS airbag system warning light
does not illuminate, check that the front
passenger ’s frontal airbag ON and OFF
indicators work properly. If the indicators
do not work properly, do not allow anyone
to sit on the front passenger ’s seat and
have the system checked by your
SUBARU dealer.
ON /: Front passenger ’s frontal airbag ON
indicator
/: Front passenger ’s frontal airbag OFF
indicator
Also, if luggage or electronic devices are
placed on the front passenger ’s seat, this
may adversely affect the ability of the system to determine deployment. This
may prevent the front passenger
’s frontal
airbag ON and OFF indicators from work-
ing properly. Check that the indicators
work properly.
When the OFF indicator turns off and the
ON indicator illuminates, the front passen-
ger ’s frontal airbag may deploy during a
collision. Remove luggage and electronic
devices from the front passenger ’s seat.
CAUTION
Electrical devices, such as cell
phones, laptops, portable music
players, or electronic games, espe-
cially when connected to the acces-
sory power outlet and placed on the
front passenger ’s seat or used by
the person sitting in the front pas-
senger ’s seat, may affect the opera-
tion of the occupant detection sys-
tem. If either of the following situa-
tions occurs when using an electro-
nic device in the vehicle, at first try
to relocate that device to avoid it
creating any interference.
. The SRS airbag system warning
light illuminates.
. The front passenger ’s frontal air-
bag ON and OFF indicators oper-
ate erratically.
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Page 88 of 594
!Examples of the types of accidents in which deployment of the driver ’s/
driver ’s and front passenger ’s SRS frontal airbag(s) is unlikely to occur1) The vehicle strikes an object, such as a
telephone pole or sign pole.
2) The vehicle slides under the load bed of a truck.
3) The vehicle sustains an oblique offset frontal impact.
4) The vehicle sustains an offset frontal collision.
5) The vehicle strikes an object that can move or deform, such as a parked
vehicle.
There are many types of collisions which
might not necessarily require deployment
of driver ’s/driver ’s and front passenger ’s
SRS frontal airbag(s). In the event of
accidents like those illustrated, the dri-
ver ’s/driver ’s and front passenger ’s SRS
frontal airbag(s) may not deploy depend-
ing on the level of accident forces in-
volved.
Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags/*SRS airbag (Supplemental Restraint System airbag)
–CONTINUED –1-57
Page 95 of 594
Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags/*SRS airbag (Supplemental Restraint System airbag)
!Examples of the types of accidents in which the SRS side airbag is unlikely
to deploy.1) The vehicle is involved in an oblique
side-on impact.
2) The vehicle is involved in a side-on impact in an area outside the vicinity of
the passenger compartment.
3) The vehicle strikes a telephone pole or similar object.
4) The vehicle is involved in a side-on impact from a motorcycle.
5) The vehicle rolls onto its side or the roof.
There are many types of collisions which
might not necessarily require SRS side
airbag deployment. In the event of acci-
dents like those illustrated, the SRS side
airbag may not deploy depending on the
level of accident forces involved.
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Page 96 of 594
!Examples of the types of accidents in which the SRS curtain airbag is
unlikely to deploy.
Except Crosstrek models1) The vehicle is involved in an oblique side-on impact.
2) The vehicle is involved in a side-on impact in an area outside the vicinity of
the passenger compartment.
3) The vehicle strikes a telephone pole or similar object.
4) The vehicle is involved in a side-on impact from a motorcycle.
5) The vehicle rolls onto its side or the roof.
There are many types of collisions which
might not necessarily require SRS curtain
airbag deployment. In the event of acci-
dents like those illustrated, the SRS
curtain airbag may not deploy depending
on the level of accident forces involved.
Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags/*SRS airbag (Supplemental Restraint System airbag)
–CONTINUED –1-65