Hi, 2019 Forester here. Just wondering how often the transmission fluid should be changed. Of course, every vehicle is in a different situation but is there a generally followed maintenance schedule? 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.
2019 - How Often Do You Change Transmission Fluid?
devenous
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Interestingly, SOA's CVTF service "recommendation" is exactly the same as it was for the ATF in the 4EAT. If you look at the Warranty & Maintenance booklet for a 4EAT model year, the recommendation is "I" every 30k miles. So SOA was equally as vague on changing ATF, but no one ever said ATF was lifetime.
My recommendation:
Change the CVTF if you plan on keeping the car beyond the CVT warranty expiration.
Don't change the CVTF if you plan on getting rid of the car before the CVT warranty expiration.
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That wasn't your question though. For me, I've stated several times I'm skeptical of SOAs recommendation not to replace the fluid under normal conditions but I also feel it's good people are informed about all the facts including what SOA says on the matter.
Then again, we're talking about 4EATs. In all honesty, I could care less what people on a forum said about ATF and their 4EAT equipped vehicles, schedule, etc. when it comes to making a decision on my wife's 2020 Forester. Her previous car was an '08 Forester which had the 4EAT. I changed the fluid once well past the warranty. We owned that car for 3 or so years and 253,000 miles. Never had any issues with that unit which still has the original filter that some were adamant should be replaced as well.
....but again, I'm not saying people should or shouldn't replace their CVTF or even ATF in the 4EATs. Do what makes you feel comfortable. If you feel strongly that the fluid should be changed at certain time or regular intervals, then do it.
I've never done any official testing or analysis, teardowns, etc. so I make no claims. Will I replace the CTVF in my wife's 2020? Maybe.......maybe not. .....but if I do, it will likely be after the 5/60 warranty is up. No solid justification, just that I (personally) don't want to have any potential issues with future warranty claims.
I'm not sure why this is such a contentious topic. Everyone should make up their own minds based on the information.
Don’t you mean, examples of oil changes that accidentally became CVT changes? 😆. LOTS of those.
I don’t recall deliberate CVT changes going awry, provided the person bothered to read and follow the factory procedure. Some folks convince themselves they have a better/easier way.
A similar thread posted fluid analysis from a few CVTF changes. Nothing in the analysis results supported doing a change for normal use, if I recall.
Because some posters state that the CVTF is a lifetime fluid which is very misleading to others on this forum. Here's why:
1. There is nothing in the SOA Owner's Manual or Warranty & Maintenance booklet stating that CVTF is lifetime or should never be changed.
2. On the SOA scheduled maintenance chart the "I" is defined as "Inspect, correct or replace as necessary". So SOA is saying that replacement may be necessary.
3. SOA recommends replacement of CVFT at ~24k miles under towing conditions.
4. A SOA phone rep recently stated here that CVTF should be changed if dirty or contaminated.
5. SOC requires a CVTF change to maintain extended Canadian CVT warranty.
6. Many Subaru dealers recommend replacement of CVTF. Mine does.
The above being said, I agree that SOA is somewhat vague on the topic but no more so than it was with replacing ATF.
Those certainly factor into the equation, and there certainly are a number of those cases.I think my point still stands, however, in that changing the CVT fluid is significantly more “intense” than an oil/filter change, and extracting the old fluid … then replacing it with the appropriate amount of fluid, requires more precision...Attention to temperature, amount of fluid, etc.
A 1/2 quart either way on an oil change probably won’t be noticeable… a transmission may not be as forgiving…
I don’t mean to imply it can‘t be a DIY job, but to think its not any more intense (difficult) would probably be the wrong conclusion to arrive at…
2. On the SOA scheduled maintenance chart the "I" is defined as "Inspect, correct or replace as necessary". So SOA is saying that replacement may be necessary.
4. A SOA phone rep recently stated here that CVTF should be changed if dirty or contaminated.
On point #2, it doesn’t get much more vague than that as an instruction. Sort of like saying to fix something if it’s broken, without defining what the meaning of broken is…
On point #4, I’d say that’s equally as vague.
One gets the idea these terms were determined by a group of lawyers rather than a group of engineers or maintenance representatives.
I don’t disagree that there aren’t times the fluid needs to be changed… in fact, I think almost everyone here agrees that there are times it does. I guess I’m just saying it’s very difficult to maintain a vehicle in accordance to the factory recommendations when you can’t decipher what those recommendations are…
Again, it’s become a game of semantics… what the definition of “is” is…
4. A SOA phone rep recently stated here that CVTF should be changed if dirty or contaminated.
On point #2, it doesn’t get much more vague than that as an instruction. Sort of like saying to fix something if it’s broken, without defining what the meaning of broken is…
On point #4, I’d say that’s equally as vague.
One gets the idea these terms were determined by a group of lawyers rather than a group of engineers or maintenance representatives.
