2006 SUBARU OUTBACK Owners Manual

3-22 Instruments and controls
„ Door open warning light When any of the doors or the rear gate
(Station wagon) or trunk lid (Sedan) is not
fully closed, it is indicated by the corre-
sponding part of the door warning light.
Always make sure this light is out before
you start to drive.
„ All-Wheel Drive warn-
ing light (AT vehicles) The All-Wheel Drive warning light comes
on when the ignition switch is turned to the
“ON” position and goes out after the en-
gine has started.
T For 5-speed automatic transmission
vehicles
This light flashes if the vehicle is driven
with tires of different diameters fitted on its
wheels or with the air pressure excessive-
ly low in any of its tires.
T For 4-speed automatic transmission
vehicles
This light comes on when All-Wheel Drive
is disengaged and the drive mechanism is
switched to Front Wheel Drive for mainte-
nance or similar purposes.
This light flashes if the vehicle is driven
with tires of different diameters fitted on its
wheels or with the air pressure excessive-
ly low in any of its tires.
„ Vehicle Dynamics Con-
trol operation indicator
light (if equipped) This light comes on when the ignition
switch is ON and goes out approximately
2 seconds later.
It blinks when the skid suppression func-
tion is activated. It illuminates when only
the traction control function is operating. The Vehicle Dynamics Control system is
probably faulty under any of the following
conditions. Have your vehicle checked at
a SUBARU dealer immediately.
y The light does not come on when the ig-
nition switch is turned to the “ON” position.
y The light does not go out even after a
period of approximately 2 seconds after
the ignition switch has been turned to the
“ON” position.
„ Vehicle Dynamics Con-
trol warning light (if
equipped)/Vehicle Dy-
namics Control OFF indicator
light (if equipped) This warning light has both the function of
indicating faults in the Vehicle Dynamics
Control system and the function of indicat-
ing that the Vehicle Dynamics Control sys-
tem has been deactivated.
It comes on in the event of a fault in the
system and is on when the system is not
operating.
This warning light comes on when the ig-
nition switch is turned to the “ON” position
and goes out after the engine has started.
It indicates that the Vehicle Dynamics
Control system is in normal operation.(Turbo model only) Promptly put
fuel in the tank whenever the low
fuel warning light comes on. Engine
misfires as a result of an empty tank
could cause damage to the engine.
Continued driving with the AWD
warning light flashing can lead to
powertrain damage. If the AWD
warning light flashes, promptly park
in a safe place then check whether
all four tires are the same diameter
and whether any of the tires has a
puncture or has lost air pressure for
some other reason.

Instruments and controls
3-23
– CONTINUED –T Vehicle Dynamics Control warning
light
The Vehicle Dynami cs Control system is
probably inoperative under any of the fol-
lowing conditions. Have your vehicle
checked at a SUBARU dealer immediate-
ly.
y The warning light does not come on
when the ignition switch is turned to the
“ON” position.
y The warning light comes on while the
vehicle is running.
y If the electrical circuit of the Vehicle Dy-
namics Control system itself becomes
faulty, the warning light only comes on. At
this time, the ABS (Anti-lock Brake Sys-
tem) remains fully operational.
y The warning light comes on when the
electronic control sys tem of the ABS/Vehi-
cle Dynamics Control system becomes
faulty.
The Vehicle Dynamics Control system
provides its ABS control through the elec-
trical circuit of the ABS system. Accord-
ingly, if the ABS is in operative, the Vehicle
Dynamics Control system becomes un-
able to provide ABS c ontrol. As a result,
the Vehicle Dynamics Control system also
becomes inoperative, causing the warning
light to come on. Though both the Vehicle
Dynamics Control and ABS systems are
inoperative in this case, the ordinary func- tions of the brake system are still avail-
able. You will be safe while driving with
this condition, but have your vehicle
checked at a SUBARU dealer as soon as
possible.
NOTE If the warning light behavior is as
shown in the following, the Vehicle Dy-
namics Control system may be consid-
ered normal.
y The warning light comes on right af-
ter the engine is started but goes out
immediately, remaining off.
y The warning light comes on after en-
gine startup and goes off while the ve-
hicle is subsequently being driven.
y The warning light comes on during
driving, but it goes out immediately
and remains off.
T Vehicle Dynamics Control OFF indi-
cator light
y It comes on when the Vehicle Dynamics
Control OFF switch is pressed.
y It also comes on when the Vehicle Dy-
namics Control system is deactivated.
NOTE y The light may stay on for a while after
the engine has been started, especially
in cold weather. This does not indicate
the existence of a problem. The light should go out as soon as the engine
has warmed up.
y The indicator light comes on when
the engine has developed a problem
and the Malfunction indicator light is
on.
The Vehicle Dynamics Control system is
probably faulty under the following condi-
tion. Have your vehicle checked at a
SUBARU dealer as soon as possible.
y The light does not go out even after the
lapse of several minutes (the engine has
warmed up) after the engine has started.
„ Security indicator light This indicator light shows the status of the
alarm system. It also indicates operation
of the immobilizer system.
T Alarm system
It blinks to show the driver the operational
status of the alarm system. For detailed
information, refer to the “Alarm system”
section in chapter 2.
T Immobilizer system
This light blinks approximately 60 seconds
after the ignition switch is turned from
“ON” position to the “ACC” or “LOCK” po-
sition or immediately after the key is pulled
out. (Refer to the “Door locks” section in

