maintain Forester

[Robert2468]

My daughter wants to keep her forester long term. 2017, bought in 2016. around 47,000 miles. lots of short trips.

OK, I have done all brakes and tires. oil changes, cabin and engine air filters. just did one wheel bearing in the rear. car is never garaged. always out in the cold Mass. winters.

I am dimly aware that all wheel drive has some type of transfer case??? differential?

OK, to keep long term, should I change transmission fluid, transfer case fluid? differential fluid? power steering and brake fluid?? does it have electric steering/????

I would like any and all ideas you have!

thank you!

Bob

 

[skyactiv]

It has a front differential separate from from the CVT transmission and a rear differential. Make sure whoever changes the fluid has knowledge on Subarus. Dumb mechanics and DIY'ers have been known to drain the fluid and than add it to the wrong unit on these cars ruining something very expensive. The 2017 Forester has electric power steering, no fluid change possible.

I will add my younger sis has a 2017 Impreza my dad bought her new. It has always been dealer maintained and had a CVT fluid change once. Despite that, the CVT went out after the factory warranty expired, which I made a thread on. SOA had the dealer replace the transmission at no cost. What may have saved her butt was that she always took/takes the car to the dealer for service by the book.

 

[SiRDOHC]

Hi

These Foresters require a bit more maintenance but can be reliable

The CVTs from this era were plagued with leak issues that are covered for 10years. So routine thorough inspections for leaks is crucial. Beyond leaks the severe service interval no one tells you about for the CVT is 25000 miles. It is not a simple spill and fill and you should do a relearn.

The differentials require just over 2 litres of 75w90 and now is a great time to change this fluid. Spill and fill while level. Front differential is close to CVT and caution is needed to open the correct drain and fill holes while leaving the CVT alone.

0w20 is the north american recommended oil at 5k intervals, but if its like any of the Subarus i have maintained it will exhibit deposits with this regimen. It is provably a good candidate for Valvoline Restore and Protect, and then use 0w30/5w30/5w40 moving forward depending on the climate it is being used in.

Electric steering, no services required.

Oil spraying and oil and or cavity wax in body panels is crucial for longevity in climates where salt is used for deicing.

That is it in a nutshell.

 

[Patrick0525]

My ex-manager’s 2018 Legacy 85k posted a dashboard transmission over temp last week in frigid NJ. The extended warranty covered the $2k valve body replacement since the solenoid failed. Subaru says the atf fluid is lifetime and does not recommend replacement. This is total misinformation.

If everything is original, 47k is late but it is not 85k. My recommendation is the following:
Change the atf fluid
Change the coolant
Change the brake fluid
Change the transfer and rear differential oil
Buy a battery conductance meter Ancel BA101
Buy a BatteryMinder 2012 charger/maintainer which de-sulphates the battery
Buy and install a 6 foot 12v saw cable and charge battery weekly
Buy a 3000+ amp battery booster

Now u can kind of sleep well at nights.
The only left is for a flat tire. U would need a lightweight Aluminum Floor jack, a rocker arm pinch weld jack pad adapter, 1/2” cordless impact wrench, wheel lug socket 19 or 21mm and 75 -80 ft/lb torque stick that sets the lug nuts to specification.

 

[Donald]

If it's in Massachusetts it's needs rustproofing more than anything else. You are probably not that far from the NH Coatings company location or someone local who can spray the NH Coatings product.

It's not the only product out there but one of better ones.

 

[CarbonToast]

My ex-manager’s 2018 Legacy 85k posted a dashboard transmission over temp last week in frigid NJ. The extended warranty covered the $2k valve body replacement since the solenoid failed. Subaru says the atf fluid is lifetime and does not recommend replacement. This is total misinformation.

