My Forester CVT blew up

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Originally Posted by jeepman3071
Oh I'm sure it does include a brand new unit, coolers, etc. I'm talking about a CVT being 11 grand when a new ZF from BMW installed at a dealer is probably a similar price. I know someone who had their transmission replaced in a newer Durango at the dealership. The total bill was somewhere around 8,000.

I just looked a bit. first price came up for new unit was $5,300.

And no there isn't 5000+ labour involved - this is a longitudinal mounted design.
Likely 5 hours. R&R. for someone who did one once before.:)

Dealer are absolute thieves these days. Quoted wife 600 for front brakes on the subaru.

I pulled trans on the big v8 beasts in well under and hour back in the 70's.

Other mechs would laugh if you were slower than that.

Only 3 lifts .. couldn't waste time BC time was money with work backed up in the yard..

I recall having todo heads on a 440 station wagon in the parking lot when we were out of lift space.

PITA but it was early Fall so nice weather
smile.gif
 
Originally Posted by Virtus_Probi
Originally Posted by LoneRanger
CVT is a failed concept.

Let's go back to horses, they don't need oil, gas, or transmission fluid...


No, let's concentrate on proper transmissions not glorified rubber band model airplane concept of power transfer.
 
Originally Posted by MoneyJohn
Originally Posted by ARCOgraphite

I would recommend a drain and fill early at 15-20K then 60K there after. I have read you will lose the extended warranty on the Fuji CVT if you do maintenance on it. That is insane as it has a severe service maintenance recommendation. I would have to read the service bulletin myself to believe this. In fact I'm going to search for it right now.

Good Luck with that. I have called most dealerships around me (close to the OP as well) and nobody would do that telling me that the fluid is lifetime. When you call them out on 'lifetime', they tell me that its a guideline from Subaru not to change the fluid.
My local mechanic is willing to change at 50K but it worries me that he changes the fluid and then CVT goes kaput, Subaru won't give me the stated replacement.

From what I have heard, most failed CVTs get sent to Japan to figure out what went wrong. Since OP's blew up, doubt they will send that. Most replacement CVTs are refurbs, about ~8k out the door.

I'm not sure what my manual says at the moment, but the Subaru dealers around here recommend changing the CVT fluid every 60kmiles.
Now, Toyota said the tranny fluid was lifetime in my RAV6...that also worked out great.
 
Originally Posted by LoneRanger
No, let's concentrate on proper transmissions not glorified rubber band model airplane concept of power transfer.

I hear this rubber band thing all the time and never get a rubber band feeling from my FXT...it's a much more capable transmission than the 5 speed in my RAV6 was, and it made it a whole 20kmiles longer than that one before failing!
;^)
Like Cormac McCarthy wrote in No Country For Old Men, you can't stop what's coming...CVTs make a lot of sense and they will become more reliable over time, just like any other innovation.
 
Originally Posted by LoneRanger
CVT is a failed concept. No durability, no suitability to severe service, only marginal fuel economy advantages to current automatics 6 speed through 10 and none of the serious duty cycle capabilities of the 6, 8, 9, and 10 speed units out there.

Yeah, let's talk about how great the 9 speed tranny in the ~2014 Cherokee was! Despite the issue I had with my Subie CVT, I am super glad I didn't buy that Jeep I was totally enamored with until I actually test drove one.
By your logic, that unit being a disappointing tranny means that we should have gone back to 5 speeds, 3 speeds, whatever. Maybe the great tranny in the Model T that made my dad hate manuals with a passion for the rest of his life...
 
Originally Posted by LoneRanger
Originally Posted by Virtus_Probi
Originally Posted by LoneRanger
CVT is a failed concept.

Let's go back to horses, they don't need oil, gas, or transmission fluid...


No, let's concentrate on proper transmissions not glorified rubber band model airplane concept of power transfer.

Yeah but slushbox = big time efficiency loss.

If they can use a small torque converter ( for idle to 5mph) and lock it up right away then you might have something
Then dont have logic unlocking the darn thing when you backpedal looking for good gas mileage. Really stupid engineering the past decade +.

Subaru uses this small converter + robust clutch concept in their CVT.

And 5 or 6 gears is enough - even for a 1.5L in a 2800 LB sedan.

10 speed? Moronic. Absolutely Moronic.

Give me a team, Ill get this right!
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted by supton
Originally Posted by Jimzz
Unless the fluid was low then it was not a fluid issue, just bad luck and/or over used CVT.

How do you overuse a CVT? Constant on/of throttle application, so that it runs up/down constantly?

Changing speeds dramatically a lot and/or carrying a lot of weight.

CVTs seem fine if you are a regular right lane driver that goes from A to B. But heavy loads and/or aggressive driving puts more wear on them. I am sure AWD systems add even more stress to them as well.
So I am watching to see how they hold up in subarus. Right now long life is not looking good. Not Nissan bad but I don't see as many hitting 200k with little to no issues.
 
There is a huge difference between what a part costs and what the part costs. The transmission probably costs less than 2K to make. By the time it gets here, and it passes thru several different warehouses etc, it is marked up to 11. Dealer probably makes 2 or 3K just for ordering it.
Rod
 
Originally Posted by slacktide_bitog
Wow the transmission blew before the head gaskets?
27.gif



Keep it going and keep with the times, before it ran out of oil. These engines had some serious oil consumption issues.

