overheating SUBARU FORESTER 2013 SH / 3.G Owners Manual

2
Chapter 4: Climate control
This chapter informs you how to operate
the climate control.
Chapter 5: Audio
This chapter informs you how to operate
your audio system.
Chapter 6: Interior equipment
This chapter informs you how to operate
interior equipment.
Chapter 7: Starting and operating
This chapter informs you how to start and
operate your SUBARU.
Chapter 8: Driving tips
This chapter informs you how to drive your
SUBARU in various conditions and ex-
plains some safety tips on driving.
Chapter 9: In case of emergency
This chapter informs you what to do if you
have a problem while driving, such as a
flat tire or engine overheating.
Chapter 10: Appearance care
This chapter informs you how to keep your
SUBARU looking good.
Chapter 11: Maintenance and service
This chapter informs you when you need
to take your SUBARU to the dealer for
scheduled maintenance and informs you
how to keep your SUBARU running
properly.Chapter 12: Specifications
This chapter informs you about dimen-
sions and capacities of your SUBARU.
Chapter 13: Consumer information and
Reporting safety defects
This chapter informs you about Uniform
tire quality grading standards and Report-
ing safety defects.
Chapter 14: Index
This is an alphabetical listing of all that
’sin
this manual. You can use it to quickly find
something you want to read.
& Safety warnings
You will find a number of WARNINGs,
CAUTIONs and NOTEs in this manual.
These safety warnings alert you to poten-
tial hazards that could result in injury to
you or others.
Please read these safety warnings as well
as all other portions of this manual care-
fully in order to gain a better understand-
ing of how to use your SUBARU vehicle
safely.
WARNING
A WARNING indicates a situation in
which serious injury or death could
result if the warning is ignored.
CAUTION
A CAUTION indicates a situation in
which injury or damage to your
vehicle, or both, could result if the
caution is ignored.
NOTE
A NOTE gives information or sugges-
tions how to make better use of yourvehicle. & Safety symbol
You will find a circle with a slash through it
in this manual. This symbol means “Do
not ”, “Do not do this ”,or “Do not let this
happen ”, depending upon the context.

(a) do not press the trip knob for 10
seconds or (b) open and close the driver’s
door, the fuel gauge indication will turn off.
NOTE
You will see the “”sign in the fuel
gauge.
This indicates that the fuel filler door
(lid) is located on the right side of thevehicle. &
Temperature gauge (models
with type A combination me- ter)
1) Normal operating range
The temperature gauge shows engine
coolant temperature when the ignition
switch is in the “ON ”position.
The coolant temperature will vary in
accordance with the outside temperature
and driving conditions.
We recommend that you drive moderately
until the pointer of the temperature gauge
reaches near the middle of the range.
Engine operation is optimum with the
engine coolant at this temperature range
and high revving operation when the
engine is not warmed up enough should be avoided.
CAUTION
If the pointer exceeds the normal
operating range, safely stop the
vehicle as soon as possible.
Refer to “Engine overheating ”F9-
13.
& ECO gauge (models with type
A combination meter)
The unit displayed varies depending on
the model.
The ECO gauge shows the difference
between the average rate of fuel con-
sumption since the trip meter was last
reset and the current rate of fuel con- Instruments and controls
3-11
– CONTINUED –

3-16Instruments and controls
NOTE
This light also illuminates when the fuel
filler cap is not tightened until it clicks.
If you have recently refueled your vehicle,
the cause of the CHECK ENGINE warning
light/malfunction indicator light coming on
could be a loose or missing fuel filler cap.
Remove the cap and make sure nothing is
interfering with the sealing of the cap, then
retighten the cap until it clicks. Tightening
the cap will not make the CHECK EN-
GINE warning light turn off immediately. It
may take several driving trips. If the light
does not turn off, take your vehicle to your
SUBARU dealer immediately. !If the light is blinking
If the light is blinking while driving, an
engine misfire condition has been de-
tected which may damage the emission
control system.
To prevent serious damage to the emis-
sion control system, you should do thefollowing. . Reduce vehicle speed.
. Avoid hard acceleration.
. Avoid steep uphill grades.
. Reduce the amount of cargo, if possi-
ble.
The CHECK ENGINE warning light may
stop blinking and illuminate steadily after several driving trips. You should have your
vehicle checked by an authorized
SUBARU dealer immediately.
& Coolant temperature
low indicator light (if
equipped)/Coolant tem-
perature high warning
light (if equipped)
CAUTION
. After turning the ignition switch
to the “ON ”position, if this
indicator light/warning light
shows any of the following con-
ditions, the electrical system may
be malfunctioning. Contact your
SUBARU dealer immediately for
an inspection. – It remains blinking in RED.
– It remains illuminated in RED
for more than 2 seconds.
– It remains blinking in RED and
BLUE alternately.
. While driving, if this indicator
light/warning light shows any of
the following conditions, take the
specified appropriate measure
listed below. – Blinking or illuminated in RED:
Safely stop the vehicle as
soon as possible, and refer
to the emergency steps for the
engine overheating. After-
ward, have the system
checked by your nearest
SUBARU dealer. Refer to
“En-
gine overheating ”F 9-13.
– Blinking in RED and BLUE
alternately:
The electrical system may be
malfunctioning. Contact your
SUBARU dealer for an inspec-tion.
This coolant temperature low indicator
light/coolant temperature high warning
light has the following three functions. . Illumination in BLUEindicates insuffi-
cient warming up of the engine. Blinking in REDindicates that the
engine is close to overheating. Illumination in REDindicates overheat-
ing condition of the engine
For the system check, this indicator light/
warning light illuminates in REDfor
approximately 2 seconds when the igni-
tion switch is turned to the “ON ”position.
After that, this indicator light/warning light
changes to BLUEand maintains illumina-

