warning SUBARU FORESTER 2000 SF / 1.G Service Manual

3-6

Charge warning light
If this lig ht c omes on when the eng ine is running , it may ind ic ate that the
c harg ing system is not working p rop erly.
If the lig ht c omes on while d riving or d oes not g o out after the eng ine
starts, stop the eng ine at the first safe op p ortuni ty and c hec k the alterna-
tor b elt. If the b elt is loose, b roken or if the b e lt is in g ood c ond ition b ut
the lig ht remains on, c ontac t your nearest SUBARU d ealer immed iately.
Oil pressure warning light
CAUTION
Do not operate the engine with the oil pressure warning light on. This may cause serious engine damage.
If this lig ht c omes on when the eng ine is running , it may ind ic ate that the
eng ine oil p ressure is low and the lub ric ating syst em is not working p rop -
erly.
If the lig ht c omes on while d riving or d oes not g o out after the eng ine
starts, stop the eng ine at the first safe op p ortuni ty and c hec k the eng ine
oil level. If the oil level is low, ad d oil immed ia tely. If the eng ine oil is at
the p rop er level b ut the lig ht remains on, c ontac t your nearest SUBARU
d ealer immed iately. Brake system warning light BRAKE (U.S.)
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 repair.
This lig ht has the following two func tions:
(Canada)

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Parking brake warning
The lig ht c omes on with the p arking b rake ap p lied w hile the ig nition
switc h is in the “ON ” p osition. It g oes out when the p arking b rake is
fully released . Brake fluid level warning
This lig ht c omes on when the b rake fluid level has d rop p ed to near
the “MIN ” level of the b rake fluid reservoir with the ig niti on switc h in
the “ON ” p osition and with the p arking b rake fully released .
If the b rake system warning lig ht should c ome on wh ile d riving (with
the p arking b rake fully released and with the ig nit ion switc h p osi-
tioned in “ON ”), it c ould b e an ind ic ation of leaking of b rake fl uid or
worn b rake p ad s. Have your vehic le c hec ked b y a SUB ARU d ealer
immed iately.
CHECK ENGINE warning light/ Malfunction indicator lamp
CAUTION
If the CHECK ENGINE light comes on while you are driving, have
your vehicle checked/repaired by your SUBARU dealer as soonas possible. Continued vehicle operation without having the
emission control system checked and repaired as necessarycould cause serious damage, which may not be covered by your
vehicle’ s warranty.
If this lig ht c omes on stead ily or b links while the eng ine is running , it may
ind ic ate that there is a p rob lem or p otential p rob l em somewhere in the
emission c ontrol system.
If the light comes on steadily:
If the lig ht c omes on stead ily while d riving or d oe s not g o out after the
eng ine starts, an emission c ontrol system malfunc ti on has b een d e-
tec ted .
You should have your vehic le c hec ked b y an authoriz ed SUBARU
d ealer immed iately.

3-8NOTE This light also comes on when the fuel filler cap is not tightened until it clicks.
If you have rec ently refueled your vehic le, the c au
se of the CHECK
ENGINE warning lig ht/malfunc tion ind ic ator lamp c om ing on c ould b e
a loose or missing fuel filler c ap . Remove the c ap and retig hten it until
it c lic ks. Make sure nothing is interfering with th e sealing of the c ap .
Tig htening the c ap will not make the CHECK ENGINE w arning lig ht
turn off immed iately. It may take several d riving t rip s. If the lig ht d oes
not g o out, take your vehic le to your authorized SU BARU d ealer
immed iately. If the light is blinking:
If the lig ht is b linking while d riving , an eng ine m isfire c ond ition has
b een d etec ted whic h may d amag e the emission c ontrol system.
To p revent serious d amag e to the emission c ontrol s ystem, you
should d o the following : Red uc e vehic le sp eed .
Avoid hard ac c eleration.
Avoid steep up hill g rad es.
Red uc e the amount of c arg o, if p ossib le.
Stop towing a trailer as soon as p ossib le.
The CHECK ENGINE warning lig ht may stop b linking an d c ome on
stead ily after several d riving trip s. You should ha ve your vehic le
c hec ked b y an authorized SUBARU d ealer immed iately.
ABS warning light (for vehicles with ABS)
The ABS warning lig ht c omes on when the ig nition sw itc h is turned to the
“ ON ” p osition and g oes out after ab out two sec ond s.
This is an ind ic ation that the ABS system is workin g p rop erly.
If the warning lig ht b ehaves as follows, the ABS sy stem may not work
p rop erly. The warning lig ht d oes not c ome on when the ig nitio n switc h is turned
to the “ON ” p osition.
(U.S.)
(Canada)
ABS

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The warning lig ht c omes on when the ig nition switc h is turned to the
“ ON ” p osition, b ut it d oes not g o out even when the veh ic le sp eed
exc eed s ap p roximately 8 mp h (12 km/h). The warning lig ht c omes on d uring d riving .
When the warning lig ht is on, the ABS func tion shut s d own; however, the
c onventional b rake system c ontinues to op erate norm ally. If this oc c urs,
have the ABS system rep aired at the first availab le op p ortunity b y your
SUBARU d ealer. NOTE
If the warning light behavior is as shown below, the ABS system may be considered normal. The warning light comes on right after the engine is started but
goes out immediately, remaining off. The warning light remains on after the engine has been started,
but it goes out when the vehicle speed reaches about 8 mph (12km/h). The warning light comes on during driving, but it goes out
immediately and remains off.When driving with an insufficient battery voltage such as when theengine is jump started, the ABS warning light may come on. This isdue to the low battery voltage and does not indicate a malfunction.When the battery becomes fully charged, the light will go out. AT OIL TEMPerature warning light
(for AT vehicles)
If this lig ht c omes on when the eng ine is running , it may ind ic ate that the
automatic transmission fluid temp erature is too hot .
If the lig ht c omes on while d riving , it is unnec ess ary to stop the vehic le,
b ut avoid d riving up steep g rad es or in stop and g o traffic .
Automatic transmission control system warning
If the lig ht flashes after the eng ine starts, it ma y ind ic ate that the auto-
matic transmission c ontrol system is not working p r op erly. Contac t
your nearest SUBARU d ealer for servic e immed iately.

