2000 SUBARU FORESTER Owners Manual

Instruments and controls3-5
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Warning and indicator lights
Several of the warning and ind ic ator lig hts c ome on
momentarily and
then g o out when the ig nition switc h is initially t urned to the “ON ” p osi-
tion. This p ermits c hec king the op eration of the b u lb s.
Ap p ly the p arking b rake and turn the ig nition switc h to the “ON ” p osition.
The following lig hts c ome on:
Seat b elt warning lig ht
SRS airb ag system warning lig ht
Charg e warning lig ht
Oil p ressure warning lig ht
Brake system warning lig ht
CHECK ENGINE warning lig ht/Malfunc tion ind ic ator la mp
ABS warning lig ht (if eq uip p ed )
AT OIL TEMP warning lig ht (automatic transmission v ehic les)
If any lig hts fail to c ome on, it ind ic ates a b urne d -out b ulb or a malfunc -
tion of the c orresp ond ing system.
Consult your authorized SUBARU d ealer for rep air. Seat belt warning light and chime
When the ig nition switc h is turned to the “ON ” p osition, the seat b elt
warning lig ht will c ome on and the remind er c hime will sound to remind
d river to fasten the seat b elt.
The seat b elt warning lig ht remains on for ab out si x sec ond s and turns
off automatic ally after six sec ond s.
The seat b elt remind er c hime will turn off when the d river’s sid e seat b elt
is b uc kled or it will turn off automatic ally after ab out six sec ond s.
SRS airbag system warning light AIRBAG
When the ig nition switc h is turned to the “ON ” p osition, the SRS airb ag
system warning lig ht will c ome on for ab out six sec ond s and g o out. This
shows the SRS airb ag system is in normal op eration.
If this lig ht c omes on while d riving or d oes not g o out after the eng ine
starts, it may ind ic ate that the SRS airb ag system is not working p rop erly.
Contac t your nearest SUBARU d ealer immed iately.

3-6

Charge warning light
If this lig ht c omes on when the eng ine is running , it may ind ic ate that the
c harg ing system is not working p rop erly.
If the lig ht c omes on while d riving or d oes not g o out after the eng ine
starts, stop the eng ine at the first safe op p ortuni ty and c hec k the alterna-
tor b elt. If the b elt is loose, b roken or if the b e lt is in g ood c ond ition b ut
the lig ht remains on, c ontac t your nearest SUBARU d ealer immed iately.
Oil pressure warning light
CAUTION
Do not operate the engine with the oil pressure warning light on. This may cause serious engine damage.
If this lig ht c omes on when the eng ine is running , it may ind ic ate that the
eng ine oil p ressure is low and the lub ric ating syst em is not working p rop -
erly.
If the lig ht c omes on while d riving or d oes not g o out after the eng ine
starts, stop the eng ine at the first safe op p ortuni ty and c hec k the eng ine
oil level. If the oil level is low, ad d oil immed ia tely. If the eng ine oil is at
the p rop er level b ut the lig ht remains on, c ontac t your nearest SUBARU
d ealer immed iately. Brake system warning light BRAKE (U.S.)
WARNING
Driving with the brake system warning light on is dangerous.
This indicates your brake system may not be working properly. If the light remains on, have the brakes inspected by a SUBARU
dealer immediately. If at all in doubt about whether the brakes are operating prop-
erly, do not drive the vehicle. Have your vehicle towed to the
nearest SUBARU dealer for repair.
This lig ht has the following two func tions:
(Canada)

Instruments and controls3-7
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Parking brake warning
The lig ht c omes on with the p arking b rake ap p lied w hile the ig nition
switc h is in the “ON ” p osition. It g oes out when the p arking b rake is
fully released . Brake fluid level warning
This lig ht c omes on when the b rake fluid level has d rop p ed to near
the “MIN ” level of the b rake fluid reservoir with the ig niti on switc h in
the “ON ” p osition and with the p arking b rake fully released .
If the b rake system warning lig ht should c ome on wh ile d riving (with
the p arking b rake fully released and with the ig nit ion switc h p osi-
tioned in “ON ”), it c ould b e an ind ic ation of leaking of b rake fl uid or
worn b rake p ad s. Have your vehic le c hec ked b y a SUB ARU d ealer
immed iately.
CHECK ENGINE warning light/ Malfunction indicator lamp
CAUTION
If the CHECK ENGINE light comes on while you are driving, have
your vehicle checked/repaired by your SUBARU dealer as soonas possible. Continued vehicle operation without having the
emission control system checked and repaired as necessarycould cause serious damage, which may not be covered by your
vehicle’ s warranty.
If this lig ht c omes on stead ily or b links while the eng ine is running , it may
ind ic ate that there is a p rob lem or p otential p rob l em somewhere in the
emission c ontrol system.
If the light comes on steadily:
If the lig ht c omes on stead ily while d riving or d oe s not g o out after the
eng ine starts, an emission c ontrol system malfunc ti on has b een d e-
tec ted .
You should have your vehic le c hec ked b y an authoriz ed SUBARU
d ealer immed iately.

