- I have a 2018 Subaru Outback. The CVT warranty is 100,000 miles, and it's lifetime fluid {black}:scared: , I have 60000 highway miles on it. Should I thumb my nose up at Subaru and do it myself, even though it will void the warranty, so it will last longer?
It won't void the warranty. Do it.
If you intend to keep the Subaru for as long as possible, I would have the transmission fluid changed now (drain and fill). In fact, for any CVT I would change the transmission fluid every 30,000 miles and using the OEM fluid. Subaru and the dealers don’t mind you buying another Subaru out of warranty, so you have to do what is best for you and can’t trust them especially when they say “lifetime fluid” - yeah, lifetime defined as the warranty period - I would change it now. Subarus have traditionally had weak CVTs, so I would give special attention to changing the fluid every 30,000 miles to mitigate future issues.
I agree,
Subaru has only 2 CVT models, So as far as the transmission it's the same weak one.
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Funnily enough, Subaru CVTs don't burn because of mechanical wear (Like they do on AISIN and JATCO), on Subaru breakdowns happen mostly because the valve body gets clogged and the traditional friction packs (like you'd find in a conventional auto) get fried due to lower oil pressure.
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(Similarly to how the linear pressure solenoid on Volvo dual clutches would get stuck and the transmission would wear out completely in a matter of minutes)
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I'd recommend trying to clean the valve body (Not sure if it's do-able on a Subaru, I remember they tried to seal them and wouldn't sell us any valve body parts - not even solenoids. absolutely absurd on a french car I can get like 5 types of after market ones) and wouldn't worry about any other type of wear.
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If the oil is reasonably clean, just change it more frequently and then you'll be alright for the time being.
If you've watched any of Scotty's videos....there is NO SUCH THING AS LIFETIME FLUIDS !!!!! of any sort.
I agree with the comments above that it DOES need to be changed, but you don’t need to do it right away. By 2018, Subaru’s CVTs were improving over the older ones. Unless you are towing (or other severe duty) you’re probably ok for now.
My daughter has a 2018 Crosstrek with almost 80k. My plan is to let the warranty expire at 100k, then change it every 60k thereafter.
Best.
You won't void the warranty. Fluid is cheap, CVTs are not.
