Light SUBARU OUTBACK 2004 4.G Repair Manual

4-6
Climate control
NOTE
When the dial is placed in the “ ” or “ ” po-
sition, the air conditioner compressor operates
automatically regardless of the position of the air
conditioner button to defog the windshield quick-
ly. At the same time, the air inlet selection is auto-
matically set to “Outside air” mode.
In this state, you cannot select “recirculation”
mode by manually pressing the air inlet selectionbutton. T
Air conditioner button
The air conditioner operates only when the engine is
running. Push the air conditioner button while the fan is in op-
eration to turn on the air conditioner. The indicator light
will come on.
Push it again to turn off the air conditioner. T
Air inlet selection button
Continued operation in the ON position may fog
up the windows. Switch to the OFF position as
soon as the outside dusty condition clears.
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Climate control
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ON position (Recirculation): Interior air is recirculat-
ed inside the vehicle. Push the air inlet selection but-
ton to the ON position. The indicator light will come on.
Push the air inlet selection button to the ON position
for fast cooling with the air conditioner or when driving
on a dusty road.
OFF position (Outside Air): Outside air is drawn into
the passenger compartment. Push the air inlet selec-
tion button again to the OFF position. The indicator
light will go off.
Push the air inlet selection button to the OFF position
when the interior has cooled to a comfortable temper-
ature and the road is no longer dusty. „
Heater operation
T Defrosting or defogging the windshield
To direct warm air to the windshield and front door win-
dows:
1. Set the air flow control dial to the “ ” position.
2. Turn the temperature control dial all the way to the right.
3. Set the fan speed control dial to the highest speed.
NOTE
Warm air also comes out from the right and left air
outlets. To stop warm air flow from these outlets,
turn the corresponding thumb-wheel to the
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Climate control
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TBi-level heating
This setting allows you to direct air of different temper-
atures from the instrument panel and foot outlets. The
air from the foot outlets is slightly warmer than from the
instrument panel outlets.
1. Set the air inlet selection button to the “OFF” posi- tion.
2. Set the air flow control dial to the “ ” position.
3. Set the temperature control dial to the desired tem- perature level.
4. Set the fan speed control dial to the desired speed.
Setting the temperature control dial fully turned to the
red area or blue area decreases the temperature dif- ference between the air from the instrument panel out-
lets and the air from the foot outlets. T
Ventilation
Continued operation in the “ON” position may
fog up the windows. Switch to the “OFF” posi-
tion as soon as the outside dusty condition
clears.
To force outside air through the instrument panel out- lets:
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Climate control
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2. Set the temperature control dial to the red area.
3. Set the fan speed control dial at the highest speed. Automatic climate control system (if
equipped)
NOTE y
Operate the automatic climate control system
when the engine is running. y When the engine coolant is cold, for instance in
cold weather, the air flows through the windshield
defroster outlets and the blower runs at the lowest
speed to prevent cold air from blowing directly
against the driver and front passenger.y In the “AUTO” mode, if the air temperature in the
passenger compartment is cooled down to the
specified temperature, the air conditioner com-
pressor stops automatically. For efficient defog-
ging or dehumidifying in cold weather, press the
“A/C” switch on.y Even when cooling is not necessary, setting the
temperature much lower than the current outlet air
temperature turns on the air conditioner compres-
sor automatically and the “A/C” indicator light on
the control panel comes on.
The automatic climate control system automatically
controls outlet air temperature, fan speed, air flow dis-
tribution air-inlet control, and air conditioner compres-
sor operation. It activates when the “AUTO” switch is

4-13
Climate control
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TAUTO switch
AUTO mode operation:
The Automatic Climate Control system automatically
controls the air temperature of the passenger com-
partment in the AUTO mode. When the “AUTO” switch
is pressed, the indicator light “AUTO” on the control
panel comes on. In this state, outlet air temperature,
fan speed, air flow distribution, air-inlet control, and air
conditioner compressor operation are automatically
controlled.
