SUBARU IMPREZA WRX 2012 4.G Owners Manual

3-14Instruments and controls
to fail. .Do not install any accessory such as a
table or TV onto the seatback.. Do not store a heavy load in the
seatback pocket.. Do not allow the rear seat occupant to
place his/her hands or legs on the front passenger ’s seatback, or allow him/her to
pull the seatback. . Do not use front seats with their back-
ward-forward position and seatback not
being locked into place securely. If any of
them are not locked securely, adjust them
again. For adjusting procedure, refer to“ Front seats ”F 1-2.
If the seatbelt warning device for the front passenger ’s seat does not function cor-
rectly (e.g., it is activated even when the
front passenger ’s seat is empty or it is
deactivated even when the front passen-
ger has not fastened his/her seatbelt),
take the following actions. . Ensure that no article is placed on the
seat other than a child restraint system
and its child occupant, although we
strongly recommend that all children sit
in the rear seat properly restrained. . Ensure that there is no article left in the
seatback pocket.. Ensure that the backward-forward po-
sition and seatback of front passenger ’s seat are locked into place securely by
moving the seat back and forth.
If still the seatbelt warning device for front passenger
’s seat does not function cor-
rectly after taking relevant corrective ac-
tions described above, immediately con-
tact your SUBARU dealer for an inspec-tion.
& SRS airbag system
warning light
WARNING
If the warning light exhibits any of
the following conditions, there may
be a malfunction in the seatbelt
pretensioners and/or SRS airbag
system. Immediately take your vehi-
cle to your nearest SUBARU dealer
to have the system checked. Unless
checked and properly repaired, the
seatbelt pretensioners and/or SRS
airbag will not operate properly in
the event of a collision, which may
increase the risk of injury. . Flashing or flickering of the warn-
ing light
. No illumination of the warning
light when the ignition switch is
first turned to the “ON ”position .
Continuous illumination of the
warning light
. Illumination of the warning light
while driving
& Front passenger ’s frontal
airbag ON and OFF indica- tors
ON /: Front passenger ’s frontal airbag ON
indicator
/: Front passenger ’s frontal airbag OFF
indicator
The front passenger ’s frontal airbag ON
and OFF indicators show you the status of
the front passenger ’s SRS frontal airbag.
The indicators are located next to the
clock in the center portion of the dash-

board.
When the ignition switch is turned to the “ON ”position, both the ON and OFF
indicators illuminate for 6 seconds during
which time the system is checked. Follow-
ing the system check, both indicators turn
off for 2 seconds. After that, one of the
indicators illuminates depending on the
status of the front passenger ’s SRS frontal
airbag determined by the SUBARU ad-
vanced frontal airbag system monitoring.
If the front passenger ’s SRS frontal airbag
is activated, the passenger ’s frontal airbag
ON indicator will illuminate while the OFF
indicator will remain off.
If the front passenger ’s SRS frontal airbag
is deactivated, the passenger ’s frontal
airbag ON indicator will remain off while
the OFF indicator will illuminate.
With the ignition switch turned to the “ON ”
position, if both the ON and OFF indica-
tors remain illuminated or off simulta-
neously even after the system check
period, the system is malfunctioning.
Contact your SUBARU dealer immedi-
ately for an inspection. &
CHECK ENGINE warn-
ing light/Malfunction in-
dicator light
CAUTION
If the CHECK ENGINE light illumi-
nates while you are driving, have
your vehicle checked/repaired by
your SUBARU dealer as soon as
possible. Continued vehicle opera-
tion without having the emission
control system checked and re-
paired as necessary could cause
serious damage, which may not be
covered by your vehicle ’s warranty.
If this light illuminates steadily or blinks
while the engine is running, it may indicate
that there is a problem or potential
problem somewhere in the emission con-
trol system. ! If the light illuminates steadily
If the light illuminates steadily while driving
or does not turn off after the engine starts,
an emission control system malfunction
has been detected.
You should have your vehicle checked by
an authorized SUBARU dealer immedi-
ately. 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 illuminating
could be a loose or missing fuel filler cap.
Remove the cap and retighten it until it
clicks. Make sure nothing is interfering
with the sealing of the cap. Tightening the
cap will not make the CHECK ENGINE
warning light 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 thefollowing. . Reduce vehicle speed.
. Avoid hard acceleration.
. Avoid steep uphill grades.
. Reduce the amount of cargo, if possi-
ble. Instruments and controls
3-15
– CONTINUED –