tion inBLUE. This BLUE illuminated light
turns off when the engine is warmed up
sufficiently.
If the engine coolant temperature in-
creases over the specified range, the
indicator light/warning light blinks in RED . At this time, the engine is close to
overheating.
If the engine coolant temperature in-
creases further, the indicator light/warning
light illuminates in REDcontinuously. At
this time, the engine may be overheating.
When the indicator light/warning light
blinks in REDor illuminates in RED, safely
stop the vehicle as soon as possible, and
refer to the emergency steps for the
engine overheating. Refer to “Engine
overheating ”F 9-13. Afterward, have the
system checked by your nearest
SUBARU dealer.
Also, if the indicator light/warning light
often blinks in RED, the electrical system
may be malfunctioning. Contact your
SUBARU dealer for an inspection. NOTE
If the engine is restarted after a certain
driving condition, this indicator light/
warning light may illuminate in RED.
However, this is not a malfunction if the indicator light/warning light turns off
after a short time.
& Charge warning light
If this light illuminates when the engine is
running, it may indicate that the charging
system is not working properly.
If the light illuminates while driving or does
not turn off after the engine starts, stop the
engine at the first safe opportunity and
check the alternator belt. If the belt is
loose, broken or if the belt is in good
condition but the light remains on, contact
your nearest SUBARU dealer immedi-
ately. &Oil pressure warning light
If this light illuminates when the engine is
running, it may indicate that the engine oil
pressure is low and the lubricating system
is not working properly.
If the light illuminates while driving or does
not turn off after the engine starts, stop the
engine at the first safe opportunity and
check the engine oil level. If the oil level is
low, add oil immediately. If the engine oil is
at the proper level but the light remains on,
contact your nearest SUBARU dealer
immediately.
CAUTION
Do not operate the engine with the
oil pressure warning light on. This
may cause serious engine damage.
& AT OIL TEMP warning
light (AT models)
If this light illuminates when the engine is
running, it may indicate that the automatic
transmission fluid temperature is too hot.
If the light illuminates while driving, im-
mediately stop the vehicle in a safe place
and let the engine idle until the warning
light turns off. !Automatic transmission control
system warning
If this light flashes after the engine starts, it
may indicate that the automatic transmis-
sion control system is not working prop-
erly. Contact your nearest SUBARU deal-
er for service immediately. Instruments and controls
3-17
– CONTINUED –

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. Refer to
“Windshield washer
fluid ”F 11-37.
Also, when driving the vehicle in
freezing temperature, use non-
freezing type wiper blades.
. Do not clean the wiper blades
with gasoline or a solvent, such
as paint thinner or benzine. This
will cause deterioration of the
wiper blades.
NOTE . The wipers operate only when the
ignition switch is in the “ON ”or “Acc ”
position. . The front wiper motor is protected
against overload by a circuit breaker. If
the motor operates continuously under
an unusually heavy load, the circuit
breaker may trip to stop the motor
temporarily. If this happens, park your
vehicle in a safe place, turn off the
wiper switch, and wait for approxi-
mately 10 minutes. The circuit breaker
will reset itself, and the wipers will
again operate normally.. Clean your wiper blades and win-
dow glass periodically with a washer
solution to prevent streaking, and to
remove accumulations of road salt or
road film. Operate the windshield Instruments and controls
3-33
– CONTINUED –

