2019 Legacy CVT Issue

500 miles new, I committed my first CVT error. Floored it to get out of a tight spot to avoid an issue. 40mph to 70mph held to the max for 6 or so sec. Looks to have affected the CVT permanently. The nice little torque burst once present at throttle onset from a stop is gone, and accel is sluggish. Would not surprise me if I stretched the belt - putting 5 years of wear in one event. Had not stressed the CVT before that point. Anybody experience this?

Take it back. It sounds very new and warrantied.

 

Sent from my moto z3 using Tapatalk

Edited March 31, 2019 by whitexc

You may have stressed something, but you did not stretch the Subaru CVT belt.

 

 

It uses a chain.

If flooring the go peddle ruins the CVT, regardless of miles, it would have been dropped years ago. Something else is amiss, as said above take it back for a warranty look-see.

I push mine to the floor fairly frequently, when passing cars and entering the freeway. I have been driving it that way for over 10K miles now with no problems. It is designed to handle all the torque the engine can deliver so perhaps yours has a problem.

Most likely the CVT learned some new logic and it will go back to normal after 30-60 min of driving or a reset.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I tend to agree with MrCobbs. I think with so few miles that either the engine or CVT, or both, had a "learn" and updated their settings based on that event.

(similar to disconnecting the battery on an older car - there is an ECM re-learn.

 

I recommend you keep driving normally for a couple weeks and see how it feels.

I think you're perceiving a change, because you THINK you did something unusual and bad to the CVT, which you did not. You're getting into you own head a bit here, is the answer.

I couldn't come up with a nice phrase as you just did to said that he is blowing it way apportion and just calm down.

 

Laughing at oneself and with others is good for the Soul![emoji2]

I think you're perceiving a change, because you THINK you did something unusual and bad to the CVT, which you did not. You're getting into you own head a bit here, is the answer.

 

 

Seriously? How could you say such a thing? This type of response is what we dont need. The OP knows what he is feeling. Time after time when i would bring up an issue, specifically the steering issue... Its a learning curve or i was told i was doing it wrong. No. It just SUCKS. The car floats worse than a buick, the electric rack is a joke. And if i had known that JATCO was supplying the CVT's i would never bought my car. JATCO is owned by NISSAN. And btw my rear differential was replaced at 22k. My 3.6R has been on a flatbed 8 times in 3 years. CRAP.

I mean no offense to anyone; I'm trying to allay the OP's MOST LIKELY unfounded fears. It sounds like you're projecting your issues onto the situation in a very unhelpful way.

 

The OP has not reported an actual issue, nor any actual indications that the CVT is slipping. He THINKS he did something that is considered bad for CVT's (flooring it) and is possibly projecting that guilt.

 

I remember learning to drive stick on my gramma's old Ranger. I lugged and stalled it so often, I was sure I had broken something. If you've ever jerked hard to a stop and stalled and didn't know any better, you'll know exactly the terror my young mind felt. I was sure I heard things that weren't there and worried I was in deep dog doodoo when grandpa noticed something out the ordinary that was surely MY fault...that is, until I realized that the noises were already there and my few mistakes did not break anything.

 

Finally, there's a huge difference between thinking you did something wrong (that is not wrong) and projecting that guilt, and someone like you, who had ACTUAL issues. If the OP comes back and gives more information that leads us to believe that there's an actual issue, then fine. To scare him into thinking something is wrong because of flooring it? Absurd and unhelpful...

Edited April 3, 2019 by gathermewool

I mean no offense to anyone; I'm trying to allay the OP's MOST LIKELY unfounded fears. It sounds like you're projecting your issues onto the situation in a very unhelpful way..

 

Don't worry about poor old Beamercub ..... he is probably a little distracted at the moment, because he is trying hard to work out the best way to break the world breakdown record by getting his vehicle onto a flatbed for the ninth time

when you accelerate roll into the throttle, the results are much better and you get a very smooth take off.

Don't worry about poor old Beamercub ..... he is probably a little distracted at the moment, because he is trying hard to work out the best way to break the world breakdown record by getting his vehicle onto a flatbed for the ninth time

 

That being said...

