SUBARU SOLTERRA 2023 Owners Manual

1814-2. Opening, closing and locking the doors
Owners Manual_USA_M42C01_en
4
Before driving
●When charging from an external
power source or connecting the
AC charging cable
●When the vehicle is parked near
an electrical noise source which
affects the sensitivity of the Hands
Free Power Back Door, such as a
pay parking spot , gas station,
electrically heated road, or fluo-
rescent light
●When the vehicle is near a TV
tower, electric po wer plant, radio
station, large display, airport or
other facility that generates strong
radio waves or electrical noise
●When a large amount of water is
applied to the rear bumper, such
as when the vehicle is being
washed or in heavy rain
●When mud, snow, ice, etc. is
attached to the rear bumper
●When the vehicle has been
parked for a while near objects
that may move and contact the
rear bumper, such as plants
●When an accessory is installed to
the rear bumper
If an accessory has been installed,
turn the Hands Free Power Back
Door operation setting off.
■Preventing unintentional opera-
tion of the Hands Free Power
Back Door (vehicles with Hands
Free Power Back Door)
When an electronic key is in the
operation range, the Hands Free
Power Back Door may operate unin-
tentionally, so be ca reful in the fol-
lowing situations.
●When a large amount of water is
applied to the rear bumper, such
as when the vehicle is being
washed or in heavy rain
●When dirt is wiped off the rear
bumper
●When a small animal or small
object, such as a ball, moves
under the rear bumper
●When an object is moved from
under the rear bumper
●If someone is swinging their legs
while sitting on the rear bumper
●If the legs or another part of some-
one’s body contacts the rear
bumper while passing by the vehi-
cle
●When the vehicle is parked near
an electrical noise source which
affects the sensitivity of the Hands
Free Power Back Door, such as a
pay parking spot, gas station,
electrically heated road, or fluo-
rescent light
●When the vehicle is near a TV
tower, electric pow er plant, radio
station, large display, airport or
other facility that generates strong
radio waves or electrical noise
●When the vehicle is parked in a
place where objects such as
plants are near the rear bumper
●If luggage, etc. is set near the rear
bumper
●If accessories or a vehicle cover is
installed/removed near the rear
bumper
●When the vehicle is being towed
To prevent unintentional operation,
turn the Hands F ree Power Back
Door operation setting off. ( P.185)
■When reconnecting the 12-volt
battery
To enable the power back door to
operate properly, close the back
door manually.
■If the back door opener is inop-
erative
The back door can be unlocked
from the inside.
1 Remove the cover.
To prevent damage, cover the tip of
the screwdriver with a rag.

1824-2. Opening, closing and locking the doors
Owners Manual_USA_M42C01_en2
Loose the screw and move the
cover.
3 Move the lever.
4 When installing, reverse the
steps listed.
■Customization
Some functions can be customized.
(Customizable features: P.570)
WARNING
■Back door closer
●In the event that the back door
is left slightly open, the back
door closer will automatically
close it to the fu lly closed posi-
tion. It takes several seconds
before the back door closer
begins to operate. Be careful
not to catch fingers or anything
else in the back door, as this
may cause bone fractures or
other serious injuries.
●Use caution when using the
back door closer as it still oper-
ates when the power back door
system is canceled.
■Power back door
Observe the following precautions
when operating the power back
door.
Failure to do so may cause death
or serious injury.
●Check the safety of the sur-
rounding area to make sure
there are no obs tacles or any-
thing that could cause any of
your belongings to get caught.
●If anyone is in the vicinity, make
sure they are safe and let them
know that the back door is
about to open or close.

