How many miles on your CVT? Any Issues?

Probably do it sooner than later. You want them to deal with it should anything "shake loose", or whatever.

 

My stealership wants me to do a CVT fluid change and induction cleaning. I guess that is easy money for them. Then they'll discuss deeper issues. I usually never buy the extended warranty, but I have it until December for this car. Not sure why I did it, but decided to this time. I guess I'll pay the stealership's extortion fee, then once it happens again, I'm going to write a snail mail letter to SOA and ask for another few years on the CVT warranty.

 

Working with the stealership is futile.

 

 

Trust me man that warranty comes in handy... i drive a 2013 legacy 129k already driven and i had to change my cvt cause it was making funny noises thanks to my endurance warranty coverage i got a cvt replacement and i paid was a $50 deductible... also comes in handy when you have to replace engine parts or other parts that is covered under the warranty.... subaru aint cheap and trust it hurst your pockets when you gotta pay outta pockey

You planning on changing it anytime soon?

 

Not planning to until the 60k visit. I had a 2003 LGT 5MT wagon forever, and I really like this CVT more than I thought I would.

Not planning to until the 60k visit. I had a 2003 LGT 5MT wagon forever, and I really like this CVT more than I thought I would.

 

 

Ok. If you hit up Blackstone Labs they will send you the sample bottle kit for free. Would love to see your numbers at 60K.

Hey, for those doing UOAs, I would love to send some $ your way via PayPal or whatever (bitcoin?). This might be a worthy and noble contribution from others in the community so that we encourage more UOAs, that we ultimately start seeing some trends.

What does everyone else think? Would this be worth setting up as a separate conversation so that it's more visible, for those going to the dealer to do a drain/fill? While they are at it maybe this will go towards encouraging them to take a sample.

It's pretty cheap to do really. I ordered a kit and should be changing my fluid around 36k miles or less.

Possibly setting up a separate thread would be good. But then everyone watching this needs to find the new one. and this is on topic and fine.

 

Honestly if you are in getting a $150 service done to your CVT and cannot afford the ~$25 for this then I'm sorry. But they send you the kit for free and then it's like 20 bucks and $3 and change to priority USPS the thing. It's quite reasonable for what they tell you. Don't really know if crowd sourcing the funds is necessary....

Ok. If you hit up Blackstone Labs they will send you the sample bottle kit for free. Would love to see your numbers at 60K.

 

I think that will be interesting. I didn't get Added Security and it's too late now, so I guess I'm committed. Sigh.

Definitely get the stumble issue when coming to a stop 20-5 mph. And same when cruising in stop and go traffic. Just how CVTs are, they kind of get caught off guard sometimes. But above 25mph or so it's smooth as butter.

 

Yeah I have a little bit of everything on here damnnnn I bought Subaru because the "Quality" but there version of quality on this stupid CVT is well BAD quality... They say you don't have to maintain, the fluid lasts the lifetime blah blah blah....

 

DONT BELIEVE IT! service that damn CVT just as you would an AT

 

I LOVE my suby, but it made me nervous with all those issues...

 

Stuttering is one thing and I thought it may have been the alternator or battery as was mentioned UNTIL I read the posts here

I get a CLUNK when breaking semi hard such as in traffic.

 

I also get a jerk with the clunk and the jerking comes out VERY bad when I use my AC and in lower speed 25-5 mph stops etc... smh COME ONE SUBARU! Get it together! Send out a recall and fix the valves or whatever the hell is wrong with all these CVT!!!

Hey, for those doing UOAs, I would love to send some $ your way via PayPal or whatever (bitcoin?). This might be a worthy and noble contribution from others in the community so that we encourage more UOAs, that we ultimately start seeing some trends.

What does everyone else think? Would this be worth setting up as a separate conversation so that it's more visible, for those going to the dealer to do a drain/fill? While they are at it maybe this will go towards encouraging them to take a sample.

 

Any news if people are going to do this? I am interested at least this is some cold hard proof for Subaru to look at and possibly help us all that invested all this money in the cars!

 

To me if you say a maintenance free CVT, why am I gonna pay a dealer 200$ to do a drain n fill isn't that kind of going against what they advertise???

One thing I have noticed three separate times in the Legacy is the throttle drops down just after coming to a stop. So if I'm coming down the road pretty quick and come to a quick stop, and after being stopped for a couple of seconds the RPMs drop from a bit over 500 to a bit below 500 and I feel a bit of vibration. This is completely random and I have been unable to reproduce unfortunately.

 

Now I've read of something similar to other users on this forum (and in this thread). Is this the CVT? Or is this possibly a vacuum issue? Or is this the TC locking up on downshift?

 

Your NOT alone man! SMFH

Yeah I have a little bit of everything on here damnnnn I bought Subaru because the "Quality" but there version of quality on this stupid CVT is well BAD quality... They say you don't have to maintain, the fluid lasts the lifetime blah blah blah....

This is not exactly true. The manual does contain criteria for checking and changing the CVT fluid.

Taken from Cars101.com

http://www.cars101.com/subaru/outback/outback2015.html

CVT Transmission: Life Time CVT oil should not need to be replaced unless driven under hard conditions, towing etc-change every 24,855 miles. Note- there is no CVT oil dipstick.

 

Hard driving isn't defined, but severe is, so decide for yourself where "hard driving" falls under.

Severe driving is

> Repeated short trips, stop-and-go, extensive idling (basically any urban driving)

> Rough, muddy, dusty, wet, humid, cold, mountainous, salty conditions (basically any coast, country, or winter driving)

> Frequently towing a trailer.

> Racing

http://www.cars101.com/subaru/maintenance-2015.html

 

Now, a question worth asking SOA if they are willing to publish in writing, is defining "lifetime". Consumers mistakenly believe "lifetime" to mean "forever". Many manufacturers use this term, none that I know of are willing to define it, because they essentially set themselves a standard by which they can be legally held, and this is something nobody wants.

