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Is my transmission going bad?


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Hi folks,

 

My 2017 2.5iPremium, 144K miles has been running fine since I bought it in April 2020. However, last Sunday, I spun the wheels for a fraction of a second turning into traffic from an uphill off-ramp. Within a few seconds, the Eyesight, ABS, LKA, Collision Avoidance, and AT Temp lights came on. I drove about 2 miles home with no issues. All the lights came back on when I restarted the car several hours later, and again the following morning. I haven't driven the car since or had a chance yet to take the car in. I noticed today that the lights come on only when I put the car in gear. Please watch the video.

 

 

I ran basic diagnostics with a Carista OBD2 reader and it didn't find any codes.

 

Could it be a CVT issue? I am reading of CVT warranty repair for cars exhibiting this condition.

"diagnosis: replace trans valve body (found DTC P0971-Transfer Solenoid Circuit (High))"

 

Thanks a lot for your help!

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Have you tried disconnecting battery to reset ecu and see if it’ll problem comes back?

I remember it happened to me once so I disconnect battery for a couple of minutes and ever since problem never came back.

 

Thanks, I was already planning to disconnect overnight. I will update tomorrow.

 

 

Easy things first. Check that your gas filler cap is securely tightened.

 

Thanks, I will check this also. I didn't think this could activate the AT temp and ABS lights, but I will give it a shot and report back.

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Have you tried disconnecting battery to reset ecu and see if it’ll problem comes back?

I remember it happened to me once so I disconnect battery for a couple of minutes and ever since problem never came back.

 

Easy things first. Check that your gas filler cap is securely tightened.

 

I did both, and the problem remains. As soon as I put the car in gear (Reverse) to back out of the garage, all the lights came back on. I will probably drive the car today for a few miles to see if it helps. Fingers crossed that this is not a major repair because the car was running great when the lights first came on.

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My old now daughters 15’ Legacy started doing this about a month ago, the car drives fine still, it could be a number of things, and like you, I can’t get codes off of it. I read somewhere that it’s solenoid in the CVT going bad, and it’s about 1800 to fix. Needless to say, I haven’t gotten it fixed yet and it hasn’t caused my daughter any issues yet

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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My old now daughters 15’ Legacy started doing this about a month ago, the car drives fine still, it could be a number of things, and like you, I can’t get codes off of it. I read somewhere that it’s solenoid in the CVT going bad, and it’s about 1800 to fix. Needless to say, I haven’t gotten it fixed yet and it hasn’t caused my daughter any issues yet

 

Update:

In my case, it was indeed the transmission valve body or solenoid, the "brains" of the transmission. As you say, this is a known problem in Subaru CVTs and Subaru provides extended warranty coverage up to 100K miles. My car has 148K miles and did not qualify for the warranty replacement. I called Subaru Corporate anyways, requested a goodwill discount, and received a $300 coupon. In hindsight, I might have received a larger discount had I been a bit more persuasive.

 

The repair estimate was ~$1300 (900 parts + 400 labor) at my single local Subaru dealership. This also included a transmission oil service, unless that is part of the repair. With the added $100 diagnostic fee, which they would not waive, and taxes, I paid $1150 out the door with Subaru's coupon.

 

They kept the car for a couple of days, I got a complimentary loaner, and now have a transmission that should be good for at least another 50-60K. This is my college freshman son's first car, and expect it will last him thru graduation at least.

 

I agree with you that the car drove fine with all the lights on, but I had a feeling of impending doom behind the wheel! Besides, there is the risk of damaging the CVT further. That's a $8000 repair, about how much we paid for the car. So, I didn't take any chances and got it fixed. Good luck with your situation.

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  • 1 month later...
Everyone with a 2015 to 2019 will experience this issue. I’m currently going into a big fight with Subaru in regards to this. Your CVT will have this issue around 100-140k miles

 

What's the mileage on your car? Are you driving it with the lights on or fighting for a refund after getting it fixed? How long have you been fighting over this? Do share details of your situation.

 

I was non-confrontational in my interactions with Subaru Corporate, and they quickly offered the $300 coupon. I wish I had pushed harder for them to cover at least the full costs of the parts, but my car was 48K beyond the recall mileage, so I had a weak case to begin with.

 

Good luck!

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Everyone with a 2015 to 2019 will experience this issue. I’m currently going into a big fight with Subaru in regards to this. Your CVT will have this issue around 100-140k miles

 

You might be interested in this from a Subaru expert. At the 13:00 min mark he states that in his opinion, most CVT problems are due to non servicing, and therefore are probably "avoidable" to some extent.