ECON (economy) mode:
When you press the “AUTO” switch while the system
is in the AUTO mode, it selects the ECON (economy)
mode, turning on the “ ” indicator light. In the
ECON mode, the compressor runs to be thrifty with
energy consumption. Interior windows tend to fog in
this energy-saving operation. It is therefore recom-
mended that the AUTO mode be used only in high hu-
midity conditions.
Manual mode operation:
When the Automatic Climate Control system is operat-
ing in the AUTO mode, pressing the “ ”,
“ ”, “MODE”,“A/C” or “ ” switch
shifts the operation into the “MANUAL” mode and the
indicator light “AUTO” on the control panel will go out.
When the “ ”, “ ”, “MODE”,“A/C” or “ ” switch is pressed, the corresponding func-
tion can be controlled independently, while automatic
control of the other functions are maintained.
To change the system back to the AUTO mode, press
the “AUTO” switch. T
OFF switch
The Automatic Climate Control system turns off (the
air conditioner compressor and fan turn off) when the
“OFF” switch is pressed.
When the “OFF” switch is pressed, the outside air in-
troduction mode (“ ” position) is automatically
selected.
NOTE
Display illumination dimness cancellation (BRIGHT):
Setting the light switch to the “ ” or “ ”
position causes the illuminating icons on the dis-
play panel to dim. When traveling with the lights
on in gloomy daylight or in twilight, press the OFF
switch for 1 second or longer if you feel it is too
hard to identify the icons clearly. The brightness
comes back to normal.
If you wish to dim the icons again, hold down the
OFF switch again or if you can safely do so, turn
the light switch OFF and then place it in the
“ ” or “ ” position.

4-14
Climate control
T
OUT.TEMP switch
To check the outside air temperature, push the
“OUT.TEMP” switch. The outside air temperature will
be displayed for five seconds, and then the display au-
tomatically changes back to the inside air tempera- ture.
The display changes over from the inside air tempera-
ture to the outside air temperature as its normal indi-
cation if you keep the switch pressed for more than 2seconds.
NOTE y The outside air temperature display shows the
outside air temperature in a range from –22 to
131 °F (–30 to 55 °C).
y You can check the outside air temperature even
when the Automatic Climate Control is off. (The ig-
nition switch should be in the “ON” position.) y In the following cases, the display can indicate a
higher temperature than the actual outside air
temperature: – In direct sunlight
– When the vehicle is parked for a long period of
time with the engine kept running.
– During stop and go driving
T – Defroster switch
To defrost or dehumidify the windshield and side win- dow, push the defroster switch “ ”. When the
“ ” switch is pushed, regardless whether the air
conditioner is operating or not, outside air is drawn into
the passenger compartment, the air conditioner com-
pressor turns on, air flow is directed towards the wind-
shield and side windows, and the indicator light
“ ” on the control panel comes on.
Even with the defroster switch pushed, you can turn
the air conditioner ON/OFF and select interior air recir-
culation or outside air introduction as desired.
After eliminating the fogging from the windshield, set
the air conditioner back in the AUTO mode by pushing
the “AUTO” switch or turn off by pushing the “OFF”
switch or “ ” switch.

4-15
Climate control
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T – Fan speed control switch
1) Fan speed control switch
The fan speed control switch has the 5 positions:
AUTO position and 4 different fan speed positions.
With the fan speed control switch in the AUTO posi-
tion, the fan speed changes automatically correspond-
ing to various conditions: air temperature inside and
outside of the passenger compartment, intensity of the
sunlight, etc.
Use this switch to select desired fan speed. Fan speed
increases with each press of the switch and returns to
the AUTO position. T
A/C – Air conditioner switch
NOTE
The air conditioner compressor does not operate
when the outside air temperature is below 32 °F
(0 °C).
If the windshield starts to fog when the air conditioner
is operated in the AUTO mode, push the air condition-
er switch “A/C” to defog and dehumidify.
