warning light SUBARU OUTBACK 2008 4.G Service Manual

properly. If there is no problem and all tires
are properly inflated, the light will go out.
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 inflation pressure for those tires.)
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 aspossible.WARNING
If this light does not come on briefly
after the ignition switch is turned ON
or the light illuminates steadily after
blinking for approximately one min-
ute, you should have your Tire
Pressure Monitoring System
checked at a SUBARU dealer as
soon as possible.
If this light comes on 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 comes on 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 illuminates
steadily after blinking for approxi-
mately one minute. This indicates Instruments and controls
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3-34Instruments and controls
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 minute,
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 go
off a few minutes later. Therefore, be
sure to install the specified size for the front and rear tires.
& ABS warning light
The ABS warning light comes on when the
ignition switch is turned to the “ON ”
position and goes out after approximately
2 seconds.
This is an indication that the ABS system
is working properly.
CAUTION
If the warning light behaves as
follows, the ABS system may not
work properly.
When the warning light is on, the
ABS function shuts down; however,
the conventional brake system con-
tinues to operate normally. . The warning light does not come
on when the ignition switch is
turned to the “ON ”position.
. The warning light comes on when
the ignition switch is turned tothe “ON ”position, but it does not
go out even when the vehicle
speed exceeds approximately 8
mph (12 km/h).
. The warning light comes on dur-
ing driving. If any of these conditions occur,
have the ABS system repaired at
the first available opportunity by
your SUBARU dealer.
The ABS warning light comes on together
with the brake system warning light if the
EBD system becomes faulty. For further
details of the EBD system fault warning,
refer to “Brake system warning light ”.
NOTE
If the warning light behavior is as
described in the following, the ABS
system may be considered normal. . The warning light comes on right
after the engine is started but goes out
immediately, remaining off.. The warning light remains on after
the engine has been started, but it goes
out when the vehicle speed reaches
approximately 8 mph (12 km/h).. The warning light comes on during
driving, but it goes out immediately and
remains off.
When driving with an insufficient battery
voltage such as when the engine is jump
started, the ABS warning light may come
on. This is due to the low battery voltage
and does not indicate a malfunction.
When the battery becomes fully charged,
the light will go out.

&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 on, 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 three functions: ! Parking brake warning
The light comes on with the parking brake
applied while the ignition switch is in the“ ON ”position. It goes out when the
parking brake is fully released. ! Brake fluid level warning
This light comes on 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
come on 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 comes on
together with the ABS warning light.
The EBD system may be faulty 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, then restart it.
3. Release the parking brake. If both
warning lights go out, the EBD system
may be faulty.
Drive carefully to the nearest SUBARU
dealer and have the system inspected.
4. If both warning lights come on again
and stay 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
faulty. Drive carefully to the nearest
SUBARU dealer and have the systeminspected.
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.
& Low fuel warning light
The low fuel warning light comes on when
the tank is nearly empty approximately 2.6
US gal (10.0 liters, or 2.2 Imp gal). It only
operates when the ignition switch is in the“ON ”position. Instruments and controls
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3-36Instruments and controls
NOTE
This light does not go out 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
comes on. Engine misfires as a
result of an empty tank could cause
damage to the engine.
& Door open warning light
When any of the doors, the rear gate
(Station wagon) or the trunk lid (Sedan) is
not fully closed, the door open warning
light comes on.
For a vehicle without SI-DRIVE, the
open door is indicated by the correspond-
ing part of the door open warning light.
For a vehicle with SI-DRIVE, the opening
door is indicated on the multi-information
display.
Always make sure this light is out before
you start to drive. &
All-Wheel Drive
warning light
(AT models)
WARNING
Continued driving with the AWD
warning light flashing can lead to
powertrain damage. If the AWD
warning light flashes, promptly park
in a safe place then check whether
all four tires are the same diameter
and whether any of the tires has a
puncture or has lost air pressure for
some other reason.
The All-Wheel Drive warning light comes
on when the ignition switch is turned to the“ ON ”position and goes out after the
engine has started. ! For 5-speed automatic transmis-
sion vehicles
This light flashes if the vehicle is driven
with tires of different diameters fitted on its
wheels or with the air pressure exces-
sively low in any of its tires. ! For 4-speed automatic transmis-
sion vehicles
This light comes on when All-Wheel Drive
is disengaged and the drive mechanism is
switched to Front Wheel Drive for main- tenance or similar purposes.
This light flashes if the vehicle is driven
with tires of different diameters fitted on its
wheels or with the air pressure exces-
sively low in any of its tires.
& Vehicle Dynamics
Control operation indi-
cator light (if equipped)
This light comes on when the ignition
switch is ON and goes out approximately
2 seconds later.
It blinks when the skid suppression func-
tion is activated. It illuminates when only
the traction control function is operating.
The Vehicle Dynamics Control system is
probably faulty under any of the following
conditions. Have your vehicle checked at
a SUBARU dealer immediately. .The light does not come on when the
ignition switch is turned to the “ON ”
position. . The light does not go out even after a
period of approximately 2 seconds after
the ignition switch has been turned to the“ ON ”position.

