warning SUBARU FORESTER 2000 SF / 1.G Owners Manual

In case of emergency8-13
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CONTINUED –
HS0374
Towing with all wheels on the ground
WARNING
Never turn the ignition switch to the “LOCK” position while the
vehicle is being towed because the steering wheel and the direc- tion of the wheels will be locked. Remember that the brake booster and power steering do not
function when the engine is not running. Because the engine isturned off, it will take greater effort to operate the brake pedal andsteering wheel.
CAUTION
If transmission failure occurs, transport your vehicle on a flat-
bed truck. For AWD vehicles, the traveling speed must be limited to less
than 20 mph (30 km/h) and the traveling distance to less than 31
miles (50 km). For greater speeds and distances, transport your
vehicle on a flat-bed truck.

Maintenance and service10-3
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Maintenance schedule
The sc hed uled maintenanc e items req uired to b e serv
ic ed at reg ular in-
tervals are shown in the “Warranty and Maintenanc e Booklet ”.
For d etails of your maintenanc e sc hed ule, read the sep arate “Warranty
and Maintenanc e Booklet ”.
Maintenance precautions
When maintenanc e and servic e are req uired , it is re c ommend ed that all
work b e d one b y an authorized SUBARU d ealer.
If you p erform maintenanc e and servic e b y yourself, you should familiar-
ize yourself with the information p rovid ed in this sec tion on g eneral main-
tenanc e and servic e for your SUBARU.
Inc orrec t or inc omp lete servic e c ould c ause imp rop e r or unsafe vehic le
op eration. Any p rob lems c aused b y imp rop er maintena nc e and servic e
p erformed b y you are not elig ib le for warranty c ove rag e.
WARNING
Testing of an All-Wheel Drive vehicle must NEVER be per-
formed on a single two-wheel dynamometer or similar apparatus nor should you install the FWD fuse in the engine compartment.Attempting to do so will result in transmission damage and inuncontrolled vehicle movement and may cause an accident or
injuries to persons nearby. Always select a safe area when performing maintenance on
your vehicle. Always be very careful to avoid injury when working on the ve-
hicle. Remember that some of the materials in the vehicle may behazardous if improperly used or handled, for example, batteryacid. Your vehicle should only be serviced by persons fully compe-
tent to do so. Serious personal injury may result to persons not
experienced in servicing vehicles.

10-8
Changing the oil and oil filter
Chang e the oil and oil filter ac c ord ing to the main tenanc e sc hed ule in
the “Warranty and Maintenanc e Booklet ”.
The eng ine oil and oil filter must b e c hang ed more freq uently than
listed in the maintenanc e sc hed ule when d riving on d usty road s,
when short trip s are freq uently mad e when towing a trailer, or when
d riving in extremely c old whether.
1. Warm up the eng ine b y letting the eng ine id le for ab out 10 minutes
to ease d raining the eng ine oil.
2. Park the vehic le on a level surfac e and stop the eng ine.
3. Remove the oil filler c ap .
HS0174
Drain plug
4. Drain out the eng ine oil b y removing the d rain p l ug while the en-
g ine is still warm. The used oil should b e d rained into an ap p rop riate
c ontainer and d isp osed of p rop erly.
WARNING
Be careful not to burn yourself with hot engine oil.
5. Wip e the seating surfac e of the d rain p lug with a c lean c loth and
tig hten it sec urely with a new sealing washer after the oil has c om-
p letely d rained out.