1834-2. Opening, closing and locking the doors
Owners Manual_USA_M42C01_en
4
Before driving
WARNING
●If the power back door system is
turned off while the back door is
operating automatically, the
automatic operation is stopped.
The back door then has to be
operated manually. Take extra
care when on an incline, as the
back door may open or close
unexpectedly.
●If the operating conditions of the
power back door are no longer
met, a buzzer may sound and
the back door may stop opening
or closing. The back door then
has to be operated manually.
Take extra care when on an
incline, as the back door may
open or close abruptly.
●On an incline, t he back door
may suddenly shut after it
opens. Make sure the back door
is fully open and secure.
●In the following situations, the
power back door may detect an
abnormality and automatic
operation may be stopped. In
this case, the back door has to
be operated manually. Take
extra care when on an incline,
as the back door may open or
close abruptly.
• When the back door contacts an obstacle
• When the 12-volt battery volt- age suddenly drops, such as
when the power switch is turned
to ON or the EV system is
started during automatic opera-
tion
●If a bicycle carrier or similar
heavy object is attached to the
back door, the power back door
may not operate, causing itself
to malfunction, or the back door
may suddenly shut again after
being opened, causing some-
one’s hands, arms, head or
neck to be caught and injured.
When installing an accessory
part to the back door, using a
genuine Toyota part is recom-
mended.
■Jam protection function
Observe the following precau-
tions.
Failure to do so may cause death
or serious injury.
●Never use any part of your body
to intentionally activate the jam
protection function.
●The jam protection function may
not work if something gets
caught just before the back door
fully closes. Be careful not to
catch fingers or anything else.
●The jam protection function may
not work depending on the
shape of the object that is
caught. Be careful not to catch
fingers or anything else.
■Hands Free Power Back Door
(if equipped)
Observe the following precautions
when operating the Hands Free
Power Back Door.
Failure to do so may cause death
or serious injury.
●Check the safety of the sur-
rounding area to make sure
there are no obs tacles or any-
thing that could cause any of
your belongings to get caught.

1844-2. Opening, closing and locking the doors
Owners Manual_USA_M42C01_en
WARNING
●When putting your foot near the
lower center part of the rear
bumper and moving it from the
rear bumper, be careful not to
touch the exhaust pipes until
they have cooled down suffi-
ciently, as touching hot exhaust
pipes can cause burns.
●Do not leave the electronic key
within the eff ective range
(detection area) of the luggage
compartment.
NOTICE
■Back door spindles
The back door is equipped with
spindles that hold the back door in
place.
Observe the following precau-
tions.
Failure to do so may cause dam-
age to the back door spindle,
resulting in malfunction.
●Do not attach any foreign
objects, such as stickers, plastic
sheets, or adhesives to the
spindle rod.
●Do not touch the spindle rod
with gloves or other fabric items.
●Do not attach any accessories
other than genuine Toyota parts
to the back door.
●Do not place your hand on the
spindle or apply lateral forces to
it.
■To prevent back door closer
malfunction
Do not apply excessive force to
the back door while the back door
closer is operating. Applying
excessive force may cause the
back door closer t o malfunction.
■To prevent damage to the
power back door
●Make sure that there is no ice
between the back door and
frame that would prevent move-
ment of the back door. Operat-
ing the power back door when
excessive load is present on the
back door may cause a mal-
function.
●Do not apply excessive force to
the back door while the power
back door is operating.
●Take care not to damage the
sensors (installed on the right
and left edges of the power
back door) with a knife or other
sharp object. If the sensor is
disconnected, the power back
door will not close automatically.
■Close & lock function
When closing the power back
door using the close & lock func-
tion, a different b uzzer than the
normal one will so und before the
operation begins.
To check that the operation has
started correctly, check that a dif-
ferent buzzer than the normal one
has sounded.
Additionally, when the power back
door is fully closed and locked,
operation signals will indicate that
all of the doors have been locked.
Before leaving the vehicle, make
sure that the operation signals
have operated and that all of the
doors are locked.

