2001 SUBARU OUTBACK tow

4-2
Ventilator
Center and side ventilators
HB5001BB
Adjustable side defroster grille (for driver ’s side only)
HB5003BB
HB5002BB
Normal position
Side defroster grilleFin
Windshield defrost assist position
The d river ’s sid e d efroster g rille is ad justab le. The normal p osition as
shown in the d iag ram d irec ts warm air to the sid e g lass. When more
rap id d efrosting of the wind shield is d esired , the air flow c an b e
d irec ted temp orarily toward the wind shield to assis t the wind shield
d efroster. If this is d one, the d river ’s sid e g rille should always b e
returned to its normal p osition so that the warm ai r flow c an then b e
used to d efrost the d river ’s sid e wind ow.

Climate control4-7
–
CONTINUED –
4. Set the fan sp eed c ontrol d ial to the hig hest sp e
ed .
NOTE
Warm air also comes out from the right and left air outlets. To
stop warm air flow from these outlets, turn the correspondingthumb-wheel to the “
” position.
Heating and defrosting
HB5012AA
To d irec t warm air toward the floor and the wind shi eld :
1. Set the air inlet selec tion b utton to the “OFF ” p osition.
2. Set the air flow c ontrol d ial to the “
” p osition.
3. Set the temp erature c ontrol d ial to the most c omf ortab le level.
4. Set the fan sp eed c ontrol d ial to the d esired sp e ed .
NOTE
Warm air also comes out from the right and left air outlets. To
stop warm air flow from these outlets, turn the correspondingthumb-wheel to the “
” position.

4-8
Heating
HB5013AA
To d irec t warm air toward the floor:
1. Set the air inlet selec tion b utton to the “OFF ” p osition
2 Set the air flow c ontrol d ial to the “
” p osition.
3. Set the temp erature c ontrol d ial to the most c omf ortab le level.
4. Set the fan sp eed c ontrol d ial to the d esired sp e ed .
NOTE
Warm air also comes out from the right and left air outlets. To
stop warm air flow from these outlets, turn the correspondingthumb-wheel to the “
” position.
Bi-level heating
HB5014AA
This setting allows you to d irec t air of d ifferent temp eratures from the

4-14NOTE
You can check the outside air temperature even when the Au-
tomatic Climate Control is off. (The ignition switch should be in the “ON” position.)
In the following cases, the display can indicate a higher tem-
perature than the actual outside air temperature: – In direct sunlight
– When the vehicle is parked for a long period of time with the
engine kept running.– During stop and go driving
n
— Defroster switch
To d efrost or d ehumid ify the wind shield and sid e wi nd ow, p ush the
d efroster switc h “
”. When the “” switc h is p ushed , re-
g ard less whether the air c ond itioner is op erating o r not, outsid e air is
d rawn into the p asseng er c omp artment, the air c ond i tioner c omp res-
sor turns on, air flow is d irec ted toward s the wind shield and sid e win-
d ows, and the ind ic ator lig ht “
” on the c ontrol p anel c omes on.
After eliminating the fog g ing from the wind shield , set the air c ond ition-
er b ac k in the AUTO mod e b y p ushing the “AUTO ” switc h or turn off
b y p ushing the “OFF ” switc h or “
” switc h.
n
— Fan speed control switch
HB5021BB
The fan sp eed c ontrol switc h has the 5 p ositions: A UTO p osition and
4 d ifferent fan sp eed p ositions.

8
Driving tips New vehicle break-in driving –
the first 1,000 miles (1,600 km) 8-2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Fuel economy hints 8-3
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Engine exhaust gas (Carbon monoxide) 8-3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Catalytic converter 8-4
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Periodic inspections 8-5
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Driving in foreign countries 8-5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Driving tips for AWD vehicles 8-6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Off road driving 8-7
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Winter driving 8-10
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Snow tires 8-14
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Tire chains 8-16
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Rocking the vehicle 8-16
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Loading your vehicle 8-17
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Vehicle capacity weight 8-18
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
GVWR and GAWR (Gross Vehicle Weight Rating and Gross Axle Weight Rating) 8-19
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Roof rail and crossbar (if equipped) 8-20 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Trailer hitch (if equipped) 8-24
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Trailer towing 8-28
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Driving tips8-7
–
CONTINUED –
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 es or c onstruc tion may re-
sult in severe mec hanic al d amag e to the d rive train 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. If you use a temp orary sp are tire to rep lac e a flat tire, b e sure to use
the orig inal temp orary sp are tire stored in the veh ic le. Using other sizes
may result in severe mec hanic al d amag e to the d rive train of your vehic le.
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 “Towing ” sec tion in c hap ter 9.
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.
All AWD models except OUTBACK
Your AWD vehic le is neither a c onventional off-road vehic le nor an all
terrain vehic le. It is a p asseng er c ar d esig ned p ri marily for on-road
use. The AWD feature g ives it some limited off-road c ap ab ilities in sit-
uations in whic h d riving surfac es a relatively leve l, ob struc tion-free

