2011 SUBARU FORESTER wheel

F: Front of vehicle
The tongue load can be adjusted by
proper distribution of the load in the trailer.
Never load the trailer with more weight in
the back than in the front; approximately
60 percent of the trailer load should be in
the front and approximately 40 percent in
the rear. Also, distribute the load as evenly
as possible on both the left and rightsides.
Be sure that all cargo is firmly secured to
prevent a change in weight distribution
while driving.
WARNING
If the trailer is loaded with more
weight in the back of trailer ’s axle
than in the front, the load is taken off the rear axle of the towing vehicle.
This may cause the rear wheels to
skid, especially during braking or
when vehicle speed is reduced dur-
ing cornering, resulting in over-
steer, spin out and/or jackknifing.
& Trailer hitches
WARNING
Never drill the frame or under-body
of your vehicle to install a commer-
cial trailer hitch. If you do, danger-
ous exhaust gas, water or mud may
enter the passenger compartment
through the drilled hole. Exhaust
gas contains carbon monoxide, a
colorless and odorless gas which is
dangerous, or even lethal, if inhaled.
Also, drilling the frame or under-
body of your vehicle could cause
deterioration of strength of your
vehicle and cause corrosion around
the drilled hole.
CAUTION
. Do not modify the vehicle ex-
haust system, brake system, or
other systems when installing a hitch or other trailer towingequipment.
. Do not use axle-mounted hitches
as they can cause damage to the
axle housing, wheel bearings,
wheels or tires.
Choose a proper hitch for your vehicle and
trailer.
The use of a genuine SUBARU trailer
hitch is recommended. A genuine
SUBARU hitch is available from your
SUBARU dealer.
If use of a non-genuine hitch is unavoid-
able, be sure the hitch is suited to your
vehicle and trailer. Consult with a profes-
sional hitch supplier to assist you in
choosing an appropriate hitch for your
vehicle. Be sure to follow all of the hitchmanufacturer ’s instructions for installation
and use.
Never use a hitch that mounts only to the
rear bumper. The bumper is not designed
to handle that type of load.
For all types of hitches, regularly check
that the hitch mounting bolts and nuts aretight. Driving tips
8-21
– CONTINUED –

8-24Driving tips
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 following indicators be-
cause the engine and transmission are
relatively prone to overheating.
–Temperature gauge (if equipped)
– Coolant temperature high warning
light (if equipped) – AT OIL TEMP warning light (AT
models)
. If any of the following conditions occur,
immediately turn off the air conditioner and
stop the vehicle in the nearest safe
location. Refer to “If you park your vehicle
in case of an emergency ”F9-2 and
“ Engine overheating ”F 9-13.
– Temperature gauge needle ap-
proaches the OVERHEAT zone (if
equipped). Refer to “Temperature
gauge (models with type A combina-
tion meter) ”F 3-11.
– Coolant temperature high warning
light illuminates (if equipped). Refer to

“Coolant temperature low indicator
light/Coolant temperature high warn-
ing light ”F 3-16.
– AT OIL TEMP warning light illumi-
nates (AT models). Refer to “AT OIL
TEMP warning light (AT models) ”F 3-
18.
. 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. . If your vehicle has an automatic trans-
mission, place the select lever as follows.
Uphill slopes: “D ”position
Downhill slopes: A low-speed gear posi-
tion to use engine braking ! 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 models) or the
“P ” position
(automatic transmission models) and shut
off the engine. Driving tips
8-25

If you park your vehicle in case of anemergency ........................................................ 9-2
Temporary spare tire (if equipped) .................... 9-2
Precautions for AWD models with automatic transmission ..................................................... 9-3
Maintenance tools ............................................... 9-4
Tool bag. ............................................................. 9-4
Under the cargo area ........................................... 9-5
Flat tires ............................................................... 9-6
Changing a flat tire .............................................. 9-6
Tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS) (U.S.-spec. models) ........................................... 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 ................................................................ 9-14
Towing and tie-down hooks. ............................... 9-14
Using a flat-bed truck. ........................................ 9-17
Towing with all wheels on the ground ................. 9-17
Rear gate –if the rear gate cannot be
opened ............................................................. 9-18
Moonroof –if the moonroof cannot be
closed .............................................................. 9-19 In case of emergency
9

9-2In case of emergency
If you park your vehicle in
case of 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 (if
equipped)
WARNING
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 tire pressure monitoring system
(TPMS) is unable to monitor all four
road wheels. Contact your SUBARU
dealer as soon as possible for tire
and sensor replacement and/or sys-
tem 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 kg/cm
2).
When using the temporary spare tire, note
the following. . 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 models
with automatic transmission
Your vehicle is equipped with the AWD
(All-Wheel Drive) system. In addition, if
your vehicle is an AT model, 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 in the engine compart-
ment. Spare fuses are attached on the
back side of the fuse holder cover. You
may pick up any one fuse in the spare
fuse holder. In case of emergency
9-3
– CONTINUED –

9-4In case of emergency
1) Spare fuse
2) FWD connector
3. Put a spare fuse inside the FWD
connector located in the cabin and confirm
that the All-Wheel Drive warning light“
” 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
connector in order to reactivate All-
Wheel Drive. Make sure to restore the
removed spare fuse in the spare fuse
holder located in the engine compart-ment. Maintenance tools
Your vehicle is equipped with the following
maintenance tools: .
Jack
. Jack handle
. Screwdriver
. Towing hook (eye bolt)
. Wheel nut wrench
. Hex-head wrench (only models with
moonroof) . Wheel cover remover (only models
with wheel covers) &
Tool bag
1) Screwdriver
2) Wheel nut wrench
3) Tool bag
4) Wheel cover remover (only models with
wheel covers)
5) Hex-head wrench (only models with moonroof)
The screwdriver and wheel nut wrench are
stored in the tool bag.

&Under the cargo area
1) Under-floor storage compartment (if
equipped) (Refer to “Under-floor storage
compartment ”F 6-16)
2) Jack handle
3) Tool bucket
4) Spare tire
1) Wheel nut wrench
2) Hex-head wrench (only models with moonroof)
3) Screwdriver
4) Jack
5) Towing hook (eye bolt)
The jack handle is stored under the cargo floor. The jack and towing hook are stored
in the tool bucket that is located in the
recess of the spare tire wheel.
Also, the tools in the tool bag can be
stored in the tool bucket as illustrated.
For how to use the jack, refer to
“Flat tires ”
F 9-6. In case of emergency
9-5