2000 SUBARU FORESTER flat tire

ii
How to use this owner’s manual
Using your Owner’s manual
Before you op erate your vehic le, c arefully read thi s manual. To p rotec t
yourself and extend the servic e life of your vehic l e, follow the instruc tions
in this manual. Failure to ob serve these instruc tio ns may result in serious
injury and d amag e to your vehic le.
This manual is c omp osed of thirteen c hap ters. Eac h c hap ter b eg ins with
a b rief tab le of c ontents, so you c an usually tell at a g lanc e if that c hap -
ter c ontains the information you want. Chapter 1: Doors and Locks
This c hap ter informs you how to op erate the keys, l oc ks and wind ows.
Chapter 2: Seat, seat belt and SRS airbag
This c hap ter informs you how to use the seat and se at b elt and c ontains
p rec autions for the SRS airb ag .Chapter 3: Instruments and controls
This c hap ter informs you ab out the op eration of ins trument p anel ind ic a-
tors and how to use the instruments and other switc hes.
Chapter 4: Climate Control
This c hap ter informs you how to op erate the c limate c ontrol.
Chapter 5: Audio
This c hap ter informs you how to op erate your aud io system.
Chapter 6: Interior equipment
This c hap ter informs you how to op erate interior eq uip ment.
Chapter 7: Starting and operating
This c hap ter informs you how to start and op erate y our SUBARU.
Chapter 8: In case of emergency
This c hap ter informs you what to d o if you have a p rob lem while d riving ,
suc h as a flat tire or eng ine overheating .Chapter 9: Appearance care
This c hap ter informs you how to keep your SUBARU lo oking g ood .
Chapter 10: Maintenance and service
This c hap ter informs you how to keep your SUBARU ru nning p rop erly.

13-4Eng ine c oolant
10-13
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Eng ine exhaust g as (Carb on monoxid e) 7-7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Eng ine hood 1-28
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Eng ine oil 10-7
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Eng ine overheating 8-2
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Exterior c are 9-2
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F
Fastening the seatb elt 2-14
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Flat tires 8-6
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FM rec ep tion 5-4
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Fog lig ht (if eq uip p ed ) 10-48
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Fog lig ht switc h (if eq uip p ed ) 3-16
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Front d ifferential g ear oil (Automatic transmission vehic les) 10-22. . . . . . . . .
Front seats 2-2
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Front turn sig nal, p arking lig ht and front sid e mar ker lig ht 10-49. . . . . . . . . . . .
Front-wheel d rive warning lig ht (for AT vehic les) 3- 10
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Fuel ec onomy hints 7-9
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Fuel filler d oor and c ap 1-26
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Fuel g aug e 3-3
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Fuel req uirements 7-3
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Fuse p anel loc ated b ehind the c oin tray 11-4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Fuse p anel loc ated in the eng ine c omp artment 11-6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Fuses 10-42
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Fuses and c irc uits 11-4
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G
Gaug e p ac k ( if eq uip p ed) 6-8
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Gaug es 3-2
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Glove c omp artment 6-3
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GVWR and GAWR 7-48
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H
Hazard warning flasher 3-11, 8-2
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Head lig ht 10-47
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Heater op eration 4-4
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2-38
SRS airbag system servicing
WARNING
When discarding an airbag module or scrapping the entire car
damaged by a collision, consult your SUBARU dealer. The SRS airbag has no user-serviceable parts. Do not use
electrical test equipment on any circuit related to the SRS airbag
system. For required servicing of the SRS airbag, see your near-
est SUBARU dealer. Tampering with or disconnecting the sys-
tem’ s wiring could result in accidental inflation of the SRS airbag
or could make the system inoperative, which may result in seri-
ous injury. The wiring harnesses of the SRS airbag system arecovered with yellow insulation and the system connectors areyellow for easy identification.
CAUTION
If you need service or repair in areas listed below, we recommend
that you have an authorized SUBARU dealer perform the work. The
SRS airbag control module, impact sensors and airbag modules
are stored in these areas.
Under the center console
Inside each front fender
Steering wheel and column and nearby areas
Instrument panel and nearby areas
In the event that the SRS airbag is deployed, replacement of the sys-
tem should be performed only by an authorized SUBARU dealer.When the components of the SRS airbag system are replaced, useonly genuine SUBARU parts.
To ensure their long -term reliab ility, the SRS airb ag s must b e insp ec ted
b y a SUBARU d ealer ten years after the d ate of manu fac ture, whic h is
shown on the c ertific ation lab el attac hed to the d r iver’s d oor.

