2000 SUBARU IMPREZA oil level

3-6

Charge warning light
If this lig ht c omes on when the eng ine is running , it may ind ic ate that the
c harg ing system is not working p rop erly.
If the lig ht c omes on while d riving or d oes not g o out after the eng ine
starts, stop the eng ine at the first safe op p ortuni ty and c hec k the alterna-
tor b elt. If the b elt is loose, b roken or if the b e lt is in g ood c ond ition b ut
the lig ht remains on, c ontac t your nearest SUBARU d ealer immed iately.
Oil pressure warning light
CAUTION
Do not operate the engine with the oil pressure warning light on. This may cause serious engine damage.
If this lig ht c omes on when the eng ine is running , it may ind ic ate that the
eng ine oil p ressure is low and the lub ric ating syst em is not working p rop -
erly.
If the lig ht c omes on while d riving or d oes not g o out after the eng ine
starts, stop the eng ine at the first safe op p ortuni ty and c hec k the eng ine
oil level. If the oil level is low, ad d oil immed ia tely. If the eng ine oil is at
the p rop er level b ut the lig ht remains on, c ontac t your nearest SUBARU
d ealer immed iately. Brake system warning light
WARNING
Driving with the brake system warning light on is dangerous.
This indicates your brake system may not be working properly. If the light remains on, have the brakes inspected by a SUBARU
dealer immediately. If at all in doubt about whether the brakes are operating prop-
erly, do not drive the vehicle. Have your vehicle towed to the
nearest SUBARU dealer for repair.
(Canada)
BRAKE (US)

7-10Preparing 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 , trunk and rear g ate are full y c losed .
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. NOTE Engine oil, engine coolant, brake fluid, washer fluid and other fluid
levels should be checked daily, weekly or at fuel stops.
Driving in foreign countries
When p lanning to use your vehic le in another c ountr y:
Confirm the availab ility of the c orrec t fuel. (Refe r to the “Fuel req uire-
ment ” sec tion in this c hap ter.)
Comp ly with all reg ulations and req uirements of eac h c ountry.
Periodic inspections
To keep your vehic le in the b est c ond ition at all t imes, always have the
rec ommend ed maintenanc e servic es listed in the main tenanc e sc hed ule
in the “Warranty and Maintenanc e Booklet ” p erformed at the sp ec ified
time or mileag e intervals.

8-6mod erate sp eed . Then start the eng ine of the vehic l
e that has the d is-
c harg ed b attery.
6. When finished , c arefully d isc onnec t the c ab les in exac tly the re-
verse ord er.
Flat tires
WARNING
Do not jack up the vehicle on an incline or a loose road sur-
face. The jack can come out of the jacking point or sink into theground and this can result in a severe accident. Use only the jack provided with your vehicle. The jack sup-
plied with the vehicle is designed only for changing a tire. Neverget under the vehicle while supporting the vehicle with this jack. Always turn the engine off before raising the flat tire off the
ground using the jack. Never swing or push the vehicle sup-ported with the jack. The jack can come out of the jacking pointdue to a jolt and this can result in a severe accident. Do not use oil or grease on the wheel studs or nuts when the
spare tire is installed. This could cause the nuts to become looseand lead to an accident. Never place a tire or tire changing tools in the passenger
compartment after changing wheels. In a sudden stop or colli-
sions, loose equipment could strike occupants and cause injury.Store the tire and all tools in the proper place.
If you have a flat tire while d riving , never b rake sud d enly; keep d riving
straig ht ahead while g rad ually red uc ing sp eed . Then slowly p ull off the
road to a safe p lac e.
1. Park on a hard , level surfac e, whenever p ossib le, then stop the en-
g ine.
2. Set the p arking b rake sec urely and shift a manual transmission ve-
hic le in reverse or an automatic transmission vehic le in the “P ” (Park)
p osition.

In case of emergency8-15
–
CONTINUED –
CAUTION
When transmission failure occurs, transport your vehicle on a flat-bed truck.
HG0109
1. Chec k the transmission and d ifferential oil level s and ad d oil to
b ring it to the up p er level if nec essary.
2. Release the p arking b rake and p ut the transmissio n in neutral.
3. The ig nition switc h should b e in the “ACC ” p osition while the ve-
hic le is b eing towed .
4. Take up slac k in the towline slowly to p revent d a mag e to the ve-
hic le. Towing with all wheels on the ground
WARNING
Never turn the ignition switch to the “LOCK” position while the
vehicle is being towed because the steering wheel and the direc- tion of the wheels will be locked. Remember that the brake booster and power steering do not
function when the engine is not running. Because the engine isturned off, it will take greater effort to operate the brake pedal andsteering wheel.

