warning SUBARU OUTBACK 2007 4.G User Guide

Front seats........................................................... 1-2
Manual seat ........................................................ 1-3
Power seat (if equipped) ...................................... 1-4
Memory function (Driver ’s seat only,
if equipped) ....................................................... 1-5
Head restraint adjustment .................................... 1-7
Active head restraint ........................................... 1-7
Lumbar support (if equipped) .............................. 1-8
Seat heater (if equipped) .................................... 1-8
Rear seats ............................................................ 1-9
Folding down the rear seatback ........................... 1-9
Head restraint adjustment ................................... 1-10
Armrest (if equipped) ......................................... 1-11
Loading long objects (Sedan) ............................. 1-12
Seatbelts ............................................................. 1-13
Seatbelt safety tips ............................................. 1-13
Emergency Locking Retractor (ELR) ................... 1-14
Automatic/Emergency Locking Retractor (A/ELR) ............................................................ 1-14
Seatbelt warning light and chime ........................ 1-14
Fastening the seatbelt ........................................ 1-16
Seatbelt maintenance ......................................... 1-23 Front seatbelt pretensioners
............................. 1-24
System monitors ............................................... 1-25
System servicing ............................................... 1-26
Precautions against vehicle modification ............ 1-27
Child restraint systems ..................................... 1-27
Where to place a child restraint system .............. 1-28
Choosing a child restraint system ...................... 1-30
Installing child restraint systems with A/ELR seatbelt ........................................................... 1-30
Installing a booster seat ..................................... 1-33
Installation of child restraint systems by use of lower and tether anchorages (LATCH) .............. 1-35
Top tether anchorages ....................................... 1-37
*SRS airbag (Supplemental Restraint System airbag) ................................................ 1-40
Vehicle with SRS airbags and lap/shoulder restraints for driver, front passenger, and
window-side rear passengers . .......................... 1-40
Subaru advanced frontal airbag system .............. 1-45
SRS side airbag and SRS curtain airbag ............. 1-55
SRS airbag system monitors .............................. 1-61
SRS airbag system servicing ... .......................... 1-63
Precautions against vehicle modification ............ 1-64
Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags1

1-2Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
Front seats
WARNING
. Never adjust the seat while driv-
ing to avoid the possibility of
loss of vehicle control and of
personal injury.
. Before adjusting the seat, make
sure the hands and feet of rear
seat passengers or luggage are
clear of the adjusting mechan-ism.
. 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.
. 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.
WARNING
Put children aged 12 and under in
the rear seat properly restrained at
all times. The SRS airbag deploys
with considerable speed and force
and can injure or even kill children,
especially if they are 12 years of age
and under and are not restrained or
improperly restrained. Because chil-
dren are lighter and weaker than
adults, their risk of being injured
from deployment is greater. Conse-
quently, we strongly recommend
that ALL children (including those
in child seats and those that have
outgrown child restraint devices) sit
in the REAR seat properly re-
strained at all times in a child
restraint device or in a seatbelt,
whichever is appropriate for thechild ’s age, height and weight.
Secure ALL types of child restraint
devices (including forward facing
child seat) in the REAR seats at alltimes.
NEVER INSTALL A REARWARD FA-
CING CHILD SEAT IN THE FRONT
SEAT. DOING SO RISKS SERIOUS
INJURY OR DEATH TO THE CHILD
BY PLACING THE CHILD ’S HEAD
TOO CLOSE TO THE SRS AIRBAG.

