2000 SUBARU IMPREZA Shift

7-20NOTE
Immediately after a disconnected battery is reconnected or ATF (au- tomatic transmission fluid) is replaced, you may feel that the auto-matic transmission operation is somewhat unusual.This results from erasure or invalidation of data the on-board com-puter has collected and stored in memory to allow the transmissionto shift at the most appropriate times for the current condition ofyour vehicle. Optimized shifting will be restored as the vehicle con-tinues to be driven for a while.
Selector lever
OM-H0149
Release button With the brake pedal depressed, shift while pressing the button in Shift while pressing the button in Shift without pressing the button
HS0129
The selec tor lever has seven p ositions.
The release b utton must b e p ushed to selec t the “P ”, “R ”, or “2 ” p osi-
tions.
P (Park)
This p osition is for p arking the vehic le and starti ng the eng ine.
In this p osition, the transmission is mec hanic ally loc ked to p revent the
vehic le from rolling freely.
When you p ark the vehic le, first set the p arking b r ake fully, then shift
into the “P ” p osition. Do not hold the vehic le with only the tr ansmis-
sion.
A shift interloc k func tion is emp loyed in the autom atic transmission
system to ensure safe starting of the vehic le.

Starting and operating7-21
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CONTINUED –
To shift the selec tor lever from the
“P ” to the any other p osition, you
have to d ep ress the b rake p ed al fully then p ush the release b utton on
the selec tor lever when the ig nition switc h is in t he “ON ” p osition. This
p revents the vehic le from lurc hing when it is start ed .
If the shift lever d oes not move from the “P ” p osition with the b rake
p ed al d ep ressed and the release b utton p ushed in wh en the ig nition
switc h is in the “ON ” p osition, refer to the “Shift loc k release ” sec tion
in this c hap ter. R (Reverse)
This p osition is for b ac king the vehic le.
To shift from the “N ” to “R ” p osition, first stop the vehic le c omp letely
then move the lever to the “R ” p osition while p ushing the release b ut-
ton. N (Neutral)
WARNING
Do not drive the vehicle with the selector lever in the “N” (neutral)
position. Engine braking has no effect in this condition and the risk of an accident is consequently increased.
This p osition is for restarting a stalled eng ine.
In this p osition the wheels and transmission are no t loc ked . In this
p osition, the transmission is neutral; the vehic le will roll freely, even on
the slig htest inc line unless the p arking b rake or f oot b rake is on.
Avoid c oasting with the transmission neutral. Durin g c oasting , the
eng ine b raking d oes not ac t. D (Drive)
This p osition is for normal d riving .
The transmission automatic ally shifts into a suitab le g ear from 1st to
4th ac c ord ing to the vehic le sp eed and the ac c elera tion you req uire.
When more ac c eleration is req uired in this p osition , p ress the ac c eler-
ator p ed al fully to the floor and hold that p ositio n. The transmission
will automatic ally d ownshift to 3rd , 2nd or 1st g ea r. When you release

7-22the p ed al, the transmission will return to the orig
inal g ear p osition.
n While climbing a grade
When d riving up a hill, und esired up shift to 4th g e ar is p revented from
taking p lac e when the ac c elerator is released . This minimizes the
c hanc e of sub seq uent d ownshifting to a lower g ear w hen ac c elerat-
ing ag ain. This p revents rep eated up shifting and d o wnshifting result-
ing in a smoother op eration of the vehic le. NOTE
The transmission may downshift to 2nd or 1st gear, depending on the way the accelerator pedal is pressed to accelerate the vehicleagain. n While going down a hill
When d esc end ing a steep hill, d ep ressing the b rake p ed al will c ause
the transmission to d ownshift to 3rd g ear, thus ap p lying eng ine b rak-
ing . Reac c eleration for a short time will c ause the transmission to up -
shift normally. NOTE In some cases, depressing the brake pedal on a downhill grade
does not result in an automatic downshift to 3rd gear. This canhappen when the automatic transmission fluid temperature is
very low, for example, during driving shortly after the vehicle has
been parked for an extended period of time. When the ATF tem-perature has risen to a certain level, automatic downshift normal-ly takes place. In the meantime, downshift manually for enginebraking as required.Also, downshifting when braking downhill will not occur at
speeds above approximately 50 mph (80 km/h). 3 (Third)
This p osition is for using eng ine b raking when g oin g d own a hill or for
c limb ing a g rad e.
The transmission automatic ally shifts into a suitab le g ear from 1st to
3rd ac c ord ing to the vehic le sp eed and the ac c elera tion you req uire.

