2000 SUBARU OUTBACK warning

Driving tips8-37
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nearest SUBARU d ealer. n
Driving on grades
Before g oing d own a steep hill, slow d own and shift into lower g ear
(if nec essary, use 1st g ear) in ord er to utilize th e eng ine b raking effec t
and p revent overheating of your vehic le ’s b rakes. Do not make sud -
d en d ownshifts. When d riving up hill in hot weather, the air c ond iti oner may turn off
automatic ally to p rotec t the eng ine from overheatin g .
When d riving up hill in hot weather, p ay attention t o the water tem-
p erature g aug e p ointer (for all vehic les) and AT OI L TEMP warning
lig ht (for AT vehic les) sinc e the eng ine and transm ission are relatively
p rone to overheating und er these c ond itions. If the water temp erature
g aug e p ointer ap p roac hes the OVERHEAT zone or the A T OIL TEMP
warning lig ht illuminates, immed iately switc h off t he air c ond itioner
and stop the vehic le at the nearest safe p lac e. Ref er to the “Eng ine
overheat ” sec tion in c hap ter 9, and “Warning and ind ic ator lig hts ”
sec tion in c hap ter 3. If your vehic le has a automatic transmission, avoid 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. That may c ause the tra nsmission fluid to
overheat. Also, if your vehic le is eq uip p ed with an automatic transmis-
sion, avoid d riving with the g ear selec tor lever in “ D ” when towing a
heavy trailer to p revent fluid overheating . n Parking on a grade
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 .
4. Ap p ly the reg ular b rakes and then ap p ly the p arki ng b rake; slowly
release the reg ular b rakes.

9-2
If you park your vehicle in an emergency
HB8002BA
The hazard warning flasher should b e used in d ay or
nig ht to warn other
d rivers when you have to p ark your vehic le und er em erg enc y c ond itions.
Avoid stop p ing on the road . It is b est to safely p u ll off the road if a p rob -
lem oc c urs.
The hazard warning flasher c an b e ac tivated reg ard l ess of the ig nition
switc h p osition.
Turn on the hazard warning b y p ushing the hazard wa rning flasher
switc h. Turn it off b y p ushing the switc h ag ain. NOTE When the hazard warning flasher is on, the turn signals do not work.

In case of emergency9-3
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Temporary spare tire
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.
CAUTION
Never use any temporary spare tire other than the original. Usingother sizes may result in severe mechanical damage to the drivetrain of your vehicle.
The temp orary sp are tire is smaller and lig hter tha n a c onventional tire
and is d esig ned for emerg enc y use only. Remove the temp orary sp are
tire and re-install the c onventional tire as soon a s p ossib le b ec ause the
sp are tire is d esig ned only for temp orary use.
Chec k the inflation p ressure of the temp orary sp are tire p eriod ic ally to
keep the tire read y for use. The c orrec t p ressure i s 60 psi (420 kPa, 4.2
kg/cm 2
).
When using the temp orary sp are tire, note the follo wing :
Do not exc eed 50 mp h (80 km/h).
Do not p ut a tire c hain on the temp orary sp are tire . Bec ause of the
smaller tire size, a tire c hain will not fit p rop er ly.
Do not use two or more temp orary sp are tires at the same time.
Do not d rive over ob stac les. This tire has a smalle r d iameter, so
road c learanc e is red uc ed . When the wear ind ic ator ap p ears on the tread , rep la c e the tire.

9-4
HB8003BB
HG0106
Indicator location mark
Tread wear indicator bar
NOTE
(If your vehicle is AWD with automatic transmission) Before driving your vehicle with the temporary spare tire, put a spare fuse insidethe FWD connector located in the engine compartment and confirm
that the Front-wheel drive warning light comes on. The all wheeldrive capability of the vehicle has now been deactivated. After re-
installing the conventional tire, remove the spare fuse from the FWDconnector in order to reactivate all wheel drive.
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 the ground 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

