2001 SUBARU FORESTER Owners Manual

and are reg istered trad emarks of FUJI HEAVY INDUSTRIES, LTD.

c op yrig ht 1999 FUJI HEAVY INDUSTRIES LTD.
Foreword
Congratulations on choosing a SUBARU vehicle. This Owner’s
Manual has all the information necessary to keep your SUBARU in
excellent condition and to properly maintain the emission control
system for minimizing emission pollutants. We urge you to read thismanual carefully so that you may understand your vehicle and its
operation. For information not found in this Owner’s Manual, suchas details concerning repairs or adjustments, please contact thedealer from whom you purchased your SUBARU or the nearest
SUBARU dealer. The information, specifications and illustrations found in this manu-
al are those in effect at the time of printing. FUJI HEAVY INDUS-
TRIES LTD. reserves the right to change specifications and designs
at any time without prior notice and without incurring any obligationto make the same or similar changes on vehicles previously sold.
This Owner’s Manual applies to all models and covers all equip-ment, including factory installed options. Some explanations, there-fore may be for equipment not installed in your vehicle.
Please leave this manual in the vehicle at the time of resale. The next owner will need the information found herein.
FUJI HEAVY INDUSTRIES LTD., TOKYO, JAPAN

ii
How to use this owner
’s manual
Using your Owner ’s manual
Before you op erate your vehic le, c arefully read thi s manual. To p rotec t
yourself and extend the servic e life of your vehic l e, follow the instruc tions
in this manual. Failure to ob serve these instruc tio ns may result in serious
injury and d amag e to your vehic le.
This manual is c omp osed of thirteen c hap ters. Eac h c hap ter b eg ins with
a b rief tab le of c ontents, so you c an usually tell at a g lanc e if that c hap -
ter c ontains the information you want. Chapter 1: Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbag
This c hap ter informs you how to use the seat and se atb elt and c ontains
p rec autions for the SRS airb ag .Chapter 2: Doors and Locks
This c hap ter informs you how to op erate the keys, l oc ks and wind ows.
Chapter 3: Instruments and controls
This c hap ter informs you ab out the op eration of ins trument p anel ind ic a-
tors and how to use the instruments and other switc hes.
Chapter 4: Climate control
This c hap ter informs you how to op erate the c limate c ontrol.
Chapter 5: Audio
This c hap ter informs you how to op erate your aud io system.
Chapter 6: Interior equipment
This c hap ter informs you how to op erate interior eq uip ment.
Chapter 7: Starting and operating
This c hap ter informs you how to start and op erate y our SUBARU.
Chapter 8: Driving tips
This c hap ter informs you how to d rive your SUBARU i n various c ond i-
tions and exp lains some safety tip s on d riving .Chapter 9: In case of emergency
This c hap ter informs you what to d o if you have a p rob lem while d riving ,
suc h as a flat tire or eng ine overheating .Chapter 10: Appearance care
This c hap ter informs you how to keep your SUBARU lo oking g ood .
Chapter 11: Maintenance and service

iii
–
CONTINUED –
This c hap ter informs you how to keep your SUBARU ru
nning p rop erly.
Chapter 12: Specifications
This c hap ter informs you ab out d imension and c ap ac i ties of your
SUBARU.Chapter 13: Consumer information and Reporting safety defects
This c hap ter informs you ab out Uniform tire q uality g rad ing stand ard s
and Rep orting safety d efec ts.Chapter 14: Index
This is an alp hab etic al listing of all that ’s in this manual. You c an use it to
q uic kly find something you want to read . Safety warnings
You will find a numb er of WARNINGs, CAUTIONs and NO TEs in this
manual.
These safety warning s alert you to p otential hazard s that c ould result in
injury to you or others.
Please read these safety warning s as well as all ot her p ortions of this
manual c arefully in ord er to g ain a b etter und ersta nd ing of how to use
your SUBARU vehic le safely.
WARNING
A WARNING indicates a situation in which serious injury or deathcould result if the warning is ignored.
CAUTION
A CAUTION indicates a situation in which injury or damage toyour vehicle, or both, could result if the caution is ignored.
NOTE A NOTE gives information or suggestions how to make better use of your vehicle.

