2006 Subaru Forester Owner's Manual - Page 249

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Driving tips

tight turn, the trailer could hit your vehicle.

y

Crosswinds will adversely affect the

handling of your vehicle and trailer, caus-

ing sway. Crosswinds can be due to

weather conditions or the passing of large

trucks or buses. If swaying occurs, firmly

grip the steering wheel and slow down im-

mediately but gradually.

y

When passing other vehicles, consider-

able distance is required because of the

added weight and length caused by at-

taching the trailer to your vehicle.

1)

Left turn

2)

Right turn

y

Backing up with a trailer is difficult and

takes practice. When backing up with a

trailer, never accelerate or steer rapidly.

When turning back, grip the bottom of the

steering wheel with one hand and turn it to

the left for a left turn, and turn it to the right

for a right turn.

y

If the ABS warning light illuminates

while the vehicle is in motion, stop towing

the trailer and have repairs performed im-

mediately by the nearest SUBARU dealer.

T

Driving on grades

y

Before going down a steep hill, slow

down and shift into lower gear (if neces-

sary, use 1st gear) in order to utilize the

engine braking effect and prevent over-

heating of your vehicle’s brakes. Do not

make sudden downshifts.

y

When driving uphill in hot weather, the

air conditioner may turn off automatically

to protect the engine from overheating.

y

When driving uphill in hot weather, pay

attention to the water temperature gauge

pointer (for all vehicles) and AT OIL TEMP

warning light (for AT vehicles) since the

engine and transmission are relatively

prone to overheating under these condi-

tions. If the water temperature gauge

pointer approaches the OVERHEAT zone

or the AT OIL TEMP warning light illumi-

nates, immediately switch off the air con-

ditioner and stop the vehicle at the nearest

safe place. Refer to the “Engine overheat-

ing” section in chapter 9, and “Warning

and indicator lights” section in chapter 3.

y

If your vehicle has an automatic trans-

mission, avoid using the accelerator pedal

to stay stationary on an uphill slope in-

stead of using the parking brake or foot

brake. That may cause the transmission

fluid to overheat.

y

If your vehicle has an automatic trans-

mission, place the selector lever as fol-

lows:

Uphill slopes: “D” position

Downhill slopes: A low-speed gear posi-

tion to use engine braking

T

Parking on a grade

Always block the wheels under both vehi-

cle and trailer when parking. Apply the

parking brake firmly. You should not park

on a hill or slope. But if parking on a hill or

slope cannot be avoided, you should take

the following steps:

1. Apply the brakes and hold the pedal

down.

2.

Have someone place wheel blocks un-

der both the vehicle and trailer wheels.

3.

When the wheel blocks are in place, re-

lease the regular brakes slowly until the

blocks absorb the load.

4.

Apply the regular brakes and then ap-

ply the parking brake; slowly release the

regular brakes.

5. Shift into 1st or reverse gear (manual

transmission) or “P” (automatic transmis-

1

2

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2006 Subaru Forester Owner's Manual - Page 249

2006 Subaru Forester Manual

Page 249 highlights