engine SUBARU OUTBACK 2001 3.G Owner's Guide

7-12
Shifting speeds
n Recommended shifting speeds
The b est c omp romise b etween fuel ec onomy and vehic l e p erfor-
manc e d uring normal d riving is ensured b y shifting up at the sp eed s
listed in the following tab le.
Shift up
mp h (km/h)
1st to 2nd15 (24)
2nd to 3rd25 (40)
3rd to 4th40 (65)
4th to 5th45 (73)
nMaximum allowable speeds
WARNING
When shifting down a gear, ensure that the vehicle is not travel- ling at a speed exceeding the Maximum Allowable Speed for thegear which is about to be selected. Failure to observe this pre-caution can lead to engine over-revving and this in turn canresult in engine damage.In addition, sudden application of engine brakes when the vehicleis travelling on a slippery surface can lead to wheel locking; as a
consequence, control of the vehicle may be lost and the risk ofan accident increased.
The following tab le shows the maximum sp eed s that a re p ossib le with
eac h d ifferent g ear.
Never exc eed the sp eed limit b elow for eac h g ear p o sition exc ep t for
b rief ac c eleration in an emerg enc y. The tac hometer ’s need le (if so
eq uip p ed ) will enter the red area if these sp eed s a re exc eed ed . Fail-
ure to ob seve this p rec aution c an lead to exc essive eng ine wear and
p oor fuel ec onomy.

7-14Automatic transmission
WARNING
Do not shift from the “P” or “N” position into the “D”, “3”, “2”,
“1” or “R” position while depressing the accelerator pedal. This
may cause the vehicle to jump forward or backward.
CAUTION
Shift into the “P” or “R” position only after the vehicle is com-
pletely stopped. Shifting while the vehicle is moving may cause
damage to the transmission. Do not race the engine for more than five seconds in any posi-
tion except the “N” or “P” position when the brake is set or the
tires are on blocks. This may cause the automatic transmissionfluid to overheat. Avoid shifting from one of the forward driving positions into
the “R” position or vice versa until the vehicle has completely
stopped. Such shifting may cause damage to the transmission.
The automatic transmission is elec tronic ally c ontro lled with 4-forward
sp eed s and 1-reverse sp eed .
NOTE
Immediately after a disconnected battery is reconnected or ATF (au- tomatic transmission fluid) is replaced, you may feel that the auto-matic transmission operation is somewhat unusual.This results from erasure or invalidation of data the on-board com-puter has collected and stored in memory to allow the transmissionto shift at the most appropriate times for the current condition ofyour vehicle. Optimized shifting will be restored as the vehicle con-tinues to be driven for a while.

7-16
N (Neutral)
WARNING
Do not drive the vehicle with the selector lever in the “N” (neutral)
position. Engine braking has no effect in this condition and the risk of an accident is consequently increased.
This p osition is for restarting a stalled eng ine.
In this p osition the wheels and transmission are no t loc ked . In this
p osition, the transmission is neutral; the vehic le will roll freely, even on
the slig htest inc line unless the p arking b rake or f oot b rake is on.
D (Drive)
This p osition is for normal d riving .
The transmission automatic ally shifts into a suitab le g ear from 1st to
4th ac c ord ing to the vehic le sp eed and the ac c elera tion you req uire.
When more ac c eleration is req uired in this p osition , p ress the ac c eler-
ator p ed al fully to the floor and hold that p ositio n. The transmission
will automatic ally d ownshift to 3rd , 2nd or 1st g ea r. When you release
the p ed al, the transmission will return to the orig inal g ear p osition.
n While climbing a grade
When d riving up a hill, und esired up shift to 4th g e ar is p revented from
taking p lac e when the ac c elerator is released . This minimizes the
c hanc e of sub seq uent d ownshifting to a lower g ear w hen ac c elerat-
ing ag ain. This p revents rep eated up shifting and d o wnshifting result-
ing in a smoother op eration of the vehic le. NOTE
The transmission may downshift to 2nd or 1st gear, depending on the way the accelerator pedal is pressed to accelerate the vehicleagain. n While going down a hill
When d esc end ing a steep hill, d ep ressing the b rake p ed al will c ause
the transmission to d ownshift to 3rd g ear, thus ap p lying eng ine b rak-
ing . Reac c eleration for a short time will c ause the transmission to up -

