Brisvegas

No. First, ATF is not CVT fluid. Second, there are several different specialty fluids required for different Subaru CVTs. Only one type is right for your particular CVT. I agree that you should only use Subaru-branded CVT fluid. Definitely avoid "one size fits all" aftermarket CVT fluids, even the "prestige" brand names.

 

Very bad idea, for the reasons stated above. At the very least, they won't have the proper CVT fluid on the shelf. Is your "Lube Shop" prepared to provide you a written warranty on the CVT and torque converter equivalent to Subaru's ... out to 10 years/100,000 miles?

PERFECT ADVICE ... EXACTLY CORRECT !!!! (imho at least)

In the video that was quoted, I think the guy was probably referencing poor old Mr Kilmer in regards to being a major Subaru hater .... but to give Scotty his dues, whilst he hates CVT's he ALWAYS states to use only the actual OEM CVT fluid when doing a CVT fluid change.

The haters will still hate .... but I think this is interesting ...

I was just looking to see what changes were made between the 2016 & 2020.

OK.

Does anything stand out in your view as a "major" change ?

I can’t see any reason why you couldn’t achieve that with regular maintenance including one or two CVT fluid changes (or drain & fills).

I agree. (I anticipate doing a CVT drain and fill every 100,000 kms.)

P.S. I see in your other post that you could be looking at another Liberty .... I assume if you went down that road that you would grab one of the last 3.6'ers ??? .... and would you keep the Outback?

See:

 

https://www.caradvice.com.au/880119/subaru-liberty-axed-from-australian-line-up-outback-safe/Sad to see it go.

Yeah Mate I agree. Although if it stayed around, it would probably end up being a fuel injected and possible turbo charged 4 cylinder ... which wouldn't have interested me in the slightest.

Hopefully I get over 300,000kms in mine and that will see me out

Any thoughts on whether this tool would be suitable for our generation vehicles?

HA - that's funny! I watched lots of videos before I started, but hadn't come across any by that guy ;-)

If you are interested, here is the final result. As I said, the guy is a bit quirky, but I find him interestingly down to earth, and he does give some degree of confidence to "non experts"

TBH I would still recommend changing it unless someone has a reason why you wouldn't. I changed my 2017 every 30K per the advice of my mechanic in Colorado ...

One Reason ...

Possible warranty rejection from Subaru (on those vehicles still under warranty)

I was a little nervous about taking sand paper to a car for the first time, but I've spent lots of time wood working and restoring antique wooden cabinet radios from the 1930s, so I figured this wouldn't be TOO much different.

Hi Eric, I have recently started watching a rather quirky mechanic's youtube videos, and coincidentally the latest ones have been about body work, and your post kind of sounded somewhat similar

If anyone is looking to upgrade their Subie and is looking for something that is capable of hauling stuff, but they don't want to splash out on the likes of an F-150 .. then perhaps this might be an alternative to consider ...

2016 2.5i bought May 30th 2016, has around 114,xxx miles... Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

Any real problems during your 114,000 miles ?

Have you done a CVT fluid change or intend doing one ?

Thanks.

For you DIYer's this might be of interest ...

 

Another one that maybe of interest for those in the rust belt

Hi everybody,

 

The rear-window on the left-side isn't working. I cannot get it to open and/or close from either the driver's buttons in the front or the from the backseat itself. Any feedback will help, but, my questions are:

 

A) What could this issue be?

B) Do the windows operate on a separate fuse?

C) Where is the fuse panel located?

D) Which fuse should I check and how is it labeled?

Maybe try watching this long drawn out saga and see if this answers any of your questions

P.S. I hope this reply doesn't appear twice (I think something went wrong on my first attempt) .....

Fill up with highest octane gas you can find (92/93). Go do a day. Focus on learning the course, and learning the skills. Get an instructor to ride with you all day. You'll want to take a fast lap, but don't do a lot as all it does is burn up your brakes. Don't let upgrades get in the way of going to the track. Seat time pays more dividends than any other modification.

boxkita, you sound like you know what you are talking about ... so I'm just wondering if you have any video of some of your track days, because I'd like to see some if you did.

so, that is why the standard STi is stuck at 310HP?

ncted, try this one if you have a spare 70G ...

Note at the 17:55 mark

" ... A relatively nobody company like Subaru built a car this damn good .."

For you DIYer's this might be of interest ...

Nitrogen Service: $0 they knocked off $99 for it

Even at "$0" you are still getting ripped off

You were going to be paying for it one way or another.

That's the truth right there.

There ain't no such thing as a free lunch

Came across this today. The first two sites mentioned may or may not be too relevant to Gen 6 vehicles, but the third one that is mentioned should apply.

Maybe of interest or maybe not ...

Has anybody had experience with Alpine's Halo 9 Headunit? I can't find a photo of it in a 6th gen Legacy, so I am not sure how it would look and if it would block the aircon vents, or just simply look weird.

 

Yeah mate, weird IMHO

 

Or what about this amazing looking but probably shit Chinese unit:

 

That one looks heaps better

 

What are you guys using/recommending? My OEM one keeps crashing and I just want to have some bloody Android support!

I can't help ya, because I'm a boring stock standard type of person but maybe our Aussie mate xt-sub would have some suggestions because he's pretty smart.

I don't have a dog in this fight any more, but I am interested in knowing why Subaru Japan, Canada and the US provide different guidelines. I wonder if Japan's recommendations come from shorter drives? Or Canada's recommendations are due to colder temperatures? And in that vein, SoA had to make a blanket statement for the US, where there's both city and country driving, and temperature extremes, that covered the bulk of typical usage? Maybe there isn't a technical/rational decision for it (i.e. political or financial),

 

My current vehicle has a ZF8 transmission which isn't without it's own controversy. It's used by 10+ major manufacturers which (to my knowledge) claim it has "lifetime" fluid, yet ZF suggests 80-100k OCI's. Go figure.

Here is an interesting video on the basic CVT fluid change procedure. Whilst it may not be totally specific to 6th gen Legacy, I think there is enough pointers contained in it to satisfy most DIYers on this forum.

Finished my engine cover mount today.

This post by KJS2023 has prompted a kind of related question that I have often wondered about. Do any of you forum members remove the engine covers altogether or do you consider the covers offer some sort of tangible benefit? I often read where some people call them "beauty covers" and that they serve no real purpose. In my case the clips that hold the cover on, are either failing or have broken, and the cover is not quite as secure as it originally was. And because I have never personally taken it off (I go to the dealer for all maintenance apart from regular basic fluid checks) it is obvious that the "technician" at the dealership has lost or broken the retaining clips during the relevant service procedures. This minor matter definitely doesn't keep me awake at night, I have spoken to them at previous service appointments about this, and intend to raise it again at my next service, simply because I see it technically as a "warranty" item (albeit an insignificant one that I won't be taking to SOA if I get knocked back, but I will ask anyway just to keep them honest and let them know that I am checking on their work )

But the real question is ... do I need the cover anyway?

The main deficiency from Subaru is a lack of any maintenance guidelines, or even repair procedures short of complete CVT replacement.

That's the main reason I'm not going to own our CVT Legacy outside of warranty, and why I have no incentive to perform any service on the CVT.

Saw this today ... I guess it's merely confirmation for the "change the fluid" fraternity" (which I am a paid up member of ) and merely yadda yadda to the "lifetime" followers.