tow SUBARU OUTBACK 2000 3.G Owner's Guide

8-34Connec tion of trailer lig hts to your vehic le
’s elec tric al system req uires
mod ific ations to the vehic le ’s lig hting c irc uit to inc rease its c ap ac ity
and ac c ommod ate wiring c hang es. To ensure the trail er lig hts are
c onnec ted p rop erly, p lease c onsult your SUBARU d eal er. Chec k for
p rop er op eration of the turn sig nals, the b rake lig hts and p arking
lig hts eac h time you hitc h up . n Tires
WARNING
Never tow a trailer when the temporary spare tire is used. The temporary spare tire is not designed to sustain the towing load.
Use of the temporary spare tire when towing can result in failureof the spare tire and/or less stability of the vehicle.
Make sure that all the tires on your vehic le are p r op erly inflated .
OUTBACK: The rec ommend ed c old tire p ressure und er trailer
towing c ond itions is ind ic ated on the tire p lac ard loc ated und er the
d oor striker on the d river ’s sid e. Ad just the rear tire p ressure to the
rec ommend ed p ressure shown on the tire p lac ard when the tires
are c old . Normal p ressure should b e maintained in t he front tires.
Other models: It is rec ommend ed to inflate the rear tires to 3 p si
(20 kPa, 0.2 kg /c m 2
) ab ove their normal op erating p ressure when
the tires are c old . Normal p ressure should b e maint ained in the
front tires.
Trailer tire c ond ition, size, load rating and p rop e r inflation p ressure
should b e in ac c ord anc e with the trailer manufac tur er’s sp ec ific ations.
In the event your vehic le g ets a flat tire when tow ing a trailer, ask a
c ommerc ial road servic e to rep air the flat tire.
If you c arry a reg ular size sp are tire in your vehi c le or trailer as a p re-
c aution ag ainst g etting a flat tire, b e sure that t he sp are tire is firmly
sec ured .

Driving tips8-35
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Trailer towing tips CAUTION
Never exceed 45 mph (72 km/h) when towing a trailer in hilly
country on hot days. When towing a trailer, steering, stability, stopping distance and
braking performance will be different from normal operation. For
safety’ s sake, you should employ extra caution when towing a
trailer and you should never speed. You should also keep the fol-lowing tips in mind:
n Before starting out on a trip
Chec k that the vehic le and vehic le-to-hitc h mountin g are in g ood
c ond ition. If any p rob lems are ap p arent, d o not tow the trailer.
Chec k that the vehic le sits horizontally with the t railer attac hed . If
the vehic le is tip p ed sharp ly up at the front and d own at the rear,
c hec k the total trailer weig ht, GVW, GAWs and tong u e load ag ain,
then c onfirm that the load and its d istrib ution are ac c ep tab le.
Chec k that the tire p ressures are c orrec t.
Chec k that the vehic le and trailer are c onnec ted p r op erly. Confirm
that. –the trailer tong ue is c onnec ted p rop erly to the hit c h b all.
– the trailer lig hts c onnec tor is c onnec ted p rop erly and trailer’s
b rake lig hts illuminate when the vehic le ’s b rake p ed al is p ressed ,
and that the trailer ’s turn sig nal lig hts flash when the vehic le ’s turn
sig nal lever is op erated .
– the safety c hains are c onnec ted p rop erly.
– all c arg o in the trailer is sec ured safety in p osit ion.
– the sid e mirrors p rovid e a g ood rearward field of v iew without a
sig nific ant b lind sp ot.
Suffic ient time should b e taken to learn the “feel ” of the vehic le/
trailer c omb ination b efore starting out on a trip . In an area free of traf-
fic , p rac tic e turning , stop p ing and b ac king up .

8-36n
Driving with a trailer
You should allow for c onsid erab ly more stop p ing d is tanc e when
towing a trailer. Avoid sud d en b raking b ec ause it m ay result in skid -
d ing or jac kknifing and loss of c ontrol. Avoid ab rup t starts and sud d en ac c elerations. If yo ur vehic le has a
manual transmission, always start out in first g ear and release the
c lutc h at mod erate eng ine revolution. Avoid uneven steering , sharp turns and rap id lane c hang es.
Slow d own b efore turning . Make a long er than normal turning
rad ius b ec ause the trailer wheels will b e c loser th an the vehic le
wheels to the insid e of the turn. In a tig ht turn, the trailer c ould hit your
vehic le. Crosswind s will ad versely affec t the hand ling of yo ur vehic le and
trailer, c ausing sway. Crosswind s c an b e d ue to wea ther c ond itions or
the p assing of larg e truc ks or b uses. If swaying oc c urs, firmly g rip the
steering wheel and slow d own immed iately b ut g rad ua lly.
When p assing other vehic les, c onsid erab le d istanc e is req uired
b ec ause of the ad d ed weig ht and leng th c aused b y at tac hing the
trailer to your vehic le. Bac king up with a trailer is d iffic ult and takes p r ac tic e. When b ac k-
ing up with a trailer, never ac c elerate or steer ra p id ly. When turning
b ac k, g rip the b ottom of the steering wheel with on e hand and turn it
to the left for a left turn, and turn it to the rig ht for a rig ht turn.
Left turnRight turn
OM-H2791
If the ABS warning lig ht illuminates while the vehi c le is in motion,
stop towing the trailer and have rep airs p erformed immed iately b y the

