2010 SUBARU OUTBACK wiper fluid

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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3-32Instruments and controls
fluid”F 11-42.
Also, when driving the vehicle
when there are freezing tempera-
tures, use non-freezing type wi-
per blades.
. Do not clean the wiper blades
with gasoline or a solvent, such
as paint thinner or benzine. This
will cause deterioration of the
wiper blades.
NOTE . The front wiper motor is protected
against overloads by a circuit breaker.
If the motor operates continuously
under an unusually heavy load, the
circuit breaker may trip to stop the
motor temporarily. If this happens, park
your vehicle in a safe place, turn off the
wiper switch, and wait for approxi-
mately 10 minutes. The circuit breaker
will reset itself, and the wipers will
again operate normally.. Clean your wiper blades and win-
dow glass periodically with a washer
solution to prevent streaking, and to
remove accumulations of road salt or
road film. Keep the washer button
depressed at least for 1 second so that
washer solution will be sprinkled all
over the windshield or rear window. .
Grease, wax, insects or other mate-
rial on the windshield or the wiper
blades results in jerky wiper operation
and streaking on the glass. If you
cannot remove those streaks after
operating the washer or if the wiper
operation is jerky, clean the outer sur-
face of the windshield or rear window
and the wiper blades using a sponge or
soft cloth with a neutral detergent or
mild-abrasive cleaner. After cleaning,
rinse the window glass and wiper
blades with clean water. The glass is
clean if no beads form on the glass
when you rinse with water.. If you cannot eliminate the streaking
even after following this procedure,
replace the wiper blades with new
ones. For replacement instructions,
refer to “Replacement of wiper blades ”
F 11-43. &
Windshield wiper and washer switches
The wiper operates only when the ignition
switch is in the “ON ”position.
! Windshield wipers
MIST : Mist (for a single wipe)
OFF : Off
INT: Intermittent
LO: Low speed
HI: High speed
To turn the wipers on, push the wiper
control lever down.
To turn the wipers off, return the lever to the “OFF ”position.
For a single wipe of the wipers, push the
lever up. The wipers operate until you
release the lever.

!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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3-34Instruments and controls
&Rear window wiper and
washer switch (Outback)
: Washer (accompanied by wiper operation)
ON: Continuous
INT: Intermittent
OFF: Off
: Washer (accompanied by wiper operation)
! Rear wiper
To turn the rear wiper on, turn the knob on
the end of the wiper control lever upward
to the “INT ”or “ON ”position.
To turn the wiper off, return the knob on
the end of the lever to the “OFF ”position.
With the switch turned to the “INT ”
position, the rear wiper will operate inter-
mittently at intervals corresponding to the
vehicle speed.
When you subsequently move the select lever to the
“R ” position (AT and CVT
models) or the shift lever to the reverse
position (MT models), the rear wiper will
switch to continuous operation. When you
move the select lever/shift lever from the“ R ”(reverse) position to another position,
the rear wiper will return to intermittentoperation. ! Washer
To wash the rear window while the rear
wiper is operating, turn the knob on the
end of the wiper control lever upward tothe “
”position. The washer fluid sprays
until you release the knob.
To wash the rear window when the rear
wiper is not in use, turn the knob on the
end of the wiper control lever downward tothe “
”position. The washer fluid sprays
and the wiper operates until you release
the knob. Defogger and deicer
1) Rear window defogger
2) Outside mirror defogger (if equipped)
3) Windshield wiper deicer (if equipped)
The vehicle is equipped with a rear

