subaru US says its a lifetime fluid. other counties have different schedules.

 

subaru US says its a lifetime fluid

Where does SOA say that?

 

Yeah, my understanding is there is not dipstick so not sure how someone would inspect it. My local Subaru mechanic, after talking with with dealership recommended 60k

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Just had mine changed at 60k and it made a noticable improvement in CVT performance and gracefulness.

 

I plan on every 30k miles. Cvtf is not lifetime. No transmission oils are. My dealership charges $235, so it’s worth it having the tech do it. Cvtf is NOT lifetime.

 

Great price for that peace of mind. My CVT fluid swap cost me that in fluid alone, not to mention gaskets and labour etc

 

There are multiple threads on this subject. Use the search option and you’ll find lots of opinions.

If y ou weren’t confused when you started looking, you may well be by the end…

 

 

The dealership wanted to charge me $550, they said they had to do a re learn. That’s only if they change a CVt part, like the valve body.
They dropped the price when I informed them that I didn’t need a re learn procedure. I also had to wait a while, I had to drive 35 minutes to see them. Cvt was hot.

 

My one time was 350 and 5 hours. I saw in another thread that someone had a quote for less from about a different dealership, but they apparently don't do the same full flush procedure or something along those lines. I think they said to ask about how many quarts of fluid they will use, as the full process takes like 8 quarts or something to do it properly.

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The manual says every 25,000 miles if driven under “severe” conditions, which is basically everyone. Short trips, stop and go traffic, extreme cold/hot, mountains or coastal environment.

 

“Severe Service” appears to fall under the category of “in the eye of the beholder”…

Subaru NA has responded in emails and/or writing to a few posters on this forum (which they have kindly reposted), and the gist of what Subaru NA says is…for the vast majority of owners, it’s a sealed system… inspect for leaks, but don’t open the CVT to do anything.

Personally, I say folks ought to do whatever they feel is right for them. If you lease, or trade vehicles at around 100K miles, don’t haul heavy loads, don’t live in a dusty environment or tow vehicles, you’re most likely OK just inspecting periodically for leaks. Otherwise, fluid service is probably adviseable.

AFAIK, Subaru continues to be extremely cryptic in its service suggestions for CVTs.

This subject has gotten a lot like asking which oil/filter is the best for your vehicle… ask 1000 folks, get 1000 different opinions.

 

I had asked a Corporate Subaru dealer today and was quoted $300 CDN for the drain and refill (about 6L he said); he said he won’t even wanna touch the refill until my car has 100,000 km …

 

Aside from Subaru of America, nearly all of Subaru's distributors around the world (including Subaru Canada) recommend 60,000mi/100,000km as the "normal" interval for the CVTF. My dealer had no problem when I requested it along with the 60K service.

A brief search of this forum will bring up over a decade worth of tales of dealership shops reluctant to do it or flat out refusing to do it, so YMMV.

 

This is one good thing about a lease-- Someone else's problem!

 

Replaced my sons CVT fluid at 25k and plan to do it again at 50k, cost us $90 for 6 quarts of genuine CVT fluid and 2 gaskets from the dealer and about 2 - 3 hours of time on a Saturday. Longest time was spent getting the car on 4 jack stands and leveled out as best as possible, the drain and fill took no time at all with a HF hand transfer pump to fill made it easy. I used my OBDlink to check the CVT temp and followed the Service manual procedure with a little help from the many YouTube videos. I would place this on the no more difficult to do than an engine oil change just with a different set of tools, the biggest part is overcoming the fear to try it have fun .

 

True - very doable. Did mine in November last year. Took me about 3 hours since I was alone.
In Kenya, the dealer recommend a change every 60k Kms and they charge USD 220. Occasionally you will see ads reminding owners of the importance of CVT service.

 

When you can do work yourself, more frequent maintenance makes a lot of sense.

A drain and fill seems like a better way to go, but the downside is that fluid in the torque converter won't be drained.

