2000 SUBARU FORESTER air conditioning

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.

4-8

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.

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

Climate control4-11
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CONTINUED –
d ealer for servic e. Rep airs need ed as a result of
using the wrong re-
frig erant are not c overed und er warranty.
Air filtration system (if equipped)
If your vehic le ’s air c ond itioning system is eq uip p ed with a op tion al air
filtration system, rep lac e the filter element ac c or d ing to the rep lac ement
sc hed ule shown b elow. This sc hed ule should b e follo wed to maintain the
filter ’s d ust c ollec tion ab ility. Und er extremely d usty c o nd itions, the filter
should b e rep lac ed more freq uently. Sinc e the filte r element is a visc ous
typ e, it is unnec essary to c lean or wash the elemen t. It is rec ommend ed
that you have your filter c hec ked or rep lac ed b y yo ur SUBARU d ealer.
For rep lac ement, use only a g enuine SUBARU air filt er kit.
Replacement schedule: Every 12 months or 7,500 miles (12,000 km) whichever comes first
NOTE The filter can influence the air conditioning, heating and defroster performance.
Replacement procedure
HS0254
HS0253
Screws
Old filter
Cooling unit
Filter cover and rubber seal
1. Remove the filter c over b y removing the two (2) s c rews.
2. Remove the old filter.