SUBARU IMPREZA 2000 2.G Owners Manual

Starting and operating7-11
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CONTINUED –
Ignition switch
WARNING
Never turn the ignition switch to “LOCK” while the vehicle is be-
ing driven or towed because that will lock the steering wheel, pre- venting steering control. And when the engine is turned off, it
takes a much greater effort than usual to steer.
The ig nition switc h has four p ositions: LOCK, ACC, ON and START.
HS0122
LOCK
The key c an only b e inserted or removed in this p os ition. The ig nition
switc h will loc k the steering wheel when you remove the key.
If turning the key is d iffic ult, turn the steering wheel slig htly to the rig ht
and left as you turn the key.

7-12n
Automatic transmission vehicles
HG0101
HS0123
The key c an b e turned from “ACC ” to “LOCK ” only when the selec tor
lever is in the “P ” p osition.
n Manual transmission vehicles
OM-H0144
1
2
The key c an b e turned from “ACC ” to “LOCK ” only when the key is
p ushed in while turning it. ACC
In this p osition the elec tric al ac c essories (rad io, ac c essory soc ket,
etc .) c an b e used . ON
This is the normal op erating p osition after the eng ine is started .

Starting and operating7-13
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CONTINUED –

START CAUTION
Do not turn the ignition switch to the “START” position while the
engine is running.
The eng ine is started in this p osition. The starter c ranks the eng ine to
start it. When the key is released (after the eng in e has started ), the
key automatic ally returns to the “ON ” p osition.
Key reminder chime
The remind er c hime sound s when the d river ’s d oor op ens and the key is
in the “LOCK ” or “ACC ” p ositions. The c hime stop s when the key is re-
moved from the ig nition switc h.
Key interlock release (AT vehicles only)
If the key c an not b e turned to the “LOCK ” p osition even when the selec -
tor lever is in the “P ” p osition:
HS0127
HS0126
Vehicle front
Release lever
1. Take out the sc rewd river from the tool b ag .
2. Remove three sc rews sec uring the und erc over of th e steering c ol-
umn.
3. Remove the und erc over of the steering c olumn.
4. Turn the ig nition key while p ressing the key inte rloc k release lever.
Take your vehic le to the nearest SUBARU d ealer imme d iately to have the
key interloc k system rep aired .

7-14Starting the engine
CAUTION
Do not operate the starter motor continuously for more than ten
seconds. If the engine fails to start after operating the starter forfive to ten seconds, wait for ten seconds or more before tryingagain.
Manual transmission vehicles
1. Ap p ly the p arking b rake.
2. Turn off unnec essary lig hts and ac c essories.
3. Press the c lutc h p ed al to the floor and shift the shift lever into neu-
tral. Hold the c lutc h p ed al to the floor while star ting the eng ine. The
starter motor will only op erate when the c lutc h p ed al is p ressed fully
to the floor.
4. Turn the ig nition switc h to the “ON ” p osition and c hec k the op era-
tion of the warning and ind ic ator lig hts. Refer to “Warning and ind ic a-
tor lig hts ” sec tion (c hap ter 3).
5. Turn the ig nition switc h to the “START ” p osition without d ep ressing
the ac c elerator p ed al. Release the key immed iately after the eng ine
has started .
If the eng ine d oes not start within ten sec ond s, wa it a while and then
turn the ig nition switc h to the “START ” p osition ag ain while d ep ressing
the ac c elerator p ed al half way d own.
6. Confirm that all warning and ind ic ator lig hts hav e g one off after the
eng ine has started . The fuel injec tion system autom atic ally lowers the
id le sp eed as the eng ine warms up . Automatic transmission vehicles CAUTION
If you restart the engine while the vehicle is moving, shift the se- lector lever into the “N” position. Do not attempt to place the se-
lector lever of a moving vehicle into the “P” position.

