8-28Driving tips
! Before starting out on a trip
. Check that the vehicle and vehicle-to-
hitch mounting are in good condition. If
any problems are apparent, do not tow the
trailer. . Check that the vehicle sits horizontally
with the trailer attached. If the vehicle is
tipped sharply up at the front and down at
the rear, check the total trailer weight,
GVW, GAWs and tongue load again, then
confirm that the load and its distribution
are acceptable. . Check that the tire pressures are
correct.. Check that the vehicle and trailer are
connected properly. Confirm that
–the trailer tongue is connected
properly to the hitch ball. – the trailer lights connector is con-
nected properly and trailer ’s brake
lights illuminate when the vehicle ’s
brake pedal is pressed, and that the trailer ’s turn signal lights flash when
the vehicle ’s turn signal lever is oper-
ated. – the safety chains are connected
properly.– all cargo in the trailer is secured
safety in position.– the side mirrors provide a good
rearward field of view without a sig- nificant blind spot.
. Sufficient time should be taken to learn
the “feel ”of the vehicle/trailer combination
before starting out on a trip. In an area free
of traffic, practice turning, stopping and
backing up. ! Driving with a trailer
. You should allow for considerably more
stopping distance when towing a trailer.
Avoid sudden braking because it may
result in skidding or jackknifing and loss ofcontrol. . Avoid abrupt starts and sudden accel-
erations. If your vehicle has a manual
transmission, always start out in first gear
and release the clutch at moderate enginerevolution. . Avoid uneven steering, sharp turns and
rapid lane changes.. Slow down before turning. Make a
longer than normal turning radius because
the trailer wheels will be closer than the
vehicle wheels to the inside of the turn. In
a tight turn, the trailer could hit yourvehicle. . Crosswinds will adversely affect the
handling of your vehicle and trailer, caus-
ing sway. Crosswinds can be due to
weather conditions or the passing of large
trucks or buses. If swaying occurs, firmly
grip the steering wheel and slow down immediately but gradually. .
When passing other vehicles, consid-
erable distance is required because of the
added weight and length caused by
attaching the trailer to your vehicle.
1) Left turn
2) Right turn
. Backing up with a trailer is difficult and
takes practice. When backing up with a
trailer, never accelerate or steer rapidly.
When turning back, grip the bottom of the
steering wheel with one hand and turn it to
the left for a left turn, and turn it to the right
for a right turn. . If the ABS warning light illuminates
while the vehicle is in motion, stop towing
the trailer and have repairs performed
immediately by the nearest SUBARU
dealer.
!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
9-2In case of emergency
If you park your vehicle in an emergency
The hazard warning flasher should be
used in day or night to warn other drivers
when you have to park your vehicle under
emergency conditions.
Avoid stopping on the road. It is best to
safely pull off the road if a problem occurs.
The hazard warning flasher can be acti-
vated regardless of the ignition switchposition.
Turn on the hazard warning by pushing
the hazard warning flasher switch. Turn it
off by pushing the switch again. NOTE
When the hazard warning flasher is on,
the turn signals do not work.
Temporary spare tire
WARNING
. Never tow a trailer when the
temporary spare tire is used.
The temporary spare tire is not
designed to sustain the towing
load. Use of the temporary spare
tire when towing can result in
failure of the spare tire and/or
less stability of the vehicle and
may lead to an accident.
. When a spare tire is mounted or a
wheel rim is replaced without the
original pressure sensor/trans-
mitter being transferred, the low
tire pressure warning light will
illuminate steadily after blinking
for approximately one minute.
This indicates the tire pressure
monitoring system (TPMS) is un-
able to monitor all four road
wheels. Contact your SUBARU
dealer as soon as possible for
tire and sensor replacement and/
or system resetting.
CAUTION
Never use any temporary spare tire
other than the original. Using other
sizes may result in severe mechan-
ical damage to the drive train of yourvehicle.
The temporary spare tire is smaller and
lighter than a conventional tire and is
designed for emergency use only. Re-
move the temporary spare tire and re-
install the conventional tire as soon as
possible because the spare tire is de-
signed only for temporary use.
