2006 SUBARU IMPREZA WRX overheating

2
the climate control.
Chapter 5: Audio
This chapter informs you how to operate
your audio system.
Chapter 6: Interior equipment
This chapter informs you how to operate
interior equipment.
Chapter 7: Starting and operating
This chapter informs you how to start and
operate your SUBARU.
Chapter 8: Driving tips
This chapter informs you how to drive your
SUBARU in various conditions and ex-
plains some safety tips on driving.
Chapter 9: In case of emergency
This chapter informs you what to do if you
have a problem while driving, such as a
flat tire or engine overheating.
Chapter 10: Appearance care
This chapter informs you how to keep your
SUBARU looking good.
Chapter 11: Maintenance and service
This chapter informs you when you need
to take your SUBARU to the dealer for
scheduled maintenance and informs you
how to keep your SUBARU running prop-
erly.
Chapter 12: Specifications
This chapter informs you about dimension
and capacities of your SUBARU.
Chapter 13: Consumer information and
Reporting safety defectsThis chapter informs you about Uniform
tire quality grading standards and Report-
ing safety defects.
Chapter 14: Index
This is an alphabetical listing of all that
’s in
this manual. You can use it to quickly find
something you want to read.
Safety warnings
You will find a number of WARNINGs,
CAUTIONs and NOTEs in this manual.
These safety warnings alert you to poten-
tial hazards that could result in injury to
you or others.
Please read these safety warnings as well
as all other portions of this manual careful-
ly in order to gain a better understanding
of how to use your SUBARU vehicle safe-
ly.
NOTE
A NOTE gives information or sugges-
tions how to make better use of your
vehicle.
Safety symbol
You will find a circle with a slash through it
in this manual. This symbol means “Do
not ”, “Do not do this ”, or “Do not let this
happen ”, depending upon the context.
A WARNING indicates a situation in
which serious injury or death could
result if the warning is ignored.
A CAUTION indicates a situation in
which injury or damage to your vehi-
cle, or both, could result if the cau-
tion is ignored.
000013

Interior equipment 6-7
– CONTINUED –
Use with a cigarette lighter
The cigarette lighter operates only when
the ignition switch is in the “ON ” and
“ ACC ” positions.
To use the cigarette lighter, push in the
knob and wait a few moments. It will auto-
matically spring up when ready for use.
Using as an accessory power
outlet
Electrical power (12V DC) from the battery
is available at the socket when the ignition
switch is either in the “ACC ” or “ON ” posi-
tion.
If you use the socket as an accessory
power outlet, take the following precau-
tions.
When the socket is not in use, always put
the cap on the socket to prevent any for-
eign object from entering it.
The electrical power outlet locat-
ed on the lower part of the instru-
ment panel is originally designed
to use a genuine SUBARU ciga-
rette lighter plug. Do not use non-
genuine cigarette lighter plugs in
the socket. Doing so may cause a
short-circuit and overheating, re-
sulting in a fire.
If the socket is ever used for a
plug-in accessory such as a mo-
bile phone, that may damage the
portion of the socket ’s internal
mechanism that causes a ciga-
rette lighter plug to “pop out ” af-
ter its lighter element is heated.
Therefore, do not place a cigarette
lighter plug in a socket that has
been used, even once, to power a
plug-in accessory. Doing so may
cause the plug to stick and over-
heat, creating a potential fire haz-
ard.
Do not place any foreign objects,
especially metal ones such as
coins or aluminum foil, into the
socket. That could cause a short
circuit.
To avoid being burned, never grasp
the lighter by the end with the heat-
ing element. Doing so could result
in injury and could also damage the
heating element.
600526
Do not hold the lighter pushed in,
because it will overheat.
Use only in-car use electrical ap-
pliances which are designed for
12V DC and which consume less
than 120W. Overloading the sock-
et can cause a short circuit. Do
not use double adapters or more
than one electrical appliance.

Starting and operating 7-21
– CONTINUED –
Power steering
The power steering system operates only
when the engine is running.
If you lose power steering assist because
the engine stops or the system fails to
function, you can steer but it will take
much more effort.
NOTE
Right after the engine has been started
and before it has warmed up, you may
hear a noise coming from areas adja-
cent to the power steering pump which
is located at the right-front area of the
engine compartment. This noise is nor-
mal. It does not indicate power steering
system trouble.
Braking
Braking tips
When the brakes get wet
When driving in rain or after washing the
vehicle, the brakes may get wet. As a re-
sult, brake stopping distance will be long-
er. To dry the brakes, drive the vehicle at
a safe speed while lightly depressing the
brake pedal to heat up the brakes.
Use of engine braking
Remember to make use of engine braking
in addition to foot braking. When descend-
ing 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 driv-
ing straight ahead while gradually reduc-
ing speed. Then slowly pull off the road to
a safe place.
Brake system
Two separate circuits
Your vehicle has two separate circuit
brake systems. Each circuit works diago-
nally 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 distance 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, result-
ing in poor braking power.
The brakes will continue to work even
when the brake booster completely stops
functioning. If this happens, however, you
will have to push the pedal much harder
than normal and the braking distance will
increase.
Do not hold the steering wheel at the
fully locked position left or right for
more than five seconds. This may
damage the power steering pump.
Never rest your foot on the brake
pedal while driving. This can cause
dangerous overheating of the
brakes and needless wear on the
brake pads and linings.

