I’m sure this has been beaten to death Subaru, CVT fluid changes. Should I only stick with Subaru CVT fluid? I have enough Valvoline max life transmission fluid to make a change. I guess the new formula says it’s rated for Cvts. But Valvoline has a dedicated CVT fluid like most brands. Any input?
2017 Subaru Outback CVT fluid
- Thread starter jxthomps
- Start date
- Joined
- Dec 28, 2011
- Messages
- 5,061
I have a 17 OB 3.6 with high torque CVT. Not sure which one you have driving your sled. I'm at about 140k and I'm not often a OEM type but in this application I very much am. I've done a drain/fill at 70k and a complete exchange at 105k. I will do another at 155k. I would only use Subaru fluid....I would name the specific one for my vehicle but I don't recall from memory. The Sub CVT's can be finicky and there are like 6 different blends.
The risk/reward on this one seems to be a no-brainer to me. Post up what you decide to do.
I have used Valvoline CVT on my Nissan CVT, I thought Subaru used a puller belt system on the sheave that was different than others.
Proper operation comes down to the friction modifiers in the blend. I would use specific CVT fluid not a universal ATF. I do not know what trans you have and what spec the fluid must meet.
See the Owners Manual for your car.and compare to this chart linked:
sharena21.springcm.com
Proper operation comes down to the friction modifiers in the blend. I would use specific CVT fluid not a universal ATF. I do not know what trans you have and what spec the fluid must meet.
See the Owners Manual for your car.and compare to this chart linked:
US_Val_CVT_ATF_EN.pdf - DocuSign CLM
sharena21.springcm.com
Last edited:
Is the Maxlife you have the new CVT-compatible version? 
Some people are still afraid of ATF/CVT combo fluids, and I admit I'm reluctant to use them yet, too. Also, it is red, and some people don't like using red stuff in a CVT. Valvoline's dedicated CVT fluid is amber.
Since the Subaru stuff is green, you might be more comfortable with something green. There are a couple dedicated CVT fluids that are green: Cam2 and Transtar, the latter being available in both single quart bottles or a 2.5 gallon jug.
Some people are still afraid of ATF/CVT combo fluids, and I admit I'm reluctant to use them yet, too. Also, it is red, and some people don't like using red stuff in a CVT. Valvoline's dedicated CVT fluid is amber.
Since the Subaru stuff is green, you might be more comfortable with something green. There are a couple dedicated CVT fluids that are green: Cam2 and Transtar, the latter being available in both single quart bottles or a 2.5 gallon jug.
Here is the maxlife multi-vehicle PDS:
sharena21.springcm.com
US_Val_MLMultiVehicle_ATF_EN.pdf - DocuSign CLM
sharena21.springcm.com
ultimately you need to use what they call for, there may be aftermarket altenatives.. but CVT is an expensive piece of machinery to experiment with. I have a Nissan w/CVT and they call for the NS3 CVT fluid, not the NS2 they use in some of their other CVT's. I was able to find alternative NS3 fluids at Rock Auto at about half the price.. but in the end it is going to depend on the spec Subaru calls for...
Picked a 2017 Subaru Forrester as an example of the fluids Rock Auto says are compatible with yours. if it is a different model swap vehicles accordingly.... click link to look
Picked a 2017 Subaru Forrester as an example of the fluids Rock Auto says are compatible with yours. if it is a different model swap vehicles accordingly.... click link to look
2017 SUBARU FORESTER 2.5L H4 Transmission Fluid | RockAuto
RockAuto ships auto parts and body parts from over 300 manufacturers to customers' doors worldwide, all at warehouse prices. Easy to use parts catalog.
www.rockauto.com
Some newer ones use a different fluid.
This may be of some help.
This may be of some help.
Could Subaru of America go any crazier with all of their fluid requirements? I get updating as stuff evolves but wow.
I would just stick with subaru fluids as you have a warranty to 100k miles and often they extend that warranty beyond that. They are also designed by subaru and use a chain and not a belt like many other CVT's.
Presumably, since subaru has specific fluids for each transmission, they should be quite optimal for that transmission, and the fluids aren't that expensive, so I'm going to run only subaru CVT fluid in mine.
I want to say an independent shop used Pentosin in our 17 Forester. It's been fine after a drain and fill 40k miles ago. Had it not been during COVID and the dealer not been booked WEEKS out at the time, I would've taken it to the dealer for OEM fluid.
Same with my Honda CVT... OEM Honda fluid....Its not like you change your fluid every oil change...Why take a chance and also take a chance on your power train warranty.IMO
Did a drain & fill on my '16 forester using Valvoline CVT fluid. The fluid was changed 2 years ago The car has accumulated 19000 miles since the D&F. Seems to run the same as when the Subaru fluid was in there. I did notice that a quart of Valvoline CVT fluid is over $10/qt at Walmart.
Here a photo I grabbed off of a teardown video of the link belt employed by Subaru which is different than the "assembled shim and band(s) pusher-belt" used by JATCO
Here its a JATCO Rattlesnake Banded 'Element' Stack belt (Nissan, Mitsubishi, others):
For what it's worth I follow a couple of independent Subaru techs online and they only use Subaru fluids. Even the motor oil. I don't recall why, but as JRHAWK9 showed with his chart and ARCOgraphite has shown with the differences between designs of different manufacturers, these CVT's have gone through many design evolutions just within Subaru, so the fluids are not a one size fits all. We have to remember that CVT's are still relatively new compared to conventional automatic transmissions and as such, appear to be evolving more quickly as they become the standard. All that to say, use the recommended fluid from the manufacturer. Not worth saving a few hundred bucks if your CVT is eating itself up due to the wrong fluid being used. A new Subaru CVT is over $8k.