 

Lifetime to me means the life of the unit. It could be 100K, 200K, 20K, but at 20K at least you have a warranty.

Edited May 28, 2015 by fishbone

Good response Fish. Look at it this way, HP (and Cisco I guess) Enterprise network switches have lifetime warranties. "Lifetime" lasts right up until they "end of life" a particular product, whether that is 5 years or 5 days after you buy it.

Every complicated thing ever has and will have issues. Subaru probably needs to step up a little on the units failing not far out of warranty, but the one fluid analysis we have seen to date seems to indicate that the fluid was still just fine.

Oil consumption issues? I just got a new short block. Am I happy my car had a problem? No. Am I happy Subaru resolved it? Yes.

What's the history of SOA with fluid changes? Think back to the change interval for motor oil. It has been revised based on experience. It used to be that on turbo engines you could use regular oil and run it for 7K miles under certain conditions. This has changed, all turbo engines are now under severe driving interval, with 3750 mile change interval and synthetic is the recommended oil. So, as consumers, we're watching out for long term reliability and not becoming a stat. Therefore I would argue that at any point outside the warranty period, if you drive your car in city traffic, it might be a good idea to have a fluid drain and fill prior to the 100K mark. This doesn't have to be rocket science and the fluid change isn't that difficult either; it is in the realm of a shade tree mechanic doing it. Edited May 29, 2015 by fishbone

What's the history of SOA with fluid changes? Think back to the change interval for motor oil. It has been revised based on experience. It used to be that on turbo engines you could use regular oil and run it for 7K miles under certain conditions. This has changed, all turbo engines are now under severe driving interval, with 3750 mile change interval and synthetic is the recommended oil. So, as consumers, we're watching out for long term reliability and not becoming a stat. Therefore I would argue that at any point outside the warranty period, if you drive your car in city traffic, it might be a good idea to have a fluid drain and fill prior to the 100K mark. This doesn't have to be rocket science and the fluid change isn't that difficult either; it is in the realm of a shade tree mechanic doing it.

 

 

Great points and well said.

 

However from my understanding (and others) dealerships have their special diagnostic scan tool which allows them to see the exact level, something an average mechanic is not able to do. Fluid, level, then driver are the three deciding factors in how long a transmission lasts. (For or CVT or any AT, unlike shredding gears in a MT).

Great points and well said.

 

However from my understanding (and others) dealerships have their special diagnostic scan tool which allows them to see the exact level, something an average mechanic is not able to do. Fluid, level, then driver are the three deciding factors in how long a transmission lasts. (For or CVT or any AT, unlike shredding gears in a MT).

Not to mention it has to be at the exact right temperature. There's no way this is shade tree mechanic work and the poster above obviously does not know what he's talking about. I have changed transmission fluid hundreds of times myself and there's no way I would touch the CVT. But it should be changed by the dealer around 50-75k.

There's a diy thread on Subaruoutback.org. I've handled a transmission with this exact layout, except it was a regular AT. I skipped the whole "temp"part. I measured what I got out, put the same in, drove the car to warm it up, then tested the level on straight ground by making sure it came out of the fill hole. It's straight forward, just time consuming. Very similar to draining a differential.

2012 Outback. 65,000 miles. needs new CVT. $8,000 job. ***Follow up - Just made appointment for new transmission and was told by same dealer that I do not have a CVT. It is a regular transmission (6 cylinder apparently did not have CVT) After calls to Subaru, they have offered to cover 50% since the car is barely past 60,000 warranty Edited July 10, 2015 by 2012OutbackOwner
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that price is ridiculous. go somewhere else $1800-$2000 at the subaru dealer. call subaru also to see if they will kick up something towards it.

1800- 2000 is for the torque converter. did you get an extended waranty? maybe get on first- definitely call subaru

2012 Outback. 65,000 miles. needs new CVT. $8,000 job.

Any mods? Maintenance?

 

That's low mileage for the CVT to go. Any ideas what happened?

http://www.car-part.com

Search used

I haven't posted on the forum for awhile. We have 98K mils on our 2010 Legacy 2.5i. I've changed the CVT fluid 2X per dealer recommendations.

 

 

At 100K I will probably do it again: I have One question? Does this car have a Timing Belt or Chain? How do i find out or should I consult the manual. THX

Quick consult with Cars 101.com - Subaru shows Camshaft Belt to be Replaced at 120K or 10 years. Of course , inspections every 30K.

2012 Outback. 65,000 miles. needs new CVT. $8,000 job.

 

What was wrong with it? What happened?

Originally Posted by aluminijs View Post

I have similar sqealing syptoms. I have 2011 2.5i Outback with 140k km.

Usually it is when i use Cruise Control and Reset the speed. Whet engine starts to push and build rpms it squiels and looses traction (in gearbox) and looses rpms. And then it regains tractions and builds up rpms. I can see it at 90km/h speeds.

While experimenting had some little slips also when driving steady.

Are there some news on this?

Now I have 146 k km. Now it is slipping even when driving in manual mode and 5th gear. So it is progressing. Only answer from dealer for now is to replace whole gearbox. To be continued..

 

Now I had changed secondarry pressure sensor and run few thousand km without problems. So my theory about faulty sensor was right. When you hear a sqeeling sound and feel slipping when accelerating, first try changing the seccondarry pressure sensor.

Thinking of CVTF drainf and fill to lengthen the life of CVT.

I also did the drain and fill. One time driving the slipping happened for few times. I thougt - that is it.. Will need to change the CVT. But since than some few thousand km it's all ok. Have the old oil in bottle and will send it to lab. The old oil is 150k km.