Driving tips 8-27
heating of your vehicle ’s brakes. Do not
make sudden downshifts.
When driving uphill in hot weather, the
air conditioner may turn off automatically
to protect the engine from overheating.
When driving uphill in hot weather, pay
attention to the water temperature gauge
pointer (for all vehicles) and AT OIL TEMP
warning light (for AT vehicles) since the
engine and transmission are relatively
prone to overheating under these condi-
tions. If the water temperature gauge
pointer approaches the OVERHEAT zone
or the AT OIL TEMP warning light illumi-
nates, immediately switch off the air con-
ditioner and stop the vehicle at the nearest
safe place. Refer to the “Engine overheat-
ing ” section in chapter 9, and “Warning
and indicator lights ” section in chapter 3.
If your vehicle has an automatic trans-
mission, avoid using the accelerator pedal
to stay stationary on an uphill slope in-
stead of using the parking brake or foot
brake. That may cause the transmission
fluid to overheat.
If your vehicle has an automatic trans-
mission, place the selector lever as fol-
lows:
Uphill slopes: “D ” position
Downhill slopes: A low-speed gear posi-
tion to use engine braking
Parking on a grade
Always block the wheels under both vehi-
cle and trailer when parking. Apply the
parking brake firmly. You should not park
on a hill or slope. But if parking on a hill or
slope cannot be avoided, you should take
the following steps:
1. Apply the brakes and hold the pedal
down.
2. Have someone place wheel blocks un-
der both the vehicle and trailer wheels.
3. When the wheel blocks are in place, re-
lease the regular brakes slowly until the
blocks absorb the load.
4. Apply the regular brakes and then ap-
ply the parking brake; slowly release the
regular brakes.
5. Shift into 1st or reverse gear (manual
transmission) or “P ” (automatic transmis-
sion) and shut off the engine.

9
In case of emergency
If you park your vehicle in case of an emergency ......................................... .............. 9-2
Temporary spare tire .............................. ............ 9-2
Flat tires ........................................ ...................... 9-4
Changing a flat tire .............................. ................... 9-4
Jump starting ..................................... ................. 9-9
How to jump start ................................. .................. 9-9
Engine overheating ................................ ............ 9-11
If steam is coming from the engine compartment ....................................... .................. 9-11
If no steam is coming from the engine
compartment ....................................... .................. 9-11
Towing ............................................ ..................... 9-11
Towing and tie-down hooks ......................... ......... 9-12
Using a flat-bed truck ............................ ................. 9-13
Towing with all wheels on the ground .............. .... 9-14
Rear gate – if the rear gate cannot be
unlocked .......................................... ................ 9-15
Moonroof – if the moonroof cannot be
closed ............................................ ................... 9-15
Maintenance tools ................................. ............. 9-16
Jack and jack handle .............................. ................ 9-16

In case of emergency 9-11
– CONTINUED –
Engine overheating
If the engine overheats, safely pull off the
road and stop the vehicle in a safe place.
If steam is coming from the
engine compartment
Turn off the engine and get everyone
away from the vehicle until it cools down.
If no steam is coming from
the engine compartment
1. Keep the engine running at idling
speed.
2. Open the hood to ventilate the engine
compartment.
Confirm that the cooling fan is turning. If
the fan is not turning, immediately turn off the engine and contact your authorized
dealer for repair.
3. After the engine coolant temperature
has dropped, turn off the engine.
If the temperature gauge stays at the
overheated zone, turn off the engine.
4. After the engine has fully cooled down,
check the coolant level in the reserve
tank.
If the coolant level is below the
“LOW ”
mark, add coolant up to the “FULL ” mark.
5. If there is no coolant in the reserve
tank, add coolant to the reserve tank.
Then remove the radiator cap and fill the
radiator with coolant.
If you remove the radiator cap from a hot
radiator, first wrap a thick cloth around the
radiator cap, then turn the cap counter-
clockwise slowly without pressing down
until it stops. Release the pressure from
the radiator. After the pressure has been
fully released, remove the cap by pressing
down and turning it.
Towing
If towing is necessary, it is best done by
your SUBARU dealer or a commercial
towing service. Observe the following pro-
cedures for safety.
Never attempt to remove the radia-
tor cap until the engine has been
shut off and has fully cooled down.
When the engine is hot, the coolant
is under pressure. Removing the
cap while the engine is still hot
could release a spray of boiling hot
coolant, which could burn you very
seriously.
Never tow AWD vehicles (both AT
and MT) with the front wheels raised
off the ground while the rear wheels
are on the ground, or with the rear
wheels raised off the ground while
the front wheels are on the ground.
This will cause the vehicle to spin
away due to the operation or deteri-
oration of the center differential.
900059