3-8NOTE This light also comes on when the fuel filler cap is not tightened until it clicks.
If you have rec ently refueled your vehic le, the c au
se of the CHECK
ENGINE warning lig ht/malfunc tion ind ic ator lamp c om ing on c ould b e
a loose or missing fuel filler c ap . Remove the c ap and retig hten it until
it c lic ks. Make sure nothing is interfering with th e sealing of the c ap .
Tig htening the c ap will not make the CHECK ENGINE w arning lig ht
turn off immed iately. It may take several d riving t rip s. If the lig ht d oes
not g o out, take your vehic le to your authorized SU BARU d ealer
immed iately. If the light is blinking:
If the lig ht is b linking while d riving , an eng ine m isfire c ond ition has
b een d etec ted whic h may d amag e the emission c ontrol system.
To p revent serious d amag e to the emission c ontrol s ystem, you
should d o the following : Red uc e vehic le sp eed .
Avoid hard ac c eleration.
Avoid steep up hill g rad es.
Red uc e the amount of c arg o, if p ossib le.
Stop towing a trailer as soon as p ossib le.
The CHECK ENGINE warning lig ht may stop b linking an d c ome on
stead ily after several d riving trip s. You should ha ve your vehic le
c hec ked b y an authorized SUBARU d ealer immed iately.
ABS warning light (for vehicles with ABS)
The ABS warning lig ht c omes on when the ig nition sw itc h is turned to the
“ ON ” p osition and g oes out after ab out two sec ond s.
This is an ind ic ation that the ABS system is workin g p rop erly.
If the warning lig ht b ehaves as follows, the ABS sy stem may not work
p rop erly. The warning lig ht d oes not c ome on when the ig nitio n switc h is turned
to the “ON ” p osition.
(U.S.)
(Canada)
ABS

Instruments and controls3-9
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The warning lig ht c omes on when the ig nition switc h is turned to the
“ ON ” p osition, b ut it d oes not g o out even when the veh ic le sp eed
exc eed s ap p roximately 8 mp h (12 km/h). The warning lig ht c omes on d uring d riving .
When the warning lig ht is on, the ABS func tion shut s d own; however, the
c onventional b rake system c ontinues to op erate norm ally. If this oc c urs,
have the ABS system rep aired at the first availab le op p ortunity b y your
SUBARU d ealer. NOTE
If the warning light behavior is as shown below, the ABS system may be considered normal. The warning light comes on right after the engine is started but
goes out immediately, remaining off. The warning light remains on after the engine has been started,
but it goes out when the vehicle speed reaches about 8 mph (12km/h). The warning light comes on during driving, but it goes out
immediately and remains off.When driving with an insufficient battery voltage such as when theengine is jump started, the ABS warning light may come on. This isdue to the low battery voltage and does not indicate a malfunction.When the battery becomes fully charged, the light will go out. AT OIL TEMPerature warning light
(for AT vehicles)
If this lig ht c omes on when the eng ine is running , it may ind ic ate that the
automatic transmission fluid temp erature is too hot .
If the lig ht c omes on while d riving , it is unnec ess ary to stop the vehic le,
b ut avoid d riving up steep g rad es or in stop and g o traffic .
Automatic transmission control system warning
If the lig ht flashes after the eng ine starts, it ma y ind ic ate that the auto-
matic transmission c ontrol system is not working p r op erly. Contac t
your nearest SUBARU d ealer for servic e immed iately.

3-10
Door open warning lights
The d oor op en warning lig ht c omes on if any d oor or the rear g ate is not
fully c losed .
Always make sure this lig ht is out b efore you start to d rive.
Front-wheel drive warning light (for AT vehicles)
This lig ht c omes on when All Wheel Drive is d iseng a g ed and the d rive
mec hanism is switc hed to Front Wheel Drive for main tenanc e or similar
p urp oses. Turn signal indicator lights
These lig hts show the op eration of the turn sig nal or lane c hang e sig nal.
If the ind ic ator lig hts d o not b link or b link rap id ly, the turn sig nal b ulb
may b e b urned out. Rep lac e the b ulb as soon as p oss ib le. Refer to “Re-
p lac ing b ulb s ” sec tion in Chap ter 10.
High beam indicator
This lig ht shows that the head lig hts are in the hig h b eam mod e.
This ind ic ator lig ht also c omes on when op erating h ead lig ht flasher.

Instruments and controls3-11
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Hazard warning flasher
HS0053
The hazard warning flasher is used to warn other d r
ivers when you have
to p ark your vehic le und er emerg enc y c ond itions. Th e hazard warning
flasher works with the ig nition switc h in any p osit ion.
When you have to p ark your vehic le und er emerg enc y c ond itions, p ull off
the road s safely and p ark away from the traffic if it is p ossib le.
To turn on the hazard warning flasher, p ush the haz ard warning b utton
on the instrument p anel. To turn off the flasher, p ush the b utton ag ain.
NOTE When the hazard warning flasher is on, the turn signals do not work.
Light control switch
WARNING
To prevent battery discharge resulting from accidentally leaving your lights on when your vehicle is parked, the light switch oper-ates only when the ignition switch is in the “ON” position. In any
other position, the vehicle ’s lights will be out. If you park your ve-
hicle on a roadside at night, use the hazard warning flasher toalert the other drivers.

3-12
HS0054HS0055
Dimmer
Headlight flasher
The lig ht switc h op erates only when the ig nition sw itc h is in the “ON ”
p osition.
Headlights
To turn on the head lig hts, turn the knob on the end of the turn sig nal
lever.
first p osition
Parking lig hts, instrument p anel illumination, tail lig hts and lic ense
p late lig ht are on.
sec ond p osition
Head lig hts, p arking lig hts, instrument p anel illumi nation, tail lig hts,
and lic ense p late lig ht are on. High/low beam change (dimmer)
To c hang e from low b eam to hig h b eam, p ush the turn sig nal lever
forward . When the head lig hts are on hig h b eam, the hig h b eam ind i-
c ator lig ht “a ” on the instrument p anel is also on.
To switc h b ac k to low b eam, p ull the lever b ac k to the d etent p osition.
Headlight flasher CAUTION
Do not hold the lever in the flashing position for more than just a few seconds.