3-16Instruments and controls
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. &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 11-8.
CAUTION
Do not operate the engine with the
oil pressure warning light illumi-
nated. This may cause serious en-
gine damage.
& Rear differential oil
temperature warning
light (STI)
CAUTION
Reduce vehicle speed and park the
vehicle in a safe place as soon as
possible if the R.DIFF TEMP light
illuminates. Continued driving with
this light illuminated can damage
the rear differential and other parts
of the powertrain.
If this light illuminates when the engine is
running, it may indicate that the rear
differential oil temperature is too hot.
At this time, the driver ’s control center
differential will automatically cancel the current torque-distribution ratio setting and
adopt its minimum ratio.
If the light illuminates while driving, reduce
vehicle speed and stop the vehicle at the
nearest safe place. Park the vehicle for
several minutes. After the light turns off,
you can start driving.
If the light does not turn off, contact the
nearest SUBARU dealer for service.
NOTE . If the tire pressures are not correct
and/or the tires are not all the same
size and brand, the rear differential will
be heavily loaded when the vehicle is
driven, resulting in an abnormally high
oil temperature.. The rear differential oil will deterio-
rate if its temperature increases en-
ough for the rear differential oil tem-
perature warning light to illuminate. It is
advisable to have the rear differential
oil replaced as soon as possible. & Low tire pressure
warning light (U.S.-spec. models)
When the ignition switch is turned to the “ON ”position, the low tire pressure warn-
ing light will illuminate for approximately 2
seconds to check that the tire pressure

monitoring system (TPMS) is functioning
properly. If there is no problem and all tires
are properly inflated, the light will turn off.
Each tire, including the spare (if provided),
should be checked monthly when cold
and inflated to the inflation pressure
recommended by the vehicle manufac-
turer on the vehicle placard or tire inflation
pressure label. (If your vehicle has tires of
a different size than the size indicated on
the vehicle placard or tire inflation pres-
sure label, you should determine the
proper tire inflation pressure for thosetires.)
As an added safety feature, your vehicle
has been equipped with a tire pressure
monitoring system (TPMS) that illuminates
a low tire pressure telltale when one or
more of your tires is significantly under-
inflated. Accordingly, when the low tire
pressure telltale illuminates, you should
stop and check your tires as soon as
possible, and inflate them to the proper
pressure. Driving on a significantly under-
inflated tire causes the tire to overheat and
can lead to tire failure. Under-inflation also
reduces fuel efficiency and tire tread life,
and may affect the vehicle’s handling and
stopping ability.
Please note that the TPMS is not a
substitute for proper tire maintenance,
and it is the driver ’s responsibility to maintain correct tire pressure, even if
under-inflation has not reached the level
to trigger illumination of the TPMS low tire
pressure telltale.
Your vehicle has also been equipped with
a TPMS malfunction indicator to indicate
when the system is not operating properly.
The TPMS malfunction indicator is com-
bined with the low tire pressure telltale.
When the system detects a malfunction,
the telltale will flash for approximately one
minute and then remain continuously
illuminated. This sequence will continue
upon subsequent vehicle start-ups as long
as the malfunction exists. When the
malfunction indicator is illuminated, the
system may not be able to detect or signal
low tire pressure as intended. TPMS
malfunctions may occur for a variety of
reasons, including the installation of re-
placement or alternate tires or wheels on
the vehicle that prevent the TPMS from
functioning properly. Always check the
TPMS malfunction telltale after replacing
one or more tires or wheels on your
vehicle to ensure that the replacement or
alternate tires and wheels allow the TPMS
to continue to function properly.
Should the warning light illuminate stea-
dily after blinking for approximately one
minute, have the system inspected by
your nearest SUBARU dealer as soon as
possible.
WARNING
If this light does not illuminate
briefly after the ignition switch is
turned ON or the light illuminates
steadily after blinking for approxi-
mately one minute, you should have
your Tire Pressure Monitoring Sys-
tem checked at a SUBARU dealer as
soon as possible.
If this light illuminates while driving,
never brake suddenly and keep
driving straight ahead while gradu-
ally reducing speed. Then slowly
pull off the road to a safe place.
Otherwise an accident involving
serious vehicle damage and serious
personal injury could occur.
If this light still illuminates while
driving after adjusting the tire pres-
sure, a tire may have significant
damage and a fast leak that causes
the tire to lose air rapidly. If you have
a flat tire, replace it with a spare tire
as soon as possible.
When a spare tire is mounted or a
wheel rim is replaced without the
original pressure sensor/transmitter
being transferred, the Low tire pres-
sure warning light will illuminate Instruments and controls
3-17
– CONTINUED –

3-18Instruments and controls
steadily after blinking for approxi-
mately one minute. This indicates
the TPMS is unable to monitor all
four road wheels. Contact your
SUBARU dealer as soon as possible
for tire and sensor replacement and/
or system resetting.
If the light illuminates steadily after
blinking for approximately one min-
ute, promptly contact a SUBARU
dealer to have the system inspected.
CAUTION
The tire pressure monitoring system
is NOT a substitute for manually
checking tire pressure. The tire
pressure should be checked peri-
odically (at least monthly) using a
tire gauge. After any change to tire
pressure(s), the tire pressure mon-
itoring system will not re-check tire
inflation pressures until the vehicle
is first driven more than 20 mph (32
km/h). After adjusting the tire pres-
sures, increase the vehicle speed to
at least 20 mph (32 km/h) to start the
TPMS re-checking of the tire infla-
tion pressures. If the tire pressures
are now above the severe low
pressure threshold, the low tire
pressure warning light should turn off a few minutes later. Therefore, be
sure to install the specified size for
the front and rear tires.
& ABS warning light
CAUTION
. If any of the following conditions
occur, we recommend that you
have the ABS system repaired at
the first available opportunity by
your SUBARU dealer. – The warning light does not
illuminate when the ignition
switch is turned to the “ON ”
position.
– The warning light illuminates
when the ignition switch is
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.
With a vehicle equipped with an EBD
system, the ABS warning light illuminates
together with the brake system warning
light if the EBD system malfunctions. For
further details of the EBD system mal-
function warning, refer to “Electronic
Brake Force Distribution (EBD) systemwarning ”F 3-19.
NOTE
If the warning light behavior is as
described in the following conditions,
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 illumi-
nated after the engine has been started,
but it turns off when the vehicle speed
reaches approximately 8 mph (12km/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 brake system warning light also
illuminates if a malfunction occurs in the
EBD system. In that event, it illuminates
together with the ABS warning light.
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 remain 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. Instruments and controls
3-19
– CONTINUED –