&Vehicle Dynamics
Control warning light (if
equipped)/Vehicle Dy-
namics Control OFF in-
dicator light (if equipped)
This warning light has both the function of
indicating faults in the Vehicle Dynamics
Control system and the function of indicat-
ing that the Vehicle Dynamics Control
system has been deactivated.
It comes on in the event of a fault in the
system and is on when the system is notoperating.
This warning light comes on when the
ignition switch is turned to the “ON ”
position and goes out after the engine
has started. It indicates that the Vehicle
Dynamics Control system is in normaloperation. ! Vehicle Dynamics Control warning light
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 come on
when the ignition switch is turned to the “ ON ”position. .
The warning light comes on while the
vehicle is running. . If the electrical circuit of the Vehicle
Dynamics Control system itself becomes
faulty, the warning light only comes on. At
this time, the ABS (Anti-lock Brake Sys-
tem) remains fully operational. . The warning light comes on when the
electronic control system of the ABS/
Vehicle Dynamics Control system be-
comes faulty.
The Vehicle Dynamics Control system
provides its ABS control through the
electrical circuit of the ABS system.
Accordingly, if the ABS is inoperative, the
Vehicle Dynamics Control system be-
comes unable to provide ABS control. As
a result, the Vehicle Dynamics Control
system also becomes inoperative, caus-
ing the warning light to come on. Though
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 with this condition, but have your
vehicle checked at a SUBARU dealer as
soon as possible. NOTE
If the warning light behavior is as
shown in the following, the Vehicle
Dynamics Control system may be con- sidered normal. .
The warning light comes on right
after the engine is started but goes out
immediately, remaining off.. The warning light comes on after
engine startup and goes off while the
vehicle is subsequently being driven.. The warning light comes on during
driving, but it goes out immediately and
remains off. ! Vehicle Dynamics Control OFF in-
dicator light
. It comes on when the Vehicle Dy-
namics Control OFF switch is pressed. . It also comes on when the Vehicle
Dynamics Control system is deactivated. NOTE . The light may stay on 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 go out as soon as the
engine has warmed up.. The indicator light comes on when
the engine has developed a problem
and the CHECK ENGINE warning light/
malfunction indicator lamp is on.
The Vehicle Dynamics Control system is
probably faulty under the following condi-
tion. Have your vehicle checked at a Instruments and controls
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3-40Instruments and controls
rapidly, the turn signal bulb may be burned
out. Replace the bulb as soon as possible.
Refer to the “Replacing bulbs ”section in
chapter 11.
& High beam indicator light
This light shows that the headlights are in
the high beam mode.
This indicator light also comes on when
the headlight flasher is operated. &Cruise control indica-
tor light
The cruise control indicator light comes on
when the ignition switch is turned to the“ON ”position and goes out after approxi-
mately 3 seconds.
This light comes on when the “CRUISE ”
main switch is pressed. NOTE . If you move the cruise control lever
or press the main switch button while
turning the ignition switch “ON ”, the
cruise control function is deactivated
and the “CRUISE ”indicator light
flashes. To reactivate the cruise control
function, turn the ignition switch back
to the “Acc ”or “LOCK ”position, and
then turn it again to the “ON ”position. .
If this indicator light and the CHECK
ENGINE warning light/malfunction in-
dicator lamp flash simultaneously dur-
ing driving, have the vehicle checked
by your nearest SUBARU dealer. & Cruise control set in-
dicator light
The cruise control set indicator light
comes on when the ignition switch is
turned to the “ON ”position and goes out
after approximately 3 seconds.
This light comes on when vehicle speed
has been set.
& Headlight indicator light
This indicator light comes on when the
light switch is turned to the “”position
(to turn on the parking lights) or to the “
” position (to turn on the headlights).
& Front fog light indicator light
This indicator light is on while the front fog
lights are on. Clock (Vehicle without Navi-
gation System) NOTE .
If your vehicle is a 2.5-liter non-turbo
model equipped with a navigation sys-
tem, refer to the separate “Operating
Instructions for Monitor System ”.
. If your vehicle is a turbo model or a
3.0-liter model equipped with a naviga-
tion system, refer to the “Clock (Vehicle
with Navigation System) ”in the multi-
information display (vehicle with SI-
DRIVE) section in this chapter.
The clock shows the time while the
ignition switch is in the “Acc ”or “ON ”
position.

