Safety precautions when
driving
&Seatbelt and SRS airbag
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.
.To obtain maximum protection in
the event of an accident, the
driver and all passengers in the
vehicle should always wear seat-
belts when the vehicle is moving.
The SRS (Supplemental Restraint
System) airbag does not do away
with the need to fasten seatbelts.
In combination with the seat-
belts, it offers the best combined
protection in case of a serious
accident.
Not wearing a seatbelt increases
the chance of severe injury or
death in a crash even when the
vehicle has the SRS airbag..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”F1-16.
.For the SRS airbag system, refer to
“*SRS airbag (Supplemental Restraint
System airbag)”F1-41.
&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
4
&Warning and indicator lights
Mark Name Page
Seatbelt warning light 3-12
Front passenger’s
seatbelt warning light3-12
SRS airbag system
warning light3-14
CHECK ENGINE warn-
ing light/Malfunction in-
dicator light3-15
Charge warning light 3-15
Oil pressure warning
light3-15
Engine low oil level
warning indicator3-16
AT OIL TEMP warning
light (CVT models)3-16
/ABS warning light 3-18
/Brake system warning
light3-18Mark Name Page
/Electronic parking
brake indicator light3-20
Hill Holder indicator
light3-21
Door open indicator 3-22
Low fuel warning light 3-21
All-Wheel Drive warn-
ing light (CVT models)3-22
Power steering warning
light3-22
Vehicle Dynamics Con-
trol warning light/Vehi-
cle Dynamics Control
operation indicator light3-23
Vehicle Dynamics Con-
trol OFF indicator light3-24
Access key warning in-
dicator (if equipped)3-24
Security indicator light 3-29
Turn signal indicator
lights3-30Mark Name Page
High beam indicator
light3-30
Automatic headlight
beam leveler warning
light (if equipped)3-30
Front fog light indicator
light (if equipped)3-31
Cruise control indicator 3-30
Cruise control set indi-
cator3-30
X-mode indicator (if
equipped)3-31
Hill descent control in-
dicator (if equipped)3-31
Headlight indicator light 3-31
Low tire pressure
warning light (U.S.
spec. models)3-16
/Front passenger’s fron-
tal airbag ON indicator
light3-14
/Front passenger’s fron-
tal airbag OFF indicator
light3-14
–CONTINUED–
23
Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags/Front seats
!Memory function (driver’s seat—if
equipped)
WARNING
.Never adjust the seat while driv-
ing to avoid loss of vehicle con-
trol and personal injury.
.Before adjusting the seat, make
sure that cargo or the hands and
feet of rear seat passengers are
clear of the adjusting mechan-
ism.
.Never retrieve the seat position
while driving to avoid loss of
vehicle control and personal in-
jury.
.Perform the seat position retrie-
val before driving. Be sure to
confirm that the select lever is
in the“P”position, and the
parking brake is applied, when
adjusting the seat position. Do
not drive until the retrieval of the
seat position is complete.
.When retrieving a registered seat
position, make sure the hands,
feet and possessions of rear seat
passengers are clear of the seat
adjusting mechanism.
.When any unusual conditions ormalfunctions occur during the
retrieval of the seat position, stop
the retrieval of the seat position
by performing any of the follow-
ing procedures.
–Operate any of the power seat
switches
–Press the“SET”button
–Press button“1”or“2”
Some of your desired seat positions can
be registered. Register the seat position
with button“1”or“2”or each of the access
keys and retrieve the seat position.
The following seat positions can be
registered.
.Forward/backward position of the seat
.Angle of seatback
.Angle of seat cushion
.Height of seat
!Registration of seat position with
button“1”or“2”
1. Adjust the seat position under the
following conditions.
.The parking brake is applied.
.The select lever is in the“P”posi-
tion.
2. While pressing the“SET”button, press
and hold the desired button“1”or“2”.
A chirp sounds once, and the seat position
is registered.