3-20Instruments and controls
&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 3.7 US
gal (14 liters, 3.1 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/Hill start assist OFF
indicator light (STI)
!Hill start assist warning light
While the engine is rotating, if there are
any malfunctions 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.
! Hill start assist OFF indicator light(STI)
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 door open warning light illuminates if
any door or the rear gate is not fullyclosed.
Always make sure this light is not illumi-
nated before you start to drive. &
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
becomes inoperative, causing the
warning light to illuminate. Although
both the Vehicle Dynamics Control
and ABS systems are inoperative in
this case, the ordinary functions of
the brake system are still available.
You will be safe while driving in this
condition, but drive carefully and
have your vehicle checked at a
SUBARU dealer as soon as possi-ble.

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 and remains 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 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 engine has warmed up for several minutes after it was started. &
Vehicle Dynamics
Control OFF indicator
light/Traction Control
OFF indicator light (STI)
This light has the function of indicating the
following conditions. .The Vehicle Dynamics Control system
has been deactivated (all models).. Only the Traction control system has
been deactivated (STI).
The light illuminates under the following conditions. . The Vehicle Dynamics Control system
is not operating (all models).. Only the Traction Control system is not
operating (STI). STI:
This light illuminates in yellow for approxi-
mately 1 second when the ignition switch
is turned to the “ON ”position. After that,
the light changes to green and remains
illuminated in green for 1 second, and then
turns off. It indicates that the Vehicle
Dynamics Control system is operating
normally. Instruments and controls
3-21
– CONTINUED –

3-22Instruments and controls
The indicator light shows the activated/deactivated conditions as follows.
Activated/deactivated status for each function
Traction Control Vehicle Dynamics
Control system ABS
Indicator light Turn off Activated Activated Activated
(Illuminates in
green)* Deactivated Activated Activated
(Illuminates in
yellow) Deactivated Deactivated
Activated
*: STI only For details about the Traction Control and Vehicle Dynamics Control system, refer to “ Vehicle Dynamics Control system ”F 7-28. !
Vehicle Dynamics Control OFF in-
dicator light (yellow)
. This light illuminates when the Vehicle
Dynamics Control OFF switch is pressed
(except STI). . This light illuminates when the Vehicle
Dynamics Control mode switch is pressed
for more than 2 seconds (STI). . The light illuminates when the Vehicle
Dynamics Control system is deactivated.
NOTE . The light may remain illuminated for
a while 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 conditions. Have your vehicle checked
at a SUBARU dealer as soon as possible. . The light does not illuminate when the
ignition switch is turned to the “ON ”
position.. The light does not turn off even after
the lapse of several minutes (the engine

has warmed up) after the engine has started. !Traction Control OFF indicator light (green –STI)
The light illuminates when the Vehicle
Dynamics Control mode switch is pressed
briefly to select the traction mode. For
details, refer to “Traction mode ”F 7-30.
& Security indicator light
The security indicator light deters potential
thieves by indicating that the vehicle is
equipped with an immobilizer system. It
begins flashing (approximately once every
3 seconds) approximately 60 seconds
after the ignition switch is turned from the“ON ”position to the “Acc ”or “LOCK ”
position or immediately after the key is pulled out.
If the security indicator light does not flash,
the immobilizer system may not be func-
tioning properly. If this occurs, contact
your SUBARU dealer as soon as possible.
In case an unauthorized key is used (e.g.,
an imitation key), the security indicator
light illuminates.
NOTE . For the flashing pattern when arm-
ing the alarm system, refer to “Arming
the system ”F 2-16.
. 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. &
SI-DRIVE indicator light (STI)
1) Intelligent (I) mode
2) Sport (S) mode
3) Sport Sharp (S#) mode
This light indicates the current SI-DRIVE mode.
For details of SI-DRIVE mode, refer to “SI-
DRIVE (STI) ”F 7-22.
& Shift-up indicator light (STI)
While selecting the Intelligent (I) mode of
SI-DRIVE, this indicator light illuminates
and informs the driver about the upshift
timing for fuel-efficient driving. Instruments and controls
3-23
– CONTINUED –