do l need to change differential fluid on Subaru?

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Mar 14, 2003
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I have a CVT Subaru with 60k miles. I browsed the maintenance schedule and was surprised to see that it was recommended to inspect, but not replace both front and rear differential fluid at 30,60,90, and 120k miles.

Should l replace it? What are the pros and cons of replacing vs leaving the factory fill in?
 
We have a 2011 Outback. I decided to have all fluids (CVT and differentials) replaced when I had Subaru replace the timing belt on our 2.5i (at 100K mi) . It was convenient to get all the work done at one time. So far, vehicle is up to 140K miles on that replacement schedule. In general, I don't like the fluids to go over 100K mi, but I am not sure that replacing early at 60K is necessary.
 
manufacturers often tout less upkeep to attract buyers that don't know better! nothing is lifetime + when the warranty is gone its your $$$$ + they surely care less no water what bull they are throwing!! owners that keep their rides over 100 thou need to keep up on all fluids, but many that trade often figure its the next buyers problem.
 
Light duty vehicles are not very taxing on their differentials. The initial change after break-in is the most important. I would wager that a change after 30K with Redline/Amsoil could very well be lifetime fill.
 
Its very easy to do. as long as you dont screwup and drain your transmission or some other issue.

30min including cleanup time and a beer max.

They used to list replacing the fluid every 15000 miles for severe service... then go read the severe service conditions.

They like to tout low maintence.. but living somewhere that has Dirt. an actual winter season, or uses road salt are all severe conditions.
 
I change my Versa's manual transmission oil every 30k miles. I think I rather change the fluid than fix it up. I don't plan to sell my car at all so I might as well maintain it.
 
I changed both differentials of my Forester and replaced it with Amsoil SVG.

Front was looking ok, rear was very dark.
 
Originally Posted by jbutch
I changed both differentials of my Forester and replaced it with Amsoil SVG.

Front was looking ok, rear was very dark.


Same here on my '09 Forester at ~45K miles...front was dark amber, rear was black. Amsoil 75W-110 Severe Gear went into both, it's now at 120K miles and the front diff dipstick still shows light amber color. Haven't yet pulled the fill plug on the rear to see how the fluid looks.
 
I did drain & fills on the front and rear diffs on my '16 Forester. The rear diff fluid was brown with silver (metal?) streaks. The front was a lighter brown color. JMO but if you plan to keep the car for a long time, it doesn't hurt to change out once in a while. Pretty easy to do in your driveway on a nice day.
 
I never did do the front diffs on my two CVT equipped Subarus, but I did drain/fill the rears. Like said, the rear diffs are super easy to do. The fronts are not as quite as simple, but not horrible. Like 2dogs said above, any time I've read of someone draining/filling the front said the gear oil that drained out didn't look bad at all.
 
changing ALL the drivetrain lubes on my nissan SV 6 spd manual with redline at 30 thou but 8 yrs old netted me 3 mpgs, but i used lighter + prolly better redline real synthetic in the rear Dana 44 rather than OE semi-syn 75-140 molasses!!
 
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