2005 SUBARU IMPREZA WRX brake

7-17
Starting and operating
– CONTINUED –
In addition, sudden application of engine
brakes when the vehicle is travelling on a slip-
pery surface can lead to wheel locking; as a
consequence, control of the vehicle may be lost
and the risk of an accident increased.
„ Driving tips
Do not drive with your foot resting on the clutch pedal
and do not use the clutch to hold your vehicle at a
standstill on an upgrade. Either of those actions may
cause clutch damage.
Do not drive with your hand resting on the shift lever.
This may cause wear on the transmission compo-
nents.
When it is necessary to reduce vehicle speed due to
slow traffic, turning corners, or driving up steep hills,
downshift to a lower gear before the engine starts to
labor.
On steep downgrades, downshift the transmission to
4th, 3rd or 2nd gear as necessary; this helps to main-
tain a safe speed and to extend brake pad life.
In this way, the engine provides a braking effect. Re-
member, if you “ride” (over use) the brakes while de-
scending a hill, they may overheat and not work prop- erly.
The engine may, on rare occasions, knock when the
vehicle rapidly accelerates or rapidly pulls away from
a standstill. This phenomenon is not an indication of a
problem in your vehicle.

7-19
Starting and operating
– CONTINUED –
suit driving and road-surface conditions. When the ig-
nition switch is turned ON, the “AUTO” indicator light
in the combination meter comes on. The system can
be switched to a manual mode. „Manual mode
The manual mode allows the driver to set the differen-
tial-action limiting factor of the center differential as
desired to suit driving and road-surface conditions.
When this mode is selected, the “AUTO” indicator light
in the combination meter goes off. T Manual switch
Press the “DCCD-MANU” switch on the center con- sole to switch from auto mode to manual mode. The
“AUTO” indicator light in the combination meter will go
off. Press the switch again to go back to auto mode.
The “AUTO” indicator light in the combination meter
will come on. T
Center differential control dial and indicator
light
The control dial is located beside the parking-brake le-
ver. By turning the control dial forward and rearward,
it is possible to change the differential-action limiting
factor of the center differential.
The center-differential indicator lights in the combina-
tion meter give six levels of indication. The indicator
MANU
UG7037BA
UG7034BA

7-21
Starting and operating
– CONTINUED –
mode.
NOTE yIf the differential-limiting factor is large during
cornering maneuvers, a small speed difference
between the front and rear wheels may cause tight
corner braking (a phenomenon accompanied by
vibration and noise). This phenomenon does not
indicate a problem. It will disappear if the differen-
tial-action limiting factor is reduced.y Use the center-differential indicator light only as
a rough indication of the differential-action limit-
ing factor.y If you rapidly depress and release the accelera-
tor pedal while driving at low speed, you may hear
a knocking sound from the vicinity of the center
differential and rear differential. This sound oc-
curs because of the structure of the center differ-
ential. It does not indicate a problem. „ Temporary release
When the driver stop the vehicle and pulls the parking-
brake lever after manually setting the differential-ac-
tion limiting factor, the factor is temporarily minimized.
The indicator in the combination meter continues to
show the driver’s selected differential-action limiting factor. When the driver releases the parking-brake le-
ver, the factor set by the driver is restored.

7-22
Starting and operating
Automatic transmission
The automatic transmission is electronically controlled
with 4-forward speeds and 1-reverse speed.
NOTE
Immediately after a disconnected battery is recon-
nected (Turbo model only) or ATF (automatic
transmission fluid) is replaced, you may feel that
the automatic transmission operation is some-
what unusual.
This results from erasure or invalidation of data
the on-board computer has collected and stored in memory to allow the transmission to shift at the
most appropriate times for the current condition
of your vehicle. Optimized shifting will be restored
as the vehicle continues to be driven for a while.
Do not shift from the “P” or “N” position into
the “D”, “3”, “2”, “1” or “R” position while de-
pressing the accelerator pedal. This may cause
the vehicle to jump forward or backward.
y
Shift into the “P” or “R” position only after
the vehicle is completely stopped. Shifting
while the vehicle is moving may cause damage
to the transmission.y Do not race the engine for more than five sec-
onds in any position except the “N” or “P” po-
sition when the brake is set or the tires are on
blocks. This may cause the automatic transmis-
sion fluid to overheat. y Avoid shifting from one of the forward driving
positions into the “R” position or vice versa un-
til the vehicle has completely stopped. Such
shifting may cause damage to the transmis-
sion.

