2000 SUBARU IMPREZA Owners Manual

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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.

7-48
Vehicle capacity weight
HG0278
HG0347 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. GVWR and GAWR (Gross Vehicle Weight Rating and
Gross Axle Weight Rating)
HG0342
Certification plate
The c ertific ation p late attac hed to the d river
’s sid e d oor jamb shows
GVWR (Gross Vehic le Weig ht Rating ) and GAWR (Gross Axle Weig ht

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Rating ).
The GVW (Gross Vehic le Weig ht) must never exc eed th
e GVWR. GVW is
the c omb ined total of weig ht of the vehic le, fuel, d river, all p asseng ers,
lug g ag e, any op tional eq uip ment and trailer tong ue load . Therefore, the
GVW c hang es d ep end ing on the situation. The GVWR eq uals Curb
Weig ht (ac tual weig ht of your vehic le – inc lud ing stand ard eq uip ment,
fluid s, emerg enc y tools and sp are tire assemb ly) p l us the vehic le c ap ac -
ity weig ht.
In ad d ition, the total weig ht ap p lied to eac h axle (GAW) must never ex-
c eed the GAWR. The front and rear GAWs c an b e ad jus ted b y reloc ating
lug g ag e insid e the vehic le.
Even if the total weig ht of your lug g ag e is lower t han the vehic le c ap ac ity
weig ht, either front or rear GAW may exc eed the GAW R, d ep end ing on
the d istrib ution of the lug g ag e.
If you c arry heavy load s in the vehic le, you should c onfirm that GVW and
front and rear GAWs are within the GVWR and GAWR b y p utting your
vehic le on a vehic le sc ale, found at a c ommerc ial w eig hing station.
Do not use rep lac ement tires with a lower load rang e than the orig inals
b ec ause they may lower the GVWR and GAWR limitation s. Rep lac ement
tires with a hig her load rang e than the orig inals d o not inc rease the
GVWR and GAWR limitations.
Trailer towing
Your c ar is d esig ned and intend ed to b e used p rimar ily as a p asseng er-
c arrying vehic le. Towing a trailer p uts ad d itional load s on your c ar’s en-
g ine, d rive train, b rakes, tires and susp ension and has an ad verse effec t
on fuel ec onomy.
If you d o d ec id e to tow a trailer, your safety and satisfac tion d ep end
up on p rop er use of c orrec t eq uip ment and c autious o p eration of your ve-
hic le. Seek the ad vic e of a p rofessional trailer an d /or hitc h sup p lier to
assist you in p urc hasing a hitc h and other nec essar y towing eq uip ment
ap p rop riate for your vehic le. In ad d ition, b e sure to follow the instruc tions
on c orrec t installation and use p rovid ed b y the tra iler and other towing

7-50eq uip ment manufac turers.
SUBARU assumes no resp onsib ility for injuries or ve
hic le d amag e that
result from trailer towing eq uip ment, or from any e rrors or omissions in
the instruc tions ac c omp anying suc h eq uip ment or for your failure to fol-
low the p rop er instruc tions.
Warranties and maintenance
SUBARU warranties d o not ap p ly to vehic le d amag e or malfunc tion
c aused b y trailer towing . If you use your vehic le t o tow a trailer, more
freq uent maintenanc e will b e req uired d ue to the ad d itional load .
Und er no c irc umstanc es should a trailer b e towed wi th a new vehic le
or a vehic le with any new p ower train c omp onent (en g ine, transmis-
sion, d ifferential, wheel b earing s, etc .) for the f irst 1,000 miles (1,600
km) of d riving . Maximum load limits CAUTION
Never exceed the maximum load limits explained below. Exceed- ing the maximum load limits could cause personal injury and/or
vehicle damage.
The total trailer weig ht (trailer weig ht p lus its c arg o weig ht) with
b rakes must never exc eed 1,500 lb s (681 kg ).
The Gross Vehic le Weig ht (i.e., the c omb ined weig ht of vehic le, d river,
p asseng ers, lug g ag e, trailer hitc h, trailer tong ue load and any other
op tional eq uip ment installed on your vehic le) must never exc eed the
Gross Vehic le Weig ht Rating (GVWR). GVWR is shown o n the c ertifi-
c ation p late loc ated on the left c enter p illar of y our vehic le.
The total weig ht ap p lied to eac h axle must never ex c eed the Gross
Axle Weig ht Rating (GAWR). The front and rear GAWR are also shown
on the c ertific ation p late.
The maximum trailer tong ue load must never exc eed 1 50 lb s. (68 kg ).
The tong ue load c an b e ad justed b y p rop er d istrib ut ion of the load in
the trailer. Never load the trailer with more weig h t in the b ac k than the
front; ap p roximately 60 p erc ent of the trailer load should b e in the

