SUBARU OUTBACK 2000 3.G Owner's Guide

Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags1-11
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Loading long objects
WARNING
Secure long objects properly to prevent them from shooting
forward and causing serious injury during a sudden stop or
sharp cornering. Tie long objects down with a rope or somethingequivalent. Avoid loading objects longer than 6.6 ft (2 m) and heavier than
55 lb (25 kg). Such objects can interfere with the driver ’s proper
operation of the car, possibly causing an accident and serious
injury.
HB1053BA
HB1052BA
Fold ing d own the armrest and op ening the seatb ac k p anel afford s a
load ing sp ac e for long ob jec ts.
To op en the seatb ac k p anel, p ull the p anel d own whi le p ressing the
release tab d own.
Folding down the rear seat — Station wagon
WARNING
After returning the rear seat to its original position, be certain
to place all of the seatbelts and the tab attached to the seat cush-ion above the seat cushion. And make certain that the shoulderbelts are fully visible. Never permit anyone to ride in the cargo area.

1-12
Folding down the seatback
HB1023BA
HB1022BA
Unloc k the seatb ac k b y p ulling the release knob and then fold the
seatb ac k d own. Folding down the seat cushion and seatback
1. Move the front seat forward .
2. Close the rear p asseng ers ’ c up hold er and ashtray.
3. To remove the head rest (if so eq uip p ed ), p ull the head rest up while
p ressing the release b utton loc ated on the b ac ksid e of the seatb ac k.
HB1024BA

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4. Store the seatb elts in the seatb elt p oc ket to p re
vent them from fal-
ling b elow the c ushion.
HB1074BB
HB1076BB
5. Raise the seat c ushion b y p ulling up the tab .
Make c ertain that the rear p asseng er ’s c up hold er is fully retruc ted
b efore raising the seat c ushion.
HB1025BA

1-146. Unloc k the seatb ac k b y p ulling the release knob a
nd fold the seat-
b ac k d own. Confirm that the p in loc ated at the b ott om of the seat
c ushion is inserted into the slot at the top of the seatb ac k.
HB1027BA
7. Install the head rest (if so eq uip p ed ) onto the b a c ksid e of the seat-
b ac k.
HB1028BA
To return the rear seat to its orig inal p osition, r aise the seatb ac k and seat
c ushion until they loc k into p lac e and make sure th at they are sec urely
loc ked .
Make sure that the rear seatb elts are not und er the seat c ushion or seat-
b ac k.
Plac e the head rests (if so eq uip p ed ) b ac k in their normal p osition.

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Seatbelts
Seatbelt safety tips
WARNING
All persons in the vehicle should fasten their seatbelts BE-
FORE the vehicle starts to move. Otherwise, the possibility of se-
rious injury becomes greater in the event of a sudden stop or ac-cident. All belts should fit snugly in order to provide full restraint.
Loose fitting belts are not as effective in preventing or reducing
injury. Each seatbelt is designed to support only one person. Never
use a single belt for two or more persons — even children. Other-
wise, in an accident, serious injury or death could result. Replace all seatbelt assemblies including retractors and at-
taching hardware worn by occupants of a vehicle that has been ina serious accident. The entire assembly should be replaced evenif damage is not obvious. Put children aged 12 and under in the rear seat properly re-
strained at all times. The SRS airbag deploys with considerablespeed and force and can injure or even kill children, especially ifthey are 12 years of age and under and are not restrained or im-properly restrained. Because children are lighter and weaker than
adults, their risk of being injured from deployment is greater. Forthat reason, we strongly recommend that ALL children (includingthose in child seats and those that have outgrown child restraint
devices) sit in the REAR seat properly restrained at all times in achild restraint device or in a seatbelt, whichever is appropriate forthe child ’s height and weight.
Secure ALL types of child restraint devices (including forwardfacing child seats) in the REAR seats at all times.
NEVER INSTALL A REARWARD FACING CHILD SEAT IN THE
FRONT SEAT. DOING SO RISKS SERIOUS INJURY OR DEATH TOTHE CHILD BY PLACING THE CHILD ’S HEAD TOO CLOSE TO
THE SRS AIRBAG.

