ignition SUBARU OUTBACK 2009 5.G Owners Manual

&Emergency Locking Retrac-
tor (ELR)
The driver ’s seatbelt has an Emergency
Locking Retractor (ELR).
The emergency locking retractor allows
normal body movement but the retractor
locks automatically during a sudden stop,
impact or if you pull the belt very quickly
out of the retractor. & Automatic/Emergency Lock-
ing Retractor (A/ELR)
Each passenger ’s seatbelt has an Auto-
matic/Emergency Locking Retractor (A/
ELR). The Automatic/Emergency Locking
Retractor normally functions as an Emer-
gency Locking Retractor (ELR). The A/
ELR has an additional locking mode“ Automatic Locking Retractor (ALR)
mode ”intended to secure a child restraint
system. When the seatbelt is once drawn
out completely and is then retracted even
slightly, the retractor locks the seatbelt in
that position and the seatbelt cannot be
extended. As the belt is rewinding, clicks
will be heard which indicate the retractor
functions as ALR. When the seatbelt is
retracted fully, ALR mode is released.
When securing a child restraint system on
the passengers ’seats, the seatbelt must
be changed over to the Automatic Locking Retractor (ALR) mode.
When the child restraint system is re-
moved, make sure that the retractor is
restored to the Emergency Locking Re-
tractor (ELR) function by allowing the
seatbelt to retract fully.
For instructions on how to convert the
retractor to the ALR mode and restore it to
the ELR mode, refer to the
“Child restraint
systems ”section in this chapter.
& Seatbelt warning light
and chime
Your vehicle is equipped with a seatbelt
warning device at the driver ’s and front
passenger ’s seat, as required by current
safety standards.
With the ignition switch turned to the “ON ”
position, this device reminds the driver
and front passenger to fasten their seat-
belts by illuminating the warning lights in
the locations indicated in the following
illustration and sounding a chime.Driver ’s warning light (vehicle with SI-
DRIVE)
Driver ’s warning light (vehicle without SI-
DRIVE) Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
1-15
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1-16Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
Front passenger ’s warning light
! Operation
If the driver and/or front passenger have/
has not yet fastened the seatbelt(s) when
the ignition switch is turned to the “ON ”
position, the seatbelt warning light(s) will
flash for 6 seconds, to warn that the
seatbelt(s) is/are unfastened. If the dri-ver ’s seatbelt is not fastened, a chime will
also sound simultaneously.
NOTE . If the driver ’s and/or front passen-
ger ’s seatbelt(s) are/is still not fastened
6 seconds later, the seatbelt warning
device operates as follows according
to the vehicle speed.
–At speeds lower than approxi-
mately 9 mph (15 km/h) The warning light(s) for unfastened
seatbelt(s) will alternate between
steady illumination and flashing at
15-second intervals. The chime will
not sound. –
At speeds higher than approxi-
mately 9 mph (15 km/h)
The warning light(s) for unfastened
seatbelt(s) will alternate between
flashing and steady illumination at
15-second intervals and the chime
will sound while the warning light(s)
is/are flashing.
. It is possible to cancel the warning
operation that follows the 6-second
warning after turning ON the ignition
switch. When the ignition switch is
turned ON next time, however, the
complete sequence of the warning
operation resumes. For further details
about canceling the warning operation,
please contact your SUBARU dealer.
If there is no passenger on the front passenger ’s seat, the seatbelt warning
device for the front passenger ’s seat will
be deactivated. The front passenger ’s
occupant detection system monitors
whether or not there is a passenger on
the front passenger ’s seat.
Observe the following precautions. Failure
to do so may prevent the device from
functioning correctly or cause the device to fail. .