8-8Driving tips
Winter driving
&Operation during cold weather
Carry some emergency equipment, such
as a window scraper, a bag of sand,
flares, a small shovel and jumper cables.
Check the battery and cables. Cold
temperatures reduce battery capacity.
The battery must be in good condition to
provide enough power for cold winterstarts.
Use an engine oil of proper grade and
viscosity for cold weather. Heavy summer
oil will cause harder starting.
Keep the door locks from freezing by
squirting them with deicer or glycerin. Forcing a frozen door open may damage
or separate the rubber weather strips
around the door. If the door is frozen,
use hot water to melt the ice, and after-
wards thoroughly wipe the water away.
Use a windshield washer fluid that con-
tains an antifreeze solution. Do not use
engine antifreeze or other substitutes
because they may damage the paint of
the vehicle.
SUBARU Windshield Washer Fluid con-
tains 58.5% methyl alcohol and 41.5%
surfactant, by volume. Its freezing tem-
perature varies according to how much it
is diluted, as indicated in the followingtable.
Washer Fluid Con- centration Freezing Temperature
30% 10.4 8F( 12 8C)
50% 48F( 20 8C)
100%
49 8F( 45 8C)
In order to prevent freezing of washer
fluid, check the freezing temperatures in
the table above when adjusting the fluid
concentration to the outside temperature.
If you fill the reservoir tank with a fluid with
a different concentration from the one
used previously, purge the old fluid from
the piping between the reservoir tank and washer nozzles by operating the washer
for a certain period of time. Otherwise, if
the concentration of the fluid remaining in
the piping is too low for the outside
temperature, it may freeze and block thenozzles.
CAUTION
. Adjust the washer fluid concen-
tration appropriately for the out-
side temperature. If the concen-
tration is inappropriate, sprayed
washer fluid may freeze on the
windshield and obstruct your
view, and the fluid may freeze in
the reservoir tank.
. State or local regulations on
volatile organic compounds may
restrict the use of methanol, a
common windshield washer anti-
freeze additive. Washer fluids
containing non-methanol anti-
freeze agents should be used
only if they provide cold weather
protection without damaging
your vehicle ’s paint, wiper blades
or washer system.
! Before driving your vehicle
Before entering the vehicle, remove any
snow or ice from your shoes because that

10-2Appearance care
Exterior care &Washing
CAUTION
. When washing the vehicle, the
brakes may get wet. As a result,
the brake stopping distance will
be longer. To dry the brakes,
drive the vehicle at a safe speed
while lightly pressing the brake
pedal to heat up the brakes.
. Do not wash the engine compart-
ment and areas adjacent to it. If
water enters the engine air in-
take, electrical parts or the power
steering fluid reservoir, it will
cause engine trouble or faulty
power steering.
. Outback: Since your vehicle is
equipped with a rear wiper, auto-
matic car-wash brushes could
become tangled around it, dama-
ging the wiper arm and other
components. Ask the automatic
car-wash operator not to let the
brushes touch the wiper arm or
to fix the wiper arm on the rear
window glass with adhesive tape
before operating the machine. NOTE
When having your vehicle washed in
an automatic car wash, make sure
beforehand that the car wash is of
suitable type.
The best way to preserve your vehicle
’s
beauty is frequent washing. Wash the
vehicle at least once a month to avoid
contamination by road grime.
Wash dirt off with a wet sponge and plenty
of lukewarm or cold water. Do not wash
the vehicle with hot water and in direct sunlight.
Salt, chemicals, insects, tar, soot, tree
sap, and bird droppings should be washed
off by using a light detergent, as required.
If you use a light detergent, make certain
that it is a neutral detergent. Do not use
strong soap or chemical detergents. All
cleaning agents should be promptly
flushed from the surface and not allowed
to dry there. Rinse the vehicle thoroughly
with plenty of lukewarm water. Wipe the
remaining water off with a chamois or softcloth. ! Washing the underbody
Chemicals, salts and gravel used for
deicing road surfaces are extremely cor-
rosive, accelerating the corrosion of un-
derbody components, such as the exhaust system, fuel and brake lines, brake
cables, floor pan and fenders, and sus-pension.
Thoroughly flush the underbody and in-
side of the fenders with lukewarm or cold
water at frequent intervals to reduce the
harmful effects of such agents.
Mud and sand adhering to the underbody
components may accelerate their corro-sion.
After driving off-road or on muddy or
sandy roads, wash the mud and sand off
the underbody.
Carefully flush the suspension and axle
parts, as they are particularly prone to
mud and sand buildup. Do not use a
sharp-edged tool to remove caked mud.
CAUTION
. Be careful not to damage brake
hoses, sensor harnesses, and
other parts when washing sus-
pension components.
. Be careful not to flush the engine
bottom for a long time. It may
cause damage of some electricalparts.

