2001 SUBARU FORESTER stop start

Starting and operating8-9
–
CONTINUED –
that there is no g rass, b ush, p ap er, rag s, stones,
sand , etc . ad hering to
or trap p ed on the und erb od y. Clear off any suc h mat ter from the und er-
b od y. If the vehic le is used with these materials t rap p ed or ad hering to
the und erb od y, a mec hanic al b reakd own or fire c ould oc c ur.
Sec ure all c arg o c arried insid e the vehic le and mak e c ertain that it is
not p iled hig her than the seatb ac ks. During sud d en stop s or jolts, unse-
c ured c arg o c ould b e thrown around in the vehic le a nd c ause injury. Do
not p ile heavy load s on the roof. Those load s raise the vehic le’s c enter of
g ravity and make it more p rone to tip over. If you must roc k the vehic le to free it from sand o r mud , d ep ress the
ac c elerator p ed al slig htly and move the selec tor le ver b ac k and forth
b etween “D ” and “R ” rep eated ly. Do not rac e the eng ine. For the b est
p ossib le trac tion, avoid sp inning the wheels when t rying to free the
vehic le.
When the road surfac e is extremely slip p ery, you c a n ob tain b etter trac -
tion b y starting the vehic le with the transmission in 2nd than 1st (b oth for
MT and AT). Never eq uip your vehic le with tires larg er than tho se sp ec ified in this
manual. Freq uent d riving of an AWD vehic le und er hard -d rivi ng c ond itions suc h
as roug h road s or off road s will nec essitate more f req uent rep lac ement of
eng ine oil, b rake fluid and transmission oil than t hat sp ec ified in the main-
tenanc e sc hed ule d esc rib ed in the “Warranty and Maintenanc e Booklet ”.
Rememb er that d amag e d one to your Sub aru while op er ating it off-road
and not using c ommon sense p rec autions suc h as thos e listed ab ove is
not elig ib le for warranty c overag e.

Starting and operating8-11
–
CONTINUED –
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-

Starting and operating8-13
–
CONTINUED –
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

Starting and operating8-15
–
CONTINUED –
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.

Starting and operating8-19
–
CONTINUED –

When luggage is put on the slats (Vehicles with roof slats only)
When p utting any lug g ag e on the slats, make sure th e total weig ht of
the lug g ag e on the slats of the roof c ross b ar kit d oes not exc eed 100
lb. (45 kg) . Overload ing may c ause d amag e to the roof and c rea te a
safety hazard . Plac e the heaviest load at the b otto m, nearest the roof,
and evenly d istrib ute the lug g ag e. Always sec ure th e lug g ag e with
strap s, rop es or nets. Installing carrying attachments on the cross bars
When installing any c arrying attac hment suc h as a b ike c arrier, ski
c arrier, kayak c arrier, etc . on the c ross b ars, fol low the manufac turer’s
instruc tions and make sure that the attac hment is s ec urely fixed to the
c ross b ars. Use only attac hments d esig ned sp ec ific a lly for the c ross-
b ars. A set of the c ross b ars is d esig ned to c arry load s (c arg o and
attac hment) of not more than 150 lb. (68 kg). Before op erating the
vehic le, make sure that the c arg o is p rop erly sec ur ed on the attac h-
ment.
NOTE Remember that the vehicle ’s center of gravity is altered with the
weight of the load on the roof, thus affecting driving characteris- tics.
Drive carefully. Avoid rapid starts, hard cornering and abruptstops. Crosswind effects will be increased. Removal and installation of the crossbars CAUTION
Do not carry cargo on the roof when the crossbars are removed. Luggage on the roof will be thrown forward or backward in sud-den stops or rapid accelerations, resulting in a dangerous roadhazard.
The c rossb ars c an b e removed when you d o not use th e roof to c arry
c arg o. n To remove the crossbar
1. Loosen without removing the T-30 torx head sc rew from eac h
c rossb ar end sup p ort and c lamp .

