SUBARU LEGACY 2012 5.G Owners Manual
Manufacturer: SUBARU, Model Year: 2012, Model line: LEGACY, Model: SUBARU LEGACY 2012 5.GPages: 474, PDF Size: 17.45 MB
Page 291 of 474

7-14Starting and operating
will flash one time.
7. Repeat step 5 for any additional
transmitters (the system will accept up to
eight transmitters).
8. The system will exit the transmitter
learn mode if the key is turned to the“LOCK ”position, the door is closed or
after 2 minutes. & System maintenance
NOTE
In the event that the vehicle ’s battery is
replaced, discharged or disconnected,
it will be necessary to start the vehicle
a minimum of one time using the key
prior to activating the remote engine
start system. This is required to allow
the vehicle electronic systems to re-synchronize. ! Changing the batteries
CAUTION
. Do not let dust, oil or water get on
or in the remote engine start
transmitter when replacing the
battery.
. Be careful not to damage the
printed circuit board in the re-
mote engine start transmitter
when replacing the battery. .
Be careful not to allow children to
touch the battery and any re-
moved parts; children could
swallow them.
. There is a danger of explosion if
an incorrect replacement battery
is used. Replace only with the
same or equivalent type of bat-
tery.
. Batteries should not be exposed
to excessive heat such as sun-
shine, fire or the like.
The two 3-volt lithium batteries (model
CR-2032) supplied in your remote engine
start transmitter should last approximately
one year, depending on usage. When the
batteries begin to weaken, you will notice
a decrease in range (distance from the
vehicle that your remote control operates).
Follow the instructions below to change
the remote engine start transmitter bat-teries.
1. Remove the small Phillips type screw
located on the back side lower left corner
of the transmitter.
2. Carefully pry the remote engine start
transmitter halves apart using a small flat-
head screwdriver.
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3. Remove the circuit board from the
bottom half of the case and remove the
batteries and replace with new ones. Be
sure to observe the (+) sign on the old
batteries before removing them to ensure
that the new batteries are inserted prop-
erly (battery“+ ” should be pointed away
from the transmitter circuit board on bothbatteries).
4. Carefully snap the case halves back
together, reinstall the Phillips type screw
and test the remote engine start system. NOTE . This device complies with Part 15 of
the FCC Rules and with RSS-210 of
Industry Canada. Operation is subject
to the following two conditions: (1) This
device may not cause harmful inter- ference, and (2) this device must
accept any interference received, in-
cluding interference that may cause
undesired operation.
Changes or modifications not ex-
pressly approved by the party respon-
sible for compliance could void theuser
’s authority to operate the equip-
ment and void warranty.. To comply with the FCC RF expo-
sure compliance requirements, no
change to the antenna or the device is
permitted. Any change to the antenna
or the device could result in the device
exceeding the RF exposure require-
ments and void user ’s authority to
operate the device. Manual transmission
WARNING
. Do not drive the vehicle with the
clutch disengaged (i.e., when the
clutch pedal is depressed) or
with the shift lever in the neutral
position. Engine braking has no
effect in either of these condi-
tions and the risk of an accident
is consequently increased.
. Do not engage the clutch (i.e.,
release the clutch pedal) sud-
denly when starting the vehicle.
By doing so the vehicle might
unexpectedly accelerate or the
transmission could malfunction. Starting and operating
7-15
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Page 293 of 474

7-16Starting and operating
The manual transmission is a fully syn-
chromeshed, 6-forward-speed and 1-re-
verse-speed transmission.
The shift pattern is shown on the shift
lever knob. &Selecting reverse gear
CAUTION
Shift into reverse ONLY when the
vehicle has completely stopped. It
may cause damage to the transmis-
sion to try shifting into reverse when
the vehicle is moving.
1) Slider
You must raise the slider and hold it in that
position before you can move the shift
lever to the “R ”position.
To change gears, fully depress the clutch
pedal, move the shift lever, and gradually
let up on the clutch pedal.
If it is difficult to shift into gear, put the
transmission in neutral, release the clutch
pedal momentarily, and then try again.
& Shifting speeds
! Recommended shifting speeds
The best compromise between fuel econ-
omy and vehicle performance during
normal driving is ensured by shifting up
at the speeds listed in the following table. Shift up mph (km/h)
1st to 2nd 15 (24)
2nd to 3rd 25 (40) 3rd to 4th 40 (64)4th to 5th 45 (72)
5th to 6th 50 (80)
! Maximum allowable speeds
WARNING
When shifting down a gear, ensure
that the vehicle is not travelling at a
speed exceeding the Maximum Al-
lowable Speed for the gear which is
about to be selected. Failure to
observe this precaution can lead to
engine over-revving and this in turn
can result in engine damage.
In addition, sudden application of
engine brakes when the vehicle is
travelling on a slippery surface can
lead to wheel locking; as a conse-
quence, control of the vehicle may
be lost and the risk of an accidentincreased.
The following table shows the maximum
speeds that are possible with each differ-
ent gear. The tachometer ’s needle will
Page 294 of 474