Starting and operating7-15
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CONTINUED –
1. Ap p ly the p arking b rake.
2. Turn off unnec essary lig hts and ac c essories.
3. Shift the selec tor lever to the
“P ” or “N ” p osition (p referab ly “P ”
p osition).
The starter will only op erate when the selec t lever is at the “P ” or “N ”
p osition.
4. Turn the ig nition switc h to the “ON ” p osition and c hec k the op era-
tion of the warning and ind ic ator lig hts. Refer to “Warning and ind ic a-
tor lig hts ” sec tion (c hap ter 3).
5. Turn the ig nition switc h to the “START ” p osition without depress-
ing the accelerator pedal . Release the key immed iately after the en-
g ine has started .
If the eng ine d oes not start within ten sec ond s, wa it a while and then
turn the ig nition switc h to the “START ” p osition ag ain while d ep ressing
the ac c elerator p ed al half way d own.
6. Confirm that all warning and ind ic ator lig hts hav e g one out after
the eng ine has started . The fuel injec tion system a utomatic ally lowers
the id le sp eed as the eng ine warms up .
While the eng ine is warming up , make sure that the selec tor lever is at
the “P ” or “N ” p osition and that the p arking b rake is ap p lied .
During cold weather below – 4F ( – 20 C)
If the eng ine is d iffic ult to start using the norma l method (without d e-
p ressing the ac c elerator p ed al), turn the ig nition switc h to the
“ START ” p osition while slig htly d ep ressing the ac c elerator p ed al.
Flooded engine
If the eng ine d oes not start, it may b e flood ed (ex c essive fuel in the
eng ine).
In c ase of a flood ed eng ine, turn the starter motor for five sec ond s
with the ac c elerator p ed al fully d ep ressed . Rep eat this two or three
times until the eng ine starts. Release the ig nition switc h and ac c elera-
tor p ed al as soon as the eng ine starts.

7-16Stopping the engine
WARNING
Do not stop the engine when the vehicle is moving. This will
cause loss of power to the power steering and the brake booster,making steering and braking more difficult. It could also result in
accidental activation of the “LOCK” position on the ignition
switch, causing the steering wheel to lock.
The ig nition switc h should b e turned off only when the eng ine is id ling .
Manual transmission
WARNING
Do not drive the vehicle with the clutch disengaged (i.e., when theclutch pedal is depressed) or with the shift lever in the neutralposition. Engine braking has no effect in either of these condi-tions and the risk of an accident is consequently increased.
CAUTION
Shift into reverse ONLY when the vehicle has completelystopped. It may cause damage to the transmission to try shiftinginto reverse when the vehicle is moving.
The manual transmission is a fully sync hromeshed 5- forward and 1-re-
verse sp eed transmission.

Starting and operating7-17
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CONTINUED –
HS0365
The shift p attern is shown on the shift lever knob . When shifting from 5th
g ear to reverse g ear, first return the shift lever to neutral p osition then
shift into the reverse g ear.
To c hang e g ears, fully d ep ress the c lutc h p ed al, mo ve the shift lever,
and g rad ually let the p ed al up .
If it is d iffic ult to shift into g ear, p ut the tran smission in neutral, release the
c lutc h p ed al momentarily, and then try ag ain.
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)

7-18n
Maximum 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.
mph (km/h)
Vehicle
type2.2 liter models2 5 litertype
Gear except OUTBACK
SPORTOUTBACKSPORT2.5 liter
RS models
1st29 (46)29 (47)28 (45)
2nd48 (77)49 (79)47 (76)
3rd70 (113)71 (115)68 (110)
Driving tips
Do not d rive with your foot resting on the c lutc h p ed al and d o not use
the c lutc h to hold your vehic le at a stand still on an up g rad e. Either of
those ac tions may c ause c lutc h d amag e.
Do not d rive with your hand resting on the shift le ver. This may c ause
wear on the transmission c omp onents.

Starting and operating7-19
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CONTINUED –
When it is nec essary to red uc e vehic le sp eed d ue to
slow traffic , turn-
ing c orners, or d riving up steep hills, d ownshift t o a lower g ear b efore
the eng ine starts to lab or.
On steep d owng rad es, d ownshift the transmission to 4th, 3rd or 2nd
g ear as nec essary; this help s to maintain a safe sp eed and to extend
b rake p ad life.
In this way, the eng ine p rovid es a b raking effec t. Rememb er, if you
“ rid e ” (over use) the b rakes while d esc end ing a hill, the y may over-
heat and not work p rop erly.
Automatic 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 .

7-20NOTE
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.
Selector lever
OM-H0149
Release button With the brake pedal depressed, shift while pressing the button in Shift while pressing the button in Shift without pressing the button
HS0129
The selec tor lever has seven p ositions.
The release b utton must b e p ushed to selec t the “P ”, “R ”, or “2 ” p osi-
tions.
P (Park)
This p osition is for p arking the vehic le and starti ng the eng ine.
In this p osition, the transmission is mec hanic ally loc ked to p revent the
vehic le from rolling freely.
When you p ark the vehic le, first set the p arking b r ake fully, then shift
into the “P ” p osition. Do not hold the vehic le with only the tr ansmis-
sion.
A shift interloc k func tion is emp loyed in the autom atic transmission
system to ensure safe starting of the vehic le.