SUBARU IMPREZA 2000 2.G Owners Manual

Starting and operating7-31
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CAUTION
Never drive while the parking brake is set because this will cause
unnecessary wear on the brake linings. Before starting to drive,always make sure that the parking brake has been fully released.
To set the p arking b rake, p ress the b rake p ed al fir mly and hold it d own
while fully p ulling up the p arking b rake lever.
HG0313
Release button
To release the p arking b rake, p ull the lever up sli g htly, p ress the release
b utton, then lower the lever while keep ing the b utt on p ressed .
When the p arking b rake is set while the eng ine is r unning , the p arking
b rake warning lig ht c omes on. After starting the ve hic le, b e sure that the
warning lig ht has g one out b efore the vehic le is d r iven. Refer to the “War-
ning and ind ic ator lig hts ” sec tion (c hap ter 3).
When p arking your vehic le, always set the p arking b rake firmly and p ut
the shift lever in the “1 ” (1st) for an up g rad e or “R ” (Reverse) for a d own
g rad e for manual transmission vehic les, or in the “P ” (Park) p osition for
automatic transmission vehic les.
Always set the p arking b rake firmly when p arking yo ur vehic le. Never
rely on the transmission alone to hold the vehic le.
For b etter p arking b rake p ower, d ep ress the b rake p ed al firmly while set-
ting the p arking b rake (Drum b rake only).

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OM-H0162OM-H0161
When p arking on a hill, always turn the steering wh eel. When the vehic le
is head ed up the hill, the front wheels should b e t urned away from the
c urb . When fac ing d own hill, the front wheels shoul d b e turned into the
c urb . Braking Braking tips
WARNING
Never rest your foot on the brake pedal while driving. This can
cause dangerous overheating of the brakes and needless wearon the brake pads and linings.
When the brakes get wet
When d riving in rain, in p ud d le or after washing th e vehic le, the
b rakes may g et wet. As a result, b rake stop p ing d is tanc e will b e long -
er. To d ry the b rakes, d rive the vehic le at a safe sp eed while lig htly
d ep ressing the b rake p ed al to heat up the b rakes. Use of engine braking
Rememb er to make use of eng ine b raking in ad d ition to foot b raking .
When d esc end ing a g rad e, if only the foot b rake is used , the b rakes
may start working imp rop erly b ec ause of b rake fluid overheating ,
c aused b y overheated b rake p ad s. To help p revent th is, shift into a

Starting and operating7-33
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lower g ear to g et strong er eng ine b raking .
Braking when a tire is punctured
Do not d ep ress the b rake p ed al sud d enly when a tire is p unc tured .
This c ould c ause a loss of c ontrol of the vehic le. Keep d riving straig ht
ahead while g rad ually red uc ing sp eed . Then slowly p ull off the road
to a safe p lac e.
Brake system Two separate circuits
Your vehic le has two sep arate c irc uit b rake systems . Eac h c irc uit
works d iag onally ac ross the vehic le. If one c irc uit of the b rake system
should fail, the other half of the system still wor ks. If one c irc uit fails,
the b rake p ed al will g oes d own muc h c loser to the f loor than usual
and you will need to p ress it d own muc h hard er. And a muc h long er
d istanc e will b e need ed to stop the vehic le. Brake booster
The b rake b ooster uses eng ine manifold vac uum to as sist b raking
forc e. Do not turn off the eng ine while d riving b ec ause that will turn off
the b rake b ooster, resulting in p oor b raking p ower.
The b rakes will c ontinue to work even when the b rak e b ooster c om-
p letely stop s func tioning . If this hap p ens, however , you will have to
p ush the p ed al muc h hard er than normal and the b rak ing d istanc e
will inc rease.

7-34
Disc brake pad wear warning indicators
OM-H0163
The d isc b rake p ad wear warning ind ic ators on the d isc b rakes g ive a
warning noise when the b rake p ad s are worn.
If a sq ueaking or sc rap ing noise is heard from the d isc b rakes while
b raking , immed iately have your vehic le c hec ked b y y our SUBARU d eal-
er. ABS (Anti-Lock Brake System) (if equipped)
WARNING
Always use the utmost care in driving – overconfidence because
you are driving with an ABS equipped vehicle could easily lead to a serious accident.
CAUTION
The ABS system does not always decrease stopping distance.
You should always maintain a safe following distance from othervehicles. When driving on badly surfaced roads, gravel roads, icy roads,
or over deep newly fallen snow, stopping distances may be long-er for a vehicle with the ABS system than one without. When driv-ing under these conditions, therefore, reduce your speed and

