How many miles on your CVT? Any Issues?

I don't have proof that anyone is at fault, unfortunately. After reading several issues people had with accidentally draining CVT fluid instead of engine oil because of the plug confusion, I realized that I had Valvoline change my oil earlier that day that my transmission died. Perhaps just coincidental?

Another thing that bothered me is that Subaru asked me why I changed the tranny fluid. They said it shouldn't be serviced until 105,000.

 

Send the fluid that is in the tranny case to get tested. If it's engine oil then Valvoline owes you a tranny.

Send the fluid that is in the tranny case to get tested. If it's engine oil then Valvoline owes you a tranny.

 

That thought crossed my mind, but how would Valvoline get the engine oil into the transmission?

 

I will get the fluid tested and let you know.

That thought crossed my mind, but how would Valvoline get the engine oil into the transmission?

 

I will get the fluid tested and let you know.

 

I would get whoever gives you the oil sample to also drain all the fluid out of the transmission. The reason I ask, is that even if Valvoline didn't put engine oil in the transmission they may have accidentally drained all or a good amount of fluid out accidentally. The tech at Valvoline may have drained the tranny fluid by accident thinking it was the engine fluid. But just a thought ... not pointing fingers at anyone in any way.

That is what I thought too.

 

I'm just hoping that Subaru didn't drain all the fluid already for some reason and dispose of it. They do still have a sample though and they are saying the fluid is contaminated and that it's black.

 

I appreciate the advice, everyone.

Good luck. Hopefully it all works out.

Hello everyone. I wanted to jump in a say we have been a Subaru family for 17 years. The very first Subaru we bought is still being driven by our Son in law. There are seven Subaru’s in our immediate family. All has been great until my 2012 Impreza commuter car’s CVT quit working. Luckily for me the Impreza was still under warrantee, it had 52K miles. The local dealer replaced the CVT and for now everything is fine.

1. I’m wondering if this is going to be a reoccurring problem every 50-60K.

2. Could putting the CVT in natural to coast (trying to stretch gas mileage) caused part of our problem?

Thanks.

From a safety standpoint, don't shift to neutral while moving, you lose one of the biggest safety systems in your car - the ability to accelerate.

From a gas mileage standpoint, you use more gas idling the engine than coasting down in gear. The computer cuts fuel under engine braking.

From a longevity standpoint, I can only assume the dealer installed the updated CVT with the different style bearings. Theoretically this one should last unless a different flaw is found.

Instead of coasting you could just engine brake of find that sweet spot of just enough throttle that you maintain your momentum without engine braking. Personally I don't even like coasting in my 6mt.

 

If doing so does cost you another trans, how much have you saved? Hyper-miling is best left to hybrids you will save much more in the long run by using a slow and steady acceleration and braking.

From a safety standpoint, don't shift to neutral while moving, you lose one of the biggest safety systems in your car - the ability to accelerate.

From a gas mileage standpoint, you use more gas idling the engine than coasting down in gear. The computer cuts fuel under engine braking.

From a longevity standpoint, I can only assume the dealer installed the updated CVT with the different style bearings. Theoretically this one should last unless a different flaw is found.

 

I'm glad to hear that Subaru has an updated style bearing and hope that we are now good to go for another 100K.

 

Thanks orndog and FLlegacy for the information.

Our 2011 Outback CVT failed with only 46,000 miles and one day over the 5-year warranty period. Five warning lights illuminated including the check engine, the AT oil temp, the cruise, the skid control (VDM), and the brake light.

 

 

 

We took it to our local dealer and were told that two solenoids were sticking and that they were not sold separately, so we needed an entire new valve body(?) at a cost of $1200! I mentioned this failure occurred EXACTLY one day after the five-year warranty. The service manager said he will cover the repair under warranty as a goodwill gesture, but now I am concerned about the long-term reliability of continuously variable transmissions after this failure.

 

 

 

Has anyone else had a failure of their CVT? I am most interested in failures occurring at about 50,000 miles.

The Legacy I have had it's CVT replaced at 51k miles. The replaced CVT now has 33k miles on it and so far feels fine.

I've compiled an 'as-of-Jul-2015' list of all the ECU/ECM (Engine Control Unit) and TCU/TCM (Transmission Control Unit) updates from FHI available to SoA dealership network

and/or for purchase from Subaru publications ($75 for a quarterly release CD + Tactrix OPv2 or other J-cable) so you can apply these on your own. Super easy, I've done it many times.