When this switch is pushed, the air conditioner com-
pressor turns on and the indicator light “A/C” on the
control panel comes on. After eliminating the fogging
from the windshield, set the air conditioner back in the
AUTO mode by pushing the “AUTO” switch. T MODE – Air flow control switch
(Ventilation): Air flows through the instrument pan-
el outlets.
(Bi-level): Air flows through the instrument panel
outlets and the foot outlets.
(Heat): Air flows through the foot outlets and
some through the windshield defroster outlets.
1
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Climate control
(Heat-def): Air flows through the windshield de-
froster outlets and foot outlet.
NOTE
When the “ ” mode is selected, the air condi-
tioner compressor operates automatically regard-
less of the position of the air conditioner button to
defog the windshield quickly. At the same time,
the air inlet selection is automatically set to “” mode.
Even with this mode selected, you can turn the air
conditioner ON/OFF and select interior air recircu-
lation or outside air introduction as desired. T Air inlet selection switch
Continued operation in the “ ” position
may fog up the windows. Switch to the
“ ” position as soon as the outside
dusty condition clears. A) Outside air is drawn into the passenger’s compart-
ment.
B) Interior air recirculates inside the passenger’s com- partment.
1) Air inlet selection switch
Select the air inlet by pushing the air inlet selection switch. : Interior air recirculates inside the passenger’s
compartment. Use this position when quickly warming
up the passenger compartment or cooling it down or
when preventing outside air from entering the passen-
ger compartment from the outside air. The indicator
light “ ” on the control panel comes on when
AB
1
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4-17
Climate control
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this switch is pushed.
: Outside air is drawn into the passenger com-
partment. When the air conditioning system is operat-
ed in the “AUTO” mode, this position is selected auto-
matically. The indicator light “ ” on the control
panel comes on when this switch is pushed. T Temperature control dial
1) Temperature control dial
NOTE
The temperature setting remains even after the ig-
nition switch is turned to the “OFF”. However, if
the battery cables are disconnected, the tempera- ture will be set to 77
°F (25 °C) automatically.
Set desired temperature by turning the temperature
control dial; turn the dial clockwise to raise the temper-
ature setting and turn it counterclockwise to lower it.
The temperature can be set in increments of 1 °F with-
in a range of 65 to 85 °F for US models and in incre-
ments of 0.5 °C within a range of 18 to 32 °C for Cana-
dian models.
Even when quick cooling or warming is necessary,
you do not have to change the temperature setting.
The Automatic Climate Control system operates at
maximum performance until the air in the passenger
compartment reaches to the specified temperature.
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Climate control
„
Efficient cooling after parking in direct
sunlight
After parking in direct sunlight, drive with the windows
open for a few minutes to allow outside air to circulate
into the heated interior. This results in quicker cooling
by the air conditioner. Keep the windows closed during
the operation of the air conditioner for maximum cool- ing efficiency. „ Lubrication oil circulation in the refrig-
erant circuit
Operate the air conditioner compressor at a low en-
gine speed (at idle or low driving speeds) a few min-
utes each month during the off-season to circulate its
oil. „ Checking air conditioning system be-
fore summer season
Check the air conditioner unit for refrigerant leaks,
hose conditions, and proper operation each spring.
This check is best performed by your SUBARU dealer. „
Cooling and dehumidifying in high hu-
midity and low temperature weather condition
Under certain weather conditions (high relative humid-
ity, low temperatures, etc.) a small amount of water
vapor emission from the air outlets may be noticed.
This condition is normal and does not indicate any
problem with the air conditioning system. „ Air conditioner compressor shut-off
when engine is heavily loaded
To improve acceleration and gas mileage, the air con-
ditioner compressor is designed to temporarily shut off
during air conditioner operation whenever the acceler-
ator is fully depressed such as during rapid accerela-
tion or when driving on a steep upgrade. „ Refrigerant for your climate control system
Your air conditioner uses ozone friendly refrigerant
HFC134a. Therefore, the method of adding, changing
or checking the refrigerant is different from the method
for CFC12 (freon). Consult your SUBARU dealer for
service. Repairs needed as a result of using the wrong
refrigerant are not covered under warranty.