2003 SUBARU BAJA heating

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Operating tips for heater and air conditionerCleaning ventilator grille
HBF046BA
Always keep the front ventilator inlet grille free of snow, leaves, or oth-
er obstructions to ensure efficient heating and defrosting. Since the
condenser is located in front of the radiator, this area should be kept
clean because cooling performance is impaired by any accumulation
of insects and leaves on the condenser. Efficient cooling after parking in direct sunlight
After parking in direct sunlight, drive with the windows open for a few
minutes to allow outside air to circulate into the heated interior. This
results in quicker cooling by the air conditioner. Keep the windowsclosed during the operation of the air conditioner for maximum cool-
ing efficiency. Lubrication oil circulation in the refrigerant circuit
Operate the air conditioner compressor at a low engine speed (at idle
or low driving speeds) a few minutes each month during the off-sea-
son to circulate its oil. Checking air conditioning system before summer season
Check the air conditioner unit for refrigerant leaks, hose conditions,
and proper operation each spring. This check is best performed by
your SUBARU dealer.

Climate control4-13
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Cooling and dehumidifying in high humidity and low tempera- ture weather condition
Under certain weather conditions (high relative humidity, low tempera-
tures, etc.) a small amount of water vapor emission from the air outlets
may be noticed. This condition is normal and does not indicate any
problem with the air conditioning system. Air conditioner compressor shut-off when engine is heavily loaded
To improve acceleration and gas mileage, the air conditioner com-
pressor is designed to temporarily shut off during air conditioner op-
eration whenever the accelerator is fully depressed such as duringrapid acceleration or when driving on a steep upgrade. Refrigerant for your climate control system
Your air conditioner uses ozone friendly refrigerant HFC134a. There-
fore, the method of adding, changing or checking the refrigerant is
different from the method for CFC12 (freon). Consult your SUBARU
dealer for service. Repairs needed as a result of using the wrong
refrigerant are not covered under warranty.
Air filtration system (if equipped) If your vehicle ’s air conditioning system is equipped with a optional air
filtration system, replace the filter element according to the replacement
schedule shown below. This schedule should be followed to maintain the
filter’ s dust collection ability. Under extremely dusty conditions, the filter
should be replaced more frequently. Have your filter checked or
replaced by your SUBARU dealer.
Replacement schedule: Every 12 months or 9,300 miles (15,000 km) whichever comes first
NOTE The filter can influence the air conditioning, heating and defroster performance if not properly maintained.

Interior and exterior equipments6-9
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Cigarette lighter socket
CAUTION
The electrical power socket located on the lower part of the
instrument panel is originally designed to use a SUBARU genuine
cigarette lighter plug. Do not use non-genuine cigarette lighterplugs in the socket. Doing so may cause a short-circuit and over-heating, resulting in a fire. If the socket is ever used for a plug-in accessory such as a
mobile phone, they may damage the portion of the socket ’s inter-
nal mechanism that causes a cigarette lighter plug to “pop out ”
after its lighter element is heated. Therefore, do not place a ciga-rette lighter plug in a socket that has been used, even once, to
power a plug-in accessory. Doing so may cause the plug to stickand overheat, creating a potential fire hazard. Do not place any foreign objects, especially metal ones such
as coins or aluminum foil, into the socket. That could cause ashort circuit.
HB6011BA
The electrical power socket located on the lower part of the instrument
panel can be used as cigarette lighter socket. A cigarette lighter plug is
an optional accessory. It is available from your SUBARU dealer.
The cigarette lighter socket may also be used as a power source for anin-car use electrical appliance.

6-10
Use with a cigarette lighter
WARNING
To avoid being burned, never grasp the lighter by the end with the heating element. Doing so could result in injury and couldalso damage the heating element.
CAUTION
Do not hold the lighter pushed in, because it will overheat.
HB6011DA
The cigarette lighter operates only when the ignition switch is in “ON”
and “ACC” positions.
To use the cigarette lighter, push in the knob and wait a few moments.
It will automatically spring up when ready for use. Using as an accessory power outlet
Electrical power (12V DC) from the battery is on tap at the socket when the ignition switch is either in “ACC” or “ON” position.
If you use the socket as an accessory power outlet, take the following
precautions.
When the socket is not in use, always put the cap on the socket to
prevent any foreign object from entering it.

