2017 SUBARU FORESTER Owners Manual

Driving tips/Periodic inspections
operates at very high tempera-
tures.
. Keep everyone and flammable
materials away from the exhaust
pipe while the engine is running.
The exhaust gas is very hot.Periodic inspections
To keep your vehicle in the best condition
at all times, always have the recom-
mended maintenance services listed in
the maintenance schedule in the “War-
ranty and Maintenance Booklet ”per-
formed at the specified time or mileage
intervals.
Driving in foreign countries
When planning to use your vehicle in
another country:
. Confirm the availability of the correct
fuel. Refer to “Fuel requirements ”F 7-3.
. Comply with all regulations and re-
quirements of each country.
8-4

Driving tips for AWD models
WARNING
.Always maintain a safe driving
speed according to the road and
weather conditions in order to
avoid having an accident on a
sharp turn, during sudden brak-
ing or under other similar condi-
tions.
. Always use the utmost care in
driving –overconfidence be-
cause you are driving an All-
Wheel Drive vehicle could easily
lead to a serious accident.
. When replacing or installing tire
(s), all four tires must be the
same for the following items.
(a) Size
(b) Circumference
(c) Speed symbol
(d) Load index
(e) Construction
(f) Manufacturer
(g) Brand (tread pattern)
(h) Degrees of wear
For the items (a) to (d), you must
obey the specification that is printed on the tire placard. The
tire placard is located on the
bottom of driver
’s door pillar.
If all of four tires are not the same
in items (a) to (h), it may lead to
serious mechanical damage to
the drive train of your car and
affect the following factors.
— Ride
— Handling
— Braking
— Speedometer/Odometer
calibration
— Clearance between the body
and tires
It also may be dangerous and
lead to loss of vehicle control,
and it can lead to an accident.
CAUTION
If you use a temporary spare tire to
replace a flat tire, be sure to use the
original temporary spare tire stored
in the vehicle. Using other sizes may
result in severe mechanical damage
to the drive train of your vehicle.
All-Wheel Drive distributes the engine
power to all four wheels. AWD models
provide better traction when driving on
slippery, wet or snow-covered roads and
when moving out of mud, dirt and sand.
By shifting power between the front and
rear wheels, SUBARU AWD can also
provide added traction during acceleration
and added engine braking force during
deceleration.
Therefore, your SUBARU AWD vehicle
may handle differently than an ordinary
two wheel drive vehicle and it contains
some features unique to AWD. For safety
purposes as well as to avoid damaging
the AWD system, you should keep the
following tips in mind.
. An AWD model is better able to climb
steeper roads under snowy or slippery
Driving tips/Driving tips for AWD models
–CONTINUED –8-5

Driving tips/On–road and off –road driving
conditions than a two wheel drive vehicle.
There is little difference in handling,
however, during extremely sharp turns or
sudden braking. Therefore, when driving
down a slope or turning corners, be sure
to reduce your speed and maintain an
ample distance from other vehicles.
. Always check the cold tire pressure
before starting to drive. The recom-
mended tire pressure is provided on the
tire placard, which is located under the
door latch on the driver ’s side.
. Frequent driving of an AWD vehicle
under hard-driving conditions such as
steep hills or dusty roads will necessitate
more frequent replacement of the follow-
ing items than that specified in the
“Warranty and Maintenance Booklet ”.
– Engine oil
– Brake fluid
– Rear differential gear oil
– Manual transmission oil (MT mod-
els)
– Continuously variable transmission
fluid (CVT models)
– Front differential gear oil (CVT
models)
. There are some precautions that you
must observe when towing your vehicle.
For detailed information, refer to “Towing ”
F 9-13.On-road and off-road driving
WARNING
. In a rollover crash, an unbelted
person is significantly more
likely to die than a person wear-
ing a seat belt. You the driver and
all your passengers should fas-
ten the seatbelts before starting
to drive in order to minimize the
chance of serious injury or death.
. Do not make sharp turns and
quick maneuvers unless abso-
lutely unavoidable. Such actions
are dangerous as you may lose
control, possibly resulting in a
rollover which could cause death
or serious injury.
. Always maintain a safe driving
speed according to the road and
weather conditions in order to
avoid having an accident on a
sharp turn, during sudden brak-
ing or under other similar condi-
tions.
. Whenever strong crosswinds are
present, slow down sufficiently
to maintain control of your vehi-
cle. Remember that your vehicle,
with its higher profile and center of gravity, is more likely to be
affected by crosswinds than or-
dinary passenger cars.
. Always use the utmost care in
driving –overconfidence be-
cause you are driving an All-
Wheel Drive model could easily
lead to a serious accident.
Your vehicle is classified as a utility
vehicle. Utility vehicles feature a higher
ground clearance which enables them to
be used for wide applications including off-
road driving. But please keep in mind that
your vehicle is neither a conventional off-
road vehicle nor an all-terrain vehicle. A
higher center of gravity in relation to the
tread width as compared with ordinary
passenger cars makes vehicles of this
type more likely to roll over. In reality, utility
vehicles have a significantly higher roll-
over rate than other types of vehicles. The
high ground clearance of this vehicle is a
real advantage, giving you a better view of
the road and allowing you to anticipate
problems earlier. However, remember that
your utility vehicle is not designed for high-
speed cornering comparable to ordinary
passenger cars and that your vehicle
could roll over if you make a sharp turn
at high speed.
If you take your SUBARU off-road, certain
8-6

