ammcinnis

Then you are mistaken. After 6+ years and 55,000+ miles, I still consider the TR580 CVT in my 2015 Legacy to be one of the car's best features. But except for the Variator assembly, which is sourced from a third party, the Subaru CVTs are rather straightforward, unremarkable designs ... and I mean that as a compliment.

In "normal" highway cruising ... 65-75 mph at moderate ambient temperatures ... the CVT fluid temperatures in my two Subarus (2015 Legacy 2.5 and 2016 Outback 2.5) usually stabilize at about 190-195 degrees F. The highest CVT fluid temp I've ever observed was in the Legacy, cruising across west Texas at 75-80 mph, into a substantial headwind, on a 100+ degree day: ~215 degrees F. The biggest single heat source in a Subaru CVT is an unlocked torque converter. (Typical TC efficiency, unlocked, is around 80-85 percent.) The Subaru TC is usually unlocked only at speeds below 10-20 mph. Worst case for fluid heating is probably when slogging along off-road, uphill, at low speeds, for an extended period of time.

Isn't that like being slightly pregnant?

Apples vs. oranges. The Prius transmission is a brilliant engineering tour de force, but its design is totally unsuitable for any vehicle powered solely by an internal combustion engine. There is also the matter of scale. A Prius transmission operates at power levels much lower than any recent Legacy or Outback. Limit operation of a Subaru CVT to Prius power levels and it will likely last forever.

“There are people in every time and every land who want to stop history in its tracks. They fear the future, mistrust the present, and invoke the security of a comfortable past, which in fact never existed.” ~ Robert F. Kennedy

For $35 you can download a legal copy of the Factory Service Manual, and a whole lot more, direct from the Subaru Technical Information System web site. Highly recommended.

The seductive economy of low-budget unscripted TV (or radio) is the culprit. Before cheap, mindless "reality" shows there were cheap, mindless game shows.

I received several notices from Subaru via email and USPS mail stating, among other things, that the deadline was January 15th. Customers who haven't updated their MY 2016-2018 vehicles by then will receive pro-rata refunds for the unused portion of their subscriptions.

The flat-12 engine used in the Ferrari Testarossa/512TR/512M comes to mind. I'm sure there are others. In contrast, the legendary flat-12 Porsche 917 engine was actually two 6-cylinder boxer engines connected end-to-end, with a power takeoff in the middle.

Really??? That's almost 70,000 miles a year.

Wow ... we are seeing the future. Significant internal hardware damage resulting from defective software. That's going to be difficult to do without major disassembly of the CVT, since the Variator assembly is buried deep in the cases.

I think you will find that the part numbers for seat covers for a given model year and material (e.g. cloth/leather) will be identical except for the last two or three characters, which are the color code. Two upholstery and interior trim color codes I have previously identified are: WM = Ivory (cloth or leather) VH = Black (cloth or leather) I hope this helps.

Also, I've heard that manufacturers are putting microchips in them now.

That makes sense. Unfortunately, it's a risk you take when jump starting any modern car with a lot of onboard electronics. Using a stand-alone booster pack is safer than using jumper cables connected to another vehicle, but neither method is 100% safe. (Then there is always the risk of connecting jumper cables with the polarity backwards. On the other hand, most ... but not all ... booster packs include some kind of reverse-polarity protection.)

Assuming that 1) either of the cables is disconnected from the battery, and 2) the ignition switch is OFF or ACC (i.e. engine not running): Connecting the positive and ground cables together is unnecessary ... but it's not going to hurt anything, either. Irrelevant.

The quiescent voltage for a fully-charged (i.e. state of charge = 100%) flooded-cell automotive battery is 12.6 volts. For an AGM battery it's 12.6 to 12.8 volts, depending on the manufacturer.

I would not substitute. CVT fluid is highly engineered for specific properties. (One example: The film strength of Subaru CVT fluid exceeds 150,000 psi, which is higher than the yield strength of many steel alloys.) Subaru even specifies significantly different fluids for specific CVT models and variants. No magic aftermarket CVT fluid is going to be able to match that. Do be aware that using an aftermarket CVT fluid is virtually guaranteed to void the 10 year/100,000 mile extended warranty on the CVTs in most Gen 6 Legacys. Your car, your choice.

Did you remove it to wrap, or did you wrap it in place? If the steering wheel has never been removed, the only thing that should affect the straight-ahead steering wheel position is wheel alignment. Assuming that the rest of the suspension is undamaged and in spec, a good alignment shop can adjust front toe to center the steering wheel.

See the Legacy/Outback Owners Manual, around page 7-28, Shift Lock Release.

Easy things first. Check that your fuel filler cap is on tight and sealing properly.

Subaru Added Security "extended warranty" agreements are only available if your vehicle is still within the original 36-month/36,000 mile warranty period. You can't modify or further extend an existing SAS plan.

Are you serious? Water is a natural product of combustion, and at lower temperatures water vapor in the exhaust will condense into visible moisture. This is nothing new, nor is it something unique to Subaru.

That issue is addressed by TSB 06-63-18. See attachment. The zip tie fix seems to work, and it's certainly simpler than replacing the EPB harnesses. TSB_06-63-18R_180723_EPB_Harness.pdf

The GPS in my Android phone works just fine "unassisted." The location where the photo below was taken (western New Mexico) is more than 60 miles from the nearest cell tower. I can personally attest that there are numerous places on the huge Navajo reservation ... three times the size of Vermont ... that lack cellular service, but GPS continues to work just fine. (I do agree that cellular assist may produce an faster initial fix in cases where the GPS receiver has a stale almanac, or in cases where the phone has moved a substantial distance since its GPS receiver was last used.) Back to the initial point: GPS mapping apps like Google Maps and Here We Go do not require cellular "assist" for proper operation.

That's simply not true. The GPS system is satellite based, and all modern "smart" cell phones include a stand-alone GPS receiver that will provide location information accurate within a few dozen yards ... anywhere on Earth, as long as you have a clear view of the sky. Most phones also support location via the the Russian GLONASS system, in addition to GPS. Perhaps by "GPS" you mean mapping. That's a whole different topic, but even then there are mobile mapping apps (e.g. Google Maps, Here We Go, etc.) that allow downloading map data to eliminate dependence on availability of a clean cellular signal. Several years ago my wife and I had a trip to Vienna, Austria. I simply downloaded street-level maps of Austria before we left, and Here We Go provided all the help we needed to navigate Vienna using just my phone ... with no cell service on our US-standard phones.