Check the inflation pressure of the tem-
porary spare tire periodically to keep the
tire ready for use. The correct pressure is
60 psi (420 kPa, 4.2 kgf/cm
2) .
When using the temporary spare tire, note
the following precautions. . Do not exceed 50 mph (80 km/h).
. Do not put a tire chain on the temporary
spare tire. Because of the smaller tire size,
a tire chain will not fit properly. . Do not use two or more temporary
spare tires at the same time.. Do not drive over obstacles. This tire
has a smaller diameter, so road clearance
is reduced.
1) Tread wear indicator bar
2) Indicator location mark
. When the wear indicator appears on
the tread, replace the tire. . The temporary spare tire must be used
only on a rear wheel. If a front wheel tire
gets punctured, replace the wheel with a
rear wheel and install the temporary spare
tire in place of the removed rear wheel. & Precautions for AWD vehi-
cles with automatic trans- mission
Your vehicle is equipped with the AWD
(All-Wheel Drive) system. In addition, if
your vehicle is an AT model with non-
turbo 2.5 L engine , before driving your
vehicle with the temporary spare tire, deactivate the AWD capability of the
vehicle as follows:
1. Turn the ignition switch to the
“LOCK ”
position.
2. Pull any one spare fuse out of the
spare fuse holder. Spare fuses are at-
tached on the back side of the fuse holder
cover in the engine compartment. You
may pick up any one fuse in the spare
fuse holder. In case of emergency
9-3
– CONTINUED –
9-4In case of emergency
3. Put a spare fuse inside the FWD
socket located in the fuse panel and
confirm that the “
”warning light on
the combination meter illuminates. The
All-Wheel-Drive capability of the vehicle
has now been deactivated.
NOTE
After reinstalling the conventional tire,
remove the spare fuse from the FWD
socket in order to reactivate All-Wheel
Drive. Make sure to restore the re-
moved spare fuse in the spare fuse
holder located in the engine compart-ment. Flat tires
If you have a flat tire while driving, never
brake suddenly; keep driving straight
ahead while gradually reducing speed.
Then slowly pull off the road to a safeplace. &
Changing a flat tire
WARNING
. Do not jack up the vehicle on an
incline or a loose road surface.
The jack can come out of the
jacking point or sink into the
ground and this can result in a
severe accident.
. Use only the jack provided with
your vehicle. The jack supplied
with the vehicle is designed only
for changing a tire. Never get
under the vehicle while support-
ing the vehicle with this jack. .
Always turn off the engine before
raising the flat tire off the ground
using the jack. Never swing or
push the vehicle supported with
the jack. The jack can come out
of the jacking point due to a jolt
and this can result in a severeaccident.
1. Park on a hard, level surface, when-
ever possible, then stop the engine.
2. Set the parking brake securely and
shift a manual transmission vehicle in
reverse or an automatic transmission
vehicle in the “P ”(Park) position.
3. Turn on the hazard warning flasher
and have everyone get out of the vehicle.
4. Put wheel blocks at the front and rear
of the tire diagonally opposite the flat tire.
9-6In case of emergency
4. Take out the jack and tool bucket.
1) Wheel nut wrench
2) Jack
5. Take the wheel nut wrench and jack
out of the tool bucket.
6. Turn the attaching bolt counterclock-
wise, then take the spare tire out.
Station wagon:
1. Open the lid and hang the hook
provided on the under side of the lid on the rear edge of the roof to keep the lidopen.
2. Remove the left-hand part of the lid
and take out the jack handle.
3. Take out the storage tray.
4. Take out the jack and tool bucket.
1) Wheel nut wrench
2) Jack
5. Take the wheel nut wrench and jack
out of the tool bucket.
6. Turn the attaching bolt counterclock-
wise, then take spare tire out.
If the spare tire provided in your vehicle is
a temporary spare tire, carefully read thesection “Temporary spare tire ”in this
chapter and strictly follow the instructions.
NOTE
Make sure the jack is well lubricated
before using it.7. Loosen the wheel nuts using the wheel
nut wrench but do not remove the nuts.
8. Place the jack under the side sill at the
front or rear jack-up point closest to the flattire. In case of emergency
9-7
– CONTINUED –