common sense precautions such as those
in the following list should be taken.
.Make certain that you and all of your
passengers are wearing seatbelts.
. Carry some emergency equipment,
such as a towing rope or chain, a shovel,
wheel blocks, first aid kit and cell phone or
citizens band radio.
. Drive carefully. Do not take unneces-
sary risks by driving in dangerous areas or
over rough terrain.
. Slow down and employ extra caution at
all times. When driving off-road, you will
not have the benefit of marked traffic
lanes, banked curves, traffic signs and
the like.
. Do not drive across steep slopes.
Instead, drive either straight up or straight
down the slopes. A vehicle can much
more easily tip over sideways than it can
end over end. Avoid driving straight up or
down slopes that are too steep.
. Avoid sharp turning maneuvers, espe-
cially at higher speeds.
. Do not grip the inside or spokes of the
steering wheel. A bad bump could jerk the
wheel and injure your hands. Instead drive
with your fingers and thumbs on the
outside of the rim.
. If driving through water, such as when
crossing shallow streams, first check the depth of the water and the bottom of the
stream bed for firmness and ensure that
the bed of the stream is flat. Drive slowly
and cross the stream without stopping.
The water should be shallow enough that
it does not reach the vehicle’
s under-
carriage. Water entering the engine air
intake or the exhaust pipe or water
splashing onto electrical parts may da-
mage your vehicle and may cause it to
stall. Never attempt to drive through
rushing water; regardless of its depth, it
can wash away the ground from under
your tires, resulting in possible loss of
traction and even vehicle rollover.
. Always check your brakes for effec-
tiveness immediately after driving in sand,
mud or water. Do this by driving slowly
and stepping on the brake pedal. Repeat
that process several times to dry out the
brake discs and brake pads.
. Do not drive or park over or near
flammable materials such as dry grass or
fallen leaves, as they may burn easily. The
exhaust system is very hot while the
engine is running and right after engine
stops. This could create a fire hazard.
. After driving through tall grass, mud,
rocks, sand, rivers, etc., check that there
is no grass, bush, paper, rags, stones,
sand, etc. adhering to or trapped on the
underbody. Clear off any such matter from the underbody. If the vehicle is used with
these materials trapped or adhering to the
underbody, a mechanical breakdown or
fire could occur.
.
Secure all cargo carried inside the
vehicle and make certain that it is not
piled higher than the seatbacks. During
sudden stops or jolts, unsecured cargo
could be thrown around in the vehicle and
cause injury. Do not pile heavy loads on
the roof. Those loads raise the vehicle’ s
center of gravity and make it more prone
to tip over.
. If you must rock the vehicle to free it
from sand or mud, depress the accelerator
pedal slightly and move the shift lever/
select lever back and forth between “1”/
“D ”and “R”repeatedly. Do not race the
engine. For the best possible traction,
avoid spinning the wheels when trying to
free the vehicle.
. When the road surface is extremely
slippery, you can obtain better traction by
starting the vehicle with the transmission
in 2nd than 1st. For CVT models with
manual mode, refer to “Selection of
manual mode ”F 7-27.
. Never equip your vehicle with tires
larger than those specified in this manual.
. Wash the vehicle’ s underbody after off-
road driving. Suspension components are
particularly prone to dirt buildup, so they
Driving tips/On –road and off –road driving
–CONTINUED –8-7