enter the red area if these speeds are exceeded.
With the exception of cases where sudden
acceleration is required, the vehicle
should not be driven with the tachometer’s
needle inside the red area. Failure to
observe this precaution can lead to
excessive engine wear and poor fuel
economy. mph (km/h)
Gear Legacy
Outback
Non-turbo
models Turbo
models
1st 32 (52) 35 (56) 32 (52)
2nd 57 (92) 62 (100) 57 (92)
NOTE
Never exceed posted speed limits. & Driving tips
Do not drive with your foot resting on the
clutch pedal and do not use the clutch to
hold your vehicle at a standstill on an
upgrade. Either of those actions may
cause clutch damage.
Do not drive with your hand resting on the
shift lever. This may cause wear on the
transmission components.
When it is necessary to reduce vehicle
speed due to slow traffic, turning corners, or driving up steep hills, downshift to a
lower gear before the engine starts to
labor.
On steep downgrades, downshift the
transmission to 5th, 4th, 3rd or 2nd gear
as necessary; this helps to maintain a safe
speed and to extend brake pad life.
In this way, the engine provides a braking
effect. Remember, if you
“ride ”(over use)
the brakes while descending a hill, they
may overheat and not work properly.
The engine may, on rare occasions, knock
when the vehicle rapidly accelerates or
rapidly pulls away from a standstill. This
phenomenon does not indicate a problem. Automatic transmission/Con-
tinuously variable transmis-sion
The automatic transmission is electroni-
cally controlled and provides 5 forward
speeds and 1 reverse speed. The con-
tinuously variable transmission is electro-
nically controlled and provides an infinite
number of forward speeds and 1 reversespeed.
Both the automatic transmission and
continuously variable transmission have
a manual mode.
WARNING
Do not shift from the “P ” or “N ”
position into the “D ” 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 comple-
tely stopped. Shifting while the
vehicle is moving may cause
damage to the transmission.
. Do not race the engine for more Starting and operating
7-17
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Page 295 of 474

7-18Starting and operating
than 5 seconds in any position
except the “N ” or “P ” position
when the brake is applied or
when chocks are used in the
wheels. This may cause the
transmission fluid 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 transmis-sion.
. When parking the vehicle, first
securely apply the parking brake
and then place the select lever inthe “P ” position. Avoid parking
for a long time with the select
lever in any other position as
doing so could result in a dead
battery.
NOTE . For AT models, when the engine
coolant temperature is still low, the
transmission will upshift to higher
engine speeds than when the coolant
temperature is sufficiently high in order
to shorten the warm-up time and
improve driveability. The gearshift tim-
ing will automatically shift to the nor- mal timing after the engine has warmedup..
Immediately after transmission fluid
is replaced, you may feel that the
transmission operation is somewhat
unusual. This results from invalidation
of data which the on-board computer
has collected and stored in memory to
allow the transmission to shift at the
most appropriate times for the current
condition of your vehicle. Optimized
shifting will be restored as the vehicle
continues to be driven for a while.. When driving a vehicle that is
equipped with CVT under continuous
heavy load conditions such as towing a
camper or climbing a long, steep hill,
the engine speed or the vehicle speed
may automatically be reduced. This is
not a malfunction. This phenomenon
results from the engine control func-
tion maintaining the cooling perfor-
mance of the vehicle. The engine and
vehicle speed will return to a normal
speed when the engine is able to
maintain the optimum cooling perfor-
mance after the heavy load decreases.
Driving under a heavy load must be
performed with extreme care. Do not
try to pass a vehicle in front when
driving on an uphill slope while towing.. The continuously variable transmis-
sion is a chain type system that provides superior transmission effi-
ciency for maximum fuel economy. At
times, depending on varying driving
conditions, a chain operating sound
may be heard that is characteristic of
this type of system.
& Select lever
: With the brake pedal depressed, shift
while pressing the button in
: Shift while pressing the button in: Shift without pressing the button
The select lever has four positions, “P ”,
“ R ”, “N ”, “D ”and also has a manual gate
for using the manual mode. ! P (Park)
This position is for parking the vehicle and
starting the engine.
Page 296 of 474

