7-4Starting and operating
1. To open the fuel filler lid, pull the lid
release lever up. The lever is on the floor
at the left of the driver ’s seat.
2. Open the fuel filler lid.
WARNING
Before opening the fuel filler cap,
first touch the vehicle body or a
metal portion of the fuel pump or
similar object to discharge any
static electricity that may be present
on your body. If your body is carry-
ing an electrostatic charge, there is
a possibility that an electric spark
could ignite the fuel, which could
burn you. To avoid acquiring a new
static electric charge, do not get
back into the vehicle while refueling
is in progress.
1) Open
2) Close
3. Remove the fuel filler cap by turning it slowly counterclockwise.
WARNING
. Gasoline vapor is highly flam-
mable. Before refueling, always
first stop the engine and close all
vehicle doors and windows.
Make sure that there are no
lighted cigarettes, open flames
or electrical sparks in the adja-
cent area. Refueling must be
performed outside. Quickly wipe
up any spilled fuel.
. When opening the cap, grasp it
firmly and turn it slowly to the
left. Do not remove the cap
quickly. Fuel may be under pres-
sure and spray out of the fuel
filler neck, especially in hot
weather. If you hear a hissing
sound while you are removing
the cap, wait for the sound to
stop and then slowly open the
cap to prevent fuel from spraying
out and creating a fire hazard.
7-6Starting and operating
mage to the fuel system.
. After refueling, turn the cap to the
right until it clicks to ensure that
it is fully tightened. If the cap is
not securely tightened, fuel may
leak out while the vehicle is being
driven or fuel spillage could
occur in the event of an accident,
creating a fire hazard.
. Do not let fuel spill on the exterior
surfaces of the vehicle. Because
fuel may damage the paint, be
sure to wipe off any spilled fuel
quickly. Paint damage caused by
spilled fuel is not covered under
the SUBARU Limited Warranty.
. Always use a genuine SUBARU
fuel filler cap. If you use the
wrong cap, it may not fit, and
your fuel tank and emission con-
trol system may be damaged. It
could also lead to fuel spillage
and a fire.
. Immediately put fuel in the tank
whenever the low fuel warning
light illuminates. Engine misfires
as a result of an empty tank
could cause damage to the en-gine. State emission testing (U.S. only)
WARNING
Testing of an All-Wheel Drive vehicle
must NEVER be performed on a
single two-wheel dynamometer. At-
tempting to do so will result in
uncontrolled vehicle movement and
may cause an accident or injuries to
persons nearby.
CAUTION
Resultant vehicle damage due to
improper testing is not covered
under the SUBARU Limited War-
ranty and is the responsibility of
the state inspection program or its
contractors or licensees.
At state inspection time, remember to
tell your inspection or service station in
advance not to place your SUBARU
AWD vehicle on a two-wheel dynam-
ometer. Otherwise, serious transmis-
sion damage will result.
Some states have started using dynam-
ometers in their state inspection programs in order to meet their obligation under
federal law to implement stricter vehicle
emission standards to reduce air pollution
from vehicles. A dynamometer is a tread-
mill or roller-like testing device that allows
your vehicle
’s wheels to turn while the
vehicle remains in one place. Depending
on the severity of a state ’s air pollution
problems, the states must adopt either a“ basic ”or “enhanced ”vehicle emission
inspection test. Normally, a portion of the
basic emission test consists of an emis-
sion inspector inserting an analyzer probe
into the exhaust pipe of an idling vehicle
for a short period of time. States with more
severe air pollution problems are required
to adopt an enhanced vehicle emission
test. This test simulates actual driving
conditions on a dynamometer and permits
more accurate measurement of tailpipe
emitted pollution than the basic emissiontest.
The U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) and states using two-wheel
dynamometers in their emission testing
programs have EXEMPTEDSUBARU
AWD vehicles from the portion of the
testing program that involves a two-wheel
dynamometer.
There are some states that use four-wheel
dynamometers in their testing programs.
When properly used, that equipment will
7-16Starting and operating
ference, and (2) this device must
accept any interference received, in-
cluding interference that may cause
undesired operation.