Starting and operating7-35
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leave ample distance from other vehicles.
When you feel the ABS system operating, you should maintain
constant brake pedal pressure. Do not pump the brake pedal
since doing so may defeat the operation of the ABS system.
The ABS system p revents the loc k-up of wheels whic h may oc c ur d uring
sud d en b raking or b raking on slip p ery road surfac es . This help s p revent
the loss of steering c ontrol and d irec tional stab il ity c aused b y wheel
loc k-up .
When the ABS system is op erating , you may hear a c h attering noise or
feel a slig ht vib ration in the b rake p ed al. This is normal when the ABS
op erates.
The ABS system will not op erate when the vehic le sp eed is b elow
ap p roximately 6 mp h (10 km/h).
ABS system self-checking
You may feel a slig ht shoc k in the b rake p ed al and hear the op erating
sound of ABS from the eng ine c omp artment just after the vehic le is
started . This is c aused b y an automatic func tional test of the ABS sys-
tem b eing c arried out and d oes not ind ic ate any ab n ormal c ond ition.
ABS warning light
HG0346
The ABS warning lig ht c omes on when the ig nition sw itc h is turned to
the “ON ” p osition and g oes out after ab out two sec ond s.
This is an ind ic ation that the ABS system is workin g p rop erly.

7-36If the warning lig ht b ehaves as follows, the ABS sy
stem may not b e
working p rop erly. The warning lig ht d oes not c ome on when the ig nitio n switc h is
turned to the “ON ” p osition.
The warning lig ht c omes on when the ig nition switc h is turned to
the “ON ” p osition, b ut it d oes not g o out even when the veh ic le sp eed
exc eed s ap p roximately 8mp h (12km/h). The warning lig ht c omes on d uring d riving .
When the warning lig ht is on, the ABS func tion shut s d own; however,
the c onventional b rake system c ontinues to op erate normally. If this
oc c urs, have the ABS system rep aired at the first a vailab le op p ortuni-
ty b y your SUBARU d ealer. NOTE
If the warning light behavior is as described below, the ABS sys- tem may be considered normal. The warning light comes on right after the engine is started
but goes out immediately, remaining off. The warning light remains on after the engine has been
started, but it goes out when the vehicle speed reaches about 8mph (12 km/h). The warning light comes on during driving, but it goes out
immediately and remains off.
When d riving with an insuffic ient b attery voltag e s uc h as when the en-
g ine is jump started , the ABS warning lig ht may c om e on. This is d ue
to the low b attery voltag e and d oes not ind ic ate a malfunc tion. When
the b attery b ec omes fully c harg ed , the lig ht will g o out.

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Driving tips for AWD vehicles
WARNING
Always maintain a safe driving speed according to the road
and weather conditions in order to avoid having an accident on a sharp turn, during sudden braking or under other similar condi-tions. Always use the utmost care in driving – overconfidence be-
cause you are driving an all wheel drive vehicle could easily leadto a serious accident.
HS0113
All wheel d rive d istrib utes the eng ine p ower to all four wheels. AWD
vehic les p rovid e b etter trac tion when d riving on sl ip p ery, wet or snow-
c overed road s and when moving out of mud , d irt and sand . By shifting
p ower b etween the front and rear wheels, SUBARU AWD c an also p ro-
vid e ad d ed trac tion d uring ac c eleration and ad d ed e ng ine b raking forc e
d uring d ec eleration.
Therefore, your SUBARU AWD vehic le may hand le d iffe rently than an
ord inary two wheel d rive vehic le and it c ontains so me features uniq ue to
AWD. For safety p urp oses as well as to avoid d amag i ng the AWD sys-
tem, you should keep the following tip s in mind : An AWD vehic le is b etter ab le to c limb steep er road s und er snowy or
slip p ery c ond itions than a two wheel d rive vehic le. There is little d iffer-

7-38enc e in hand ling , however, d uring extremely sharp t
urns or sud d en b rak-
ing . Therefore, when d riving d own a slop e or turnin g c orners, b e sure to
red uc e your sp eed and maintain an amp le d istanc e fr om other vehic les.
When rep lac ing a tire, make sure you use only the s ame size, c irc um-
ferenc e, c onstruc tion, b rand , and load rang e as the orig inal tires listed on
the tire p lac ard . Using other sizes, c irc umferenc e or c onstruc tion may re-
sult in severe mec hanic al d amag e to the d rive train of your vehic le and
may affec t rid e, hand ling , b raking , sp eed ometer/od o meter c alib ration, and
c learanc e b etween the b od y and tires. It also may b e d ang erous and lead
to loss of vehic le c ontrol. If you use a temp orary sp are tire to rep lac e a flat tire, b e sure to use
the orig inal temp orary sp are tire stored in the veh ic le. Using other sizes
may result in severe mec hanic al d amag e to the d rive train of your vehic le.
Always c hec k the c old tire p ressure b efore starting to d rive. The rec -
ommend ed tire p ressure is p rovid ed on the tire p lac ard , whic h is loc ated
und er the d oor latc h on the d river ’s sid e.
Tire c hains should always b e p lac ed on the front wh eels only.
There are some p rec autions that you must ob serve wh en towing your
vehic le. For d etail information, see the “Towing ” sec tion in c hap ter 8.
Off road driving
WARNING
Always maintain a safe driving speed according to the road
and weather conditions in order to avoid having an accident on asharp turn, during sudden braking or under other similar condi-tions. Always use the utmost care in driving – overconfidence
because you are driving an all wheel drive vehicle could easily lead to a serious accident.
All AWD models except OUTBACK SPORT
Your AWD vehic le is neither a c onventional off-road vehic le nor an all
terrain vehic le. It is a p asseng er c ar d esig ned p ri marily for on-road