 

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Everyone with a 2015 to 2019 will experience this issue. I’m currently going into a big fight with Subaru in regards to this. Your CVT will have this issue around 100-140k miles
Eeh, good luck. My 2016 broke a month ago with only 55k miles and they replaced the entire transmission without a fight

 

Envoyé de mon LG-M703 en utilisant Tapatalk

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You might be interested in this from a Subaru expert. At the 13:00 min mark he states that in his opinion, most CVT problems are due to non servicing, and therefore are probably "avoidable" to some extent.

 

 

I'm not sure if it's going to help, but I plan to swap the CVT fluid with only Subie fluid every 50k or so.

'15 FB25

Magnatec 0W-20 + FU filter (70,517 miles)

RSB, Fr. Strut Bar, Tint, STI BBS, LED er'where

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I'm not sure if it's going to help, but I plan to swap the CVT fluid with only Subie fluid every 50k or so.

 

I will be doing likewise.

 

I take my vehicle to the dealer for all services, and I have had several conversations with different service writers regarding CVT fluid changes. They all toed the Subaru "party line" regarding "sealed unit" and "lifetime fluid."

 

It wasn't until my last service visit that I encountered a different service writer who was younger than the previous ones, and who apparently came from a BMW background. He openly suggested that a CVT fluid change would be beneficial at about the 50-60 mile mark ( 100,000kms here) going on my driving habits (no towing and being a conservative driver) When I reach that mileage, if this particular guy is still there (and hasn't been sacked for going against company policy) I'll get the CVT fluid change done there ... if he is gone, I will get it done at an indie that I have already previously sussed out, and who specialises in Subie servicing.

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I will be doing likewise.

 

I take my vehicle to the dealer for all services, and I have had several conversations with different service writers regarding CVT fluid changes. They all toed the Subaru "party line" regarding "sealed unit" and "lifetime fluid."

 

It wasn't until my last service visit that I encountered a different service writer who was younger than the previous ones, and who apparently came from a BMW background. He openly suggested that a CVT fluid change would be beneficial at about the 50-60 mile mark ( 100,000kms here) going on my driving habits (no towing and being a conservative driver) When I reach that mileage, if this particular guy is still there (and hasn't been sacked for going against company policy) I'll get the CVT fluid change done there ... if he is gone, I will get it done at an indie that I have already previously sussed out, and who specialises in Subie servicing.

 

I had to switch dealerships, because the first, one I've been using for a decade, stated that they don't do CVT flushes and don't even have the means to. The second one, not too much farther from my current residence of three or so years, had no problem doing the job.

 

It was expensive, but worth it to me, considering I plan on keeping this thing for as long as it's (reasonably) serviceable...

'15 FB25

Magnatec 0W-20 + FU filter (70,517 miles)

RSB, Fr. Strut Bar, Tint, STI BBS, LED er'where

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Mine did this too. At about 35000 miles, a few months ago. Needed a new tcm or something. They said it would have cost 1600 for the whole repair but thankfully even though my car is 6 years old it had less than 40k miles. I wont ever go CVT again. They fixed it but now I just had to replace my rear hub bearing assembly which was 300+ and my car just reached 40k miles. Apparently its known the rear hub bearings are sh!t so we replaced it with a Moog one. About a week ago my car started idling rough after a few min as if it was going to stall. Felt like it was down a cylinder at first then drove like normal. I thought air filter, spark plugs, or injector but they were fine. I'm tired of a car with 40k miles giving me these issues that it shouldn't be having. I'd trade it in but all I'd get from subaru is 8 or 9k, itd be worth more to save it. Edited by JRu17
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I had to switch dealerships, because the first, one I've been using for a decade, stated that they don't do CVT flushes and don't even have the means to. The second one, not too much farther from my current residence of three or so years, had no problem doing the job.

 

You had me right up to the part where you mentioned "flushes" :eek:

 

Do you really mean "flush" and not just fluid change ???

 

http://mygarageairdrie.ca/services-pricing/maintenance-services/services-that-you-dont-need-transmission-flushes/

 

I won't be "flushing" ... but I will be doing a drain and fill.

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... [dealer] stated that they don't do CVT flushes and don't even have the means to.

There's a big difference between a flush and a drain-and-fill. You don't want a flush, which provides several opportunities for transmission damage.