!Registration of seat position with
each access key
1. Adjust the seat position under the
following conditions.
.The parking brake is applied.
.The ignition switch is in the“LOCK”/
“OFF”position.
.The select lever is in the“P”posi-
tion.
1-6
2. While holding the access key and
pressing the“SET”button, press the“”
button of the access key.
A chirp sounds once, and the seat position
is registered.
!Retrieval of seat position regis-
tered with button“1”or“2”
WARNING
Be sure to press the correct button
to retrieve your registered seat
position. If the seat position is not
optimum for you, it may adversely
affect your driving and may reduce
the effectiveness of the seatbelt.
That could result in an accident
involving serious injury or death.
1. Turn the ignition switch to the“ON”
position.
2. While the select lever is in the“P”
position and the parking brake is applied,
press button“1”or“2”.
A chirp sounds and the seat moves to the
registered position. When the seat moves
to the registered position, a chirp will
sound.
NOTE
.If a new position is registered for the
same button, the previously registered
seat position is deleted.
.If the vehicle battery is removed, the
registered seat position is not deleted.
.When the button“1”or“2”is
pressed within 45 seconds after the
driver’s door is opened, the registeredseat position can be retrieved even if
the ignition switch is in the“LOCK”or
“OFF”position.
!Retrieval of the seat position
registered with access key
1. Hold the registered access key.
2. Unlock the driver’s door by pressing
the“”button or gripping the door handle.
3. Open the driver’s door.
A chirp sounds and the seat moves to the
registered position. When the seat moves
to the registered position, a chirp will
sound.
Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags/Front seats
–CONTINUED–1-7
are located on the top of the seatback until
the head restraint locks. Press and hold
the release button to lower the head
restraint.
!Head restraint angle adjustment
The angle of the head restraint can be
adjusted in several steps. While maintain-
ing a suitable driving posture, adjust the
head restraint to a position where the back
of your head is as close to the head
restraint as possible.
To tilt:
Tilt the head restraint by hand to the
preferred position. A click will be audible
when the head restraint is locked.
To return:
Tilt the head restraint once as far forward
as it can go. The head restraint willautomatically return to the fully upright
position. Then, adjust the head restraint
again to the preferred angle.
Seat heater (if equipped)
The seat heater operates when the igni-
tion switch is in the“ON”position.
CAUTION
.People with delicate skin may
suffer slight burns even at low
temperatures if they use the seat
heater for a long period of time.
When using the heater, always be
sure to warn the persons con-
cerned.
.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.
.When the seat is warmed enough
or before you leave the vehicle,
be sure to turn off the seat heater.
NOTE
Use of the seat heater for a long period
of time while the engine is not running
can cause battery discharge.
Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags/Seat heater
–CONTINUED–1-9
Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags/Seat heater
&Front seat heater (if
equipped)
Front seat heater switch
1) HIGH mode indicator
2) MID mode indicator
3) LOW mode indicator
A) Driver’s side
B) Front passenger’s side
Press the front seat heater switch. Each
time you press the switch, the mode will
change as follows.
When LOW mode is selected, the LOW
mode indicator on the front seat heater
switch illuminates. When MID mode is
selected, both the LOW and MID modeindicators illuminate. When HIGH mode is
selected, all 3 LOW, MID and HIGH mode
indicators illuminate. When the OFF mode
is selected, all the indicators turn off.
Selecting“HIGH”mode will cause the seat
to heat up quicker.
&Rear seat heater (if equipped)
Rear seat heater switch
1) HIGH mode indicator
2) LOW mode indicator
A) Driver’s side
B) Front passenger’s side
Press the rear seat heater switch. Each
time you press the switch, the mode will
change as follows.
When LOW mode is selected, the LOW
mode indicator on the rear seat heater
switch illuminates. When HIGH mode is
selected, both the LOW and HIGH mode
indicators illuminate. When the OFF mode
is selected, all the indicators turn off.
