2012 SUBARU OUTBACK warning

Power steering
CAUTION
Do not hold the steering wheel at the
fully locked position left or right for
more than 5 seconds. This may
damage the power steering pump.
The power steering system operates only
when the engine is running.
If you lose power steering assist because
the engine stops or the system fails to
function, you can steer but it will take
much more effort. NOTE
Right after the engine has been started
and before it has warmed up, you may
hear a noise coming from areas adja-
cent to the power steering pump which
is located at the right-front area of the
engine compartment. This noise is
normal. It does not indicate power
steering system trouble. Braking &
Braking tips
WARNING
Never rest your foot on the brake
pedal while driving. This can cause
dangerous overheating of the
brakes and needless wear on the
brake pads and linings.
! When the brakes get wet
When driving in rain or after washing the
vehicle, the brakes may get wet. As a
result, brake stopping distance will be
longer. To dry the brakes, drive the vehicle
at a safe speed while lightly depressing
the brake pedal to heat up the brakes. ! Use of engine braking
Remember to make use of engine braking
in addition to foot braking. When descend-
ing a grade, if only the foot brake is used,
the brakes may start working improperly
because of brake fluid overheating,
caused by overheated brake pads. To
help prevent this, shift into a lower gear to
get stronger engine braking. ! Braking when a tire is punctured
Do not depress the brake pedal suddenly
when a tire is punctured. This could cause a loss of control of the vehicle. Keep
driving straight ahead while gradually
reducing speed. Then slowly pull off the
road to a safe place. &
Brake system
! Two separate circuits
Your vehicle has a dual circuit brake
system. Each circuit works diagonally
across the vehicle. If one circuit of the
brake system should fail, the other half of
the system still works. If one circuit fails,
the brake pedal will go down much closer
to the floor than usual and you will need to
press it down much harder. And a much
longer distance will be needed to stop thevehicle. ! Brake booster
The brake booster uses engine manifold
vacuum to assist braking force. Do not
turn off the engine while driving because
that will turn off the brake booster, result-
ing in poor braking power.
The brakes will continue to work even
when the brake booster completely stops
functioning. If this happens, however, you
will have to depress the pedal much
harder than normal and the braking dis-
tance will increase. Starting and operating
7-23
– CONTINUED –

7-24Starting and operating
!Brake assist system
WARNING
Do not be overconfident about the
brake assist. It is not a system that
brings more braking ability to the
vehicle beyond its braking capabil-
ity. Always use the utmost care
when driving regarding vehicle
speed and safe distance.
CAUTION
When you need to brake suddenly,
continue depressing the brake pedal
strongly to bring the effect of the
brake assist.
Brake assist is a driver assistance system.
It assists the brake power when the driver
cannot depress the brake pedal strongly
and the brake power is insufficient.
Brake assist generates the brake power
according to the speed at which the driver
depresses the brake pedal. NOTE
When you depress the brake pedal
strongly or suddenly, the following
phenomena occur. However, even
though these occur, they do not indi- cate any malfunctions, and the brake
assist system is operating properly. .
You might feel that the brake pedal
is applied by lighter force and gener-
ates a greater braking force.. You might hear the sound of ABS
operating from the engine compart-ment.
& Disc brake pad wear warning indicators
The disc brake pad wear warning indica-
tors on the disc brakes give a warning
noise when the brake pads are worn.
If a squeaking or scraping noise is heard
from the disc brakes while braking, im-
mediately have your vehicle inspected by
the nearest SUBARU dealer. ABS (Anti-lock Brake Sys- tem)
WARNING
Always use the utmost care in driving –overconfidence because
you are driving with an ABS
equipped vehicle could easily lead
to a serious accident.
CAUTION
. The ABS system does not always
decrease stopping distance. You
should always maintain a safe
following distance from othervehicles.
. When driving on badly surfaced
roads, gravel roads, icy road, or
over deep newly fallen snow,
stopping distances may be long-
er for a vehicle with the ABS
system than one without. When
driving under these conditions,
therefore, reduce your speed and
leave ample distance from othervehicles.
. When you feel the ABS system
operating, you should maintain