3-24 Instruments and controls
chapter 2.)
If the indicator light does not flash, it may
indicate that immobilizer system may be
faulty. Contact your nearest SUBARU
dealer immediately.
In the event that an unauthorized key (for
example, an unauthorized duplicate) is
used, the security indicator light comes
on.
„ SPORT mode indicator
light (AT vehicles)This light comes on when the ignition
switch is turned to the “ON” position and
goes out after the engine has started.
When the selector lever is moved to the
manual gate, the SPORT mode is select-
ed and the indicator light comes on. (Refer
to the “Automatic transmission – 4-speed”
or “Automatic transmission – 5-speed”
section in chapter 7.)
T Automatic transmission control
system warning
If the light flashes after the engine starts,
it may indicate that the automatic trans-
mission control system is not working
properly. Contact your nearest SUBARU
dealer for service immediately. „ Selector lever position indi-
cator (AT vehicles)
This indicator shows the position of the
selector lever. „ Gear position indicator (AT
vehicles)
When the manual mode is selected, the
gear position indicator (which shows the
current gear selectio n) and the upshift/
downshift indicator light up. (Refer to the
“Automatic transmission – 4-speed” or
“Automatic transmission – 5-speed” sec-
tion in chapter 7.)
„ Turn signal indicator
lights These lights show the operation of the
turn signal or lane change signal.
If the indicator lights do not blink or blink
rapidly, the turn signal bulb may be
burned out. Replace the bulb as soon as 300192 300266

Instruments and controls
3-25
– CONTINUED –possible. Refer to the “Replacing bulbs”
section in chapter 11.
„ High beam indicator
lightThis light shows that the headlights are in
the high beam mode.
This indicator light also comes on when
the headlight flasher is operated.
„ Cruise control indica-
tor lightThe cruise control indicator light comes on
when the ignition switch is turned to the
“ON” position and goes out after approxi-
mately three seconds.
This light comes on when the “CRUISE”
main switch is pressed.
NOTE If you move the cruise control lever or
press the main switch button while
turning the ignition switch “ON”, the
cruise control function is deactivated
and the “CRUISE” indicator light flash-
es. To reactivate the cruise control
function, turn the ig nition switch back
to the “ACC” or “LOCK” position, and
then turn it again to the “ON” position. „ Cruise control set indica-
tor light The cruise control set indicator light
comes on when the ignition switch is
turned to the “ON” position and goes out
after approximately three seconds.
This light comes on when vehicle speed
has been set.
„ Headlight indicator light This indicator light comes on when the
light switch is turned to the “ ” posi-
tion (to turn on the parking lights) or to the
“ ” position (to turn on the headlights).
„ Front fog light indicator
light This indicator light is on while the front fog
lights are on. Clock NOTE If your vehicle is equipped with a navi-
gation system, refer to the separate
“Operating Instructions for Monitor
System”.
The clock shows the time while the igni-
tion switch is in the “ACC” or “ON” posi-
tion. 400257

