Change Fluid in a '13 Subaru Outback CVT?

[NO2]

Now at 115K, and run 80% highway at 75-80 mph. Subaru claims that the fluid is 'lifetime', and even the dealer says not to change it(!). This seems to be a bad idea at this mileage. Would changing it do more harm than good?

Opinions?

 

[JayhawkRoy]

Not in our former 2011 Outback. Dealer changed it at around 100K. No noticeable improvement, but we all felt better with having fresh fluid in it. Some owners change it sooner.

 

[BMW Dom]

I recommend doing a drain and refill.

 

[simple_gifts]

This seems to be a bad idea at this mileage.

I cannot think of how a person can come up with this conclusion; this is a derivative of what people claim mechanics tell them on transmissions that have overdue or no maintenance history; The mechanic does not want to touch it because if it fails the owner will believe it is from the last maintenance activity, not because of the years of lack of maintenance.

Change it.

 

[slacktide_bitog]

There is nothing wrong with changing the fluid

Amazon has a great price on Cam2 CVT fluid. It is green in color.

You have to get the car level on four jack stands to do the job. The best video I found on doing the CVT change is here, but it's for a Crosstrek (Impreza). However, it should be similar for your Outback:

 

[NO2]

Thanks to all. I'm going to have the dealer change it at 120K. Seems more than I can handle in my sloped driveway.

 

[Accent Abuser]

When in doubt, change it out.

 

[meep]

Good plan. I’d definitely change it and then start a regimen of every 30k

 

[2dogs]

My dealer didn't want to change out the CVT fluid in my Forester so I did it myself. Car had about 60000 miles on it. There's no difference in the way the car runs before or after the change. I used Valvoline. Don't think a drain and fill at 115,000 would be a bad idea, especially if you want to keep the car.