2001 SUBARU FORESTER warning

8-4
Catalytic converter
WARNING
Avoid fire hazards. Do not drive or park the vehicle anywhere
near flammable materials (e.g. grass, paper, rags or leaves),
because the catalytic converter operates at very high tempera-tures. Keep everyone and flammable materials away from the
exhaust pipe while the engine is running. The exhaust gas is veryhot.
HB3003BA
The c atalytic c onverter is installed in the exhaust system. It serves as a
c atalyst to red uc e HC, CO and NOx in exhaust g ases, thus p rovid ing
c leaner exhaust.
To avoid d amag e to the c atalytic c onverter: Use only unlead ed fuel. Even a small amount of lead ed fuel will d am-
ag e the c atalytic c onverter. Never start the eng ine b y p ushing or p ulling the ve hic le.
Avoid rac ing the eng ine.
Never turn off the ig nition switc h while the vehic l e is moving .
Keep your eng ine tuned -up . If you feel the eng ine r unning roug h (mis-
firing , b ac kfiring or inc omp lete c omb ustion), have your vehic le c hec ked
and rep aired b y an authorized SUBARU d ealer. Do not ap p ly und erc oating or rust p revention treatm ent to the heat

8-6
Driving tips for AWD vehicles
WARNING
Always maintain a safe driving speed according to the road
and weather conditions in order to avoid having an accident on a sharp turn, during sudden braking or under other similar condi-tions. Always use the utmost care in driving – overconfidence
because you are driving an all wheel drive vehicle could easilylead to a serious accident.
HS0113
All wheel d rive d istrib utes the eng ine p ower to all four wheels. AWD
vehic les p rovid e b etter trac tion when d riving on sl ip p ery, wet or snow-
c overed road s and when moving out of mud , d irt and sand . By shifting
p ower b etween the front and rear wheels, SUBARU AWD c an also p ro-
vid e ad d ed trac tion d uring ac c eleration and ad d ed e ng ine b raking forc e
d uring d ec eleration.
Therefore, your SUBARU AWD vehic le may hand le d iffe rently than an
ord inary two wheel d rive vehic le and it c ontains so me features uniq ue to
AWD. For safety p urp oses as well as to avoid d amag i ng the AWD sys-
tem, you should keep the following tip s in mind : An AWD vehic le is b etter ab le to c limb steep er road s und er snowy or
slip p ery c ond itions than a two wheel d rive vehic le. There is little d iffer-

Starting and operating8-7
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enc e in hand ling , however, d uring extremely sharp t
urns or sud d en b rak-
ing . Therefore, when d riving d own a slop e or turnin g c orners, b e sure to
red uc e your sp eed and maintain an amp le d istanc e fr om other vehic les.
When rep lac ing a tire, make sure you use only the s ame size, c irc um-
ferenc e, c onstruc tion, b rand , and load rang e as the orig inal tires listed on
the tire p lac ard . Using other sizes, c irc umferenc e or c onstruc tion may
result in severe mec hanic al d amag e to the d rive tra in of your vehic le and
may affec t rid e, hand ling , b raking , sp eed ometer/od o meter c alib ration, and
c learanc e b etween the b od y and tires. It also may b e d ang erous and lead
to loss of vehic le c ontrol. Always c hec k the c old tire p ressure b efore starting to d rive. The rec -
ommend ed tire p ressure is p rovid ed on the tire p lac ard , whic h is loc ated
und er the d oor latc h on the d river ’s sid e.
Tire c hains should always b e p lac ed on the front wh eels only.
There are some p rec autions that you must ob serve wh en towing your
vehic le. For d etail information, see the “Towing ” sec tion in this c hap ter.
Off road driving
WARNING
Always maintain a safe driving speed according to the road
and weather conditions in order to avoid having an accident on asharp turn, during sudden braking or under other similar condi-tions. Always use the utmost care in driving – overconfidence
because you are driving an all wheel drive vehicle could easilylead to a serious accident.
Bec ause of the AWD feature and hig her g round c leara nc e, your Sub aru
c an b e d riven on ord inary road s or off-road . But p l ease keep in mind that
an AWD Sub aru is a p asseng er c ar and is neither a c onventional off-road
vehic le nor an all-terrain vehic le. If you d o take your Sub aru off-road , c er-
tain c ommon sense p rec autions suc h as the following should b e taken:
Make c ertain that you and all of your p asseng ers ar e wearing seat

