Driving tips 8-7
– CONTINUED –
underbody. Clear off any such matter from
the underbody. If the vehicle is used with
these materials trapped or adhering to the
underbody, a mechanical breakdown or
fire could occur. y
Secure all cargo carried inside the vehi-
cle and make certain that it is not piled
higher than the seatbacks. During sudden
stops or jolts, unsecured cargo could be
thrown around in the vehicle and cause in-
jury. Do not pile heavy loads on the roof.
Those loads raise the vehicle’s center of
gravity and make it more prone to tip over. y If you must rock the vehicle to free it
from sand or mud, depress the accelera-
tor pedal slightly and move the selector le-
ver back and forth between “D” and “R” re-
peatedly. Do not race the engine. For the
best possible traction, avoid spinning the
wheels when trying to free the vehicle. y When the road surface is extremely
slippery, you can obtain better traction by
starting the vehicle with the transmission
in 2nd than 1st. y Never equip your vehicle with tires larg-
er than those specified in this manual. y Wash the vehicle’s underbody after off-
road driving. Suspension components are
particularly prone to dirt buildup, so they
need to be washed thoroughly. y Frequent driving of an AWD vehicle un-
der hard-driving conditions such as rough roads or off roads will necessitate more
frequent replacement of engine oil, brake
fluid and transmission oil than that speci-
fied in the maintenance schedule de-
scribed in the “Warranty and Maintenance Booklet”.
Remember that damage done to your
SUBARU while operating it off-road and
not using common sense precautions
such as those listed above is not eligible for warranty coverage.
Winter driving „
Operation during cold weath- er
Carry some emergency equipment, such
as tire chains, a window scraper, a bag of
sand, flares, a small shovel, and jumper cables.
Check the battery and cables. Cold tem-
peratures reduce battery capacity. The
battery must be in good condition to pro-
vide enough power for cold winter starts.
Use an engine oil of proper grade and vis-
cosity for cold weather. Heavy summer oil
will cause harder starting.
Keep the door locks from freezing by
800201
11 - 8 Maintenance and service
4. Drain out the engine oil by removing
the drain plug while the engine is still
warm. The used oil should be drained into
an appropriate container and disposed of
properly.
5. Wipe the seating surface of the drain
plug with a clean cloth and tighten it se-
curely with a new sealing washer after the
oil has completely drained out. 6. Open the access cover by removing
the five clips and turning the access cover
counterclockwise. The oil filter will be ex-
posed.
7. Remove the oil filter with an oil filter wrench.
8. Before installing a new oil filter, apply a
thin coat of engine oil to the seal.
9. Clean the rubber seal seating area of
the bottom of engine and install the oil fil-
ter by hand turning. Be careful not to twist
or damage the seal.
10.Tighten the oil filter by the amount indi-
cated in the following table after the seal
makes contact with the bottom of engine.
11.Reinstall the cover under the oil filter.
12.Pour engine oil through the filler neck.
Oil capacity (Guideline):
5.8 US qt (5.5 liters, 4.8 Imp qt)
Be careful not to burn yourself with
hot engine oil.
B00305B00306
B00307
Oil filter color Part number Amount of
rotation
Black 15208AA031 3/4 rotation
y Never over tighten the oil filter be-
cause that can result in an oil leak.
y Thoroughly wipe off any engine
oil that has spilled over the ex-
haust pipe and/or under-cover. If left unremoved, the oil couldcatch fire.