Driving tips/Winter driving
need to be washed thoroughly.
.Frequent driving of an AWD model
under hard-driving conditions such as
rough roads or off roads will necessitate
more frequent replacement of the follow-
ing items than that specified in the
maintenance schedule described in the
“Warranty and Maintenance Booklet ”.
– Engine oil
– Brake fluid
– Rear differential gear oil
– Manual transmission oil (MT mod-
els)
– Continuously variable transmission
fluid (CVT models)
– Front differential gear oil (CVT
models)
Remember that damage done to your
SUBARU while operating it off-road and
not using common sense precautions
such as those listed above is not eligible
for warranty coverage.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 winter
starts.
It normally takes longer to start the engine
in very cold weather conditions. Use an
engine oil of a proper grade and viscosity
for cold weather. Using heavy summer oil
will make it harder to start the engine.
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 following
table.
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 the
nozzles.
CAUTION
. Adjust the washer fluid concen-
tration appropriately for the out-
8-8

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
could make the pedals slippery and
driving dangerous.
While warming up the vehicle before
driving, check that the accelerator pedal,
brake pedal, and all other controls operate
smoothly.
Clear away ice and snow that has
accumulated under the fenders to avoid
making steering difficult. During severe winter driving, stop when and where it is
safe to do so and check under the fenders
periodically.
!
Parking in cold weather
Do not use the parking brake when
parking for long periods in cold weather
since it could freeze in that position.
Instead, you should observe the following
tips.
1. Place the shift lever in “1”or “R”for MT
models, or the select lever in “P”for CVT
models.
2. Use tire stops under the tires to
prevent the vehicle from moving.
When the vehicle is parked in snow or
when it snows, raise the wiper blades off
the glass to prevent damage to them.
When the vehicle has been left parked
after use on roads heavily covered with
snow, or has been left parked during a
snowstorm, icing may develop on the
brake system, which could cause poor
braking action. Check for snow or ice
buildup on the suspension, disc brakes
and brake hoses underneath the vehicle.
If there is caked snow or ice, remove it,
being careful not to damage the disc
brakes and brake hoses and ABS har-
ness.WARNING
Snow can trap dangerous exhaust
gases under your vehicle. Keep
snow clear of the exhaust pipe and
from around your vehicle if you park
the vehicle in snow with the engine
running.
! Refueling in cold weather
To help prevent moisture from forming in
the fuel system and the risk of its freezing,
use of an antifreeze additive in the fuel
tank is recommended during cold weather.
Use only additives that are specifically
designed for this purpose. When an
antifreeze additive is used, its effect lasts
longer if the tank is refilled whenever the
fuel level reaches half empty.
If your SUBARU is not going to be used
for an extended period, it is best to have
the fuel tank filled to capacity.
! Opening rear gate (models with
power rear gate)
CAUTION
Before operating the power rear
gate, check that there is no frost or
snow between the power rear gate
and the vehicle body. If you notice
Driving tips/Winter driving
–CONTINUED –8-9

