2016 SUBARU WRX Owners Manual

Instruments and controls/Warning and indicator lights
& Front passenger ’ s frontal
airbag ON and OFF indica-
tors
ON / : Front passenger ’ s frontal airbag ON
indicator
/ : Front passenger ’ s frontal airbag OFF
indicator
The front passenger ’ s frontal airbag ON
and OFF indicators show you the status of
the front passenger ’ s SRS frontal airbag.
The indicators are located next to the
clock in the center portion of the dash-
board.
When the ignition switch is turned to the
“ ON ” position, both the ON and OFF
indicators illuminate for 6 seconds during
which time the system is checked. Follow-
ing the system check, both indicators turn
off for 2 seconds. After that, one of the indicators illuminates depending on the
status of the front passenger ’ s SRS frontal
airbag determined by the SUBARU ad-
vanced frontal airbag system monitoring.
If the front passenger ’ s SRS frontal airbag
is activated, the passenger ’ s frontal airbag
ON indicator will illuminate while the OFF
indicator will remain off.
If the front passenger ’ s SRS frontal airbag
is deactivated, the passenger ’ sfrontal
airbag ON indicator will remain off while
the OFF indicator will illuminate.
With the ignition switch turned to the “ ON ”
position, if both the ON and OFF indica-
tors remain illuminated or off simulta-
neously even after the system check
period, the system is malfunctioning.
Contact your SUBARU dealer immedi-
ately for an inspection. & CHECK ENGINE warn-
ing light/Malfunction in-
dicator light CAUTIONIf the CHECK ENGINE light illumi-
nates while you are driving, have
your vehicle checked/repaired by
your SUBARU dealer as soon as
possible. Continued vehicle opera-
tion without having the emission
control system checked and re-
paired as necessary could cause
serious damage, which may not be
covered by your vehicle ’ s warranty.
If this light illuminates steadily or blinks
while the engine is running, it may indicate
that there is a problem or potential
problem somewhere in the emission con-
trol system.
! If the light illuminates steadily
If the light illuminates steadily while driving
or does not turn off after the engine starts,
an emission control system malfunction
has been detected.
You should have your vehicle checked by
an authorized SUBARU dealer immedi-
ately.3-16

NOTE This light also illuminates when the fuel
filler cap is not tightened until it clicks.
If you have recently refueled your vehicle,
the cause of the CHECK ENGINE warning
light/malfunction indicator light illuminating
could be a loose or missing fuel filler cap.
Remove the cap and retighten it until it
clicks. Make sure nothing is interfering
with the sealing of the cap. Tightening the
cap will not make the CHECK ENGINE
warning light/malfunction indicator light
turn off immediately. It may take several
driving trips. If the light does not turn off,
take your vehicle to your authorized
SUBARU dealer immediately.
! If the light is blinking
If the light is blinking while driving, an
engine misfire condition has been de-
tected which may damage the emission
control system.
To prevent serious damage to the emis-
sion control system, you should do the
following.
. Reduce vehicle speed.
. Avoid hard acceleration.
. Avoid steep uphill grades.
. Reduce the amount of cargo, if possi-
ble.
The CHECK ENGINE warning light may stop blinking and illuminate steadily after
several driving trips. You should have your
vehicle checked by an authorized
SUBARU dealer immediately.
& Charge warning light If this light illuminates when the engine is
running, it may indicate that the charging
system is not working properly.
If the light illuminates while driving or does
not turn off after the engine starts, stop the
engine at the first safe opportunity and
check the alternator belt. If the belt is
loose, broken or if the belt is in good
condition but the light remains illuminated,
contact your nearest SUBARU dealer
immediately.
& Oil pressure warning
light If this light illuminates when the engine is
running, it may indicate that the engine oil
pressure is low and the lubricating system
is not working properly.
If the light illuminates while driving or does
not turn off after the engine starts, stop the
engine at the first safe opportunity and
check the engine oil level. If the oil level is
low, add oil immediately. If the engine oil is
at the proper level but the light remains
illuminated, contact your nearest SUBARU dealer immediately.
For details about checking the engine oil
level or adding the engine oil, refer to
“ Engine oil ” F 11-13.
CAUTIONDo not operate the engine with the
oil pressure warning light on. This
may cause serious engine damage.
& Engine low oil level
warning indicator (ex-
cept STI) This indicator appears when the engine oil
level decreases to the lower limit.
If the engine low oil level warning indicator
appears while driving, park the vehicle in a
safe and level location, and then check
the engine oil level. When the engine oil
level is not within the normal range, refill
with engine oil. Refer to “ Engine oil ” F 11 -
13.
If the warning indicator does not disappear
after refilling the engine oil, or the warning
indicator appears even though the engine
oil level is within the normal range, have
the vehicle checked by a SUBARU dealer.Instruments and controls/Warning and indicator lights
– CONTINUED –3-17

