2005 SUBARU FORESTER towing capacity

8-1
8
Driving tips
New vehicle break-in driving – the first 1,000 miles (1,600 km) .............................. 8-2
Fuel economy hints ...................................... 8-2
Engine exhaust gas (Carbon monoxide) ... 8-3
Catalytic converter ....................................... 8-4
Periodic inspections .................................... 8-5
Driving in foreign countries ......................... 8-6
Driving tips for AWD vehicles ..................... 8-6
Off road driving ............................................ 8-8
Winter driving ............................................... 8-10 Operation during cold weather ........................ 8-10
Driving on snowy and icy roads ...................... 8-11
Corrosion protection ........................................ 8-12
Snow tires .......................................................... 8-13
Tire chains ......................................................... 8-13
Rocking the vehicle .......................................... 8-14
Loading your vehicle ................................... 8-14 Vehicle capacity weight .................................... 8-16
GVWR and GAWR (Gross Vehicle Weight Rating and Gross Axle Weight Rating) ........ 8-16
Roof rail and crossbar (if equipped) ............... 8-17
Trailer hitch (if equipped) ............................ 8-22 Connecting a trailer .......................................... 8-23
When you do not tow a trailer .......................... 8-25
Trailer towing ................................................ 8-25 Warranties and maintenance ........................... 8-25
Maximum load limits ......................................... 8-26
Trailer hitches ................................................... 8-30
Connecting a trailer .......................................... 8-31 Trailer towing tips ............................................. 8-33

8-32
Driving tips
T
Trailer safety chains
In case the trailer hitch connector or hitch ball should
break or become disconnected, the trailer could get
loose and create a traffic safety hazard.
For safety, always connect the towing vehicle and
trailer with trailer safety chains. Pass the chains cross-
ing each other under the trailer tongue to prevent the
trailer from dropping onto the ground in case the trailer
tongue should disconnect from the hitch ball. Allow
sufficient slack in the chains taking tight-turn situations
into account; however, be careful not to let them drag
on the ground.
For more information about the safety chain connec-
tion, refer to the instructions for your hitch and trailer.
Always use safety chains between your vehicle
and the trailer. Towing a trailer without safety
chains could create a traffic safety hazard if the
trailer separates from the hitch due to coupling
damage or hitch ball damage. T
Side mirrors
After hitching a trailer to your vehicle, check that the
standard side mirrors provide a good rearward field of
view without significant blind spots. If significant blind
spots occur with the vehicle’s standard side mirrors,
use towing mirrors that conform with Federal, state/
province and/or other applicable regulations. T Trailer lights
Connection of trailer lights to your vehicle’s electrical
system requires modifications to the vehicle’s lighting
circuit to increase its capacity and accommodate wir-
ing changes. To ensure the trailer lights are connected
properly, please consult your SUBARU dealer. Check
US8506BA

13-9
Consumer information and Reporting safety defects
– CONTINUED –
left hand side of the vehicle. (Each tire must be
kept on its original side of the vehicle.) Replace
any damaged or unevenly worn tire at the time of
rotation. After tire rotation, adjust the tire pres-
sures and make sure the wheel nuts are correct-
ly tightened. A tightening torque specification
and a tightening sequence specification for the
wheel nuts can be found “Flat tires” in Chapter 9. „Vehicle load limit – how to determine
The load capacity of your vehicle is determined
by weight, not by available cargo space. The
load limit of your vehicle is shown on the vehicle
placard attached to the driver’s side B-pillar. Lo-
cate the statement “The combined weight of oc-
cupants and cargo should never exceed XXX kg
or XXX lbs” on your vehicle’s placard.
The vehicle placard also shows seating capacity
of your vehicle.
The total load capacity includes the total weight
of driver and all passengers and their belong-
ings, any cargo, any optional equipment such as
a trailer hitch, roof rack or bike carrier, etc., and
the tongue load of a trailer. Therefore cargo ca-
pacity can be calculated by the following method. Cargo capacity = Load limit – (total weight of oc-
cupants + total weight of optional equipment +
tongue load of a trailer (if applicable))
For towing capacity information and weight lim-
its, refer to “Trailer towing” in Chapter 8. T
Calculating total and load capacities vary-
ing seating configurations
Calculate the available load capacity as shown in
the following examples:
Example 1A
Vehicle capacity weight of the vehicle is 900 lbs
USD503BA