Starting and operating7-23
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CONTINUED –
When more ac c eleration is req uired in this p osition
, p ress the ac c eler-
ator p ed al fully to the floor and hold that p ositio n. The transmission
will automatic ally d ownshift to 2nd or 1st g ear. Wh en you release the
p ed al, the transmission will return to the orig inal g ear p osition.
2 (Second)
To shift from the “3 ” p osition, p ush the release b utton.
This p osition is for using eng ine b raking when g oin g d own a hill or for
c limb ing a steep g rad e.
In this p osition, the transmission hold s in the 2nd g ear.
Use this p osition when starting off form a stand sti ll on slip p ery road
surfac es suc h as mud or snow. It will ensure g reate r trac tion.
1 (First)
This p osition is for d riving up or d own very steep g rad es, or d riving
throug h mud or sand , or on slip p ery surfac es. In th is p osition, the
transmission hold s in the 1st g ear. Maximum speeds
WARNING
When shifting down a gear, ensure that the vehicle is not travel- ling at a speed exceeding the Maximum Allowable Speed for thegear which is about to be selected. Failure to observe this pre-caution can lead to engine over-revving and this in turn canresult in engine damage.In addition, sudden application of engine brakes when the vehicleis travelling on a slippery surface can lead to wheel locking; as a
consequence, control of the vehicle may be lost and the risk ofan accident increased.
The following tab les show the maximum sp eed s that a re p ossib le with
eac h d ifferent g ear. The tac hometer ’s (if so eq uip p ed ) need le will
enter the red area if these sp eed s are exc eed ed .
When shifting d own a g ear, it is imp ortant to c onfi rm that the c urrent
vehic le sp eed is not in exc ess of the Maximum Allow ab le Sp eed of

7-24the g ear whic h is ab out to b e selec ted .
Exc eed ing the Maximum Allowab le Sp eed s will result
in over-revving
of the eng ine. In ad d ition a p owerful eng ine b rake will eng ag e and
c ontrol of the vehic le may b e lost.
mph (km/h)
Vehicle
type2.2 liter models2 5 litertype
Gear except OUTBACK
SPORTSOUTBACKSPORTS2.5 liter
RS models
1st35 (56)35 (56)30 (49)
2nd62 (100)63 (102)57 (91)
3rd96 (155)98 (157)91 (147)
NOTE In order to prevent over-revving during acceleration of the
vehicle, the transmission will automatically shift to the next high- est gear if the Maximum Allowable Speed for the current gear isexceeded. Similarly, in order to prevent over-revving during deceleration
of the vehicle, the transmission will remain in the current gear ifthe speed of the vehicle is in excess of the Maximum AllowableSpeed for the gear to which the selector lever has been moved. Driving tips
Always ap p ly the foot or p arking b rake when the veh ic le is
stop p ed in the “D ”, “3 ”, “2 ”, “1 ”, or “R ” p osition.
Always set the p arking b rake when p arking your vehi c le. Do not
hold the vehic le with only the transmission. Do not keep the vehic le in a stationary p osition on an up hill g rad e
b y using the “D ”, “3 ”, “2 ” or “1 ” p osition. Use the b rake instead .
Shift lock release
If the selec tor lever d oes not move from the “P ” p osition with the b rake
p ed al d ep ressed and the release b utton p ushed in an d the ig nition
switc h in the “ON ” p osition, p erform the following step s:
To overrid e the shift loc k:
1. Set the p arking b rake and stop the eng ine.