3-26 Instruments and controls
To adjust the time shown by the clock,
press the “+” button or the “–” button. The
indicated time will change in one-minute
increments. If you keep the button
pressed, the rate at which the indicated
time changes will speed up.
To reset the minutes to “00” with a radio
time signal, push the “SET” button. The clock will also show the time if you
press the “DISP” button while the ignition
switch is in the “LOCK” position. It is pos-
sible to adjust the time setting while the
time is being shown. If you do not press
the “+” button or “–” button for 10 seconds
while the time is being shown, the time in-
dication will go off.
Also, the time indication will go off if you
open and close the driver’s door while the
time is being shown. Information display (Vehicle
without Navigation System) NOTE If your vehicle is equipped with a navi-
gation system, refer to the separate
“Operating Instructions for Monitor
System”.
With the ignition switch in the “ON” posi-
tion, each successive push of the “DISP”
button toggles the display in the following
sequence:300599
To ensure safety, do not attempt to
set the time during driving, as an ac-
cident could result. 300600
300600

Instruments and controls
3-27
– CONTINUED –„ Outside temperature indica-
tor
U.S.-spec. vehicles Canada-spec. vehicles
The outside temperature indicator shows
the outside temperature in a range from –
22 to 122 ° F (–30 to 50 ° C).
The indicator can give a false reading un-
der any of the following conditions:
y When there is too much sun.
y During idling; while running at low
speeds in a traffic jam; when the engine is
restarted immediately following a shut-
down.
y When the actual outside temperature
falls outside the specified indicator range. T Road surface freeze warning indica-
tion
U.S.-spec. vehicles
Canada-spec. vehiclesOutside
tempera-
ture Current
fuel con-
sumption Average
fuel con-
sumption
Driving range
on remaining fuelJourney time
300594 300267
300595
300268

3-28 Instruments and controls
When the outside temperature drops to
37 ° F (3 ° C) or lower, the temperature indi-
cation flashes to show that the road sur-
face may be frozen.
If the outside temperature drops to 37 ° F
(3 ° C) or lower while the display is giving
an indication other than the outside tem-
perature, the display switches to the out-
side temperature indication and flashes
for five seconds before returning to its
original indication.
If the display is already indicating an out-
side temperature of 37 ° F (3 ° C) or lower
when the ignition switch is turned to the
“ON” position, the indication does not
flash.
NOTE The outside temperature indication
may differ from the actual outside tem-
perature. The road surface freeze warn-
ing indication should be treated only
as a guide. Be sure to check the condi-
tion of the road surface before driving. „ Current fuel consumption
U.S.-spec. vehicles
Canada-spec. vehicles
This indication shows the rate of fuel con- sumption at the present moment.
„ Average fuel consumption
U.S.-spec. vehicles 300270
300596 300272

Instruments and controls
3-29
– CONTINUED –Canada-spec. vehicles
This indication shows the average rate of
fuel consumption since the trip meter was
last reset.
Pressing the trip knob toggles the indica-
tion between the average fuel consump-
tion corresponding to the A trip meter indi-
cation and the average fuel consumption
corresponding to the B trip meter indica-
tion.
When either of the trip meter indications is
reset, the corresponding average fuel
consumption value is also reset.
NOTE y The indicated values vary in accor-
dance with changes in the vehicle’s
running conditions. Also, the indicated
values may differ slightly from the ac- tual values and should thus be treated
only as a guide.
y When either trip meter indication is
reset, the average fuel consumption
corresponding to that trip meter indica-
tion is not shown un til the vehicle has
subsequently covered a distance of 1
mile (or 1 km).
„ Driving range on remaining
fuel
U.S.-spec. vehicles Canada-spec. vehicles
The driving range indicates the distance
that can be driven taking into account the
amount of fuel remaining in the tank and
the average rate of fuel consumption.
When the low fuel warning light comes on,
the driving range indication flashes for five
seconds. (The display first switches to the
driving range indication if it was originally
giving some other indication.)300597
300274 300273