2001 SUBARU FORESTER Owners Manual

6-20
Front, left and right side storage tray
HS0118HS0117
HS0119
To op en the lid , raise the c arg o anc horag e eyelets and p ull the tab
up . The jac k and jac k hand le are stored in the left sid e storag e tray.

Interior equipment6-21
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CONTINUED –

Center storage tray
HS6022BA
HS6021BA
To op en the lid , p ull the hand le up . To keep the li d op en, hang the
hook p rovid ed on the b ac ksid e of the lid on the rea r ed g e of the roof.
The sp are tire is stored und er the storag e tray.

7
Starting and operating Fuel7-2
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Fuel requirements 7-2
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Fuel filler lid and cap 7-4
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State emission testing (U.S. only) 7-6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Preparing to drive 7-7
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Starting the engine 7-8
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Starting the engine for a manual transmission vehicle 7-8 . . . . . . . . . .
Starting the engine for an automatic transmission vehicle 7-9 . . . . . .
Starting the engine during cold weather below –4°F ( –20 °C) 7-9 . . .
Starting a flooded engine 7-10
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Stopping the engine 7-10
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Manual transmission 7-11
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Automatic transmission 7-14
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Selector lever 7-15
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Shift lock release 7-19
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Rear viscous limited slip differential (S models) 7-21 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Power steering 7-21
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Braking 7-22
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Braking tips 7-22
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Brake system 7-22
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Disc brake pad wear warning indicators 7-23 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
ABS (Anti-lock Brake System) 7-23 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Parking your vehicle 7-26
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Cruise control (if equipped) 7-28 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

7-2
Fuel
CAUTION
Use of a fuel which is low in quality or use of an inappropriate fuel additive may cause engine damage.
Fuel requirements Fuel Octane Rating
Your eng ine is d esig ned to use only unlead ed g asoli ne with an oc tane
rating of 87 AKI or hig her. This oc tane rating is t he averag e of the Re-
searc h Oc tane and Motor Oc tane numb ers and is c ommo nly referred
to as the Anti Knoc k Ind ex (AKI).
Using a g asoline with a lower oc tane rating c an c au se p ersistent and
heavy knoc king , whic h c an d amag e the eng ine. Do not b e c onc erned
if your vehic le sometimes knoc ks lig htly when you d rive up a hill or
when you ac c elerate. See your d ealer or a q ualified servic e tec hni-
c ian if you use a g asoline with the sp ec ified oc tan e rating and your
vehic le knoc ks heavily or p ersistently. Unleaded gasoline
The nec k of the fuel filler p ip e is d esig ned to ac c ep t only an unlead ed
g asoline filler nozzle. Und er no c irc umstanc es shou ld lead ed g aso-
line b e used b ec ause it will d amag e the emission c o ntrol system and
may imp air d riveab ility and fuel ec onomy. Gasoline for California-certified LEV
If your vehic le is a California-c ertified Low Emiss ion Vehic le (LEV) as
ind ic ated on the und erhood tune-up lab el, it is d es ig ned to op timize
eng ine and emission c ontrol system p erformanc e with g asoline that
meets California low sulfer sp ec ific ations. Your ve hic le will op erate on
g asoline meeting Fed eral sp ec ific ations.

Starting and operating7-3
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CONTINUED –

Gasoline for cleaner air CAUTION
Do not let fuel spill on the exterior surfaces of the vehicle. Fuels containing alcohol may cause paint damage, which is not cov-
ered under the SUBARU Limited Warranty.
Your use of g asoline with d eterg ent ad d itives will help p revent d ep os-
its from forming in your eng ine and fuel system. Th is help s keep your
eng ine in tune and your emission c ontrol system wor king p rop erly,
and is a way of d oing your p art for c leaner air. If you c ontinuously use
a hig h q uality fuel with the p rop er d eterg ent and o ther ad d itives, you
should never need to ad d any fuel system c leaning a g ents to your
fuel tank.
Many g asolines are now b lend ed with materials c alle d oxyg enates.
Use of these fuels c an also help keep the air c lean er. SUBARU ap -
p roves the use of oxyg enated b lend fuels, suc h as M TBE (Methyl Ter-
tiary Butyl Ether) or ethanol (ethyl or g rain alc oh ol). The b lend ed fuels
should c ontain no more than 15% MTBE or 10% ethanol for the p rop er
op eration of your SUBARU.
In ad d ition, some g asoline sup p liers are now p rod uc ing reformulated
g asolines, whic h are d esig ned to red uc e vehic le emi ssions. SUBARU
ap p roves the use of reformulated g asoline.
If you are not sure what the fuel c ontains, you sho uld ask your servic e
station op erators if their g asolines c ontain d eterg ents and oxyg enates
and if they have b een reformulated to red uc e vehic l e emissions.
As ad d itional g uid anc e, only use fuels suited for y our vehic le as ex-
p lained b elow. Fuel should b e unlead ed and have an oc tane rating n o lower than
that sp ec ified in this manual. Methanol (methyl or wood alc ohol) is sometimes mixe d with un-
lead ed g asoline. Methanol c an b e used in your vehic le ONLY if it
d oes not exc eed 5% of the fuel mixture AND if it is ac c omp anied b y

