We absolutely love our Subaru Forester Wilderness, which we often take on camping trips instead of our full-sized truck. This is especially true now that we have added modifications such as a lift kit, off-road tires, and a skid plate.
However, one thing we found annoying was the driver’s side seat belt chime that went off every time we needed to move our vehicle just a few feet while off-road.
In this post, we want to share some of the modifications we’ve made to our Forester Wilderness in simple, easy-to-follow steps, offering a more straightforward alternative to watching lengthy videos that often skip past the crucial details.
So, let’s get started!
Here’s a quick guide on how to disable the driver’s side seat belt reminder chime on your Subaru Forester Wilderness and other Subaru models. (Our model is a 2024, and we can confirm this process works for that year.)
Steps to Disable the Subaru Forester Seat Belt Chime
- Turn on the ignition by pressing the button without starting the engine. Do not buckle your seat belt.
- Using both hands – one to hold the seat belt buckle and the other for the release button – insert and remove the buckle 20 times within 30 seconds.
- Turn off the vehicle.
- Start the car and drive a short distance (in an empty parking lot at very low speed) without buckling your seat belt, listening for the chime. If you don’t hear it, congratulations, it worked!
- If you still hear the chime, repeat the first three steps.
This adjustment will remain effective until the battery is disconnected or if you repeat the 20 insertions and removals of the seat belt buckle.
Important Note: We strongly advise against driving your Subaru without buckling your seat belt. This modification will leave you uninformed if your driver’s side seat belt is unbuckled, so you should be fully aware of the risks involved in disabling this safety feature.
Note: This procedure will not impact the front passenger side or the rear passenger seat belt chimes. To silence the rear passenger seat belt chime, simply keep the seat belts plugged in. However, we have found that our dogs sitting in the middle of the rear seat can inadvertently trigger that chime. As of now, we have not found a solution to that particular issue.
Related post: How to Permanently Eliminate Subaru Forester Auto Start / Stop.
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