Driving tips8-37
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nearest SUBARU d ealer. n
Driving on grades
Before g oing d own a steep hill, slow d own and shift into lower g ear
(if nec essary, use 1st g ear) in ord er to utilize th e eng ine b raking effec t
and p revent overheating of your vehic le ’s b rakes. Do not make sud -
d en d ownshifts. When d riving up hill in hot weather, the air c ond iti oner may turn off
automatic ally to p rotec t the eng ine from overheatin g .
When d riving up hill in hot weather, p ay attention t o the water tem-
p erature g aug e p ointer (for all vehic les) and AT OI L TEMP warning
lig ht (for AT vehic les) sinc e the eng ine and transm ission are relatively
p rone to overheating und er these c ond itions. If the water temp erature
g aug e p ointer ap p roac hes the OVERHEAT zone or the A T OIL TEMP
warning lig ht illuminates, immed iately switc h off t he air c ond itioner
and stop the vehic le at the nearest safe p lac e. Ref er to the “Eng ine
overheat ” sec tion in c hap ter 9, and “Warning and ind ic ator lig hts ”
sec tion in c hap ter 3. If your vehic le has a automatic transmission, avoid using the ac c el-
erator p ed al to stay stationary on an up hill slop e instead of using the
p arking b rake or foot b rake. That may c ause the tra nsmission fluid to
overheat. Also, if your vehic le is eq uip p ed with an automatic transmis-
sion, avoid d riving with the g ear selec tor lever in “ D ” when towing a
heavy trailer to p revent fluid overheating . n Parking on a grade
Always b loc k the wheels und er b oth vehic le and trai ler when p arking .
Ap p ly the p arking b rake firmly. You should not p ark on a hill or slop e.
But if p arking on a hill or slop e c annot b e avoid ed , you should take
the following step s:
1. Ap p ly the b rakes and hold the p ed al d own.
2. Have someone p lac e wheel b loc ks und er b oth the ve hic le and
trailer wheels.
3. When the wheel b loc ks are in p lac e, release the r eg ular b rakes
slowly until the b loc ks ab sorb the load .
4. Ap p ly the reg ular b rakes and then ap p ly the p arki ng b rake; slowly
release the reg ular b rakes.

9
In case of emergency
If you park your vehicle in an emergency 9-2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Temporary spare tire 9-3
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Flat tires 9-4
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Jump starting 9-11
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Engine overheating 9-13
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Towing 9-14
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Moonroof — if the moonroof cannot be closed 9-24 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Maintenance tools 9-26
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Jack and jack handle 9-26
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

In case of emergency9-3
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Temporary spare tire
WARNING
Never tow a trailer when the temporary spare tire is used. The temporary spare tire is not designed to sustain the towing load.
Use of the temporary spare tire when towing can result in failureof the spare tire and/or less stability of the vehicle and may leadto an accident.
CAUTION
Never use any temporary spare tire other than the original. Usingother sizes may result in severe mechanical damage to the drivetrain of your vehicle.
The temp orary sp are tire is smaller and lig hter tha n a c onventional tire
and is d esig ned for emerg enc y use only. Remove the temp orary sp are
tire and re-install the c onventional tire as soon a s p ossib le b ec ause the
sp are tire is d esig ned only for temp orary use.
Chec k the inflation p ressure of the temp orary sp are tire p eriod ic ally to
keep the tire read y for use. The c orrec t p ressure i s 60 psi (420 kPa, 4.2
kg/cm 2
).
When using the temp orary sp are tire, note the follo wing :
Do not exc eed 50 mp h (80 km/h).
Do not p ut a tire c hain on the temp orary sp are tire . Bec ause of the
smaller tire size, a tire c hain will not fit p rop er ly.
Do not use two or more temp orary sp are tires at the same time.
Do not d rive over ob stac les. This tire has a smalle r d iameter, so
road c learanc e is red uc ed . When the wear ind ic ator ap p ears on the tread , rep la c e the tire.

9-144. After the eng ine has fully c ooled d own, c hec k the
c oolant level in
the reserve tank.
If the c oolant level is b elow the “MIN ” mark, ad d c oolant up to the
“ MAX ” mark.
5. If there is no c oolant in the reserve tank, ad d c oolant to the reserve
tank. Then remove the rad iator c ap and fill the rad iator with c oolant.
If you remove the rad iator c ap from a hot rad iator, first wrap a thic k
c loth around the rad iator c ap , then turn the c ap c o unterc loc kwise
slowly without p ressing d own until it stop s. Releas e the p ressure from
the rad iator. After the p ressure has b een fully rel eased , remove the
c ap b y p ressing d own and turning it.
Towing
WARNING
Never tow AWD vehicles (both AT and MT) with the front wheelsraised off the ground while the rear wheels are on the ground, orwith the rear wheels raised off the ground while the front wheelsare on the ground. This will cause the vehicle to spin away due tothe operation or deterioration of the center differential.
HB8009BA
If towing is nec essary, it is b est d one b y your SUB ARU d ealer or a c om-
merc ial towing servic e. Ob serve the following p roc e d ures for safety.

In case of emergency9-15
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Towing and tie-down hooks CAUTION
Never use the tie-down hook closest to the muffler under the
vehicle for towing purposes. Do not apply excessive lateral load to the towing hooks.
HB8012BB HB9005BB
HB9004BB
Towing and tie-down hook

9-16
HB8013BBTie-down hookTie-down hook
HB9010BB
The towing hooks should b e used only in an emerg ency (e.g ., to free
a stuc k vehic le from mud , sand or snow).
The front towing hook is loc ated on the insid e of t he towing hook c ov-
er b elow the rig ht-hand head lig ht.

In case of emergency9-17
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n
Towing hook cover removal procedure
For except OUTBACK models:
HB9013BB
1. Push at the notc hed p ortion A, and p ull the towing hook c over to-
ward you.
HB9014BB
2. Insert your fing ers und er the raised p ortion B. Then, p ull it toward
you so that the towing hook c over may swing op en. R emove the c ov-
er.