Do not install any accessory such as a
table or TV onto the seatback.. Do not store a heavy load in the
seatback pocket.. Do not allow the rear seat occupant to
place his/her hands or legs on the front passenger ’s seatback, or allow him/her to
pull the seatback. . Do not use front seats with their back-
ward-forward position and seatback not
being locked into place securely. If any of
them are not locked securely, adjust them
again. For adjusting procedure, refer to“ Manual seat ”in the front seats section in
Chapter 1 in this Owner ’s Manual. (Mod-
els equipped with manual seats only)
If the seatbelt warning device for the front passenger ’s seat does not function cor-
rectly (e.g., it is activated even when the
front passenger ’s seat is empty or it is
deactivated even when the front passen-
ger has not fastened his/her seatbelt),
take the following actions. . Ensure that no article is placed on the
seat other than a child restraint system
and the child occupant. . Ensure that there is no article left in the
seatback pocket.. Ensure that the backward-forward po-
sition and seatback of front passenger ’s

1-26Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
.Airbag control module (including im-
pact sensors) . Frontal airbag module (driver ’s side)
. Frontal airbag module (front passen-
ger ’s side)
. Side airbag sensor (center pillar right-
hand side). Side airbag sensor (center pillar left-
hand side). Side airbag module (driver ’s side)
. Side airbag module (front passenger ’s
side). Curtain airbag sensor (rear wheel
house right-hand side). Curtain airbag sensor (rear wheel
house left-hand side) . Curtain airbag module (right-hand side)
. Curtain airbag module (left-hand side)
. Satellite safing sensor (under the rear
center seat) . Seatbelt pretensioner (driver ’s side)
. Seatbelt pretensioner (front passen-
ger ’s side)
. Seatbelt buckle switch (front passen-
ger ’s side)
. Front passenger ’s seatbelt tension
sensor. Front passenger ’s occupant detection
system weight sensor. Front passenger ’s occupant detection control module.
Front passenger ’s frontal airbag ON
and OFF indicator. All related wiring
WARNING
If the warning light exhibits any of
the following conditions, there may
be a malfunction in the seatbelt
pretensioners and/or SRS airbag
system. Immediately take your vehi-
cle to your nearest SUBARU dealer
to have the system checked. Unless
checked and properly repaired, the
seatbelt pretensioners and/or SRS
airbags will operate improperly (e.g.
SRS airbags may inflate in a very
minor collision or not inflate in a
severe collision), which may in-
crease the risk of injury. . Flashing or flickering of the warn-
ing light
. No illumination of the warning
light when the ignition switch is
first turned to the “ON ”position
. Continuous illumination of the
warning light
. Illumination of the warning light
while driving &
System servicing
WARNING
. When discarding a seatbelt re-
tractor assembly or scrapping
the entire vehicle damaged by a
collision, consult your SUBARU
dealer.
. Tampering with or disconnecting
the system ’s wiring could result
in accidental activation of the
seatbelt pretensioner and/or air-
bag or could make the system
inoperative, which may result in
serious injury. Do not use elec-
trical test equipment on any
circuit related to the seatbelt
pretensioner and airbag sys-
tems. For required servicing of
the seatbelt pretensioner, consult
your nearest SUBARU dealer.

1-48Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
passenger ’s occupant detection system
have failed, the SRS airbag system
warning light will illuminate. Have the
system inspected by your SUBARU deal-
er immediately if the SRS airbag system
warning light illuminates.
If your vehicle has sustained impact, this
may affect the proper function of the
SUBARU advanced frontal airbag system.
Have your vehicle inspected at your
SUBARU dealer. NOTE
The front passenger ’s SRS side airbag,
SRS curtain airbag and seatbelt pre-
tensioner are not controlled by the
SUBARU advanced frontal airbag sys-tem. !
Passenger ’s frontal airbag ON and
OFF indicators
or: Front passenger ’s frontal airbag
ON indicator
or: Front passenger ’s frontal airbag
OFF indicator
The front passenger ’s frontal airbag ON
and OFF indicators show you the status of
the front passenger ’s SRS frontal airbag.
The indicators are located between the
map lights.
When the ignition switch is turned to the “ ON ”position, both the ON and OFF
indicators illuminate for 6 seconds during
which time the system is checked. Follow-
ing the system check, both indicators
extinguish for 2 seconds. After that, one
of the indicators illuminates depending on
the status of the front passenger ’s SRS frontal airbag determined by the SUBARU
advanced frontal airbag system monitor-ing.
If the front passenger
’s SRS frontal airbag
is activated, the passenger ’s frontal airbag
ON indicator will illuminate while the OFF
indicator will remain extinguished.
If the front passenger ’s SRS frontal airbag
is deactivated, the passenger ’s frontal
airbag ON indicator will remain extin-
guished while the OFF indicator willilluminate.