14-4 Index
Tired or sleepy .................................... ............................... 7
E
EBD (Electronic brake force distribution) system ........ ..... 7-24
Electrical system ..................................... ......................... 12-3
Electronic Brake Force Distribution (EBD) system ......... .. 7-24
Emergency Locking Retractor (ELR) .................... ............ 1-11
Engine Compartment overview ................................ ................ 11-6
Coolant ........................................... ........................... 11-12
Exhaust gas (Carbon monoxide) ....................... ........ 6, 8-2
Hood .............................................. .............................. 11-4
Oil ............................................... ................................. 11-8
Overheating ........................................ ......................... 9-11
Starting .......................................... ................................ 7-7
Stopping .......................................... .............................. 7-8
Exterior care ....................................... .............................. 10-2
F
Flat tires ......................................... .................................... 9-4
Floor mat ......................................... ................................... 6-9
Fluid level
Automatic transmission ............................... .............. 11-20
Brake .............................................. ........................... 11-25
Clutch ............................................. ........................... 11-26
Power steering ..................................... ...................... 11-24
Folding down the rear seat ......................... ........................ 1-8
Front
Differential gear oil ............................. ........................ 11-21
Fog light ......................................... ............................ 11-48
Fog light button .................................. .......................... 3-26Seatbelt pretensioners ..............................
................... 1-20
Seats .............................................. ................................ 1-2
Turn signal light .................................. ....................... 11-48
Fuel .............................................. ....................................... 7-2
Economy hints ........................................ ....................... 8-2
Filler lid and cap ................................. ............................ 7-4
Gauge ............................................. ...................... 3-8, 3-12
Requirements ...................................... .......................... 7-2
Fuses .............................................. ................................ 11-41
Fuses and circuits ..................................... ........................ 12-6
G
GAWR (Gross Axle Weight Rating) ..................... ............. 8-14
Glove box ........................................... ................................ 6-4
GVWR (Gross Vehicle Weight Rating) ................... .......... 8-14
H
Hazard warning flasher ............................. .......................... 3-6
Head restraint adjustment (Front) ................... .................... 1-4
Head restraint adjustment (Wagon) .................. .................. 1-7
Headlight beam leveler ............................ ......................... 3-25
Headlight flasher .................................. ............................. 3-23
Headlight indicator light .......................... .......................... 3-21
Headlights ......................................... ..................... 3-22, 11-45
Heater operation .................................. ............................... 4-5
High beam indicator light .......................... ........................ 3-20
High mount stop light .............................. ........................ 11-51
Horn .............................................. .................................... 3-35
Hose and connections .................................. .................. 11-12

14-6 Index
Off road driving ................................... ................................ 8-6
Oil filter ........................................ ..................................... 11-8
Oil level Engine ............................................ ............................. 11-8
Front differential (AT vehicles) ..................... .............. 11-21
Manual transmission ................................. ................. 11-18
Rear differential ................................. ........................ 11-22
Oil pressure warning light .......................... ....................... 3-16
Outside mirrors ..................................... ............................ 3-33
Outside temperature indicator ....................... ............ 3-9, 3-13
Overheating engine ................................. ......................... 9-11
P
Parking Brake .............................................. ............................. 7-25
Brake stroke ......................................... ..................... 11-29
Light switch ........................................ .......................... 3-25
Tips ............................................... ............................... 7-25
Periodic inspections .................................. ......................... 8-4
Power Door locking switches ................................. ................... 2-6
Steering .......................................... ............................. 7-21
Steering fluid .................................... ......................... 11-24
Windows ........................................... ........................... 2-18
Preparing to drive ................................. .............................. 7-6
Printed antenna ................................... ............................... 5-2
R
Rear Combination lights ................................. .................... 11-48
Differential gear oil ............................. ........................ 11-22Differential oil temperature warning light ........
.............. 3-17
Gate .............................................. ............................... 2-23
Seats .............................................. ................................ 1-6
Rear seat Folding down (Wagon) .............................. ..................... 1-8
Rear window Defogger button ................................... ........................ 3-29
Wiper and washer switch ............................. ................ 3-28
Recommended Automatic transmission fluid .......................... ............ 11-21
Brake fluid ........................................ .......................... 11-25
Clutch fluid ....................................... .......................... 11-26
Oil grade and viscosity .............................. ..... 11-10, 11-11,
11-19, 11-22, 11-23
Power steering fluid ............................... .................... 11-24
Spark plugs ......................................... ....................... 11-17
Remote keyless entry system .............................. ............... 2-7
Replacement Brake pad and lining ............................... ................... 11-28
Wiper blades ....................................... ....................... 11-37
Replacing Air cleaner element ................................ .................... 11-15
Battery (Remote keyless entry system) ..................... .... 2-9
Lost transmitters (keyless entry system) ................. ..... 2-10
Replacing bulbs ..................................... ......................... 11-44
Cargo area light .................................. ....................... 11-50
Dome light ........................................ .......................... 11-50
Front fog light ................................... .......................... 11-48
Front turn signal light ............................ ..................... 11-48
Headlights ......................................... ......................... 11-45
High mount stop light .............................. ................... 11-51
License plate light ................................. ..................... 11-50