stop start SUBARU OUTBACK 2012 5.G Owner's Guide

7-24Starting and operating
!Brake assist system
WARNING
Do not be overconfident about the
brake assist. It is not a system that
brings more braking ability to the
vehicle beyond its braking capabil-
ity. Always use the utmost care
when driving regarding vehicle
speed and safe distance.
CAUTION
When you need to brake suddenly,
continue depressing the brake pedal
strongly to bring the effect of the
brake assist.
Brake assist is a driver assistance system.
It assists the brake power when the driver
cannot depress the brake pedal strongly
and the brake power is insufficient.
Brake assist generates the brake power
according to the speed at which the driver
depresses the brake pedal. NOTE
When you depress the brake pedal
strongly or suddenly, the following
phenomena occur. However, even
though these occur, they do not indi- cate any malfunctions, and the brake
assist system is operating properly. .
You might feel that the brake pedal
is applied by lighter force and gener-
ates a greater braking force.. You might hear the sound of ABS
operating from the engine compart-ment.
& Disc brake pad wear warning indicators
The disc brake pad wear warning indica-
tors on the disc brakes give a warning
noise when the brake pads are worn.
If a squeaking or scraping noise is heard
from the disc brakes while braking, im-
mediately have your vehicle inspected by
the nearest SUBARU dealer. ABS (Anti-lock Brake Sys- tem)
WARNING
Always use the utmost care in driving –overconfidence because
you are driving with an ABS
equipped vehicle could easily lead
to a serious accident.
CAUTION
. The ABS system does not always
decrease stopping distance. You
should always maintain a safe
following distance from othervehicles.
. When driving on badly surfaced
roads, gravel roads, icy road, or
over deep newly fallen snow,
stopping distances may be long-
er for a vehicle with the ABS
system than one without. When
driving under these conditions,
therefore, reduce your speed and
leave ample distance from othervehicles.
. When you feel the ABS system
operating, you should maintain

constant brake pedal pressure.
Do not pump the brake pedal
since doing so may defeat the
operation of the ABS system.
The ABS system prevents the lock-up of
wheels which may occur during sudden
braking or braking on slippery road sur-
faces. This helps prevent the loss of
steering control and directional stability
caused by wheel lock-up.
When the ABS system is operating, you
may hear a chattering noise or feel a slight
vibration in the brake pedal. This is normal
when the ABS operates.
The ABS system will not operate when the
vehicle speed is below approximately 6
mph (10 km/h). & ABS system self-check
You may feel a slight shock in the brake
pedal and hear the operating sound of
ABS from the engine compartment just
after the vehicle is started. This is caused
by an automatic functional test of the ABS
system being carried out and does not
indicate any abnormal condition. & ABS warning light
Refer to “ABS warning light ”F 3-16. Electronic Brake Force Dis-
tribution (EBD) system
The EBD system maximizes the effective-
ness of the brakes by allowing the rear
brakes to supply a greater proportion of
the braking force. It functions by adjusting
the distribution of braking force to the rear
wheels in accordance with the vehicle
’s
loading condition and speed.
The EBD system is an integral part of the
ABS system and uses some of the ABSsystem ’s components to perform its func-
tion of optimizing the distribution of brak-
ing force. If any of the ABS components
used by the EBD function fails, the EBD
system also stops working.
When the EBD system is operating, you
may hear a chattering noise or feel a slight
vibration in the brake pedal. This is normal
and does not indicate a malfunction. &
Steps to take if EBD system malfunctions
If a malfunction occurs in the EBD system,
the system stops working and the brake
system warning light and ABS warning
light illuminate simultaneously.
The EBD system may be malfunctioning 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 Starting and operating
7-25
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7-26Starting and operating
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 turn off, the EBD system
may be malfunctioning.
Drive carefully to the nearest SUBARU
dealer and have the system inspected.
4. If both warning lights illuminate again
and remain illuminated after the engine
has been restarted, shut down the engine
again, apply the parking brake, and check
the brake fluid level. Refer to “Brake fluid ”
F 11-25.
5. If the brake fluid level is not below the“ MIN ”mark, the EBD system may be
malfunctioning. Drive carefully to the
nearest SUBARU dealer and have the
system inspected.
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.
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. Vehicle Dynamics Control system
WARNING
Always use the utmost care in driving –overconfidence because
you are driving with a Vehicle Dy-
namics Control system equipped
vehicle could easily lead to a ser-
ious accident.
CAUTION
. Even if your vehicle is equipped
with Vehicle Dynamics Control
system, winter tires should be
used when driving on snow-cov-
ered or icy roads; in addition,
vehicle speed should be reduced
considerably. Simply having a
Vehicle Dynamics Control sys-
tem does not guarantee that the
vehicle will be able to avoid
accidents in any situation.
. Activation of the Vehicle Dy-
namics Control system is an
indication that the road being
travelled on has a slippery sur-
face; since having Vehicle Dy-
namics Control is no guarantee

