Subaru WRX & WRX STI Manuals 2014 Impreza WRX & WRX STI Owner's Manual | Page 261

7-16

Starting and operating/Manual transmission – 5 speeds (except STI)

& 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.

Manual transmission – 5
speeds (except STI)

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 malfunction.

The manual transmission is a fully synchromeshed, 5-forward-speed and 1-reverse-speed transmission.
The shift pattern is shown on the shift
lever knob. When shifting from 5th gear to
reverse gear, first return the shift lever to
the neutral position then shift into reverse
gear.
To change gears, fully depress the clutch
pedal, move the shift lever, and gradually
let up on the clutch pedal.
If it is difficult to shift into gear, put the
transmission in neutral, release the clutch
pedal momentarily, and then try again.

WARNING
. Do not drive the vehicle with the
clutch disengaged (i.e., when the
clutch pedal is depressed) or
with the shift lever in the neutral
position. Engine braking has no
effect in either of these conditions and the risk of an accident
is consequently increased.
. Do not engage the clutch (i.e.,
release the clutch pedal) suddenly when starting the vehicle.
By doing so the vehicle might
unexpectedly accelerate or the
transmission could malfunction.

CAUTION
Shift into reverse ONLY when the
vehicle has completely stopped. It
may cause damage to the transmission to try shifting into reverse when
the vehicle is moving.