Originally Posted By: 2zrVios
Originally Posted By: JTK
Per my 2016 Forester's warranty and maintenance booklet, CVT fluid (all but BRZ models) should be checked every 30K miles and replaced every 24855 miles if used frequently in severe driving conditions.
Yes you are correct. I took the service departments word as a 60k item, my my manual does in fact say to inspect every 30k. thanks for clearing that up.
Now another question, do you thing CVT's shed a lot of metal and clutch material in their first break-in period....enough to warrant a earlier first fluid change?
There is a member here who changed the CVT fluid on their Impreza and found a fair amount of debris in the pan and filter screen IIRC. I have seen some youtube videos of some black looking CVT fluid coming out of Outbacks, etc. My opinion on any transmission is, even just removing and replacing a few quarts at a time can only help it's lifespan. Obviously a 100% exchange with a pan drop, filter and magnet cleaning is better.
My only issue with using aftermarket fluids is, if it's a different color fluid than OEM, warranty coverage is going to be a major issue if that applies to you. Out of warranty? I'd have no issue using aftermarket. Subaru CVT fluid is blue for the standard stuff and orange for the "high torque" CVTs found in the turbo models, etc.