In this position, the transmission is me-
chanically locked to prevent the vehicle
from rolling freely.
When you park the vehicle, first apply the
parking brake, then shift into the“P ”
position. Do not hold the vehicle with only
the transmission.
To shift the select lever from the “P ”to any
other position, you should depress the
brake pedal fully then move the select
lever. This prevents the vehicle from
lurching when it is started. NOTE
To protect the engine while the “P ”
position is selected, the engine is
controlled such that the engine speed
may not become too high even if the
accelerator pedal is depressed hard. ! R (Reverse)
This position is for backing the vehicle.
To shift from the “N ” to “R ”position, stop
the vehicle completely then move the
lever to the “R ”position.
! N (Neutral)
This position is for restarting a stalledengine.
In this position the wheels and transmis-
sion are not locked. In this position, the transmission is neutral; the vehicle will roll
freely, even on the slightest incline unless
the parking brake or foot brake is applied.
Avoid coasting with the transmission neutral.
During coasting, there is no engine brak-
ing effect.
NOTE . To protect the engine while the “N ”
position is selected, the engine is
controlled such that the engine speed
may not become too high even if the
accelerator pedal is depressed hard.. If the select lever is in the “N ”
position when you stop the engine for
parking, you may not subsequently be
able to move it to the “R ” and “P ”
positions. If this happens, turn the
ignition switch to the “ON ”position.
You will then be able to move the select
lever to the “P ” position.
WARNING
Do not drive the vehicle with the
select lever in the “N ” (neutral)
position. Engine braking has no
effect in this condition and the risk
of an accident is consequently in-creased. !
D (Drive)
This position is for normal driving. The
transmission automatically shifts into a
suitable gear according to the vehicle
speed and the acceleration you require.
When more acceleration is required in this
position, depress the accelerator pedal
fully to the floor and hold that position. The
transmission will automatically downshift.
When you release the pedal, the transmis-
sion will return to the original gear posi-tion.
To use the manual mode, move the lever
from this position into the manual gate.
NOTE (AT models only)
Automatic downshifts to 4th or 3rd may
occur even when driving on a level
road depending on conditions, such as
how hard you depress the brake pedal. ! While climbing a grade
When driving up a hill, undesired upshift is
prevented from taking place when the
accelerator is released. This minimizes
the chance of subsequent downshifting to
a lower gear when accelerating again.
This prevents repeated upshifting and
downshifting resulting in a smoother op-
eration of the vehicle. Starting and operating
7-19
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Page 297 of 474

7-20Starting and operating
NOTE
The transmission may downshift, de-
pending on the way the accelerator
pedal is depressed to accelerate the
vehicle again. & Shift lock function
The shift lock function helps prevent the
improper operation of the select lever. . The select lever cannot be operated
unless the ignition switch is turned to the “ ON ”position and the brake pedal is
depressed. . The select lever cannot be moved from
the “P ” position to any other position
before the brake pedal is depressed.
Depress the brake pedal first, and then
operate the select lever. . Only the “P ”position allows you to turn
the key from the “Acc ”position to the
“ LOCK ”position and remove the key from
the ignition key cylinder.. If the ignition switch is turned to the
“ LOCK ”position while the select lever is in
the “N ”position, the select lever may not
be moved to the “P ”position after a period
of time. Therefore, move the select lever
to the “P ” position with the brake pedal
depressed soon after the ignition switch is
turned to the “LOCK ”position. !
Shift lock release
If the select lever cannot be operated, turn
theignitionswitchbacktothe “ON ”
position then move the select lever to the“ P ” position with the select lever button
pressed and brake pedal depressed.
If the select lever does not move after
performing the above procedure, perform
the following steps. . When the select lever cannot be
shifted from “P ” to “N ”:
Refer to “Shift lock release using the shift
lock release button ”F 7-20.
. When the select lever cannot be
shifted from “N ” to “R ”, “P ”:
Within 60 seconds after placing the igni-
tion switch in the “Acc ”position, move the
select lever to the “P ” position with the
select lever button pressed and brake
pedal depressed.
If you must perform the above procedure,
the shift lock system (or the vehicle control
system) may be malfunctioning. Contact a
SUBARU dealer for an inspection as soon
as possible.
If the select lever does not move after
performing the above procedure, refer to“ Shift lock release using the shift lock
release button ”F 7-20. !
Shift lock release using the shift
lock release button
Perform the following procedure to release
the shift lock.
1. Apply the parking brake and stop the engine.
2. Remove the shift lock cover using a
flat-head screwdriver.
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3. While depressing the brake pedal,
insert the electronic parking brake release
tool into the hole, press the shift lock
release button using the tool, and then
move the select lever. NOTE
To prevent damage to the shift lock
cover, cover the tip of the flat-head
screwdriver with vinyl tape or a cloth
before removing the cover.
If the select lever does not move after
performing the above procedure, the shift
lock system may be malfunctioning. Con-
tact a SUBARU dealer for an inspection
as soon as possible.&
Selection of manual mode
With the vehicle either moving or station-
ary, move the select lever from the “D ”
position to the “M ”position to select the
manual mode.
1) Upshift indicator
2) Downshift indicator
3) Gear position indicator
When the manual mode is selected, the
gear position indicator and upshift indica-
tor and/or downshift indicator on the
combination meter illuminate. The gear
position indicator shows the currently
selected gear in the 1st-to-5th-gear range
(AT models) or 1st-to-6th gear range (CVT
models). The upshift and downshift indi-
cators show when a gearshift is possible.
When the upshift indicator “
”is on,
upshifting is possible. When the downshift indicator “
”is on, downshifting is possi-
ble. When both indicators are on, upshift-
ing and downshifting are both possible.
When the vehicle stops (for example, at
traffic signals), the downshift indicator Starting and operating
7-21
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Page 299 of 474