8-16CAUTION
If transmission failure occurs, transport your vehicle on a flat-
bed truck. For AWD vehicles or FWD vehicles with automatic transmis-
sion, the traveling speed must be limited to less than 20 mph (30km/h) and the traveling distance to less than 31 miles (50 km). Forgreater speeds and distances, transport your vehicle on a flat-bed truck. For OUTBACK models, be sure to use a flexible cable for tow-
ing purpose and wrap the towing cable with cloth to prevent dam-
age to the bumper.
OM-H0180
We d o not rec ommend this method of towing . Use this method only
when towing servic e b y a SUBARU d ealer or a c ommerc ial towing
servic e is not availab le.
1. Chec k the transmission and d ifferential oil level s and ad d oil to
b ring it to the up p er level if nec essary.
2. Release the p arking b rake and p ut the transmissio n in neutral.
3. The ig nition switc h should b e in the “ACC ” p osition while the ve-
hic le is b eing towed .
4. Take up slac k in the towline slowly to p revent d a mag e to the ve-
hic le.

10-6Engine compartment overview
1 Manual transmission oil level
g aug e (MT) (p ag e 10-19) or
Differential g ear oil level
g aug e (AT) (p ag e 10-22)
2 Air c leaner element
(p ag e 10-16)
3 Clutc h fluid reservoir
(p ag e 10-28)
4 Automatic transmission fluid
level g aug e (p ag e 10-20)
5 Brake fluid reservoir
(p ag e 10-26)
6 Fuel filter 7
Wind shield washer tank
(p ag e 10-31)
8 Fuse b ox (p ag e 10-44)
9 Battery (p ag e 10-29)
Q Eng ine oil filler c ap
(p ag e 10-7)
W Eng ine c oolant reservoir
(p ag e 10-13)
E Eng ine oil level g aug e
(p ag e 10-7)
R Power steering fluid reservoir
(p ag e 10-25)
T Rad iator c ap (p ag e 10-13) HGA017BB

Maintenance and service10-7
–
CONTINUED –
Engine oil
Checking the oil level
Chec k the eng ine oil level at eac h fuel stop .
OM-H0189
HG0351
Upper level Lower levelNotch
1. Park the vehic le on a level surfac e and stop the eng ine.
2. Pull out the d ip stic k, wip e it c lean, and insert it ag ain.
3. Be sure the d ip stic k is c orrec tly inserted until it stop s with the
g rap hic symb ol on its top ap p earing as shown in the illustra-
tion.
4. Pull out the d ip stic k ag ain and c hec k the oil lev el on it. If it is b elow
the lower level, ad d oil to b ring the level up to t he up p er level.
CAUTION
Use only engine oil with the recommended grade and viscosity.
If you c hec k the oil level just after stop p ing the eng ine, wait a few min-
utes for the oil to d rain b ac k into the oil p an b ef ore c hec king the level.
Just after d riving or while the eng ine is warm, the eng ine oil level
read ing may b e in a rang e b etween the up p er level a nd the notc h
mark. This is c aused b y thermal exp ansion of the en g ine oil.
To p revent overfilling the eng ine oil, d o not ad d a ny ad d itional oil
ab ove the up p er level when the eng ine is c old .

10-8
Changing the oil and oil filter
Chang e the oil and oil filter ac c ord ing to the main tenanc e sc hed ule in
the “Warranty and Maintenanc e Booklet ”.
The eng ine oil and oil filter must b e c hang ed more freq uently than
listed in the maintenanc e sc hed ule when d riving on d usty road s,
when short trip s are freq uently mad e, when towing a trailer or when
d riving in extremely c old whether.
1. Warm up the eng ine b y letting the eng ine id le for ab out 10 minutes
to ease d raining the eng ine oil.
2. Park the vehic le on a level surfac e and stop the eng ine.
3. Remove the oil filler c ap .
OM-H0190Drain plug
4. Drain out the eng ine oil b y removing the d rain p l ug while the en-
g ine is still warm. The used oil should b e d rained into an ap p rop riate
c ontainer and d isp osed of p rop erly.
WARNING
Be careful not to burn yourself with hot engine oil.
5. Wip e the seating surfac e of the d rain p lug with a c lean c loth and
tig hten it sec urely with a new sealing washer after the oil has c om-
p letely d rained out.