Instruments and controls/Warning and indicator lights
NOTE . After replacing or adding the engine
oil, if the engine oil level is within the
normal range when restarting the en-
gine on a level surface, the warning
indicator will be off.
. The warning indicator may appear
temporarily in the following conditions
because a low oil level may be detected
as a result of significant oil movement
in the engine.
– when the vehicle is considerably
inclined on an uphill or steep slope
– when the vehicle has continu-
ously accelerated and decelerated
– when the vehicle is continuously
turned
– when the vehicle is driven on a
road that alternates continuously
between uphill and downhill
& Windshield washer
fluid warning indicatorThis indicator appears when the fluid level
in the windshield washer fluid tank de-
creases to the lower limit (approximately
1.1 US qt, 1.0 liter, 0.9 Imp qt). & AT OIL TEMP warning
light (CVT models) If this light illuminates when the engine is
running, it may indicate that the transmis-
sion fluid temperature is too hot.
If the light illuminates while driving, im-
mediately stop the vehicle in a safe place
and let the engine idle until the warning
light turns off.
! Transmission control system warn-
ing
If the “ AT OIL TEMP ” warning light flashes
after the engine has started, it may
indicate that the transmission control
system is not working properly. Contact
your nearest SUBARU dealer for service
immediately.
& Rear differential oil
temperature warning
light (STI)
CAUTION
If the R.DIFF TEMP warning light
illuminates, reduce vehicle speed
and stop the vehicle in a safe
location as soon as possible. Con-
tinuing to drive with this light illumi-
nated may damage the rear differ- ential and other parts of the power-
train.
If this light illuminates when the engine is
running, it may indicate that the rear
differential oil temperature is too hot.
At this time, the driver ’ s control center
differential will automatically cancel the
current torque-distribution ratio setting and
adopt its minimum ratio.
If the light illuminates while driving, reduce
vehicle speed and stop the vehicle in the
nearest safe location. Park the vehicle for
several minutes. After the light turns off,
you can start driving.
If the light does not turn off, contact the
nearest SUBARU dealer for service.
NOTE . If the tire pressures are not correct
and/or the tires are not all the same
size and brand, the rear differential will
be heavily loaded when the vehicle is
driven, resulting in an abnormally high
oil temperature.
. The rear differential oil will deterio-
rate if its temperature increases en-
ough for the rear differential oil tem-
perature warning light to illuminate. It is
advisable to have the rear differential
oil replaced as soon as possible.3-18

& Low tire pressure
warning light (U.S.-spec.
models)When the ignition switch is turned to the
“ ON ” position, the low tire pressure warn-
ing light will illuminate for approximately 2
seconds to check that the tire pressure
monitoring system (TPMS) is functioning
properly. If there is no problem and all tires
are properly inflated, the light will turn off.
Each tire, including the spare (if provided),
should be checked monthly when cold
and inflated to the inflation pressure
recommended by the vehicle manufac-
turer on the vehicle placard or tire inflation
pressure label. (If your vehicle has tires of
a different size than the size indicated on
the vehicle placard or tire inflation pres-
sure label, you should determine the
proper tire inflation pressure for those
tires.)
As an added safety feature, your vehicle
has been equipped with a tire pressure
monitoring system (TPMS) that illuminates
a low tire pressure telltale when one or
more of your tires is significantly under-
inflated. Accordingly, when the low tire
pressure telltale illuminates, you should
stop and check your tires as soon as
possible, and inflate them to the proper
pressure. Driving on a significantly under- inflated tire causes the tire to overheat and
can lead to tire failure. Under-inflation also
reduces fuel efficiency and tire tread life,
and may affect the vehicle ’ s handling and
stopping ability.
Please note that the TPMS is not a
substitute for proper tire maintenance,
and it is the driver ’ s responsibility to
maintain correct tire pressure, even if
under-inflation has not reached the level
to trigger illumination of the TPMS low tire
pressure telltale.
Your vehicle has also been equipped with
a TPMS malfunction indicator to indicate
when the system is not operating properly.
The TPMS malfunction indicator is com-
bined with the low tire pressure telltale.
When the system detects a malfunction,
the telltale will flash for approximately one
minute and then remain continuously
illuminated. This sequence will continue
upon subsequent vehicle start-ups as long
as the malfunction exists. When the
malfunction indicator is illuminated, the
system may not be able to detect or signal
low tire pressure as intended. TPMS
malfunctions may occur for a variety of
reasons, including the installation of re-
placement or alternate tires or wheels on
the vehicle that prevent the TPMS from
functioning properly. Always check the
TPMS malfunction telltale after replacing one or more tires or wheels on your
vehicle to ensure that the replacement or
alternate tires and wheels allow the TPMS
to continue to function properly.
Should the warning light illuminate stea-
dily after blinking for approximately one
minute, have the system inspected by
your nearest SUBARU dealer as soon as
possible.
WARNINGIf this light does not illuminate
briefly after the ignition switch is
turned ON or the light illuminates
steadily after blinking for approxi-
mately one minute, you should have
your Tire Pressure Monitoring Sys-
tem checked at a SUBARU dealer as
soon as possible.
If this light illuminates while driving,
never brake suddenly and keep
driving straight ahead while gradu-
ally reducing speed. Then slowly
pull off the road to a safe place.
Otherwise an accident involving
serious vehicle damage and serious
personal injury could occur.
If this light still illuminates while
driving after adjusting the tire pres-
sure, a tire may have significant
damage and a fast leak that causesInstruments and controls/Warning and indicator lights
– CONTINUED –3-19

