2000 SUBARU IMPREZA warning

7-38enc e in hand ling , however, d uring extremely sharp t
urns or sud d en b rak-
ing . Therefore, when d riving d own a slop e or turnin g c orners, b e sure to
red uc e your sp eed and maintain an amp le d istanc e fr om other vehic les.
When rep lac ing a tire, make sure you use only the s ame size, c irc um-
ferenc e, c onstruc tion, b rand , and load rang e as the orig inal tires listed on
the tire p lac ard . Using other sizes, c irc umferenc e or c onstruc tion may re-
sult in severe mec hanic al d amag e to the d rive train of your vehic le and
may affec t rid e, hand ling , b raking , sp eed ometer/od o meter c alib ration, and
c learanc e b etween the b od y and tires. It also may b e d ang erous and lead
to loss of vehic le c ontrol. If you use a temp orary sp are tire to rep lac e a flat tire, b e sure to use
the orig inal temp orary sp are tire stored in the veh ic le. Using other sizes
may result in severe mec hanic al d amag e to the d rive train of your vehic le.
Always c hec k the c old tire p ressure b efore starting to d rive. The rec -
ommend ed tire p ressure is p rovid ed 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.
Tire c hains should always b e p lac ed on the front wh eels only.
There are some p rec autions that you must ob serve wh en towing your
vehic le. For d etail information, see the “Towing ” sec tion in c hap ter 8.
Off road driving
WARNING
Always maintain a safe driving speed according to the road
and weather conditions in order to avoid having an accident on asharp turn, during sudden braking or under other similar condi-tions. Always use the utmost care in driving – overconfidence
because you are driving an all wheel drive vehicle could easily lead to a serious accident.
All AWD models except OUTBACK SPORT
Your AWD vehic le is neither a c onventional off-road vehic le nor an all
terrain vehic le. It is a p asseng er c ar d esig ned p ri marily for on-road

7-42Heavy summer oil will c ause hard er starting .
Keep the d oor loc ks from freezing b y sq uirting them
with d eic er or
g lyc erin.
Forc ing a frozen d oor op en may d amag e or sep arate t he rub b er
weather strip s around the d oor. If the d oor is froz en, use hot water to
melt the ic e, and afterward s thoroug hly wip e the wa ter away.
Use a wind shield washer fluid that c ontains an anti freeze solution. Do
not use eng ine antifreeze or other sub stitutes b ec a use they may d am-
ag e the p aint of the vehic le. n Before driving your vehicle
Before entering the vehic le, remove any snow or ic e from your shoes
b ec ause that c ould make the p ed als slip p ery and d an g erous.
While warming up the vehic le b efore d riving , c hec k that the ac c elera-
tor p ed al, b rake p ed al, and all other c ontrols op er ate smoothly.
Clear away ic e and snow that has ac c umulated und er the fend ers to
avoid making steering d iffic ult. During severe wint er d riving , stop
when and where it is safe to d o so and c hec k und er the fend ers p eri-
od ic ally. n During cold weather below –4F ( –20 C)
If the eng ine is d iffic ult to start using the norma l method (without d e-
p ressing the ac c elerator p ed al), turn the ig nition switc h to the
“ START ” p osition while slig htly d ep ressing the ac c elerator p ed al.
n Parking in cold weather
WARNING
Snow can trap dangerous exhaust gases under your vehicle. Keep snow clear of the exhaust pipe and from around your
vehicle if you park the vehicle in snow with the engine running.
Do not use the p arking b rake when p arking for long p eriod s in c old
weather sinc e it c ould freeze in that p osition. Ins tead , ob serve the fol-
lowing :

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1. Plac e the shift lever in
“1 ” or “R ” for manual transmission vehic les,
and in “P ” for automatic transmission vehic les.
2. Use tire stop s und er the tires to p revent the veh ic le from moving .
When the vehic le is p arked in snow or when it snows , raise the wip er
b lad es off the g lass to p revent d amag e to them.
When the vehic le has b een left p arked after use on road s heavily c ov-
ered with snow, or has b een left p arked d uring a sn owstorm, ic ing
may d evelop on the b rake system, whic h c ould c ause p oor b raking
ac tion. Chec k for snow or ic e b uild up on the susp en sion, d isc b rakes
and b rake hoses und erneath the vehic le.
If there is c aked snow or ic e, remove it, b eing c ar eful not to d amag e
the d isc b rakes and b rake hoses and ABS harness. n Refueling in cold weather
To help p revent moisture from forming in the fuel s ystem and the risk
of its freezing , use of an antifreeze ad d itive in t he fuel tank is rec om-
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.)

7-44Avoid 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 d ial
turned fully to the rig ht until the wip er b lad es ar e c omp letely thawed
out. To thaw out the rear wip er b lad e, use the rear wind ow d efog g er.
When d riving in snow, if frozen snow starts to stic k on the surfac e of
the wind shield d esp ite wip er op eration, use the d ef roster with the air-
flow c ontrol d ial in “
” and the temp erature c ontrol d ial turned fully
to the rig ht. After the wind shield g ets warmed enou g h to melt the fro-
zen snow on it, wash it away using the wind shield w asher.
Snow stuc k on the wip er arm p revents the wip er from working effec -
tively. If snow is stuc k on the wip er arm, p ull off the road to a safe
p lac e, then remove it. If you stop the c ar at the s id e of the road , use
the hazard warning flasher to alert other d rivers.
We rec ommend use of non-freezing typ e wip er b lad es d uring the sea-
sons you c ould have snow and sub -zero temp erature.

