2001 SUBARU FORESTER fuel

10-2Exterior care
Washing
CAUTION
When washing the vehicle, the brakes may get wet. As a result,
the brake stopping distance will be longer. To dry the brakes, drive the vehicle at a safe speed while lightly pressing the brakepedal to heat up the brakes. Do not wash the engine compartment and areas adjacent to it.
If water enters the engine air intake, electrical parts or the power
steering fluid reservoir, it will cause engine trouble or faulty pow-
er steering respectively.
The b est way to p reserve your vehic le ’s b eauty is freq uent washing .
Wash the vehic le at least onc e a month to avoid c on tamination b y road
g rime.
Wash d irt off with a wet sp ong e and p lenty of lukew arm or c old water. Do
not wash the vehic le with hot water and in d irec t s unlig ht.
Salt, c hemic als, insec ts, tar, soot and b ird d rop p i ng s should b e washed
off b y using a lig ht d eterg ent, as req uired . If you use a lig ht d eterg ent,
make c ertain that it is a neutral d eterg ent. Do not use strong soap or
c hemic al d eterg ents. All c leaning ag ents should b e p romp tly flushed
from the surfac e and not allowed to d ry there. Rins e the vehic le thor-
oug hly with p lenty of lukewarm water. Wip e the rema ining water off with a
c hamois or soft c loth.
Washing the underbody
Chemic als, salts and g ravel used for d eic ing road s urfac es are ex-
tremely c orrosive, ac c elerating the c orrosion of un d erb od y c omp o-
nents, suc h as the exhaust system, fuel and b rake l ines, b rake
c ab les, floor p an and fend ers, and susp ension.
Thoroug hly flush the und erb od y and insid e of the fe nd ers with luke-
warm or c old water at freq uent intervals to red uc e the harmful effec ts
of suc h ag ents.

Appearance care10-5
–
CONTINUED –
3. Damp ness in c ertain p arts of the vehic le remains
for a long time,
even thoug h other p arts of the vehic le may b e d ry.
4. Hig h temp eratures will c ause c orrosion to p arts o f the vehic le
whic h c annot d ry q uic kly d ue to lac k of p rop er vent ilation.
To help prevent corrosion
Wash the vehic le freq uently. If you d rive on salted road s in the winter
or if you live in a c oastal area, you should flush the und erb od y with
fresh water freq uently.
After the winter has end ed , it is rec ommend ed that the und erb od y b e
g iven a very thoroug h washing .
Before the b eg inning of winter, c hec k the c ond ition of und erb od y
c omp onents, suc h as the exhaust system, fuel and b r ake lines, b rake
c ab les, susp ension, steering system, floor p an, and fend ers. If any of
them are found to b e rusted , they should b e g iven a n ap p rop riate rust
p revention treatment or should b e rep lac ed . Contac t your SUBARU
d ealer to p erform this kind of maintenanc e and trea tment if you need
assistanc e.
Rep air c hip s and sc ratc hes in the p aint as soon as you find them.
Chec k the interior of the vehic le for water and d ir t ac c umulation und er
the floor mats b ec ause that c ould c ause c orrosion. Oc c asionally
c hec k und er the mats to make sure the area is d ry.
Keep your g arag e d ry. Do not p ark your vehic le in a d amp , p oorly
ventilated g arag e. In suc h a g arag e, c orrosion c an b e c aused b y
d amp ness. If you wash the vehic le in the g arag e or p ut the vehic le
into the g arag e when wet or c overed with snow, that c an c ause
d amp ness.
If your vehic le is op erated in c old weather and /or in areas where road
salts and other c orrosive materials are used , the d oor hing es and
loc ks, trunk lid loc k, and hood latc h should b e ins p ec ted and lub ri-
c ated p eriod ic ally.

11-4
Always use the proper tools and make certain that they are
well maintained. Never get under the vehicle supported only by a jack. Always
use a safety stand to support the vehicle. Never keep the engine running in a poorly ventilated area,
such as a garage or other closed areas. Do not smoke or allow open flames around the fuel or battery.
This will cause a fire. Wear adequate eye protection to guard against getting oil or
other fluids in your eyes. If something does get in your eyes,
thoroughly wash it out with clean water. Because the fuel system is under pressure, replacement of the
fuel filter should be performed only by your SUBARU dealer. The SRS airbag has no user-serviceable parts. Tampering with
or disconnecting the system ’s wiring could result in accidental
inflation of the airbag or could make the system inoperative,
which may result in serious injury. The wiring harnesses of theSRS airbag system are covered with yellow insulation and the
connectors of the system are yellow, for easy identification. Donot use electrical test equipment on any circuit related to the SRSairbag system. For required servicing of the SRS airbag, see your
nearest SUBARU dealer. Before checking or servicing in the engine compartment
Always stop the engine and set the parking brake firmly to pre-
vent the vehicle from moving. Always let the engine cool down. Engine parts become very
hot when the engine is running and remain hot for some time af-ter the engine is stopped. Do not spill engine oil, engine coolant, brake fluid or any other
fluid on hot engine components. This may cause a fire. Always remove the key from the ignition switch. When the
ignition switch is in the “ON” position, the cooling fan may oper-
ate suddenly even when the engine is stopped.