 

Have a look and if you have either RomRaider, EcuEdit, BtSsm, EcuFlash - you can see your current ECU CID/CALID (Calibration ID) and figure out if you have the latest one for your MY 2.5L CVT.

Getting at the TCU CALID is a bit more tricky with third party software. The dealership can tell you or you'll need the FlashWrite software that comes on the CD to check yourself.

 

Anywho, without further ado, check out the latest updates, see if they apply to your car and if you notice the symptoms or codes Subaru quoted as being remedied with the updates. Hope this helps our CVT brethren!

 

If you end up going to the dealership, request that they apply the PAK files listed below for your given Model Year and either CAL or FED-emissions car.

They will be able to cross-reference these updates using those PAK (Package File) names.

 

Just got back from the dealership and they hooked me up with a ECM update for my 2014. Thanks Perscitus!

The Legacy I have had it's CVT replaced at 51k miles. The replaced CVT now has 33k miles on it and so far feels fine.

 

Does it feel different than the original did at 33k miles?

Does it feel different than the original did at 33k miles?

 

The previous owner had the CVT replaced under warranty. This is my first Subaru, and it feels fine so far. I've test driven other Subaru Legacys and this sounds the same as those ones. So I am going to have to assume it feels normal.

Just a follow up after my ECM update from the dealer yesterday. The car feels better in the sense that when I let go of the gas to allow the car to roll down the road the RPMs no longer drop. It use to feel as if I was braking when I let go of the gas but now it rolls as it should making for a smoother ride. Any of those with a 13/14 2.5i out there, I advise you to do the same and request this ECM update!

It is possible that I will have to replace the valve body on my 2010 Legacy 2.5i. At the dealer they want $1800.00. That seems excessive.

 

The car threw a few trouble codes and one pointed to the lockup solenoid.

 

Lucky me. I like and hate this car.

I've been keeping an eye on this thread and decided to do something for all 5th-gen and 6th gen CVT owners.

 

I've compiled an 'as-of-Jul-2015' list of all the ECU/ECM (Engine Control Unit) and TCU/TCM (Transmission Control Unit) updates from FHI available to SoA dealership network

and/or for purchase from Subaru publications ($75 for a quarterly release CD + Tactrix OPv2 or other J-cable) so you can apply these on your own. Super easy, I've done it many times.

 

Have a look and if you have either RomRaider, EcuEdit, BtSsm, EcuFlash - you can see your current ECU CID/CALID (Calibration ID) and figure out if you have the latest one for your MY 2.5L CVT.

Getting at the TCU CALID is a bit more tricky with third party software. The dealership can tell you or you'll need the FlashWrite software that comes on the CD to check yourself.

 

Anywho, without further ado, check out the latest updates, see if they apply to your car and if you notice the symptoms or codes Subaru quoted as being remedied with the updates. Hope this helps our CVT brethren!

 

If you end up going to the dealership, request that they apply the PAK files listed below for your given Model Year and either CAL or FED-emissions car.

They will be able to cross-reference these updates using those PAK (Package File) names.

 

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=215538&d=1440805677.jpg

 

 

Do these updates only fix the listed issues? My CVT has always annoyed me and I really liked the way the 2015 loaner I had behaved better. It droned less - allowing RPMs to vary a little under steady acceleration, and it didn't "downshift" every time I let off the gas to coast down a long hill.

Do these updates only fix the listed issues? My CVT has always annoyed me and I really liked the way the 2015 loaner I had behaved better. It droned less - allowing RPMs to vary a little under steady acceleration, and it didn't "downshift" every time I let off the gas to coast down a long hill.

Hard to say, but I wouldn't be surprised if there were two possible scenarios: 1. yes, only what's listed in the 'release notes' and nothing more b. no, there might be other fixes, changes in both ECM and TCM table data or processing logic that are not listed

 

In either case it will be next to impossible to confirm since memory addresses and offsets for tables tend to drift around a bit CALID to CALID so even if all were defined and could be compared in say RomRaider, it would not be possible to explain away all the differences. TCMs and TCM ROMs haven't been cracked yet so no luck there either way.

 

The 2015 CVTs are likely a bit different mechanically, even down to the mini-TC design and pin bearings, etc. so I wouldn't be surprised if a 2014 with latest ECM/TCM reflashed still felt different than a 2015/2016.