If everything is original, 47k is late but it is not 85k. My recommendation is the following:
Change the atf fluid
Change the coolant
Change the brake fluid
Change the transfer and rear differential oil
Buy a battery conductance meter Ancel BA101
Buy a BatteryMinder 2012 charger/maintainer which de-sulphates the battery
Buy and install a 6 foot 12v saw cable and charge battery weekly
Buy a 3000+ amp battery booster

Now u can kind of sleep well at nights.
The only left is for a flat tire. U would need a lightweight Aluminum Floor jack, a rocker arm pinch weld jack pad adapter, 1/2” cordless impact wrench, wheel lug socket 19 or 21mm and 75 -80 ft/lb torque stick that sets the lug nuts to specification.

The Forester has the usual spare tire, jack, and wrench in the trunk. No need to carry around a full size jack and impact wrench.

I'm not aware of battery issues. Just have the battery tested each year and replace it as needed. Charging weekly is overkill and just one more thing to worry about. If you want the carefree route, replace the battery every 4 years and you won't have an issue.

 

[CarbonToast]

Hi

These Foresters require a bit more maintenance but can be reliable

The CVTs from this era were plagued with leak issues that are covered for 10years. So routine thorough inspections for leaks is crucial. Beyond leaks the severe service interval no one tells you about for the CVT is 25000 miles. It is not a simple spill and fill and you should do a relearn.

The differentials require just over 2 litres of 75w90 and now is a great time to change this fluid. Spill and fill while level. Front differential is close to CVT and caution is needed to open the correct drain and fill holes while leaving the CVT alone.

0w20 is the north american recommended oil at 5k intervals, but if its like any of the Subarus i have maintained it will exhibit deposits with this regimen. It is provably a good candidate for Valvoline Restore and Protect, and then use 0w30/5w30/5w40 moving forward depending on the climate it is being used in.

Electric steering, no services required.

Oil spraying and oil and or cavity wax in body panels is crucial for longevity in climates where salt is used for deicing.

That is it in a nutshell.

This is the first I have heard of CVT leaks.

 

[SiRDOHC]

This is the first I have heard of CVT leaks.

There is a massive campaign that goes up to, I believe, 2019. My parents Impreza was affected but we failed to acknowledge the leak before 10years and were SOL. Personally if I saw a leak and were well within warranty I would let it run low, granade the CVT and go in for a new CVT unit.

 

[Rand]

There is a massive campaign that goes up to, I believe, 2019. My parents Impreza was affected but we failed to acknowledge the leak before 10years and were SOL. Personally if I saw a leak and were well within warranty I would let it run low, granade the CVT and go in for a new CVT unit.

sounds fun.

 

[D60]

I ran top end cleaner through the Mad Max '15 w 200k miles yesterday. Will it help anything, specifically oil consumption? Eh, I don't know but it was easy.

 

[Donald]

This is the first I have heard of CVT leaks.

No CVT leaks in two Crosstrek vehicles.

 

[CarbonToast]

There is a massive campaign that goes up to, I believe, 2019. My parents Impreza was affected but we failed to acknowledge the leak before 10years and were SOL. Personally if I saw a leak and were well within warranty I would let it run low, granade the CVT and go in for a new CVT unit.

So you didn't notice a leak... yet the car was affected by the issue. And after 10 years it still wasn't noticeable. Sounds like it's not really an issue!

 

[SiRDOHC]

So you didn't notice a leak... yet the car was affected by the issue. And after 10 years it still wasn't noticeable. Sounds like it's not really an issue!

It became apparent around the 9.5yr mark but it was not determined to be cvt fluid immediately and the extended campaign warranty timed out. The cvt later failed and the car sold for next to nothing to someone having to put a used cvt in it. So it is an issue. Not my car or my money, I do what I can when I can but have my limits.

 

[SiRDOHC]

No CVT leaks in two Crosstrek vehicles.

I’m not making this up.

https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2019/MC-10164446-0001.pdf

 

[CarbonToast]

I’m not making this up.

https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2019/MC-10164446-0001.pdf

Nice, thanks for sharing the doc. If I knew this when I had my transmission out I would have used the new seal. I should proactively check for TSBs on all the cars.