7-4suffic ient q uantities of the p rop er c osolvents and
c orrosion inhib itors
req uired to p revent d amag e to the fuel system. Do n ot use fuel c on-
taining methanol EXCEPT und er these c ond itions.
If und esirab le d riveab ility p rob lems are exp erienc e d and you sus-
p ec t they may b e fuel related , try a d ifferent b ran d of g asoline b efore
seeking servic e at your SUBARU d ealer. Fuel system d amag e or d riveab ility p rob lems whic h r esult from the
use of imp rop er fuel are not c overed und er the SUBA RU Limited War-
ranty.
Fuel filler lid and cap Refueling
WARNING
Gasoline vapor is highly flammable. Before refueling, always
first stop the engine and make sure that there are no lighted ciga- rettes, open flames or electrical sparks in the adjacent area. When opening the cap, do not remove the cap quickly. Fuel
may be under pressure and spray out of the fuel filler neck espe-
cially in hot weather, which may cause injury.
CAUTION
Never add any cleaning agents to the fuel tank. The addition of
a cleaning agent may cause damage to the fuel system. Make sure that the cap is tightened until it clicks to prevent
fuel spillage in the event of an accident. Do not let fuel spill on the exterior surfaces of the vehicle.
Fuels may cause paint damage, which is not covered under the
SUBARU Limited Warranty. Always use a genuine SUBARU fuel filler cap. If you use the
wrong cap, it may not fit or have proper venting, and your fueltank and emission control system might be damaged.

Starting and operating7-5
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CONTINUED –
HS0022
1. To op en the fuel filler d oor, p ull it outward . Af ter refueling , b e sure
to c lose the fuel filler d oor c omp letely.
HB3008BB
2. To take off the fuel filler c ap , turn it slowly c ounterc loc kwise and
remove the c ap .
3. After the fuel filler nozzle has automatic ally st op p ed , d o not ad d
more fuel.
4. To p ut the c ap b ac k on, turn it c loc kwise until y ou hear a c lic king
noise.
Be c ertain not to c atc h the c ap tether und er the c a p while tig htening .
If you sp ill any fuel on the p ainted surfac e, rinse it off immed iately.
Otherwise, the p ainted surfac e c ould b e d amag ed . Su c h d amag e is
not c overed und er the SUBARU Limited Warranty.

7-6NOTE If the fuel filler cap is not tightened until it clicks or if the tether is caught under the cap, the CHECK ENGINE warning light maycome on. Refer to the
“Warning and indicator lights ” section
located in chapter 3.
State emission testing (U.S. only)
WARNING
Testing of an All-Wheel Drive vehicle must NEVER be performed
on a single two-wheel dynamometer. Attempting to do so willresult in uncontrolled vehicle movement and may cause an acci-
dent or injuries to persons nearby.
CAUTION
Resultant vehicle damage due to improper testing is not covered
under the SUBARU Limited Warranty and is the responsibility ofthe state inspection program or its contractors or licensees.
At state inspection time, remember to tell your inspection or service
station in advance not to place your Subaru AWD vehicle on a two-
wheel dynamometer. Otherwise, serious transmission damage willresult.
Some states have started using d ynamometers in thei r state insp ec tion
p rog rams in ord er to meet their ob lig ation und er fe d eral law to imp lement
stric ter vehic le emission stand ard s to red uc e air p ollution from c ars. A
d ynamometer is a tread mill or roller-like testing d evic e that allows your
c ar ’s wheels to turn while the c ar remains in one p lac e . Dep end ing on
the severity of a state ’s air p ollution p rob lems, the states must ad op t
either a “b asic ” or “enhanc ed ” vehic le emission insp ec tion test. Nor-
mally, a p ortion of the b asic emission test c onsist s of an emission
insp ec tor inserting an analyzer p rob e into the exha ust p ip e of an id ling
vehic le for a short p eriod of time. States with mor e severe air p ollution
p rob lems are req uired to ad op t an enhanc ed vehic le emission test. This