2000 SUBARU OUTBACK warning

3-10Warning and indicator lights
Several of the warning and ind ic ator lig hts c ome on
momentarily and
then g o out when the ig nition switc h is initially t urned to the “ON ” p osi-
tion. This p ermits c hec king the op eration of the b u lb s.
Ap p ly the p arking b rake and turn the ig nition switc h to the “ON ” p osition.
The following lig hts c ome on:
Seatb elt warning lig ht
SRS airb ag system warning lig ht
CHECK ENGINE warning lig ht / Malfunc tion ind ic ator lamp
Charg e warning lig ht
Oil p ressure warning lig ht
AT OIL temp erature warning lig ht (AT vehic les)
ABS warning lig ht
Brake system warning lig ht
If any lig hts fail to c ome on, it ind ic ates a b urne d -out b ulb or a malfunc -
tion of the c orresp ond ing system.
Consult your authorized SUBARU d ealer for rep air. Seatbelt warning light and chime
When the ig nition switc h is turned to the “ON ” p osition, the seatb elt
warning lig ht will c ome on and the remind er c hime w ill sound for ab out
six sec ond s to remind the d river to fasten the seat b elt.
The seatb elt warning lig ht remains on for ab out six sec ond s and turns off
automatic ally after six sec ond s.
The seatb elt remind er c hime will turn off when the d river’s sid e seatb elt is
b uc kled or it will turn off automatic ally after six sec ond s.
SRS airbag system warning light AIRBAG
When the ig nition switc h is turned to the “ON ” p osition, the SRS airb ag
system warning lig ht will c ome on for ab out six sec ond s and g o out. This
shows the SRS frontal airb ag and SRS sid e airb ag (i f eq uip p ed ) and
seatb elt p retensioners are in normal op eration.
If this lig ht c omes on while d riving or d oes not g o out after the eng ine
starts, it may ind ic ate that the SRS frontal airb ag system or SRS sid e air-

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b ag system (if eq uip p ed ) or seatb elt p retensioner s
ystem is not working
p rop erly. Contac t your nearest SUBARU d ealer immed i ately.
CHECK ENGINE warning light/Malfunction indicator lamp
CAUTION
If the CHECK ENGINE light comes on while you are driving, have
your vehicle checked/repaired by your SUBARU dealer as soonas possible. Continued vehicle operation without having the
emission control system checked and repaired as necessarycould cause serious damage, which may not be covered by your
vehicle’ s warranty.
If this lig ht c omes on stead ily or b links while the eng ine is running , it may
ind ic ate that there is a p rob lem or p otential p rob l em somewhere in the
emission c ontrol system.
If the light comes on steadily:
If the lig ht c omes on stead ily while d riving or d oe s not g o out after the
eng ine starts, an emission c ontrol system malfunc ti on has b een d e-
tec ted .
You should have your vehic le c hec ked b y an authoriz ed SUBARU
d ealer immed iately. NOTE This light also comes on when the fuel filler cap is not tightened until it clicks.
If you have rec ently refueled your vehic le, the c au se of the CHECK
ENGINE warning lig ht/malfunc tion ind ic ator lamp c om ing on c ould b e a
loose or missing fuel filler c ap . Remove the c ap an d retig hten it until it
c lic ks. Make sure nothing is interfering with the s ealing of the c ap .
Tig htening the c ap will not make the CHECK ENGINE w arning lig ht
turn off immed iately. It may take several d riving t rip s. If the lig ht d oes
not g o out, take your vehic le to your authorized SU BARU d ealer
immed iately.