iv

Safety symbol
HS0008
You will find a c irc le with a slash throug h it in t his manual. This symb ol
means “Do not ” , “Do not d o this ”, or “Do not let this hap p en ”, d ep end ing
up on the c ontext.
Safety precautions when driving
SEATBELT AND SRS AIRBAG
WARNING
All persons in the vehicle should fasten their seatbelts BE-
FORE the vehicle starts to move. Otherwise, the possibility of se-
rious injury becomes greater in the event of a sudden stop or ac-cident. To obtain maximum protection in the event of an accident, the
driver and all passengers in the vehicle should always wear seat-
belts when the vehicle is moving. The SRS (SupplementalRestraint System) airbag does not do away with the need to fas-ten seatbelts. In combination with the seatbelts, it offers the bestcombined protection in case of a serious accident.Not wearing a seatbelt increases the chance of severe injury ordeath in a crash even when the car has the SRS airbag. The SRS airbags deploy with considerable speed and force.
Occupants who are out of proper position when the SRS airbag

v
–
CONTINUED –
deploys could suffer very serious injuries. Because the SRS air- bag needs enough space for deployment, the driver should al-ways sit upright and well back in the seat as far from the steeringwheel as practical while still maintaining full vehicle control and
the front passenger should move the seat as far back as possibleand sit upright and well back in the seat.
Carefully read the sec tions “ Seatb elts” and “SRS airb ag ” in c hap ter 1 of
this owner ’s manual for instruc tions and p rec autions c onc ernin g the
seatb elt system and SRS airb ag system. CHILD SAFETY
WARNING
Never hold a child on your lap or in your arms while the ve-
hicle is moving. The passenger cannot protect the child from in- jury in a collision, because the child will be caught between the
passenger and objects inside the vehicle. While riding in the vehicle, infants and small children should
always be placed in the REAR seat in an infant or child restraint
system which is appropriate for the child ’s age, height and
weight. If a child is too big for a child restraint system, the childshould sit in the REAR seat and be restrained using the seatbelts.According to accident statistics, children are safer when properlyrestrained in the rear seating positions than in the front seatingpositions. Never allow a child to stand up or kneel on the seat. Put children aged 12 and under in the REAR seat properly re-
strained at all times in a child restraint device or in a seatbelt. TheSRS airbag deploys with considerable speed and force and caninjure or even kill children, especially if they are 12 years of ageand under and are not restrained or improperly restrained. Be-
cause children are lighter and weaker than adults, their risk being
injured from deployment is greater. NEVER INSTALL A REARWARD FACING CHILD SEAT IN THE
FRONT SEAT. DOING SO RISKS SERIOUS INJURY OR DEATH TOTHE CHILD BY PLACING THE CHILD ’S HEAD TOO CLOSE TO

viTHE SRS AIRBAG.
Always use the child safety locks whenever a child rides in the
rear seat. Serious injury could result if a child accidentallyopened the door and fell out. Refer to the “Door locks ” section in
chapter 2. Always lock the passenger ’s windows using the lock switch
when children are riding in the vehicle. Failure to follow this pro-cedure could result in injury to a child operating the power win-
dow. Refer to the “Power windows ” section in chapter 2.
Never leave unattended children in the vehicle. They could ac-
cidentally injure themselves or others through inadvertent opera-
tion of the vehicle. Also, on hot or sunny days, temperature in a
closed vehicle could quickly become high enough to cause se-vere or possibly fatal injuries to them.
Carefully read the sec tions “Child restraint systems ” , “SRS airb ag ” and
“ Seatb elts” in c hap ter 1 of this owner ’s manual for instruc tions and p re-
c autions c onc erning the c hild restraint system, sea tb elt system and SRS
airb ag system. 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. If at any time you suspect that exhaust fumes are entering the

vii
–
CONTINUED –
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 rear gate closed while driving to prevent exhaust gas
from entering the vehicle.
DRINKING AND DRIVING WARNING
Drinking and then driving is very dangerous. Alcohol in the
bloodstream delays your reaction and impairs your perception,judgment and attentiveness. If you drive after drinking – even if
you drink just a little – it will increase the risk of being involved in
a serious or fatal accident, injuring or killing yourself, your pas-sengers and others. In addition, if you are injured in the accident,
alcohol may increase the severity of that injury. Please don ’t drink and drive.
Drunken d riving is one of the most freq uent c auses of ac c id ents. Sinc e
alc ohol affec ts all p eop le d ifferently, you may hav e c onsumed too muc h
alc ohol to d rive safely even if the level of alc oho l in your b lood is b elow
the leg al limit. The safest thing you c an d o is nev er d rink and d rive. How-
ever if you have no c hoic e b ut to d rive, stop d rink ing and sob er up c om-
p letely b efore g etting b ehind the wheel. DRUGS AND DRIVING
WARNING
There are some drugs (over the counter and prescription) that can delay your reaction time and impair your perception, judg-ment and attentiveness. If you drive after taking them, it may in-
crease your, your passengers ’ and other persons ’ risk of being
involved in a serious or fatal accident.
If you are taking any d rug s, c hec k with your d oc tor or p harmac ist or read