Instruments and controls/Warning and indicator lights
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.
If the light illuminates steadily after
blinking for approximately one min-
ute, promptly contact a SUBARU
dealer to have the system inspected.
CAUTION
The tire pressure monitoring system
is NOT a substitute for manually
checking tire pressure. The tire
pressure should be checked peri-
odically (at least monthly) using a
tire gauge. After any change to tire
pressure(s), the tire pressure mon-
itoring system will not re-check tire
inflation pressures until the vehicle is first driven to a vehicle speed of at
least 20 mph (32 km/h). After adjust-
ing 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 low pressure threshold, the
low tire pressure warning light
should turn off a few minutes later.
Therefore, be sure to install the
specified size for the front and rear
tires.
& ABS warning light
CAUTION. If any of the following conditions
occur, we recommend that you
have the ABS system repaired at
the first available opportunity by
your SUBARU dealer.
– The warning light does not
illuminate when the ignition
switch is turned to the “ ON ”
position.
– The warning light illuminates
when the ignition switch is
turned to the “ ON ” position,
but it does not turn off even after starting the vehicle.
– The warning light illuminates
during driving.
. When the warning light is on (and
the brake system warning light is
off), the ABS function shuts
down. However, the conventional
brake system continues to oper-
ate normally.
The ABS warning light illuminates to-
gether with the brake system warning light
if the EBD system malfunctions. For
further details of the EBD system mal-
function warning, refer to “ Brake system
warning light ” F 3-21.
NOTE If the warning light behavior is as
described in the following conditions,
the ABS system may be considered
normal.
. The warning light illuminates when
the ignition switch is turned to the
“ ON ” position and turns off approxi-
mately 2 seconds after the engine has
started.
. The warning light illuminates right
after the engine is started but turns off
immediately, remaining off.
. The warning light remains illumi-
nated after the engine has been started,3-20

but it turns off while driving.
. The warning light illuminates during
driving, but it turns off immediately and
remains off.
When driving with an insufficient battery
voltage such as when the engine is jump
started, the ABS warning light may illumi-
nate. This is due to the low battery voltage
and does not indicate a malfunction.
When the battery becomes fully charged,
the light will turn off.
& Brake system
warning light 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 illuminated,
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.
. If the brake system warning light
illuminates, the electronic park- ing brake system may be mal-
functioning. 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. For details, refer to “ Electro-
nic parking brake (models with
electronic parking brake sys-
tem) ” F 7-44.
NOTE . Even if the brake system warning
light illuminates, if the warning light
behavior is as described in the follow-
ing examples, the electronic parking
brake system is not malfunctioning.
– The warning light turns off when
the electronic parking brake is ap-
plied or released.
– The warning light turns off when
the ignition switch is turned to the
“ ON ” position again.
. The brake system warning light may
illuminate immediately after the engine
is started. However, it is not malfunc-
tioning if the warning light turns off
after the electronic parking brake is
released.
. The brake system warning light may
illuminate after the electronic parking brake is frequently applied and re-
leased. However, the electronic parking
brake system is not malfunctioning if
the light turns off for a short period of
time.
. When the engine is started while the
electronic parking brake is applied/
released, the system may judge an
abnormal situation and the warning
light may illuminate. If the warning light
illuminates, turn the ignition switch
once to the “ LOCK/OFF ” position and
then restart the engine. Then, apply/
release the electronic parking brake. If
the warning light turns off, the system
will be restored.
This light has the following functions.
! Parking brake indicator (models
without electronic parking brake
system)
This light illuminates with the parking
brake applied while the ignition switch is
in the “ ON ” position. It turns off when the
parking brake is fully released.
! Brake fluid level warning
This light illuminates when the brake fluid
level has dropped to near the “ MIN ” level
of the brake fluid reservoir with the ignition
switch in the “ ON ” position and with the
parking brake fully released.Instruments and controls/Warning and indicator lights
– CONTINUED –3-21

