tires SUBARU OUTBACK 2000 3.G User Guide

Driving tips8-9
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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 en g 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. When the road surfac e is extremely slip p ery, you c a n ob tain b etter

8-10trac tion b y starting the vehic le with the transmiss
ion in 2nd than 1st
(b oth for MT and AT). Never eq uip your vehic le with tires larg er than tho se sp ec ified in
this manual. Freq uent d riving of an AWD vehic le und er hard -d rivi ng c ond itions
suc h as roug h road s or off road s will nec essitate m ore freq uent re-
p lac ement of eng ine oil, b rake fluid and transmissi on oil than that sp e-
c ified in the maintenanc e sc hed ule d esc rib ed in the “Warranty and
Maintenanc e Booklet ”.
Rememb er that d amag e d one to your Sub aru while op er ating it off-
road and not using c ommon sense p rec autions suc h as those listed
ab ove is not elig ib le for warranty c overag e.
Winter driving
HB3010AA
Operation during cold weather
Carry some emerg enc y eq uip ment, suc h as tire c hains , a wind ow
sc rap er, a b ag of sand , flares, a small shovel, and jump er c ab les.
Chec k the b attery and c ab les. Cold temp eratures red uc e b attery c a-
p ac ity. The b attery must b e in g ood c ond ition to p r ovid e enoug h p ow-
er for c old winter starts.
Use an eng ine oil of p rop er g rad e and visc osity for c old weather.
Heavy summer oil will c ause hard er starting .

Driving tips8-11
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CONTINUED –
Keep the d oor loc ks from freezing b y sq uirting them
with d eic er or
g lyc erin.
Forc ing a frozen d oor op en may d amag e or sep arate t he rub b er
weather strip s around the d oor. If the d oor is froz en, use hot water to
melt the ic e, and afterward s thoroug hly wip e the wa ter away.
Use a wind shield washer fluid that c ontains an anti freeze solution. Do
not use eng ine antifreeze or other sub stitutes b ec a use they may d am-
ag e the p aint of the vehic le.n Before driving your vehicle
Before entering the vehic le, remove any snow or ic e from your shoes
b ec ause that c ould make the p ed als slip p ery and d an g erous.
While warming up the vehic le b efore d riving , c hec k that the ac c elera-
tor p ed al, b rake p ed al, and all other c ontrols op er ate smoothly.
Clear away ic e and snow that has ac c umulated und er the fend ers to
avoid making steering d iffic ult. During severe wint er d riving , stop
when and where it is safe to d o so and c hec k und er the fend ers p eri-
od ic ally. n Parking in cold weather
WARNING
Snow can trap dangerous exhaust gases under your vehicle. Keep snow clear of the exhaust pipe and from around your
vehicle if you park the vehicle in snow with the engine running.
Do not use the p arking b rake when p arking for long p eriod s in c old
weather sinc e it c ould freeze in that p osition. Ins tead , ob serve the fol-
lowing :
1. Plac e the shift lever in “1 ” or “R ” for manual transmission vehic les,
and in “P ” for automatic transmission vehic les.
2. Use tire stop s und er the tires to p revent the veh ic le from moving .
When the vehic le is p arked in snow or when it snows , raise the wip er
b lad es off the g lass to p revent d amag e to them.

Driving tips8-13
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CONTINUED –
n
Wiper operation when snowing
Before d riving in c old weather, make sure the wip er b lad es are not
frozen to the wind shield or rear wind ow. If the wip er b lad es are frozen
to the wind shield or rear wind ow, use the d efroster with the airflow
c ontrol d ial in the “
” p osition and the temp erature c ontrol d ial set
for maximum warmth until the wip er b lad es are c omp l etely thawed
out. If your vehic le is eq uip p ed with a wip er d eic e r, it is help ful to thaw
the wind shield wip er b lad es. To thaw out the rear w ip er b lad e, use the
rear wind ow d efog g er.
When d riving in snow, if frozen snow starts to stic k on the surfac e of
the wind shield d esp ite wip er op eration, use the d ef roster with the air-
flow c ontrol d ial in “
” and the temp erature c ontrol d ial set for max-
imum warmth. After the wind shield g ets warmed enoug h to melt the
frozen snow on it, wash it away using the wind shiel d washer.
Snow stuc k on the wip er arm p revents the wip er from working effec -
tively. If snow is stuc k on the wip er arm, p ull off the road to a safe
p lac e, then remove it. If you stop the c ar at road sid e, use the hazard
warning flasher to alert other d rivers.
We rec ommend use of non-freezing typ e wip er b lad es d uring the sea-
sons you c ould have snow and sub -zero temp eratures. Corrosion protection
Refer to the “Corrosion p rotec tion ” sec tion (c hap ter 10).
Snow tires
WARNING
When replacing a tire, make sure you use only the same size,
circumferences, construction, brand, and load range as the origi- nal tires listed on the tire placard. Using other sizes, circumfer-
ences or construction may result in severe mechanical damageto the drive train of your vehicle and may affect ride, handling,braking, speedometer/odometer calibration, and clearancebetween the body and tires. It also may be dangerous and lead toloss of vehicle control.

