2017 SUBARU FORESTER Owners Manual

Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags/Seatbelts
the ELR mode, refer to“Installing child
restraint systems with ALR/ELR seatbelt ”
F 1-32.
&Seatbelt warning light
and chime
Refer to “Seatbelt warning light and
chime ”F 3-14.
& 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 weaker
abdomen.
. 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 or
death.
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 they
cool.
! Front seatbelts
1. Adjust the seat position according to
the following procedure.
Driver ’s seat: Adjust the seatback to the
upright position. Move the seat as far from
the steering wheel as practical while still
maintaining full vehicle control.
Front passenger ’s seat: Adjust the seat-
back to the upright position. Move the seat
as far back as possible.
2. Sit well back in the seat.
3. Pick up the tongue plate and pull the
belt out slowly. Do not let it get twisted.
.If the belt stops before reaching the
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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 it
a strong pull, then pull it out slowly
again.
4. Insert the tongue plate into the buckle
until you hear a click.
5. To make the lap part tight, pull up on
the shoulder belt.
6. Place the lap belt as low as possible
on your hips, not on your waist. !
Adjusting the front seat shoulder
belt anchor height
The shoulder belt anchor height should be
adjusted to the position best suited for the
driver/front passenger. Always adjust the
anchor height so that the shoulder belt
passes over the middle of the shoulder
without touching the neck.
To raise:
Slide the anchor up.
To lower:
Pull the release knob and slide the anchor
down.
Pull down on the anchor to make sure that
it is locked in place.
Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags/Seatbelts
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Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags/Seatbelts
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
1. Push the button on the buckle.
2. Have the seatbelt retracted slowly to
avoid the seatbelt being tangled or
twisted.
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)
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 it
a strong pull, then pull it out slowly
again.
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.
1-20

!Unfastening the seatbelt
1. Push the button on the buckle.
2. Have the seatbelt retracted slowly to
avoid the seatbelt being tangled or
twisted.
Before closing the door, make sure that
the belts are retracted properly to avoid
catching the belt webbing in the door. !
Rear center seatbelt1) 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 not
twisted.
Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags/Seatbelts
–CONTINUED –1-21

Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags/Seatbelts
WARNING
.Be sure to fasten both tongue
plates to the respective buckles.
If the seatbelt is used only as a
shoulder belt (with the connec-
tor ’s tongue plate not fastened to
the connector ’s buckle on the
right-hand side), it cannot prop-
erly restrain the wearer in posi-
tion in an accident, possibly
resulting in serious injury or
death.
. The head restraint is not intended
to be used at the lowest position.
Before sitting on the seat, raise
the head restraint to the ex-
tended position. Otherwise, in
an accident, serious injury or
death could result.
. Before fastening the seatbelt,
confirm that the seatbelt is rou-
ted through the belt guide. A
seatbelt not routed through the
belt guide can cause neck inju-
ries during sudden braking or in
a collision since it may slip up on
your neck.
Rear center seatbelt is stowed in the
recess of the ceiling above the cargo area.
1. Retrieve the connector (tongue) plate
from the slot in the recess by pulling the
connector (tongue) plate, then pull out the
seatbelt slowly.
2. Pass the seatbelt through the belt
guide.
3. After confirming that the webbing is not
twisted, insert the connector (tongue)
attached at the webbing end into the
buckle on the right-hand side until a click
is heard.
.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 it
a strong pull, then pull it out slowly
again.
1-22

4. After fastening the seatbelt, make sure
that the“”mark on the connector
(tongue) and the “”mark on the buckle
face outwards.
5. Insert the center seatbelt tongue plate
into the center seatbelt buckle marked “CENTER
”on the left-hand side until it
clicks.
6. To make the lap part tight, pull up on
the shoulder belt.
7. Place the lap belt as low as possible
on your hips, not on your waist. !
Unfastening the seatbelt1. Push the release button of the center
seatbelt buckle (on the left-hand side) to
unfasten the seatbelt.
NOTE
When the seatback is folded down for
greater cargo area, it is necessary to
disconnect the connector.
Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags/Seatbelts
–CONTINUED –1-23

Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags/Seatbelts
2. Insert a tongue plate or other hard
pointed object into the slot in the con-
nector (buckle) on the right-hand side and
push it in. The connector (tongue) plate
will then disconnect from the buckle.
3. Allow the retractor to roll up the belt.You should hold the webbing end and
guide it back into the retractor while it is
rolling up. Neatly store the tongue plate in
the recess and then insert the connector
(tongue) plate into the slot.
CAUTION
.
Do not allow the retractor to roll
up the seatbelt too quickly.
Otherwise, the metal tongue
plates may hit against the trim,
resulting in damaged trim. .
Have the seatbelt fully rolled up
so that the tongue plates are
neatly stored. A hanging tongue
plate can swing and hit against
the trim during driving, causing
damage to the trim.
& Seatbelt maintenance
To clean the seatbelts, use a mild soap
and lukewarm water. Never bleach or dye
the belts because this could seriously
affect their strength.
Inspect the seatbelts and attachments
including the webbing and all hardware
periodically for cracks, cuts, gashes,
tears, damage, loose bolts or worn areas.
Replace the seatbelts even if only minor
damage is found.
CAUTION
. Keep the belts free of polishes,
oils, chemicals and particularly
battery acid.
. Never attempt to make modifica-
tions or changes that will prevent
the seatbelt from operating prop-
erly.
1-24

Front seatbelt pretensioners
The driver’s and front passenger ’s seat-
belts have a seatbelt pretensioner. The
seatbelt pretensioners are designed to be
activated in the event of an accident
involving moderate to severe frontal and
side collisions and rollover accidents.
& Seatbelt with shoulder belt
pretensioner
NOTE
This section is applicable to the dri-
ver ’s side seatbelt.
The pretensioner sensor also serves as
follows.
. SRS frontal airbag sensor .
Side impact sensor
. Front door impact sensor
. Rollover sensor
If the sensor detects a certain predeter-
mined amount of force during frontal or
side collisions or rollover accidents, the
front seatbelt is quickly drawn back in by
the retractor to take up the slack so that
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 or
in rear impacts.
. In cases of rollover accidents, as the
curtain airbags deploy, the driver ’s side
seatbelt pretensioner and front passen-
ger ’s side shoulder belt pretensioner are activated simultaneously.
.
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 side airbags (both sides) (if
an offset frontal collision occurs)
– 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 ”F 1-51
.
. In cases of side collisions, the
following components will operate si-
multaneously.
–SRS curtain airbag (impacted
side)
– SRS side airbag (impacted side)
(when both the satellite safing sen-
sor and any of the center pillar
impact sensors/front door impact
sensors sense an impact force)
– Seatbelt pretensioner for driver
(when both the satellite safing sen-
sor and the driver ’s side front door
Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags/Front seatbelt pretensioners
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