3-12
If the light is blinking:
If the lig ht is b linking while d riving , an eng ine m isfire c ond ition has
b een d etec ted whic h may d amag e the emission c ontrol system.
To p revent serious d amag e to the emission c ontrol s ystem, you
should d o the following : Red uc e vehic le sp eed .
Avoid hard ac c eleration.
Avoid steep up hill g rad es.
Red uc e the amount of c arg o, if p ossib le.
Stop towing a trailer as soon as p ossib le.
The CHECK ENGINE warning lig ht may stop b linking an d c ome on
stead ily after several d riving trip s. You should ha ve your vehic le
c hec ked b y an authorized SUBARU d ealer immed iately.
Charge warning light
If this lig ht c omes on when the eng ine is running , it may ind ic ate that the
c harg ing system is not working p rop erly.
If the lig ht c omes on while d riving or d oes not g o out after the eng ine
starts, stop the eng ine at the first safe op p ortuni ty and c hec k the alterna-
tor b elt. If the b elt is loose, b roken or if the b e lt is in g ood c ond ition b ut
the lig ht remains on, c ontac t your nearest SUBARU d ealer immed iately.
Oil pressure warning light
CAUTION
Do not operate the engine with the oil pressure warning light on. This may cause serious engine damage.
If this lig ht c omes on when the eng ine is running , it may ind ic ate that the
eng ine oil p ressure is low and the lub ric ating syst em is not working p rop -
erly.
If the lig ht c omes on while d riving or d oes not g o out after the eng ine
starts, stop the eng ine at the first safe op p ortuni ty and c hec k the eng ine
oil level. If the oil level is low, ad d oil immed ia tely. If the eng ine oil is at

Instruments and controls3-13
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the p rop er level b ut the lig ht remains on, c ontac t
your nearest SUBARU
d ealer immed iately. AT OIL TEMPerature warning light
(for AT vehicles)
If this lig ht c omes on when the eng ine is running , it may ind ic ate that the
automatic transmission fluid temp erature is too hot .
If the lig ht c omes on while d riving , it is unnec ess ary to stop the vehic le,
b ut avoid d riving up steep g rad es or in stop and g o traffic .
Automatic transmission control system warning
If the lig ht flashes after the eng ine starts, it ma y ind ic ate that the auto-
matic transmission c ontrol system is not working p r op erly. Contac t
your nearest SUBARU d ealer for servic e immed iately.
ABS warning light
The ABS warning lig ht c omes on when the ig nition sw itc h is turned to the
“ ON ” p osition and g oes out after ab out two sec ond s.
This is an ind ic ation that the ABS system is workin g p rop erly.
If the warning lig ht b ehaves as follows, the ABS sy stem may not work
p rop erly. The warning lig ht d oes not c ome on when the ig nitio n switc h is turned
to the “ON ” p osition.
The warning lig ht c omes on when the ig nition switc h is turned to the
“ ON ” p osition, b ut it d oes not g o out even when the veh ic le sp eed
exc eed s ap p roximately 8 mp h (12 km/h). The warning lig ht c omes on d uring d riving .
When the warning lig ht is on, the ABS func tion shut s d own; however, the
c onventional b rake system c ontinues to op erate norm ally. If this oc c urs,
have the ABS system rep aired at the first availab le op p ortunity b y your
SUBARU d ealer.
(U.S.) (Canada)

3-14NOTE
If the warning light behavior is as shown below, the ABS system may be considered normal.
The warning light comes on right after the engine is started but
goes out immediately, remaining off. The warning light remains on after the engine has been started,
but it goes out when the vehicle speed reaches about 8 mph (12km/h). The warning light comes on during driving, but it goes out
immediately and remains off.
When d riving with an insuffic ient b attery voltag e s uc h as when the en-
g ine is jump started , the ABS warning lig ht may c om e on. This is d ue to
the low b attery voltag e and d oes not ind ic ate a mal func tion. When the
b attery b ec omes fully c harg ed , the lig ht will g o ou t.
Brake system warning light
WARNING
Driving with the brake system warning light on is dangerous.
This indicates your brake system may not be working properly. If the light remains on, have the brakes inspected by a SUBARU
dealer immediately. If at all in doubt about whether the brakes are operating prop-
erly, do not drive the vehicle. Have your vehicle towed to the
nearest SUBARU dealer for repair.
This lig ht has the following two func tions: Parking brake warning
The lig ht c omes on with the p arking b rake ap p lied w hile the ig nition
switc h is in the “ON ” p osition. It g oes out when the p arking b rake is
fully released . Brake fluid level warning
This lig ht c omes on when the b rake fluid level has d rop p ed to near
the “MIN ” level of the b rake fluid reservoir with the ig niti on switc h in(U.S.)
(Canada)