Instruments and controls/Warning and indicator lights
If the brake system warning light should
illuminate while driving (with the parking
brake fully released and with the ignition
switch positioned in “ ON ” ), it could be an
indication of leaking of brake fluid or worn
brake pads. If this occurs, immediately
stop the vehicle at the nearest safe place
and check the brake fluid level. If the fluid
level is below the “ MIN ” mark in the
reservoir, do not drive the vehicle. Have
the vehicle towed to the nearest SUBARU
dealer for repair.
! Electronic Brake Force Distribution
(EBD) system warning
The brake system warning light also
illuminates if a malfunction occurs in the
EBD system. In that event, it illuminates
together with the ABS warning light.
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
warning light illuminate simultaneously, take the following steps.
1. Stop the vehicle in the nearest safe,
flat place.
2. Shut down the engine, apply the
parking brake and 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.
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.
! Electronic parking brake system
warning (models with electronic
parking brake system)
The brake system warning light illumi-
nates when the electronic parking brake
system is malfunctioning. If the warning light illuminates, promptly park in a safe
location as soon as possible and contact
your SUBARU dealer.
The brake system warning light remains
illuminated when the parking brake cannot
be released even if the parking brake
switch is pushed. For details, refer to
“ Electronic parking brake (models with
electronic parking brake system) ” F 7-44.
! Frequent operation warning
The brake system warning light illumi-
nates and a chirp sound will be heard if
the parking brake switch is operated too
frequently. In this case, the operation of
the parking brake switch is restricted to
protect the electronic parking brake sys-
tem.
! Vacuum pump system warning (ex-
cept STI)
This light illuminates when a malfunction
is detected in the vacuum pump system.
NOTE The vacuum pump system assists the
boost pressure when driving at high
altitudes while the engine is cold.3-22

& Electronic parking
brake indicator light
(models with electronic
parking brake system)! Parking brake indicator
The light illuminates with the parking
brake applied while the ignition switch is
in the “ ON ” position. It turns off when the
parking brake is fully released.
! Electronic parking brake system
warning
WARNING. When you release the electronic
parking brake while the engine is
running, the electronic parking
brake indicator light will turn off.
However, if the light still illumi-
nates, stop the vehicle in a safe
place immediately and have the
system inspected by a SUBARU
dealer.
. 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. . If the electronic parking brake
indicator light flashes, the elec-
tronic parking brake system may
be malfunctioning. Immediately
stop your vehicle in a safe loca-
tion, use tire stops under the
tires to prevent the vehicle from
moving and contact your
SUBARU dealer. For details, refer
to “ Electronic parking brake
(models with electronic parking
brake system) ” F 7-44.
NOTE . When the ignition switch is turned to
the “ LOCK ” / “ OFF ” position with the
electronic parking brake applied, the
electronic parking brake indicator light
remains illuminated for approximately
30 seconds and then turns off.
. When the electronic parking brake
switch is pressed to apply the electro-
nic parking brake while the ignition
switch is in the “ LOCK ” / “ OFF ” posi-
tion, the electronic parking brake in-
dicator light illuminates, remains illu-
minated for approximately 30 seconds
and then turns off.
. Even if the electronic parking brake
indicator light flashes, if the warning
light behavior is as described in the
following examples, the electronic parking brake system is not malfunc-
tioning.
– The indicator light turns off when
the electronic parking brake is re-
leased.
. The electronic parking brake indica-
tor light may flash immediately after the
engine is started. However, it is not
malfunctioning if the indicator light
turns off after the electronic parking
brake is released.
. The electronic parking brake indica-
tor light may flash after the electronic
parking brake is frequently applied and
released. However, the electronic park-
ing brake system is not malfunctioning
if the light turns off for a short period of
time.
The electronic parking brake indicator light
flashes when the electronic parking brake
system is malfunctioning. If the indicator
light flashes, promptly park in a safe
location as soon as possible and contact
your SUBARU dealer.
The electronic parking brake indicator light
remains illuminated when the parking
brake cannot be released even if the
parking brake switch is pulled. For details,
refer to “ Electronic parking brake (models
with electronic parking brake system) ”
F 7-44.Instruments and controls/Warning and indicator lights
– CONTINUED –3-23