10-12Cooling system
WARNING
Never attempt to remove the radiator cap until the engine has
been shut off and has cooled down completely. Since the coolantis under pressure, you may suffer serious burns from a spray ofboiling hot coolant when the cap is removed.
CAUTION
The cooling system has been filled at the factory with a high
quality, corrosion-inhibiting, year-around coolant which providesprotection against freezing down to –33F ( –36 C). For adding,
use genuine SUBARU coolant or an equivalent: a mixture of 50%
soft water and 50% ethylene-glycol basis coolant. Use of improp-er coolants may result in corrosion in the cooling system. It is im-portant to maintain protection against freezing and corrosion,
even if freezing temperatures are not expected. Never mix differ-ent kinds of coolant. Do not splash the engine coolant over painted parts. The alco-
hol contained in the engine coolant may damage the paint sur-face.
Hose and connections
Your vehic le emp loys an elec tric c ooling fan whic h is thermostatic ally
c ontrolled to op erate when the eng ine c oolant reac h es a sp ec ific tem-
p erature.
If the rad iator c ooling fan d oes not op erate even w hen the eng ine
c oolant temp erature g aug e exc eed s the normal op erat ing rang e, the
c ooling fan c irc uit may b e d efec tive. Chec k the fus e and rep lac e it if
nec essary. If the fuse is not b lown, have the c ooli ng system c hec ked
b y your SUBARU d ealer.
If freq uent ad d ition of c oolant is nec essary, there may b e a leak in the
eng ine c ooling system. It is rec ommend ed that the c ooling system
and c onnec tions b e c hec ked for leaks, d amag e, or lo oseness.

10-14
Changing the coolant
WARNING
Never attempt to remove the radiator cap until the engine has
been shut off and has cooled down completely. Since the coolantis under pressure, you may suffer serious burns from a spray ofboiling hot coolant when the cap is removed.
Chang e the eng ine c oolant in the following p roc ed ur es ac c ord ing to
the maintenanc e sc hed ule in the “Warranty and Maintenanc e Book-
let ”.
1. Remove the und er c over.
2. Plac e a p rop er c ontainer und er the d rain p lug and loosen the d rain
p lug .
HSA002BB
HSA001BB
3. Loosen the rad iator c ap to d rain the c oolant from the rad iator. Then
d rain the c oolant from the reserve tank. Tig hten th e d rain p lug sec ure-
ly.
4. Install the und er c over.

10-16rad iator
’s filler nec k and to the reserve tank ’s “Full ” level.
9. Put the rad iator c ap and reservoir c ap b ac k on an d tig hten firmly.
Air cleaner element
WARNING
Do not operate the engine with the air cleaner element removed. The air cleaner element not only filters intake air but also stops
flames if the engine backfires. If the air cleaner element is not
installed when the engine backfires, you could be burned.
The air c leaner element func tions as a filter sc ree n. When the element is
p erforated or removed , eng ine wear will b e exc essiv e and eng ine life
shortened .
The air c leaner element is a visc ous typ e. It is un nec essary to c lean or
wash the element.
Replacing the air cleaner element
Rep lac e the air c leaner element ac c ord ing to the ma intenanc e sc hed -
ule in the “Warranty and Maintenanc e Booklet ”. Und er extremely
d usty c ond itions, rep lac e it more freq uently. It is rec ommend ed that
you always use g enuine SUBARU p arts.
HBA003BB
HBA002BB
1. Remove the b olt sec uring the rear air c leaner ele ment c ase.

Maintenance and service10-25
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Power steering fluid
The p ower steering fluid exp and s g reatly as its tem
p erature rises; the
fluid level d iffers ac c ord ing to fluid temp erature. Therefore, the d ip stic k
has two d ifferent c hec king rang es for hot and c old fluid s.
Checking the fluid level when the fluid is hot
WARNING
Be careful not to burn yourself because the fluid may be hot.
CAUTION
When power steering fluid is being added, use only clean fluid,
and be careful not to allow any dirt into the tank. And never use
different brands together. Avoid spilling fluid when adding it in the tank.
Chec k the p ower steering fluid level monthly.
1. Drive the vehic le several miles to raise the temp erature of the p ow-
er steering fluid up to normal op erating temp eratur e, ab out 140F
(60 C).
2. Park the vehic le on a level surfac e, and stop the eng ine.
3. Turn the reservoir c ap c ounterc loc kwise to remove the fluid level
d ip stic k, wip e the d ip stic k c lean, and reinsert it.
HS0186
HS0185
Specified range Specifiedrange