1854-2. Opening, closing and locking the doors
Owners Manual_USA_M42C01_en
4
Before driving
The settings of the power back
door system can be changed by
displaying the “Vehicle Set-
tings” screen from the
setting screen of the multi-infor-
mation display. ( P.158)
The changed power back door set-
tings are not reset by turning the
power switch to OFF. In order to
NOTICE
■Hands Free Power Back Door
precautions (if equipped)
The kick sensor is located behind
lower center part of the rear
bumper. Observe the following to
ensure that the Hands Free
Power Back Door function oper-
ates properly:
●Keep the lower center part of
the rear bumper clean at all
times.
If the lower center part of the
rear bumper is dirty or covered
with snow, the kick sensor may
not operate. In this situation,
clean off the dirt or snow, move
the vehicle from the current
position and then check if the
kick sensor operates.
If it does not operate, have the
vehicle inspected by your Toy-
ota dealer.
●Do not apply coatings that have
a rain cleari ng (hydrophilic)
effect, or other coatings, to the
lower center par t of the rear
bumper.
●Do not park the vehicle near
objects that may move and con-
tact the lower center part of the
rear bumper, such as grass or
trees.
If the vehicle has been parked
for a while near objects that
may move and contact the
lower center par t of the rear
bumper, such as grass or trees,
the kick sensor may not oper-
ate. In this situation, move the
vehicle from the current position
and then check if the kick sen-
sor operates. If it does not oper-
ate, have the vehicle inspected
by your Toyota dealer.
●Do not subject the kick sensor
or its surroundi ng area to a
strong impact.
If the kick sensor or its sur-
rounding area has been sub-
jected to a strong impact, the
kick sensor may not operate
properly. If the kick sensor does
not operate in the following situ-
ations, have the vehicle
inspected by your Toyota
dealer.
• The kick sensor or its surround- ing area has been subjected to
a strong impact.
• The lower center part of the rear bumper is scratched or dam-
aged.
●Do not disassemble the rear
bumper.
●Do not attach stickers to the
rear bumper.
●Do not paint the rear bumper.
●If a bicycle carrier or similar
heavy object is attached to the
power back doo r, disable the
Hands Free Power Back Door.
Changing settings of the
power back door system
(vehicles with power back
door)

1864-2. Opening, closing and locking the doors
Owners Manual_USA_M42C01_enrestore the original settings, they
need to be chan
ged back on the
setting screen of the multi-informa-
tion display.
The open position of the power
back door can be adjusted.
1 Stop the back door in the
desirable position. ( P.175)
2 Press and hold the power
back door switch on the back
door for approximately 2 sec-
onds.
When the settings are completed,
the buzzer sounds 4 times.
When opening the back door the
next time, the back door will stop at
that position.
■Canceling the adjusted open
position of the back door
Press and hold the power back door
switch on the back door for approxi-
mately 7 seconds.
After the buzzer sounds 4 times, it
sounds twice more. When the
power back door do es the opening
operation the next time, the door will
open to the initial settings position.
■Customization
The opening position can be set
with the multi-info rmation display.
(  P.570)
Priority for the stop position is given
to the last position set by either the
power back door switch on the back
door or multi-information display.
Adjusting the open posi-
tion of the back door
(vehicles with power back
door)

1874-2. Opening, closing and locking the doors
Owners Manual_USA_M42C01_en
4
Before driving
■Antenna location Antennas outside the cabin
(driver’s side/front passenger’s
side [if equipped])
Antennas outside the cabin
(rear) (if equipped)
Antennas inside the cabin
Antenna inside the luggage com- partment
Antenna outside the luggage
compartment
■Effective range
(areas within
which the electronic key is
detected)
When locking or unlocking the
doors
The system can be operated when
the electronic key is within about 2.3
ft. (0.7 m) of the driver’s door han-
dle, front passenger’s door handle
(if equipped), rear door handles (if
equipped) and back door opener
switch (if equipped). (Only the doors
detecting the key can be operated.)
When starting the EV system or
changing power switch modes
The system can be operated when
the electronic key i s inside the vehi-
cle.
■If an alarm sounds or a warning
message is displayed
An alarm sounds and warning mes-
sage displays shown on the multi-
information display are used to pro-
tect against unexpected accidents
or theft of the vehicl e resulting from
erroneous operation. When a warn-
ing message is displayed, take
appropriate measures based on the
displayed message.
When only an alarm sounds, cir-
cumstances and correction proce-
dures are as follows.
Smar t key system
The following operations
can be performed simply by
carrying the electronic key
on your person, for example
in your pocket. The driver
should always carry the
electronic key.
 Locks and unlocks the
doors
* ( P.167)
 Locks and unlocks the back
door
* ( P.173)
 Starts the EV system
( P.231)