7-23
Starting and operating
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„Selector lever for automatic transmis- sion
: With the brake pedal depressed, move the lever along the gate.
: Move the lever along the gate.
The selector lever has seven positions. T P (Park)
This position is for parking the vehicle and starting the
engine.
In this position, the transmission is mechanically
locked to prevent the vehicle from rolling freely.
When you park the vehicle, first set the parking brake
fully, then shift into the “P” position. Do not hold the ve-
hicle with only the transmission.
P
RND321
HS7009AA
HS7010BA

7-24
Starting and operating
A shift interlock function is employed in the automatic
transmission system to ensure safe starting of the ve-
hicle.
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 chapter. T
R (Reverse)
This position is for backing the vehicle.
To shift from the “N” to “R” position, first stop the vehi-
cle completely then move the lever to the “R” position. T N (Neutral)
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 on the slightest incline un-
less the parking brake or foot brake is on.
NOTE (Except Turbo models)
If you stop the engine with the selector lever in the
“N” position, move the selector lever to the “P”
position immediately. Otherwise, you may find that the selector lever soon cannot be moved to
the “P” position. If you find that the selector lever
cannot be moved from the “N” position to the “P”
position, turn the ignition switch to the “ON” posi-
tion and try again.
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.
T 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 accelerator 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.

7-25
Starting and operating
– CONTINUED –
VWhile climbing a grade
When driving up hill, undesired upshift to 4th gear is
prevented from taking place when the accelerator
pedal is released. This minimizes the chances of sub-
sequent downshifting to a lower gear when accelerat-
ing again. This prevents repeated upshifting and
downshifting resulting in a smoother operation of the vehicle.
NOTE
The transmission may downshift to 2nd or 1st
gear, depending on the way the accelerator pedal
is pressed to accelerate the vehicle again. V While going down a hill
When descending a steep hill, depressing the brake
pedal will cause the transmission to downshift to 3rd
gear, thus applying engine braking. Reacceleration for
a short time will cause the transmission to upshift nor-
mally.
NOTE
In some cases, depressing the brake pedal on a
downhill grade does not result in an automatic
downshift to 3rd gear. This can happen when the
automatic transmission fluid temperature is very
low, for example, during driving shortly after the
vehicle has been parked for an extended period of time. When the ATF temperature has risen to a cer-tain level, automatic downshift normally takes
place. In the meantime, downshift manually for en-
gine braking as required.
Also, downshifting when braking downhill will not
occur at speeds above approximately 48 mph (78 km/h). T
3 (Third)
This position is for using engine braking when going
down a hill or for climbing a grade.
The transmission automatically shifts into a suitable
gear from 1st to 3rd according to the vehicle speed
and the acceleration you require.
When more acceleration is required in this position,
press the accelerator pedal fully to the floor and hold
that position. The transmission will automatically
downshift to 2nd or 1st gear. When you release the
pedal, the transmission will return to the original gear
position. T 2 (Second)
This position is for using engine braking when going
down a hill or for climbing a steep grade.
In this position, the transmission holds in the 2nd gear.
Use this position when starting off from a standstill on
slippery road surfaces such as mud or snow. It will en-

7-26
Starting and operating
sure greater traction. T
1 (First)
This position is for driving up or down very steep
grades, or driving through mud or sand, or on slippery
surfaces. In this position, the transmission holds in the
1st gear. T Maximum speeds
The following tables show the maximum speeds that
are possible with each different gear.
When shifting down a gear, it is important to confirm
that the current vehicle speed is not in excess of the
Maximum Allowable Speed of the gear which is about
to be selected. mph (km/h)
NOTE
In order to prevent over-revving during decelera-
tion of the vehicle, the transmission will remain in
the current gear if the speed of the vehicle is in ex-
cess of the Maximum Allowable Speed for the gear
to which the selector lever has been moved.
When shifting down a gear, ensure that the ve-
hicle is not travelling at a speed exceeding the
Maximum Allowable Speed for the gear which
is about to be selected. Failure to observe this
precaution can lead to engine over-revving and
this in turn can result in engine damage.
In addition, sudden application of engine
brakes when the vehicle is travelling on a slip-
pery surface can lead to wheel locking; as a2.5-liter non-turbo
models 2.0-liter turbo models
1 28 (45) 28 (45)
2 62 (99) 58 (93)
3 95 (153) 99 (158)