My younger sis has a 2017 Impreza sedan with a CVT. It has 66k miles. She said the transmission felt like it was slipping and was noisy while driving home from work night. She’s taking it to a dealer today, I’ll keep this updated.
2017 Impreza CVT issue
- Thread starter skyactiv
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She will get a new transmission. Subaru is definitely over-active in replacing the transmissions in these things. Following Subaru forums / boards since I bought my 2018, it seems that even if your pan gasket is weeping, you will get a new transmission.
The valve body on the impreza / forester units goes bad. They can be repaired / remanufactured, and it's actually serviceable from the top! If the car is under 100K they aren't even going to bother, they'll just throw a transmission at it.
The valve body on the impreza / forester units goes bad. They can be repaired / remanufactured, and it's actually serviceable from the top! If the car is under 100K they aren't even going to bother, they'll just throw a transmission at it.
CVTs...one of those ideas that sounds good on paper but doesn't seem to be reliable, doesn't really improve mpg, decreases performance and makes drivability worse. When are manufactures going to admit that little experiment didn't really work out?
There are ideas and then there are ideas that are poorly implemented; Not the same thing.
I live near a Nissan dealer and probably every couple of weeks I see a relatively new Nissan being towed into the dealer. No idea if it is because of the CVT but it makes me VERY suspicious!
Nissan CVTs are very different from Subaru CVTs.
The key with Nissan CVTs is you need to change the fluid and filter a lot.
Honda has no problem making a good CVT. Theirs are the best. hundreds of thousands of miles with no problem, and the CVT fluid is very easy to change on them, too. They feel seamless, definitely does not decrease performance or make driveability worse. Gas mileage definitely has gotten much better with the CVT.
While Subaru might not be quite as good as Honda, they're still a lot better than Nissan! The only problem is that Subaru makes the fluid difficult to change, and you need a scan tool that can read the temperature.
The CVT is here to stay until electric powertrains that don't need excessive gear reduction become the norm.
Hopefully it's nothing, but like said, if it is, SOA seems to handle it quickly. Keep us updated!
FWIW, I had a 2012 Legacy and 2016 Forester. Both CVTs. Only had them both to about 50K miles, but never had an issue. I still don't think you see all that many Subaru CVT failures compared to any other transmission, even though they've been on the road since 2009 w/ the 2010 model year Legacy sedan.
FWIW, I had a 2012 Legacy and 2016 Forester. Both CVTs. Only had them both to about 50K miles, but never had an issue. I still don't think you see all that many Subaru CVT failures compared to any other transmission, even though they've been on the road since 2009 w/ the 2010 model year Legacy sedan.
In my opinion ... It's a multifaceted problem when cvts have problems. One is extremely poor ECM/PCM programming from the factory. That causes vehicles to operate in a way that makes zero sense and puts parts are risk?? Anyone who learned to drive on a stick shift knows.... You don't run in 5th gear going 20 mph.... You are in 3rd gear and very likely in 2nd gear. And the second problem in my opinion related to the first is the motor and transmission have to be a better combo. Cvts with very small motors I believe are a bad combination. I also don't believe a CVT would hold up to being paired with say a 5.0 L Ford motor and that motor being supercharged too.... But a CVT paired with a 3.0-3.5 L motor and programmed a lot better from the factory would do a whole lot better than a CVT paired with a 2.0-1.6 L motor.
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CVT's work fine.
The problem is that they need to be overbuilt, akin to stuffing an GMC Allison into a Chevy Spark.
Since the goal is to make it as small and light as possible, with no maintenance ever, the end result is lots of failures. Just ask Nissan!
Subaru CVTs are built of off Nissan's Jatco technology. The Subaru CVT is built at a joint plant owned 50:50 by Fuji Heavy and Jatco. I was hoping that Fuji's different supplier chain and Subaru engineering would toughen it up a little.
If the sister gets a new CVT, consider a yearly drain/refill if the car is a long term keeper. Otherwise, plan on the next failure at 130k miles ;-) and trade it in before then.
The problem is that they need to be overbuilt, akin to stuffing an GMC Allison into a Chevy Spark.
Since the goal is to make it as small and light as possible, with no maintenance ever, the end result is lots of failures. Just ask Nissan!
Subaru CVTs are built of off Nissan's Jatco technology. The Subaru CVT is built at a joint plant owned 50:50 by Fuji Heavy and Jatco. I was hoping that Fuji's different supplier chain and Subaru engineering would toughen it up a little.
If the sister gets a new CVT, consider a yearly drain/refill if the car is a long term keeper. Otherwise, plan on the next failure at 130k miles ;-) and trade it in before then.
Update: The transmission is being replaced at no cost and the dealer provided an Outback loaner. Expected to be ready by Thursday afternoon.
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