According to accident statistics,
children are safer when properly
restrained in the rear seating posi-
tions than in the front seating posi-
tions. For instructions and
precautions concerning child re-
straint systems, see the“Child re-
straint systems ”section in this
chapter.
& Manual seat
! Fore and aft adjustment
Pull the lever upward and slide the seat to
the desired position. Then release the
lever and move the seat back and forth to
make sure that it is securely locked intoplace. !
Reclining the seatback
WARNING
To prevent the passenger from slid-
ing under the seatbelt in the event of
a collision, always put the seatback
in the upright position while the
vehicle is in motion. Also, do not
place objects such as cushions
between the passenger and the
seatback. 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.
Pull the reclining lever up and adjust the
seatback to the desired position. Then
release the lever and make sure the seat
is securely locked into place.
The seatback placed in a reclined position
can spring back upward with force when
released. When operating the reclining
lever to return the seatback, hold it lightly
so that it may be raised back gradually. Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
1-3
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1-4Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
!Seat cushion height adjustment (driver ’s seat)
The height of the seat can be adjusted by
moving the seat cushion adjustment lever
up and down.
When the lever is pushed down, the seat
is lowered.
When the lever is pulled up, the seat rises. &
Power seat (if equipped)
! Fore and aft adjustment
To adjust the seat forward or backward,
move the control switch forward or back-ward. NOTE
During backward-forward adjustment
of the seat, you cannot adjust the seat
cushion angle or seat height. !
Reclining the seatback
WARNING
To prevent the passenger from slid-
ing under the seatbelt in the event of
a collision, always put the seatback
in the upright position while the
vehicle is in motion. Also, do not
place objects such as cushions
between the passenger and the
seatback. 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.

To adjust the angle of the seatback, move
the control switch. !Seat cushion angle adjustment (Driver ’s seat only)
To adjust the seat cushion angle, pull up or push down the front end of the control switch. !
Seat height adjustment (Driver ’s
seat only)
To adjust the seat height, pull up or push
down the rear end of the control switch. & Memory function (Driver ’s
seat only, if equipped)
Two of your favorite seat positions can be
registered. Register the seat position withbutton “1 ” or “2 ” and retrieve the seat
position by pressing either button.
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
WARNING
. Never adjust the seat while driv-
ing to avoid the possibility of
loss of vehicle control and of
personal injury.
. Before adjusting the seat, make
sure the hands, feet and posses-
sions of rear seat passengers are
clear of the adjusting mechan-ism.
. Before registering the seat posi-
tion, confirm that the shift lever is
in the “P ” position (AT vehicles)
or the parking brake lever is
applied (MT vehicles).
1. Shift the shift lever in the “P ” position
(AT vehicles) or apply the parking brake
(MT vehicles).
2. Adjust the seat position. Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
1-5
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1-6Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
3. While pressing the “SET ”button, press
the desired button “1 ” or “2 ”.
4. The chirp sounds once, and the seat
position is registered. ! Retrieval of seat position
WARNING
. Never retrieve the seat position
while driving to avoid the possi-
bility of loss of vehicle control
and of personal injury.
. Perform the seat position retrie-
val before driving. Before retriev-
ing the seat position, confirm
that the shift lever is in the “P ”
position (AT vehicles) or the
parking brake lever is applied (MT vehicles). Do not drive until
the retrieval of the seat position
is complete.
. Be sure to press the registered
button of your seat position to
retrieve the seat position. If the
seat position is not optimum, an
incorrect driving position dis-
turbs driving and also the seat-
belt does not function correctly,
which could result in serious
injury or death.
. To retrieve the seat position,
make sure the hands, feet or
luggage of rear seat passengers
are clear of the seat adjustingmechanism.
. When any trouble or malfunction
occurs during the retrieval of the
seat position, stop the retrieval of
the seat position using the con-
trol switch for manual adjust-ment.
1. Shift the shift lever in the “P ” position
(AT vehicles) or apply the parking brake
(MT vehicles).
2. Press the desired button “1 ” or “2 ”.
3. The chirp sounds once and the seat
moves to the registered position.
4. When the seat moves to the registered
position, the chirp sounds twice.
WARNING
. Be sure to press the registered
button of your seat position to
retrieve the seat position. If the
seat position is not the optimum,
an incorrect driving position dis-
turbs driving and also the seat-
belt does not function correctly,
which could result in serious