Starting and operating7-29
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c elerate the vehic le. When the ac c elerator p ed al is
released , the ve-
hic le will return to and maintain the p revious c rui sing sp eed .
To temporarily cancel the cruise control
There are four ways to c anc el the c ruise c ontrol te mp orarily:
Dep ress the b rake p ed al.
Pull the c ontrol lever in the “CANCEL ” d irec tion.
Dep ress the c lutc h p ed al (manual transmission vehic les only).
Shift the selec tor lever into the “N ” p osition (automatic transmis-
sion vehic les only).
To resume the c ruise c ontrol after it has b een temp orarily c anc eled
and with vehic le sp eed of 25 mp h (40 km/h) or more, p ush the c ontrol
lever up ward in the “ACCEL, RESUME ” d irec tion to return to the orig i-
nal c ruising sp eed automatic ally. To turn off the cruise control
There are two ways to turn off the c ruise c ontrol:
Push the main switc h ag ain.
Turn the ig nition switc h to the “ACC ” p osition (b ut only when the
vehic le is c omp letely stop p ed ).
To change the cruising speed
n To increase the speed
1. Push the c ontrol lever up ward in the “ACCEL, RESUME ” d irec tion
and hold it until the vehic le reac hes the d esired s p eed .
The c ontrol lever c an b e used for inc reasing the c r uising sp eed slig ht-
ly. Pressing the c ontrol lever up ward in the “ACCEL, RESUME ” d irec -
tion inc reases the vehic le sp eed ab out 1 mp h (1.6 k m/h). Press the
c ontrol lever rep eated ly until the d esired sp eed is reac hed .
OR
1. Dep ress the ac c elerator p ed al to ac c elerate the v ehic le to the d e-
sired sp eed .
2. Push the c ontrol lever d ownward in the “SET, COAST ” d irec tion
onc e. Now the d esired sp eed is set and the vehic le will keep running
at that sp eed without d ep ressing the ac c elerator p e d al.

Starting and operating7-31
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CONTINUED –
CAUTION
Never drive while the parking brake is set because this will cause
unnecessary wear on the brake linings. Before starting to drive,always make sure that the parking brake has been fully released.
To set the p arking b rake, p ress the b rake p ed al fir mly and hold it d own
while fully p ulling up the p arking b rake lever.
HG0313
Release button
To release the p arking b rake, p ull the lever up sli g htly, p ress the release
b utton, then lower the lever while keep ing the b utt on p ressed .
When the p arking b rake is set while the eng ine is r unning , the p arking
b rake warning lig ht c omes on. After starting the ve hic le, b e sure that the
warning lig ht has g one out b efore the vehic le is d r iven. Refer to the “War-
ning and ind ic ator lig hts ” sec tion (c hap ter 3).
When p arking your vehic le, always set the p arking b rake firmly and p ut
the shift lever in the “1 ” (1st) for an up g rad e or “R ” (Reverse) for a d own
g rad e for manual transmission vehic les, or in the “P ” (Park) p osition for
automatic transmission vehic les.
Always set the p arking b rake firmly when p arking yo ur vehic le. Never
rely on the transmission alone to hold the vehic le.
For b etter p arking b rake p ower, d ep ress the b rake p ed al firmly while set-
ting the p arking b rake (Drum b rake only).

7-32
OM-H0162OM-H0161
When p arking on a hill, always turn the steering wh eel. When the vehic le
is head ed up the hill, the front wheels should b e t urned away from the
c urb . When fac ing d own hill, the front wheels shoul d b e turned into the
c urb . Braking Braking tips
WARNING
Never rest your foot on the brake pedal while driving. This can
cause dangerous overheating of the brakes and needless wearon the brake pads and linings.
When the brakes get wet
When d riving in rain, in p ud d le or after washing th e vehic le, the
b rakes may g et wet. As a result, b rake stop p ing d is tanc e will b e long -
er. To d ry the b rakes, d rive the vehic le at a safe sp eed while lig htly
d ep ressing the b rake p ed al to heat up the b rakes. Use of engine braking
Rememb er to make use of eng ine b raking in ad d ition to foot b raking .
When d esc end ing a g rad e, if only the foot b rake is used , the b rakes
may start working imp rop erly b ec ause of b rake fluid overheating ,
c aused b y overheated b rake p ad s. To help p revent th is, shift into a