Starting and operating7-39
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use. The AWD feature g ives it some limited off-road
c ap ab ilities in sit-
uation in whic h d riving surfac es a relatively level , ob struc tion-free and
otherwise similar to on-road d riving c ond itions. Op erating it und er oth-
er than those c ond itions c ould sub jec t the vehic le to exc essive stress
whic h mig ht result in d amag e not elig ib le for rep ai r und er warranty. If
you d o take your SUBARU off road , you should review the c ommon
sense p rec autions in the next sec tion (ap p lic ab le t o the OUTBACK)
for g eneral g uid anc e. But p lease keep in mind that your vehic le’s off-
road c ap ab ilities are more limited than those of th e OUTBACK.
Never attemp t to d rive throug h p ools and p ud d les, o r road s flood ed
with water. Water entering the eng ine air intake or the exhaust p ip e or
water sp lashing onto elec tric al p arts may d amag e yo ur vehic le and
may c ause it to stall. OUTBACK SPORT
Bec ause of the AWD feature and hig her g round c leara nc e, your Sub -
aru c an b e d riven on ord inary road s or off-road . Bu t p lease keep in
mind that an AWD Sub aru is a p asseng er c ar and is n either a c onven-
tional off-road vehic le nor an all-terrain vehic le. If you d o take your
Sub aru off-road , c ertain c ommon sense p rec autions s uc h as the fol-
lowing should b e taken: Make c ertain that you and all of your p asseng ers ar e wearing seat
b elts. Carry some emerg enc y eq uip ment, suc h as a towing ro p e or
c hain, a shovel, wheel b loc ks, first aid kit and p o rtab le p hone or c iti-
zens b and rad io. Drive c arefully. Do not take unnec essary risks b y d riving in d ang er-
ous areas or over roug h terrain. Slow d own and emp loy extra c aution at all times. Wh en d riving off-
road , you will not have the b enefit of marked traff ic lanes, b anked
c urves, traffic sig ns and the like. Do not d rive ac ross steep slop es. Instead , d rive ei ther straig ht up
or straig ht d own the slop es. A vehic le c an muc h mor e easily tip over
sid eways than it c an end over end . Avoid d riving st raig ht up or d own
slop es that are too steep . Avoid sharp turning maneuvers, esp ec ially at hig her sp eed s.

7-40
Do not g rip the insid e or sp okes of the steering wh eel. A b ad
b ump c ould jerk the wheel and injure your hand s. In stead d rive with
your fing ers and thumb s on the outsid e of the rim. If d riving throug h water, suc h as when c rossing sha llow streams,
first c hec k the d ep th of the water and the b ottom o f the stream b ed
for firmness and ensure that the b ed of the stream is flat. Drive slowly
and c omp letely throug h the stream. The water should b e shallow
enoug h that it d oes not reac h the vehic le ’s und erc arriag e. Water en-
tering the eng ine air intake or the exhaust p ip e or water sp lashing
onto elec tric al p arts may d amag e your vehic le and m ay c ause it to
stall. Never attemp t to d rive throug h rushing water ; reg ard less of its
d ep th, it c an wash away the g round from und er your tires, resulting in
p ossib le loss of trac tion and even vehic le rollover .
Always c hec k your b rakes for effec tiveness immed iat ely after d riv-
ing in sand , mud or water. Do this b y d riving slowl y and step p ing on
the b rake p ed al. Rep eat that p roc ess several times to d ry out the
b rake d isc s and b rake p ad s. Do not d rive or p ark over or near flammab le materia ls suc h as d ry
g rass or fallen leaves, as they may b urn easily. Th e exhaust system is
very hot while eng ine is running and rig ht after th e eng ine stop s. This
c ould c reate a fire hazard . After d riving throug h tall g rass, mud , roc k, sand , rivers, etc ., c hec k
that there is no g rass, b ush, p ap er, rag s, stones, sand , etc . ad hering
to or trap p ed on the und erb od y. Clear off any suc h matter from the
und erb od y. If the vehic le is used with these materi als trap p ed or ad -
hering to the und erb od y, a mec hanic al b reakd own or fire c ould oc c ur.
Sec ure all c arg o c arried insid e the vehic le and mak e c ertain that it
is not p iled hig her than the seatb ac ks. During sud d en stop s or jolts,
unsec ured c arg o c ould b e thrown around in the vehic le and c ause
injury. Do not p ile heavy load s on the roof. Those load s raise the ve-
hic le ’s c enter of g ravity and make it more p rone to tip o ver.
If you must roc k the vehic le to free it from sand o r mud , d ep ress
the ac c elerator p ed al slig htly and move the selec to r lever b ac k and
forth b etween “D ” and “R ” rep eated ly. Do not rac e the eng ine. For the
b est p ossib le trac tion, avoid sp inning the wheels w hen trying to free
the vehic le.