Recently acquired a 1999 suburu Legacy brighton in excellent condition. Was informed by seller that the owner's manual was never provided by the dealership. I need to know the proper method for securing my child safety seat in this car. In order to download the pdf file (just the part about the child safety seat instructions - not the whole manual) from the Subaru website, I am required to buy a "subscription" to their website. While it is fair for manufacturers to recoup the cost of archiving and keeping available owners manuals for older cars, information such as proper securing of child seats is information that should be made available free of charge. Greed has to be checked somewhere.

- Ashland, OR, USA

My husband and I just returned from a child safety seat inspection. We have a 1999 Subaru Legacy. We had many problems trying to fit our century 1000 ste convertible car seat into the back seat, and decided to try the "professionals." The only way our certified car seat inspectors could ensure a tight fitting position for the car seat was on the side (not center, as recommended) and with the seat belt twisted 6 (yes, I said 6) times! of course, the owner's manual of the car says do not twist the seat belt. The instruction manual on hand for the inspectors said that by twisting the seat belt 6 times, we lowered the impact resistance 30%. this is the only way our inspectors could get the seat in, though. We contacted Subaru and they kindly sent us a list of "recommended" car seats for the 1999 Subaru Legacy. They were all booster shield seats, which are not recommended for use with a child my daughter's size. What are we supposed to do" buy a new car? let our daughter travel in less than optimal safety restraints" Subaru prides itself ( and sells itself) as being a safe car. What good does all wheel drive do me if my little girl is seriously harmed or killed due to ineffective, poorly planned seat restraints designed by their engineers?

- Mount Vernon, OH, USA

The design of the rear, center seatbelt conflicts with the proper installation of many carseat designs. To date, we have tried century encore, century horizon, century smartmove, evenflo on my way (without base). With all of these carseats, it was not possible to secure the carseat tight enough to prevent movement. The use of a locking clip did not help. The dealer and manufacturer have both been contacted. Per the dealer, the suggestion was to read the owner's manual. When informed that has been done, the dealer responded that the car seat should not be placed in the center. When I then read to the dealer from the owner's manual the proper installation in the center seat, dealer responded with 'it's new to me.' The manufacturer took vague information regarding the complaint. I had to volunteer more complete information such as the VIN. This is a known problem to the manufacturer. Question, how can the manufacturer of a station wagon which touts safety, design a belt which is not safe?

- Tempe, AZ, USA