2015 Subaru CVT transmission

[Donald]

The Forester is 11 months old and about 11K miles. As has been stated before, the majority of crud created is during breakin so maybe now would be a good time to get the fluid changed. Does the dealer do a drain and fill of the pan or total fluid exchange. What is the Subaru dealer standard service?

Maybe just install a Magnefine filter and let it filter out the crud.

At some point I will do my own CVT fluid change, but maybe not the first time.

 

[Mr Nice]

Go to dealership and buy a case of CVT fluid. Do 2 drain / refills, drive on highway then drain.

Zero need to let someone touch your CVT.

 

[cchase]

I know Subaru has a specific method for drain/filling the CVT because the volume of fluid changes with temperature (apparently significantly enough to warrant this process).

I loathe bringing a car to a dealer for service but since the documentation on the internet for doing this yourself and getting the fluid level correct seems sparse, I'd probably bring it to them. By the time the next fluid change is due, maybe there will be more write-ups out there beyond people guessing fluid levels and temperatures.

 

[Rand]

I think if you drain it and measure it exactly to within an ounce or so.. its no big deal to refill it. make sure the transmission temp is near to the temp of your refill fluid.

OF course my advice is worth what you paid for it

I'm just glad my MT has a dipstick and super easy to do. Probably do mine next spring I'm torn between the new oem fluid
Subaru Extra MT and a traditional 75w90 gl-5 gear oil such as motul gear 300

Esp since I don't really want to buy the 5gallon pail@400$

http://parts.subaru.com/p/Subaru__/Gear-Oil-Extra-MT-75W80-5-Gallon-Pail/49506107/SOA748V0100.html

I actually already have 4 liters of the motul gear 300 in the basement.. and I dont really care if I lose a small amount of MPG. I do care about shift feeling.. esp during winter and cold.

 

[6starprez]

See my thread on nasioc. The dealership dropped the pan, cleaned out the metal shavings in the screen above the pan and charged me for 9 quarts of CVT fluid. I did my own change at 60k without dropping the pan and I used about 18 quarts of Valvoline Synthetic CVT fluid and 4 drain/fills. I bought 50+ quarts of the Valvoline fluid last December at Autozone for $1.

http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2397895

 

[JTK]

I'd be surprised if my local Subaru dealer would be willing to do a pan drop and filter change on a Lineartronic CVT. The frustrating part of a DIY fluid change is having to pump the fluid in from below. I've done this on conventional ATs with standard ATF. Doable, but a pain.

 

[6starprez]

There are two locations you could fill the CVT. One is above the driver side inner CV boot and the other is below at the overfill/check plug. I did mine from the top with a funnel and a long tube. Much easier that way.

However, the Impreza CVT is smaller than the Forester's so I don't know if the plugs are in the same location or not. I downloaded a service manual from eBay before I did anything.

 

[JTK]

I'm not sure the Impreza's CVT is any smaller than that of the Forester, etc. I believe the FB20 and FB25 are the same block with a different stroke.

 

[JTK]

Originally Posted By: 6starprez
There are two locations you could fill the CVT. One is above the driver side inner CV boot and the other is below at the overfill/check plug. I did mine from the top with a funnel and a long tube. Much easier that way..


So you used the refill plug by the front left inner CV joint?

 

[6starprez]

Originally Posted By: JTK
Originally Posted By: 6starprez
There are two locations you could fill the CVT. One is above the driver side inner CV boot and the other is below at the overfill/check plug. I did mine from the top with a funnel and a long tube. Much easier that way..


So you used the refill plug by the front left inner CV joint?


Yes, that one.

 

[CErnst]

Sorry to revive an old thread, but need a bit of advice and I think you guys have the ideas to bring me through.

Today I was changing out diff fluid. Working out of the service manual, I thought I had everything straight...but instead of refilling the front diff with the fill hole above the passenger inner cv shaft, I filled with the driver's side fill hole by the cv shaft. So I dumped gear oil into my transmission. I am really kicking myself. I immediately drained the transmission to the fill line...but I'm sure there has been some mixing of fluids and there is some gear oil in there.

You guys think I can drain out the tainted cvt fluid, refill with valvoline/castrol and be okay? Since knowing the mistake, car has not been turned on...

 

[slacktide_bitog]

Originally Posted By: CErnst
Sorry to revive an old thread, but need a bit of advice and I think you guys have the ideas to bring me through.

Today I was changing out diff fluid. Working out of the service manual, I thought I had everything straight...but instead of refilling the front diff with the fill hole above the passenger inner cv shaft, I filled with the driver's side fill hole by the cv shaft. So I dumped gear oil into my transmission. I am really kicking myself. I immediately drained the transmission to the fill line...but I'm sure there has been some mixing of fluids and there is some gear oil in there.

You guys think I can drain out the tainted cvt fluid, refill with valvoline/castrol and be okay? Since knowing the mistake, car has not been turned on...


Flush it out 3x. Do a drain and fill with the proper fluid, drive it a little, then change it again. A total of 3-4x.

 

[IveBeenRued]

I'm man enough to admit I did the exact same thing. The manual diagrams change the direction of the vehicle mid process but Subaru neglects to make it obvious. I ended up putting 1.3 quarts of gear fluid into my CVT. Once the gear fluid didn't start flowing out of the check port I realized I screwed up.

Luckily it is actually not that big of a deal. Just drain and fill the transmission twice and you'll be fine. Make sure you heat cycle it to get the level correct. That's all I did and 65K miles later she is still running fine.

Don't kick yourself too much, I talked to the dealer while I was getting a recall done and service writer said that they have had a few people in there that have done the exact same thing.

 

[CErnst]

Thanks, did two drain/fills and a final pull of the check fluid plug...all seems well. time will tell.

 

[HTSS_TR]

Originally Posted By: Rand
I think if you drain it and measure it exactly to within an ounce or so.. its no big deal to refill it. Make sure the transmission temp is near to the temp of your refill fluid.

How do you measure the drained fluid to within an ounce ?

I intend to use Mityvac 7201 fluid extractor to siphon CVT fluid from a dipstick tube of 2014 Accord, the Mityvac has the liter marks on the container, I don't know if they are accurate or not. A liter is about 1.05 quarts, I think.

 

[demarpaint]

Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
Originally Posted By: Rand
I think if you drain it and measure it exactly to within an ounce or so.. its no big deal to refill it. Make sure the transmission temp is near to the temp of your refill fluid.

How do you measure the drained fluid to within an ounce ?

I intend to use Mityvac 7201 fluid extractor to siphon CVT fluid from a dipstick tube of 2014 Accord, the Mityvac has the liter marks on the container, I don't know if they are accurate or not. A liter is about 1.05 quarts, I think.


I've done what you want to do with my Liberty which had no dipstick, then transferred the fluid to a conatiner for an accurate measurement. It is extremely tough to get all the fluid out of the miti-vac for measurement. The first problem is there will be fluid in the hose that remains, the second problem is the liter measurements aren't spot on, and you'll probably end up somewhere in the middle needing to use some other measuring device to get an accurate reading. Bottom line was I needed a dipstick to get the ATF level right. I was off more than a couple of ounces measuring what came out. I made sure I had one on hand before I started the project. Maybe your transmission is different, good luck!