Winter Driving; Operation During Cold Weather - Subaru Forester 2012 Owner's Manual

Winter driving

& Operation during cold
weather
Carry some emergency equipment, such
as tire chains, a window scraper, a bag of
sand, flares, a small shovel and jumper
cables.
Check the battery and cables. Cold
temperatures reduce battery capacity.
The battery must be in good condition to
provide enough power for cold winter
starts.
It normally takes longer to start the engine
in very cold weather conditions. Use an
engine oil of a suitable grade and viscosity
for cold weather. Heavy summer oil will
cause harder starting.
Keep the door locks from freezing by
squirting them with deicer or glycerin.
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Forcing a frozen door open may damage
or separate the rubber weather strips
around the door. If the door is frozen,
use hot water to melt the ice, and after-
wards thoroughly wipe the water away.
Use a windshield washer fluid that con-
tains an antifreeze solution. Do not use
engine antifreeze or other substitutes
because they may damage the paint of
the vehicle.
SUBARU Windshield Washer Fluid con-
tains 58.5% methyl alcohol and 41.5%
surfactant, by volume. Its freezing tem-
perature varies according to how much it
is diluted, as indicated in the following
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table.
Washer Fluid Con-
centration
30%
50%
100%
In order to prevent freezing of washer
fluid, check the freezing temperatures in
the table above when adjusting the fluid
concentration to the outside temperature.
If you fill the washer tank with a fluid with a
different concentration from the one used
previously, purge the old fluid from the
piping between the washer tank and
washer nozzles by operating the washer
for a certain period of time. Otherwise, if
the concentration of the fluid remaining in
the piping is too low for the outside
temperature, it may freeze and block the
nozzles.
Adjust the washer fluid concentra-
tion appropriately for the outside
temperature. If the concentration is
inappropriate, sprayed washer fluid
may freeze on the windshield and
obstruct your view, and the fluid
may freeze in the washer tank.
!
Before driving your vehicle
Freezing Tempera-
Before entering the vehicle, remove any
ture
snow or ice from your shoes because that
−128C (10.48F)
could make the pedals slippery and
−208C (−48F)
driving dangerous.
−458C (−498F)
While warming up the vehicle before
driving, check that the accelerator pedal,
brake pedal, and all other controls operate
smoothly.
Clear away ice and snow that has
accumulated under the fenders to avoid
making steering difficult. During severe
8-9
Driving tips
CAUTION
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