2004 SUBARU LEGACY Owners Manual

8-18
Driving tips
Do not carry spray cans, containers with flam-
mable or corrosive liquids or any other danger-
ous items inside the vehicle.
NOTE
For better fuel economy, do not carry unneeded
cargo. „
Vehicle capacity weight
The load capacity of your vehicle is determined by
weight, not by available cargo space. The maximum
load you can carry in your vehicle is shown on the tire
placard attached to the driver’s side door jamb. It in-
cludes the total weight of driver and all passengers
and their belongings, any optional equipment such as
a trailer hitch, roof rack or bike carrier, etc., and the
tongue load of a trailer.
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8-19
Driving tips
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„GVWR and GAWR (Gross Vehicle
Weight Rating and Gross Axle Weight
Rating)
Certification label
The certification label attached to the driver’s side
door shows GVWR (Gross Vehicle Weight Rating)
and GAWR (Gross Axle Weight Rating).
The GVW (Gross Vehicle Weight) must never exceed
the GVWR. GVW is the combined total of weight of the
vehicle, fuel, driver, all passengers, luggage, any op-
tional equipment and trailer tongue load. Therefore,
the GVW changes depending on the situation. In addition, the total weight applied to each axle
(GAW) must never exceed the GAWR. The front and
rear GAWs can be adjusted by relocating luggage in-
side the vehicle.
Even if the total weight of your luggage is lower than
the vehicle capacity weight, either front or rear GAW
may exceed the GAWR, depending on the distribution
of the luggage.
If you carry heavy loads in the vehicle, you should con-
firm that GVW and front and rear GAWs are within the
GVWR and GAWR by putting your vehicle on a vehi-
cle scale, found at a commercial weighing station.
Do not use replacement tires with a lower load range
than the originals because they may lower the GVWR
and GAWR limitations. Replacement tires with a high-
er load range than the originals do not increase the
GVWR and GAWR limitations.
UBF019BA

8-20
Driving tips
„
Roof rail and crossbar (if equipped)
1) Crossbar kit
y For cargo carrying purposes, the roof rail
must be used together with a roof crossbar kit
and the appropriate carrying attachment. The
roof rail must never be used alone to carry car-
go. Otherwise, damage to the roof or paint or a
dangerous road hazard due to loss of cargo
could result. y When using the roof crossbar kit, make sure
that the total weight of the crossbars, carrying attachment and cargo does not exceed the
maximum load limit. Overloading may cause
damage to the vehicle and create a safety haz-
ard.
The roof rail is not designed to carry cargo by itself.
Cargo can be carried after securing the roof crossbar
kit to the roof rail and installing the appropriate carry-
ing attachment. When installing the roof crossbar kit,
follow the manufacturer’s instructions.
Roof slats are not designed to carry or hold cargo, but
are designed as the protector to prevent the roof from
being damaged by cargo while it is being loaded and
unloaded on the roof crossbar or on any carrying at- tachment.
When you carry cargo on the roof using the roof cross-
bar kit and a carrying attachment, never exceed the
maximum load limit explained below. You should also
be careful that your vehicle does not exceed the Gross
Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) and front and rear
Gross Axle Weight Rating (GAWR). See the “Loading
your vehicle” section in this chapter for information on
loading cargo into or onto your vehicle. The maximum
load limit of the cargo, crossbars and carrying attach-
ment must not exceed 100 lbs (45 kg). Place the1
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8-21
Driving tips
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heaviest load at the bottom, nearest the roof, and
evenly distribute the cargo. Always properly secure all
cargo. TInstalling carrying attachments on the cross-
bars
When installing any carrying attachment such as a
bike carrier, ski carrier, kayak carrier, cargo basket,
etc. on the crossbars, follow the manufacturer’s in-
structions and make sure that the attachment is se-
curely fixed to the crossbars. Use only attachments
designed specifically for the crossbars. A set of the
crossbars is designed to carry loads (cargo and at-
tachment) of not more than 100 lbs (45 kg). Before
operating the vehicle, make sure that the cargo is
properly secured on the attachment.
NOTE
Remember that the vehicle’s center of gravity is al-
tered with the weight of the load on the roof, thus
affecting the driving characteristics.
Drive carefully. Avoid rapid starts, hard cornering
and abrupt stops. Crosswind effects will be in-
creased. T Removal and installation of the crossbars
The crossbars can be removed when you do not use
the roof to carry cargo. V
To remove the crossbar
1) T-30 torx® head screw
2) Lower clamp
1. Loosen and remove the T-30 torx® head screw
from the top of each crossbar end support.
2. Rotate the lower clamp on the bottom of each end
support downward approximately 90 °.
1
2
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8-22
Driving tips
3. Carefully raise the crossbar from roof rails.
V
To install the crossbar
Front crossbar:
Front crossbar has 100 LBS Load Label on left-hand
side.
1) T-30 torx® head screw
2) Lower clamp
1. Before placing the crossbar on the roof rails, make
sure that the T-30 torx® head screw is removed from
the top of each crossbar end support.
2. Rotate the lower clamp on the bottom of each end
support downward approximately 90 °.
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1
2
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Driving tips
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1) 100 LBS load label
2) Front arrow label
3. With the front direction arrow label on the top right
side of the crossbar pointing toward the front of the ve-
hicle, carefully place the crossbar across the top of the
vehicle so that the crossbar end supports rest on the
top of the roof rails approximately 6 inches (150 mm)
rearward from the seam (joint) between the front roof
rail support and the roof rail.
4. Rotate (raise) the lower clamp up to the bottom of
the roof rail and loosely tighten the T-30 torx® head
screw with the torx® wrench provided, through the top
of the end support and into the threaded insert in the lower clamp on each end of the crossbar.
NOTE
It may be necessary to squeeze the lower clamp
and the end support together to compress the
pads and gain a better alignment of the pieces
while trying to start the screw. Use care not to
crossthread the screw in the insert.
5. Adjust the alignment of the crossbar on the roof
rails, and if available, use a T-30 torx® bit and torque
wrench and tighten the T-30 torx® head screws to 30
to 35 lbf·in (3.4 to 4.0 N·m, 0.35 to 0.41 kgf·m) of
torque (or tighten securely with the torx® wrench pro-
vided).MAXIMUM LOAD
100 LBS. EVENLY DISTRIBUTED
1
2
6 in (150mm)
UB8049BB