Starting and operating8-11
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tor p ed al, b rake p ed al, and all other c ontrols op er
ate smoothly.
Clear away ic e and snow that has ac c umulated und er the fend ers to
avoid making steering d iffic ult. During severe wint er d riving , stop
when and where it is safe to d o so and c hec k und er the fend ers p eri-
od ic ally. n During cold weather below –4°F ( –20 °C)
If the eng ine is d iffic ult to start using the norma l method (without
d ep ressing the ac c elerator p ed al), turn the ig nitio n switc h to the
“ START ” p osition while slig htly d ep ressing the ac c elerator p ed al.
n Parking in cold weather
WARNING
Snow can trap dangerous exhaust gases under your vehicle. Keep snow clear of the exhaust pipe and from around your
vehicle if you park the vehicle in snow with the engine running.
Do not use the p arking b rake when p arking for long p eriod s in c old
weather sinc e it c ould freeze in that p osition. Ins tead , ob serve the fol-
lowing :
1. Plac e the shift lever in “1 ” or “R ” for manual transmission vehic les,
and in “P ” for automatic transmission vehic les.
2. Use tire stop s und er the tires to p revent the veh ic le from moving .
When the vehic le is p arked in snow or when it snows , raise the wip er
b lad es off the g lass to p revent d amag e to them.
When the vehic le has b een left p arked after use on road s heavily c ov-
ered with snow, or has b een left p arked d uring a sn owstorm, ic ing
may d evelop on the b rake system, whic h c ould c ause p oor b raking
ac tion. Chec k for snow or ic e b uild up on the susp en sion, d isc b rakes
and b rake hoses und erneath the vehic le.
If there is c aked snow or ic e, remove it, b eing c ar eful not to d amag e
the d isc b rakes and b rake hoses and ABS harness. n Refueling in cold weather
To help p revent moisture from forming in the fuel s ystem and the risk
of its freezing , use of an antifreeze ad d itive in t he fuel tank is rec om-

8-12mend ed d uring c old weather.
Use only ad d itives that are sp ec ific ally d esig ned f
or this p urp ose.
When an antifreeze ad d itive is used , its effec t las ts long er if the tank is
refilled whenever the fuel level reac hes half emp ty .
If your SUBARU is not g oing to b e used for an exten d ed p eriod , it is
b est to have the fuel tank filled to c ap ac ity. Driving on snowy and icy roads
WARNING
Do not use the cruise control on slippery roads such as snowy or icy roads. This may cause loss of vehicle control.
To p revent skid d ing and slip p ing , avoid sud d en b rak ing , ab rup t ac c el-
eration, hig h-sp eed d riving , and sharp turning when d riving on snowy
or ic y road s.
Always maintain amp le d istanc e b etween your vehic le and the vehic le
ahead of you to avoid the need for sud d en b raking .
To sup p lement the foot b rake, use the eng ine b rake effec tively to c on-
trol the vehic le sp eed . (Shift into a lower g ear wh en nec essary.)
Avoid shifting d own ab rup tly. Suc h b ehavior c an c au se the wheel to
loc k, p ossib ly lead ing to loss of vehic le c ontrol.
Avoid loc king the front wheels b ec ause that c an lea d to a loss of
steering c ontrol. When b raking with a vehic le not e q uip p ed with an
Anti-Loc k Brake System (ABS), p ress the b rake p ed al rep eated ly at
short intervals to p revent the wheels from loc king . Then ap p ly the
b rakes softly to b ring the vehic le to a stop .
An ABS enhanc es your vehic le ’s b raking p erformanc e on snowy and
ic y road s. Refer to the “ABS (Anti-Loc k Brake System) ” in this c hap ter
for information on b raking on slip p ery surfac es in ABS eq uip p ed
vehic le. n Wiper operation when snowing
Before d riving in c old weather, make sure the wip er b lad es are not
frozen to the wind shield or rear wind ow. If the wip er b lad es are frozen
to the wind shield or rear wind ow, use the d efroster with the airflow
c ontrol d ial in the “
” p osition and the temp erature c ontrol lever

