2000 SUBARU LEGACY Owners Manual

Driving tips8-15
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Rocking the vehicle
If you must roc k the vehic le to free it from snow, sand , or mud , d ep ress
the ac c elerator p ed al slig htly and move the selec to r lever b ac k and forth
b etween “D ” and “R ” rep eated ly. Do not rac e the eng ine. For the b est
p ossib le trac tion, avoid sp inning the wheels when t rying to free the ve-
hic le.
When the road surfac e is extremely slip p ery, you c a n ob tain b etter trac -
tion b y starting the vehic le with the transmission in 2nd than 1st (b oth for
MT and AT).
Refer to the “Automatic transmission ” sec tion in c hap ter 7 for information
on hold ing the transmission in 2nd p osition.
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

8-16injury. Also, overloading can shorten the life of your vehicle.
Do not place anything on the rear shelf behind the rear seat-
back (for sedan) or the extended luggage cover (for station wag-on). 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. Vehicle capacity weight
HB0382
HB8015BA
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.

Driving tips8-17
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GVWR and GAWR (Gross Vehicle Weight Rating and
Gross Axle Weight Rating)
HBF019BB
The c ertific ation lab el attac hed to the d river ’s sid e d oor shows GVWR
(Gross Vehic le Weig ht Rating ) and GAWR (Gross Axle Weig ht 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

8-18GVWR and GAWR limitations.
Roof rail and crossbar (if equipped)
CAUTION
For cargo carrying purposes, the roof rail must be used to-
gether with a roof crossbar kit and the appropriate carrying at- tachment. The roof rail must never be used alone to carry cargo.Otherwise, damage to the roof or paint or a dangerous road haz-ard due to loss of cargo could result. When using the roof crossbar kit, make sure that the total
weight of the crossbars, carrying attachment and cargo does not
exceed the maximum load limit. Overloading may cause damageto the vehicle and create a safety hazard.
HB8016BB
The roof rail is not d esig ned to c arry c arg o b y its elf. Carg o c an b e c ar-
ried after sec uring the roof c rossb ar kit to the ro of rail and installing the
ap p rop riate c arrying attac hment. When installing th e roof c rossb ar kit,
follow the manufac turer ’s instruc tions.
Roof slats are not d esig ned to c arry or hold c arg o, b ut are d esig ned as
the p rotec tor to p revent the roof from b eing d amag e d b y c arg o while it is
b eing load ed and unload ed on the roof c rossb ar or o n any c arrying
attac hment.
When you c arry c arg o on the roof using the roof c ro ssb ar kit and a c arry-

Driving tips8-19
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ing attac hment, never exc eed the maximum load limit
exp lained b elow.
You should also b e c areful that your vehic le d oes n ot exc eed the Gross
Vehic le Weig ht Rating (GVWR) and front and rear Gro ss Axle Weig ht Rat-
ing (GAWR). See the “Load ing your vehic le ” sec tion in this c hap ter for
information on load ing c arg o into or onto your vehi c le. The maximum
load limit of the c arg o, c rossb ars and c arrying att ac hment must not ex-
c eed 100 lb . (45 kg ). Plac e the heaviest load at th e b ottom, nearest the
roof, and evenly d istrib ute the c arg o. Always p rop e rly sec ure all c arg o.
Installing carrying attachments on the crossbars
When installing any c arrying attac hment suc h as a b ike c arrier, ski
c arrier, kayak c arrier, c arg o b asket, etc . on the c rossb ars, follow the
manufac turer ’s instruc tions and make sure that the attac hment is se-
c urely fixed to the c rossb ars. Use only attac hments d esig ned sp ec ifi-
c ally for the c rossb ars. A set of the c rossb ars is d esig ned to c arry
load s (c arg o and attac hment) of not more than 100 lb. (45 kg). Before
op erating the vehic le, make sure that the c arg o is p rop erly sec ured
on the attac hment. NOTE Remember that the vehicle ’s center of gravity is altered with the
weight of the load on the roof, thus affecting the driving charac- teristics.
Drive carefully. Avoid rapid starts, hard cornering and abruptstops. Crosswind effects will be increased. Removal and installation of the crossbars CAUTION
Do not carry cargo on the roof when the crossbars are removed. Luggage on the roof will be thrown forward or backward in sud-den stops or rapid accelerations, resulting in a dangerous roadhazard.
The c rossb ars c an b e removed when you d o not use th e roof to c arry
c arg o.

