2000 SUBARU OUTBACK warning

In case of emergency9-23
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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.
CAUTION
If transmission failure occurs, transport your vehicle on a flat-
bed truck. For vehicles with automatic transmission, the traveling speed
must be limited to less than 20 mph (30 km/h) and the traveling
distance to less than 31 miles (50 km). For greater speeds and
distances, transport your vehicle on a flat-bed truck.
HB8010AA
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 .

Maintenance and service11-3
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CONTINUED –
Maintenance schedule
The sc hed uled maintenanc e items req uired to b e serv
ic ed at reg ular in-
tervals are shown in the “Warranty and Maintenanc e Booklet ”.
For d etails of your maintenanc e sc hed ule, read the sep arate “Warranty
and Maintenanc e Booklet ”.
Maintenance precautions
When maintenanc e and servic e are req uired , it is re c ommend ed that all
work b e d one b y an authorized SUBARU d ealer.
If you p erform maintenanc e and servic e b y yourself, you should familiar-
ize yourself with the information p rovid ed in this sec tion on g eneral main-
tenanc e and servic e for your SUBARU.
Inc orrec t or inc omp lete servic e c ould c ause imp rop e r or unsafe vehic le
op eration. Any p rob lems c aused b y imp rop er maintena nc e and servic e
p erformed b y you are not elig ib le for warranty c ove rag e.
WARNING
Testing of an All-Wheel Drive vehicle must NEVER be per-
formed on a single two-wheel dynamometer or similar apparatus. Attempting to do so will result in transmission damage and inuncontrolled vehicle movement and may cause an accident or
injuries to persons nearby. Always select a safe area when performing maintenance on
your vehicle. Always be very careful to avoid injury when working on the ve-
hicle. Remember that some of the materials in the vehicle may behazardous if improperly used or handled, for example, batteryacid. Your vehicle should only be serviced by persons fully compe-
tent to do so. Serious personal injury may result to persons not
experienced in servicing vehicles.

Maintenance and service11-5
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CONTINUED –

When you do checking or servicing in the engine
compartment while the engine is running
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.
Engine hood
WARNING
Always check that the hood is properly locked before you start
driving. If it is not, it might fly open while the vehicle is moving
and block your view, which may cause an accident and serious
bodily injury.
HBB002BA
HBB001BA

Maintenance and service11-9
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CONTINUED –

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, or when d rivi ng 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 .
HBB005BB
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.

Maintenance and service11-13
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CONTINUED –
Cooling system
WARNING
Never attempt to remove the radiator cap until the engine has
been shut off and has cooled down completely. Since the coolantis under pressure, you may suffer serious burns from a spray ofboiling hot coolant when the cap is removed.
CAUTION
The cooling system has been filled at the factory with a high
quality, corrosion-inhibiting, year-around coolant which providesprotection against freezing down to –33F ( –36 C). For adding,
use genuine SUBARU coolant or an equivalent: a mixture of 50%
soft water and 50% ethylene-glycol basis coolant. Use of improp-er coolants may result in corrosion in the cooling system. It is im-portant to maintain protection against freezing and corrosion,
even if freezing temperatures are not expected. Never mix differ-ent kinds of coolant. Do not splash the engine coolant over painted parts. The alco-
hol contained in the engine coolant may damage the paint sur-face.
Hose and connections
Your vehic le emp loys an elec tric c ooling fan whic h is thermostatic ally
c ontrolled to op erate when the eng ine c oolant reac h es a sp ec ific tem-
p erature.
If the rad iator c ooling fan d oes not op erate even w hen the eng ine
c oolant temp erature g aug e exc eed s the normal op erat ing rang e, the
c ooling fan c irc uit may b e d efec tive. Chec k the fus e and rep lac e it if
nec essary. If the fuse is not b lown, have the c ooli ng system c hec ked
b y your SUBARU d ealer.
If freq uent ad d ition of c oolant is nec essary, there may b e a leak in the
eng ine c ooling system. It is rec ommend ed that the c ooling system
and c onnec tions b e c hec ked for leaks, d amag e, or lo oseness.

Maintenance and service11-15
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CONTINUED –

Changing the coolant
WARNING
Never attempt to remove the radiator cap until the engine has
been shut off and has cooled down completely. Since the coolantis under pressure, you may suffer serious burns from a spray ofboiling hot coolant when the cap is removed.
Chang e the eng ine c oolant using the following p roc e d ures ac c ord ing
to the maintenanc e sc hed ule in the “Warranty and Maintenanc e Book-
let ”.
1. Remove the und er c over.
2. Plac e a p rop er c ontainer und er the d rain p lug and loosen the d rain
p lug .
HBB006BB
3. Loosen the rad iator c ap to d rain the c oolant from the rad iator. Then
d rain the c oolant from the reserve tank. Tig hten th e d rain p lug sec ure-
ly.

Maintenance and service11-17
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CONTINUED –
rad iator
’s filler nec k and to the reserve tank ’s “FULL ” level.
8. Put the rad iator c ap and reservoir c ap b ac k on an d tig hten firmly.
Air cleaner element
WARNING
Do not operate the engine with the air cleaner element removed. The air cleaner element not only filters intake air but also stops
flames if the engine backfires. If the air cleaner element is not
installed when the engine backfires, you could be burned.
The air c leaner element func tions as a filter sc ree n. When the element is
p erforated or removed , eng ine wear will b e exc essiv e and eng ine life
shortened .
The air c leaner element is a visc ous typ e. It is un nec essary to c lean or
wash the element.
Replacing the air cleaner element
Rep lac e the air c leaner element ac c ord ing to the ma intenanc e sc hed -
ule in the “Warranty and Maintenanc e Booklet ”. Und er extremely
d usty c ond itions, rep lac e it more freq uently. It is rec ommend ed that
you always use g enuine SUBARU p arts.
HBA003BB
HBA002BB
BoltAir cleaner element
1. Remove the b olt sec uring the rear air c leaner ele ment c ase.

11-26Power steering fluid
Checking the fluid level
WARNING
Be careful not to burn yourself because the fluid may be hot.
CAUTION
When power steering fluid is being added, use only clean fluid,
and be careful not to allow any dirt into the tank. And never use
different brands together. Avoid spilling fluid when adding it in the tank.
The p ower steering fluid exp and s g reatly as its tem p erature rises; the
fluid level d iffers ac c ord ing to fluid temp erature. Therefore, the reser-
voir tank has two d ifferent c hec king rang es for hot and c old fluid s.
Chec k the p ower steering fluid level monthly.
1. Park the vehic le on a level surfac e, and stop the eng ine.
2. Chec k the fluid level of the reservoir tank.
When the fluid is hot after the vehic le has b een ru n: Chec k that the oil
level is b etween “HOT MIN ” and “HOT MAX ” on the surfac e of the
reservoir tank.
When the fluid is c ool b efore the vehic le is run: C hec k that the oil level
is b etween “COLD MIN ” and “COLD MAX ” on the surfac e of the res-
ervoir tank.
3. If the fluid level is lower than the ap p lic ab le “MIN ” line, ad d the
rec ommend ed fluid as nec essary to b ring the level b etween the
“ MIN ” and “MAX ” line.