In case of emergency9-5
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spare tire is installed. This could cause the nuts to become loose and 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.
3. Turn on the hazard warning flasher and have every one g et out of the
vehic le.
4. Put wheel b loc ks at the front and rear of the tir e d iag onally op p osite
the flat tire.
OM-H2259
Jacking position
Wheel blocks

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Jump starting
WARNING
Battery fluid is SULFURIC ACID. Do not let it come in contact
with the eyes, skin, clothing or the vehicle. If battery fluid gets on you, thoroughly flush the exposed area
with water immediately. Get medical help if the fluid has enteredyour eyes. If battery fluid is accidentally swallowed, immediately drink a
large amount of milk or water, and obtain immediate medicalhelp.
Keep everyone including children away from the battery. The gas generated by a battery explodes if a flame or spark is
brought near it. Do not smoke or light a match while jump start-ing. Never attempt jump starting if the discharged battery is frozen.
It could cause the battery to burst or explode. Whenever working on or around a battery, always wear suit-
able eye protectors, and remove metal objects such as rings,
bands or other metal jewelry. Be sure the jumper cables and clamps on them do not have
loose or missing insulation.Do not jump start unless cables in suitable condition are avail-able. A running engine can be dangerous. Keep your fingers, hands,
clothing, hair and tools away from the cooling fan, belts and anyother moving engine parts. Removing rings, watches and ties isadvisable.
When your vehic le d oes not start d ue to a run d own (d isc harg ed ) b at-
tery, the vehic le may b e jump started b y c onnec ting your b attery to
another b attery (c alled the b ooster b attery) with j ump er c ab les.
Jump starting is d ang erous if it d one inc orrec tly. If you are unsure ab out
the p rop er p roc ed ure for jump starting , c onsult a c omp etent mec hanic .

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4
Connec t the other end of the c ab le to the eng ine li fting b rac ket.
Make sure that the c ab les are not near any moving p arts and that
the c ab le c lamp s are not in c ontac t with any other metal.
5. Start the eng ine of the vehic le with the b ooster b attery and run it at
mod 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.
Engine overheating
WARNING
Never attempt to remove the radiator cap until the engine hasbeen shut off and has fully cooled down. When the engine is hot,the coolant is under pressure. Removing the cap while the engineis still hot could release a spray of boiling hot coolant, which
could burn you very seriously.
If the eng ine overheats, safely p ull off the road a nd stop the vehic le in a
safe p lac e.
If steam is coming from the engine compartment
Turn the eng ine off and g et everyone away from the vehic le until it
c ools d own. If no steam is coming from the engine compartment
1. Keep the eng ine running at id ling sp eed .
2. Op en the hood to ventilate the eng ine c omp artment .
Confirm that the c ooling fan is turning . If the fan is not turning , im-
med iately turn the eng ine off and c ontac t your auth orized d ealer for
rep air.
3. After the eng ine c oolant temp erature has d rop p ed , turn off the en-
g ine.
If the temp erature g aug e stays at the overheated zo ne, turn the en-
g ine off.

9-144. After the eng ine has fully c ooled d own, c hec k the
c oolant level in
the reserve tank.
If the c oolant level is b elow the “MIN ” mark, ad d c oolant up to the
“ MAX ” mark.
5. If there is no c oolant in the reserve tank, ad d c oolant to the reserve
tank. Then remove the rad iator c ap and fill the rad iator with c oolant.
If you remove the rad iator c ap from a hot rad iator, first wrap a thic k
c loth around the rad iator c ap , then turn the c ap c o unterc loc kwise
slowly without p ressing d own until it stop s. Releas e the p ressure from
the rad iator. After the p ressure has b een fully rel eased , remove the
c ap b y p ressing d own and turning it.
Towing
WARNING
Never tow AWD vehicles (both AT and MT) with the front wheelsraised off the ground while the rear wheels are on the ground, orwith the rear wheels raised off the ground while the front wheelsare on the ground. This will cause the vehicle to spin away due tothe operation or deterioration of the center differential.
HB8009BA
If towing is nec essary, it is b est d one b y your SUB ARU d ealer or a c om-
merc ial towing servic e. Ob serve the following p roc e d ures for safety.