7-30Starting and operating
low pressure threshold, the low tire
pressure warning light should turn
off a few minutes later.
If this light still illuminates 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 illuminate
steadily after blinking for approxi-
mately one minute. This indicates
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.
Do not inject any tire liquid or
aerosol tire sealant into the tires,
as this may cause a malfunction of
the tire pressure sensors. If the light
illuminates steadily after blinking for
approximately one minute, promptly
contact a SUBARU dealer to have
the system inspected.CAUTION
Do not place metal film or any metal
parts under the driver ’s seat. This
may cause poor reception of the
signals from the tire pressure sen-
sors, and the tire pressure monitor-
ing system will not function prop-
erly.
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. Parking your vehicle
WARNING
. Never leave unattended children
or pets in the vehicle. They could
accidentally injure themselves or
others through inadvertent op-
eration of the vehicle. Also, on
hot or sunny days, the tempera-
ture in a closed vehicle could
quickly become high enough to
cause severe or possibly fatal
injuries to them.
. Do not park the vehicle over
flammable materials such as dry
grass, waste paper or rags, as
they may burn easily if they come
near hot engine or exhaust sys-
tem parts.
. Be sure to stop the engine if you
take a nap in the vehicle. If
engine exhaust gas enters the
passenger compartment, occu-
pants in the vehicle could die
from carbon monoxide (CO) con-
tained in the exhaust gas.

&Electronic parking brake
1) Parking brake switch
2) Hill Holder switch
3) Indicator light
WARNING
. Before exiting the vehicle, make
sure that you turn off the engine.
Otherwise, the parking brake
may be released and an accident
may occur.
. If the brake system warning light
flashes, the electronic parking
brake system may be malfunc-
tioning. Immediately stop your
vehicle in a safe location, use
tire stops under the tires to
prevent the vehicle from moving and contact your SUBARU deal-
er.
CAUTION
. When the electronic parking
brake system has a malfunction
and the parking brake cannot be
applied, contact your SUBARU
dealer immediately for an inspec-
tion. If you have to park your
vehicle in such conditions, per-
form the following procedure. – Stop your vehicle in a flat
location.
– Shift the shift lever in the “1 ”
or reverse position (MT mod- els).
– Shift the select lever in the “P ”
position (AT or CVT models).
When the select lever cannot
be shifted into the “P ” posi-
tion, you must release shift
lock. Refer to “Shift lock func-
tion ”F 7-20.
– Use tire stops under the tires
to prevent the vehicle frommoving.
. Never drive while the parking
brake is applied because this will cause unnecessary wear on the
brake linings. Before starting to
drive, always make sure that the
parking brake has been released
and the brake system warning
light has turned off.
Your vehicle is equipped with an electronic
parking brake. You can apply/release the
parking brake by operating the parking
brake switch.
To apply: Depress the brake pedal and
press the parking brake switch firmly.
To release: Pull the parking brake switch
toward you while the ignition switch is in the “ON ”position and the brake pedal (all
models) and the clutch pedal (MT models)
are depressed.
When the parking brake is applied while
the ignition switch is in the “ON ”position,
the brake system warning light and the
indicator light on the parking brake switch
illuminate. Refer to “Brake system warning
light ”F 3-17.
NOTE . If the parking brake switch is pulled
with the ignition switch in the “Acc ”or
“ LOCK ”position, the parking brake is
not released. . If the parking brake switch is pulled Starting and operating
7-31
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7-32Starting and operating
without depressing the brake pedal or
the clutch pedal, the parking brake is
not released..When the parking brake is being
applied or released, noise may be
noticed. However, this is not a malfunc-tion.. When the electronic parking brake
system has a malfunction or the elec-
tronic parking brake operation is pro-
hibited temporarily, if the parking brake
switch is operated, a chirp sound is
heard and the brake system warning
light flashes.. When you cannot release the park-
ing brake due to, for example, a system
malfunction, you can release it by
using the parking brake release tool.
Refer to “Electronic parking brake –if
the electronic parking brake cannot bereleased ”F 9-17.
! Automatic release function by ac-
celerator pedal
The electronic parking brake system has
an automatic release function. The park-
ing brake will be automatically released by
depressing the accelerator pedal. How-
ever, the automatic release function does
not operate under the following conditions. . Any door (other than the trunk lid or
rear gate) is open. .
The driver ’s seatbelt is not fastened.
If the parking brake is automatically
released, the brake system warning light
and the indicator light on the parking brake
switch turn off.
NOTE
Even if you have applied the parking
brake by pressing the parking brake
switch, the parking brake will be auto-
matically released when the accelera-
tor pedal is depressed. ! Hill Holder function
The electronic parking brake system has a
Hill Holder function. If the Hill Holder
function is activated, the parking brake
will be automatically applied when stop-
ping on an uphill slope with the brake
pedal depressed. In this case, the brake
system warning light and the indicator light
on the parking brake switch illuminate. NOTE . The Hill Holder function may not
activate on a gentle uphill slope. In this
case, manually apply the electronic
parking brake.. If you do not depress the brake
pedal sufficiently, the Hill Holder func-
tion may not operate properly. How-
ever, this is not a malfunction. When stopping on an uphill slope, depress
the brake pedal firmly and release it
after the brake system warning lightilluminates..
Depending on the condition of the
road surface and braking force, the
brakes operate temporarily and feel
different than usual.. When the electronic parking brake
system has a malfunction while the Hill
Holder function is activated, a chirp
sound is heard, the Hill Holder indica-
tor light turns off and the brake system
warning light flashes.. The Hill Holder function does not
reactivate when parking with the elec-
tronic parking brake released after the
Hill Holder function is activated. If
necessary, manually apply the electro-
nic parking brake.. If the seatbelt is not fastened when
the Hill Holder function is activated, the
vehicle may not start moving smoothly
from a stop, or a noise may be heard
from the brake components. ! Hill Holder switch
WARNING
When stopping on an uphill slope
with the Hill Holder function acti-
vated, release the brake pedal after

