2003 SUBARU LEGACY warning light

7
Starting and operating7-11
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1. Apply the parking brake.
2. Turn off unnecessary lights and accessories.
3. Shift the selector lever to the
“P” or “N” position (preferably “P” posi-
tion). The starter will only operate when the select lever is at the “P” or
“N” position.
4. Turn the ignition switch to the “ON” position and check the operation
of the warning and indicator lights. Refer to the “Warning and indicator
lights” section (chapter 3).
5. Turn the ignition switch to the “START” position without depressing
the accelerator pedal. Release the key immediately after the engine has
started.
If the engine does not start within ten seconds, wait a while and then turnthe ignition switch to the “START” position again while depressing the ac-
celerator pedal half way down.
6. Confirm that all warning and indicator lights have gone out after the
engine has started. The fuel injection system automatically lowers the
idle speed as the engine warms up.
While the engine is warming up, make sure that the selector lever is at the “P” or “N” position and that the parking brake is applied.
Starting the engine during cold weather below –4F
(–20 C)
If the engine is difficult to start using the normal method (without de-
pressing the accelerator pedal), turn the ignition switch to the “START”
position while slightly depressing the accelerator pedal.
Starting a flooded engine
If the engine does not start, it may be flooded (excessive fuel in the en-gine).
In case of a flooded engine, turn the starter motor for five seconds with
the accelerator pedal fully depressed. Repeat this two or three times until
the engine starts. Release the ignition switch and accelerator pedal as
soon as the engine starts.

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Starting and operating7-17
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To shift the selector lever from the
“P” to the any other position, you
have to depress the brake pedal fully when the ignition switch is in the
“ON” position. This prevents the vehicle from lurching when it is
started.
If the shift lever does not move from the “P” position with the brake
pedal depressed, refer to the “Shift lock release ” section in this chap-
ter. R (Reverse)
This position is for backing the vehicle.
To shift from the “N” to “R” position, first stop the vehicle completely
then move the lever to the “R” position.
N (Neutral)
WARNING
Do not drive the vehicle with the selector lever in the “N” (neutral)
position. Engine braking has no effect in this condition and the risk of an accident is consequently increased.
This position is for restarting a stalled engine.
In this position the wheels and transmission are not locked. In this
position, the transmission is neutral; the vehicle will roll freely, even onthe slightest incline unless the parking brake or foot brake is on.
Avoid coasting with the transmission neutral.During coasting, the engine braking does not act. D (Drive)
This position is for normal driving.
The transmission automatically shifts into a suitable gear from 1st to
4th according to the vehicle speed and the acceleration you require.
When more acceleration is required in this position, press the acceler- ator pedal fully to the floor and hold that position. The transmission
will automatically downshift to 3rd, 2nd or 1st gear. When you release
the pedal, the transmission will return to the original gear position.

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Starting and operating7-31
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Power steering
CAUTION
Do not hold the steering wheel at the fully locked position left or right for more than five seconds. This may damage the powersteering pump.
The power steering system operates only when the engine is running.
If you lose power steering assist because the engine stops or the system
fails to function, you can steer but it will take much more effort. NOTE Right after the engine has been started and before it has warmed up, you may hear a noise coming from areas adjacent to the powersteering pump which is located at the right-front area of the enginecompartment. This noise is normal. It does not indicate power steer-ing system trouble. 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.

7-34leave ample distance from other vehicles.
When you feel the ABS system operating, you should maintain
constant brake pedal pressure. Do not pump the brake pedal
since doing so may defeat the operation of the ABS system.
The ABS system prevents the lock-up of wheels which may occur during
sudden braking or braking on slippery road surfaces. This helps prevent
the loss of steering control and directional stability caused by wheellock-up.
When the ABS system is operating, you may hear a chattering noise or
feel a slight vibration in the brake pedal. This is normal when the ABSoperates. The ABS system will not operate when the vehicle speed is below
approximately 6 mph (10 km/h). ABS system self-check
You may feel a slight shock in the brake pedal and hear the operating
sound of ABS from the engine compartment just after the vehicle is
started. This is caused by an automatic functional test of the ABS sys-
tem being carried out and does not indicate any abnormal condition. ABS warning light
HB4010GA
The ABS warning light comes on when the ignition switch is turned to the “ON” position and goes out after about two seconds.

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Starting and operating7-35
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This is an indication that the ABS system is working properly.
CAUTION
If the warning light behaves as follows, the ABS system may not
be working properly.When the warning light is on, the ABS function shuts down; how-
ever, the conventional brake system continues to operate normal-
ly. The warning light does not come on when the ignition switch
is turned to the “ON” position.
The warning light comes on when the ignition switch is turned
to the “ON” position, but it does not go out even when the vehicle
speed exceeds approximately 8 mph (12 km/h). The warning light comes on during driving.
If these occur, have the ABS system repaired at the first available
opportunity by your SUBARU dealer.
NOTE
If the warning light behavior is as described below, the ABS sys- tem may be considered normal. The warning light comes on right after the engine is started
but goes out immediately, remaining off. The warning light remains on after the engine has been
started, but it goes out when the vehicle speed reaches about 8mph (12 km/h). The warning light comes on during driving, but it goes out
immediately and remains off.
When driving with an insufficient battery voltage such as when the en-
gine is jump started, the ABS warning light may come on. This is due
to the low battery voltage and does not indicate a malfunction. When
the battery becomes fully charged, the light will go out.

