ignition SUBARU FORESTER 2012 SH / 3.G Service Manual

3-20Instruments and controls
turned to the “ON ”position,
but it does not turn off even
when the vehicle speed ex-
ceeds approximately 8 mph
(12 km/h).
– The warning light illuminates
during driving.
. When the warning light is on (and
the brake system warning light is
off), the ABS function shuts
down. However, the conventional
brake system continues to oper-
ate normally.
The ABS warning light illuminates to-
gether with the brake system warning light
if the EBD system malfunctions. For
further details of the EBD system mal-
function warning, refer to “Brake system
warning light ”F 3-20.
NOTE
If the warning light behaves as follows,
the ABS system may be considerednormal. . The warning light illuminates right
after the engine is started but turns off
immediately, remaining off.. The warning light remains on after
the engine has been started, but it
turns off when the vehicle speed
reaches approximately 8 mph (12 km/h)..
The warning light illuminates during
driving, but it turns off immediately and
remains off.
When driving with an insufficient battery
voltage such as when the engine is jump
started, the ABS warning light may illumi-
nate. This is due to the low battery voltage
and does not indicate a malfunction.
When the battery becomes fully charged,
the light will turn off.
& Brake system
warning light
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 illuminated,
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 re-
pair.
This light has the following functions. !
Parking brake warning
The light illuminates with the parking
brake applied while the ignition switch is
in the “ON ”position. It turns off when the
parking brake is fully released. ! Brake fluid level warning
This light illuminates when the brake fluid
level has dropped to near the “MIN ”level
of the brake fluid reservoir with the ignition
switch in the “ON ”position and with the
parking brake fully released.
If the brake system warning light should
illuminate while driving (with the parking
brake fully released and with the ignition
switch positioned in “ON ”), it could be an
indication of leaking of brake fluid or worn
brake pads. If this occurs, immediately
stop the vehicle at the nearest safe place
and check the brake fluid level. If the fluid
level is below the “MIN ”mark in the
reservoir, do not drive the vehicle. Have
the vehicle towed to the nearest SUBARU
dealer for repair. ! Electronic Brake Force Distribution
(EBD) system warning
The EBD system may be malfunctioning if
the brake system warning light and ABS
warning light illuminate simultaneously
during driving.
Even if the EBD system fails, the conven-

tional braking system will still function.
However, the rear wheels will be more
prone to locking when the brakes are
applied harder than usual and the vehi-cle’s motion may therefore become some-
what harder to control.
If the brake system warning light and ABS
warning light illuminate simultaneously,
take the following steps.
1. Stop the vehicle in the nearest safe,
flat place.
2. Shut down the engine, apply the
parking brake and then restart it.
3. Release the parking brake. If both
warning lights turn off, the EBD system
may be malfunctioning. Drive carefully to
the nearest SUBARU dealer and have the
system inspected.
4. If both warning lights illuminate again
and stay illuminated after the engine has
been restarted, shut down the engine
again, apply the parking brake, and check
the brake fluid level.
5. If the brake fluid level is not below the “ MIN ”mark, the EBD system may be
malfunctioning. Drive carefully to the
nearest SUBARU dealer and have the
system inspected.
6. If the brake fluid level is below the “ MIN ”mark, DO NOT drive the vehicle.
Instead, have the vehicle towed to the
nearest SUBARU dealer for repair. &
Low fuel warning light
The low fuel warning light illuminates
when the tank is nearly empty (approxi-
mately 2.6 US gal (10.0 liters, or 2.2 Imp
gal)). It only operates when the ignition
switch is in the “ON ”position. When this
light illuminates, fill the fuel tank immedi-
ately.
NOTE
This light does not turn off unless the
tank is replenished up to an internal
fuel quantity of approximately 4.0 US
gal (15 liters, 3.3 Imp gal).
CAUTION
Promptly put fuel in the tank when-
ever the low fuel warning light
illuminates. Engine misfires as a
result of an empty tank could cause
damage to the engine.
& Hill start assist warning
light (MT models)
While the engine is rotating, if any
malfunction is detected in the Hill start
assist system, the light will illuminate.