the brake system warning light has
illuminated. Otherwise, the Hill
Holder function may not operate
properly and an accident may occur.
1) Parking brake switch
2) Hill Holder switch
3) Indicator light
You can activate/deactivate the Hill Holder
function by pressing the Hill Holder switch.
To activate: Press the Hill Holder switch.
To deactivate: Press the Hill Holder
switch again.
Deactivate the Hill Holder function under
the following conditions. . When towing a trailer
. When carrying a heavy load .
When you do not frequently use the
parking brake when stopping on an uphill slope NOTE . If the Hill Holder switch is pressed
for more than 30 seconds, the Hill
Holder indicator light turns off, the
brake system warning light flashes
and the system ignores any further
pressing of the switch. To activate the
switch again, turn the ignition switch tothe “LOCK ”position and restart the
engine.. When the Hill Holder function is
deactivated while the Hill Holder func-
tion has a malfunction, if you press the
Hill Holder switch, a chirp sounds. ! Hill Holder indicator light
When the Hill Holder function is activated,
the Hill Holder indicator light illuminates.
Refer to “Hill Holder indicator light ”F 3-19.
! Emergency brake
CAUTION
Use the emergency brake only in
case of an emergency. If the emer-
gency brake is excessively used,
the brake parts will wear down
faster or the brake may not work
sufficiently due to rear wheel brakeoverheating.
NOTE
While using the emergency brake, the
brake system warning light and the
indicator light on the parking brake
switch illuminate and a chirp sounds.
If the foot brake has a malfunction, you
canstopthevehiclebypressingthe
parking brake switch continuously.
While applying the emergency brake, the
brake system warning light and the in-
dicator light on the parking brake switch
illuminate and a chirp sounds. Starting and operating
7-33
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7-34Starting and operating
!Electronic parking brake system warning
CAUTION
If the brake system warning light
flashes, the electronic parking brake
system may be malfunctioning. Im-
mediately stop your vehicle in the
nearest safe location and contact
your SUBARU dealer.
If a malfunction occurs in the electronic
parking brake system, the brake system
warning light flashes. Refer to “Electronic
parking brake system warning ”F 3-18. &
Parking tips
When parking your vehicle, always per-
form the following items. . Apply the parking brake.
. For MT models, put the shift lever in the
“ 1 ” (1st) for upgrade or “R ”(Reverse) for a
downgrade.. For AT and CVT models, put the select
lever in the “P ”(Park) position.
Never rely on the transmission alone to
hold the vehicle.
When parking on a hill, always turn the
steering wheel as described here. When
the vehicle is headed up the hill, the front
wheels should be turned away from the curb.
When facing downhill, the front wheels
should be turned into the curb.