10-264. Remove the d ip stic k ag ain and c hec k the fluid lev
el on it. If it is
b elow the lower level of the “HOT ” rang e, ad d the rec ommend ed
steering fluid up to the sp ec ified rang e of the d ip stic k.
If the fluid level is extreme low, it may ind ic ate p ossib le leakag e. Con-
sult your SUBARU d ealer for insp ec tion. Checking the fluid level when the fluid is cold
When the fluid level has to b e c hec ked without warm ing up the p ower
steering system (ap p roximately 70 F [ 21 C] ), read the fluid level on
the “COLD ” rang e.
Recommended fluid
“ Dexron II ”, “Dexron IIE ” or “Dexron III ” Type Automatic Trans-
mission Fluid
Brake fluid
Checking the fluid level
WARNING
Never let brake fluid contact your eyes because brake fluid can
be harmful to your eyes. If brake fluid gets in your eyes, immedi-
ately flush them thoroughly with clean water. For safety, whenperforming this work, wearing eye protection is advisable. Brake fluid absorbs moisture from the air. Any absorbed mois-
ture can cause a dangerous loss of braking performance. If the vehicle requires frequent refilling, there may be a leak. If
you suspect a problem, have the vehicle checked at your
SUBARU dealer.

10-28Clutch fluid
WARNING
Never let clutch fluid contact your eyes because clutch fluid can
be harmful to your eyes. If clutch fluid gets in your eyes, immedi-
ately flush them thoroughly with clean water. For safety, whenperforming this work, wearing eye protection is advisable.
CAUTION
Clutch fluid absorbs moisture from the air. Any absorbed
moisture can cause improper clutch operation. If the vehicle requires frequent refilling, there may be a leak. If
you suspect a problem, have the vehicle checked at your
SUBARU dealer. Never use different brands of clutch fluid together.
When clutch fluid is added, be careful not to allow any dirt into
the tank.
Chec k the fluid level on the outsid e of the reservo ir. If the level is b elow
“ MIN ” level mark, ad d the rec ommend ed c lutc h fluid to “MAX ” level mark.
Use only c lutc h fluid from a sealed c ontainer.
HSA002FB

Maintenance and service10-29
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CONTINUED –

Recommended clutch fluid
FMVSS No. 116, fresh DOT 3 or 4 brake fluid
Brake booster
If the b rake b ooster d oes not op erate as d esc rib ed b elow, have it
c hec ked b y your SUBARU d ealer.
1. With the eng ine off, d ep ress the b rake p ed al seve ral times, ap p lying
the same p ed al forc e eac h time. The d istanc e the p e d al travels should
not vary.
2. With the b rake p ed al d ep ressed , start the eng ine. The p ed al should
move slig htly d own to the floor.
3. With the b rake p ed al d ep ressed , stop the eng ine a nd keep the p ed al
d ep ressed for 30 sec ond s. The p ed al heig ht should n ot c hang e.
4. Start the eng ine ag ain and run for ab out one minu te then turn it off.
Dep ress the b rake p ed al several times to c hec k the b rake b ooster.
Brake b ooster op erates p rop erly if the p ed al stroke d ec reases with eac h
d ep ression. Battery
WARNING
Before beginning work on or near any battery, be sure to extin-
guish all cigarettes, matches, and lighters. Never expose a bat- tery to an open flame or electric sparks. Batteries give off a gaswhich is highly flammable and explosive. For safety, in case an explosion does occur, wear eye protec-
tion or shield your eyes when working near any battery. Never
lean over a battery. Do not let battery fluid contact eyes, skin, fabrics, or paint be-
cause battery fluid is a corrosive acid. If battery fluid gets on yourskin or in your eyes, immediately flush the area with water thor-
oughly. Seek medical help immediately if acid has entered the