WARNING
When the Hill start assist warning
light illuminates, have the vehicle
inspected at an authorized SUBARU
dealer.
& Door open warning light
The door open warning light illuminates if
any door or the rear gate is not fully closed.
Always make sure this light is out before
you start to drive. &All-Wheel Drive warn-
ing light (AT models)
This light illuminates when All-Wheel
Drive is disengaged and the drive me-
chanism is switched to Front Wheel Drive
for maintenance or similar purposes.
This light flashes if the vehicle is driven
with tires of different diameters fitted on
the wheels or with excessively low air
pressure in any of the tires.
CAUTION
Continuing to drive with the AWD
warning light flashing can damage Instruments and controls
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3-22Instruments and controls
the powertrain. If the AWD warning
light starts to flash, promptly park in
a safe place and check whether the
tires have differing diameters and
whether any of the tires has an
excessively low inflation pressure.
& Automatic headlight
beam leveler warning
light (models with HID headlights)
This light illuminates when the automatic
headlight beam leveler does not operate
normally.
If this light illuminates while driving or does
not turn off approximately 3 seconds after
turning the ignition switch to the “ON ”
position, have your vehicle inspected at
your SUBARU dealer. &
Vehicle Dynamics
Control warning light/
Vehicle Dynamics Con-
trol operation indicatorlight
!Vehicle Dynamics Control warning light
CAUTION
The Vehicle Dynamics Control sys-
tem provides its ABS control
through the electrical circuit of the
ABS system. Accordingly, if the ABS
is inoperative, the Vehicle Dynamics
Control system becomes unable to
provide ABS control. As a result, the
Vehicle Dynamics Control system
also becomes inoperative, causing
the warning light to illuminate.
Though both the Vehicle Dynamics
Control and ABS systems are inop-
erative in this case, the ordinary
functions of the brake system are
still available. You will be safe while
driving with this condition, but drive
carefully and have your vehicle
checked at a SUBARU dealer as
soon as possible. NOTE .
If the electrical circuit of the Vehicle
Dynamics Control system itself mal-
functions, only this particular warning
light illuminates. Under these circum-
stances, the ABS (Anti-lock Brake
System) remains fully operational.. The warning light illuminates when
the electronic control system of the
ABS/Vehicle Dynamics Control systemmalfunctions.
The Vehicle Dynamics Control system is
probably inoperative under any of the
following conditions. Have your vehicle
checked at a SUBARU dealer immedi-
ately. . The warning light does not illuminate
when the ignition switch is turned to the “ ON ”position.
. The warning light illuminates while the
vehicle is running. NOTE
If the warning light behavior is as
described in the following examples,
the Vehicle Dynamics Control system
may be considered to be operating
normally. . The warning light illuminates right
after the engine is started but turns off
immediately, remaining off.. The warning light illuminates after

the engine has started and turns off
while the vehicle is subsequently beingdriven..The warning light illuminates during
driving, but it turns off immediately and
remains off. ! Vehicle Dynamics Control opera-
tion indicator light
The indicator light flashes during activa-
tion of the skid suppression function and
during activation of the traction controlfunction. NOTE . The light may remain illuminated for
a short period of time after the engine
has been started, especially in cold
weather. This does not indicate the
existence of a problem. The light
should turn off as soon as the engine
has warmed up.. The indicator light illuminates when
the engine has developed a problem
and the CHECK ENGINE warning light/
malfunction indicator light is on.
The Vehicle Dynamics Control system is
probably malfunctioning under the follow-
ing condition. Have your vehicle checked
at a SUBARU dealer as soon as possible. . The light does not turn off even after
the lapse of several minutes (the engine has warmed up) after the engine has started.
& Vehicle Dynamics
Control OFF indicatorlight
The light illuminates when the Vehicle
Dynamics Control OFF switch is pressed
to deactivate the Vehicle Dynamics Con-
trol system.
The Vehicle Dynamics Control system is
probably malfunctioning under any of the
following conditions. Have your vehicle
checked at a SUBARU dealer immedi-
ately. .The light does not illuminate when the
ignition switch is turned to the “ON ”
position.. The light does not turn off even after a
period of approximately 2 seconds after
the ignition switch has been turned to the“ ON ”position. &
Security indicator light
Type A
Type B
The security indicator light deters potential
thieves by indicating that the vehicle is Instruments and controls
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3-24Instruments and controls
equipped with the security alarm system
and the immobilizer system.