With the 4EAT, the ATF is a LOT cheaper, so the triple drain and fill at oil changes works pretty well.
I wonder if the dealer service is a drain or a flush....

It would be interesting to see results from analysis of the CVT fluid if anyone does that.

 

Doesn’t make much sense to have motor oil lab-rested (unless a problem is expected) at every oil change, if for no other reason than oil/filter changes aren’t very expensive and the process is simple and fast, although an occasional test might be in order at some point.

OTOH, I think it makes a lot more sense to have CVT fluid lab-tested at each changing event, because it’s more expensive, more infrequent, and more complex. Its possible you may find you’re draining out perfectly good fluid and getting no benefit at all…or possibly you need more frequent change intervals.

Just simply looking at the drained fluid, in itself, really doesn’t give you any useful information, other than that “feel good” sensation.

 

When I look at the official Subaru maintenance schedule, it also says "inspect" rather than "replace" CVT fluid every 30 months or 30,000 miles. Thanks.

Read Subaru's definition of "I" at the bottom of the maintenance chart. "I" can also mean replace.

 

I will change my cvtf every 30k miles. The dealership did it for $235 so it’s well worth it. I considered buying the cvtf, pump, gaskets and OBD scanner for iPhone. I just didn’t know which scanner/software to buy that would work with my 2015 Forester.

If you change your 4eat atf, why not change your cvtf? CVTF is not a magic transmission oil. It doesn’t last a lifetime. Heat breaks it down. It will accumulate small metal particles.

 

Would you like to try to find and buy a new CVTF ? It will only cost you 3 or 4 grand if you are really lucky. Somehow, I prefer to change all the drivetrain fluids every 30,000 miles, I am not interested in replacing major parts of the drivetrain. But different strokes for different people. This inspect statement from Subaru is only to keep them from having to pay for changing fluids under the warranty.

 

It’s another Subaru mystery. Like the HGs debacle. Why did they wait so long?
Best to look at Japan website for information.
SOA has different thoughts.

 

I’m at 65k and plan to do a drain/fill. Local dealership does drain/fill for $350. I specifically asked for a flush and they said they only do the drain/fill.
Are there any online shops you trust to buy CVT fluid and gaskets?

also:('14-'18) - 2016 - Observations on my first...

 

I’m at 65k and plan to do a drain/fill. Local dealership does drain/fill for $350. I specifically asked for a flush and they said they only do the drain/fill.
Are there any online shops you trust to buy CVT fluid and gaskets?

also:('14-'18) - 2016 - Observations on my first...

Drain/fill is what you want anyway. Even better if you do it twice so most of the fluid will get changed out.

 

I'm doing mine at 60,000 regardless of what the manual says. If you let it go to say 100,000 at that point it's best NOT to do it at all. ( per savage scotty )...

 

Everywhere else but the USA it’s recommended that the cvtf be changed early and often. Lifetime is a crock.

 

Just had a drain and fill on my 2014 Outback at 100K but that was after conflicting responses on questions about this at my dealer. At first it was, "it's a sealed system designed to last the lifetime of the vehicle" (or words to the effect). But now they recommend every 60K. What stuns me is that no one seems to get a straight answer on such a simple question from Subaru. It's like they can't make up there mind about it. Kind of absurd IMHO. Maybe they use a magic 8 ball each time someone asks this question? In any case, I'm in the camp that says no fluid is "lifetime" unless you define lifetime as 100K or something like that. All fluids degrade. What worries me is why Subaru is so conflicted about this. What's wrong with the CVT design, the fluid, whatever that makes this a difficult question? Doesn't exactly inspire confidence and I personally really like CVTs although my other big beef with Subaru is making us suffer the simulated shifting. I'd pay real money to be able to disable that.

 

Disregard SOA and their lifetime BS. I’m going by Subaru of Japan and changing my cvtf every 30k miles or so. Just like my engine oil, I use a 3k mile OCI. Works for me and my car.