Changes or modifications not ex-
pressly approved by the party respon-
sible for compliance could void theuser’s authority to operate the equip-
ment and void warranty.. To comply with the FCC RF expo-
sure compliance requirements, no
change to the antenna or the device is
permitted. Any change to the antenna
or the device could result in the device
exceeding the RF exposure require-
ments and void user ’sauthorityto
operate the device. Manual transmission
WARNING
Do not drive the vehicle with the
clutch disengaged (i.e., when the
clutch pedal is depressed) or with
the shift lever in the neutral position.
Engine braking has no effect in
either of these conditions and the
risk of an accident is consequentlyincreased.
The manual transmission is a fully syn-
chromeshed, 6-forward-speed and 1-re-
verse-speed transmission.
The shift pattern is shown on the shift
lever knob. &
Selecting reverse gear
CAUTION
Shift into reverse ONLY when the
vehicle has completely stopped. It
may cause damage to the transmis-
sion to try shifting into reverse when
the vehicle is moving.
1) Slider
You must raise the slider and hold it in that
position before you can move the shift
lever to the “R ”position.
To change gears, fully depress the clutch
pedal, move the shift lever, and gradually
let up on the clutch pedal.
If it is difficult to shift into gear, put the
7-18Starting and operating
Automatic transmission/Con-
tinuously variable transmis-sion
The automatic transmission is electroni-
cally controlled and provides 5 forward
speeds and 1 reverse speed. The con-
tinuously variable transmission is electro-
nically controlled and provides an infinite
number of forward speeds and 1 reversespeed.
Both the automatic transmission and
continuously variable transmission have
a manual mode.
WARNING
Do not shift from the “P ” or “N ”
position into the “D ” or “R ” position
while depressing the accelerator
pedal. This may cause the vehicle
to jump forward or backward.
CAUTION
. Shift into the “P ” or “R ” position
only after the vehicle is comple-
tely stopped. Shifting while the
vehicle is moving may cause
damage to the transmission.
. Do not race the engine for more than 5 seconds in any position
except the
“N ” or “P ” position
when the brake is applied or
when chocks are used in the
wheels. This may cause the
transmission fluid to overheat.
. Avoid shifting from one of the
forward driving positions into the“ R ” position or vice versa until
the vehicle has completely
stopped. Such shifting may
cause damage to the transmis-sion.
. When parking the vehicle, first
securely apply the parking brake
and then place the select lever inthe “P ” position. Avoid parking
for a long time with the select
lever in any other position as
doing so could result in a dead
battery.
NOTE . For AT models, when the engine
coolant temperature is still low, the
transmission will upshift to higher
engine speeds than when the coolant
temperature is sufficiently high in order
to shorten the warm-up time and
improve driveability. The gearshift tim-
ing will automatically shift to the nor- mal timing after the engine has warmedup..
Immediately after transmission fluid
is replaced, you may feel that the
transmission operation is somewhat
unusual. This results from invalidation
of data which the on-board computer
has collected and stored in memory to
allow the transmission to shift at the
most appropriate times for the current
condition of your vehicle. Optimized
shifting will be restored as the vehicle
continues to be driven for a while.. When driving a vehicle that is
equipped with CVT under continuous
heavy load conditions such as towing a
camper or climbing a long, steep hill,
the engine speed or the vehicle speed
may automatically be reduced. This is
not a malfunction. This phenomenon
results from the engine control func-
tion maintaining the cooling perfor-
mance of the vehicle. The engine and
vehicle speed will return to a normal
speed when the engine is able to
maintain the optimum cooling perfor-
mance after the heavy load decreases.
Driving under a heavy load must be
performed with extreme care. Do not
try to pass a vehicle in front when
driving on an uphill slope while towing.. The continuously variable transmis-
sion is a chain type system that
7-22Starting and operating
1) Upshift indicator
2) Downshift indicator
3) Gear position indicator
When the manual mode is selected, the
gear position indicator and upshift indica-
tor and/or downshift indicator on the
combination meter illuminate. The gear
position indicator shows the currently
selected gear in the 1st-to-5th-gear range
(AT models) or 1st-to-6th gear range (CVT
models). The upshift and downshift indi-
cators show when a gearshift is possible.
When the upshift indicator “
”is on,
upshifting is possible. When the downshift indicator “
”is on, downshifting is possi-
ble. When both indicators are on, upshift-
ing and downshifting are both possible.
When the vehicle stops (for example, at
traffic signals), the downshift indicator turns off.