Driving tips/Winter driving
frost or snow etc. on the power rear
gate, remove it. If you forcibly
operate the power rear gate with
frost or snow, it may cause a mal-
function.
&Driving on snowy and icy
roads
To prevent skidding and slipping, avoid
sudden braking, abrupt acceleration, high-
speed driving, and sharp turning when
driving on snowy or icy roads.
Always maintain ample distance between
your vehicle and the vehicle ahead of you
to avoid the need for sudden braking.
To supplement the foot brake, use the
engine brake effectively to control the
vehicle speed. (Shift into a lower gear
when necessary.)
Avoid shifting down abruptly. Such beha-
vior can cause the wheels to lock, possibly
leading to loss of vehicle control.
An anti-lock brake system (ABS) en-
hances your vehicle’ s braking perfor-
mance on snowy and icy roads. For
information on braking on slippery sur-
faces, refer to “ABS (Anti-lock Brake
System) ”F 7-37 and “Vehicle Dynamics
Control system ”F 7-39.
WARNING
Do not use the cruise control on
slippery roads such as snowy or icy
roads. This may cause loss of
vehicle control.
CAUTION
Avoid prolonged continuous driving
in snowstorms. Snow will enter the
engine ’sintakesystemandmay
hinder the airflow, which could re-
sult in engine shutdown or even
breakdown.
! Wiper operation when snowing
Before driving in cold weather, make sure
the wiper blades are not frozen to the
windshield or rear window.
If the wiper blades are frozen to the
windshield or rear window, perform the
following procedure.
. To thaw the windshield wiper blades,
use the defroster with the airflow selection
in “
”and the temperature set for
maximum warmth until the wiper blades
are completely thawed. Refer to “Climate
control ”F 4-1.
. If your vehicle is equipped with a wiper deicer, use it. It is helpful to thaw the
windshield wiper blades. Refer to
“Defog-
ger and deicer ”F 3-116.
. To thaw the rear wiper blade, use the
rear window defogger. Refer to “Defogger
and deicer ”F 3-116.
When driving in snow, if frozen snow starts
to stick on the surface of the windshield
despite wiper operation, use the defroster
with the airflow selection in “
”and the
temperature set for maximum warmth.
After the windshield gets warmed enough
to melt the frozen snow on it, wash it away
using the windshield washer. Refer to
“Windshield washer ”F 3-106.
Snow stuck on the wiper arm prevents the
wiper from working effectively. If snow is
stuck on the wiper arm, pull off the road to
a safe place, then remove it. If you stop
the vehicle at road side, use the hazard
warning flasher to alert other drivers.
Refer to “Hazard warning flasher ”F 3-8.
We recommend use of non-freezing type
wiper blades (winter blades) during the
seasons you could have snow and freez-
ing temperatures. Blades of this type give
superior wiping performance in snowy
conditions. Be sure to use blades that
are suitable for your vehicle.
8-10

CAUTION
During high-speed driving, non-
freezing type wiper blades may not
perform as well as standard wiper
blades. If this happens, reduce the
vehicle speed.
NOTE
When the season requiring non-freez-
ing type wiper blades is over, replace
them with standard wiper blades.
&Corrosion protection
Refer to “Corrosion protection ”F 10-4.
& Snow tires
WARNING
. When replacing or installing tire
(s), all four tires must be the
same for the following items.
(a) Size
(b) Circumference
(c) Speed symbol
(d) Load index
(e) Construction
(f) Manufacturer (g) Brand (tread pattern)
(h) Degrees of wear
For the items (a) to (d), you must
obey the specification that is
printed on the tire placard. The
tire placard is located on the
bottom of driver
’s door pillar.
If all of four tires are not the same
in items (a) to (h), it may lead to
serious mechanical damage to
the drive train of your car and
affect the following factors.
— Ride
— Handling
— Braking
— Speedometer/Odometer
calibration
— Clearance between the body
and tires
It also may be dangerous and
lead to loss of vehicle control,
and it can lead to an accident.
. Do not use a combination of
radial, belted bias or bias tires
since it may cause dangerous
handling characteristics and lead
to an accident.
Your vehicle is equipped with “all season
tires ”as original equipment, which are designed to provide an adequate measure
of traction, handling and braking perfor-
mance in year-round driving. In winter, it
may be possible to enhance performance
through use of tires designed specifically
for winter driving conditions.
When you choose to install winter tires on
your vehicle, be sure to use the correct tire
size and type. You must install four winter
tires that are of the same size, construc-
tion, brand and load range and you should
never mix radial, belted bias or bias tires
since this may result in dangerous hand-
ling characteristics. When you choose a
tire, make sure that there is enough
clearance between the tire and vehicle
body.
Remember to drive with care at all times
regardless of the type of tires on your
vehicle.&
Tire chains
CAUTION
Tire chains cannot be used on your
vehicle because of the lack of
clearance between the tires and
vehicle body.
Driving tips/Winter driving
–CONTINUED –8-11