constant brake pedal pressure.
Do not pump the brake pedal
since doing so may defeat the
operation of the ABS system.
The ABS system prevents the lock-up of
wheels which may occur during sudden
braking or braking on slippery road sur-
faces. This helps prevent the loss of
steering control and directional stability
caused by wheel lock-up.
When the ABS system is operating, you
may hear a chattering noise or feel a slight
vibration in the brake pedal. This is normal
when the ABS operates.
The ABS system will not operate when the
vehicle speed is below approximately 6
mph (10 km/h). & ABS system self-check
You may feel a slight shock in the brake
pedal and hear the operating sound of
ABS from the engine compartment just
after the vehicle is started. This is caused
by an automatic functional test of the ABS
system being carried out and does not
indicate any abnormal condition. & ABS warning light
Refer to “ABS warning light ”F 3-16. Electronic Brake Force Dis-
tribution (EBD) system
The EBD system maximizes the effective-
ness of the brakes by allowing the rear
brakes to supply a greater proportion of
the braking force. It functions by adjusting
the distribution of braking force to the rear
wheels in accordance with the vehicle
’s
loading condition and speed.
The EBD system is an integral part of the
ABS system and uses some of the ABSsystem ’s components to perform its func-
tion of optimizing the distribution of brak-
ing force. If any of the ABS components
used by the EBD function fails, the EBD
system also stops working.
When the EBD system is operating, you
may hear a chattering noise or feel a slight
vibration in the brake pedal. This is normal
and does not indicate a malfunction. &
Steps to take if EBD system malfunctions
If a malfunction occurs in the EBD system,
the system stops working and the brake
system warning light and ABS warning
light illuminate simultaneously.
The EBD system may be malfunctioning if
the brake system warning light and ABS
warning light illuminate simultaneously
during driving.
Even if the EBD system fails, the conven-
tional braking system will still function.
However, the rear wheels will be more
prone to locking when the brakes are
applied harder than usual and the vehi-cle’s motion may therefore become some-
what harder to control.
If the brake system warning light and ABS Starting and operating
7-25
– CONTINUED –

7-26Starting and operating
warning light illuminate simultaneously,
take the following steps.
1. Stop the vehicle in the nearest safe,
flat place.
2. Shut down the engine, then restart it.
3. Release the parking brake. If both
warning lights turn off, the EBD system
may be malfunctioning.
Drive carefully to the nearest SUBARU
dealer and have the system inspected.
4. If both warning lights illuminate again
and remain illuminated after the engine
has been restarted, shut down the engine
again, apply the parking brake, and check
the brake fluid level. Refer to “Brake fluid ”
F 11-25.
5. If the brake fluid level is not below the“ MIN ”mark, the EBD system may be
malfunctioning. Drive carefully to the
nearest SUBARU dealer and have the
system inspected.
6. If the brake fluid level is below the “ MIN ”mark, DO NOT drive the vehicle.
Instead, have the vehicle towed to the
nearest SUBARU dealer for repair.
WARNING
. Driving with the brake system
warning light on is dangerous.
This indicates your brake system may not be working properly. If
the light remains on, have the
brakes inspected by a SUBARU
dealer immediately.
. If at all in doubt about whether
the brakes are operating prop-
erly, do not drive the vehicle.
Have your vehicle towed to the
nearest SUBARU dealer for re-
pair. 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

again, turn the ignition switch to the “LOCK ”position and restart the en-
gine.. When the switch is pressed to
deactivate the Vehicle Dynamics Con-
trol system, the vehicle ’s running per-
formance is comparable with that of a
vehicle that does not have a Vehicle
Dynamics Control system. Do not de-
activate the Vehicle Dynamics Control
system except when absolutely neces-
sary.. Even when the Vehicle Dynamics
Control system is deactivated, compo-
nents of the brake control system may
still activate. When the brake control
system is activated, the Vehicle Dy-
namics Control operation indicator
light illuminates. Tire pressure monitoring
system (TPMS) (if equipped)
The tire pressure monitoring system pro-
vides the driver with a warning message
by sending a signal from a sensor that is
installed in each wheel when tire pressure
is severely low.
The tire pressure monitoring system will
activate only when the vehicle is driven at
speeds above 20 mph (32 km/h). Also,
this system may not react immediately to a
sudden drop in tire pressure (for example,
a blow-out caused by running over a
sharp object).
WARNING
If the low tire pressure warning light
illuminates while driving, never
brake suddenly and keep driving
straight ahead while gradually redu-
cing speed. Then slowly pull off the
road to a safe place. Otherwise an
accident involving serious vehicle
damage and serious personal injury
could occur.
Check the pressure for all four tires
and adjust the pressure to the COLD
tire pressure shown on the tire
placard on the door pillar on thedriver ’s side.
Even when the vehicle is driven a
very short distance, the tires get
warm and their pressures increase
accordingly. Be sure to let the tires
cool thoroughly before adjusting
their pressures to the standard
values shown on the tire placard.
Refer to “Tires and wheels ”F 11-30.
The tire pressure monitoring system
does not function when the vehicle
is stationary. After adjusting the tire
pressures, increase the vehicle
speed to at least 20 mph (32 km/h)
to start the TPMS re-checking of the
tire inflation pressures. If the tire
pressures are now above the severe Starting and operating
7-29
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7-30Starting and operating
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.

