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2017 Forester Owner’s Manual
A8220BE-A
Issued April 2016
Printed in USA 04/16 2017A
FUJI HEAVY INDUSTRIES LTD.TOKYO, JAPANSubaru of America, Inc., Subaru Plaza,
P.O. Box 6000, Cherry Hill, NJ 08034-6000
Vehicles shown on the cover of this booklet
may not be available in all markets. Please see
your Subaru dealer for a Product Brochure
detailing all currently available models.
MSA5M1702A
Love. It’s what makes a Subaru, a Subaru.
Forester
OWNER’S MANUAL
2306504_17a_Subaru_Forester_OM_032316.indd 15/17/16 5:22 PM
2017
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Foreword
Congratulations on choosing a SUBARU vehicle. This Owner’s
Manual has all the information necessary to keep your SUBARU in
excellent condition and to properly maintain the emission control
system for minimizing emission pollutants. We urge you to read
this manual carefully so that you may understand your vehicle and
its operation. For information not found in this Owner ’s Manual,
such as details concerning repairs or adjustments, please contact
the SUBARU dealer from whom you purchased your SUBARU or
the nearest SUBARU dealer.
The information, specifications and illustrations found in this
manual are those in effect at the time of printing. FUJI HEAVY
INDUSTRIES LTD. reserves the right to change specifications and
designs at any time without prior notice and without incurring any
obligation to make the same or similar changes on vehicles
previously sold. This Owner ’s Manual applies to all models and
covers all equipment, including factory installed options. Some
explanations, therefore may be for equipment not installed in your
vehicle.
Please leave this manual in the vehicle at the time of resale. The
next owner will need the information found herein.
FUJI HEAVY INDUSTRIES LTD., TOKYO, JAPAN
is a registered trademark of FUJI HEAVY INDUSTRIES LTD.
*CCopyright 2016 FUJI HEAVY INDUSTRIES LTD.
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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 FORWARD
OR REARWARD FACING CHILD
S E AT I N T H E F R O N T S E AT.
DOING SO RISKS SERIOUS IN-
JURY OR DEATH TO THE CHILD
BY PLACING THE CHILD ’S HEAD
TOO CLOSE TO THE SRS AIR-
BAG.
. Always turn the child safety locks
to the “LOCK” position when
children sit in the rear seat.
Serious injury could result if a
child accidentally opens the door
and falls out. Refer to “Child
safety locks ”F 2-32.
. Always lock the passenger ’s 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 2-32.
. Never leave unattended children, adults or animals in the vehicle.
They could accidentally injure
themselves or others through
inadvertent operation of the ve-
hicle. Also, on hot or sunny days,
temperature in a closed vehicle
could quickly become high en-
ough to cause severe or possibly
fatal injuries to them.
. When leaving the vehicle, close
all windows and lock all doors.
. In models with power rear gate,
when it operates, the rear gate
moves with remarkable force. It
is possible to be injured if any-
one is caught in or hit by the rear
gate so be sure to obey the
following cautions.
– Check that there are no chil-
dren around the rear gate
before operating the power
rear gate.
– Do not allow children to oper-
ate the power rear gate.
For instructions and precautions, carefully
read the following sections.
. For the seatbelt system, refer to “Seat-
belts ”F 1-16. .
For the child restraint system, refer to
“Child restraint systems ”F 1-29.
. For the SRS airbag system, refer to
“ *SRS airbag (Supplemental Restraint
System airbag) ”F 1-42.
& Engine exhaust gas (carbon
monoxide)
WARNING
. Never inhale engine exhaust gas.
Engine exhaust gas contains
carbon monoxide, a colorless
and odorless gas which is dan-
gerous, or even lethal, if inhaled.
. Always properly maintain the en-
gine exhaust system to prevent
engine exhaust gas from enter-
ing the vehicle.
. Never run the engine in a closed
space, such as a garage, except
for the brief time needed to drive
the vehicle in or out of it.
. Avoid remaining in a parked
vehicle for a lengthy time while
the engine is running. If that is
unavoidable, then use the venti-
lation fan to force fresh air into
the vehicle.
. Always keep the front ventilator
–CONTINUED –
5
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&Interior
! Passenger compartment area
1) Lower anchorages for child restraint
system (page 1-37)
2) Seatbelt (page 1-16)
3) Front seat (page 1-2)
4) Rear seat heater switch (page 1-10)
5) Rear seat (page 1-11)
6) Buttons for SUBARU STARLINK
NOTE
For U.S.-spec. models with SUBARU
STARLINK: Refer to the Owner ’s Man-
ual supplement for SUBARU
STARLINK.
14
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&Instrument panel1) Outside mirror switch (page 3-115)
2) Seat position memory switch (page 1-5)
3) Steering Responsive Headlight OFF
switch (models with Steering Respon-
sive Headlight) (page 3-99)/Steering re-
sponsive fog light off switch (if equipped)
(page 3-103)
4) Illumination brightness control (page 3-101)
5) BSD/RCTA OFF switch (page 7-58)
6) Vehicle Dynamics Control OFF switch (models without power rear gate)
(page 7-41)/Memory switch (models with
power rear gate) (page 2-42)
7) Combination meter (page 3-9)
8) Information display (page 3-34)/Multi function display (page 3-44)
9) Hazard warning flasher switch (models with multi function display) (page 3-8)
10) Hazard warning flasher switch (models without multi function display) (page 3-8)
11) Multi function display control switch (page 3-44)
12) Audio (page 5-1)
13) Climate control (page 4-1)
14) Power rear gate switch (page 2-39)
15) Fuse box (page 11-37)
16) Hood lock release (page 11-7)
17) Vehicle Dynamics Control OFF switch (models with power rear gate)
(page 7-41)
16
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&Combination meter
! U.S.-spec. models (type A)
The illustration above is a typical example. For some models, the combination meter
may be slightly different than that shown in the illustration.
1) Tachometer (page 3-11)
2) Select lever/gear position indicator
(page 3-31)
3) Trip meter and odometer (page 3-10)
4) Speedometer (page 3-10)
5) Information display selection knob (page 3-34)
6) Fuel gauge (page 3-12)
7) X-mode (if equipped) (page 7-42)/SI- DRIVE (if equipped) (page 7-32)
8) Trip meter A/B selection and trip meter reset knob (page 3-10)
–CONTINUED –
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!U.S.-spec. models (type B)
The illustration above is a typical example. For some models, the combination meter
may be slightly different than that shown in the illustration.
1) Tachometer (page 3-11)
2) Multi information display (page 3-39)
3) Fuel gauge (page 3-12)
4) Select lever/gear position indicator
(page 3-31)
5) Speedometer (page 3-10)
6) Trip meter A/B selection and trip meter reset knob (page 3-10)
7) Trip meter and odometer (page 3-10)
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!Canada-spec. and Mexico-spec. models (type A)
The illustration above is a typical example. For some models, the combination meter
may be slightly different than that shown in the illustration.
1) Tachometer (page 3-11)
2) Trip meter and odometer (page 3-10)
3) Select lever/gear position indicator
(page 3-31)
4) Speedometer (page 3-10)
5) Information display selection knob (page 3-34)
6) ECO gauge (Mexico-spec. models) (page 3-12)
7) Fuel gauge (page 3-12)
8) Trip meter A/B selection and trip meter reset knob (page 3-10)
–CONTINUED –
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