11-8Engine compartment overview 1
Manual transmission oil level
g aug e (MT) (p ag e 11-21) or
Differential g ear oil level
g aug e (AT) (p ag e 11-24)
2 Air c leaner element
(p ag e 11-18)
3 Clutc h fluid reservoir
(p ag e 11-30)
4 Automatic transmission fluid
level g aug e (p ag e 11-22)
5 Brake fluid reservoir
(p ag e 11-28)
6 Fuel filter 7
Wind shield washer tank
(p ag e 11-33)
8 Fuse b ox (p ag e 11-44)
9 Battery (p ag e 11-31)
Q Eng ine oil filler c ap
(p ag e 11-9)
W Eng ine c oolant reservoir
(p ag e 11-15)
E Eng ine oil level g aug e
(p ag e 11-9)
R Power steering fluid reservoir
(p ag e 11-27)
T Rad iator c ap (p ag e 11-15) HGA017BB

Maintenance and service11-9
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CONTINUED –
Engine oil
Checking the oil level
Chec k the eng ine oil level at eac h fuel stop .
OM-H2727
HS0173
Upper level
Lower- level Notch
front
1. Park the vehic le on a level surfac e and stop the eng ine.
2. Pull out the d ip stic k, wip e it c lean, and insert it ag ain.
3. Be sure the d ip stic k is c orrec tly inserted until it stop s with the
g rap hic symb ol on its top ap p earing as shown in the illustra-
tion.
4. Pull out the d ip stic k ag ain and c hec k the oil lev el on it. If it is b elow
the lower level, ad d oil to b ring the level up to t he up p er level.
CAUTION
Use only engine oil with the recommended grade and viscosity.
If you c hec k the oil level just after stop p ing the eng ine, wait a few min-
utes for the oil to d rain b ac k into the oil p an b ef ore c hec king the level.
Just after d riving or while the eng ine is warm, the eng ine oil level
read ing may b e in a rang e b etween the up p er level a nd the notc h
mark. This is c aused b y thermal exp ansion of the en g ine oil.
To p revent overfilling the eng ine oil, d o not ad d a ny ad d itional oil
ab ove the up p er level when the eng ine is c old .

11-12
Recommended grade and viscosity CAUTION
Use only engine oil with the recommended grade and viscosity.
Oil grade: API classification SJ or SH with the words “ENERGY
CONSERVING II ” (if you cannot obtain the oil with SJ
or SH grade, you may use SG grade oil.) or the new
API mark (Starburst mark) displayed on the container.
New API Certification Mark (Starburst Mark)API Service label
1
2
3
1 Ind ic ates the oil q uality b y API d esig nations
2 Ind ic ates the SAE oil visc osity g rad e
3 Ind ic ates that the oil has fuel saving c ap ab ilities
In c hoosing an oil, you want the p rop er q uality and visc osity, as well
as one that will ad d to fuel ec onomy. The following tab le lists the rec -
ommend ed visc osities and ap p lic ab le temp eratures.
When ad d ing oil, d ifferent b rand s may b e used tog et her as long as
they are the same API c lassific ation and SAE visc os ity as those rec -
ommend ed b y SUBARU.
Eng ine oil visc osity (thic kness) affec ts fuel ec ono my. Oils of lower vis-
c osity p rovid e b etter fuel ec onomy. However, in hot weather, oil of
hig her visc osity is req uired to p rop erly lub ric ate the eng ine.

Maintenance and service11-15
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CONTINUED –

Engine coolant Checking the coolant level
Chec k the c oolant level at eac h fuel stop .
HS0178
“FULL”
level mark
“LOW” level mark
1. Chec k the c oolant level on the outsid e of the res ervoir while the
eng ine is c ool.
2. If the level is c lose to or lower than the “LOW ” level mark, ad d
c oolant up to the “FULL ” level mark. If the reserve tank is emp ty, re-
move the rad iator c ap and refill as req uired .
HG0115
Rubber gaskets
3. After refilling the reserve tank and the rad iator , reinstall the c ap s
and c hec k that the rub b er g askets insid e the rad iat or c ap are in the
p rop er p osition.

Maintenance and service11-33
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CONTINUED –
Windshield washer fluid
CAUTION
Never use engine coolant as washer fluid because it could cause paint damage.
Chec k the level of the washer fluid at eac h fuel st op . If the level is low, fill
the fluid up to the nec k of the reservoir.
Use wind shield washer fluid . If wind shield washer f luid is unavailab le use
c lean water.
In areas where water freezes in winter, use an anti -freeze typ e wind shield
washer fluid . SUBARU Wind shield Washer Fluid c ontai ns 58.5% methyl
alc ohol and 41.5% surfac tant, b y volume. Its freezi ng temp erature varies
ac c ord ing to how muc h it is d iluted , as ind ic ated b elow.
Washer Fluid Concentration
Freezing Temperature
30% 50%
100%10.4 °F ( –12 °C)
–4 °F ( –20 °C)
–49 °F ( –45 °C)
HS0189