When possible, you should share the
driving with others.
&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” F11-23.
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.
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7
&Steering wheel1) Audio control switches (page 5-62)
2) Talk switch for voice command system
(page 5-80)
3) Cruise control (page 7-53)
4) Shift paddle (page 7-27)
5) Tilt/telescopic lock lever (page 3-118)
6) Hands-free phone switches (page 5-72)
7) Multi information display control switches (page 3-39)
8) SRS airbag (page 1-42)
9) Horn (page 3-118)
10) Heated steering wheel switch (page 3-119)
11) SI-DRIVE switches (page 7-34)
–CONTINUED –
17
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 thepassenger
’s hand grips. If such
items were hanging on the passen-
ger ’s hand grips during deployment
of the SRS curtain airbags, they
could cause serious injuries by
coming off the passenger ’s hand
grips and being thrown through the
cabin or by preventing deployment
of the curtain airbags.
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
or even kill children, especially if
they are not restrained or impro-
perly restrained. Because children
are lighter and weaker than adults,
their risk of being injured from
deployment is greater.
Consequently, we strongly recom-
mend that ALL children (including
those in child seats and those that
Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags/*SRS airbag (Supplemental Restraint System airbag)
–CONTINUED –1-45
and OFF indicators do not work properly
even when the front passenger’s seat is
dry, do not allow anyone to sit on the front
passenger ’s seat and have the occupant
detection system checked by your
SUBARU dealer.
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.
If the device continues to cause
interference, the use of that device
in the vehicle should be discontin-
ued.
! Conditions in which front passen-
ger’s SRS frontal airbag is not
activated
The front passenger ’s SRS frontal airbag
will not be activated when any of the
following conditions are met regarding the
front passenger ’s seat:
. The seat is empty.
. The seat is equipped with an appro-
priate child restraint system and an infant
is restrained in it. (See WARNING that
follows.)
. The front passenger ’s occupant detec-
tion system is malfunctioning.
WARNING
NEVER INSTALL A FORWARD OR
REARWARD FACING CHILD SEAT
IN THE FRONT PASSENGER ’S SEAT
EVEN IF THE FRONT PASSEN-
GER ’S SRS FRONTAL AIRBAG IS
DEACTIVATED. Be sure to install it
in the REAR seat in a correct
manner. Also, it is strongly recom-
mended that any forward facing
child seat or booster seat be in-
stalled in the REAR seat, and that
even children who have outgrown a
child restraint system be also
seated in the REAR seat. This is
because children sitting in the front
passenger ’s seat may be killed or
severely injured should the front
passenger ’s SRS frontal airbag de-
ploy. REAR seats are the safest
place for children.
CAUTION
When the front passenger ’s seat is
occupied by an infant in an appro-
priate child restraint system, ob-
serve the following precautions.
Failure to do so may interfere with
the proper operation of the occu-
pant detection system, activating
Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags/*SRS airbag (Supplemental Restraint System airbag)
–CONTINUED –1-53
Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags/*SRS airbag (Supplemental Restraint System airbag)
!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.
1-60
!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.
Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags/*SRS airbag (Supplemental Restraint System airbag)
–CONTINUED –1-67
Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags/*SRS airbag (Supplemental Restraint System airbag)
!Examples of the types of accidents in which the SRS curtain 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.
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.
1-68
Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags/*SRS airbag (Supplemental Restraint System airbag)
&Precautions against vehicle
modification
WARNING
To avoid accidental activation of the
system or rendering the system
inoperative, which may result in
serious injury, no modifications
should be made to any components
or wiring of the SRS airbag system.
This includes following modifica-
tions.
. Installation of custom steering
wheels
. Attachment of additional trim
materials to the dashboard
. Installation of custom seats
. Replacement of seat fabric or
leather
. Installation of additional fabric or
leather on the front seat
. Attachment of a hands-free mi-
crophone or any other accessory
to a front pillar, a center pillar, a
rear pillar, the windshield, a side
window, an assist grip, or any
other cabin surface that would be
near a deploying SRS curtain
airbag. .
Installation of additional electri-
cal/electronic equipment such as
a mobile two-way radio on or
near the SRS airbag system
components and/or wiring is not
advisable. This could interfere
with proper operation of the
SRS airbag system.
CAUTION
Do not perform any of the following
modifications. Such modifications
can interfere with proper operation
of the SRS airbag system.
. Attachment of any equipment
(bush bar, winches, snow plow,
skid plate, etc.) other than genu-
ine SUBARU accessory parts to
the front end.
. Modification of the suspension
system or front end structure.
. Installation of a tire of different
size and construction from the
tires specified on the vehicle
placard attached to the driver ’s
door pillar or specified for indivi-
dual vehicle models in this Own-
er ’s Manual.
. Attachment of any equipment
(side steps or side sill protectors, etc.) other than genuine SUBARU
accessory parts to the side body.
Always consult your SUBARU dealer if
you want to install any accessory parts on
your vehicle.
1-72