2005 SUBARU OUTBACK maintenance

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Maintenance and service
may cause the rear wheels to lock. To avoid
this, be certain to pull the lever up slowly and
gently.
1. Drive the vehicle at a speed of about 22 mph (35
km/h).
2. With the parking brake release button pushed in,
pull the parking brake lever SLOWLY and GENTLY.
(Pulling with a force of approximately 33 lbs [147 N, 15 kg].)
3. Drive the vehicle for about 220 yards (200 meters)
in this condition.
4. Wait 5 to 10 minutes for the parking brake to cool
down. Repeat this procedure.
5. Check the parking brake stroke. If the parking
brake stroke is out of the specified range, adjust it by
turning the adjusting nut located on the parking brake
lever.
Parking brake stroke:
5 – 6 notches / 44 lbs (196 N, 20 kg)
Parking brake stroke
Check the parking brake stroke according to the main-
tenance schedule in the “Warranty and Maintenance
Booklet”. When the parking brake is properly adjusted,
braking power is fully applied by pulling the lever up
five to six notches gently but firmly (about 44 lbs, 196
N, 20 kg). If the parking brake lever stroke is not within the specified range, have the brake system checked
and adjusted at your SUBARU dealer.
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Maintenance and service
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Tires and wheels !Types of tires
You should be familiar with type of tires present on your vehicle. ! All season tires
The factory-installed tires on your new vehicle are all
season tires.
All season tires are designed to provide an adequate
measure of traction, handling and braking perfor-
mance in year-round driving including snowy and icy
road conditions. However all season tires do not offer
as much traction performance as winter (snow) tires in
heavy or loose snow or on icy roads.
All season tires are identified by “ALL SEASON” and/
or “M+S” (Mud & Snow) on the tire sidewall. ! Summer tires
Summer tires are high-speed capability tires best suit-
ed for highway driving under dry conditions.
Summer tires are inadequate for driving on slippery
roads such as on snow-covered or icy roads.
If you drive your vehicle on snow-covered or icy roads,
we strongly recommend the use of winter (snow) tires.
When installing winter tires, be sure to replace all four
tires. !
Winter (snow) tires
Winter tires are best suited for driving on snow-cov-
ered and icy roads. However winter tires do not per-
form as well as summer tires and all season tires on
roads other than snow-covered and icy roads. ! Tire pressure monitoring system
(TPMS) (if equipped)
The tire pressure monitoring system provides the driv-
er with a warning message indicating by sending a sig-
nal from a sensor that is installed in each wheel when
tire pressure is severely low. The tire pressure moni-
toring system will activate only when the vehicle is
driven. Also, this system may not react immediately to
a sudden drop in tire pressure (for example, a blow-
out caused by running over a sharp object).
If you adjust the tire pressures in a warm garage and
will then drive the vehicle in cold outside air, the result-
ing drop in tire pressures may cause the low tire pres-
sure warning light to come on. To avoid this problem
when adjusting the tire pressures in a warm garage,
inflate the tires to pressures higher than those shown
on the tire placard. Specifically, inflate them by an ex-
tra 1 psi (6.9 kPa, 0.07 kgf/cm 2
) for every difference of
10 °F (5.6 °C) between the temperature in the garage
and the temperature outside. By way of example, the

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Maintenance and service
following table shows the required tire pressures that
correspond to various outside temperatures when the
temperature in the garage is 60
°F (15.6 °C).
Standard tire pressures:
Front: 32 psi (220 kPa, 2.2 kgf/cm 2
)
Rear: 30 psi (210 kPa, 2.1 kgf/cm 2
)
Garage temperature: 60 °F (15.6 °C)
If the low tire pressure warning light comes on when
you drive the vehicle in cold outside air after adjusting
the tire pressures in a warm garage, re-adjust the tire
pressures using the method described above. Then,
increase the vehicle speed to at least 20 mph (32 km/
h) and check to see that the low tire pressure warning
light goes off a few minutes later. If the low tire pres-
sure warning light does not go off, the tire pressure
monitoring system may not be functioning normally. In this event, go to a SUBARU dealer to have the system
inspected as soon as possible.
While the vehicle is driven, friction between tires and
the road surface causes the tires to warm up. After il-
lumination of the low tire pressure warning light, any
increase in the tire pressures caused by an increase in
the outside air temperature or by an increase in the
temperature in the tires can cause the low tire pres-
sure warning light to go off.
System resetting is necessary when the wheels are
changed (for example, a switch to snow tires) and new
TPMS valves are installed on the newly fitted wheels.
Have this work performed by a SUBARU dealer fol-
lowing wheel replacement.
It may not be possible to install TPMS valves on cer-
tain wheels that are on the market. Therefore, if you
change the wheels (for example, a switch to snow
tires), use wheels that have the same part number as
the standard-equipment wheels. Without four opera-
tional TPMS valve/sensors on the wheels, the TPMS
will not fully function and the warning light in the instru-
ment panel will flash.
When a tire is replaced, adjustments are necessary to
ensure continued normal operation of the tire pressure
monitoring system. As with wheel replacement, there-
Outside temperature Adjusted pressure
[psi (kPa, kgf/cm2
)]
front rear
30 °F (–1 °C) 35 (240, 2.4) 33 (230, 2.3)
10 °F (–12 °C) 37 (255, 2.55) 35 (245, 2.45)
–10 °F (–23 °C) 39 (270, 2.7) 37 (260, 2.6)