1884-2. Opening, closing and locking the doors
Owners Manual_USA_M42C01_en
●When an exterior alarm sounds
once for 5 seconds
●When an interior alarm pings con-
tinuously
■Battery-saving function
The battery-saving function will be
activated in order to prevent the
electronic key battery and the 12-
volt battery from being discharged
while the vehicle is not in operation
for a long time.
●In the following situations, the
smart key system may take some
time to unlock the doors.
• The electronic key has been left in
an area of approximately 11.5 ft.
(3.5 m) of the outside of the vehi-
cle for 2 minutes or longer.
• The smart key system has not been used for 5 days or longer.
●If the smart key system has not
been used for 14 days or longer,
the doors canno t be unlocked at
any doors except the driver’s door.
In this case, take hold of the
driver’s door handle, or use the
wireless remote control or the mechanical key, to unlock the
doors.
■Turning an electronic key to
battery-saving mode
●When battery-saving mode is set,
battery depletion is minimized by
stopping the electronic key from
receiving radio waves.
Press twice while pressing
and holding .
Confirm that the ele ctronic key indi-
cator flashes 4 times.
While the battery-saving mode is
set, the smart key system cannot be
used. To cancel the function, press
any of the electronic key buttons.
●Electronic keys that will not be
used for long periods of time can
be set to the battery-saving mode
in advance.
■Conditions affecting operation
The smart key system uses weak
radio waves. In the following situa-
tions, the communication between
the electronic key and the vehicle
may be affected, preventing the
smart key system, wireless remote
control and immobilizer system from
operating properly.
●When the electronic key battery is
depleted
●Near a TV tower, electric power
plant, gas station, radio station,
large display, airpo rt or other facil-
ity that generates strong radio
waves or electrical noise
●When the electronic key is in con-
SituationCorrection pro-
cedure
An attempt was
made to lock the
vehicle while a
door was open.Close all of the
doors and lock
the doors again.
SituationCorrection pro-cedure
The power
switch was
turned to ACC
while the driver’s
door was open
(or the driver’s
door was opened
while the power
switch was in
ACC).
Turn the power
switch to OFF
and close the
driver’s door.

1894-2. Opening, closing and locking the doors
Owners Manual_USA_M42C01_en
4
Before driving
tact with, or is covered by the fol-
lowing metallic objects
• Cards to which al uminum foil is
attached
• Cigarette boxes that have alumi- num foil inside
• Metallic wallets or bags
• Coins
• Hand warmers made of metal
• Media such as CDs and DVDs
●When another wireless key (that
emits radio waves) is being used
nearby
●When carrying the electronic key
together with the following devices
that emit radio waves
• Portable radio, cellular phone, cordless phone or other wireless
communication devices
• Another electronic key or a wire- less key that emits radio waves
• Personal computers or personal
digital assistants (PDAs)
• Digital audio players
• Portable game systems
●If window tint with a metallic con-
tent or metallic objects are
attached to the rear window
●When the electronic key is placed
near a battery charger or elec-
tronic devices
●When the vehicle is parked in a
pay parking spot where radio
waves are emitted.
■Note for the entry function
●Even when the electronic key is
within the effective range (detec-
tion areas), the system may not
operate properly in the following
cases:
• The electronic key is too close to the window or outside door han-
dle, near the ground, or in a high
place when the doors are locked
or unlocked.
• The electronic key is on the instru- ment panel, luggage cover or
floor, or in the door pockets or
glove box when the EV system is
started or power switch modes are
changed.
●Do not leave the electronic key on
top of the instrument panel or near
the door pockets when exiting the
vehicle. Depending on the radio
wave reception conditions, it may
be detected by the antenna out-
side the cabin and the door will
become lockable from the outside,
possibly trapping the electronic
key inside the vehicle.
●As long as the electronic key is
within the effective range, the
doors may be locked or unlocked
by anyone. However, only the
doors detecting the electronic key
can be used to lo ck or unlock the
vehicle.
●Even if the electro nic key is not
inside the vehicle, it may be possi-
ble to start the EV system if the
electronic key is near the window.
●The doors may unlock if a large
amount of water splashes on the
door handle, such as in the rain or
in a car wash when the electronic
key is within the effective range.
(The doors will au tomatically be
locked after approximately 60 sec-
onds if the doors are not opened
and closed.)
●If the wireless remote control is
used to lock the doors when the
electronic key is near the vehicle,
there is a possib ility that the door
may not be unlocked by the entry
function. (Use the wireless remote
control to unlock the doors.)
●Touching the door lock sensor
while wearing gloves may delay or
prevent lock operation. Remove
the gloves and touch the lock sen-
sor again.
●When the lock operation is per-
formed using the lock sensor, rec-
ognition signals will be shown up
to two consecutive times. After
this, no recognition signals will be
given.
●If the door handle becomes wet
while the electronic key is within
the effective range, the door may