1-16According to accident statistics, children are safer when properly restrained in the rear seating positions than in the front seatingpositions. For instructions and precautions concerning the childrestraint system, see the
“Child restraint systems ” section in this
chapter.
Infants or small children
Use a c hild restraint system that is suitab le for y our vehic le. See in-
formation on “Child restraint systems ” in this c hap ter.
Children
If a c hild is too b ig for a c hild restraint system, the c hild should sit in
the rear seat and b e restrained using the seatb elts . Ac c ord ing to ac -
c id ent statistic s, c hild ren are safer when p rop erly restrained in the
rear seating p ositions than in the front seating p o sitions. Never allow a
c hild to stand up or kneel on the seat.
If the should er p ortion of the b elt c rosses the fac e or nec k, move the
c hild c loser to the b elt b uc kle to help p rovid e a g ood should er b elt fit.
Care must b e taken to sec urely p lac e the lap b elt a s low as p ossib le
on the hip s and not on the c hild ’s waist. If the should er p ortion of the
b elt c annot b e p rop erly p ositioned , a c hild restrai nt system should b e
used . Never p lac e the should er b elt und er the c hild ’s arm or b ehind
the c hild ’s b ac k.
Expectant mothers
Exp ec tant mothers also need to use the seatb elts. T hey should c on-
sult their d oc tor for sp ec ific rec ommend ations. The lap b elt should b e
worn sec urely and as low as p ossib le over the hip s, not over the
waist.
Emergency Locking Retractor (ELR) function
The emerg enc y loc king retrac tor allows normal b od y movement b ut the
retrac tor loc ks automatic ally d uring a sud d en stop , imp ac t or if you p ull
the b elt very q uic kly out of the retrac tor.

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Automatic Locking Retractor (ALR) function
When sec uring a c hild restraint system on the p asse ng ers’ seats, the
seatb elt must b e c hang ed over to the Automatic Loc k ing Retrac tor (ALR)
mod e.
When the c hild restraint system is removed , make su re that the retrac tor
op erates as an Emerg enc y Loc king Retrac tor (ELR).
For instruc tions on how to c onvert the retrac tor to the ALR mod e and re-
store it to the ELR mod e, see the “Child restraint systems ” sec tion in this
c hap ter. Seatbelt warning light and chime
Your vehic le is eq uip p ed with a seatb elt warning d e vic e at the d river’s
seat.
This d evic e c auses the seatb elt warning lig ht on th e instrument p anel to
lig ht up for ab out six sec ond s when the ig nition sw itc h is turned to the
“ ON ” p osition to remind the d river to wear the seatb elt . If the d river’s
seatb elt is not fastened , a warning c hime sound s at the same time.
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. 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. 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 hipbones instead of across the weaker abdomen. Seatbelts provide maximum restraint when the occupant sits
well back and upright in the seat. To reduce the risk of sliding un-der the seatbelt in a collision, the front seatbacks should be al-ways used in the upright position while the vehicle is running. Ifthe front seatbacks are not used in the upright position in a colli-
sion, the risk of sliding under the lap belt and of the lap belt slid-

1-18ing up over the abdomen will increase, and both can result in se- rious 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 slidingunder the lap belt and of lap belt sliding up over the abdomen will
increase, and both can result in serious internal injury or death.
HS0231
Always wear the seat-
belts correctly.Never place the shoulder belt under the arm orbehind the back.
Adjust the seatback to upright position. Sit well back and upright.
HS0230
CAUTION
Metallic parts of the seatbelt can become very hot in a vehicle that has been closed up in sunny weather; they could burn an oc-cupant. Do not touch such hot parts until they cool.

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Front and rear seatbelts (except rear center seatbelt on station wagon)
OM-H0044OM-H0043
1. Ad just the seat p osition:
Driver’ s seat: Ad just the seatb ac k to the up rig ht p osition. Move the
seatb ac k as far from the steering wheel as p rac tic a l while still main-
taining full vehic le c ontrol.Front passenger ’s seat: Ad just the seatb ac k to the up rig ht p osition.
Move the seat as far b ac k as p ossib le.
2. Sit well b ac k in the seat.
3. Pic k up the tong ue p late and p ull the b elt out sl owly. Do not let it
g et twisted . If the b elt stop s b efore reac hing the b uc kle, return the
b elt slig htly and p ull it out more slowly. If the b elt still c annot b e un-
loc ked , let the b elt retrac t slig htly after g iving a strong p ull on it, then
p ull it out slowly ag ain.
4. Insert the tong ue p late into the b uc kle until you hear a c lic k.
5. To make the lap p art tig ht, p ull up on the should er b elt. And p lac e
the lap b elt as low as p ossib le on your hip s, not o n your waist.
Rear center seatbelt on station wagon
WARNING
Fastening the seatbelt with the webbing twisted can increase
the risk or severity of injury in an accident. When fastening the
belt after it is out from the retractor, especially when inserting thesmaller tongue plate into the mating buckle (smaller one on right-

1-20hand side), always check that the webbing is not twisted.
Be sure to fasten both tongue plates to the respective buckles.
If the seatbelt is used only as a shoulder belt (with the smallertongue plate not fastened to the smaller buckle on the right-hand
side), it cannot properly restrain the wearer in position in an acci-dent, possibly resulting in serious injury or death.
HB1031BA
HB1030BA
HB1032BA
1. Pull out the seatb elt slowly from the retrac tor o n the roof.