2009 SUBARU LEGACY engine overheat

7-34Starting and operating
Power steering
CAUTION
Do not hold the steering wheel at the
fully locked position left or right for
more than 5 seconds. This may
damage the power steering pump.
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
normal. It does not indicate power
steering system trouble. Braking &
Braking tips
WARNING
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.
! When the brakes get wet
When driving in rain or after washing the
vehicle, the brakes may get wet. As a
result, brake stopping distance will be
longer. 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
driving straight ahead while gradually
reducing speed. Then slowly pull off the
road to a safe place.
& Brake system
! Two separate circuits
Your vehicle has a dual circuit brake
system. Each circuit works diagonally
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 thevehicle. ! 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 willincrease.

!Driving on grades
. Before going down a steep hill, slow
down and shift into lower gear (if neces-
sary, use 1st gear) in order to utilize the
engine braking effect and prevent over-
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 models) 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
conditioner and stop the vehicle at the
nearest safe place. Refer to the “Engine
overheating ”section in chapter 9, and
“ Warning and indicator lights ”section in
chapter 3. NOTE
With AT models, the temperature of
engine coolant is less likely to rise to
the OVERHEAT zone in the “D ” posi-
tion than in the manual mode position. . If your vehicle has an automatic trans- mission, avoid using the accelerator pedal
to stay stationary on an uphill slope
instead of using the parking brake or foot
brake. That may cause the transmission
fluid to overheat. !
Parking on a grade
Always block the wheels under both
vehicle 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
under both the vehicle and trailer wheels.
3. When the wheel blocks are in place,
release the regular brakes slowly until the
blocks absorb the load.
4. Apply the regular brakes and then
apply 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. Driving tips
8-29

If you park your vehicle in an emergency......... 9-2
Temporary spare tire ........................................... 9-2
Precautions for AWD vehicles with automatic transmission ..................................................... 9-3
Flat tires ............................................................... 9-4
Changing a flat tire .............................................. 9-4
Tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS) (if equipped) ...................................................... 9-9
Jump starting ..................................................... 9-10
How to jump start ............................................... 9-11
Engine overheating ............................................ 9-13
If steam is coming from the engine compartment .................................................... 9-13 If no steam is coming from the engine
compartment ................................................... 9-13
Towing ................................................................ 9-13
Towing and tie-down hooks. ............................... 9-14
Using a flat-bed truck. ........................................ 9-16
Towing with all wheels on the ground ................. 9-17
Rear gate (Station wagon) –if the rear gate
cannot be unlocked ........................................ 9-18
Maintenance tools ............................................. 9-18
Jack .................................................................. 9-18
Jack handle ....................................................... 9-19
Other maintenance tools .................................... 9-19
In case of emergency
9

Engine overheating
WARNING
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.
If the engine overheats, pull off the road
safely 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 reservetank.
If the coolant level is below the
“MIN ”
mark, add coolant up to the “MAX ”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. TowingWARNING
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 dete-
rioration of the center differential.
If towing is necessary, it is best done by
your SUBARU dealer or a commercial
towing service. Observe the following
procedures for safety. In case of emergency
9-13
– CONTINUED –

14-4Index
Disarming the alarm system ........................................ 2-19
Disc brake pad wear warning indicators ........................ 7-35
Dome light ........................................................ 6-2, 11-57
Door Locks ..................................................................... 2-5
Open warning light ................................................. 3-36
Step light ............................................................. 11-58
Drive belts. ............................................................... 11-20
Driving
All-Wheel Drive warning light ................................... 3-36
Car phone/cell phone .................................................. 7
Drinking ..................................................................... 6
Drugs ........................................................................ 6
Foreign countries ..................................................... 8-5
Pets .......................................................................... 7
Snowy and icy roads ................................................ 8-9
Tips....................................... 7-16, 7-18, 7-23, 7-29, 8-5
Tired or sleepy. ........................................................... 6
E
ECO gauge ................................................................. 3-8
Electrical system ........................................................ 12-3
Electronic Brake Force Distribution (EBD) system ........................................................... 3-35, 7-37
Emergency Locking Retractor (ELR) ............................. 1-15
Engine
Compartment overview ........................................... 11-6
Coolant ................................................................ 11-14
Exhaust gas (carbon monoxide) ............................. 5, 8-3
Hood .................................................................... 11-4
Oil........................................................................ 11-9 Overheating
........................................................... 9-13
Starting .................................................................. 7-9
Stopping ................................................................ 7-11
Exterior care .............................................................. 10-2
F
Flat tires ..................................................................... 9-4
Floor mat ................................................................... 6-13
Fluid level Automatic transmission ......................................... 11-22
Brake .................................................................. 11-28
Clutch ................................................................. 11-29
Power steering ..................................................... 11-27
Fog light Bulb .................................................................... 11-53
Indicator light ......................................................... 3-40
Switch ................................................................... 3-49
Front Differential gear oil ................................................ 11-24
Fog light (bulb) ..................................................... 11-53
Seatbelt pretensioners ............................................ 1-24
Seats ..................................................................... 1-2
Side marker light .................................................. 11-53
Turn signal/Parking and front side marker light ......... 11-53
Front fog light ............................................................. 3-49
Indicator light ......................................................... 3-40
Front seats
Forward and backward adjustment ... ................... 1-3, 1-4
Reclining .......................................................... 1-3, 1-4
Seat height adjustment (driver ’s seat) ........................ 1-4
Front side marker ..................................................... 11-53

N
New vehicle break-in driving.......................................... 8-2
OOdometer .................................................................. 3-25
Odometer/Trip meter .................................................. 3-10
Off road driving ............................................................ 8-6
Oil filter .................................................................... 11-10
Oil level Engine .................................................................. 11-9
Front differential gear ............................................ 11-24
Manual transmission .............................................. 11-21
Rear differential .................................................... 11-25
Oil pressure warning light ............................................ 3-32
Outside mirrors .......................................................... 3-57
Outside temperature indicator ...................................... 3-42
Overhead console ........................................................ 6-7
Overheating engine .................................................... 9-13
PParking Brake ................................................................... 7-45
Brake stroke ......................................................... 11-33
Light switch ........................................................... 3-48
Tips...................................................................... 7-45
Parking your vehicle ................................................... 7-44
Periodic inspections ..................................................... 8-4
Petrol fuel ................................................................... 7-3
Pocket ........................................................................ 6-8
Power
Door locking switch .................................................. 2-7 Seat
....................................................................... 1-4
Steering ................................................................ 7-34
Steering fluid ........................................................ 11-27
Windows ............................................................... 2-21
Precautions against vehicle modification ................ 1-27, 1-66
Preparing to drive ........................................................ 7-8
Printed antenna ........................................................... 5-2
RRear Combination lights ................................................ 11-53
Gate ............................................................. 2-27, 9-18
Seats ..................................................................... 1-9
Viscous limited slip differential .................................. 7-33
Rear differential Gear oil ............................................................... 11-25
Rear seat
Folding down .......................................................... 1-9
Rear turn signal ........................................................ 11-53
Rear window
Defogger button ..................................................... 3-54
Wiper and washer switch ......................................... 3-53
Wiper blades ........................................................ 11-44
Recommended
Automatic transmission fluid ................................... 11-23
Brake fluid ........................................................... 11-29
Clutch fluid .......................................................... 11-30
OIL grade and viscosity ..................... 11-12, 11-13, 11-22, 11-25, 11-27
Power steering fluid .............................................. 11-28
Spark plugs ......................................................... 11-20 Index
14-7