Starting and operating7-17
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shift normally. NOTE In some cases, depressing the brake pedal on a downhill grade
does not result in an automatic downshift to 3rd gear. This canhappen when the automatic transmission fluid temperature is
very low, for example, during driving shortly after the vehicle has
been parked for an extended period of time. When the ATF tem-perature has risen to a certain level, automatic downshift normal-ly takes place. In the meantime, downshift manually for enginebraking as required.Also, downshifting when braking downhill will not occur at
speeds above approximately 50 mph (80 km/h).
3 (Third)
This p osition is for using eng ine b raking when g oin g d own a hill or for
c limb ing a g rad e.
The transmission automatic ally shifts into a suitab le g ear from 1st to
3rd ac c ord ing to the vehic le sp eed and the ac c elera tion you req uire.
When more ac c eleration is req uired in this p osition , p ress the ac c eler-
ator p ed al fully to the floor and hold that p ositio n. The transmission
will automatic ally d ownshift to 2nd or 1st g ear. Wh en you release the
p ed al, the transmission will return to the orig inal g ear p osition.
2 (Second)
This p osition is for using eng ine b raking when g oin g d own a hill or for
c limb ing a steep g rad e.
In this p osition, the transmission hold s in the 2nd g ear.
Use this p osition when starting off from a stand sti ll on slip p ery road
surfac es suc h as mud or snow. It will ensure g reate r trac tion.
1 (First)
This p osition is for d riving up or d own very steep g rad es, or d riving
throug h mud or sand , or on slip p ery surfac es. In th is p osition, the
transmission hold s in the 1st g ear.

7-18
Maximum speeds
WARNING
When shifting down a gear, ensure that the vehicle is not travel- ling at a speed exceeding the Maximum Allowable Speed for thegear which is about to be selected. Failure to observe this pre-caution can lead to engine over-revving and this in turn canresult in engine damage.In addition, sudden application of engine brakes when the vehicleis travelling on a slippery surface can lead to wheel locking; as a
consequence, control of the vehicle may be lost and the risk ofan accident increased.
The following tab les show the maximum sp eed s that a re p ossib le with
eac h d ifferent g ear. The tac hometer ’s (if so eq uip p ed ) need le will
enter the red area if these sp eed s are exc eed ed .
When shifting d own a g ear, it is imp ortant to c onfi rm that the c urrent
vehic le sp eed is not in exc ess of the Maximum Allow ab le Sp eed of
the g ear whic h is ab out to b e selec ted .
Exc eed ing the Maximum Allowab le Sp eed s will result in over-revving
of the eng ine. In ad d ition a p owerful eng ine b rake will eng ag e and
c ontrol of the vehic le may b e lost.
mph (km/h)
Vehicle
typeBrighton LGTOUTBACK
PositiontypeBrighton, LGT2.5 liter3.0 liter
135 (56)29 (47)31 (50)35 (57)
264 (103)58 (93)62 (100)69 (111)
3100 (161)96 (154)102 (164)111 (178)
NOTE In order to prevent over-revving during acceleration of the
vehicle, the transmission will automatically shift to the next high- est gear if the Maximum Allowable Speed for the current gear isexceeded.

7-206. Remove the sc rewd river from the hole. Dep ress the
b rake p ed al and
start the eng ine.
Take your vehic le to the nearest SUBARU d ealer imme d iately to have the
system rep aired . Rear viscous limited slip differential (LSD) (if equipped)
CAUTION
Never start the engine while a tire on one side is jacked up, as
the vehicle may move. If one rear tire is spinning in mud, avoid continued spinning at
high speed as this could adversely affect the LSD. If a different size rear tire is temporarily used (as in an emer-
gency), it will adversely affect the LSD. Always replace it with aregular size tire as soon as possible.
The LSD p rovid es op timum d istrib ution of p ower ac c o rd ing to the d iffer-
enc e in revolutions b etween the rig ht and left rear wheels that may b e
c aused b y c ertain d riving c ond itions, thereb y imp ro ving d riving stab ility
on snow-c overed , mud d y or other slip p ery road s. Power steering
CAUTION
Do not hold the steering wheel at the fully locked position left or right for more than five seconds. This may damage the powersteering pump.
The p ower steering system op erates only when the en g ine is running .
If you lose p ower steering assist b ec ause the eng in e stop s or the system
fails to func tion, you c an steer b ut it will take m uc h more effort.