I'm sad to say that at 118,000 miles the CVT was just diagnosed with a bad bearing. It started making noise a few days ago and I suspected it was a bearing noise. I took it in for a fluid change and they advised against the service due to the bad bearing. I did previously have the fluid changed at 75,000 miles.

 

I was quoted $8,000 installed for new and $3,000 installed for used with 40,000 miles. I'm disappointed this trans didn't go further especially since the majority of miles are highway miles. I will be trading the car in as it isn't worth putting that kind of money into it considering the amount of miles I put on every year.

 

Now I need to decide whether I want to stay with Subaru or look at something else.

 

I do like my wife's Outback but now my confidence in the CVT longevity is shaken. I'm glad she only puts 12,000 miles a year on her car.

I'm sad to say that at 118,000 miles the CVT was just diagnosed with a bad bearing. It started making noise a few days ago and I suspected it was a bearing noise. I took it in for a fluid change and they advised against the service due to the bad bearing. I did previously have the fluid changed at 75,000 miles.

 

I was quoted $8,000 installed for new and $3,000 installed for used with 40,000 miles. I'm disappointed this trans didn't go further especially since the majority of miles are highway miles. I will be trading the car in as it isn't worth putting that kind of money into it considering the amount of miles I put on every year.

 

Now I need to decide whether I want to stay with Subaru or look at something else.

 

I do like my wife's Outback but now my confidence in the CVT longevity is shaken. I'm glad she only puts 12,000 miles a year on her car.

 

Man that sucks. Did they say what bearing it was? This is really the first I've heard of any problems with the 2013-2014 CVTs.

 

Hope things go well for you in whatever you choose though.

Man that sucks. Did they say what bearing it was? This is really the first I've heard of any problems with the 2013-2014 CVTs.

 

Hope things go well for you in whatever you choose though.

 

Ouch, yeah, I thought I was cool with the '13, now I'm not so sure.

They don't know which bearing it is. They said they normally don't open these things up. They just replace the entire unit when needed. I'm very disappointed as I take very good care of my vehicles and expected more from this car. I was unsure of the CVT when I bought it but figured I would take a chance. I would like to know if anyone has been able to reach the 150,000 - 200,000 mile mark with a CVT. I have done it several times (200,000+) with a traditional automatic in a Subaru, Honda, and Toyota.

 

My experience shouldn't condemn the CVT or Subaru. My Legacy was flawless up until this point. I have no complaints aside from the CVT not going the distance. Time will tell if the CVT can go the distance. We need some other people to pile some miles on these things so we can see if this technology can go the distance.

Edited October 20, 2015 by jeffmazz

2010 Legacy.

at 118,000 I had the torque converter replaced.

it lasted less than a year and my Tranny went- Dealer wanted $7400 to replace- just crazy. I just purchased a used transmission and had a local shop put it in. about $2200 total- The torque converter was $1800. less than a year ago. I was shocked the fine print on the bottom of the Subaru receipt is 12 months 12,000 miles for warranty.

I should have just put a used tranny in then. Subaru might offer something, but it just isn't worth putting a new one in and Subaru only warntees their repairs for 12,000 miles. I got the tranny from UM used auto parts. I couldn't believe they offered a 3 year unlimited mile warranty on the used tranny.

you might want to try them and call a local shop to see what they want to put one in. They have to add new fluids also- about $200

http://www.aimuap.com

The warranty they gave you is industry standard pretty much on the part.

You're right, most times it is not cost effective to swap out engine/trans with new parts. Plenty of good quality used ones backed with warranty.

suewolff,

Thanks for the info. I called Subaru to vent my frustrations and they said they will see if there is anything they can do. I told them I was most likely going to trade the car in but I expressed my disappointment in the CVT and told them I would most likely look at other brands unless they can assure me the current version CVT might be more durable.

 

My 2015 Outback CVT is a totally different animal than the one in the Legacy. It behaves different and seems to be much smoother under certain circumstances. There is definitely something different in the programming for shifting and it behaves much better than the 2013 version. The question is will this extend the life of the trans? I'm waiting for answers from Subaru on this. I also asked if they can give me any examples of high mileage CVT's (150,000 miles +). If none of these things can hit 150,000 miles I don't want anything to do with them.

 

I will say Subaru has been good so far. They seem to be concerned about losing a long term customer and I don't expect they will do much due to the mileage on the car. I would like to buy a Forester or another Legacy but I won't do it knowing I'm going to have to shell out big bucks around the 100,000 mile mark.