13-14
Consumer information and Reporting safety defects
„
Adverse safety consequences of over-
loading on handling and stopping and on tires
Overloading could affect vehicle handling, stop-
ping distance, vehicle and tire as shown below.
This could lead to an accident and possibly result
in severe personal injury. y Vehicle stability will deteriorate.
y Heavy and/or high-mounted loads could in-
crease the risk of rollover.y Stopping distance will increase.
y Brakes could overheat and fail.
y Suspension, bearings, axles and other body
parts could break or experience accelerated
wear that will shorten vehicle life. y Tires could fail.
y Tread separation could occur.
y Tire could separate from its rim.
„ Steps for Determining Correct Load
Limit
1. Locate the statement “The combined weight
of occupants and cargo should never exceed
XXX pounds” on your vehicle’s placard. 2. Determine the combined weight of the driver
and passengers that will be riding in your vehicle.
3. Subtract the combined weight of the driver
and passengers from XXX kilograms or XXX
pounds.
4. The resulting figure equals the available
amount of cargo and luggage load capacity. For
example, if the “XXX” amount equals 1,400 lbs
(635kg). and there will be five- 150 lbs (68 kg)
passengers in your vehicle, the amount of avail-
able cargo and luggage load capacity is 650 lbs.
(1,400 – 750 (5
× 150) = 650 lbs)
5. Determine the combined weight of luggage
and cargo being loaded on the vehicle. That
weight may not safely exceed the available car-
go and luggage load capacity calculated in Step 4.
6. If your vehicle will be towing a trailer, load
from your trailer will be transferred to your vehi-
cle. Consult this manual to determine how this
reduces the available cargo and luggage load
capacity of your vehicle.

14-7
Index
Snow tires .......................................................... 8-13
Snowy and icy roads ......................................... 8-11
Spark plugs ..................................................... 11-25
Specifications .................................................... 12-2
Speedometer ....................................................... 3-7SRS
Airbag system warning light .......................... 3-13
Frontal airbag ............................................... 1-57
Side airbag ................................................... 1-65
SRS airbags ...................................................... 1-53
Steering wheel
Power ........................................................... 7-21
Tilt wheel ...................................................... 3-39
Storage compartments ........................................ 6-4
Sun visors ............................................................ 6-3
Supplemental Restraint System airbag ............. 1-53
Synthetic leather upholstery .............................. 10-6 T
Tachometer ......................................................... 3-8
Temperature gauge ........................................... 3-10
Tie-down hooks ................................................. 9-13
Tilt steering wheel ............................................. 3-39 Tire
Chains .......................................................... 8-13
Inspection ................................................... 11-43
Pressures and wear .................................... 11-44 Replacement .............................................. 11-48
Rotation ...................................................... 11-48
Types .......................................................... 11-43
Top tether anchorages ...................................... 1-50
Towing ............................................................... 9-13
All wheels on the ground .............................. 9-15
Flat-bed truck ................................................ 9-15
Trailer
Connecting .......................................... 8-23, 8-31
Hitch .................................................... 8-22, 8-30
Towing .......................................................... 8-25
Towing tips ................................................... 8-33
Turn signal indicator lights ................................. 3-21
Turn signal lever ................................................ 3-25 U
Under-floor storage compartment ..................... 6-19 V
Valet mode ........................................................ 2-20
Vanity mirror ........................................................ 6-4
Vehicle capacity weight ..................................... 8-16
Vehicle Dynamics Control ................................. 7-28
Vehicle identification ........................................ 12-10
Ventilator ............................................................. 4-2

GAS STATION REFERENCE
Fuel: TNon-turbo models
Use only unleaded gasoline with an octane rating of
87 AKI or higher. T Turbo models
Use premium unleaded gasoline with an octane rat-
ing of 91 AKI or higher. If premium unleaded gaso-
line is not available, regular unleaded gasoline with
octane rating of 87 AKI or higher may be temporarily
used. For optimum engine performance and drive-
ability, it is required that you use premium grade un-
leaded gasoline. „ Fuel octane rating
This octane rating is the average of the Research
Octane and Motor numbers and is commonly re- ferred to as the Anti Knock Index (AKI). Refer to “Fu-
el” section in this manual.
Fuel capacity:
15.9 US gal (60 liters, 13.2 Imp gal) Engine oil:
Use only API classification SL with the words “EN-
ERGY CONSERVING” and the New API certification
mark (starburst mark) displayed on the container (IL-SAC GF-3). Engine oil capacity:
4.2 US qt (4.0 liters, 3.5 Imp qt)
Cold tire pressure:
Tire sizeP215/60R16 94H
Wheel size16 × 6 1
/2 JJ
PressureFrontLight load29 psi (200 kPa, 2.0 kgf/cm 2
)
Full load29 psi (200 kPa, 2.0 kgf/cm 2
)
RearLight load28 psi (190 kPa, 1.9 kgf/cm 2
)
Full load36 psi (250 kPa, 2.5 kgf/cm 2
)
Trailer towing41 psi (280 kPa, 2.8 kgf/cm 2
)