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Maintenance and service
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fore, you should have the work performed by a SUBA-
RU dealer.
If the low tire pressure warning light does not
come on briefly after the ignition switch is
turned ON or the light is flashing, you should
have your Tire Pressure Monitoring System
checked at a SUBARU dealer as soon as possi-
ble.
If this light comes on while driving, never brake
suddenly and keep driving straight ahead while
gradually reducing speed. Then slowly pull off
the road to a safe place. Otherwise an accident
involving serious vehicle damage and serious
personal injury could occur.
If this light still comes on while driving after ad-
justing the tire pressure, a tire may have signif-
icant damage and a fast leak that causes the
tire to lose air rapidly. If you have a flat tire, re-
place it with a spare tire as soon as possible.
When a spare tire is mounted or a wheel rim is
replaced without the original pressure sensor/
transmitter being transferred, the low tire pres-
sure warning light will flash. This indicates the
TPMS is unable to monitor all four road wheels.
Contact your SUBARU dealer as soon as possi- ble for tire and sensor replacement and/or sys-
tem resetting. If the light flashes, promptly con-
tact a SUBARU dealer to have the system in-
spected.
! Tire inspection
Check on a daily basis that the tires are free from se-
rious damage, nails, and stones. At the same time,
check the tires for abnormal wear.
Contact your SUBARU dealer immediately if you find
any problem.
NOTE " When the wheels and tires strike curbs or are
subjected to harsh treatment as when the vehicle
is driven on a rough surface, they can suffer dam-
age that cannot be seen with the naked eye. This
type of damage does not become evident until
time has passed. Try not to drive over curbs, pot-
holes or on other rough surfaces. If doing so is un-
avoidable, keep the vehicle’s speed down to a
walking pace or less, and approach the curbs as
squarely as possible. Also, make sure the tires are
not pressed against the curb when you park thevehicle. " If you feel unusual vibration while driving or find

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Maintenance and service
it difficult to steer the vehicle in a straight line, one
of the tires and/or wheels may be damaged. Drive
slowly to the nearest authorized SUBARU dealer
and have the vehicle inspected. !
Tire pressures and wear
Maintaining the correct tire pressures helps to maxi-
mize the tires’ service lives and is essential for good
running performance. Check and, if necessary, adjust
the pressure of each tire (including the spare) at least
once a month (for example, during a fuel stop) and be-
fore any long journey.
Check the tire pressures when the tires are cold. Use a pressure gauge to adjust the tire pressures to the
values shown on the tire placard. The tire placard is lo-
cated on the door pillar on the driver’s side.
Driving even a short distance warms up the tires and
increases the tire pressures. Also, the tire pressures
are affected by the outside temperature. It is best to
check tire pressure outdoors before driving the vehi- cle.
When a tire becomes warm, the air inside it expands,
causing the tire pressure to increase. Be careful not to
mistakenly release air from a warm tire to reduce itspressure.
NOTE "
The air pressure in a tire increases by approxi-
mately 4.3 psi (30 kPa, 0.3 kgf/cm 2
) when the tire
becomes warm. " The tires are considered cold when the vehicle
has been parked for at least three hours or has
been driven less than one mile (1.6 km).
Do not let air out of warm tires to adjust pres-sure. Doing so will result in low tire pressure.UB8201BA

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Maintenance and service
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Incorrect tire pressures detract from controllability and
ride comfort, and they cause the tires to wear abnor-
mally. "Correct tire pressure (tread worn evenly)
Roadholding is good, and steering is responsive. Roll-
ing resistance is low, so fuel consumption is also low-er. "
Abnormally low tire pressure (tread worn at
shoulders)
Rolling resistance is high, so fuel consumption is also
higher.
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Maintenance and service
"
Abnormally high tire pressure (tread worn in cen-
ter)
Ride comfort is poor. Also, the tire magnifies the ef-
fects of road-surface bumps and dips, possibly result-
ing in vehicle damage.
Driving at high speeds with excessively low tire
pressures can cause the tires to deform severe-
ly and to rapidly become hot. A sharp increase
in temperature could cause tread separation,
and destruction of the tires. The resulting loss
of vehicle control could lead to an accident.
! Wheel balance
Each wheel was correctly balanced when your vehicle
was new, but the wheels will become unbalanced as
the tires become worn during use. Wheel imbalance
causes the steering wheel to vibrate slightly at certain
vehicle speeds and detracts from the vehicle’s
straight-line stability. It can also cause steering and
suspension system problems and abnormal tire wear.
If you suspect that the wheels are not correctly bal-
anced, have them checked and adjusted by your SUB-
ARU dealer. Also have them adjusted after tire repairs
and after tire rotation.
NOTE
Loss of correct wheel alignment* causes the tires
to wear on one side and reduces the vehicle’s run-
ning stability. Contact your SUBARU dealer if you
notice abnormal tire wear.
*: The suspension system is designed to hold each wheel at
a certain alignment (relative to the other wheels and to the
road) for optimum straight-line stability and cornering perfor-
mance.
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Maintenance and service
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!Wear indicators
A) New tread
B) Worn tread
C) Tread wear indicator
Each tire incorporates a tread wear indicator, which
becomes visible when the depth of the tread grooves
decreases to 0.063 in (1.6 mm). A tire must be re-
placed when the tread wear indicator appears as a
solid band across the tread.
When a tire’s tread wear indicator becomes vis- ible, the tire is worn beyond the acceptable limit
and must be replaced immediately. With a tire
in this condition, driving at high speeds in wet
weather can cause the vehicle to hydroplane.
The resulting loss of vehicle control can lead to
an accident.
NOTE
For safety, inspect the tire tread regularly and re-
place the tires before their tread wear indicators
become visible. !
Tire rotation
A
CB
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