oil change SUBARU OUTBACK 2006 Owners Manual

Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
1-21
– CONTINUED –„ Seatbelt maintenance To clean the seatbelts, use a mild soap
and lukewarm water. Never bleach or dye
the belts because this could seriously af-
fect their strength.
Inspect the seatbelts and attachments in-
cluding the webbing and all hardware pe-
riodically for cracks, cuts, gashes, tears,
damage, loose bolts or worn areas. Re-
place the seatbelts even if only minor
damage is found. Front seatbelt pretensioners
The driver’s and front passenger’s seat-
belts have a seatbelt pretensioner. The
seatbelt pretensioners are designed to be
activated in the event of an accident in-
volving a moderate to severe frontal colli-
sion.
The pretensioner sensor also serves as a
SRS frontal airbag sensor. If the sensor
detects a certain predetermined amount
of force during a frontal collision, the front
seatbelt is quickly drawn back in by the re-
tractor to take up the slack so that the belt
more effectively rest rains the front seat
occupant.
When a seatbelt pretensioner is activated,y Do not allow the retractor to roll
up the seatbelt too quickly. Other-
wise, the metal tongue plates may
hit against the trim, resulting in
damaged trim.
y Have the seatbelt fully rolled up
so that the tongue plates are neat-
ly stored. A hanging tongue plate
can swing and hit against the trim
during driving, causing damage to
the trim. 100736
y Keep the belts free of polishes,
oils, chemicals and particularly
battery acid.
y Never attempt to make modifica-
tions or changes that will prevent
the seatbelt from operating prop-
erly. 100121

11 - 1 0 Maintenance and service
If you check the oil level just after stopping
the engine, wait a few minutes for the oil to
drain back into the oil pan before checking
the level.
To prevent overfilling the engine oil, do not
add any additional oil above the upper lev-
el when the engine is cold.
In 2.5-liter-engine models, the dipstick has
a notch above the upper level.
Just after driving or while the engine is
warm, the engine oil level reading may be
in a range between the upper level and
the notch mark. This is caused by thermal
expansion of the engine oil.
„ Changing the oil and oil filterChange the oil and oil filter according to
the maintenance schedule in the “Warran-
ty and Maintenance Booklet”.
The engine oil and oil filter must be
changed more frequently than listed in the
maintenance schedule when driving on
dusty roads, when short trips are frequent-
ly made, or when driving in extremely cold
whether.
1. Warm up the engine by letting the en-
gine idle for approximately 10 minutes to
ease draining the engine oil.
2. Park the vehicle on a level surface and
stop the engine. 3. Remove the oil filler cap.
2.5-liter models
3.0-liter models
4. Drain out the engine oil by removing the drain plug while the engine is still
warm. The used oil should be drained into
an appropriate container and disposed of
properly.
5. Wipe the seating surface of the drain
plug with a clean cloth and tighten it se-
curely with a new sealing washer after the
oil has completely drained out.
2.5-liter models B00419
B00305Be careful not to burn yourself with
hot engine oil.
B00420

Maintenance and service
11 - 1 5
– CONTINUED –T Changing the coolant
Always add genuine Subaru cooling sys-
tem conditioner whenever the coolant is
replaced.
Change the engine coolant and add gen-
uine Subaru cooling system conditioner
using the following procedures according
to the maintenance schedule in the “War-
ranty and Maintenance Booklet”.
1. Remove the under cover.
2.5-liter models
1) Drain plug 3.0-liter models
1) Drain plug
2. Place a proper container under the
drain plug and loosen the drain plug.
3. Loosen the radiator cap to drain the
coolant from the radiator. Then drain the
coolant from the reserve tank. Tighten the
drain plug securely. 4. Install the under cover.
Non-turbo models
1) Fill up to here
Turbo models
1) Fill up to here1 B00422
Never attempt to remove the radia-
tor cap until the engine has been
shut off and has cooled down com-
pletely. Since the coolant is under
pressure, you may suffer serious
burns from a spray of boiling hot
coolant when the cap is removed. B00423
1
1 B00424
1
B00425

Maintenance and service
11 - 3 9
– CONTINUED –Aluminum wheels Aluminum wheels can be scratched and
damaged easily. Handle them carefully to
maintain their appearance, performance,
and safety.
y When any of the wheels is removed and
replaced for tire rotation or to change a
flat, always check the tightness of the
wheel nuts after driving approximately 600
miles (1,000 km). If any nut is loose, tight-
en it to the specified torque.
y Never apply oil to the threaded parts,
wheel nuts, or tapered surface of the
wheel.
y Never let the wheel rub against sharp
protrusions or curbs.
y Be sure to fit tire chains on uniformly
and completely around the tire, otherwise
the chains may scratch the wheel.
y When wheel nuts, balance weights, or
the center cap is replaced, be sure to re-
place them with genuine SUBARU parts
designed for aluminum wheels. Windshield washer fluid
If you spray washer fluid on the windshield
but the supply of washer fluid appears to
diminish, check the level of washer fluid in
the tank.Use only those wheels that are
specified for your vehicle. Wheels
not meeting specifications could in-
terfere with brake caliper operation
and may cause the tires to rub
against the wheel well housing dur-
ing turns. The resulting loss of vehi-
cle control could lead to an acci-
dent. Never use engine coolant as washer
fluid because it could cause paint
damage.
B00199