2001 SUBARU IMPREZA trailer

Starting and operating7-53
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HG0278
Trailer tire c ond ition, size, load rating and p rop e r inflation p ressure
should b e in ac c ord anc e with the trailer and tire m anufac turer’s sp ec i-
fic ations.
In the event your vehic le g ets a flat tire when tow ing a trailer, ask a
c ommerc ial road servic e to rep air the flat tire.
If you c arry a reg ular size sp are tire in your vehi c le or trailer as a p re-
c aution ag ainst g etting a flat tire, b e sure that t he sp are tire is firmly
sec ured . Trailer towing tips
When towing a trailer, steering , stab ility, stop p in g d istanc e and b rak-
ing p erformanc e will vary from normal op eration. Fo r safety’s sake,
you should emp loy extra c aution when towing a trail er and you should
never sp eed .
You should also keep the following tip s in mind :
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 ar ea free of traffic ,
p rac tic e turning , stop p ing and b ac king up .
You should allow for c onsid erab ly more stop p ing d is tanc e when tow-
ing a trailer. Avoid sud d en b raking b ec ause it may 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 1st g ear a nd release the

7-54c lutc h at mod erate eng ine rp m.
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 than the vehic le wheels to
the insid e of the turn. In a tig ht turn, the traile r c ould hit your vehic le.
Crosswind s will ad versely affec t the hand ling of yo ur vehic le and trail-
er, c ausing sway. Crosswind s c an b e d ue to weather 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 immed iately slow d own g rad ually.
When p assing other vehic les, c onsid erab le d istanc e is req uired b e-
c ause of the ad d ed weig ht and leng th c aused b y atta c hing a trailer to
your vehic le.
Before g oing d own a steep hill, slow d own and shift into low g ear in
ord er to utilize the eng ine b raking effec t and p rev ent overheating of
your vehic le ’s b rakes. Do not make sud d en d ownshifts.
When g oing up hill on hot d ays, turn off your air c o nd itioner to red uc e
the p ossib ility of eng ine overheating c aused b y the ad d ed load of the
trailer.
Pay attention to your water temp erature g aug e.
If your vehic le has an automatic transmission, avoi d using the ac c el-
erator p ed al to stay stationary on an up hill slop e instead of using the
p arking b rake or foot b rake. This may c ause the tra nsmission fluid to
overheat.
Always b loc k the wheels und er b oth vehic le and trai ler when p arking .
Ap p ly the p arking b rake firmly. You should not p ark on a hill or slop e.
But if p arking on a hill or slop e c annot b e avoid ed , you should take
the following step s:
1. Ap p ly the b rakes and hold the p ed al d own.
2. Have someone p lac e wheel b loc ks und er b oth the ve hic le and
trailer wheels.
3. When the wheel b loc ks are in p lac e, release the r eg ular b rakes
slowly until the b loc ks ab sorb the load .

Starting and operating7-55
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4. Ap p ly the reg ular b rakes and then ap p ly the p arki
ng b rake; slowly
release the reg ular b rakes.
5. Shift into 1st or reverse g ear (manual transmissi on) or “P ” (auto-
matic transmission) and shut off the eng ine.
If the ABS warning lig ht illuminates while the vehi c le is in motion, stop
towing the trailer and have rep airs c arried out imm ed iately b y the
nearest SUBARU d ealer.

In case of emergency8-11
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Temporary spare tire
WARNING
Never tow a trailer when the temporary spare tire is used. The temporary spare tire is not designed to sustain the towing load.
Use of the temporary spare tire when towing can result in failureof the spare tire and/or less stability of the vehicle and may leadto an accident.
CAUTION
Never use any temporary spare tire other than the original. Usingother sizes may result in severe mechanical damage to the drivetrain of your vehicle.
Your vehic le has a temp orary sp are tire. This tire is smaller and lig hter
than a c onventional tire and is d esig ned for emerg e nc y use only. Re-
move the temp orary sp are tire and re-install the c o nventional tire as soon
as p ossib le b ec ause the sp are tire is d esig ned only for temp orary use.
Chec k the inflation p ressure of the temp orary sp are tire at 60 psi (420
kPa, 4.2 kg/cm 2
) p eriod ic ally to keep the tire read y for use.
When using the temp orary sp are tire, note the follo wing :
Do not exc eed 50 mp h (80 km/h).
Do not p ut a tire c hain on the temp orary sp are tire . Bec ause of the
smaller tire size, a tire c hain will not fit p rop er ly .
Do not use two or more temp orary sp are tires at the same time.
Do not d rive over ob stac les. This tire has a smalle r d iameter, so
road c learanc e is red uc ed . When the wear ind ic ator ap p ears on the tread , rep la c e the tire.

10-8
Changing the oil and oil filter
Chang e the oil and oil filter ac c ord ing to the main tenanc e sc hed ule in
the “Warranty and Maintenanc e Booklet ”.
The eng ine oil and oil filter must b e c hang ed more freq uently than
listed in the maintenanc e sc hed ule when d riving on d usty road s,
when short trip s are freq uently mad e, when towing a trailer or when
d riving in extremely c old whether.
1. Warm up the eng ine b y letting the eng ine id le for ab out 10 minutes
to ease d raining the eng ine oil.
2. Park the vehic le on a level surfac e and stop the eng ine.
3. Remove the oil filler c ap .
OM-H0190Drain plug
4. Drain out the eng ine oil b y removing the d rain p l ug while the en-
g ine is still warm. The used oil should b e d rained into an ap p rop riate
c ontainer and d isp osed of p rop erly.
WARNING
Be careful not to burn yourself with hot engine oil.
5. Wip e the seating surfac e of the d rain p lug with a c lean c loth and
tig hten it sec urely with a new sealing washer after the oil has c om-
p letely d rained out.

Maintenance and service10-11
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OM-H2756
SAE viscosity number and applicable temperature

Recommended grade and viscosity under severe driving conditions
If the vehic le is used in d esert areas, in areas wi th very hig h temp era-
tures, or used for heavy-d uty ap p lic ations suc h as towing a trailer, use
of oil with the following g rad e and visc osities is rec ommend ed .
API c lassific ation: SJ or SH
SAE visc osity No.: 30, 40, 10W-50, 20W-40, 20W-50