8-20n
To remove the crossbar
1. Loosen and remove the T –30 torx head sc rew from the top of
eac h c rossb ar end sup p ort.
2. Rotate the lower c lamp on the b ottom of eac h end sup p ort d own-
ward ap p roximately 90 .
3. Carefully raise the c rossb ar from roof rails. n To install the crossbar
Front crossbar:
Front c rossb ar has 100 LBS. Load Lab el on left-hand sid e.
HB1011BC
1. Before p lac ing the c rossb ar on the roof rails, ma ke sure that the
T-30 torx head sc rew is removed from the top of eac h c rossb a r end
sup p ort.
2. Rotate the lower c lamp on the b ottom of eac h end sup p ort d own-
ward ap p roximately 90 .
3. With the front d irec tion arrow lab el on the top r ig ht sid e of the
c rossb ar p ointing toward the front of the vehic le, c arefully p lac e the
c rossb ar ac ross the top of the vehic le so that the c rossb ar end sup -
p orts rest on the top of the roof rails ap p roximate ly 6 inc hes (152 mm)
rearward from the seam (joint) b etween the front ro of rail sup p ort and
the roof rail.
4. Rotate (raise) the lower c lamp up to the b ottom o f the roof rail and
loosely tig hten the T-30 torx head sc rew with the torx wrenc h p ro-
vid ed , throug h the top of the end sup p ort and into the thread ed insert
in the lower c lamp on eac h end of the c rossb ar.

Driving tips8-21
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NOTE It may be necessary to squeeze the lower clamp and the end sup- port together to compress the pads and gain a better alignment
of the pieces while trying to start the screw. Use care not tocrossthread the screw in the insert.
5. Ad just the alig nment of the c rossb ar on the roof
rails, and if avail-
ab le, use a T-30 torx b it and torq ue wrenc h and tig hten the T-30
torx head sc rews to 30 to 35 inc h lb s. (3.4 to 4.0 N-m, 0.35 to 0.41
kg -m) of torq ue (or tig hten sec urely with the torx wrenc h p rovid ed ).
Rear crossbar:
HB1012BC
Install the rear c rossb ar in the same manner as the front c rossb ar.
NOTE The rear crossbar should be positioned 6 inches (152 mm) for- ward of the rear seam (joint) between the rear roof rail supportand the roof rail.
NOTE
Before each use of the roof crossbar, make sure the four T-30 cross- bar clamp screws have been checked, and retightened if necessaryto 35 inch lbs. (4.0 N-m, 0.41 kg-m), as outlined in Step #5 above.

8-22Trailer hitch (if equipped)
WARNING
Never exceed the maximum weight specified for the trailer
hitch. Exceeding the maximum weight could cause an accident resulting in serious personal injuries. Permissible trailer weight
changes depending on the situation. Refer to the next section“ Trailer towing ” for possible recommendations and limitations.
Trailer brakes are required when the towing load exceeds
1,000 lbs. (453 kg). Be sure your trailer has safety chains and that
each chain will hold the trailer ’s maximum gross weight. Towing
trailers without safety chains could create a traffic safety hazardif the trailer separates from the hitch due to coupling damage orhitch ball damage. Be sure to check the hitch pin and safety pin for positive lock-
ing placement before towing a trailer. If the ball mount comes off
the hitch receiver, the trailer could get loose and create a trafficsafety hazard. Use only the ball mount supplied with this hitch. Use the hitch
only as a weight carrying hitch. Do not use with any type ofweight distributing hitch.
The trailer hitc h is d esig ned to tow a Class 1 rate d load . A maximum of
2,000 lbs. (906 kg) g ross trailer weig ht and a maximum of 200 lbs. (90
kg) g ross tong ue weig ht are p ermissib le for the traile r hitc h.
When you tow a trailer, follow the instruc tions in the next sec tion “Trailer
towing ”.