3-44Instruments and controls
& Driving range on remaining fuel
U.S.-spec. models
Canada-spec. models
The driving range indicates the distance that can be driven taking into account the
amount of fuel remaining in the tank and
the average rate of fuel consumption.
When the low fuel warning light comes on,
the driving range indication flashes for 5
seconds. (The display first switches to the
driving range indication if it was originally
giving some other indication.)
U.S.-spec. models
Canada-spec. models
If the driving range is shown as “
”,
there is only a tiny amount of fuel left in the
tank. You must refuel the vehicle immedi-
ately. NOTE
The driving range on remaining fuel is
only a guide. The indicated value may
differ from the actual driving range on
remaining fuel, so you must immedi-
ately fill the tank when the low fuel
warning light comes on.

&Journey time
The journey time shows the time that has
elapsed since the ignition switch was
turned to the “START ”position.
The journey time indication flashes each
time a complete hour has elapsed. If the display is giving an indication other than
the journey time, the display switches to
the journey time, flashes for 5 seconds,
and returns to its original indication each
time a complete hour has elapsed.
NOTE
The journey time is reset when the
ignition switch is turned to the “LOCK ”
position. It is also reset if the ignition
switch is turned to the “LOCK ”or
“ Acc ”position prior to restarting of
the engine. Light control switch
WARNING
To prevent battery discharge result-
ing from accidentally leaving your
lights on when your vehicle is
parked, the light switch operates
only when the ignition switch is in
the “ON ”position. In any other
position, the vehicle ’s lights will be
out.
If you park your vehicle on a road-
side at night, use the hazard warn-
ing flasher to alert the other drivers.
The light switch operates only when the
ignition switch is in the “ON ”position.
Instruments and controls
3-45
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&Daytime running light system
WARNING
The brightness of the illumination of
the high beam headlights is reduced
by the daytime running light system.
The light switch must always be
turned to the “
”position when it
is dark outside.
The high beam headlights will automati-
cally come on at reduced brightness when
the engine has started, under the followingconditions: . The parking brake is fully released.
. The light switch is in the “OFF ”or “
”
position.
NOTE
When the light switch is in the “
”
position, the front side marker lights,
parking lights and license plate lights
are illuminated. Turn signal lever
To activate the right turn signal, push the
turn signal lever up. To activate the left
turn signal, push the turn signal lever
down. When the turn is finished, the lever
will return automatically. If the lever does
not return after cornering, return the lever
to the neutral position by hand.
To signal a lane change, push the turn
signal lever up or down slightly and hold it
during the lane change. The turn signal
indicator lights will flash in the direction of
the turn or lane change. The lever will
return automatically to the neutral position
when you release it.Illumination brightness con- trol
The brightness of clock display, audio, air
conditioner, information display and instru-
ment panel illumination dims when the
light switch is in the
“
”or “”
positions. You can adjust brightness of
the instrument panel illumination for better
visibility.
For turbo and 3.0-liter models, you can
also adjust the brightness of the instru-
ment panel illumination when the lighting
switch is in the OFF position.
To brighten, turn the control dial upward.
To darken, turn the control dial downward. Instruments and controls
3-47
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Vehicle with SI-DRIVE
Vehicle without SI-DRIVE
The indicator light located on the combi-
nation meter will illuminate when the front
fog lights are on. Wiper and washer
WARNING
In freezing weather, do not use the
windshield washer until the wind-
shield is sufficiently warmed by the
defroster.
Otherwise the washer fluid can
freeze on the windshield, blocking
your view.
CAUTION
. Do not operate the washer con-
tinuously for more than 10 sec-
onds, or when the washer fluid
tank is empty. This may cause
overheating of the washer motor.
Check the washer fluid level
frequently, such as at fuel stops.
. Do not operate the wipers when
the windshield or rear window is
dry. This may scratch the glass,
damage the wiper blades and
cause the wiper motor to burn
out. Before operating the wiper
on a dry windshield or rear
window, always use the wind-
shield washer. .
In freezing weather, be sure that
the wiper blades are not frozen to
the windshield or rear window
before switching on the wipers.
Attempting to operate the wiper
with the blades frozen to the
window glass could cause not
only the wiper blades to be
damaged but also the wiper mo-
tor to burn out. If the wiper
blades are frozen to the window
glass, be sure to operate the
defroster, wiper deicer (if
equipped) or rear window defog-
ger before turning on the wiper.
. If the wipers stop during opera-
tion because of ice or some other
obstruction on the window, the
wiper motor could burn out even
if the wiper switch is turned off. If
this occurs, promptly stop the
vehicle in a safe place, turn the
ignition switch to the “LOCK ”
position and clean the window
glass to allow proper wiper op-eration.
. Use clean water if windshield
washer fluid is unavailable. In
areas where water freezes in
winter, use SUBARU Windshield
Washer Fluid or the equivalent.
Refer to the “Windshield washer
Instruments and controls
3-49
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