8-8and otherwise similar to on-road d riving c ond itions
. Op erating it und er
other than those c ond itions c ould sub jec t the vehic le to exc essive
stress whic h mig ht result in d amag e not elig ib le fo r rep air und er war-
ranty. If you d o take your SUBARU off road , you sho uld review the
c ommon sense p rec autions in the next sec tion (ap p li c ab le to the
OUTBACK) for g eneral g uid anc e. But p lease keep in m ind that your
vehic le ’s off-road c ap ab ilities are more limited than those of the OUT-
BACK.
Never attemp t to d rive throug h p ools and p ud d les, o r road s flood ed
with water. Water entering the eng ine air intake or the exhaust p ip e or
water sp lashing onto elec tric al p arts may d amag e yo ur vehic le and
may c ause it to stall. OUTBACK
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 lease keep
in mind that an AWD Sub aru is a p asseng er c ar and i s neither a c on-
ventional off-road vehic le nor an all-terrain vehic le. If you d o take your
Sub aru off-road , c ertain c ommon sense p rec autions s uc h as the fol-
lowing should b e taken: Make c ertain that you and all of your p asseng ers ar e wearing seat
b elts. Carry some emerg enc y eq uip ment, suc h as a towing ro p e or
c hain, a shovel, wheel b loc ks, first aid kit and p o rtab le p hone or c iti-
zens b and rad io. Drive c arefully. Do not take unnec essary risks b y d riving in d ang er-
ous areas or over roug h terrain. Slow d own and emp loy extra c aution at all times. Wh en d riving off-
road , you will not have the b enefit of marked traff ic lanes, b anked
c urves, traffic sig ns and the like. Do not d rive ac ross steep slop es. Instead , d rive ei ther straig ht up
or straig ht d own the slop es. A vehic le c an muc h mor e easily tip over
sid eways than it c an end over end . Avoid d riving st raig ht up or d own
slop es that are too steep . Avoid sharp turning maneuvers, esp ec ially at hig her sp eed s.
Do not g rip the insid e or sp okes of the steering wh eel. A b ad

8-22n
To remove the crossbar
1. Loosen and remove the T –30 torx head sc rew from the top of
eac h c rossb ar end sup p ort.
2. Rotate the lower c lamp on the b ottom of eac h end sup p ort d own-
ward ap p roximately 90 .
3. Carefully raise the c rossb ar from roof rails. n To install the crossbar
Front crossbar:
Front c rossb ar has 100 LBS. Load Lab el on left-hand sid e.
HB1011BC
1. Before p lac ing the c rossb ar on the roof rails, ma ke sure that the
T-30 torx head sc rew is removed from the top of eac h c rossb a r end
sup p ort.
2. Rotate the lower c lamp on the b ottom of eac h end sup p ort d own-
ward ap p roximately 90 .
3. With the front d irec tion arrow lab el on the top r ig ht sid e of the
c rossb ar p ointing toward the front of the vehic le, c arefully p lac e the
c rossb ar ac ross the top of the vehic le so that the c rossb ar end sup -
p orts rest on the top of the roof rails ap p roximate ly 6 inc hes (152 mm)
rearward from the seam (joint) b etween the front ro of rail sup p ort and
the roof rail.
4. Rotate (raise) the lower c lamp up to the b ottom o f the roof rail and
loosely tig hten the T-30 torx head sc rew with the torx wrenc h p ro-
vid ed , throug h the top of the end sup p ort and into the thread ed insert
in the lower c lamp on eac h end of the c rossb ar.