I asked for a quote for CVT drain/fill service from the dealer I purchased our 2015 Subaru Outback and was told $480.00. Ouch! We have an independent Subaru mechanic close by in Sanford, NC who did the service for $200.
Subaru TR580 Lineartronic CVT - Drain and Refill
- Thread starter The Critic
- Start date
Cam2 has a green CVT fluid that costs much less than the dealer. It's $6/qt from Auto Barn, or from their Amazon store.
The CAM2 is not the right fluid spec for the TR580 Lineartronic II transmission. The correct fluid spec is Subaru CVTFII. Subaru now makes four different CVT fluids, none is interchangeable with the other.
But if you are going to try another brand it must be compatible with CVTFII spec. The CAM2 only lists a very old, obsolete ECVT spec that I think goes all the way back to the Subaru Justy. ECVT is not for the Lineartronic II transmission. I would be leery of the CAM2 fluid for that reason. I would hate to see another member damage their Subaru CVT.
http://www.cam2.com/userfiles/80565-300 CAM2 CVT TRANSMISSION FLUID.pdf
But if you are going to try another brand it must be compatible with CVTFII spec. The CAM2 only lists a very old, obsolete ECVT spec that I think goes all the way back to the Subaru Justy. ECVT is not for the Lineartronic II transmission. I would be leery of the CAM2 fluid for that reason. I would hate to see another member damage their Subaru CVT.
http://www.cam2.com/userfiles/80565-300 CAM2 CVT TRANSMISSION FLUID.pdf
@The Critic are you a professional mechanic.
Always love your posts, and wish anyone working on my car did it like you do it! However I wouldn't want to pay your CA labor rates..
Always love your posts, and wish anyone working on my car did it like you do it! However I wouldn't want to pay your CA labor rates..
I want to contribute to this thread by urging anyone considering changing the fluid on the CVT installed in their cars to RTFM. Yes, read the manual carefully. While changing the gear (differential fluid) oil, I removed what I thought was the fill port for the gear lube in the transaxle. The “fill port” that I opened was on the driver side front part of three sections of the transaxle unit. A few drops came out of the port that had a light amber color and the plug smelled enough like gear oil. The factory manual says that the front differential holds between 1.2 to 1.3 quarts. After pumping three quarts of gear lube into the fill port, no gear oil came out of the stand pipe fluid level port. I went back and re-read the manual and discover that I used the wrong fill port for gear oil.
I guessed that the gear oil drained into the CVT section of the transaxle unit, so I drained the CVT fluid and went to the local dealer and bought 13 quarts of Subaru Linetronic CVT II fluid. I paid $19.73 per quart for the fluid. I pumped half a quart of the CVT fluid into the port that I had previously pumped gear oil into. Sure enough, that fluid came out from the CVT fluid drain. So I ran the remainder of the quart of CVT fluid through the fill hole and put the plug back in.
Once I used the correct refill port for the gear oil (passenger side), the job went alright. I wasted 7 quarts of CVT fluid and 3 quarts of gear lube, and lots of time.
So far the car is working fine since the engine was never started with 3 quarts of gear lube in the CVT sump. I keep my fingers crossed that no trouble starts with the CVT. This is a 2016 Subaru Impreza which belongs to my FIL.
I will do another CVT drain and fill next week when the car comes back by the house..
I guessed that the gear oil drained into the CVT section of the transaxle unit, so I drained the CVT fluid and went to the local dealer and bought 13 quarts of Subaru Linetronic CVT II fluid. I paid $19.73 per quart for the fluid. I pumped half a quart of the CVT fluid into the port that I had previously pumped gear oil into. Sure enough, that fluid came out from the CVT fluid drain. So I ran the remainder of the quart of CVT fluid through the fill hole and put the plug back in.
Once I used the correct refill port for the gear oil (passenger side), the job went alright. I wasted 7 quarts of CVT fluid and 3 quarts of gear lube, and lots of time.
So far the car is working fine since the engine was never started with 3 quarts of gear lube in the CVT sump. I keep my fingers crossed that no trouble starts with the CVT. This is a 2016 Subaru Impreza which belongs to my FIL.
I will do another CVT drain and fill next week when the car comes back by the house..
Common mistake, seen many references just in previous cursory web searches