&Electronic parking brake
1) Parking brake switch
2) Hill Holder switch
3) Indicator light
WARNING
. Before exiting the vehicle, make
sure that you turn off the engine.
Otherwise, the parking brake
may be released and an accident
may occur.
. If the brake system warning light
flashes, the electronic parking
brake system may be malfunc-
tioning. Immediately stop your
vehicle in a safe location, use
tire stops under the tires to
prevent the vehicle from moving and contact your SUBARU deal-
er.
CAUTION
. When the electronic parking
brake system has a malfunction
and the parking brake cannot be
applied, contact your SUBARU
dealer immediately for an inspec-
tion. If you have to park your
vehicle in such conditions, per-
form the following procedure. – Stop your vehicle in a flat
location.
– Shift the shift lever in the “1 ”
or reverse position (MT mod- els).
– Shift the select lever in the “P ”
position (AT or CVT models).
When the select lever cannot
be shifted into the “P ” posi-
tion, you must release shift
lock. Refer to “Shift lock func-
tion ”F 7-20.
– Use tire stops under the tires
to prevent the vehicle frommoving.
. Never drive while the parking
brake is applied because this will cause unnecessary wear on the
brake linings. Before starting to
drive, always make sure that the
parking brake has been released
and the brake system warning
light has turned off.
Your vehicle is equipped with an electronic
parking brake. You can apply/release the
parking brake by operating the parking
brake switch.
To apply: Depress the brake pedal and
press the parking brake switch firmly.
To release: Pull the parking brake switch
toward you while the ignition switch is in the “ON ”position and the brake pedal (all
models) and the clutch pedal (MT models)
are depressed.
When the parking brake is applied while
the ignition switch is in the “ON ”position,
the brake system warning light and the
indicator light on the parking brake switch
illuminate. Refer to “Brake system warning
light ”F 3-17.
NOTE . If the parking brake switch is pulled
with the ignition switch in the “Acc ”or
“ LOCK ”position, the parking brake is
not released. . If the parking brake switch is pulled Starting and operating
7-31
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7-32Starting and operating
without depressing the brake pedal or
the clutch pedal, the parking brake is
not released..When the parking brake is being
applied or released, noise may be
noticed. However, this is not a malfunc-tion.. When the electronic parking brake
system has a malfunction or the elec-
tronic parking brake operation is pro-
hibited temporarily, if the parking brake
switch is operated, a chirp sound is
heard and the brake system warning
light flashes.. When you cannot release the park-
ing brake due to, for example, a system
malfunction, you can release it by
using the parking brake release tool.
Refer to “Electronic parking brake –if
the electronic parking brake cannot bereleased ”F 9-17.
! Automatic release function by ac-
celerator pedal
The electronic parking brake system has
an automatic release function. The park-
ing brake will be automatically released by
depressing the accelerator pedal. How-
ever, the automatic release function does
not operate under the following conditions. . Any door (other than the trunk lid or
rear gate) is open. .
The driver ’s seatbelt is not fastened.
If the parking brake is automatically
released, the brake system warning light
and the indicator light on the parking brake
switch turn off.
NOTE
Even if you have applied the parking
brake by pressing the parking brake
switch, the parking brake will be auto-
matically released when the accelera-
tor pedal is depressed. ! Hill Holder function
The electronic parking brake system has a
Hill Holder function. If the Hill Holder
function is activated, the parking brake
will be automatically applied when stop-
ping on an uphill slope with the brake
pedal depressed. In this case, the brake
system warning light and the indicator light
on the parking brake switch illuminate. NOTE . The Hill Holder function may not
activate on a gentle uphill slope. In this
case, manually apply the electronic
parking brake.. If you do not depress the brake
pedal sufficiently, the Hill Holder func-
tion may not operate properly. How-
ever, this is not a malfunction. When stopping on an uphill slope, depress
the brake pedal firmly and release it
after the brake system warning lightilluminates..
Depending on the condition of the
road surface and braking force, the
brakes operate temporarily and feel
different than usual.. When the electronic parking brake
system has a malfunction while the Hill
Holder function is activated, a chirp
sound is heard, the Hill Holder indica-
tor light turns off and the brake system
warning light flashes.. The Hill Holder function does not
reactivate when parking with the elec-
tronic parking brake released after the
Hill Holder function is activated. If
necessary, manually apply the electro-
nic parking brake.. If the seatbelt is not fastened when
the Hill Holder function is activated, the
vehicle may not start moving smoothly
from a stop, or a noise may be heard
from the brake components. ! Hill Holder switch
WARNING
When stopping on an uphill slope
with the Hill Holder function acti-
vated, release the brake pedal after