2000 SUBARU IMPREZA Owners Manual

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 operating7-25
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HS0131HS0130
2. Take out the sc rewd river from the tool b ag .
3. Op en the c enter c onsole and remove two sc rews sec uring the p ark-
ing b rake lever c over.
4. Remove the p arking b rake lever c over b y p ulling u p on the c over’s
rear end .
5. Raise the rear end of the selec tor lever c over.
HS0132
Shaft portion of the screwdriver
6. Draw the shaft p ortion of the sc rewd river from th e g rip and then insert
the shaft into the hole.
7. Push d own on the shaft while p ushing the release b utton and move
the selec tor lever from the “P ” to the “N ” p osition.
8. Remove the shaft from the hole. Dep ress the b rake p ed al and start
the eng ine.
Take your vehic le to the nearest SUBARU d ealer imme d iately to have the
system rep aired .

7-26Rear viscous limited slip differential (For RS models)
CAUTION
Never start the engine while a tire on one side is jacked up, as
the vehicle may move. If one rear tire is spinning in mud, avoid continued spinning at
high speed as this could adversely affect the LSD. If a different size rear tire is temporarily used (as in an emer-
gency), it will adversely affect the LSD. Always replace it with aregular size tire as soon as possible.
The LSD p rovid es op timum d istrib ution of p ower ac c o rd ing to the d iffer-
enc e in revolutions b etween the rig ht and left rear wheels that may b e
c aused b y c ertain d riving c ond itions, thereb y imp ro ving d riving stab ility
on snow-c overed , mud d y or other slip p ery road s. Steering Tilt steering wheel
WARNING
Do not adjust the steering wheel tilt position while driving. This
may cause loss of vehicle control and result in personal injury.

Starting and operating7-27
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Tilt adjustment
HS0134
1. Ad just the seat p osition. Refer to “Front seat ” sec tion (c hap ter 2).
2. Pull the tilt loc k lever d own.
3. Move the steering wheel to the d esired level.
4. Push the lever up to loc k the steering wheel in p lac e.
5. Make sure that the steering wheel is sec urely loc ked b y moving it
up and d own.
Power steering
CAUTION
Do not hold the steering wheel at the fully locked position left orright for more than five seconds. This may damage the powersteering pump.
The p ower steering system op erates only when the en g ine is running .
If you lose p ower steering assist b ec ause the eng in e stop s or the system
fails to func tion, you c an steer b ut it will take m uc h more effort.

7-28Cruise control (if equipped)
WARNING
Do not use the cruise control under any of the following condi- tions. This may cause loss of vehicle control:
driving up or down a steep grade
driving on slippery or winding roads
driving in heavy traffic
Cruise c ontrol enab les you to maintain a c onstant v ehic le sp eed without
hold ing your foot on the ac c elerator p ed al and it i s op erative when the
vehic le sp eed is 25 mp h (40 km/h) or more.
Make sure the main switc h is turned “OFF ” when the c ruise c ontrol is not
in use to avoid unintentionally setting the c ruise c ontrol.
To set cruise control
HG0312
Cruise control lever
HB3002BB
1. Push the “CRUISE ” main switc h.
2. Dep ress the ac c elerator p ed al until the vehic le r eac hes to the d e-
sired sp eed .
3. Push the c ontrol lever d ownward in the “SET, COAST ” d irec tion
and release it. Then release the ac c elerator p ed al.
The vehic le will maintain the d esired sp eed .
Vehic le sp eed c an b e temp orarily inc reased while d r iving with the
c ruise c ontrol ac tivated . Simp ly d ep ress the ac c ele rator p ed al to ac -

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.

7-30n
To decrease the speed
1. Push the c ontrol lever d ownward in the “SET, COAST ” 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 d ec reasing the c ruising sp eed
slig htly. Pressing the c ontrol lever d ownward in th e “SET, COAST ”
d irec tion d ec reases the vehic le sp eed ab out 1 mp h ( 1.6 km/h). Press
the c ontrol lever rep eated ly until the d esired sp ee d is reac hed .
OR
1. Dep ress the b rake p ed al to release c ruise c ontrol temp orarily.
2. When the sp eed d ec reases to the d esired sp eed , p r ess 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 t hat sp eed without
d ep ressing the ac c elerator p ed al.
Parking your vehicle
WARNING
Never leave unattended children or pets in the vehicle. They
could accidentally injure themselves or others through inadver- tent operation of the vehicle. Also, on hot or sunny days, the tem-perature in a closed vehicle could quickly become high enoughto cause severe or possibly fatal injuries to them. Do not park the vehicle over flammable materials such as dry
grass, waste paper or rags, as they may burn easily if they comenear hot engine or exhaust system parts. Always stop the engine if you take a nap in the vehicle. If en-
gine exhaust gas enters the passenger compartment, occupantsin the vehicle could die from carbon monoxide (CO) contained inthe exhaust gas.