"If you don't know where you're going, any road will take you there." ~ The Cheshire Cat (Alice in Wonderland)

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You had me right up to the part where you mentioned "flushes" :eek:

 

Do you really mean "flush" and not just fluid change ???

 

http://mygarageairdrie.ca/services-pricing/maintenance-services/services-that-you-dont-need-transmission-flushes/

 

I won't be "flushing" ... but I will be doing a drain and fill.

 

They let the engine flush the fluid, as far as I know. I was apprehensive at first, but the people at the service dept seemed sure it was the way to go.

 

I’ll likely opt for a drain and fill next time.

 

Also, I didn’t go in looking for a flush. It just seemed like an option that wasn’t that much more expensive.

 

Finally, when I said the first dealer didn’t have the means to perform the flush I meant that they didn’t have the means or want to service the fluid, period. They simply said it’s not serviceable or not needed unless there’s a problem.

Edited by gathermewool

'15 FB25

Magnatec 0W-20 + FU filter (70,517 miles)

RSB, Fr. Strut Bar, Tint, STI BBS, LED er'where

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  • 10 months later...
My 2019 Legacy is at 184,200 miles on original fluid. My driving is 95% freeway and up to now there have not been any issues. My dealer still would not suggest changing the fluid and I am feeling that doing so at this mileage may cause issues.(?) So, I am in a quandary, change it or leave it alone. Obviously the resale value of the car is poor (9K trade In) so I intend to run it until it becomes economically not worth it. Before the Legacy I had Toyotas and 300,000 was the norm before any mechanical catastrophy. What would you do?
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My 2019 Legacy is at 184,200 miles on original fluid. My driving is 95% freeway

 

I am no CVT transmission expert, but in my opinion if your 95% freeway estimation is accurate, then you probably have a lot less to worry about than those owners who do 95% "stop start" driving. Heat is apparently the big enemy of all transmissions, and from what I have read, "stop start" driving creates a lot more heat than freeway driving. I think the jury is still out as to whether changing your fluid at 184,000 miles would be harmful ... so considering your stated driving habits, I think I'd probably pass on the fluid change just to be on the side of caution.

 

I'm in a different case to you ... whilst I don't rack up a lot of miles annually, my driving percentages are probably only 25% freeway, so I will be changing my CVT fluid at 60,000 miles (or in my case 100,000 kms)

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This is the kind of thing that has me questioning whether I will every buy another Subaru with a CVT.

 

My two comments in regards to your post are ..

 

(1) I don't think CVT's are going to disappear any time soon, and I don't just mean with Subaru. The fuel saving capabilities of CVT's (however small) means that many manufacturers will keep using them.

 

(2) I'm not sure that questions about "when and if" to replace transmission fluid should be influencing you as to whether to buy a vehicle with a CVT or not ... because any qualified mechanic will tell you that all types of transmissions should have a fluid change at some stage if you wanted to keep your transmission running trouble free for a decent period of time. Some people do not like CVT's because of "performance" reasons, and I understand that (although CVT's are continually improving in that regard) ... but not buying a CVT vehicle purely because of some perceived fluid change "confusion" doesn't make a lot of sense to me. ;)

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My two comments in regards to your post are ..

 

(1) I don't think CVT's are going to disappear any time soon, and I don't just mean with Subaru. The fuel saving capabilities of CVT's (however small) means that many manufacturers will keep using them.

 

(2) I'm not sure that questions about "when and if" to replace transmission fluid should be influencing you as to whether to buy a vehicle with a CVT or not ... because any qualified mechanic will tell you that all types of transmissions should have a fluid change at some stage if you wanted to keep your transmission running trouble free for a decent period of time. Some people do not like CVT's because of "performance" reasons, and I understand that (although CVT's are continually improving in that regard) ... but not buying a CVT vehicle purely because of some perceived fluid change "confusion" doesn't make a lot of sense to me. ;)

 

CVTs from some other manufacturers, specifically Toyota, don't seem to have the same problems as Subaru's. Plenty of Prius drivers can attest to the bulletproof ones they own. Also, a lot of US and European manufacturers seem to be sticking with 8 and 10 speed conventional autos, so I don't think CVTs for all is in our future.

 

As for the fluid change, I cannot fathom why Subaru doesn't recommend some kind of periodic fluid replacement for their CVTs. I understand the longer oil change intervals are largely due to euro-spec regulations, but I don't think that applies in this case.

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