Starting and operating8-13
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turned fully to the rig ht until the wip er b lad es ar
e c omp letely thawed
out. To thaw out the rear wip er b lad e, use the rear wind ow d efog g er.
When d riving in snow, if frozen snow starts to stic k on the surfac e of
the wind shield d esp ite wip er op eration, use the d ef roster with the air-
flow c ontrol d ial in “
” and the temp erature c ontrol d ial turned fully
to the rig ht. After the wind shield g ets warmed enou g h to melt the fro-
zen snow on it, wash it away using the wind shield w asher.
Snow stuc k on the wip er arm p revents the wip er from working effec -
tively. If snow is stuc k on the wip er arm, p ull off the road to a safe
p lac e, then remove it. If you stop the c ar at road sid e, use the hazard
warning flasher to alert other d rivers.
We rec ommend use of non-freezing typ e wip er b lad es d uring the sea-
sons you c ould have snow and sub -zero temp erature.
Snow tires
WARNING
When replacing a tire, make sure you use only the same size,
circumference, construction, brand, and load range as the origi- nal tires listed on the tire placard. Using other sizes, circumfer-
ence or construction may result in severe mechanical damage tothe drive train of your vehicle and may affect ride, handling, brak-ing, speedometer/odometer calibration, and clearance betweenthe body and tires. It also may be dangerous and lead to loss of
vehicle control. Do not use a combination of radial, belted bias or bias tires
since it may cause dangerous handling characteristics and leadto an accident.
Your vehic le is eq uip p ed with “all season tires ” whic h are d esig ned to
p rovid e an ad eq uate measure of trac tion, hand ling a nd b raking p erfor-
manc e in year-round d riving . In winter, it may b e p ossib le to enhanc e
p erformanc e throug h use of tires d esig ned sp ec ific a lly for winter d riving
c ond itions.
If you c hoose to install winter tires on your vehic le, b e sure to use the

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Loading your vehicle
WARNING
Never allow passengers to ride on the folded rear seatback or
in the cargo area. Doing so may result in serious injury. 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 in sudden stop, sharp turn or 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
injury. Also, overloading can shorten the life of your vehicle. Do not place anything on the extended luggage cover. Such
items could tumble forward in the event of a sudden stop or a
collision. This could cause serious injury.
CAUTION
Do not carry spray cans, containers with flammable or corrosiveliquids or any other dangerous items inside the vehicle.
NOTE
For better fuel economy, do not carry unneeded cargo.

8-22Trailer towing
Your c ar is d esig ned and intend ed to b e used p rimar
ily as a p asseng er-
c arrying vehic le. Towing a trailer p uts ad d itional load s on your c ar’s
eng ine, d rivetrain, b rakes, tires and susp ension an d has an ad verse
effec t on fuel ec onomy.
If you d o d ec id e to tow a trailer, your safety and satisfac tion d ep end
up on p rop er use of c orrec t eq uip ment and c autious o p eration of your
vehic le. Seek the ad vic e of your SUBARU d ealer to a ssist you in p ur-
c hasing a hitc h and other nec essary towing eq uip men t ap p rop riate for
your vehic le. In ad d ition, b e sure to follow the in struc tions on c orrec t
installation and use p rovid ed b y the trailer and ot her towing eq uip ment
manufac turers.
SUBARU assumes no resp onsib ility for injuries or ve hic le d amag e that
result from trailer towing eq uip ment, or from any e rrors or omissions in
the instruc tions ac c omp anying suc h eq uip ment or for your failure to fol-
low the p rop er instruc tions.
Warranties and maintenance
SUBARU warranties d o not ap p ly to vehic le d amag e or malfunc tion
c aused b y trailer towing . If you use your vehic le t o tow a trailer, more
freq uent maintenanc e will b e req uired d ue to the ad d itional load .
(Refer to “Maintenanc e sc hed ule und er severe d riving c ond ition s” in
the “Warranty and Maintenanc e Booklet ”.)
Und er no c irc umstanc es should a trailer b e towed wi th a new vehic le
or a vehic le with any new p owertrain c omp onent (eng ine, transmis-
sion, d ifferential, wheel b earing s, etc .) for the f irst 1,000 miles (1,600
km) of d riving . Maximum load limits
WARNING
Never exceed the maximum load limits explained below. Exceed- ing the maximum load limits could cause personal injury and/or
vehicle damage.