8-14
Do not use a combination of radial, belted bias or bias tires
since it may cause dangerous handling characteristics and lead to an accident.
Your vehic le is eq uip p ed with “all season tires ” whic h are d esig ned to
p rovid e an ad eq uate measure of trac tion, hand ling a nd b raking p erfor-
manc e in year-round d riving . In winter, it may b e p ossib le to enhanc e
p erformanc e throug h use of tires d esig ned sp ec ific a lly for winter d riving
c ond itions.
If you c hoose to install winter tires on your vehic le, b e sure to use the
c orrec t tire size and typ e. All four tires should b e of the same size,
c onstruc tion, b rand and load rang e and you should n ever mix rad ial,
b elted b ias or b ias tires sinc e this may result in d ang erous hand ling
c harac teristic s.
Rememb er to d rive with c are at all times reg ard less of the typ e of tires on
your vehic le.
Tire chains
CAUTION
Tire chains cannot be used on P205/55R16 tires for GT modelsand P225/60R16 tires for OUTBACK models because of lack of
clearance between the tires and body.
Driving on snowy g rad es or ic y road s may req uire th e use of tire c hains,
in whic h c ase p ut the c hains on the front wheels on ly. Use only SAE
c lass S typ e c hains that are of the c orrec t size fo r your tires so as not to
d amag e the vehic le b od y or susp ension.
When d riving with tire c hains, d rive at sp eed s b elo w 19 mp h (30 km/h).
When a temp orary sp are tire is on a front wheel, re p lac e the temp orary
sp are tire with the rear tire on the same sid e of t he vehic le, and then fit
c hains on the front tires.
Always use the utmost c are when d riving with tire c hains — overc onfi-
d enc e b ec ause you are d riving with tire c hains c oul d easily lead to a se-
rious ac c id ent.

Driving tips8-17
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CONTINUED –

GVWR and GAWR (Gross Vehicle Weight Rating and
Gross Axle Weight Rating)
HBF019BB
The c ertific ation lab el attac hed to the d river ’s sid e d oor shows GVWR
(Gross Vehic le Weig ht Rating ) and GAWR (Gross Axle Weig ht Rating ).
The GVW (Gross Vehic le Weig ht) must never exc eed th e GVWR. GVW is
the c omb ined total of weig ht of the vehic le, fuel, d river, all p asseng ers,
lug g ag e, any op tional eq uip ment and trailer tong ue load . Therefore, the
GVW c hang es d ep end ing on the situation. The GVWR eq uals Curb
Weig ht (ac tual weig ht of your vehic le – inc lud ing stand ard eq uip ment,
fluid s, emerg enc y tools and sp are tire assemb ly) p l us the vehic le c ap ac -
ity weig ht.
In ad d ition, the total weig ht ap p lied to eac h axle (GAW) must never ex-
c eed the GAWR. The front and rear GAWs c an b e ad jus ted b y reloc ating
lug g ag e insid e the vehic le.
Even if the total weig ht of your lug g ag e is lower t han the vehic le c ap ac ity
weig ht, either front or rear GAW may exc eed the GAW R, d ep end ing on
the d istrib ution of the lug g ag e.
If you c arry heavy load s in the vehic le, you should c onfirm that GVW and
front and rear GAWs are within the GVWR and GAWR b y p utting your
vehic le on a vehic le sc ale, found at a c ommerc ial w eig hing station.
Do not use rep lac ement tires with a lower load rang e than the orig inals
b ec ause they may lower the GVWR and GAWR limitation s. Rep lac ement
tires with a hig her load rang e than the orig inals d o not inc rease the

