2000 SUBARU OUTBACK warning

Starting and operating7-27
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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 ownhill, the front wheels should b e turned into the
c urb .
Cruise 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 sur e the main switc h is
turned “OFF ” when the c ruise c ontrol is not in use to avoid uni ntentionally
b y setting the c ruise c ontrol.
To set cruise control
HG0312
HB3002BB
Cruise control lever
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 .

Driving tips8-3
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CONTINUED –
Fuel economy hints
The following sug g estions will help to save your fu
el.
Selec t the p rop er g ear p osition for the sp eed and r oad c ond itions.
Avoid sud d en ac c eleration or d ec eleration. Always a c c elerate g ently
until you reac h the d esired sp eed . Then try to main tain that sp eed for as
long as p ossib le. Do not p ump the ac c elerator and avoid rac ing the en g ine.
Avoid unnec essary eng ine id ling .
Keep the eng ine p rop erly tuned .
Keep the tires inflated to the c orrec t p ressure sho wn on the tire p lac -
ard , whic h is loc ated und er the d oor latc h on the d river’s sid e. Low p res-
sure will inc rease tire wear and fuel c onsump tion. Use the air c ond itioner only when nec essary.
Keep the front and rear wheels in p rop er alig nment.
Avoid c arrying unnec essary lug g ag e or c arg o.
Engine exhaust gas (Carbon monoxide)
WARNING
Never inhale engine exhaust gas. Engine exhaust gas contains
carbon monoxide, a colorless and odorless gas which is danger-ous, or even lethal, if inhaled. Always properly maintain the engine exhaust system to pre-
vent engine exhaust gas from entering the vehicle. Never run the engine in a closed space, such as a garage, ex-
cept for the brief time needed to drive the vehicle in or out of it. Avoid remaining in a parked vehicle for a lengthy time while
the engine is running. If that is unavoidable, then use the ventila-tion fan to force fresh air into the vehicle. Always keep the front ventilator inlet grille free from snow,
leaves or other obstructions to ensure that the ventilation system
always works properly.

8-4
If at any time you suspect that exhaust fumes are entering the
vehicle, have the problem checked and corrected as soon as pos-
sible. If you must drive under these conditions, drive only with allwindows fully open. Keep the trunk lid or rear gate closed while driving to prevent
exhaust gas from entering the vehicle.
NOTE Due to the expansion and contraction of the metals used in the
manufacture of the exhaust system, you may hear a crackling soundcoming from the exhaust system for a short time after the enginehas been shut off. This sound is normal.
Catalytic converter
WARNING
Avoid fire hazards. Do not drive or park the vehicle anywhere
near flammable materials (e.g. grass, paper, rags or leaves), be-
cause the catalytic converter operates at very high temperatures. Keep everyone and flammable materials away from the ex-
haust pipe while the engine is running. The exhaust gas is veryhot.
HB3003BA

8-6
Driving tips for AWD vehicles
WARNING
Always maintain a safe driving speed according to the road
and weather conditions in order to avoid having an accident on a sharp turn, during sudden braking or under other similar condi-tions. Always use the utmost care in driving – overconfidence be-
cause you are driving an all wheel drive vehicle could easily leadto a serious accident.
OM-H0154
All wheel d rive d istrib utes the eng ine p ower to all four wheels. AWD
vehic les p rovid e b etter trac tion when d riving on sl ip p ery, wet or snow-
c overed road s and when moving out of mud , d irt and sand . By shifting
p ower b etween the front and rear wheels, SUBARU AWD c an also p ro-
vid e ad d ed trac tion d uring ac c eleration, and ad d ed eng ine b raking
forc e d uring d ec eleration.
Therefore, your SUBARU AWD vehic le may hand le d iffe rently than an
ord inary two wheel d rive vehic le and it c ontains so me features uniq ue to
AWD. For safety p urp oses as well as to avoid d amag i ng the AWD sys-
tem, you should keep the following tip s in mind : An AWD vehic le is b etter ab le to c limb steep er road s und er snowy or
slip p ery c ond itions than a two wheel d rive vehic le. There is little d iffer-
enc e in hand ling , however, d uring extremely sharp t urns or sud d en b rak-

