
3-28Instruments and controls
:Auto on/off headlights
When the ignition switch is in the “ON ”
position, the headlights, instrument panel 
illumination, front side marker lights, tail
lights and license plate lights are auto-
matically on or off depending on the level
of the ambient light.
NOTE 
The sensitivity of the auto on/off head- 
lights can be changed by your
SUBARU dealer. Contact your SUBARU
dealer for details. ! Sensor of the auto on/off headlights
The sensor is on the instrument panel as 
shown in the illustration.
CAUTION
If any object is placed on or near the 
sensor, the sensor may not detect
the level of the ambient light cor-
rectly and the auto on/off headlights
may not operate properly.
& High/low beam change (dimmer)
To change from low beam to high beam, 
push the turn signal lever forward. When 
the headlights are on high beam, the high
beam indicator light “
”on the combina-
tion meter is also on. 
To switch back to low beam, pull the lever 
back to the detent position. &
Headlight flasher
CAUTION
Do not hold the lever in the flashing 
position for more than just a fewseconds.
To flash the headlights, pull the lever
toward you and then release it. The high
beam will stay on for as long as you hold
the lever. The headlight flasher works
even though the lighting switch is in the“ OFF ”position.
When the headlights are on high beam,
the high beam indicator light “
”on the
combination meter also illuminates.    

&Daytime running light system
WARNING
The brightness of the illumination of 
the high beam headlights is reduced
by the daytime running light system.
The light switch must always be
turned to the “
”position when it
is dark outside.
The high beam headlights will automati- 
cally illuminate at reduced brightness 
when the engine has started, under the
following conditions. . The parking brake is fully released.
. The light switch is in the “OFF ”or “
”
position. . The light switch is in the “AUTO ”
position and the headlights do not turn 
on automatically. . The select lever is in a position other
than the “P ” position (AT and CVT mod-
els).
NOTE . When the light switch is in the “
”
position, the front side marker lights, 
tail lights and license plate lights areilluminated.. After turning on the ignition switch
to the “ON ”position, even if the parking brake is applied, the daytime
running lights continue to illuminate
until the ignition switch is returned tothe
“LOCK ”position. Turn signal lever
To activate the right turn signal, push the 
turn signal lever up. To activate the left
turn signal, push the turn signal lever
down. When the turn is finished, the lever
will return automatically. If the lever does
not return after cornering, return the lever
to the neutral position by hand. 
To signal a lane change, push the turn 
signal lever up or down slightly and hold it
during the lane change. The turn signal
indicator lights will flash in the direction of
the turn or lane change. The lever will
return automatically to the neutral position
when you release it.Instruments and controls
3-29  

3-30Instruments and controls
Illumination brightness con- trol
The illumination brightness of the clock 
display, audio, air conditioner, multi func-
tion display and meter/gauge dims under
the following conditions. .when the light switch is in the “
”or
“” position
. when the light switch is in the “AUTO ”
position and the headlights illuminate automatically 
You can adjust the illumination brightness 
for better visibility. 
To brighten, turn the control dial upward.
To darken, turn the control dial downward. NOTE .
When the control dial is turned fully
upward, the illumination brightness 
becomes the maximum and the auto-
matic dimming function does not work
at all.. The brightness setting is not can-
celed even when the ignition switch is
turned to the “LOCK ”position. Front fog light switch 
(if equipped)
The front fog lights operate under the 
following conditions. .
when the light switch is in the “
”
position . when the light switch is in the “AUTO ”
position and the headlights turn on auto- matically 
However, the front fog lights turn off when 
the headlights are switched to high beam. 
To turn on the front fog lights, turn the front 
fog light switch on the turn signal lever
upward to the “
”position. To turn off the
front fog lights, turn the switch back down 
to the “OFF ”position.   