Starting and operating7-45
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Snow tires
WARNING
When replacing a tire, make sure you use only the same size,
circumference, construction, brand, and load range as the origi- nal tires listed on the tire placard. Using other sizes, circumfer-
ences or construction may result in severe mechanical damageto the drive train of your vehicle and may affect ride, handling,braking, speedometer/odometer calibration, and clearancebetween the body and tires. It also may be dangerous and lead toloss of vehicle control. Do not use a combination of radial, belted bias or bias tires
since it may cause dangerous handling characteristics and leadto an accident.
Your vehic le is eq uip p ed with “all season tires ” whic h are d esig ned to
p rovid e an ad eq uate measure of trac tion, hand ling a nd b raking p erfor-
manc e in year-round d riving . In winter, it may b e p ossib le to enhanc e
p erformanc e throug h use of tires d esig ned sp ec ific a lly for winter d riving
c ond itions.
If you c hoose to install winter tires on your vehic le, b e sure to use the
same tire size, c onstruc tion, c irc umferenc e, b rand , and load rang e as
the orig inal tires. The rec ommend ed tire sizes and p ressure are p rovid ed
on the tire lab el, whic h c an b e found on the d river ’s sid e d oor jamb un-
d er the latc h.
Rememb er to d rive with c are at all times reg ard less of the typ e of tires on
your vehic le.
Tire chains
CAUTION
Tire chains cannot be fitted with P205/60R15 tires for OUTBACKand P205/55R16 tires for RS because of lack of clearance
between the tire and body.

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Loading your vehicle
WARNING
Never allow passengers to ride on the folded rear seatback in
the trunk or in the cargo area. Doing so may result in serious in-
jury. Never stack luggage or other cargo higher than the top of the
seatback because it could tumble forward and injure passengersin the event of a sudden stop or accident. Keep luggage or cargo
low, as close to the floor as possible. When you carry something inside the vehicle, secure it when-
ever you can to prevent it from being thrown around inside the
vehicle during sudden stops, sharp turns or in an accident. Do not pile heavy loads on the roof. These loads raise the
vehicle’ s center of gravity and make it more prone to tip over.
Secure skis and other lengthy items properly to prevent them
from shooting forward and causing serious injury during a sud-den stop. Never exceed the maximum load limit. If you do, some parts on
your vehicle can break, or it can change the way your vehicle
handles. This could result in loss of control and cause personal
injury. Also, overloading can shorten the life of your vehicle. Do not place anything on the rear shelf behind the rear seat-
back (for sedan and coupe) or the extended luggage cover (for
wagon and OUTBACK SPORT). Such items could tumble forward
in the event of a sudden stop or a collision. This could cause
serious injury.
CAUTION
Do not carry spray cans, containers with flammable or corrosiveliquids or any other dangerous items inside the vehicle.
NOTE
For better fuel economy, do not carry unneeded cargo.

Starting and operating7-51
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front and ap p roximately 40 p erc ent in the rear. Als
o, d istrib ute the
load as evenly as p ossib le on b oth the left and rig ht sid es.
To c hec k b oth GVWR and GAWR and to c onfirm that the total weig ht
and weig ht d istrib ution are within safe d riving lim its, you should have
your vehic le and trailer weig hed at a c ommerc ial we ig hing station.
Be sure that all c arg o is firmly sec ured to p revent a c hang e in weig ht
d istrib ution while d riving .
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 system when installing a hitch or other trailer towing equip-ment. Adequate size trailer brakes are required when the trailer and
its cargo exceed 700 lbs (318 kg) total weight.
Choose a p rop er hitc h for your vehic le and trailer. SUBARU d oes not of-
fer ac c essory trailer hitc hes. Consult with a p rofe ssional hitc h sup p lier to
assist you in c hoosing an ap p rop riate hitc h for you r vehic le. Be sure to
follow all of the hitc h manufac turer ’s instruc tions for installation and use.

7-52
Trailer lights CAUTION
Direct splicing or other improper connection may damage your
vehicle’ s electrical system and cause a malfunction of your ve-
hicle lighting system.
Consult your authorized SUBARU d ealer c onc erning th e c onnec tion
of wires for trailer lig hts. Chec k for c orrec t op er ation of the turn sig -
nals and b rake lig hts and p arking lig hts eac h time you hitc h up .
Side mirrors
After hitc hing a trailer to your vehic le, c hec k tha t the stand ard sid e
mirrors p rovid e a g ood rearward field of view witho ut sig nific ant b lind
sp ots. If sig nific ant b lind sp ots oc c ur with the ve hic le’s stand ard sid e
mirrors, use towing mirrors that c onform with Fed er al, state/p rovinc e
and /or other ap p lic ab le reg ulations. Tires
WARNING
Never tow a trailer when the temporary spare tire is used. The temporary spare tire is not designed to sustain the towing load.
Use of the temporary spare tire when towing can result in failureof the spare tire and/or less stability of the vehicle and may leadto an accident.
Make sure that all the tires on your vehic le are p r op erly inflated to the
p ressure sp ec ified on the tire p lac ard loc ated on t he left c enter p illar
of your vehic le.