7-22Starting and operating
turns off.
Gearshifts can be performed using the
paddle shift switch behind the steeringwheel.
Pull the “+ ” of the paddle shift to upshift
one level. Also pull the “ ” of the paddle
shift to downshift one level.
To deselect the manual mode, return the
select lever to the “D ”position from the “M ”
position.
While driving with the select lever in the “ D ” position, if you change gears by
paddle shifting, the gear position indicator
light illuminates and shows the current
gear condition.
CAUTION
Do not place or hang anything on
the paddle shift levers. Doing so
may result in accidental gear shift-ing.
NOTE
Please read the following points care-
fully and bear them in mind when using
the manual mode. . If you attempt to shift down when
the engine speed is too high, i.e., when
a downshift would push the tachometer
needle beyond the red zone, beeps will
be emitted to warn you that the down-
shift is not possible.. If you attempt to shift up when the
vehicle speed is too low, the transmis-
sion will not respond.. You can perform a skip-shift (for
example, from 4th to 2nd) by operating
the paddle switch twice in rapid suc-cession.. The transmission automatically se-
lects 1st gear when the vehicle stopsmoving.. If the temperature of the transmis-
sion fluid becomes too high, the “AT
OIL TEMP ”warning light will illuminate.
Immediately stop the vehicle in a safe place and let the engine idle until the
warning light turns off. &
Driving tips
. On a road surface where there is a risk
of wheelspin (for example, a snow- or
gravel-covered road), you can pull away
from a standstill safely and easily by first
selecting the 2nd gear of the manualmode. . Always apply the foot or parking brake
when the vehicle is stopped in the “D ”or
“ R ”position.
. Always apply the parking brake when
parking your vehicle. Do not hold the
vehicle with only the transmission. . Do not keep the vehicle in a stationary
position on an uphill grade by using the “ D ”position. Use the brake instead.
. The engine may, on rare occasions,
knock when the vehicle rapidly acceler-
ates or rapidly pulls away from a standstill.
This phenomenon does not indicate amalfunction. . A slight reduction in output torque may
occur in the models with a 2.5 L turbo or
3.6 L engine before the engine warms up.
Page 300 of 474

Power steering
CAUTION
Do not hold the steering wheel at the
fully locked position left or right for
more than 5 seconds. This may
damage the power steering pump.
The power steering system operates only
when the engine is running.
If you lose power steering assist because
the engine stops or the system fails to
function, you can steer but it will take
much more effort. NOTE
Right after the engine has been started
and before it has warmed up, you may
hear a noise coming from areas adja-
cent to the power steering pump which
is located at the right-front area of the
engine compartment. This noise is
normal. It does not indicate power
steering system trouble. 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
help 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 a dual circuit brake
system. Each circuit works diagonally
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 thevehicle. ! 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 depress the pedal much
harder than normal and the braking dis-
tance will increase. Starting and operating
7-23
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