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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.

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HG0278
Trailer tire c ond ition, size, load rating and p rop e r inflation p ressure
should b e in ac c ord anc e with the trailer and tire m anufac turer’s sp ec i-
fic ations.
In the event your vehic le g ets a flat tire when tow ing a trailer, ask a
c ommerc ial road servic e to rep air the flat tire.
If you c arry a reg ular size sp are tire in your vehi c le or trailer as a p re-
c aution ag ainst g etting a flat tire, b e sure that t he sp are tire is firmly
sec ured . Trailer towing tips
When towing a trailer, steering , stab ility, stop p in g d istanc e and b rak-
ing p erformanc e will vary from normal op eration. Fo r safety’s sake,
you should emp loy extra c aution when towing a trail er and you should
never sp eed .
You should also keep the following tip s in mind :
Suffic ient time should b e taken to learn the “feel ” of the vehic le/trailer
c omb ination b efore starting out on a trip . In an ar ea free of traffic ,
p rac tic e turning , stop p ing and b ac king up .
You should allow for c onsid erab ly more stop p ing d is tanc e when tow-
ing a trailer. Avoid sud d en b raking b ec ause it may result in skid d ing
or jac kknifing and loss of c ontrol.
Avoid ab rup t starts and sud d en ac c elerations. If yo ur vehic le has a
manual transmission, always start out in 1st g ear a nd release the

7-54c lutc h at mod erate eng ine rp m.
Avoid uneven steering , sharp turns and rap id lane c
hang es.
Slow d own b efore turning . Make a long er than normal turning rad ius
b ec ause the trailer wheels will b e c loser than the vehic le wheels to
the insid e of the turn. In a tig ht turn, the traile r c ould hit your vehic le.
Crosswind s will ad versely affec t the hand ling of yo ur vehic le and trail-
er, c ausing sway. Crosswind s c an b e d ue to weather c ond itions or the
p assing of larg e truc ks or b uses. If swaying oc c urs , firmly g rip the
steering wheel and immed iately slow d own g rad ually.
When p assing other vehic les, c onsid erab le d istanc e is req uired b e-
c ause of the ad d ed weig ht and leng th c aused b y atta c hing a trailer to
your vehic le.
Before g oing d own a steep hill, slow d own and shift into low g ear in
ord er to utilize the eng ine b raking effec t and p rev ent overheating of
your vehic le ’s b rakes. Do not make sud d en d ownshifts.
When g oing up hill on hot d ays, turn off your air c o nd itioner to red uc e
the p ossib ility of eng ine overheating c aused b y the ad d ed load of the
trailer.
Pay attention to your water temp erature g aug e.
If your vehic le has an automatic transmission, avoi d using the ac c el-
erator p ed al to stay stationary on an up hill slop e instead of using the
p arking b rake or foot b rake. This may c ause the tra nsmission fluid to
overheat.
Always b loc k the wheels und er b oth vehic le and trai ler when p arking .
Ap p ly the p arking b rake firmly. You should not p ark on a hill or slop e.
But if p arking on a hill or slop e c annot b e avoid ed , you should take
the following step s:
1. Ap p ly the b rakes and hold the p ed al d own.
2. Have someone p lac e wheel b loc ks und er b oth the ve hic le and
trailer wheels.
3. When the wheel b loc ks are in p lac e, release the r eg ular b rakes
slowly until the b loc ks ab sorb the load .