Gearshifts can be performed using the
paddle shift switch behind the steeringwheel.
Pull the
“+ ” of the paddle shift to upshift
one level. Also pull the “ ” of the paddle
shift to downshift one level.
To deselect the manual mode, return the
select lever to the “D ”position from the “M ”
position.
While driving with the select lever in the “ D ” position, if you change gears by
paddle shifting, the gear position indicator
light illuminates and shows the current
gear condition.
CAUTION
Do not place or hang anything on
the paddle shift levers. Doing so
may result in accidental gear shift-ing.
NOTE
Please read the following points care-
fully and bear them in mind when using
the manual mode. . If you attempt to shift down when
the engine speed is too high, i.e., when
a downshift would push the tachometer
needle beyond the red zone, beeps will
be emitted to warn you that the down-
shift is not possible.. If you attempt to shift up when the
vehicle speed is too low, the transmis-
sion will not respond.. You can perform a skip-shift (for
example, from 4th to 2nd) by operating
the paddle switch twice in rapid suc-cession.. The transmission automatically se-
lects 1st gear when the vehicle stopsmoving.. If the temperature of the transmis-
sion fluid becomes too high, the “AT
OIL TEMP ”warning light will illuminate.
Immediately stop the vehicle in a safe
7-28Starting and operating
Vehicle Dynamics Control system
WARNING
Always use the utmost care in driving –overconfidence because
you are driving with a Vehicle Dy-
namics Control system equipped
vehicle could easily lead to a ser-
ious accident.
CAUTION
. Even if your vehicle is equipped
with Vehicle Dynamics Control
system, winter tires should be
used when driving on snow-cov-
ered or icy roads; in addition,
vehicle speed should be reduced
considerably. Simply having a
Vehicle Dynamics Control sys-
tem does not guarantee that the
vehicle will be able to avoid
accidents in any situation.
. Activation of the Vehicle Dy-
namics Control system is an
indication that the road being
travelled on has a slippery sur-
face; since having Vehicle Dy-
namics Control is no guarantee that full vehicle control will be
maintained at all times and under
all conditions, its activation
should be seen as a sign that
the speed of the vehicle should
be reduced considerably.
. Whenever suspension compo-
nents, steering components, or
an axle are removed from a
vehicle equipped with Vehicle
Dynamics Control, have an
authorized SUBARU dealer per-
form an inspection of that sys-tem.
. The following precautions should
be observed in order to ensure
that the Vehicle Dynamics Con-
trol system is operating properly. – All four wheels should be
fitted with tires of the same
size, type, and brand. Further-
more, the amount of wear
should be the same for all
four tires.
– Keep the tire pressure at the
proper level as shown on the
vehicle placard attached to
the driver ’s side door pillar.
– Use only the specified tem-
porary spare tire to replace a
flat tire. With a temporary spare tire, the effectiveness of
the Vehicle Dynamics Control
system is reduced and this
should be taken into account
when driving the vehicle in
such a condition.
In the event of wheelspin and/or skidding
on a slippery road surface and/or during
cornering and/or an evasive maneuver,
the Vehicle Dynamics Control system
adjusts the engine ’s output and the
wheels ’respective braking forces to help
maintain traction and directional control. . Traction Control Function
The traction control function is designed to
prevent spinning of the driving wheels on
slippery road surfaces, thereby helping to
maintain traction and directional control.
Activation of this function is indicated by
flashing of the Vehicle Dynamics Control
operation indicator light. . Skid Suppression Function
The skid suppression function is designed
to help maintain directional stability by
suppressing the wheels ’tendency to slide
sideways during steering operations. Acti-
vation of this function is indicated by
flashing of the Vehicle Dynamics Control
operation indicator light.
7-30Starting and operating
through the ABS, whenever the ABS
stops operating due to a malfunc-
tion in that electrical system, the
Vehicle Dynamics Control will also
become unable to control all four
brakes. Thus Vehicle Dynamics
Control system operation halts and
the warning light illuminates.
Although both the Vehicle Dynamics
Control system and the ABS will be
inoperable in this situation, it will
still be possible to stop the vehicle
using normal braking. The Vehicle
Dynamics Control system and the
ABS do not adversely affect opera-
tion of the vehicle in any way when
they are inoperable. However
should such a situation occur, drive
with care and have an authorized
SUBARU dealer carry out an inspec-
tion of those systems at the first
available opportunity.