Driving tips8-7
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ing . Therefore, when d riving d own a slop e or turnin
g c orners, b e sure to
red uc e your sp eed and maintain an amp le d istanc e fr om other vehic les.
When rep lac ing a tire, make sure you use only the s ame size, c irc um-
ferenc e, c onstruc tion, b rand , and load rang e as the orig inal tires listed on
the tire p lac ard . Using other sizes, c irc umferenc es or c onstruc tion may re-
sult in severe mec hanic al d amag e to the d rive train of your vehic le and
may affec t rid e, hand ling , b raking , sp eed ometer/od o meter c alib ration, and
c learanc e b etween the b od y and tires. It also may b e d ang erous and lead
to loss of vehic le c ontrol. If you use a temp orary sp are tire to rep lac e a flat tire, b e sure to use
the orig inal temp orary sp are tire stored in the veh ic le. Using other sizes
may result in severe mec hanic al d amag e to the d rive train of your vehic le.
Always c hec k the c old tire p ressure b efore starting to d rive. The rec -
ommend ed tire p ressure is p rovid ed on the tire p lac ard , whic h is loc ated
und er the d oor latc h on the d river ’s sid e.
Tire c hains should always b e p lac ed on the front wh eels only.
There are some p rec autions that you must ob serve wh en towing your
vehic le. For d etail information, see “Towing ” sec tion in c hap ter 9.
Off road driving
WARNING
Always maintain a safe driving speed according to the road
and weather conditions in order to avoid having an accident on asharp turn, during sudden braking or under other similar condi-tions. Always use the utmost care in driving – overconfidence
because you are driving an all wheel drive vehicle could easilylead to a serious accident.
All AWD models except OUTBACK
Your AWD vehic le is neither a c onventional off-road vehic le nor an all
terrain vehic le. It is a p asseng er c ar d esig ned p ri marily for on-road
use. The AWD feature g ives it some limited off-road c ap ab ilities in sit-
uations in whic h d riving surfac es a relatively leve l, ob struc tion-free

Driving tips8-11
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Keep the d oor loc ks from freezing b y sq uirting them
with d eic er or
g lyc erin.
Forc ing a frozen d oor op en may d amag e or sep arate t he rub b er
weather strip s around the d oor. If the d oor is froz en, use hot water to
melt the ic e, and afterward s thoroug hly wip e the wa ter away.
Use a wind shield washer fluid that c ontains an anti freeze solution. Do
not use eng ine antifreeze or other sub stitutes b ec a use they may d am-
ag e the p aint of the vehic le.n Before driving your vehicle
Before entering the vehic le, remove any snow or ic e from your shoes
b ec ause that c ould make the p ed als slip p ery and d an g erous.
While warming up the vehic le b efore d riving , c hec k that the ac c elera-
tor p ed al, b rake p ed al, and all other c ontrols op er ate smoothly.
Clear away ic e and snow that has ac c umulated und er the fend ers to
avoid making steering d iffic ult. During severe wint er d riving , stop
when and where it is safe to d o so and c hec k und er the fend ers p eri-
od ic ally. n Parking in cold weather
WARNING
Snow can trap dangerous exhaust gases under your vehicle. Keep snow clear of the exhaust pipe and from around your
vehicle if you park the vehicle in snow with the engine running.
Do not use the p arking b rake when p arking for long p eriod s in c old
weather sinc e it c ould freeze in that p osition. Ins tead , ob serve the fol-
lowing :
1. Plac e the shift lever in “1 ” or “R ” for manual transmission vehic les,
and in “P ” for automatic transmission vehic les.
2. Use tire stop s und er the tires to p revent the veh ic le from moving .
When the vehic le is p arked in snow or when it snows , raise the wip er
b lad es off the g lass to p revent d amag e to them.