8-24
Driving tips
Rear crossbar:
1) T-30 torx® head screw
2) Front arrow label
Install the rear crossbar in the same manner as the
front crossbar.
NOTE
The rear crossbar should be positioned 6 inches
(150 mm) forward of the rear seam (joint) between
the rear roof rail support and the roof rail.
Do not carry cargo on the roof when the cross- bars are removed. Luggage on the roof will be
thrown forward or backward in sudden stops or
rapid accelerations, resulting in a dangerous
road hazard.
NOTE
Before each use of the roof crossbar, make sure
the four T-30 crossbar clamp screws have been
checked, and retightened if necessary to 35 lbf·in
(4.0 N·m, 0.41 kgf·m), as outlined in Step #5 above.
2
1
6 in (150 mm)
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Driving tips
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Trailer hitch (if equipped)
yNever exceed the maximum weight specified
for the trailer hitch. Exceeding the maximum
weight could cause an accident resulting in se-
rious personal injuries. Permissible trailer
weight changes depending on the situation. Re-
fer to the next section “Trailer towing” for pos-
sible recommendations and limitations. y Trailer brakes are required when the towing
load exceeds 1,000 lbs (453 kg). Be sure your
trailer has safety chains and that each chain
will hold the trailer’s maximum gross weight.
Towing trailers without safety chains could cre-
ate a traffic safety hazard if the trailer separates
from the hitch due to coupling damage or hitch
ball damage. y Be sure to check the hitch pin and safety pin
for positive locking placement before towing a
trailer. If the ball mount comes off the hitch re-
ceiver, the trailer could get loose and create a
traffic safety hazard.y Use only the ball mount supplied with this
hitch. Use the hitch only as a weight carrying
hitch. Do not use with any type of weight dis-
tributing hitch.
The trailer hitch is designed to tow a Class 1 rated
load. A maximum of 2,400 lbs (1,087 kg) gross trailer
weight and a maximum of 200 lbs (90 kg) gross
tongue weight are permissible for the trailer hitch.
When you tow a trailer, follow the instructions in the
next section “Trailer towing”. „ Connecting a trailer
1. Remove the receiver cover from the hitch receiver
tube. Then insert the ball mount into the hitch receiver
tube.
UB8018BA