7-22
Braking Braking tips
WARNING
Never rest your foot on the brake pedal while driving. This can
cause dangerous overheating of the brakes and needless wearon the brake pads and linings.
When the brakes get wet
When driving in rain or after washing the vehicle, the brakes may get
wet. As a result, brake stopping distance will be longer. To dry the
brakes, drive the vehicle at a safe speed while lightly depressing thebrake pedal to heat up the brakes. Use of engine braking
Remember to make use of engine braking in addition to foot braking.
When descending a grade, if only the foot brake is used, the brakes
may start working improperly because of brake fluid overheating,
caused by overheated brake pads. To help prevent this, shift into a
lower gear to get stronger engine braking. Braking when a tire is punctured
Do not depress the brake pedal suddenly when a tire is punctured.
This could cause a loss of control of the vehicle. Keep driving straight
ahead while gradually reducing speed. Then slowly pull off the roadto a safe place.
Brake system Two separate circuits
Your vehicle has two separate circuit brake systems. Each circuit
works diagonally across the vehicle. If one circuit of the brake system
should fail, the other half of the system still works. If one circuit fails,
the brake pedal will go down much closer to the floor than usual and
you will need to press it down much harder. And a much longer dis-
tance will be needed to stop the vehicle.

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trailer, causing sway. Crosswinds can be due to weather conditions or
the passing of large trucks or buses. If swaying occurs, firmly grip the
steering wheel and slow down immediately but gradually.When passing other vehicles, considerable distance is required
because of the added weight and length caused by attaching the
trailer to your vehicle. Backing up with a trailer is difficult and takes practice. When back-
ing up with a trailer, never accelerate or steer rapidly. When turning
back, grip the bottom of the steering wheel with one hand and turn it
to the left for a left turn, and turn it to the right for a right turn.
Left turn Right turn
OM-H2791
If the ABS warning light illuminates while the vehicle is in motion,
stop towing the trailer and have repairs performed immediately by the
nearest SUBARU dealer. n Driving on grades
Before going down a steep hill, slow down and shift into lower gear
(if necessary, use 1st gear) in order to utilize the engine braking effect
and prevent overheating of your vehicle ’s brakes. Do not make sud-
den downshifts. When driving uphill in hot weather, the air conditioner may turn off
automatically to protect the engine from overheating. When driving uphill in hot weather, pay attention to the water tem-
perature gauge pointer (for all vehicles) and AT OIL TEMP warning
light (for AT vehicles) since the engine and transmission are relatively
prone to overheating under these conditions. If the water temperature

Driving tips8-35
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gauge pointer approaches the OVERHEAT zone or the AT OIL TEMP
warning light illuminates, immediately switch off the air conditioner
and stop the vehicle at the nearest safe place. Refer to the “Engine
overheat” section in Chapter 9, and “Warning and indicator lights ”
section in Chapter 3. If your vehicle has an automatic transmission, avoid using the
accelerator pedal to stay stationary on an uphill slope instead of usingthe parking brake or foot brake. That may cause the transmission fluidto overheat. Also, if your vehicle is equipped with an automatic trans-mission, avoid driving with the gear selector lever in “D” when towing
a heavy trailer to prevent fluid overheating. A lower gear should beused. n Parking on a grade
Always block the wheels under both vehicle and trailer when parking.
Apply the parking brake firmly. You should not park on a hill or slope.But if parking on a hill or slope cannot be avoided, you should takethe following steps:
1. Apply the brakes and hold the pedal down.
2. Have someone place wheel blocks under both the vehicle and
trailer wheels.
3. When the wheel blocks are in place, release the regular brakes
slowly until the blocks absorb the load.
4. Apply the regular brakes and then apply the parking brake; slowly
release the regular brakes.
5. Shift into 1st or reverse gear (manual transmission) or “P” (auto-
matic transmission) and shut off the engine.

9
In case of emergency
If you park your vehicle in an emergency 9-2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Jack and tools 9-3
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Spare tire 9-6
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Temporary spare tire 9-9
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Using the temporary spare tire 9-9
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Flat tires 9-11
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Changing a flat tire 9-11
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Jump starting 9-18
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Engine overheating 9-21
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Towing 9-22
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Moonroof — if the moonroof cannot be closed 9-27 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .