heating SUBARU FORESTER 2017 SJ / 4.G Owners Manual

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 your
vehicle.
&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.
2

!Head restraint angle adjustment
The angle of the head restraint can be
adjusted in several steps. While maintain-
ing a suitable driving posture, adjust the
head restraint to a position where the back
of your head is as close to the head
restraint as possible.
To tilt:
Tilt the head restraint by hand to the
preferred position. A click will be audible
when the head restraint is locked.
To return:
Tilt the head restraint once as far forward
as it can go. The head restraint will
automatically return to the fully upright
position. Then, adjust the head restraint
again to the preferred angle.
Seat heater (if equipped)
CAUTION
.People with delicate skin may
suffer slight burns even at low
temperatures if they use the seat
heater for a long period of time.
When using the heater, always be
sure to warn the persons con-
cerned.
. Do not put anything on the seat
which insulates against heat,
such as a blanket, cushion, or
similar items. This may cause the
seat heater to overheat.
. When the seat is warmed enough
or before you leave the vehicle,
be sure to turn off the seat heater.
NOTE
Use of the seat heater for a long period
of time while the engine is not running
can cause battery discharge.
& Front seat heater (if
equipped)
The seat heater operates when the igni-
tion switch is either in the “ACC”or “ON ”
position.
Front seat heater switch
1) HIGH –Rapid heating
2) LOW –Normal heating
3) Off
A) Left-hand side
B) Right-hand side
To turn on the seat heater, push the “LOW ”
Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags/Seat heater
–CONTINUED –1-9

turn off immediately. It may take several
driving trips. If the light does not turn off,
take your vehicle to your authorized
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 the
following.
. Reduce vehicle speed.
. Avoid hard acceleration.
. Avoid steep uphill grades.
. Reduce the amount of cargo, if possi-
ble.
. If towing a trailer, stop doing so as soon
as possible.
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/Cool-
ant temperature high
warning light
CAUTION
. After turning the ignition switch
to the “ON ”position, if this
indicator light/warning light be-
haves in any of the following
ways, 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 behaves in
any of the following ways, take
the specified appropriate mea-
sure listed below.
– Blinking or illuminated in
RED:
Safely stop the vehicle as
soon as possible, and refer
to the emergency steps to
take in the case of engine overheating. After that, have
the system checked by your
nearest SUBARU dealer. Refer
to
“Engine overheating ”F9-
12.
– 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 a 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 in BLUE. This BLUE illuminated light
turns off when the engine is warmed up
sufficiently.
Instruments and controls/Warning and indicator lights
–CONTINUED –3-17

Instruments and controls/Warning and indicator lights
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 to take in the
case of engine overheating. Refer to
“ Engine overheating ”F 9-12. After that,
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 illuminated,
contact your nearest SUBARU dealer
immediately.
&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
illuminated, contact your nearest
SUBARU dealer immediately.
For details about checking the engine oil
level or adding the engine oil, refer to
“Engine oil ”F 11-10.
CAUTION
Do not operate the engine with the
oil pressure warning light illumi-
nated. This may cause serious en-
gine damage.
&Engine low oil level
warning light
This light illuminates when the engine oil
level decreases to the lower limit.
If the engine low oil level warning light
illuminates while driving, park the vehicle
in a safe and level location, and then
check the engine oil level. When the
engine oil level is not within the normal
range, refill with engine oil. Refer to
“Engine oil ”F 11-10.
If the warning light does not turn off after
refilling the engine oil, or the warning light
illuminates even though the engine oil
level is within the normal range, have the
vehicle checked by a SUBARU dealer.
NOTE
. After replacing or adding the engine
oil, if the engine oil level is within the
normal range when restarting the en-
gine on a level surface, the warning
light will turn off.
3-18

