Driving Tips; Continuously Variable Transmission - Subaru Forester 2016 Owner's Manual

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Starting and operating/Continuously variable transmission

Driving tips

Do not drive with your foot resting on the
clutch pedal and do not use the clutch to
hold your vehicle at a standstill on an
upgrade. Either of those actions may
cause clutch damage.
Do not drive with your hand resting on the
shift lever. This may cause wear on the
transmission components.
When it is necessary to reduce vehicle
speed due to slow traffic, turning corners,
or driving up steep hills, downshift to a
lower gear before the engine starts to
labor.
On steep downgrades, downshift the
transmission to 5th, 4th, 3rd or 2nd gear
as necessary; this helps to maintain a safe
speed and to extend brake pad life.
In this way, the engine provides a braking
effect. Remember, if you ride (over use)
the brakes while descending a hill, they
may overheat and not work properly.
The engine may, on rare occasions, knock
when the vehicle rapidly accelerates or
rapidly pulls away from a standstill. This
phenomenon is not an indication of a
problem in your vehicle.
Continuously variable trans-
mission
The continuously variable transmission is
electronically controlled and provides an
infinite number of forward speeds and 1
reverse speed. For some models, it also
has a manual mode or an L position.
WARNING
Do not shift from the
position into the D or R position
while depressing the accelerator
pedal. This may cause the vehicle
to jump forward or backward.
CAUTION
. Shift into the P or R position
only after the vehicle is comple-
tely stopped. Shifting while the
vehicle is moving may cause
damage to the transmission.
. Do not race the engine for more
than 5 seconds in any position
except the N or P
when the brake is applied or
when chocks are used in the
wheels. This may cause the
transmission fluid to overheat.
. Never move the vehicle rearward
by inertia with the select lever set
in a forward driving position or
move the vehicle forward by
inertia with the select lever set
in the R position. Doing so may
result in an unexpected accident
or malfunction.
. Avoid shifting from one of the
forward driving positions into the
R position or vice versa until
the vehicle has completely
P or N
stopped. Such shifting may
cause damage to the transmis-
sion.
. When parking the vehicle, first
securely apply the parking brake
and then place the select lever in
the P position. Avoid parking
for a long time with the select
lever in any other position as
doing so could result in a dead
battery.
NOTE
. When the engine coolant tempera-
position
ture is still low, the transmission will
upshift or downshift at higher engine
speeds than when the coolant tempera-
ture is sufficiently high in order to
shorten the warm-up time and improve