2000 SUBARU FORESTER brake

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lower g ear.
Braking when a tire is punctured
Do not d ep ress the b rake p ed al sud d enly when a tire is p unc tured .
This c ould c ause a loss of c ontrol of the vehic le. Keep d riving straig ht
ahead while g rad ually red uc ing sp eed . Then slowly p ull off the road
to a safe p lac e.
Brake system Two separate circuits
Your vehic le has two sep arate c irc uit b rake systems . Eac h c irc uit
works d iag onally ac ross the vehic le. If one c irc uit of the b rake system
should fail, the other half of the system still wor ks. If one c irc uit fails,
the b rake p ed al will g oes d own muc h c loser to the f loor than usual
and you will need to p ress it d own muc h hard er. And a muc h long er
d istanc e will b e need ed to stop the vehic le. Brake booster
The b rake b ooster uses eng ine manifold vac uum to as sist b raking
forc e. Do not turn off the eng ine while d riving b ec ause that will turn off
the b rake b ooster, resulting in p oor b raking p ower.
The b rakes will c ontinue to work even when the b rak e b ooster c om-
p letely stop s func tioning . If this hap p ens, however , you will have to
p ush the p ed al muc h hard er than normal and the b rak ing d istanc e
will inc rease.

7-34
Disc brake pad wear warning indicators
OM-H0163
The d isc b rake p ad wear warning ind ic ators on the d isc b rakes g ive a
warning noise when the b rake p ad s are worn.
If a sq ueaking or sc rap ing noise is heard from the d isc b rakes while
b raking , immed iately have your vehic le c hec ked b y y our SUBARU d eal-
er. ABS (Anti-Lock Brake System) (if equipped)
WARNING
Always use the utmost care in driving – overconfidence because
you are driving with an ABS equipped vehicle could easily lead to a serious accident.
CAUTION
The ABS system does not always decrease stopping distance.
You should always maintain a safe following distance from othervehicles. When driving on badly surfaced roads, gravel roads, icy roads,
or over deep newly fallen snow, stopping distances may be long-er for a vehicle with the ABS system than one without. When driv-ing under these conditions, therefore, reduce your speed and

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leave ample distance from other vehicles.
When you feel the ABS system operating, you should maintain
constant brake pedal pressure. Do not pump the brake pedal
since doing so may defeat the operation of the ABS system.
The ABS system p revents the loc k-up of wheels whic h may oc c ur d uring
sud d en b raking or b raking on slip p ery road surfac es . This help s p revent
the loss of steering c ontrol and d irec tional stab il ity c aused b y wheel
loc k-up .
When the ABS system is op erating , you may hear a c h attering noise or
feel a slig ht vib ration in the b rake p ed al. This is normal when the ABS
op erates.
The ABS system will not op erate when the vehic le sp eed is b elow
ap p roximately 6 mp h (10 km/h).
ABS system self-checking
You may feel a slig ht shoc k in the b rake p ed al and hear the op erating
sound of ABS from the eng ine c omp artment just after the vehic le is
started . This is c aused b y an automatic func tional test of the ABS sys-
tem b eing c arried out and d oes not ind ic ate any ab n ormal c ond ition.
ABS warning light
HS0156
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.

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mend ed d uring c old weather.
Use only ad d itives that are sp ec ific ally d esig ned f
or this p urp ose.
When an antifreeze ad d itive is used , its effec t las ts long er if the tank is
refilled whenever the fuel level reac hes half emp ty .
If your SUBARU is not g oing to b e used for an exten d ed p eriod , it is
b est to have the fuel tank filled to c ap ac ity. Driving on snowy and icy roads
WARNING
Do not use the cruise control on slippery roads such as snowy or icy roads. This may cause loss of vehicle control.
To p revent skid d ing and slip p ing , avoid sud d en b rak ing , ab rup t ac c el-
eration, hig h-sp eed d riving , and sharp turning when d riving on snowy
or ic y road s.
Always maintain amp le d istanc e b etween your vehic le and the vehic le
ahead of you to avoid the need for sud d en b raking .
To sup p lement the foot b rake, use the eng ine b rake effec tively to c on-
trol the vehic le sp eed . (Shift into a lower g ear wh en nec essary.)
Avoid shifting d own ab rup tly. Suc h b ehavior c an c au se the wheel to
loc k, p ossib ly lead ing to loss of vehic le c ontrol.
Avoid loc king the front wheels b ec ause that c an lea d to a loss of
steering c ontrol. When b raking with a vehic le not e q uip p ed with an
Anti-Loc k Brake System (ABS), p ress the b rake p ed al rep eated ly at
short intervals to p revent the wheels from loc king . Then ap p ly the
b rakes softly to b ring the vehic le to a stop .
An ABS enhanc es your vehic le ’s b raking p erformanc e on snowy and
ic y road s. Refer to the “ABS (Anti-Loc k Brake System) ” in this c hap ter
for information on b raking on slip p ery surfac es in ABS eq uip p ed
vehic le. n Wiper operation when snowing
Before d riving in c old weather, make sure the wip er b lad es are not
frozen to the wind shield or rear wind ow. If the wip er b lad es are frozen
to the wind shield or rear wind ow, use the d efroster with the airflow
c ontrol d ial in the “
” p osition and the temp erature c ontrol lever

7-50
Maximum load limits
WARNING
Never exceed the maximum load limits explained below. Exceed- ing the maximum load limits could cause personal injury and/or
vehicle damage.
CAUTION
Adequate size trailer brakes are required when the trailer and
its cargo exceed 1,000 lbs (453 kg) total weight. Before towing a trailer, check the trailer total weight, GVW,
GAWs and tongue load. Make sure the load and its distribution inyour vehicle and trailer are acceptable.
n Total trailer weight
The total trailer weig ht (trailer weig ht p lus its c arg o load ) must never
exc eed the maximum weig ht shown b elow.
Model
ConditionsMaximum total trailer weight
MT modelsWhen towing a trailer without brakes.1,000 lbs (453 kg)
When towing a trailer with brakes.2,000 lbs (906 kg)
AT modelsWhen towing a trailer without brakes.1,000 lbs (453 kg)
When towing a trailer with brakes.2,000 lbs (906 kg)
When towing a trailer on a long uphill grade continuously for over 5 miles (8 km) with an outside temperature of104 F (40 C) or above.1,000 lbs (453 kg)

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Trailer hitches
WARNING
Never drill the frame or under-body of your vehicle to install a
commercial trailer hitch. If you do, dangerous exhaust gas, wateror mud may enter the passenger compartment through the drilledhole. Exhaust gas contains carbon monoxide, a colorless andodorless gas which is dangerous, or even lethal, if inhaled. Also,drilling the frame or under-body of your vehicle could cause dete-rioration of strength of your vehicle and cause corrosion aroundthe drilled hole.
CAUTION
Do not modify the vehicle exhaust system, brake system, or
other systems when installing a hitch or other trailer towingequipment. Do not use axle-mounted hitches as they can cause damage to
the axle housing, wheel bearings, wheels or tires.
Choose a p rop er hitc h for your vehic le and trailer.
The use of a g enuine SUBARU trailer hitc h is rec omm end ed . A g enu-
ine SUBARU hitc h is availab le from your SUBARU d eal er.
If use of a non-g enuine hitc h is unavoid ab le, b e su re the hitc h is
suited to your vehic le and trailer. Consult with a p rofessional hitc h
sup p lier to assist you in c hoosing an ap p rop riate h itc h for your
vehic le. Be sure to follow all of the hitc h manufac turer’s instruc tions for
installation and use.
Never use a hitc h that mounts only to the rear b ump er. The b ump er is
not d esig ned to hand le that typ e of load .
For all typ es of hitc hes, reg ularly c hec k that the hitc h mounting b olts
and nuts are tig ht.

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Connecting a trailer
n Trailer brakes
WARNING
Adequate size trailer brakes are required when the trailer and
its cargo exceed 1,000 lbs (453 kg) total weight. Do not directly connect your trailer ’s hydraulic brake system
to the hydraulic brake system in your vehicle. Direct connectionwould cause the vehicle ’s brake performance to deteriorate and
could lead to an accident.
If your trailer ’s total weig ht (trailer weig ht p lus its c arg o weig h t)
exc eed s 1,000 lb s (453 kg ), the trailer is req uired to b e eq uip p ed with
its own b rake system. Elec tric b rakes or surg e b rak es are rec om-
mend ed , and must b e installed p rop erly. Chec k that your trailer’s
b rakes c onform with Fed eral, state/p rovinc e and /or other ap p lic ab le
reg ulations. Your SUBARU ’s b rake system is not d esig ned to b e
tap p ed into the trailer ’s hyd raulic b rake system. Please ask your
SUBARU d ealer and p rofessional trailer sup p lier for more information
ab out the trailer ’s b rake system.
n Trailer safety chain
WARNING
Always use safety chains between your vehicle and the trailer.
Towing trailer without safety chains could create a traffic safetyhazard if the trailer separates from the hitch due to coupling dam-age or hitch ball damage.
In c ase the trailer hitc h c onnec tor or hitc h b all s hould b reak or
b ec ome d isc onnec ted , the trailer c ould g et loose an d c reate a traffic
safety hazard .
For safety, always c onnec t the towing vehic le and t railer with trailer
safety c hains. Pass the c hains c rossing eac h other und er the trailer
tong ue to p revent the trailer from d rop p ing onto th e g round in c ase
the trailer tong ue should d isc onnec t from the hitc h b all. Allow suffi-

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HS0374
Towing with all wheels on the ground
WARNING
Never turn the ignition switch to the “LOCK” position while the
vehicle is being towed because the steering wheel and the direc- tion of the wheels will be locked. Remember that the brake booster and power steering do not
function when the engine is not running. Because the engine isturned off, it will take greater effort to operate the brake pedal andsteering wheel.
CAUTION
If transmission failure occurs, transport your vehicle on a flat-
bed truck. For AWD vehicles, the traveling speed must be limited to less
than 20 mph (30 km/h) and the traveling distance to less than 31
miles (50 km). For greater speeds and distances, transport your
vehicle on a flat-bed truck.