2020 Impreza CVT fluid drain and fill?

Joined
Apr 1, 2017
Messages
42
Location
Indian Valley, Virginia
My wife and I really rack up the miles on our vehicles. She hasn't had her new 2020 Impreza a full year and we ticked over 20k miles last week. Will probably be 25-20k miles by the time we hit the 1 year mark. Her driving is mountain back roads through Appalachia from the north of our county, to the middle of the county below us, so basically severe service.

Before she got t-boned, I would drain and fill the CVT on her 2018 Mirage every 30k miles, with paper filter changes every 15k miles. The filter on the Subaru CVT isn't accessible without breaking the transmission in half, but it does have drain and fill plugs.

Every thread I read online about CVT fluid changes in Subarus involve complexity with scan tools, temperature, shifting, etc. Is just doing a drain and fill on the level-est part of my driveway parking area not ok?

Like if I drain X number of quarts, why not put back in X quarts and call it a day? (assuming the drained oil drained, and fill oil were at the same temperature when comparing volume)

Dealer is insisting it is a lifetime fill, but I know that is a load of BS. At the same time, I really don't have the set up, time, or patience to do more than a drain and fill.

What are ya'll thoughts?

Would be using Genuine Subaru CVT fluid, and triple checking that it is the right one for this transmission.
 
What does Subaru (not the dealer, but Subaru itself) say when to change it? What does it say in the owners manual?

I would change the fluid when it's cold, like after it sits overnight, and then you do it next morning. With the engine/transmission cold, only run it for enough time to get the car on ramps, if you use ramps. (If you jack it up instead, no need to even start the car in the first place)

Then, do like you said, drain it cold and measure how much comes out, and refill with that same amount :)

Genuine Subaru CVT fluid is good but expensive, but still a good choice to use while still under warranty. After the warranty expires, you can use something that costs less.
 
What does Subaru (not the dealer, but Subaru itself) say when to change it? What does it say in the owners manual?

I would change the fluid when it's cold, like after it sits overnight, and then you do it next morning. With the engine/transmission cold, only run it for enough time to get the car on ramps, if you use ramps. (If you jack it up instead, no need to even start the car in the first place)

Then, do like you said, drain it cold and measure how much comes out, and refill with that same amount :)

Genuine Subaru CVT fluid is good but expensive, but still a good choice to use while still under warranty. After the warranty expires, you can use something that costs less.
30k Miles inspect CVTF and 48k Replace IF used for towing. I don't tow, but we have completely filled the car up with chicken scratch/feed more than once before...sooooo between that and the mountains, I think a 30k OCI is a good idea. I really can't get over that the CVT has a filter, but it is buried inside of the unit.

Anyways, I was going to stick to Subaru CVT until the warranty is out and then move to Amsoil CVT. I know there are a lot of people on here who think it is overpriced, but it did great in the Mirage when we still had it.
 
I'm from Virginia so I know the kinds of mountains you're talking about. ATF drain and fills are not as complicated as they make it out to be. D/R every 30k miles and clean the magnet well. The fluid is injected into the AT. It's not rocket science. I've done probably 50 D/R over 35 years of driving and I've yet to had an AT crap out on me due to doing a simple D/R using OEM fluid.
 
on another post it was said "thats what makes a subaru a subaru" more research needs to be done before buying so you really know about the vehicles good + not so good points. theres a great you tube from "mr subaru" about the reply he got directly from subaru. i have had conventional automatics when buying OLDER-classic cars but anything newer is a hard to find simple manual tranny. i believe subaru extended their warranty on CVT's around 2018 + as mr subaru noted subaru dont want the tranny touched so they can learn from its issue, beta tester!!! of course the fact that they are said to be cheaper to build has nothing to do with it-HA-HA!
 
I have a 17 Outback with 140K miles and will drain, measure and fill CVT soon. As I understand it, the problem with adding the same amount removed is that not all of what is removed will go back in until the car is started, warmed up and run through the gears. In other words, if 6 quarts drains out only 4 1/2ish will go in before running out the fill hole.

The proper method is simple. Refill with new fluid. Hand tighten fill plug. Run the car until the fluid is at 100 deg F. Then run it through the gears and top off while running. It will likely take 6 qts plus a little more.

Always remove fill plug before draining. :)
 
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