8-12When the vehic le has b een left p arked after use on
road s heavily c ov-
ered with snow, or has b een left p arked d uring a sn owstorm, ic ing
may d evelop on the b rake system, whic h c ould c ause p oor b raking
ac tion. Chec k for snow or ic e b uild up on the susp en sion, d isc b rakes
and b rake hoses und erneath the vehic le.
If there is c aked snow or ic e, remove it, b eing c ar eful not to d amag e
the d isc b rakes and b rake hoses and ABS harness. n Refueling in cold weather
To help p revent moisture from forming in the fuel s ystem and the risk
of its freezing , use of an antifreeze ad d itive in t he fuel tank is rec om-
mend ed d uring c old weather.
Use only ad d itives that are sp ec ific ally d esig ned f or this p urp ose.
When an antifreeze ad d itive is used , its effec t las ts long er if the tank is
refilled whenever the fuel level reac hes half emp ty .
If your SUBARU is not g oing to b e used for an exten d ed p eriod , it is
b est to have the fuel tank filled to c ap ac ity. Driving on snowy and icy roads
WARNING
Do not use the cruise control on slippery roads such as snowy or icy roads. This may cause loss of vehicle control.
To p revent skid d ing and slip p ing , avoid sud d en b rak ing , ab rup t ac -
c eleration, hig h-sp eed d riving , and sharp turning w hen d riving on
snowy or ic y road s.
Always maintain amp le d istanc e b etween your vehic le and the vehic le
ahead of you to avoid the need for sud d en b raking .
To sup p lement the foot b rake, use the eng ine b rake effec tively to c on-
trol the vehic le sp eed . (Shift into a lower g ear wh en nec essary.)
Avoid shifting d own ab rup tly. Suc h b ehavior c an c au se the wheels to
loc k, p ossib ly lead ing to loss of vehic le c ontrol.
An anti-loc k b rake system (ABS) e nhanc es your vehic le’s braking perfor-
manc e on snowy and ic y road s. Refer to the “ABS (Anti-Loc k Brake Sys-
tem) ” section in chapter 7 for information on b raking on slip p ery sur-
fac es.

Driving tips8-13
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n
Wiper operation when snowing
Before d riving in c old weather, make sure the wip er b lad es are not
frozen to the wind shield or rear wind ow. If the wip er b lad es are frozen
to the wind shield or rear wind ow, use the d efroster with the airflow
c ontrol d ial in the “
” p osition and the temp erature c ontrol d ial set
for maximum warmth until the wip er b lad es are c omp l etely thawed
out. If your vehic le is eq uip p ed with a wip er d eic e r, it is help ful to thaw
the wind shield wip er b lad es. To thaw out the rear w ip er b lad e, use the
rear wind ow d efog g er.
When d riving in snow, if frozen snow starts to stic k on the surfac e of
the wind shield d esp ite wip er op eration, use the d ef roster with the air-
flow c ontrol d ial in “
” and the temp erature c ontrol d ial set for max-
imum warmth. After the wind shield g ets warmed enoug h to melt the
frozen snow on it, wash it away using the wind shiel d washer.
Snow stuc k on the wip er arm p revents the wip er from working effec -
tively. If snow is stuc k on the wip er arm, p ull off the road to a safe
p lac e, then remove it. If you stop the c ar at road sid e, use the hazard
warning flasher to alert other d rivers.
We rec ommend use of non-freezing typ e wip er b lad es d uring the sea-
sons you c ould have snow and sub -zero temp eratures. Corrosion protection
Refer to the “Corrosion p rotec tion ” sec tion (c hap ter 10).
Snow tires
WARNING
When replacing a tire, make sure you use only the same size,
circumferences, construction, brand, and load range as the origi- nal tires listed on the tire placard. Using other sizes, circumfer-
ences or construction may result in severe mechanical damageto the drive train of your vehicle and may affect ride, handling,braking, speedometer/odometer calibration, and clearancebetween the body and tires. It also may be dangerous and lead toloss of vehicle control.