injury or death.
. To retrieve the seat position,
make sure the hands, feet or
luggage of rear seat passengers
are clear of the seat adjustingmechanism.
NOTE . If a new position is registered for the
same button, the previous seat posi-
tion is deleted.. If the battery is disconnected, the
registered seat position is not deleted. & Head restraint adjustment
To raise the head restraint, pull it up. To
lower it, push the head restraint down
while pressing the release button on the top of the seatback.
The head restraint should be adjusted so
that the center of the head restraint is
closest to the top of the occupant
’s ears.
WARNING
Never drive the vehicle with the
head restraints removed because
they are designed to reduce the risk
of serious neck injury in the event
that the vehicle is struck from the
rear.
& Active head restraint
The front seats of your vehicle are
equipped with active head restraints. They
automatically tilt forward slightly in the event the vehicle is struck from the rear,
decreasing the amount of rearward head
movement and thus reducing the risk of
whiplash. For maximum effectiveness the
head restraint should be adjusted so that
the center of the head restraint is closest
to the top of the occupant
’s ears.
CAUTION
. Each active head restraint is
effective only when its height is
properly adjusted and the driver/
passenger sits in the correct
position on the seat.
. If your vehicle is involved in a
rear-end collision, have an
authorized SUBARU dealer in-
spect the active head restraints.
. The active head restraints may
not operate in the event the
vehicle experiences only a slight
impact in the rear.
. The active head restraints may be
damaged if they are pushed hard
from behind or subjected to
shock. As a result, they may not
function if the vehicle suffers a
rear impact. Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
1-7
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Rear seats
WARNING
Seatbelts provide maximum re-
straint when the occupant sits well
back and upright in the seat. 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 ordeath.
WARNING
Never stack luggage or other cargo
higher than the top of the seatback
because it could tumble forward and
injure passengers in the event of a
sudden stop or accident.
& Folding down the rear seat- back
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 cushion
above the seat cushion. And make certain that the shoulder
belts are fully visible.
. Never allow passengers to ride
on the folded rear seatback or in
the cargo area or trunk. Doing so
may result in serious injury ordeath.
. Secure skis and other lengthy
items properly to prevent them
from being thrown around inside
the vehicle and causing serious
injury during a sudden stop, a
sudden steering maneuver or a
rapid acceleration. Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
1-9
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1-10Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
!Sedan models
1) Lock
2) Unlock
Unlock the seatback by turning the key
lock, and then fold the seatback down.
To return the seatback to its original position, raise the seatback until it locks
into place and make sure that it is securelylocked. !
Wagon models
Unlock the seatback by pushing the
release button and then fold the seatbackdown.
To return the seatback to its original
position, raise the seatback until it locks
into place and make sure that it is securelylocked. &Head restraint adjustment
WARNING
Never drive the vehicle with the
head restraints removed because they are designed to reduce the risk
of serious neck injury in the event
that the vehicle is struck from the
rear.
! Rear windows side seating position
CAUTION
The head restraint is not intended to
be used at the lowest position.
Before sitting on the seat, raise the
head restraint to an appropriate
position depending on your sittingheight.
Sedan

1-12Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
To lower the armrest, pull on the top edge
of the armrest.
WARNING
To avoid the possibility of serious
injury, passengers must never be
allowed to sit on the center armrest
while the vehicle is in motion.
& Loading long objects (Sedan)
1) Lock
2) Unlock
Folding down the armrest and opening the
seatback panel affords a loading space for
long objects.
To open the seatback panel, unlock with
the key lock and pull the seatback panel down while pulling the release tab.
WARNING
. Secure long objects properly to
prevent them from shooting for-
ward and causing serious injury
during a sudden stop or sharp
cornering. Tie long objects down
with a rope or something equiva-lent.
. Avoid loading objects longer
than 6.6 ft (2 m) and heavier than
55 lbs (25 kg). Such objects can
interfere with the driver ’s proper
operation of the vehicle, possibly
causing an accident and serious
injury.
NOTE
To protect your belongings in the trunk
from theft, it is recommended that you
lock the seatback panel.