Starting and operating7-21
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CONTINUED –
NOTE Right after the engine has been started and before it has warmed up, you may hear a noise coming from areas adjacent to the powersteering pump which is located at the right-front area of the enginecompartment. This noise is normal. It does not indicate power steer-ing 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 wearon the brake pads and linings.
When the brakes get wet
When d riving in rain or after washing the vehic le, the b rakes may g et
wet. As a result, b rake stop p ing d istanc e will b e l ong er. To d ry the
b rakes, d rive the vehic le at a safe sp eed while lig htly d ep ressing the
b rake p ed al to heat up the b rakes. Use of engine braking
Rememb er to make use of eng ine b raking in ad d ition to foot b raking .
When d esc end ing a g rad e, if only the foot b rake is used , the b rakes
may start working imp rop erly b ec ause of b rake fluid overheating ,
c aused b y overheated b rake p ad s. To help p revent th is, shift into a
lower g ear to g et strong er eng ine b raking . Braking when a tire is punctured
Do not d ep ress the b rake p ed al sud d enly when a tire is p unc tured .
This c ould c ause a loss of c ontrol of the vehic le. Keep d riving straig ht
ahead while g rad ually red uc ing sp eed . Then slowly p ull off the road
to a safe p lac e.

Starting and operating7-25
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CONTINUED –
NOTE
If the warning light behavior is as described below, the ABS sys- tem 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 8mph (12 km/h). The warning light comes on during driving, but it goes out
immediately and remains off.
When d riving with an insuffic ient b attery voltag e s uc h as when the en-
g ine is jump started , the ABS warning lig ht may c om e on. This is d ue
to the low b attery voltag e and d oes not ind ic ate a malfunc tion. When
the b attery b ec omes fully c harg ed , the lig ht will g o out.
VDC (Vehicle Dynamics Control) system (if equipped)
WARNING
Always use the utmost care in driving — overconfidence because
you are driving with a VDC system equipped vehicle could easily lead to a serious accident.
CAUTION
Even if your vehicle is equipped with VDC, winter tires or snow
chains should be used when driving on snow-covered or icyroads; in addition, vehicle speed should be reduced consider-
ably. Simply having a VDC system does not guarantee that the
vehicle will be able to avoid accidents in any situation. Activation of the VDC system is an indication that the road
being travelled on has a slippery surface; since having VDC is no
guarantee that full vehicle control will be maintained at all timesand under all conditions, its activation should be seen as a sign
that the speed of the vehicle should be reduced considerably.

Starting and operating7-27
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CONTINUED –
ind ic ator lig ht will flash on and off when this sys
tem ac tivates.
NOTE Slight twitching of the brake pedal may be felt when the VDC-sys-
tem operates; a small degree of vehicle or steering wheel shaking may also be noticed in this situation. These are normal effects of
VDC operation and are no cause for alarm. When driving off immediately after starting the engine, a short-
lived operation noise may be noticed coming from the enginecompartment. This noise is generated as a result of a check beingperformed on the VDC system and is normal. Depending on the timing of activation of the brakes, certain situa-
tions may occur just after driving off where the brake pedal seemsto exhibit a jolting motion. This too is a consequence of the VDCoperational check and is normal. Activation of the VDC system will cause operation of the steering
wheel to feel slightly different compared to that for normal condi-tions. Even if the vehicle is equipped with a VDC system, it is important
that winter tires be used when driving on snow-covered or icyroads. (All four wheels should be fitted with tires of the same sizeand brand). Furthermore, if snow chains are to be used, they shouldbe fitted on the front wheels. When a vehicle is fitted with snow
chains, however, the effectiveness of the VDC system is reduced
and this should be taken into account when driving the vehicle insuch a condition. It is always important to reduce speed when approaching a cor-
ner, even if the vehicle is equipped with VDC. All four wheels should be fitted with tires of the same size, type,
and brand; furthermore, the amount of wear should be the same for
all four tires. If these precautions are not observed and non-match-ing tires are used, it is quite possible that the VDC system will beunable to operate correctly as intended. Always turn off the engine before replacing a tire as failure to do
so may render the VDC system unable to operate correctly.

7-28
VDC system monitor
HB4010FB
nVDC OFF indicator light
The VDC OFF ind ic ator lig ht turns on initially when the ig nition key
is turned to the ON p osition; it sub seq uently turns off 6 sec ond s after
the eng ine is started . This lig ht turns on to ind ic ate that the VDC and TC S systems are in
non-op eration (read y) mod e. This d oes not c onstitut e failure of the
VDC system. NOTE When the engine is started on cold mornings and in other sim-
ilar circumstances, a certain amount of time may pass before the
VDC OFF indicator light turns off. This occurs because the
engine has not yet warmed up and is completely normal. The
light will turn off when the engine has reached a suitable operat-ing temperature. When an engine problem occurs and the CHECK ENGINE
warning light turns on, the VDC OFF indicator light will also turnon. Depending on the type of gasoline used, it may take sometime
before the light goes out after the engine has been started.
The following two situations c ould ind ic ate malfunc tion of the VDC
system; if either should oc c ur, have an authorized SUBARU d ealer
c arry out an insp ec tion of that system at the first availab le op p ortunity.