If both the ON and OFF indicators remain
lit or extinguished simultaneously, the
system is faulty. Contact your SUBARU
dealer immediately for an inspection. ! 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 a rearward
facing child restraint system and an infant
is restrained with it. (See WARNING thatfollows.) . The seat is equipped with a forward
facing child restraint system and a small
child is restrained with it. (See WARNING

that follows.) .The seat is equipped with a booster
seat and a small child is in the booster
seat. (See WARNING that follows.) . The seat is relieved of the occupant
load for a time exceeding the predeter-
mined monitoring time period. . The seat is occupied by a child who
has outgrown a child restraint system
(See WARNING that follows.) or by a
small adult. . The front passenger ’s occupant detec-
tion system is faulty.
WARNING
NEVER INSTALL A REARWARD FA-
CING CHILD SEAT IN THE FRONT
PASSENGER ’S SEAT EVEN IF THE
FRONT PASSENGER ’S SRS FRON-
TAL AIRBAG IS DEACTIVATED. Be
sure to install it in the REAR seat in
a correct manner. Also, it is strongly
recommended that any forward fa-
cing child seat or booster seat be
installed 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 frontpassenger ’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.
When the front passenger ’s seat is occu-
pied by a child, observe the following
precautions. Failure to do so may increase
the load on the front passenger ’s seat,
activating the front passenger ’sSRS
frontal airbag even though that seat is
occupied by a child. . Do not place any article on the seat
other than the child occupant and a child
restraint system. . Do not place more than one child on
the seat.. Do not install any accessory such as a
table or TV onto the seatback.. Do not store a heavy load in the
seatback pocket.. Do not allow the rear seat occupant to
place his/her hands or legs on the front passenger ’s seatback, or allow him/her to
pull the seatback. !
If the front passenger ’s frontal air-
bag ON indicator illuminates and the
OFF indicator extinguishes even
when an infant or a small child is in
a child restraint system (including
booster seat)
Turn the ignition switch to the “LOCK ”
position if the front passenger ’s frontal
airbag ON indicator illuminates and the
OFF indicator extinguishes even when an
infant or a small child is in a child restraint
system (including booster seat). Remove
the child restraint system from the seat. By
referring to the child restraint manufac-turer ’s recommendations as well as the
child restraint system installation proce-
dures in the “Child restraint systems ”
section in this chapter, correctly install
the child restraint system. Turn the ignition
switch to the “ON ”position and make sure
that the front passenger ’s frontal airbag
ON indicator goes out and the OFF
indicator illuminates.
If still the ON indicator remains illuminated
while the OFF indicator extinguishes, take
the following actions. . Ensure that no article is placed on the
seat other than the child restraint system
and the child occupant. . Ensure that there is no article left in the
seatback pocket. Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
1-49
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1-50Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
. Ensure that the backward-forward po-
sition and seatback of front passenger ’s
seat are locked into place securely by
moving the seat back and forth. (Models
equipped with manual seats only)
If the ON indicator still illuminates while
the OFF indicator extinguishes after taking
relevant correctiv e actions described
above, relocate the child restraint system
to the rear seat and immediately contact
your SUBARU dealer for an inspection.
NOTE
When a child who has outgrown a child
restraint system or a small adult is
seated in the front passenger ’s seat,
the SUBARU advanced frontal airbag
system may or may not activate the
front passenger ’s SRS frontal airbag
depending on the occupant ’s seating
posture. If the front passenger ’s SRS
frontal airbag is activated (the ON
indicator illuminates while the OFF
indicator extinguishes), take the follow-
ing actions. . Ensure that no article is placed on
the seat other than the occupant. . Ensure that there is no article left in
the seatback pocket.
If the ON indicator still illuminates while
the OFF indicator extinguishes despite the fact that the actions noted above
have been taken, seat the child/small
adult in the rear seat and immediately
contact your SUBARU dealer for an
inspection. Even if the system has
passed the dealer inspection, it is
recommended that on subsequent trips
the child/small adult always take the
rear seat.
Children who have outgrown a child
restraint system should always wear the
seatbelt irrespective of whether the airbag
is deactivated or activated. !
Conditions in which front passen- ger’s SRS frontal airbag is activated
The front passenger ’s SRS frontal airbag
will be activated for deployment upon
impact when any of the following condi-
tions is met regarding the front passen-ger ’s seat.
. When the seat is occupied by an adult.
. When a heavy article is placed on the
seat.