&Hill start assist warning
light/Hill start assist
OFF indicator light
!Hill start assist warning light
While the engine is running, if there are
any malfunctions in the Hill start assist
system, the warning light will illuminate.
WARNING
When the Hill start assist warning
light illuminates, have the vehicle
inspected at an authorized SUBARU
dealer.
! Hill start assist OFF indicator light
While the Hill start assist system is
deactivated, the Hill start assist OFF
indicator light illuminates continuously to
inform the driver that the Hill start assist
system is not operational.
&Door open warning
light
The warning light illuminates if any door or
the rear gate is not fully closed. This
function is effective even if the ignition
switch is in the “LOCK”/ “OFF”or “ACC ”
position, or the key is removed from the ignition switch.
Always make sure this light is not illumi-
nated before you start to drive.
&All-Wheel Drive warn-
ing light (CVT models)
This light flashes if the vehicle is driven
with tires of differing diameters fitted on
the wheels or with an excessively low air
pressure in any of the tires.
WARNING
If the AWD warning light flashes,
promptly park in a safe location then
check whether all four tires are the
same diameter and whether any of
the tires has a puncture or has lost
air pressure for some other reason.
Continuing to drive with the AWD
warning light flashing can lead to
powertrain damage.
&Power steering warn-
ing light
This warning light illuminates when the
ignition switch is turned to the
“ON ”
position and turns off after the engine
has started. This indicates that the warn-
ing system is working properly. While the engine is running, this warning
light illuminates when a malfunction has
been detected in the electric power steer-
ing system.
CAUTION
When the power steering warning
light is illuminated, there may be
more resistance when the steering
wheel is operated. Drive carefully to
the nearest SUBARU dealer and
have the vehicle inspected immedi-
ately.
NOTE
If the steering wheel is operated in the
following ways, the power steering
control system may temporarily limit
the power assist in order to prevent the
system components, such as the con-
trol computer and drive motor, from
overheating.
.
The steering wheel is operated fre-
quently and turned sharply while the
vehicle is maneuvered at extremely low
speeds, such as while frequently turn-
ing the steering wheel during parallel
parking.
. The steering wheel remains in the
fully turned position for a long period
of time.
Instruments and controls/Warning and indicator lights
–CONTINUED –3-23

Instruments and controls/Wiper and washer
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
might cause the wiper motor to
fail. Before operating the wiper
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 wiper
with the blades frozen to the
window glass could cause not
only the wiper blades to be
damaged but also might cause
the wiper motor to fail. If the
wiper blades are frozen to the
window glass, be sure to operate
the defroster, windshield wiper
deicer (if equipped) or rear win-
dow defogger before turning on
the wiper.
. If the wipers stop during opera-
tion because of ice or some other
obstruction on the window, this
might cause the wiper motor to
fail 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 ”/“ OFF ”po-
sition 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 11-30.
Also, when driving the vehicle
when there are freezing tempera-
tures, use non-freezing type wi-
per 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 windshield wiper motor is pro-
tected against overloads by a circuit
breaker. If the motor operates continu-
ously 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
washer for at least 1 second so that
3-104

!Gate Operator / Canadian Pro-
gramming
Canadian radio-frequency laws require
transmitter remote signals to “time-out ”
(or quit) after several seconds of transmis-
sion, which may not be long enough for
HomeLink to pick up the signal during
programming. Similar to this Canadian
law, some U.S. gate operators are de-
signed to “time-out”in the same manner.
The indicator LED on the hand-held
remote will go off when the device times
out, indicating that it has finished transmit-
ting.
If you live in Canada or you are having
difficulties programming a gate operator or
garage door opener by using the program-
ming procedures, replace “Programming a
New HomeLink Button ”step 3 with the
following:
While the HomeLink indicator light is
flashing orange, press and release (“cy-
cle ”) your device ’s hand-held remote
every two seconds until the HomeLink
indicator light changes from orange to
green. You may now release the hand-
held remote button.
NOTE
If programming a garage door opener
or gate operator, it is advised to unplug the device during the
“cycling ”pro-
cess to prevent possible overheating.
Proceed with “Programming a New
HomeLink Button ”step 4 to complete.
! Using HomeLink
To operate, simply press and release the
programmed HomeLink button. Activation
will now occur for the trained device (i.e.
garage door opener, gate operator, secur-
ity system, entry door lock, home/office
lighting, etc.). For convenience, the hand-
held remote of the device may also be
used at any time.
!Erasing HomeLink Buttons
To erase programming from the three
buttons (individual buttons cannot be
erased but can be “reprogrammed”as
outlined below), follow the step noted:
Press and hold the two outer HomeLink
buttons for at least 10 seconds. The LED
indicator will change from continuously lit
to rapidly flashing. Release both buttons.
Do not hold for longer than 20 seconds.
HomeLink is now ready to be programmed
at any time beginning with “Programming
a New HomeLink Button ”- step 1. !
Reprogramming a Single
HomeLink Button
To program a previously trained button,
follow these steps:
1. Press and hold the desired HomeLink
button. DO NOT release the button.
2. The indicator light will begin to slowly
flash orange after 20 seconds. The
HomeLink button can be released at this
point. Proceed with “Programming a New
HomeLink Button ”- step 3.
3. If you do not complete the program-
ming of a new device to the button, it will
revert to the previously stored program-
ming.
!Garage Door Two-Way Commu-
nication
HomeLink has the capability of commu-
nicating with your garage door opener.
HomeLink can receive and display “clos-
ing ”or “opening ”status messages from
compatible garage door opener systems.
At any time, HomeLink can also recall and
display the last recorded status commu-
nicated by the garage door opener to
indicate your garage door being “closed”
or “opened ”.
HomeLink has the capability of receiving
this communication from the garage door
opener at a range up to 820 feet (250 m).
Instruments and controls/Mirrors
–CONTINUED –3-113

