2000 SUBARU FORESTER air condition

vii
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CONTINUED –

If at any time you suspect that exhaust fumes are entering the
vehicle, have the problem checked and corrected as soon as pos-
sible. If you must drive under these conditions, drive only with allwindows fully open. Keep the rear gate closed while driving to prevent exhaust gas
from entering the vehicle.
DRINKING AND DRIVING WARNING
Drinking and then driving is very dangerous. Alcohol in the
bloodstream delays your reaction and impairs your perception,judgment and attentiveness. If you drive after drinking – even if
you drink just a little – it will increase the risk of being involved in
a serious or fatal accident, injuring or killing yourself, your pas-sengers and others. In addition, if you are injured in the accident,
alcohol may increase the severity of that injury. Please don ’t drink and drive.
Drunken d riving is one of the most freq uent c auses of ac c id ents. Sinc e
alc ohol affec ts all p eop le d ifferently, you may hav e c onsumed too muc h
alc ohol to d rive safely even if the level of alc oho l in your b lood is b elow
the leg al limit. The safest thing you c an d o is nev er d rink and d rive. How-
ever if you have no c hoic e b ut to d rive, stop d rink ing and sob er up c om-
p letely b efore g etting b ehind the wheel. DRUGS AND DRIVING
WARNING
There are some drugs (over the counter and prescription) that can delay your reaction time and impair your perception, judg-ment and attentiveness. If you drive after taking them, it may in-
crease your, your passengers ’ and other persons ’ risk of being
involved in a serious or fatal accident.

4
Climate control
Ventilator4-2
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Heating and air conditioning 4-3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Heater operation 4-4
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Air conditioner operation 4-8
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Operating tips for heater and air conditioner 4-9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Air filtration system (if equipped) 4-11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Climate control4-3
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CONTINUED –
Heating and air conditioning
HS0071
Temperature
control dialAir inlet selec- tion leverAir outlet control dial
Fan speed control leverAir conditioner button
Air outlet control dial
This d ial has the following five p ositions:
: Air flows throug h the instrument p anel outlets.
: Air flows throug h the instrument p anel outlets and the foot
outlets.
: Air flows throug h the foot outlets and some throug h the wind -
shield d efroster outlets.
: Air flows throug h the wind shield d efroster outlets and foot
outlets.
: Air flows throug h the wind shield d efroster outlets .
Temperature control dial
This d ial reg ulates the hot air flow from the heate r over a rang e from
the b lue area (c ool) to red area (warm). Fan speed control lever
The fan op erates only when the ig nition switc h is t urned to the “ON ”
p osition. The fan sp eed c ontrol lever is used to se lec t four fan
sp eed s.

4-4
Air inlet selection lever
WARNING
Continued operaton in the “
” position may fog up the win-
dows. Switch to the “
” position as soon as the outside
dusty condition clears.
: Interior air is rec irc ulated insid e the p asseng er c omp arment.
: Outsid e air is d rawn into the p asseng er c omp artme nt.
Air conditioner button (if equipped)
The air c ond itioner op erates only when the eng ine i s running .
Push the air c ond itioner b utton while the fan is in op eration to turn on
the air c ond itioner. The ind ic ator lig ht will c ome on.
Push it ag ain to turn off the air c ond itioner.
Heater operation Defrosting or defogging the windshield
HS0073
HS0072
To d irec t warm air to the wind shield and front d oor wind ows:
1. Set the air inlet selec tion lever to the “
” p osition.
2. Set the air outlet c ontrol d ial to the “
” p osition.
3. Turn the temp erature c ontrol d ial all the way rig ht.
4. Set the fan sp eed c ontrol lever to the hig hest sp eed .