When the front passenger ’s seat is occu-
pied by an adult, observe the following
precautions. Failure to do so may lessen
the load on the front passenger ’s seat,
deactivating the front passenger ’s SRS
frontal airbag despite the fact that the seat
is occupied by an adult. .
Do not allow the rear seat occupant to
lift the front passenger ’s seat cushion
using his/her feet. . Do not place any article under the front
passenger ’s seat, or squeeze any article
from behind and under the seat. This may
lift the seat cushion. . Do not squeeze any article between
the front passenger ’s seat and side trim/
pillar, door or center console box. This
may lift the seat cushion. ! If the passenger ’s frontal airbag OFF
indicator illuminates and the ON
indicator extinguishes even when
the front passenger ’s seat is occu-
pied by an adult
This can be caused by the adult incor-
rectly sitting in the front passenger ’s seat.
Turn the ignition switch to the “LOCK ”
position. Ask the front passenger to set
the seatback to the upright position, sit up
straight in the center of the seat cushion,
correctly fasten the seatbelt, position his/
her legs out forward, and adjust the seat to
the rearmost position. Turn the ignition
switch to the “ON ”position. If the OFF
indicator remains illuminated while the ON
indicator remains extinguished, take the
following actions. . Turn the ignition switch to the “LOCK ”
position.

.Ensure that there is no article, book,
shoe, or other object trapped under the
seat, at the rear of the seat, or on the side
of the seat. . Ensure that the backward-forward po-
sition and seatback of front passenger ’s
seat are locked into place securely by
moving the seat back and forth. (Models
equipped with manual seats only) . Next, turn the ignition switch to the
“ ON ”position and wait 6 seconds to allow
the system to complete self-checking.
Following the system check, both indica-
tors extinguish for 2 seconds. Now, the
ON indicator should illuminate while the
OFF indicator remains extinguished.
If the OFF indicator still illuminates while
the ON indicator remains extinguished,
ask the occupant to move to the rear seat
and immediately contact your SUBARU
dealer for an inspection. ! Effect vehicle modifications made
for persons with disabilities may
have on SUBARU advanced frontal
airbag system operation (U.S. only)
Changing or moving any parts of the front
seats, seat belts, front bumper, front side
frame, instrument panel, combination me-
ter, steering wheel, steering column, tire,
suspension or floor panel can affect the
operation of the SUBARU advanced air- bag system. If you have any questions,
you may contact the following SUBARUdistributors:
of Columbia>
Subaru of America, Inc.
Customer Dealer Services Department
P.O. Box 6000
Cherry Hill, NJ 08034-6000
1-800-SUBARU3 (1-800-782-2783)
Servco Subaru Inc., dba Subaru Hawaii
2850 Pukoloa Street, Suite 202, Honolulu,
HI 96819 808-839-2273 Shen
’s Corporation dba Prestige Automo-
bile
491, East Marine Drive, Route 1 Dededo, Guam 671-633-2698

Trebol Motors
P.O. Box 11204, San Juan, Puerto Rico 00910 787-793-2828
There are currently no SUBARU distribu-
tors in any other U.S. territories. If you are in such an area, please contact the
SUBARU distributor or dealer from which
you bought your vehicle.
Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
1-51
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1-52Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
!Operation
1) Driver ’s side
2) Passenger ’s side
The SRS airbag can function only when
the ignition switch is in the “ON ”position.
The SUBARU advanced frontal airbag system is designed to determine the
activation or deactivation condition of the
front passenger
’s SRS frontal airbag
depending on the total load on the frontpassenger ’s seat monitored by the front
passenger ’s occupant detection system
weight sensor. For this reason, only thedriver ’s SRS frontal airbag may deploy in
the event of a collision, but this does not
mean failure of the system.
If the front sub sensors inside both front
fenders and the impact sensors in the
airbag control module detect a predeter-
mined amount of force during a frontal
collision, the control module sends signals
to the airbag module(s) (only driver ’s
module or both driver ’s and front passen-
ger ’s modules) instructing the module(s)
to inflate the SRS frontal airbag(s). Thedriver ’s and front passenger ’s SRS frontal
airbags use dual stage inflators. The two
inflators of each airbag are triggered either
sequentially or simultaneously, depending
on the severity of impact in the case of thedriver ’s SRS frontal airbag and depending
on the severity of impact and the total load
on the seat in the case of the frontpassenger ’s SRS frontal airbag.
