2000 SUBARU OUTBACK transmission

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

8-36n
Driving with a trailer
You should allow for c onsid erab ly more stop p ing d is tanc e when
towing a trailer. Avoid sud d en b raking b ec ause it m ay result in skid -
d ing or jac kknifing and loss of c ontrol. Avoid ab rup t starts and sud d en ac c elerations. If yo ur vehic le has a
manual transmission, always start out in first g ear and release the
c lutc h at mod erate eng ine revolution. Avoid uneven steering , sharp turns and rap id lane c hang es.
Slow d own b efore turning . Make a long er than normal turning
rad ius b ec ause the trailer wheels will b e c loser th an the vehic le
wheels to the insid e of the turn. In a tig ht turn, the trailer c ould hit your
vehic le. Crosswind s will ad versely affec t the hand ling of yo ur vehic le and
trailer, c ausing sway. Crosswind s c an b e d ue to wea ther c ond itions or
the p assing of larg e truc ks or b uses. If swaying oc c urs, firmly g rip the
steering wheel and slow d own immed iately b ut g rad ua lly.
When p assing other vehic les, c onsid erab le d istanc e is req uired
b ec ause of the ad d ed weig ht and leng th c aused b y at tac hing the
trailer to your vehic le. Bac king up with a trailer is d iffic ult and takes p r ac tic e. When b ac k-
ing up with a trailer, never ac c elerate or steer ra p id ly. When turning
b ac k, g rip the b ottom of the steering wheel with on e hand and turn it
to the left for a left turn, and turn it to the rig ht for a rig ht turn.
Left turnRight turn
OM-H2791
If the ABS warning lig ht illuminates while the vehi c le is in motion,
stop towing the trailer and have rep airs p erformed immed iately b y the

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.

8-385. Shift into 1st or reverse g ear (manual transmissi
on) or “P ” (auto-
matic transmission) and shut off the eng ine.

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

9-22
HB9030BB
4. Push the p ortion L.
Using a flat-bed truck
HB8008AA
This is the b est way to transp ort your vehic le. Use the following p roc e-
d ures to ensure safe transp ortation.
1. Shift the selec tor lever into the “P ” p osition for automatic transmis-
sion vehic les or “1st ” for manual transmission vehic les.
2. Pull up the p arking b rake lever firmly.
3. Sec ure the vehic le onto the c arrier p rop erly with safety c hains.
Eac h safety c hain should b e eq ually tig htened and c are must b e tak-
en not to p ull the c hains so tig htly that the susp e nsion b ottoms out.

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 .