(Bi-level):Instrument panel outlets and
foot outlets
(Heat): Foot outlets, both side outlets of
the instrument panel and some through
windshield defroster outlets (A small
amount of air flows to the windshield and both side windows to prevent fogging.)
(Heat-def):
Windshield defroster outlets,
foot outlets and both side outlets of the
instrument panel (Refer to “Defrosting ”
F 4-11.)
(Defrost): Windshield defroster outlets and both side outlets of the instrument
panel (Refer to
“Defrosting”F 4-11.)
& Temperature control
! Type A
Turn the temperature control dial over a
range from the blue side (cool) to red side
(warm) to regulate the temperature of
airflow from the air outlets.
! Type B, C and D
Turn the temperature control dial to set the
preferred interior temperature. With the
dial set to your preferred temperature, the
system automatically adjusts the tempera-
ture of air supplied from the outlets so that
the preferred temperature is achieved and
maintained.
If the dial is turned fully counterclockwise,
the system provides maximum cooling
performance. If the dial is turned fully
clockwise, the system provides maximum
heating performance.
NOTE
The controllable temperature range
may vary depending on the regional
specifications of the vehicle.
Climate control/Manual climate control operation
–CONTINUED –4-9

Climate control/Operating tips for heater and air conditioner
Operating tips for heater and
air conditioner
&Cleaning ventilation grille
1) Front ventilation inlet grille
Always keep the front ventilation inlet grille
free of snow, leaves, or other obstructions
to ensure efficient heating and defrosting.
Since the condenser is located in front of
the radiator, this area should be kept clean
because cooling performance is impaired
by any accumulation of insects and leaves
on the condenser.
&Efficient cooling after parking
in direct sunlight
After parking in direct sunlight, drive with
the windows open for a few minutes to allow outside air to circulate into the
heated interior. This results in quicker
cooling by the air conditioner. Keep the
windows closed during the operation of
the air conditioner for maximum cooling
efficiency.
&
Lubrication oil circulation in
the refrigerant circuit
Operate the air conditioner compressor at
a low engine speed (at idle or low driving
speeds) a few minutes each month during
the off-season to circulate its oil.
&Checking air conditioning
system before summer sea-
son
Check the air conditioner unit for refriger-
ant leaks, hose conditions, and proper
operation each spring. Have the air con-
ditioning system checked by your
SUBARU dealer.
&Cooling and dehumidifying in
high humidity and low tem-
perature weather conditions
Under certain weather conditions (high
relative humidity, low temperatures, etc.) a
small amount of water vapor emission
from the air outlets may be noticed. This
condition is normal and does not indicate any problem with the air conditioning
system.
&
Air conditioner compressor
shut-off when engine is
heavily loaded
To improve acceleration and gas mileage,
the air conditioner compressor is designed
to temporarily shut off during air condi-
tioner operation whenever the accelerator
is fully depressed such as during rapid
acceleration or when driving up a steep
incline.
&Refrigerant for your climate
control system
1) Air conditioner label
Your air conditioner uses ozone friendly
4-12

refrigerant HFC134a (as shown on the air
conditioner label). Therefore, the method
of adding, changing or checking the
refrigerant is different from the method
for CFC12 (freon). Consult your SUBARU
dealer for service. Repairs needed as a
result of using the wrong refrigerant are
not covered under warranty.Air filtration system
Your vehicle’s air conditioning system is
equipped with an air filtration system.
Replace the air filter element according
to the replacement schedule found in the
“Warranty and Maintenance Booklet ”. This
schedule should be followed to maintain
the filter ’s dust collection ability. Under
extremely dusty conditions, the filter
should be replaced more frequently. Have
your filter checked or replaced by your
SUBARU dealer. For replacement, use
only a genuine SUBARU air filter kit.
CAUTION
Contact your SUBARU dealer if the
following occurs, even if it is not yet
time to change the filter:
. Reduction of the airflow through
the vents.
. Windshield gets easily fogged or
misted.
NOTE
The filter can influence the air condi-
tioning, heating and defroster perfor-
mance if not properly maintained.
& Replacing an air filter
1. Remove the glove box.
NOTE
We recommend that you take mea-
sures to protect the center console
with masking tape first, so that you
avoid scratching the center console
with the glove box.
(1) Open the glove box.
(2) Remove the damper shaft from the
glove box.
Climate control/Air filtration system
–CONTINUED –4-13