After deployment, the SRS airbag imme-
diately starts to deflate so that the driver ’s
vision is not obstructed. The time required from detecting impact to the deflation of
the SRS airbag after deployment is short-
er than the blink of an eye.
Both when only the driver
’s SRS frontal
airbag deploys and the driver ’s and front
passenger ’s SRS frontal airbags deploy,
the driver ’s and front passenger ’s seatbelt
pretensioners operate at the same time.
Although it is highly unlikely that the SRS
airbag would activate in a non-accident
situation, should it occur, the SRS airbag
will deflate quickly, not obscuring vision
and will not interfere with the driver ’s
ability to maintain control of the vehicle.
When the SRS airbag deploys, a sudden,
fairly loud inflation noise will be heard and
some smoke will be released. These
occurrences are a normal result of the
deployment. This smoke does not indicate
a fire in the vehicle.
CAUTION
Do not touch the SRS airbag system
components around the steering
wheel and dashboard with bare
hands right after deployment. Doing
so can cause burns because the
components can be very hot as a
result of deployment.

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.
. Do not hang coat hangers or
other hard or pointed objects on
the coat hooks. If such items
were hanging on the coat hooks
during deployment of the SRS
curtain airbags, they could cause
serious injuries by coming off the
coat hooks and being thrown
through the cabin or by prevent-
ing deployment of the curtainairbags.
Before hanging clothing on the
coat hooks, make sure there are
no sharp objects in the pockets.
Hang clothing directly on the
coat hooks without using hang-ers.
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. !
OperationThe SRS side airbag and SRS curtain
airbag can function only when the ignition
switch is in the “ON ”position.
The driver ’s and front passenger ’s SRS
side airbags and SRS curtain airbags
deploy independently of each other since
each has its own impact sensor. There-
fore, they may not both deploy in the same
accident. Also, the SRS side airbag and
SRS curtain airbag deploys independently
of the driver ’s and front passenger ’s SRS
frontal airbags in the steering wheel and
instrument panel.
An impact sensor, which senses impact
force, is located in each of the left and
right center pillars and rear wheel houses.
Another impact sensor, which also senses Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
1-59
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1-64Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
Vehicle without SI-DRIVE
A diagnostic system continually monitors
the readiness of the SRS airbag system
(including front seatbelt pretensioners)
while the vehicle is being driven. The
SRS airbag system warning light “AIR-
BAG ”will show normal system operation
by lighting for approximately 6 seconds
when the ignition switch is turned to the“ ON ”position.
The following components are monitored
by the indicator: . Front sub sensor (right-hand side)
. Front sub sensor (left-hand side)
. Airbag control module (including im-
pact sensors). Frontal airbag module (driver ’s side)
. Frontal airbag module (front passen- ger
’s side)
. Side airbag sensor (center pillar right-
hand side). Side airbag sensor (center pillar left-
hand side). Side airbag module (driver ’s side)
. Side airbag module (front passenger ’s
side). Curtain airbag sensor (rear wheel
house right-hand side). Curtain airbag sensor (rear wheel
house left-hand side). Curtain airbag module (right-hand side)
. Curtain airbag module (left-hand side)
. Satellite safing sensor (under the rear
center seat) . Seatbelt pretensioner (driver ’s side)
. Seatbelt pretensioner (front passen-
ger ’s side)
. Seatbelt buckle switch (front passen-
ger ’s side)
. Front passenger ’s seatbelt tension
sensor . Front passenger ’s occupant detection
system weight sensor. Front passenger ’s occupant detection
control module. Front passenger ’s frontal airbag ON
and OFF indicator. All related wiring
WARNING
If the warning light exhibits any of
the following conditions, there may
be a malfunction in the seatbelt
pretensioners and/or SRS airbag
system. Immediately take your vehi-
cle to your nearest SUBARU dealer
to have the system checked. Unless
checked and properly repaired, the
seatbelt pretensioners and/or SRS
airbags will operate improperly (e.g.
SRS airbags may inflate in a very
minor collision or not inflate in a
severe collision), which may in-
crease the risk of injury. . Flashing or flickering of the warn-
ing light
. No illumination of the warning
light when the ignition switch is
first turned to the “ON ”position
. Continuous illumination of the
warning light
. Illumination of the warning light
while driving