A tow truck is a last resort due to a driveability issue. Something out of my control. Wheel bearing, mis-fire 4 separate times, rear differential and not being able to drive safely to the dealer, in addition to a horrible grinding noise as the diff was ripping itself to pieces.. Hence my name, Beamercub... Seriously thinking of going back to BMW.

Edited thread title to better reflect the situation. So far there is no confirmation of "slippage" in this CVT.

Edited thread title to better reflect the situation. So far there is no confirmation of "slippage" in this CVT.

 

That...and the OP has yet to elaborate / reply to their initial post.

I'm the OP. Took the car to a Subaru Tech yesterday. They drove it. Confirms there is a difference in what a new vehicle would exhibit in terms of launch characteristics and (fake) shift points. Said CVT does indeed learn, and factored my extreme event into the moving average. Strange that one outlier like that should be allowed to have such an effect, but it did. Maybe that event is statistically weighted differently. Tech also indicated he's seen complaints like this before when two family members use the car, the wife brings it in saying, its different after my husband drove it awhile. Not sure I like the notion of "adaptive transmission" Subaru should keep it predictable, and add a drive mode if a change-up is desired. Could reset it, but likely will end up back where it now is. Thx for feedback.

Strange that one outlier like that should be allowed to have such an effect, but it did. Maybe that event is statistically weighted differently ... Not sure I like the notion of "adaptive transmission" ...

Unrealistic expectations. Automatic transmissions have been "adaptive" (to varying degrees) for more than 30 years.

Could reset it, but likely will end up back where it now is. Thx for feedback.

 

I am no subie tech but would expect it to "normalize" if you go back to rolling in to the throttle for your driving. Should only stay how it is if you keep gunning it from the start.

Good you had it checked out to confirm.

Would assume if you stuck to a standard break in period for the first few thousand miles all would be normal.

That being said...

A tow truck is a last resort due to a driveability issue. Something out of my control. Wheel bearing, mis-fire 4 separate times, rear differential and not being able to drive safely to the dealer, in addition to a horrible grinding noise as the diff was ripping itself to pieces.. Hence my name, Beamercub... Seriously thinking of going back to BMW.

 

If BMW is an option why are you driving a Subaru?

why are you driving a Subaru?

 

excellent question

I honestly don't believe that the tech noticed a difference. What did he say was the solution to your "problem"?

 

In addition, if the CVT were to learn something, wouldn't it be that you drive aggressively? If so, why would it neuter the off-the-line acceleration? Makes no sense.

These cars aren't made to be fun. When I hurry my car, I hate it. I think "why the hell did I buy this slow POS". When I accept it for what it is, and drive it like it's intended, I enjoy my car. Excellent mileage, smooth ride, it's comfortable and has a good sound system... I also knew what I was doing, going from a 2016 Forester XT to this 2.5 Legacy. Sounds like someone bought the wrong vehicle, or didn't test drive it long enough

So, I do not have a cvt in my '11 legacy 3.6r but I have reset my transmission b4. So I got my legacy @ about 47k miles and now it is at 95k. I do all the maintenance on it and the only problem I have had was over time my transmission started to shift hard from first to second and second to third. Well I thought my tranny was starting to go because subaru trans are known to be horrible except the 6mt. Once I started noticing it I replaced the transmission fluid and differentials even sooner than the manual says to. Well that didn't help. So litteraly the other day I stumbled upon something about a TCU reset because the transmission can learn bad habits over time. I did the reset on my own and now it rides like it is brand spanking new. I have a feeling it was because I was driving in Philly where it was a lot of rapid stop and go traffic and back at home I mainly drive 60mph highway for miles at a time so it's a little different type of driving.

All I did was:

1) Turn the car on

2) turn off anything with power (a.c., lights, GPS plugs, chargers)

3)turn off car

4)turn ignition to on position but not running

5)press gas pedal all the way down for 35 secs

6)turn car off and release gas pedal after

7) let sit for 2 minutes

8) proceed to drive as normal

 

I kid you not, I was really starting to hate this transmission issue especially being I do the maintenance to the t and most of the time earlier than I'm supposed to but now I'm back to loving it like the day I got it. I'm not sure if this procedure works for the CVT but it seemed to work for me.

 

Sent from my SM-T813 using Tapatalk

Source. Applicability?