8-30n
Tires
Make sure that all the tires on your vehic le are p r op erly inflated to the
p ressure und er towing c ond itions as shown in follow ing tab le. These
tire inflations are also shown on the tire p lac ard loc ated on the left
c enter p illar of your vehic le. Trailer tire c ond iti on, size, load rating and
p rop er inflation p ressure should b e in ac c ord anc e w ith the trailer
manufac turer ’s sp ec ific ations.
Front
29 psi (200 kPa, 2.0 kg/cm 2
)
Rear41 psi (275 kPa, 2.8 kg/cm 2
)
Trailer towing tips CAUTION
Never exceed 45 mph (72 km/h) when towing a trailer in hilly
country on hot days. When towing a trailer, steering, stability, stopping distance and
braking performance will be different from normal operation. For
safety’ s sake, you should employ extra caution when towing a
trailer and you should never speed. You should also keep the fol-lowing tips in mind:
n Before starting out on a trip
Chec k that the vehic le and vehic le-to-hitc h mountin g are in g ood
c ond ition. If any p rob lems are ap p arent, d o not tow the trailer.
Chec k that the vehic le sits horizontally with the t railer attac hed . If
the vehic le is tip p ed sharp ly up at the front and d own at the rear,
c hec k the total trailer weig ht, GVW, GAWs and tong u e load ag ain,
then c onfirm that the load and its d istrib ution are ac c ep tab le.
Chec k that the tire p ressures are c orrec t.
Chec k that the vehic le and trailer are c onnec ted p r op erly. Confirm that
– the trailer tong ue is c onnec ted p rop erly to the hit c h b all.
– the trailer lig hts c onnec tor is c onnec ted p rop erly and trailer’s
b rake lig hts illuminate when the vehic le ’s b rake p ed al is p ressed ,
and that the trailer ’s turn sig nal lig hts flash when the vehic le ’s turn

Starting and operating8-31
–
CONTINUED –
sig nal lever is op erated .
–
the safety c hains are c onnec ted p rop erly.
– all c arg o in the trailer is sec ured safety in p osit ion.
– the sid e mirrors p rovid e a g ood rearward field of v iew without a
sig nific ant b lind sp ot.
Suffic ient time should b e taken to learn the “feel ” of the vehic le/
trailer c omb ination b efore starting out on a trip . In an area free of traf-
fic , p rac tic e turning , stop p ing and b ac king up . n Driving with a trailer
You should allow for c onsid erab ly more stop p ing d is tanc e when
towing a trailer. Avoid sud d en b raking b ec ause it m ay result in skid -
d ing or jac kknifing and loss of c ontrol. Avoid ab rup t starts and sud d en ac c elerations. If yo ur vehic le has a
manual transmission, always start out in first g ear and release the
c lutc h at mod erate eng ine RPM. Avoid uneven steering , sharp turns and rap id lane c hang es.
Slow d own b efore turning . Make a long er than normal turning
rad ius b ec ause the trailer wheels will b e c loser th an the vehic le
wheels to the insid e of the turn. In a tig ht turn, the trailer c ould hit your
vehic le. Crosswind s will ad versely affec t the hand ling of yo ur vehic le and
trailer, c ausing sway. Crosswind s c an b e d ue to wea ther c ond itions or
the p assing of larg e truc ks or b uses. If swaying oc c urs, firmly g rip the
steering wheel and slow d own immed iately b ut g rad ua lly.
When p assing other vehic les, c onsid erab le d istanc e is req uired
b ec ause of the ad d ed weig ht and leng th c aused b y at tac hing the
trailer to your vehic le. When b ac king up with a trailer, never ac c elerate or steer rap id ly.
When turning b ac k, g rip the b ottom of the steering wheel with one
hand and turn it to the left for a left turn, and t urn it to the rig ht for a
rig ht turn.

9-10Make sure that the c ab les are not near any moving p
arts and that
the c ab le c lamp s are not in c ontac t with any other metal.
5. Start the eng ine of the vehic le with the b ooster b attery and run it at
mod erate sp eed . Then start the eng ine of the vehic l e that has the d is-
c harg ed b attery.
6. When finished , c arefully d isc onnec t the c ab les in exac tly the re-
verse ord er.
Engine overheating
WARNING
Never attempt to remove the radiator cap until the engine hasbeen shut off and has fully cooled down. When the engine is hot,the coolant is under pressure. Removing the cap while the engineis still hot could release a spray of boiling hot coolant, which
could burn you very seriously.
If the eng ine overheats, safely p ull off the road a nd stop the vehic le in a
safe p lac e.
If steam is coming from the engine compartment
Turn the eng ine off and g et everyone away from the vehic le until it
c ools d own. If no steam is coming from the engine compartment
1. Keep the eng ine running at id ling sp eed .
2. Op en the hood to ventilate the eng ine c omp artment .
Confirm that the c ooling fan is turning . If the fan is not turning , im-
med iately turn the eng ine off and c ontac t your auth orized d ealer for
rep air.
3. After the eng ine c oolant temp erature has d rop p ed , turn off the en-
g ine.
If the temp erature g aug e stays at the overheated zo ne, turn the en-
g ine off.
4. After the eng ine has fully c ooled d own, c hec k the c oolant level in