2003 SUBARU BAJA spare tire

ix
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CONTINUED –
MODIFICATION OF YOUR VEHICLE
CAUTION
Your vehicle should not be modified. Modification could affect its
performance, safety or durability, and may even violate govern-mental regulations. In addition, damage or performance problemsresulting from modification may not be covered under warranties.
DRIVING WITH PETS
Unrestrained pets can interfere with your driving and distract your atten-
tion from driving. In a collision or sudden stop, unrestrained pets or
cages can be thrown around inside the vehicle and hurt you or your pas-
sengers. Besides, the pets can be hurt under these situations. It is also
for their own safety that pets should be properly restrained in your
vehicle. Restrain a pet with a special traveling harness which can be se-
cured to the rear seat with a seatbelt or use a pet carrier which can be
secured to the rear seat by routing a seatbelt through the carrier ’s han-
dle. Never restrain pets or pet carriers in the front passenger ’s seat. For
further information, consult your veterinarian, local animal protection so-ciety or pet shop. TIRE PRESSURES
WARNING
Driving at high speeds with excessively low tire pressures can
cause the tires to deform severely and to rapidly become hot. Asharp increase in temperature could cause tread separation, and
destruction of the tires. The resulting loss of vehicle controlcould lead to an accident.
Check and, if necessary, adjust the pressure of each tire (including the
spare) at least once a month and before any long journey.
Check the tire pressure when the tires are cold.
Use a pressure gauge to adjust the tire pressures to the values shown on
the tire placard.

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Cargo bed/spare tire/jack
1 Cargo lamp (page 6-20)
2 Cargo tie-down hooks (page 6-16)
3 Temporary spare tire (page 9-9) 4
Switchback door (page 2-26)
5 Jack/Maintenance tools (page 9-3)
6 Cargo bed extender (page 6-17) HBF052BB
HBF053BB

Driving tips8-7
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CONTINUED –
ing. Therefore, when driving down a slope or turning corners, be sure to
reduce your speed and maintain an ample distance from other vehicles.When replacing a tire, make sure you use only the same size, circum-
ference, construction, brand, and load range as the original tires listed on
the tire placard. Using other sizes, circumferences or construction may re-
sult in severe mechanical damage to the drive train of your vehicle and
may affect ride, handling, braking, speedometer/odometer calibration, and
clearance between the body and tires. It also may be dangerous and lead
to loss of vehicle control. If you use a temporary spare tire to replace a flat tire, be sure to use
the original temporary spare tire stored in the vehicle. Using other sizes
may result in severe mechanical damage to the drive train of your vehicle. Always check the cold tire pressure before starting to drive. The rec-
ommended tire pressure is provided on the tire placard, which is locatedunder the door latch on the driver ’s side.
Tire chains should always be placed on the front wheels only.
There are some precautions that you must observe when towing your
vehicle. For detail information, see “Towing” section in Chapter 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.
Because of the AWD feature and higher ground clearance, your Subaru
can be driven on ordinary roads or off-road. But please keep in mind that
an AWD Subaru is neither a conventional off-road vehicle nor an all-ter-
rain vehicle. If you do take your Subaru off-road, certain common sense
precautions such as the following should be taken:

Driving tips8-15
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CONTINUED –
When driving with tire chains, drive at speeds below 19 mph (30 km/h).
When a temporary spare tire is on a front wheel, replace the temporary
spare tire with the rear tire on the same side of the vehicle, and then fit
chains on the front tires.
Always use the utmost care when driving with tire chains – overconfi-
dence because you are driving with tire chains could easily lead to a se-rious accident. Rocking the vehicle
If you must rock the vehicle to free it from snow, sand, or mud, depress the
accelerator pedal slightly and move the selector lever back and forth be-
tween “D” and “R” repeatedly. Do not race the engine. For the best possible
traction, avoid spinning the wheels when trying to free the vehicle.
When the road surface is extremely slippery, you can obtain better trac-
tion by starting the vehicle with the transmission in 2nd than 1st (both for
MT and AT). Refer to the “Automatic transmission ” section in Chapter 7 for information
on holding the transmission in 2nd position.
Loading your vehicle
WARNING
Never allow passengers to ride on the folded rear seatback or
in the cargo bed. 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 during sudden stops, sharp turns or in an 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.

8-32
nTires
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.
Make sure that all the tires on your vehicle are properly inflated.
The recommended cold tire pressure under trailer towing conditions
is indicated on the tire placard located under the door striker on the
driver’ s side. Adjust the rear tire pressure to the recommended pres-
sure shown on the tire placard when the tires are cold. Normal pres-
sure should be maintained in the front tires.
Trailer tire condition, size, load rating and proper inflation pressure
should be in accordance with the trailer manufacturer ’s specifications.
In the event your vehicle gets a flat tire when towing a trailer, ask a
commercial road service to repair the flat tire.
If you carry a regular size spare tire in your vehicle or trailer as a pre-
caution against getting a flat tire, be sure that the spare tire is firmly
secured. 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:

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

9-6
NOTE
Confirm no looseness exists after securing the jack. Looseness may cause a rattle while the vehicle is moving.CAUTION
After the jack and the tool bag have been restored in the rearquarter pocket, make sure that the rear seatback has been
securely locked. When securely locked, the red marks on thelocking knobs are no longer visible.
Spare tire
HB9053BA
The spare tire is stored in the spare tire holder located under the rear of the cargo bed.
The spare tire holder has a hoist mechanism that can lower and raise the
spare tire easily. The spare tire holder is designed to carry only the tem-
porary spare tire that comes with your vehicle.
Before using the temporary spare tire, see the “Temporary spare tire ”
section in this Chapter for instructions and precautions.
Removing the spare tire
1. Take the wheel nut wrench out of the tool bag. Refer to the “Jack
and tools ” section in this Chapter for its storage location.

In case of emergency9-7
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HB9054BA
2. Open the tailgate and remove the rubber cap from the cargo bed. Pull up the “RELEASE” portion of the cap when removing it.
3. Locate the hex-headed hoist shaft end inside the hole.
HB9055BA
4. Turn the hoist shaft end counterclockwise with the wheel nut
wrench until the temporary spare tire is on the ground with enough
cable slack to allow you to pull it out from under the vehicle.
CAUTION
Do not put your fingers into the center hole of the temporaryspare tire while you pulling it out, because they might be pinched
in between the wheel and the retainer.