Climate control4-7
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CONTINUED –
warmer than from the instrument p anel outlet.
1. Set the air inlet selec tion lever to the
“
” p osition.
2. Set the air outlet c ontrol d ial to the “
” p osition.
3. Set the temp erature c ontrol d ial to the d esired t emp erature level.
4. Set the fan sp eed c ontrol lever to the d esired sp eed .
Setting the temp erature c ontrol d ial fully turned t o the red area or b lue
area d ec reases the temp erature d ifferenc e b etween t he air from the
instrument p anel outlets and the air from the foot outlets.
Ventilation
WARNING
Continued operaton in the “
” position may fog up the win-
dows. Switch to the “
” position as soon as the outside
dusty condition clears.
HS0081
HS0080
To forc e outsid e air throug h the instrument p anel o utlets:
1. Set the air inlet selec tion lever to the “
” p osition.
2. Set the air outlet c ontrol d ial to the “
” p osition.
3. Set the temp erature c ontrol d ial all the way left .
4. Set the fan sp eed c ontrol lever to the d esired sp eed .
When d riving on a d usty road , set the air inlet c on trol lever to the
“
” p osition.

4-8

Air conditioner operation Cooling or dehumidifying
HS0081
HS0082
ON position
For c ooling and d ehumid ific ation of the p asseng er c omp artment, air
flows throug h the instrument p anel outlets:
1. Set the air inlet selec tion lever to the “
” p osition.
2. Set the air outlet c ontrol d ial to the “
” p osition.
3. Push the air c ond itioner b utton on.
4. Set the temp erature c ontrol d ial to the b lue area .
5. Set the fan sp eed c ontrol lever at the hig hest sp eed .
Defrosting or defogging CAUTION
The air conditioner compressor will not cycle on automatically when set the air outlet control dial to the “
” position. In
order to take advantage of the air conditioning system ’s ability to
dehumidify the air in the passenger compartment, it is also nec-
essary to depress the air conditioner button.

Climate control4-9
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CONTINUED –
HS0073
HS0072
ON position
To d irec t warm air to the wind shield and front d oor wind ows:
1. Set the air inlet selec tion lever to the “
” p osition.
2. Set the air outlet c ontrol d ial to the “ ” p osition.
3. Push the air c ond itioner b utton on.
4. Set the temp erature c ontrol d ial to the red area.
5. Set the fan sp eed c ontrol lever at the hig hest sp eed .
Operating tips for heater and air conditioner Cleaning ventilator grille
HS0083
Ventilator inlet grille
Always keep the front ventilator inlet g rille free of snow, leaves, or oth-
er ob struc tions to ensure effic ient heating and d ef rosting . Sinc e the
c ond enser is loc ated in front of the rad iator, this area should b e kep t

4-10c lean b ec ause c ooling p erformanc e is imp aired b y an
y ac c umulation
of insec ts and leaves on the c ond enser. Efficient cooling after parking in direct sunlight
After p arking in d irec t sunlig ht, d rive with the wi nd ows op en for a few
minutes to allow outsid e air to c irc ulate into the heated interior. This re-
sults in q uic ker c ooling b y the air c ond itioner. Ke ep the wind ows
c losed d uring the op eration of the air c ond itioner for maximum c ooling
effic ienc y. Lubrication oil circulation in the refrigerant circuit
Op erate the air c ond itioner c omp ressor at a low eng ine sp eed (at id le
or low d riving sp eed s) a few minutes eac h month d ur ing the off-sea-
son to c irc ulate its oil. Checking air conditioning system before summer season
Chec k the air c ond itioner unit for refrig erant leak s, hose c ond itions,
and p rop er op eration eac h sp ring . This c hec k is b es t p erformed b y
your SUBARU d ealer. Cooling and dehumidifying in high humidity and low tempera- ture weather condition
Und er c ertain weather c ond itions (hig h relative hum id ity, low temp era-
tures, etc .) a small amount of water vap or emission from the air outlets
may b e notic ed d uring c ooling or d ehumid ifying . Thi s c ond ition is nor-
mal and d oes not ind ic ate any p rob lem with the air c ond itioning sys-
tem. Air conditioner compressor shut-off when engine is heavily loaded
To imp rove ac c eleration and g as mileag e, the air c o nd itioner c om-
p ressor is d esig ned to temp orarily shut off d uring air c ond itioner op -
eration whenever the ac c elerator is fully d ep ressed . Suc h as d uring
rap id ac c eleration or when d riving on a steep up g ra d e.
Refrigerant for your climate control system
Your air c ond itioner uses ozone friend ly refrig eran t HFC134a. There-
fore, the method of ad d ing , c hang ing or c hec king th e refrig erant is
d ifferent from the method for CFC12 (freon). Consul t your SUBARU