NOTE . When a malfunction has occurred in
the Vehicle Dynamics Control electrical
system, only the warning light will
illuminate. In such an event, the ABS
will still be operating normally.. The warning light will also illuminate
when a problem occurs with the ABS or
Vehicle Dynamics Control electronic control systems.
The warning light illuminates when the
ignition switch is turned to the
“ON ”
position and turns off several seconds
after the engine has started. This lighting
pattern indicates that the Vehicle Dy-
namics Control system is operating nor-
mally.
The following situations could indicate a
malfunction of the Vehicle Dynamics
Control system. If any of these situations
occur, have an authorized SUBARU deal-
er carry out an inspection of the system at
the first available opportunity. . The warning light does not illuminate
when the ignition switch is turned to the
ON position. . The warning light illuminates while the
vehicle is being driven.
NOTE
When the warning light turns on and off
in the following way, it indicates that
the Vehicle Dynamics Control system
is operating normally. . Although illuminating after the en-
gine has been started, the warning light
quickly turns off and remains off.. The warning light illuminates when
the vehicle is being driven, it then turns
off and remains off. !
Vehicle Dynamics Control operation
indicator light
The indicator light flashes during activa-
tion of the skid suppression function and
during activation of the traction controlfunction.
NOTE . The indicator light may remain illu-
minated for a while after the engine has
been started, especially in cold weath-
er. This occurs because the engine has
not yet warmed up and is completely
normal. The light will turn off when the
engine has reached a suitable operat-
ing temperature.. When an engine problem occurs
and the CHECK ENGINE warning light/
malfunction indicator lamp illuminates,
the indicator light will also illuminate.
The following two situations could indicate
malfunction of the Vehicle Dynamics
Control system. If either of these situa-
tions occurs, have an authorized
SUBARU dealer carry out an inspection
of that system at the first available
opportunity. . The indicator light does not illuminate
when the ignition switch is turned to the
ON position. . The indicator light fails to turn off after
the engine is started, even when several
low pressure threshold, the low tire
pressure warning light should turn
off a few minutes later.
If this light still illuminates while
driving after adjusting the tire pres-
sure, a tire may have significant
damage and a fast leak that causes
the tire to lose air rapidly. If you have
a flat tire, replace it with a spare tire
as soon as possible.
When a spare tire is mounted or a
wheel rim is replaced without the
original pressure sensor/transmitter
being transferred, the low tire pres-
sure warning light will illuminate
steadily after blinking for approxi-
mately one minute. This indicates
the TPMS is unable to monitor all
four road wheels. Contact your
SUBARU dealer as soon as possible
for tire and sensor replacement and/
or system resetting.
Do not inject any tire liquid or
aerosol tire sealant into the tires,
as this may cause a malfunction of
the tire pressure sensors. If the light
illuminates steadily after blinking for
approximately one minute, promptly
contact a SUBARU dealer to have
the system inspected.CAUTION
Do not place metal film or any metal
parts under the driver ’s seat. This
may cause poor reception of the
signals from the tire pressure sen-
sors, and the tire pressure monitor-
ing system will not function prop-
erly.
NOTE
This device complies with Part 15 of
the FCC Rules and with RSS-210 of
Industry Canada. Operation is subject
to the following two conditions: (1) This
device may not cause harmful inter-
ference, and (2) this device must
accept any interference received, in-
cluding interference that may cause
undesired operation.
Changes or modifications not ex-
pressly approved by the party respon-
sible for compliance could void theuser ’s authority to operate the equip-
ment. Parking your vehicle
WARNING
. Never leave unattended children
or pets in the vehicle. They could
accidentally injure themselves or
others through inadvertent op-
eration of the vehicle. Also, on
hot or sunny days, the tempera-
ture in a closed vehicle could
quickly become high enough to
cause severe or possibly fatal
injuries to them.
. Do not park the vehicle over
flammable materials such as dry
grass, waste paper or rags, as
they may burn easily if they come
near hot engine or exhaust sys-
tem parts.
. Be sure to stop the engine if you
take a nap in the vehicle. If
engine exhaust gas enters the
passenger compartment, occu-
pants in the vehicle could die
from carbon monoxide (CO) con-
tained in the exhaust gas. Starting and operating
7-33
– CONTINUED –