Starting and operating7-9
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CONTINUED –
Fuel economy hints
The following sug g estions will help to save your fu
el.
Selec t the p rop er g ear p osition for the sp eed and r oad c ond itions.
Avoid sud d en ac c eleration or d ec eleration. Always a c c elerate g ently
until you reac h the d esired sp eed . Then try to main tain that sp eed for as
long as p ossib le. Do not p ump the ac c elerator and avoid rac ing the en g ine.
Avoid unnec essary eng ine id ling .
Keep the eng ine p rop erly tuned .
Keep the tires inflated to the c orrec t p ressure sho wn on the tire p lac -
ard , whic h is loc ated und er the d oor latc h on the d river’s sid e. Low p res-
sure will inc rease tire wear and fuel c onsump tion. Use the air c ond itioner only when nec essary.
Keep the front and rear wheels in p rop er alig nment.
Avoid c arrying unnec essary lug g ag e or c arg o.
Preparing to drive
You should p erform the following c hec ks and ad justm ents every d ay b e-
fore you start d riving .
1. Chec k that all wind ows, mirrors, and lig hts are c lean and unob -
struc ted .
2. Chec k the ap p earanc e and c ond ition of the tires. Also c hec k tires for
p rop er inflation.
3. Look und er the vehic le for any sig n of leaks.
4. Chec k that the hood and rear g ate are fully c lose d .
5. Chec k the ad justment of the seat.
6. Chec k the ad justment of the insid e and outsid e mi rrors.
7. Fasten your seat b elt. Chec k that your p asseng ers have fastened
their seat b elts.
8. Chec k the op eration of the warning and ind ic ator lig hts when the ig ni-
tion switc h is turned to the “ON ” p osition.
9. Chec k the g aug es, ind ic ator and warning lig hts af ter starting the en-
g ine.

Starting and operating7-39
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CONTINUED –
b elts.
Carry some emerg enc y eq uip ment, suc h as a towing ro p e or c hain, a
shovel, wheel b loc ks, first aid kit and p ortab le p h one or c itizens b and
rad io. Drive c arefully. Do not take unnec essary risks b y d riving in d ang erous
areas or over roug h terrain. Slow d own and emp loy extra c aution at all times. Wh en d riving off-
road , you will not have the b enefit of marked traff ic lanes, b anked
c urves, traffic sig ns and the like. Do not d rive ac ross steep slop es. Instead , d rive ei ther straig ht up or
straig ht d own the slop es. A vehic le c an muc h more e asily tip over sid e-
ways than it c an end over end . Avoid d riving straig ht up or d own slop es
that are too steep . Avoid sharp turning maneuvers, esp ec ially at hig her sp eed s.
Do not g rip the insid e or sp okes of the steering wh eel. A b ad b ump
c ould jerk the wheel and injure your hand s. Instead d rive with your fin-
g ers and thumb s on the outsid e of the rim. If d riving throug h water, suc h as when c rossing sha llow streams, first
c hec k the d ep th of the water and the b ottom of the stream b ed for firm-
ness and ensure that the b ed of the stream is flat. Drive slowly and c om-
p letely throug h the stream. The water should b e sha llow enoug h that it
d oes not reac h the vehic le ’s und erc arriag e. Water entering the eng ine air
intake or the exhaust p ip e or water sp lashing onto elec tric al p arts may
d amag e your vehic le and may c ause it to stall. Neve r attemp t to d rive
throug h rushing water; reg ard less of its d ep th, it c an wash away the
g round from und er your tires, resulting in p ossib le loss of trac tion and
even vehic le rollover. Always c hec k your b rakes for effec tiveness immed iat ely after d riving
in sand , mud or water. Do this b y d riving slowly an d step p ing on the
b rake p ed al. Rep eat that p roc ess several times to d ry out the b rake
d isc s and b rake p ad s. Do not d rive or p ark over or near flammab le materia ls suc h as d ry
g rass or fallen leaves, as they may b urn easily. Th e exhaust system is
very hot while eng ine is running and rig ht after th e eng ine stop s. This
c ould c reate a fire hazard . After d riving throug h tall g rass, mud , roc k, sand , rivers, etc ., c hec k