Maintenance and serviceClutch pedal (MT models) ................................ 11-33
Checking the clutch function ............................ 11-33
Checking the clutch pedal free play .................. 11-34
Replacement of brake pad and lining ............. 11-34
Breaking-in of new brake pads and linings ........ 11-34
Tires and wheels .............................................. 11-35
Types of tires ................................................... 11-35
Tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS) (if equipped) ................................................... 11-35
Tire inspection ................................................. 11-37
Tire pressures and wear ................................... 11-37
Wheel balance .................................................. 11-39
Wear indicators ................................................ 11-39
Tire rotation direction mark .............................. 11-40
Tire rotation ..................................................... 11-40
Tire replacement .............................................. 11-41
Wheel replacement ........................................... 11-41
Aluminum wheels ............................................. 11-42
Windshield washer fluid .................................. 11-42
Replacement of wiper blades .......................... 11-43
Windshield wiper blade assembly ..................... 11-44
Windshield wiper blade rubber ......................... 11-44 Rear window wiper blade assembly
(Outback) ...................................................... 11-45
Rear window wiper blade rubber (Outback) ...... 11-46
Battery .............................................................. 11-47
Fuses ................................................................ 11-48
Main fuse .......................................................... 11-50
Installation of accessories .............................. 11-50
Replacing bulbs ............................................... 11-50
Headlight ......................................................... 11-50
Front turn signal light ...................................... 11-53
Front position light .......................................... 11-53
Front fog light (if equipped) .............................. 11-53
Rear combination lights ................................... 11-54
Tail/Back-up light (Outback) ............................. 11-56
License plate light ........................................... 11-57
Dome light ....................................................... 11-58
Map light ......................................................... 11-59
Vanity mirror light ............................................ 11-59
Door step light ................................................. 11-60
Cargo area light (Outback) ............................... 11-60
Trunk light (Legacy) ......................................... 11-60
Other bulbs ..................................................... 11-60

In areas where water freezes in winter,
use an anti-freeze type windshield washer
fluid. SUBARU Windshield Washer Fluid
contains 58.5% methyl alcohol and 41.5%
surfactant, by volume. Its freezing tem-
perature varies according to how much it
is diluted, as indicated in the followingtable.Washer Fluid
Concentration Freezing
Temperature
30% 10.48F( 12 8C)
50% 48F( 20 8C)
100% 49 8F( 45 8C)
CAUTION
Never use engine coolant as washer
fluid because it could cause paintdamage.
In order to prevent freezing of washer
fluid, check the freezing temperatures in
the table above when adjusting the fluid
concentration to the outside temperature.
If you fill the reservoir tank with a fluid with
a different concentration from the one
used previously, purge the old fluid from
the piping between the reservoir tank and
washer nozzles by operating the washer
for a certain period of time. Otherwise, if the concentration of the fluid remaining in
the piping is too low for the outside
temperature, it may freeze and block thenozzles.
CAUTION
. Adjust the washer fluid concen-
tration appropriately for the out-
side temperature. If the concen-
tration is inappropriate, sprayed
washer fluid may freeze on the
windshield and obstruct your
view, and the fluid may freeze in
the reservoir tank.
. State or local regulations on
volatile organic compounds may
restrict the use of methanol, a
common windshield washer anti-
freeze additive. Washer fluids
containing non-methanol anti-
freeze agents should be used
only if they provide cold weather
protection without damaging
your vehicle ’s paint, wiper blades
or washer system. Replacement of wiper blades
Grease, wax, insects, or other materials
on the windshield or the wiper blade
results in jerky wiper operation and streak-
ing on the glass. If you cannot remove the
streaks after operating the windshield
washer or if the wiper operation is jerky,
clean the outer surface of the windshield
(or rear window) and the wiper blades
using a sponge or soft cloth with a neutral
detergent or mild-abrasive cleaner. After
cleaning, rinse the windshield and wiper
blades with clean water. The windshield is
clean if beads do not form when you rinse
the windshield with water.
CAUTION
. Do not clean the wiper blades
with gasoline or a solvent, such
as paint thinner or benzine. This
will cause deterioration of the
wiper blades.
. When you wish to raise the
passenger-side wiper arm, first
raise the driver-side wiper arm.
Otherwise, the passenger-side
wiper assembly and driver-side
wiper assembly will touch each
other, possibly resulting inscratches. Maintenance and service
11-43
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