The indicator light located on the combi- 
nation meter will illuminate when the front
fog lights are on.Wiper and washer
WARNING
In freezing weather, do not use the 
windshield washer until the wind-
shield is sufficiently warmed by the
defroster. 
Otherwise the washer fluid can 
freeze on the windshield, blocking
your view.
CAUTION
. Do not operate the washer con-
tinuously for more than 10 sec- 
onds, or when the washer fluid
tank is empty. This may cause
overheating of the washer motor.
Check the washer fluid level
frequently, such as at fuel stops.
. Do not operate the wipers when
the windshield or rear window is
dry. This may scratch the glass,
damage the wiper blades and
cause the wiper motor to burn
out. Before operating the wiper
on a dry windshield or rear
window, always use the wind-
shield washer. .
In freezing weather, be sure that
the wiper blades are not frozen to
the windshield or rear window
before switching on the wipers.
Attempting to operate the wiper
with the blades frozen to the
window glass could cause not
only the wiper blades to be
damaged but also the wiper mo-
tor to burn out. If the wiper
blades are frozen to the window
glass, be sure to operate the
defroster, wiper deicer (if
equipped) or rear window defog-
ger before turning on the wiper.
. If the wipers stop during opera-
tion because of ice or some other
obstruction on the window, the
wiper motor could burn out even
if the wiper switch is turned off. If
this occurs, promptly stop the
vehicle in a safe place, turn the
ignition switch to the “LOCK ”
position and clean the window
glass to allow proper wiper op-eration.
. Use clean water if windshield
washer fluid is unavailable. In
areas where water freezes in
winter, use SUBARU Windshield
Washer Fluid or the equivalent.
Refer to “Windshield washer
Instruments and controls
3-31
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!Wiper intermittent time control
When the wiper switch is in the “INT ”
position, turn the dial to adjust the operat- 
ing interval of the wiper. The operating
interval can be adjusted in five steps from
the shortest interval to the longest. !
Windshield washerTo wash the windshield, pull the wiper 
control lever toward you. The washer fluid
sprays until you release the lever. The
wipers operate while you pull the lever. NOTE
The windshield washer fluid warning 
light illuminates when the washer fluid
level in the tank has dropped to the
lower limit. If the warning light illumi-
nates, refill the tank with fluid. For the
tank refilling method, refer to
“Wind-
shield washer fluid ”F 11-42.
Instruments and controls
3-33
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window defogger. Some models are also 
equipped with an outside mirror defogger
and/or windshield wiper deicer. The de-
fogger and deicer system is activated only
when the ignition switch is in the“ON ”
position.
Manual climate control system
Automatic climate control system
To activate the defogger and deicer 
system, press the control switch that is
located on the climate control panel. The
rear window defogger, outside mirror
defogger and windshield wiper deicer are
activated simultaneously. The indicator
light on the control switch illuminates while
the defogger and deicer system is acti-vated. 
To turn them off, press the control switch 
again. They also turn off when the ignition 
switch is turned to the “Acc ”or “LOCK ”
position. 
The defogger and deicer system will 
automatically shut off after approximately
15 minutes. If the rear window and outside
mirror have been cleared and the wind-
shield wiper blades have been deiced completely before that time, press the
control switch to turn them off. If defrost-
ing, defogging or deicing is not complete,
you have to press the control switch to
turn them on again. 
The defogger and deicer system setting 
can be changed for continuous operation
by a SUBARU dealer. Contact your
SUBARU dealer for details. 
If the battery voltage drops below the 
permissible level, continuous operation of
the defogger and deicer system is can-
celed and the system stops operating.
CAUTION
. To prevent the battery from being
discharged, do not operate the 
defogger and deicer system con-
tinuously for any longer than
necessary.
. Do not use sharp instruments or
window cleaner containing abra-
sives to clean the inner surface
of the rear window. They may
damage the conductors printed 
on the window. Instruments and controls
3-35
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3-36Instruments and controls
NOTE .Turn on the defogger and deicer
system if the wipers are frozen to the windshield.. If the windshield is covered with
snow, remove the snow so that the
windshield wiper deicer works effec-
tively.. While the defogger and deicer sys-
tem is in the continuous operation
mode, if the vehicle speed remains at
9mph(15km/h)orlowerfor15
minutes, the windshield wiper deicer
automatically stops operating, though
the rear window defogger and outside
mirror defogger maintain continuous
operation in this condition. Mirrors 
Always check that the inside and outside 
mirrors are properly adjusted before you
start driving. &
Inside mirror
The inside mirror has a day and night 
position. Pull the tab at the bottom of the 
mirror toward you for the night position. 
Push it away for the day position. The
night position reduces glare from head-lights. &
Auto-dimming mirror/com- 
pass (if equipped)
1) Left button 
2) Auto dimming indicator 
3) Photosensor 
4) Right button
The auto-dimming mirror/compass has an 
anti-glare feature which automatically re-
duces glare coming from headlights of
vehicles behind you. It also contains a
built-in compass. . By pressing and releasing the left
button, the automatic dimming function is 
toggled on or off. When the automatic
dimming function is on, the auto dimming
indicator light (green) located to the right
of the button will illuminate. . By pressing and releasing the right   

button, the compass display is toggled on 
or off. When the compass is on, an
illuminated compass reading will appear
in the lower part of the mirror. 
Even with the mirror in anti-glare mode, 
the mirror surface turns bright if the
transmission is shifted into reverse. This
is to ensure good rearward visibility duringreversing. !Photosensors
The mirror has a photosensor attached on 
both the front and back sides. If the glare
from the headlights of vehicles behind you
strikes the mirror, these sensors detect it
and make the reflection surface of the
mirror dimmer to help prevent you from
being blinded. For this reason, use care
not to cover the sensors with stickers, or other similar items. Periodically wipe the
sensors clean using a piece of dry soft
cotton cloth or an applicator. !
Compass calibration
1. For optimum calibration, switch off all 
nonessential electrical accessories (rear
window defogger, heater/air conditioning
system, spotlight, etc.) and ensure all
doors are shut. 
2. Drive to an open, level area away from 
large metallic objects or structures and
make certain the ignition switch is in the“ ON ”position.
3. Press and hold the left button for 3
seconds then release, and the compass
will enter the calibration mode. “CAL ”and
direction will be displayed. 
4. Drive slowly in a circle until “CAL ”
disappears from the display (approxi- 
mately two or three circles). The compass
is now calibrated. 
5. Further calibration may be necessary 
should outside influences cause the mirror 
to read inaccurately. You will know that
this has occurred if your compass begins
to read in only limited directions. Should
you encounter this situation, return to step
one of the above procedure and recali-
brate the mirror. !
Compass zone adjustment
1. The zone setting is factory preset to
Zone 8. Refer to the “Compass calibration
zone ”map attached to the end of this
manual to verify that the compass zone
setting is correct for your geographical location. 
2. Press and hold the right button for 3 
seconds then release, and the word“ ZONE ”will briefly appear and then the
zone number will be displayed. 
3. Press the right-hand button repeatedly 
to cycle the display through all possible
zone settings. Stop cycling when the
correct zone setting for your location isdisplayed. 
4. Releasing the button for 3 seconds will 
exit the zone setting mode. Instruments and controls
3-37
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