7-36Starting and operating
the accelerator pedal.
At this time, the cruise control set indicator
light is illuminated in the combination
meter.
The vehicle will maintain the desired speed.
Vehicle speed can be temporarily in-
creased while driving with the cruise
control activated. Simply depress the
accelerator pedal to accelerate the vehi-
cle. When the accelerator pedal is re-
leased, the vehicle will return to and
maintain the previous cruising speed. &
To temporarily cancel the
cruise control
The cruise control can be temporarily
canceled in the following ways.
. Press the “CANCEL ”button.
. Depress the brake pedal.
. Depress the clutch pedal (MT models
only). . Shift the select lever into the “N ”
position (AT and CVT models).. Shift the shift lever into the neutral
position (MT models only).
The cruise control set indicator light in the
combination meter turns off when the
cruise control is canceled.
To resume the cruise control after it has
been temporarily canceled and with vehi-
cle speed of approximately 20 mph (32
km/h) or more, press the “RES/SET ”
switch to the “RES ”side to return to the
original cruising speed automatically.
The cruise control set indicator light in the
combination meter will automatically illu-
minate at this time. & To turn off the cruise control
There are two ways to turn off the cruise control: . Press the “CRUISE ”main switch but-
ton again.. Turn the ignition switch to the “Acc ”or
“ LOCK ”position (but only when the
vehicle is completely stopped).

.Drive carefully. Do not take unneces-
sary risks by driving in dangerous areas or
over rough terrain. . Slow down and employ extra caution at
all times. When driving off-road, you will
not have the benefit of marked traffic
lanes, banked curves, traffic signs and
the like. . Do not drive across steep slopes.
Instead, drive either straight up or straight
down the slopes. A vehicle can much
more easily tip over sideways than it can
end over end. Avoid driving straight up or
down slopes that are too steep. . Avoid sharp turning maneuvers, espe-
cially at higher speeds. . Do not grip the inside or spokes of the
steering wheel. A bad bump could jerk the
wheel and injure your hands. Instead drive
with your fingers and thumbs on the
outside of the rim. . If driving through water, such as when
crossing shallow streams, first check the
depth of the water and the bottom of the
stream bed for firmness and ensure that
the bed of the stream is flat. Drive slowly
and completely through the stream. The
water should be shallow enough that it
does not reach the vehicle ’s undercar-
riage. Water entering the engine air intake
or the exhaust pipe or water splashing
onto electrical parts may damage your vehicle and may cause it to stall. Never
attempt to drive through rushing water;
regardless of its depth, it can wash away
the ground from under your tires, resulting
in possible loss of traction and even
vehicle rollover. .
Always check your brakes for effec-
tiveness immediately after driving in sand,
mud or water. Do this by driving slowly
and stepping on the brake pedal. Repeat
that process several times to dry out the
brake discs and brake pads. . Do not drive or park over or near
flammable materials such as dry grass or
fallen leaves, as they may burn easily. The
exhaust system is very hot while the
engine is running and right after the
engine stops. This could create a firehazard. . After driving through tall grass, mud,
rocks, sand, rivers, etc., check that there
is no grass, bush, paper, rags, stones,
sand, etc. adhering to or trapped on the
underbody. Clear off any such matter from
the underbody. If the vehicle is used with
these materials trapped or adhering to the
underbody, a mechanical breakdown or
fire could occur. . Secure all cargo carried inside the
vehicle and make certain that it is not
piled higher than the seatbacks. During
sudden stops or jolts, unsecured cargo could be thrown around in the vehicle and
cause injury. Do not pile heavy loads on
the roof. Those loads raise the vehicle
’s
center of gravity and make it more prone
to tip over. . If you must rock the vehicle to free it
from sand or mud, depress the accelerator
pedal slightly and move the shift lever/
select lever back and forth between “1 ”/
“ D ” and “R ” repeatedly. Do not race the
engine. For the best possible traction,
avoid spinning the wheels when trying to
free the vehicle. . When the road surface is extremely
slippery, you can obtain better traction by
starting the vehicle with the transmission
in 2nd than 1st (both for MT, AT and CVT).
For AT and CVT models, refer to “Selec-
tion of manual mode ”F 7-21.
. Never equip your vehicle with tires
larger than those specified in this manual. . Wash the vehicle ’s underbody after off-
road driving. Suspension components are
particularly prone to dirt buildup, so they
need to be washed thoroughly. . Frequent driving of an AWD vehicle
under hard-driving conditions such as
rough roads or off roads will necessitate
more frequent replacement of engine oil,
brake fluid and transmission oil than that
specified in the maintenance schedule
described in the “Warranty and Mainte- Driving tips
8-7
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