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the
“ON ” p osition and with the p arking b rake fully released .
If the b rake system warning lig ht should c ome on wh ile d riving (with
the p arking b rake fully released and with the ig nit ion switc h p osi-
tioned in “ON ”), it c ould b e an ind ic ation of leaking of b rake fl uid or
worn b rake p ad s. Have your vehic le c hec ked b y a SUB ARU d ealer
immed iately.
Door open warning lights
The sp ec ific d oor op en warning lig ht c omes on if an y d oor or the trunk/
rear g ate is not fully c losed .
Always make sure this lig ht is out b efore you start to d rive.
Low fuel warning light
The low fuel warning lig ht c omes on when the tank i s nearly emp ty ab out
2.6 U.S. g al. (10.0 liters, or 2.2 Imp . g al.). It o nly op erates when the ig ni-
tion switc h is in the “ON ” p osition.
NOTE This light does not go out unless the tank is replenished up to an internal fuel quantity of about 3.7 U.S. gal. (14 liters, 3.1 Imp. gal.). Front-wheel drive warning light (for AT vehicles)
This lig ht c omes on when All Wheel Drive is d iseng a g ed and the d rive
mec hanism is switc hed to Front Wheel Drive for main tenanc e or similar
p urp oses. Security system status indicator light (if equipped)
This lig ht is found at the b ottom c enter of the c om b ination meter p anel.
On vehic les eq uip p ed with a sec urity system, it b li nks to show the d river
the op erational status of the sec urity system. For d etailed information, re-
fer to the “Sec urity system ” in Chap ter 2.

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Light control switch
WARNING
To prevent battery discharge resulting from accidentally leaving your lights on when your vehicle is parked, the light switch oper-ates only when the ignition switch is in the “ON” position. In any
other position, the vehicle ’s lights will be out.
If you park your vehicle on a roadside at night, use the hazardwarning flasher to alert the other drivers.
HB2014BB
HB2007BA
The lig ht switc h op erates only when the ig nition sw itc h is in the “ON ”
p osition.
Headlights
To turn on the head lig hts, turn the knob on the end of the turn sig nal
lever.
first p osition
Parking lig hts, instrument p anel illumination, tail lig hts and lic ense
p late lig ht are on.
sec ond p osition
Head lig hts, p arking lig hts, instrument p anel illumi nation, tail lig hts,
and lic ense p late lig ht are on.

3-18
High/low beam change (dimmer)
To c hang e from low b eam to hig h b eam, p ush the turn sig nal lever
forward . When the head lig hts are on hig h b eam, the hig h b eam ind i-
c ator lig ht “a ” on the instrument p anel is also on.
To switc h b ac k to low b eam, p ull the lever b ac k to the d etent p osition.
Headlight flasher CAUTION
Do not hold the lever in the flashing position for more than just a few seconds.
To flash the head lig hts, p ull the lever toward you and then release it.
The hig h b eam will stay on for as long as you hold the lever. The
head lig ht flasher works even thoug h the lig hting sw itc h is in the “OFF ”
p osition.
When the head lig hts are on hig h b eam, the hig h b eam ind ic ator lig ht
“ a ” on the instrument p anel also c omes on.
Daytime running light system
WARNING
The tail lights, parking lights, and side marker lights are not turned on by the daytime running light system. The light switchmust always be turned to the “a ” position when it is dark out-
side.
The low b eam head lig hts will automatic ally c ome on at red uc ed b rig ht-
ness when the eng ine has started , und er the followi ng c ond itions:
The p arking b rake is fully released .
The lig ht switc h is in the “OFF ” or “p ” p osition.