3-10
Door open warning lights
The d oor op en warning lig ht c omes on if any d oor or the rear g ate is not
fully c losed .
Always make sure this lig ht is out b efore you start to d rive.
Front-wheel drive warning light (for AT vehicles)
This lig ht c omes on when All Wheel Drive is d iseng a g ed and the d rive
mec hanism is switc hed to Front Wheel Drive for main tenanc e or similar
p urp oses. Turn signal indicator lights
These lig hts show the op eration of the turn sig nal or lane c hang e sig nal.
If the ind ic ator lig hts d o not b link or b link rap id ly, the turn sig nal b ulb
may b e b urned out. Rep lac e the b ulb as soon as p oss ib le. Refer to “Re-
p lac ing b ulb s ” sec tion in Chap ter 10.
High beam indicator
This lig ht shows that the head lig hts are in the hig h b eam mod e.
This ind ic ator lig ht also c omes on when op erating h ead lig ht flasher.

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Hazard warning flasher
HS0053
The hazard warning flasher is used to warn other d r
ivers when you have
to p ark your vehic le und er emerg enc y c ond itions. Th e hazard warning
flasher works with the ig nition switc h in any p osit ion.
When you have to p ark your vehic le und er emerg enc y c ond itions, p ull off
the road s safely and p ark away from the traffic if it is p ossib le.
To turn on the hazard warning flasher, p ush the haz ard warning b utton
on the instrument p anel. To turn off the flasher, p ush the b utton ag ain.
NOTE When the hazard warning flasher is on, the turn signals do not work.
Light control switch
WARNING
To prevent battery discharge resulting from accidentally leaving your lights on when your vehicle is parked, the light switch oper-ates only when the ignition switch is in the “ON” position. In any
other position, the vehicle ’s lights will be out. If you park your ve-
hicle on a roadside at night, use the hazard warning flasher toalert the other drivers.

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To flash the head lig hts, p ull the lever toward you
and then release it.
The hig h b eam will stay on for as long as you hold the lever. The
head lig ht flasher works even thoug h the lig hting sw itc h is in the “OFF ”
p osition.
When the head lig hts are on hig h b eam, the hig h b eam ind ic ator lig ht
“ a ” on the instrment p anel also c omes on.
Daytime running light system (for CANADA models)
WARNING
The tail lights, parking lights, and side marker lights are not turned on by the daytime running light system. The light switchmust always be turned to the “a ” position when it is dark out-
side.
The low b eam head lig hts will automatic ally c ome on at red uc ed
b rig htness when the eng ine has started , und er the f ollowing c ond i-
tions: The p arking b rake is fully released .
The automatic transmission selec tor lever is set at other than
the “P ” p osition.
The lig ht switc h is in the “OFF ” p osition.

3-16Fog light switch (if equipped)
The fog lig hts op erate only when the head lig hts are
on low b eam.
Push the fog lig ht switc h to turn the fog lig hts on .
Press the switc h ag ain to turn them off.
HB2025BB
The ind ic ator lig ht loc ated on the switc h will illu minate when the fog
lig hts are on.
Wiper and washer
WARNING
In freezing weather, do not use the windshield washer until the
windshield is sufficiently warmed by the defroster.Otherwise the washer fluid can freeze on the windshield, blocking
your view.
CAUTION
Do not operate the washer continuously for more than ten se-
conds, or when the washer fluid tank is empty. This may cause
overheating of the washer motor. Check the washer fluid level fre-
quently, such as at fuel stops.

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Mirrors
Always c hec k that the insid e and outsid e mirrors ar
e p rop erly ad justed
b efore you start d riving . Inside mirror
HB4003BB
The insid e mirror has a d ay and nig ht p osition. Pul l the tab at the b ottom
of the mirror toward you for the nig ht p osition. Pu sh it away for the d ay
p osition. The nig ht p osition red uc es g lare from hea d lig hts.
Outside mirrors
WARNING
Objects look smaller in a convex mirror (passenger side) and far-
ther away than when viewed in a flat mirror. Do not use the con-vex mirror to judge the distances of vehicles behind you whenchanging lanes. Use the inside mirror (or glance backwards) todetermine the actual size and distance of objects that you view in
the convex mirror.

4-4
Air inlet selection lever
WARNING
Continued operaton in the “
” position may fog up the win-
dows. Switch to the “
” position as soon as the outside
dusty condition clears.
: Interior air is rec irc ulated insid e the p asseng er c omp arment.
: Outsid e air is d rawn into the p asseng er c omp artme nt.
Air conditioner button (if equipped)
The air c ond itioner op erates only when the eng ine i s running .
Push the air c ond itioner b utton while the fan is in op eration to turn on
the air c ond itioner. The ind ic ator lig ht will c ome on.
Push it ag ain to turn off the air c ond itioner.
Heater operation Defrosting or defogging the windshield
HS0073
HS0072
To d irec t warm air to the wind shield and front d oor wind ows:
1. Set the air inlet selec tion lever to the “
” p osition.
2. Set the air outlet c ontrol d ial to the “
” p osition.
3. Turn the temp erature c ontrol d ial all the way rig ht.
4. Set the fan sp eed c ontrol lever to the hig hest sp eed .