New owner questions

Hello everyone! This is my very first post so please excuse if there is any type of errors or anything. Anyways my name is Jesse and I am from Pittsburgh, Pa. I had just purchased my first Subaru about a month or so ago. I am the second owner of a 2010 Legacy 2.5 Premium with about 54k miles. Being new to the Subaru world I have a few questions. Mainly about the cvt.

 

So recently I made a trip from Pittsburgh out to Hilton Head for the week. During the drive the car ran perfectly but towards the end I sat in alot of stop and go traffic. The car seemed like it was shifting pretty hard. I let it sit for a day or so and when driving in normal traffic it seemed to shift smoother but still doesnt feel quite. Since I am new to this car I dont really know how exactly it should feel.

 

If anyone could give some insight on this it would be greatly appreciated! I plan on taking the car to the dealer once I return from vacation.

 

Thanks everyone!!

The CVT's are inherently buzzy around town and "seem" like they could be working hard to accelerate from a standstill. They aren't. CVT's keep the rpm in the best power band possible for the rate of acceleration called for but its built for economy not balls out speed.

 

Can you elaborate on what you mean by "shifting pretty hard"?

Well it seems to only happen in lower speeds like in traffic, mainly when slowing down. Like if I am driving and coming up on a red light the downshifts feel kind of jerk like. Almost like in a manual when the clutch gets let out too quickly. Its really weird because I can feel when the car shifts but its only like in lower gears/speeds. I cant really describe it very well. I have found if I am going in stop an go traffic or merging lanes or anything along those lines if I switch it into manual and control the shifts it doesnt happen.

CVT doesn't have traditional "gears". That's what the "continuously variable" part means.

last fluid change?

Well, the CVT will do a bit of engine breaking when you let off the gas. Is that what you're trying to describe? That's a little different than what you'd experience in a normal automatic, so that could be coming across as odd to you.