This indicator light shows the status of the
alarm system. It also indicates operation
of the immobilizer system. ! Alarm system
It blinks to show the driver the operational
status of the alarm system. For detailed
information, refer to “Alarm system ”F 2-
14. ! Immobilizer system
This light blinks approximately 60 seconds
after the ignition switch is turned from“ ON ”position to the “Acc ”or “LOCK ”
position or immediately after the key is
pulled out. Refer to “Immobilizer ”F 2-3.
If the indicator light does not flash, it may
indicate that immobilizer system may be
malfunctioning. Contact your nearest
SUBARU dealer immediately.
In the event that an unauthorized key (for
example, an unauthorized duplicate) is
used, the security indicator light illumi-nates.
NOTE
Even if the security indicator light
flashes irregularly or its fuse blows
(the light does not flash if its fuse is
blown), the immobilizer system will function normally.
& SPORT mode indicator
light (AT models)
When the select lever is moved to the
manual gate, the SPORT mode is se-
lected and the indicator light illuminates.
Refer to “SPORT mode ”F 7-20.
& Select lever and gear posi-
tion indicator (AT models)
Type A
Type B
This indicator shows the position of the
select lever.
When the manual mode is selected, the
gear position indicator (which shows the
current gear selection) and the upshift/
downshift indicator light up. Refer to“ Automatic transmission ”F 7-15.
& Turn signal indicator lights
These lights show the operation of the turn
signal or lane change signal.
If the indicator lights do not blink or blink
rapidly, any of the turn signal light bulbs
may be burned out. Replace the bulb as
soon as possible. Refer to “Replacing
bulbs ”F 11-45.

&High beam indicator light
This light shows that the headlights are in
the high beam mode.
This indicator light also illuminates when
the headlight flasher is operated. &Cruise control indica-
tor light
This light illuminates when the “CRUISE ”
main switch is pressed.
If you press the main switch button while
turning the ignition switch “ON ”, the cruise
control function is deactivated and the“ CRUISE ”indicator light flashes. To re-
activate the cruise control function, turn
the ignition switch back to the “Acc ”or
“ LOCK ”position, and then turn it again to
the “ON ”position.
& Cruise control set in-
dicator light
This light illuminates when vehicle cruising
speed has been set. &Front fog light indicator
light (if equipped)
This indicator light is on while the front fog
lights are on. &
Headlight indicator light
This indicator light illuminates when the
headlight switch is placed in the “”or
“” position. Clock
The clock shows the time while the
ignition switch is in the
“Acc ”or “ON ”
position.
The time changes by 1 minute each time the “+ ” button or “ ” button is pressed.
Pressing the “+ ” button moves the dis-
played time forward, while pressing the “ ”
button moves the displayed time back.
Pressing and holding either button
changes the displayed time continuously. Instruments and controls
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3-26Instruments and controls
CAUTION
To ensure safety, do not attempt to
set the time while driving, as an
accident from inadequate attention
to the road could result.
NOTE
If the battery is disconnected, the time
will be erased. After reconnecting the
battery, set the correct time. Information display
1) Outside temperature indicator
2) Fuel consumption indicator
Withtheignitionswitchinthe “ON ”
position, the outside temperature and fuel
consumption are indicated on the display. For type A combination meter:
1) Information display switching knob
With the ignition switch in the “ON ”
position, each press of the information
display switching knob toggles the display
in the following sequence.
For type B combination meter:
The fuel consumption indicator is linked
with the odometer/trip meter display on the
combination meter, according to the fol-
lowing chart.