Eluded to but this transmission in Subaru is a known dud: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jensen...es-on-1-5-million-vehicles/#3917e7c779dc

The 100k warranty to me is a joke should be 120k or even 150k but Subaru weaseled out of that.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted by ARCOgraphite
Yeah but slushbox = big time efficiency loss.

If they can use a small torque converter ( for idle to 5mph) and lock it up right away then you might have something
Then dont have logic unlocking the darn thing when you backpedal looking for good gas mileage. Really stupid engineering the past decade +.

Subaru uses this small converter + robust clutch concept in their CVT.

And 5 or 6 gears is enough - even for a 1.5L in a 2800 LB sedan.

10 speed? Moronic. Absolutely Moronic.

Give me a team, Ill get this right!

But none of that is necessarily true about the 10-speed jointly developed by Ford and GM. In Ford it is the 10R80, in GM it is the 10L90.

https://www.autoinfluence.com/11-things-you-need-to-know-about-ford-gms-10-speed-transmission/

Take note of #4 in the list. This transmission functions as a sort of hybrid between a DCT (dual clutch transmission) and lock-up torque converter. It has both. It has 6 clutches, paired off as dual clutches. And an advanced design torque converter.
 
Originally Posted by Chris142
No shops around here will rebuilt a cvt. They source brand new from the dealer.

I talked to some engineers involved with designing CVTs. At the time they said some things can only be set at the factory, precluding any rebuilding at shops. That is one of the caveats with CVTs, They are throwaway units, just like kitchen appliances or modern TVs.
 
I'm sorry to hear about your troubles, OP. It was likely a faulty unit and it's good that you broke it now, instead of someone who might have babied/nursed it to just past the warranty before the failure. I have not way of knowing for sure, but I would guess the chances of you having a similar failure any time soon (e.g., for the remainder of the time you own the Foz) is pretty low.


//

I had not problem getting the CVT fluid changed in both of my Subies.

FXT: My local dealer couldn't do the fluid change. I let a second dealer know that it was an XT and asked if they had HTCVT fluid for the change. The SERVICE GUY said that they didn't off the top of his head, but could order some. The fact that he knew the difference impressed me. I scheduled the apt then and there.

When I asked how the fluid looked during the flush, the service guy asked the tech. The tech said it was darker orange than what went in, but didn't look bad to him. I should have had a sample drawn...
 
#! DONT buy a CVT equipped vehicle!!! Mr Subaru youtube states he contacted subie top dogs + they said NO fluid changes in the extended warranty trannys, BUT they note about severe service???? you are the BETA tester + subaru corporate wants your UNOPENED tranny complete in case of failure to diagnose it, so either DUMP that piece of crap before 100 thou or NEVER buy one in the first place!! guessing as these age + failures occur they will have POOR resale value!!!
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted by Virtus_Probi
Originally Posted by MoneyJohn
Originally Posted by ARCOgraphite

I would recommend a drain and fill early at 15-20K then 60K there after. I have read you will lose the extended warranty on the Fuji CVT if you do maintenance on it. That is insane as it has a severe service maintenance recommendation. I would have to read the service bulletin myself to believe this. In fact I'm going to search for it right now.

Good Luck with that. I have called most dealerships around me (close to the OP as well) and nobody would do that telling me that the fluid is lifetime. When you call them out on 'lifetime', they tell me that its a guideline from Subaru not to change the fluid.
My local mechanic is willing to change at 50K but it worries me that he changes the fluid and then CVT goes kaput, Subaru won't give me the stated replacement.

From what I have heard, most failed CVTs get sent to Japan to figure out what went wrong. Since OP's blew up, doubt they will send that. Most replacement CVTs are refurbs, about ~8k out the door.

I'm not sure what my manual says at the moment, but the Subaru dealers around here recommend changing the CVT fluid every 60kmiles.
Now, Toyota said the tranny fluid was lifetime in my RAV6...that also worked out great.

If I remember correctly, the manual never says replace, just says Inspect.
If you know any dealership in NE that does change tranny fluid, I would love to know. I got my car from Manchester, NH. I do plan to call them when I hit 50K if nobody else agrees by then.

Originally Posted by gathermewool

FXT: My local dealer couldn't do the fluid change. I let a second dealer know that it was an XT and asked if they had HTCVT fluid for the change. The SERVICE GUY said that they didn't off the top of his head, but could order some. The fact that he knew the difference impressed me. I scheduled the apt then and there.

When I asked how the fluid looked during the flush, the service guy asked the tech. The tech said it was darker orange than what went in, but didn't look bad to him. I should have had a sample drawn...


May I know the dealership that changed the fluid in your case?
 
Originally Posted by Jimzz

So I am watching to see how they hold up in subarus. Right now long life is not looking good. Not Nissan bad but I don't see as many hitting 200k with little to no issues.


fyi those are 2 totally different types of cvt transmissions..

one has "pusher bands" and the other is the "puller chain" type

you
 
CVT's are theoretically so simple ...

What is the failure mode ? What actually breaks ?

In my experience, every CVT I have driven felt like it was slipping to some extent. And if something slips ALL THE TIME ... it's not gonna last long.
 
Originally Posted by Kestas
Originally Posted by Chris142
No shops around here will rebuilt a cvt. They source brand new from the dealer.

I talked to some engineers involved with designing CVTs. At the time they said some things can only be set at the factory, precluding any rebuilding at shops. That is one of the caveats with CVTs, They are throwaway units, just like kitchen appliances or modern TVs.


That is horrendous news. However, I was afraid that might be the case as far as servicability in the case of a major failure.
 
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