Selecting“HIGH”mode will cause the seat
to heat up quicker.
NOTE
Only the front seat heater switches
retainthepreviousswitchposition
even if the vehicle has restarted. The
rear seat switch will reset.
1-10
the belt more effectively restrains the
driver.
When a seatbelt pretensioner is activated,
an operating noise will be heard and a
small amount of smoke will be released.
These occurrences are normal and not
harmful. This smoke does not indicate a
fire in the vehicle.
Once the seatbelt pretensioner has been
activated, the seatbelt retractor remains
locked. Consequently, the seatbelt cannot
be pulled out and retracted and therefore
must be replaced.
NOTE
.Seatbelt pretensioners are not de-
signed to activate in minor impacts.
.In cases of rollover accidents, as the
SRS curtain airbags deploy, the seat-
belt pretensioners are activated simul-
taneously.
.In cases of frontal collisions, the
following components will operate si-
multaneously.
–Seatbelt pretensioner for driver
–Seatbelt pretensioner for front
passenger
–SRS frontal airbag for driver
–SRS frontal airbag for front pas-
senger*
–SRS seat cushion airbag fordriver
–SRS seat cushion airbag for front
passenger*
–SRS curtain airbags (both sides)
(if an offset frontal collision occurs)
*: This does not operate if the occupant
detection system deactivates airbag op-
eration. For details, refer to“Front
passenger’s SRS frontal airbag”F1-52
.
.In cases of side collisions, the
following components will operate si-
multaneously.
–SRS curtain airbag (impacted
side)
–SRS side airbag (impacted side)
(when any of the center pillar im-
pact sensors/front door impact sen-
sors senses an impact force)
–Seatbelt pretensioner for driver
(when the driver’s side front door
impact sensor senses an impact
force)
–Seatbelt pretensioner for front
passenger (when the front passen-
ger’s side front door impact sensor
senses an impact force)
.Pretensioners are designed to func-
tion on a one-time-only basis. In the
event that a pretensioner is activated,
both the driver’s and front passenger’s
seatbelt retractor assemblies should
be replaced only by an authorizedSUBARU dealer. When replacing seat-
belt retractor assemblies, use only
genuine SUBARU parts.
.If either front seatbelt does not
retract or cannot be pulled out due to
a malfunction or activation of the
pretensioner, contact your SUBARU
dealer as soon as possible.
.If the front seatbelt retractor assem-
bly or surrounding area has been
damaged, contact your SUBARU dealer
as soon as possible.
.When you sell your vehicle, we urge
you to explain to the buyer that it has
seatbelt pretensioners by alerting the
buyer to the contents of this section.
WARNING
.To obtain maximum protection,
the occupants should sit in an
upright position with their seat-
belts properly fastened. Refer to
“Seatbelts”F1-16.
.Do not modify, remove or strike
the front seatbelt retractor as-
semblies or surrounding area.
This could result in accidental
activation of the seatbelt preten-
sioners or could make the sys-
tem inoperative, possibly result-
ing in serious injury. Seatbelt
Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags/Front seatbelt pretensioners
–CONTINUED–1-25
Outback
1) For left seat
2) For center seat
3) For right seat
The tether anchorages (upper an-
chorages) are provided for all the seating
positions (center and both window-sideones) of the rear seat.
You will find marks“”at the bottom of the
rear seat seatbacks. These marks indicate
the positions of the lower anchorages
(bars).
Each lower anchorage is located behind
the cover of seatback bottom.
CAUTION
When you install a child restraint
system, follow the manufacturer’s
instructions supplied with it. After
installing the child restraint system,
check to ensure that it is held
securely in position. If it is not held
tight and secure, the danger of your
child suffering personal injury in the
event of an accident may be in-creased.
Peel off the anchorage cover from the
selected side of the rear seatback to
expose the anchorages (bars) to be used
for installation of the child restraint system.
Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags/Child restraint systems
–CONTINUED–1-37