8-26Trailer towing
Your c ar is d esig ned and intend ed to b e used p rimar
ily as a p asseng er-
c arrying vehic le. Towing a trailer p uts ad d itional load s on your c ar’s en-
g ine, d rivetrain, b rakes, tires and susp ension and has an ad verse effec t
on fuel ec onomy.
If you d o d ec id e to tow a trailer, your safety and satisfac tion d ep end
up on p rop er use of c orrec t eq uip ment and c autious o p eration of your ve-
hic le. Seek the ad vic e of your SUBARU d ealer to ass ist you in p urc has-
ing a hitc h and other nec essary towing eq uip ment ap p rop riate for your
vehic le. In ad d ition, b e sure to follow the instruc tions on c orrec t installa-
tion and use p rovid ed b y the trailer and other towi ng eq uip ment
manufac turers.
SUBARU assumes no resp onsib ility for injuries or ve hic le d amag e that
result from trailer towing eq uip ment, or from any e rrors or omissions in
the instruc tions ac c omp anying suc h eq uip ment or for your failure to fol-
low the p rop er instruc tions.
Warranties and maintenance
SUBARU warranties d o not ap p ly to vehic le d amag e or malfunc tion
c aused b y trailer towing . If you use your vehic le t o tow a trailer, more
freq uent maintenanc e will b e req uired d ue to the ad d itional load .
(Refer to “Maintenanc e sc hed ule und er severe d riving c ond ition s” in
the “Warranty and Maintenanc e Booklet ”.)
Und er no c irc umstanc es should a trailer b e towed wi th a new vehic le
or a vehic le with any new p owertrain c omp onent (eng ine, transmis-
sion, d ifferential, wheel b earing s, etc .) for the f irst 1,000 miles (1,600
km) of d riving . Maximum load limits
WARNING
Never exceed the maximum load limits explained below. Exceed- ing the maximum load limits could cause personal injury and/or
vehicle damage.

Driving tips8-31
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CONTINUED –

Trailer hitches
WARNING
Never drill the frame or under-body of your vehicle to install a
commercial trailer hitch. If you do, dangerous exhaust gas, wateror mud may enter the passenger compartment through the drilledhole. Exhaust gas contains carbon monoxide, a colorless andodorless gas which is dangerous, or even lethal, if inhaled. Also,drilling the frame or under-body of your vehicle could cause dete-rioration of strength of your vehicle and cause corrosion aroundthe drilled hole.
CAUTION
Do not modify the vehicle exhaust system, brake system, or
other systems when installing a hitch or other trailer towingequipment. Do not use axle-mounted hitches as they can cause damage to
the axle housing, wheel bearings, wheels or tires.
Choose a p rop er hitc h for your vehic le and trailer. OUTBACK wagon
The use of a g enuine SUBARU trailer hitc h is rec omm end ed . A g enu-
ine SUBARU hitc h is availab le from your SUBARU d eal er.
If use of a non-g enuine hitc h is unavoid ab le, b e su re the hitc h is
suited to your vehic le and trailer. Consult with a p rofessional hitc h
sup p lier to assist you in c hoosing an ap p rop riate h itc h for your
vehic le. Be sure to follow all of the hitc h manufac turer’s instruc tions for
installation and use.
Never use a hitc h that mounts only to the rear b ump er. The b ump er is
not d esig ned to hand le that typ e of load .
For all typ es of hitc hes, reg ularly c hec k that the hitc h mounting b olts
and nuts are tig ht.

8-34Connec tion of trailer lig hts to your vehic le
’s elec tric al system req uires
mod ific ations to the vehic le ’s lig hting c irc uit to inc rease its c ap ac ity
and ac c ommod ate wiring c hang es. To ensure the trail er lig hts are
c onnec ted p rop erly, p lease c onsult your SUBARU d eal er. Chec k for
p rop er op eration of the turn sig nals, the b rake lig hts and p arking
lig hts eac h time you hitc h up . n Tires
WARNING
Never tow a trailer when the temporary spare tire is used. The temporary spare tire is not designed to sustain the towing load.
Use of the temporary spare tire when towing can result in failureof the spare tire and/or less stability of the vehicle.
Make sure that all the tires on your vehic le are p r op erly inflated .
OUTBACK: The rec ommend ed c old tire p ressure und er trailer
towing c ond itions is ind ic ated on the tire p lac ard loc ated und er the
d oor striker on the d river ’s sid e. Ad just the rear tire p ressure to the
rec ommend ed p ressure shown on the tire p lac ard when the tires
are c old . Normal p ressure should b e maintained in t he front tires.
Other models: It is rec ommend ed to inflate the rear tires to 3 p si
(20 kPa, 0.2 kg /c m 2
) ab ove their normal op erating p ressure when
the tires are c old . Normal p ressure should b e maint ained in the
front tires.
Trailer tire c ond ition, size, load rating and p rop e r inflation p ressure
should b e in ac c ord anc e with the trailer manufac tur er’s sp ec ific ations.
In the event your vehic le g ets a flat tire when tow ing a trailer, ask a
c ommerc ial road servic e to rep air the flat tire.
If you c arry a reg ular size sp are tire in your vehi c le or trailer as a p re-
c aution ag ainst g etting a flat tire, b e sure that t he sp are tire is firmly
sec ured .

9
In case of emergency
If you park your vehicle in an emergency 9-2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Temporary spare tire 9-3
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Flat tires 9-4
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Jump starting 9-11
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Engine overheating 9-13
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Towing 9-14
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Moonroof — if the moonroof cannot be closed 9-24 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Maintenance tools 9-26
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Jack and jack handle 9-26
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