2003 SUBARU OUTBACK engine

7-32When 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. Brake booster
The brake booster uses engine manifold vacuum to assist braking
force. Do not turn off the engine while driving because that will turn off
the brake booster, resulting in poor braking power.The brakes will continue to work even when the brake booster com-
pletely stops functioning. If this happens, however, you will have to
push the pedal much harder than normal and the braking distance
will increase.

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.

7
Starting and operating7-35
–
CONTINUED –
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.

7
Starting and operating7-37
–
CONTINUED –
In the event of wheelspin and/or skidding on a slippery road surface
and/or during cornering and/or an evasive maneuver, the VDC systemadjusts the engine
’s output and the wheels ’ respective braking forces to
help maintain traction and directional control.
Traction Control Function
The traction control function is designed to prevent spinning of the
driving wheels on slippery road surfaces, thereby helping to maintain
traction and directional control. Activation of this function is shown bysteady illumination of the VDC operation indicator light. Skid Suppression Function
The skid suppression function is designed to help maintain directional
stability by suppressing the wheels ’ tendency to slide sideways dur-
ing steering operations. Activation of this function is shown by flash-ing of the VDC operation indicator light.
NOTE Slight twitching of the brake pedal may be felt when the VDC-sys-
tem operates; a small degree of vehicle or steering wheel shaking may also be noticed in this situation. These are normal characteris-tics of VDC operation and are no cause for alarm. When driving off immediately after starting the engine, a short-
lived operation noise may be noticed coming from the enginecompartment. This noise is generated as a result of a check beingperformed on the VDC system and is normal. Depending on the timing of activation of the brakes, certain situa-
tions may occur just after driving off where the brake pedal seemsto exhibit a jolting motion. This too is a consequence of the VDCoperational check and is normal. In the circumstances listed below, the vehicle may be more un-
stable than it feels to the driver. The Vehicle Dynamics Control Sys-
tem may therefore operate. Such operation does not indicate a sys-tem fault. on gravel-covered or rutted roads
on unfinished roads
when the vehicle is towing a trailer

7-38
when the vehicle is fitted with snow tires or winter tires
Activation of the VDC system will cause operation of the steering
wheel to feel slightly different compared to that for normal condi- tions. Even if the vehicle is equipped with a VDC system, it is important
that winter tires be used when driving on snow-covered or icyroads. (All four wheels should be fitted with tires of the same sizeand brand). It is always important to reduce speed when approaching a cor-
ner, even if the vehicle is equipped with VDC. All four wheels should be fitted with tires of the same size, type,
and brand; furthermore, the amount of wear should be the same for
all four tires. If these precautions are not observed and non-match-ing tires are used, it is quite possible that the VDC system will beunable to operate correctly as intended. Always turn off the engine before replacing a tire as failure to do
so may render the VDC system unable to operate correctly.
VDC system monitor
HB4010FB
nVDC OFF indicator light
The VDC OFF indicator light turns on initially when the ignition key
is turned to the ON position; it subsequently turns off 6 seconds after
the engine is started. This light turns on to indicate that the VDC system is in non-opera-
tion mode. This does not constitute failure of the VDC system.

7
Starting and operating7-39
–
CONTINUED –
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
Starting and operating7-41
–
CONTINUED –

VDC OFF switch
HB7028ABHB7022AA
Note: Even when the lighting switch is turned to the “p ” or “a ” posi-
tion, the “OFF” portion of the symbol stamped on the switch will not illu-
minate in the dark. Only “VDC” portion will illuminate.
Pressing the VDC OFF switch to deactivate the VDC system can facilitate the following operations: a standing start on a steeply sloping road with a snowy, gravel-cov-
ered, or otherwise slippery surface extrication of the vehicle when its wheels are stuck in mud or deep
snow
When the VDC OFF switch is pressed during engine operation, the VDCOFF indicator light illuminates.The VDC system will be deactivated and the vehicle will behave like a
model not equipped with the VDC system.
When the VDC OFF switch is pressed again to reactivate the VDC sys-
tem, the VDC OFF indicator light goes off.
If the vehicle reaches a speed of approximately 37 mph (60 km/h) after
the VDC OFF switch is pressed to deactivate the VDC system, the VDC
system automatically reactivates itself and the VDC OFF indicator light
goes off. While the vehicle is moving at a speed of approximately 37
mph (60 km/h) or higher, it is not possible to deactivate the VDC system
by pressing the VDC OFF switch.
With the VDC system deactivated, traction and stability enhancement of-
fered by VDC system is unavailable. Therefore you should not deactivate