I don’t disagree that there aren’t times the fluid needs to be changed… in fact, I think almost everyone here agrees that there are times it does. I guess I’m just saying it’s very difficult to maintain a vehicle in accordance to the factory recommendations when you can’t decipher what those recommendations are…
Again, it’s become a game of semantics… what the definition of “is” is…
One other significant (I think, anyway) item I neglected to mention earlier…
When I took my wife’s 15 Outback in at 60K miles for a brake job, I asked the service advisor exactly what the recommended Subaru CVT inspection entailed…assuming no drivability issues… specifically, did they pull the CVT fill plug to physically examine a fluid sample?
The response I got was that the inspection only examined the CVT for leaks, and if there was no visible sign of leakage, then the “inspection” was complete. And, no, in those cases, they were instructed not to pull the fill or drain plugs.
The dealership I use is pretty competent and capable, and I’ve never had any service complaints with any work they’ve done for me since our first Subaru in 2013… so, unless the SA was lying… I would imagine that’s the plan most dealerships go by as well…
When I took my wife’s 15 Outback in at 60K miles for a brake job, I asked the service advisor exactly what the recommended Subaru CVT inspection entailed…assuming no drivability issues… specifically, did they pull the CVT fill plug to physically examine a fluid sample?
The response I got was that the inspection only examined the CVT for leaks, and if there was no visible sign of leakage, then the “inspection” was complete. And, no, in those cases, they were instructed not to pull the fill or drain plugs.
The dealership I use is pretty competent and capable, and I’ve never had any service complaints with any work they’ve done for me since our first Subaru in 2013… so, unless the SA was lying… I would imagine that’s the plan most dealerships go by as well…
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There are a lot of suggestions I read in these forums that I wouldn't follow. Not sure what else to say other than that I never implied that it should never be changed and I don't think Freddie has nor does SOA. They are quite clear about that at least regarding severe duty situations where they recommend specific intervals.
As for the inspection, it is outlined in the FSM and there is criteria to be met for replacement if warranted (depending on what is found in the inspection). .....but like the 4EAT, I totally agree that its vague in that regard.
No, SOA never mentions the word "lifetime" when talking about their fluid but it's really just a matter of semantics IMO as they say things like "not serviceable", etc. It's obvious they don't want people replacing the fluid under normal driving conditions. .....but again, there is the severe schedule and criteria of the "inspection".
I have mentioned several times about the SOC recommendation being contrary to what SOA recommends which I agree is a valid point.
This isn't about whether folks like me agree with SOA on their recommendation of not replacing the CVTF but I think people should take it all into consideration and make up their own minds.
I agree with @FelineFreddie that the CVT is a more sensitive and complicated scenario regarding the changing of the fluid. It's the same reason I won't do my own in my Challenger which uses a Merc tranny (no dipstick and a complicated process involving special tools ,etc.). My wife's '08 with the 4EAT was an old, standard setup with a dipstick and straightforward process that was simple and forgiving.
Again, not saying people who want to change their fluid at a certain point are wrong, I'm not saying people shouldn't DIY, etc., etc. Do what you want.
Like "lifetime", "not serviceable" is not mentioned in the Owners Manual or Warranty & Maintenance booklet in regard to the CVT/CVTF.
I never hesitated to do a DIY ATF drain & fill on my 2010 4EAT. However, I won't dare touch the drain or fill plug on my 2018 CVT. The only people I would trust changing Subaru's CVTF are a mechanic at a Subaru dealer or independent Subaru-only shop.
I never hesitated to do a DIY ATF drain & fill on my 2010 4EAT. However, I won't dare touch the drain or fill plug on my 2018 CVT. The only people I would trust changing Subaru's CVTF are a mechanic at a Subaru dealer or independent Subaru-only shop.
I did my first drain and refill of my '19 Forester yesterday; it was very nerve wrecking at first but got more comfortable afterwards; only drained about 4.7L.
By the way, how often does the transmission filter needs to be replaced and is it a complicated process?
My car has about 63,000km.
Thank you.
By the way, how often does the transmission filter needs to be replaced and is it a complicated process?
My car has about 63,000km.
Thank you.
Is there even a filter on the Subaru CVT ???
I have no idea…
I have no idea…
Unfortunately the CVT needs disassembled to change the filter. Drain/refill all you want, the filter will eventually become a liability.
I would still change the fluid at whatever interval suits you, but just know that eventually the filter will need changed. Most likely it will be the end of the "life" of the CVT, as the labor expense of changing it would be close to the expense of a rebuild.
At least the Jatco CVT has accessible filters, FWIW.
I would still change the fluid at whatever interval suits you, but just know that eventually the filter will need changed. Most likely it will be the end of the "life" of the CVT, as the labor expense of changing it would be close to the expense of a rebuild.
At least the Jatco CVT has accessible filters, FWIW.
Assuming that’s factual, and the filter does collect material…What a great example of “built-in obsolescence”…
Mr. Subaru recommends changing CVTF every 36k miles at 7:40 into this video:
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Why take and regurgitate rando youtube guy's word?
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That's a really good question @Menel. I mistakenly considered him somewhat credible, but he's clearly making things up on this point. I went and grabbed the same info from subar.jp, but from a different PDF, since I'm not willing to trust some rando guy's translation.
Same result as you.
that's why I linked the source pdf directly.41 - 60 of 75 Posts
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