To use the cigarette lighter, push in the
knob and wait a few moments. It will
automatically spring up when ready foruse.
WARNING
To avoid being burned, never grasp
the lighter by the end with the
heating element. Doing so could
result in injury and could also
damage the heating element.
CAUTION
. Do not hold the lighter pushed in,
because it will overheat.
. Do not use non-genuine cigarette
lighter plugs in the socket. Doing
so may cause a short-circuit and
overheating, resulting in a fire.
. If the socket is ever used for a
plug-in accessory such as a cell
phone, that may damage the
portion of the socket ’s internal
mechanism that causes a cigar-
ette lighter plug to “pop out ”
after its heating element is
heated. Therefore, do not place
a cigarette lighter plug in a sock-
et that has been used, even once,
to power a plug-in accessory. Doing so may cause the plug to
stick and overheat, creating a
potential fire hazard.
Ashtray (if equipped)
CAUTION
. Do not use ashtrays as waste
receptacles or leave a lighted
cigarette in an ashtray. This
could cause a fire.
. Always extinguish matches and
cigarettes before putting them
into the ashtray, and then close
the ashtray securely. If you keep
the ashtray open, the fire on the
cigarette tip may spread to an-
other cigarette butt and start afire.
. Do not put flammable material in
the ashtray.
. Do not leave a lot of cigarette
butts in the ashtray. Interior equipment
6-11
– CONTINUED –

7-22Starting and operating
Braking &Braking tips
WARNING
Never rest your foot on the brake
pedal while driving. This can cause
dangerous overheating of the
brakes and needless wear on the
brake pads and linings.
! When the brakes get wet
When driving in rain or after washing the
vehicle, the brakes may get wet. As a
result, brake stopping distance will be
longer. To dry the brakes, drive the vehicle
at a safe speed while lightly depressing
the brake pedal to heat up the brakes. ! Use of engine braking
Remember to make use of engine braking
in addition to foot braking. When descend-
ing a grade, if only the foot brake is used,
the brakes may start working improperly
because of brake fluid overheating,
caused by overheated brake pads. To
prevent this, shift into a lower gear to get
stronger engine braking. ! Braking when a tire is punctured
Do not depress the brake pedal suddenly
when a tire is punctured. This could cause a loss of control of the vehicle. Keep
driving straight ahead while gradually
reducing speed. Then slowly pull off the
road to a safe place.
& Brake system
! Two separate circuits
Your vehicle has two separate circuit
brake systems. Each circuit works diag-
onally across the vehicle. If one circuit of
the brake system should fail, the other half
of the system still works.
If one circuit fails, the brake pedal will go
down much closer to the floor than usual
and you will need to press it down much
harder. And a much longer distance will be
needed to stop the vehicle. ! Brake booster
The brake booster uses engine manifold
vacuum to assist braking force. Do not
turn off the engine while driving because
that will turn off the brake booster, result-
ing in poor braking power.
The brakes will continue to work even
when the brake booster completely stops
functioning. If this happens, however, you
will have to push the pedal much harder
than normal and the braking distance willincrease. !
Brake assist system
WARNING
Do not be overconfident about the
brake assist. It is not a system that
brings more braking ability to the
vehicle beyond its braking capabil-
ity. Always use the utmost care
when driving regarding vehicle
speed and safe distance.
CAUTION
When you need to brake suddenly,
continue depressing the brake pedal
strongly to bring the effect of the
brake assist.
Brake assist is a driver assistance system.
It assists the brake power when the driver
cannot depress the brake pedal strongly
and the brake power is insufficient.
Brake assist generates the brake power
according to the speed at which the driver
depresses the brake pedal. NOTE
When you depress the brake pedal
strongly or suddenly, the following
phenomena occur. Even if they occur,
they do not indicate any malfunctions,