1904-2. Opening, closing and locking the doors
Owners Manual_USA_M42C01_enlock and unlock repeatedly. In that
case, follow the fo
llowing correc-
tion procedures to wash the vehi-
cle:
• Place the electronic key in a loca- tion 6 ft. (2 m) or more away from
the vehicle. (Take care to ensure
that the key is not stolen.)
• Set the electronic key to battery-
saving mode to disable the smart
key system. ( P.188)
●If the electronic key is inside the
vehicle and a door handle
becomes wet during a car wash, a
message may be shown on the
multi-informatio n display and a
buzzer will sound outside the vehi-
cle. To turn off the alarm, lock all
the doors.
●The lock sensor may not work
properly if it com es into contact
with ice, snow, mud, etc. Clean
the lock sensor and attempt to
operate it again.
●A sudden approach to the effec-
tive range or door handle may pre-
vent the doors from being
unlocked. In this case, return the
door handle to the original position
and check that the doors unlock
before pulling the door handle
again.
●If there is another electronic key in
the detection area, it may take
slightly longer to unlock the doors
after the door handle is gripped.
■When the vehicle is not driven
for extended periods
●To prevent theft of the vehicle, do
not leave the electronic key within
6 ft. (2 m) of the vehicle.
●The smart key system can be
deactivated in advance. ( P.569)
●Battery-saving mode can reduce
the power consumption of elec-
tronic keys. ( P.188)
■To operate the system properly
Make sure to carry the electronic
key when operating the system. Do
not get the electronic key too close to the vehicle when operating the
system from the out
side of the vehi-
cle.
Depending on the position and hold-
ing condition of the electronic key,
the key may not be detected cor-
rectly and the system may not oper-
ate properly. (The alarm may go off
accidentally, or the door lock pre-
vention may not operate.)
■If the smart key system does
not operate properly
●If the doors cannot be locked or
unlocked, perform the following.
• Bring the electronic key close to the door handle and perform a
lock or unlock operation.
• Use the wireless remote control.
If the doors cannot be locked or
unlocked by perform the above, use
the mechanical key. ( P.539)
However, if the mechanical key is
used while the alarm system is set,
the warning will sound. ( P. 6 9 )
●If the EV system cannot be
started, refer to P.540
■Customization
Settings (e.g. smart key system)
can be changed.
(Customizable features: P.569)
If the smart key system has been
deactivated in a customized setting,
refer to the explanations for the fol-
lowing operations.
●Locking and unlocking the doors:
Use the wireless remote control or
mechanical key. ( P.167, 539)
●Starting the EV system and
changing power switch modes:
P. 5 4 0
●Stopping the EV system: P. 2 3 3