3-28Instruments and controls
temperature, the display switches to the
outside temperature indication and flashes
for 5 seconds before returning to its
original indication. NOTE
The outside temperature indication
may differ from the actual outside
temperature. The road surface freeze
warning indication should be treated
only as a guide. Be sure to check the
condition of the road surface beforedriving. & Current fuel consumption (if equipped)
This indication shows the rate of fuel
consumption at the present moment. NOTE
The indicated values vary in accor-
dance with changes in the vehicle
’s
running conditions. Also, the indicated
values may differ slightly from the
actual values and should thus be
treated only as a guide. & Average fuel consumption
1) U.S.-spec. models
2) Except U.S.-spec. models
This indication shows the average rate of
fuel consumption since the trip meter was
last reset.
When either of the trip meter indications is
reset, the corresponding average fuel
consumption value is also reset. NOTE .
The indicated values vary in accor-
dance with changes in the vehicle ’s
running conditions. Also, the indicated
values may differ slightly from the
actual values and should thus be
treated only as a guide.. When either trip meter indication is
reset, the average fuel consumption
corresponding to that trip meter indica-
tion is not shown until the vehicle has
subsequently covered a distance of 1
mile (or 1 km).
& To turn off fuel consumption
indicator display
The fuel consumption indicator display
can be turned off.
To turn off this display, turn the ignition
switch to the “LOCK ”position and press
the “+ ” button adjacent to the information
display for approximately 5 seconds. The
information display and the clock display
will blink for 3 seconds and then the fuel
consumption display will turn off.
To restore the indicator, once again pressthe “+ ” button for approximately 5 sec-
onds. NOTE . The initial display setting of the fuel
consumption indicator of your vehicle

has been set to operational at the time
of shipment from the factory..The average fuel consumption is
calculated even while the indicator is
not displayed.. Even if you turn off the fuel con-
sumption indicator, the fuel consump-
tion indicator will automatically turn on
when the battery voltage is stopped
and then reapplied due to battery
replacement or fuse replacement. Light control switch
The light control switch operates when the
ignition key is inserted into the ignitionswitch.
Regardless of the position of the light
control switch, the illuminated lights are
turned off when the ignition key is
removed from the ignition switch. NOTE
Even if the key is removed from the
ignition switch, the lights can be illu-
minated by once setting the light con-
trol switch to the
“OFF ”position and
then to the “
”or “”position. In
this case, if the driver ’s door is opened,
the chirp sound will inform the driver
that the lights are illuminated.
CAUTION
. Use of any lights for a long period
of time while the engine is not
running can cause the battery todischarge.
. Before leaving the vehicle, make
sure that the light control switch
is turned to the “OFF ”position. If
the vehicle is left unattended for
a long time with the light control
switch set to a position other than
“OFF ”, the battery may be
discharged. Instruments and controls
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Type A
Type B
The indicator light located on the combi-
nation meter will illuminate when the front
fog lights are on. Wiper and washer
WARNING
In freezing weather, do not use the
windshield washer until the wind-
shield is sufficiently warmed by the
defroster.
Otherwise the washer fluid can
freeze on the windshield, blocking
your view.
CAUTION
. Do not operate the washer con-
tinuously for more than 10 sec-
onds, or when the washer fluid
tank is empty. This may cause
overheating of the washer motor.
Check the washer fluid level
frequently, such as at fuel stops.
. Do not operate the wipers when
the windshield or rear window is
dry. This may scratch the glass,
damage the wiper blades and
cause the wiper motor to burn
out. Before operating the wipers
on a dry windshield or rear
window, always use the wind-
shield washer. .
In freezing weather, be sure that
the wiper blades are not frozen to
the windshield or rear window
before switching on the wipers.
Attempting to operate the wipers
with the blades frozen to the
window glass could cause not
only the wiper blades to be
damaged but also the wiper mo-
tor to burn out. If the wiper
blades are frozen to the window
glass, be sure to operate the
defroster, windshield wiper dei-
cer (if equipped) or rear window
defogger before turning on the
wiper.
. If the wipers stop during opera-
tion because of ice or some other
obstruction on the window, the
wiper motor could burn out even
if the wiper switch is turned off. If
this occurs, promptly stop the
vehicle in a safe place, turn the
ignition switch to the “LOCK ”
position and clean the window
glass to allow proper wiper op-eration.
. Use clean water if windshield
washer fluid is unavailable. In
areas where water freezes in
winter, use SUBARU Windshield
Washer Fluid or the equivalent. Instruments and controls
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