!Driving on grades
. Before going down a steep hill, slow
down and shift into lower gear (if neces-
sary, use 1st gear) in order to utilize the
engine braking effect and prevent over-
heating of your vehicle ’s brakes. Do not
make sudden downshifts. . When driving uphill in hot weather, the
air conditioner may turn off automatically
to protect the engine from overheating. . When driving uphill in hot weather, pay
attention to the following indicators be-
cause the engine and transmission are
relatively prone to overheating.
–Temperature gauge (if equipped)
– Coolant temperature high warning
light (if equipped) – AT OIL TEMP warning light (AT
models)
. If any of the following conditions occur,
immediately turn off the air conditioner and
stop the vehicle in the nearest safe
location. Refer to “If you park your vehicle
in case of an emergency ”F9-2 and
“ Engine overheating ”F 9-13.
– Temperature gauge needle ap-
proaches the OVERHEAT zone (if
equipped). Refer to “Temperature
gauge (models with type A combina-
tion meter) ”F 3-11.
– Coolant temperature high warning light illuminates (if equipped). Refer to“
Coolant temperature low indicator
light/Coolant temperature high warn-
ing light ”F 3-16.
– AT OIL TEMP warning light illumi-
nates (AT models). Refer to “AT OIL
TEMP warning light (AT models) ”F 3-
17.
. If your vehicle has an automatic trans-
mission, avoid using the accelerator pedal
to stay stationary on an uphill slope
instead of using the parking brake or foot
brake. That may cause the transmission
fluid to overheat. . If your vehicle has an automatic trans-
mission, place the select lever as follows.
Uphill slopes: “D ”position
Downhill slopes: A low-speed gear posi-
tion to use engine braking ! Parking on a grade
Always block the wheels under both
vehicle and trailer when parking. Apply
the parking brake firmly. You should not
park on a hill or slope. But if parking on a
hill or slope cannot be avoided, you
should take the following steps.
1. Press and hold the brake pedal.
2. Have someone place chocks under
both the vehicle and trailer wheels.
3. When the chocks are in place, release
the brake pedal slowly until the chocks absorb the load.
4. Press the brake pedal fully and then
apply the parking brake; slowly release
the brake pedal.
5. Shift into 1st or reverse gear (manual
transmission models) or the
“P ” position
(automatic transmission models) and shut
off the engine. Driving tips
8-25

If you park your vehicle in case of anemergency ........................................................ 9-2
Temporary spare tire (if equipped) .................... 9-2
Precautions for AWD models with automatic transmission ..................................................... 9-3
Maintenance tools ............................................... 9-4
Tool bag. ............................................................. 9-4
Under the cargo area ........................................... 9-5
Flat tires ............................................................... 9-6
Changing a flat tire .............................................. 9-6
Tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS) (U.S.-spec. models) ........................................... 9-9 Jump starting
..................................................... 9-10
How to jump start .............................................. 9-11
Engine overheating ........................................... 9-13
If steam is coming from the engine compartment ................................................... 9-13
If no steam is coming from the engine compartment ................................................... 9-13
Towing ................................................................ 9-14
Towing and tie-down hooks. ............................... 9-14
Using a flat-bed truck. ........................................ 9-17
Towing with all wheels on the ground ................. 9-17
Rear gate –if the rear gate cannot be
opened ............................................................. 9-18In case of emergency
9

Engine overheating
WARNING
Never attempt to remove the radia-
tor cap until the engine has been
shut off and has fully cooled down.
When the engine is hot, the coolant
is under pressure. Removing the
cap while the engine is still hot
could release a spray of boiling hot
coolant, which could burn you very
seriously.
If the engine overheats, safely pull off the
road and stop the vehicle in a safe place. & If steam is coming from the
engine compartment
Turn off the engine and get everyone
away from the vehicle until it cools down. & If no steam is coming from
the engine compartment
NOTE
For details about how to check the
coolant level or how to add coolant,
refer to “Engine coolant ”F 11-14.
1. Keep the engine running at idlingspeed. 2. Open the hood to ventilate the engine
compartment. Refer to
“Engine hood ”
F 11-5.
Confirm that the cooling fan is turning. If
the fan is not turning, immediately turn off
the engine and contact your SUBARU
dealer for repair.
3. After the engine coolant temperature
has dropped, turn off the engine.
If any of the following conditions occur,
turn off the engine. .The temperature gauge stays in the
overheated zone (if equipped). Referto “Temperature gauge (models with
type A combination meter) ”F 3-11.
. The coolant temperature high warn-
ing light remains illuminated (if
equipped). Refer to “Coolant tempera-
ture low indicator light/Coolant tem-
perature high warning light ”F 3-16.
4. After the engine has fully cooled down,
check the coolant level in the reservoir.
If the coolant level is below the “LOW ”
mark, add coolant up to the “FULL ”mark.
5. If there is no coolant in the reservoir,
add coolant to the reservoir. Then remove
the radiator cap (non-turbo models) or the
coolant filler tank cap (turbo models) and
fill the radiator with coolant.
If you have to remove a hot radiator cap/
coolant filler tank cap, first wrap a thick cloth around the cap, then turn the cap
counterclockwise slowly without pressing
down until it stops. Release the pressure
from the cooling system. After the pres-
sure has been fully released, remove the
cap by pressing it down and turningcounterclockwise.
In case of emergency
9-13