Starting and operating7-47
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CONTINUED –

Vehicle capacity weight
HS0251
HS0250
Tire information label
The load c ap ac ity of your vehic le is d etermined b y weig ht, not b y avail-
ab le c arg o sp ac e. The maximum load you c an c arry in your vehic le is
shown as the Vehic le Cap ac ity Weig ht on the tire in formation lab el at-
tac hed to the d river ’s sid e d oor jamb . It inc lud es the total weig ht of d river
and all p asseng ers and their b elong ing s, any op tion al eq uip ment suc h
as a trailer hitc h, roof rac k or b ike c arrier, etc . , and the tong ue load of a
trailer.
The tire information lab el also shows rec ommend ed t ire inflation p ressure
und er full load ing and trailer towing c ond itions. A d just tire inflation p res-
sures ac c ord ing to the load ing c ond itions. For the tire inflation p ressures,
refer to the “Tires and wheel ” sec tion in Chap ter 10.

Starting and operating7-57
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CONTINUED –
n
Tires
Make sure that all the tires on your vehic le are p r op erly inflated to the
p ressure und er towing c ond itions as shown in follow ing tab le. These
tire inflations are also shown on the tire p lac ard loc ated on the left
c enter p illar of your vehic le. Trailer tire c ond iti on, size, load rating and
p rop er inflation p ressure should b e in ac c ord anc e w ith the trailer
manufac turer ’s sp ec ific ations.
Front
29 psi (200 kPa, 2.0 kg/cm 2
)
Rear41 psi (275 kPa, 2.8 kg/cm 2
)
Trailer towing tips CAUTION
Never exceed 45 mph (72 km/h) when towing a trailer in hilly
country on hot days. When towing a trailer, steering, stability, stopping distance and
braking performance will be different from normal operation. For
safety’ s sake, you should employ extra caution when towing a
trailer and you should never speed. You should also keep the fol-lowing tips in mind:
n Before starting out on a trip
Chec k that the vehic le and vehic le-to-hitc h mountin g are in g ood
c ond ition. If any p rob lems are ap p arent, d o not tow the trailer.
Chec k that the vehic le sits horizontally with the t railer attac hed . If
the vehic le is tip p ed sharp ly up at the front and d own at the rear,
c hec k the total trailer weig ht, GVW, GAWs and tong u e load ag ain,
then c onfirm that the load and its d istrib ution are ac c ep tab le.
Chec k that the tire p ressures are c orrec t.
Chec k that the vehic le and trailer are c onnec ted p r op erly. Confirm that
– the trailer tong ue is c onnec ted p rop erly to the hit c h b all.
– the trailer lig hts c onnec tor is c onnec ted p rop erly and trailer’s
b rake lig hts illuminate when the vehic le ’s b rake p ed al is p ressed ,
and that the trailer ’s turn sig nal lig hts flash when the vehic le ’s turn

8
In case of emergency Hazard warning flasher8-2
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Engine overheating 8-2
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Jump starting 8-3
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Flat tires 8-6
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Tire changing tools 8-10
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Towing 8-12
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Towing eyelets 8-14
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