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Starting and operating7-39
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NOTE
The VDC OFF indicator light may stay on for a while after the
engine has been started, especially in cold weather. This occurs
because the engine has not yet warmed up and is completely nor-
mal. The light will turn off when the engine has reached a suitableoperating temperature. When an engine problem occurs and the CHECK ENGINE
warning light turns on, the VDC OFF indicator light will also turnon. The following two situations could indicate malfunction of the VDC
system; if either should occur, have an authorized SUBARU dealer
carry out an inspection of that system at the first available opportunity. The VDC OFF indicator light does not turn on when the ignition key
is turned to the ON position. The VDC OFF indicator light fails to turn off after the engine is
started, even when several minutes have passed to allow the engine
to heat up sufficiently. n VDC operation indicator light
The VDC operation indicator light turns on when the ignition key is
turned to the ON position; it turns off approximately two seconds later.
This indicator light flashes during activation of the skid suppression
function and is illuminated steadily during activation of the traction
control function. The following two situations could indicate a malfunction of the VDC
system; if either should occur, have an authorized SUBARU dealer
carry out an inspection of that system at the first available opportunity. The VDC operation indicator light does not turn on when the igni-
tion key is turned to the ON position. The VDC operation indicator light does not turn off approximately
two seconds after the ignition key has been turned to the ON position. n VDC warning light
The VDC warning light turns on when the ignition key is turned to the
ON position and off when the engine is started. This lighting pattern
indicates that the VDC system is operating normally.

7-40The following situations could indicate a malfunction of the VDC sys-
tem; if any should occur, have an authorized SUBARU dealer carry
out an inspection of the system at the first available opportunity.
The VDC warning light does not turn on when the ignition key is
turned to the ON position. The VDC warning light does not turn off either when the engine is
started or when the vehicle reaches a speed of approximately 8 mph(12 km/h). The VDC warning light turns on while the vehicle is being driven.
When a malfunction has occurred in the VDC electrical system,
only the VDC warning light will turn on. In such an event, the ABS will
still be operating normally. The VDC warning light will also turn on when a problem occurs
with the ABS or VDC electronic control systems.
Because the VDC system controls each brake through the ABS,
whenever the ABS stops operating due to a malfunction in that electri-
cal system, the VDC will also become unable to control all four
brakes. Thus VDC system operation halts and the VDC warning light
turns on. Although both the VDC system and the ABS will be inoper-able in this situation, it will still be possible to stop the vehicle using
normal braking. The VDC system and the ABS do not adversely affect
operation of the vehicle in any way when they are inoperable; how-
ever should such a situation occur, drive with care and have an autho-
rized SUBARU dealer carry out an inspection of those systems at the
first available opportunity. NOTE
When the VDC warning light turns on and off in the following way,
it indicates that the VDC system is operating normally. Although turning on after the engine has been started, the
warning light quickly turns off and stays off. The warning light turns on after the engine is started and does
not turn off until the vehicle reaches a speed of 8 mph (12 km/h). The warning light turns on when the vehicle is being driven; it
then turns off and stays off.

7-42the VDC system except under above-mentioned situations. NOTE
When the VDC switch has been pressed to deactivate the VDC
system, the VDC system automatically reactivates itself the next time the ignition key is turned to the OFF position and the engine isrestarted. If the VDC OFF switch is held down for 10 seconds or longer, the
VDC OFF indicator light goes off, the VDC system is activated, and
the system ignores any further pressing of the VDC OFF switch. Tomake the VDC OFF switch usable again, turn the ignition key to theOFF position and restart the engine.
Parking your vehicle
WARNING
Never leave unattended children or pets in the vehicle. They
could accidentally injure themselves or others through inadver- tent operation of the vehicle. Also, on hot or sunny days, the tem-perature in a closed vehicle could quickly become high enoughto cause severe or possibly fatal injuries to them. Do not park the vehicle over flammable materials such as dry
grass, waste paper or rags, as they may burn easily if they comenear hot engine or exhaust system parts. Be sure to stop the engine if you take a nap in the vehicle. If
engine exhaust gas enters the passenger compartment, occu-pants in the vehicle could die from carbon monoxide (CO) con-tained in the exhaust gas.
CAUTION
Never drive while the parking brake is set because this will cause
unnecessary wear on the brake linings. Before starting to drive,always make sure that the parking brake has been fully released.