Subaru Legacy: Driving tips - Manual transmission - Starting and operating - Subaru Legacy Owners ManualSubaru Legacy: 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 does not indicate a problem.

    Maximum allowable speeds
    WARNING When shifting down a gear, ensure that the vehicle is not travelling at a speed exceeding the Maximum Allowable Speed for the gear which is about to be selected. Failure to observe this p ...

    Automatic transmission/Continuously variable transmission
    The automatic transmission is electronically controlled and provides 5 forward speeds and 1 reverse speed. The continuously variable transmission is electronically controlled and provides an infin ...

    See also:

    Fuel filler flap
    Fuel filler flap ...

    Fuses
    CAUTION Never replace a fuse with one having a higher rating or with material other than a fuse because serious damage or a fire could result. The fuses are designed to melt during an overload to ...

    Gear Ranges
    DO NOT race the engine when shifting from PARK or NEUTRAL into another gear range. ...