Hard shifts till warm?

[lkailburn]

Hey guys, i'm a newer 05 LGT 5eat owner. picked it around Xmas time. And i have always noticed that the shifting is very rough the first lets say 10 shifts i make after a cold startup. So by the time i drive down a few streets on my morning commute the car shifts buttery smooth, but the first couple shifts are almost dare i say violent?

 

What gives?

 

btw, car is at 59K and i plan on doing just about the full 60k service myself here in a week or two, so do you think she just needs some new fluids or something?

 

-Luke

[scoobydoobie]

That's normal. You need to let the ATF fluid warm up. Also I would let your engine temp get into operating range before getting into boost.

 

I drive my 5EAT like a grandma until the engine and tranny fluid are warm enough.

[JoeFromPA]

It's always beneficial to keep new fluid in the auto trans....fresh fluid will keep those things from failing.

 

I'd recommend going with a quality synthetic fluid. They usually perform more to spec under a wider range of temperatures. I haven't had alot of automatics (ok, I had 1 auto-volvo). Fresh fluid (I used Dino) swap did great things to the smoothness of shifts.

[lkailburn]

yeah i drive it pretty slow for a while when i start up.

i will use OEM fluids. i've always used OEM fluids for other cars i've owned and have never been steered wrong.

 

thanks for the input guys! i'm glad my tranny is not likely dieing on me haha. i was a bit concerned

 

for future reference i will update this thread after i do the 60K service including new ATF fluid and new front and rear diff fluids

 

-Luke

[JoeFromPA]

There are some instances where OEM fluids are the most appropriate (i.e. coolant in alot of systems), but with ATF I'd suggest going elsewhere. As I said above, a higher quality synthetic ATF will have better operating characteristics over a wider temperature range.

 

Nothing wrong with OEM, but you can get just as good for less at wal-mart in the non-synthetic realm, and better in the synthetic realm.

 

Keeping it fresh is the most important thing though, as once your ATF begins substantially breaking down (you can tell if it's brown or smells burnt), your trans is taking a beating.

 

Joe

[JS07LGT]

Wow, i know this is old but i was having the same issues with my 07 at 28k. It's about time for the 30k fluch, can it be done by myself or does a mechanic need to work on it. I work at a Subaru dealership so I have access to the lifts and tools, do I need to flush it or just change it?

[ClimberDHexMods]

a drain and fill will only get you 4 quarts, roughly a third of the total. So a flush is a good idea, or a drain and fill every oil change is a better idea IMO. Flushes can dislodge crap that can screw up your transmission. Just a disclaimer. Since you've gone 30k, I recommend a couple drain and fill cycles this go around if you choose to skip the flush route. It's more wasteful, but a flush is arguably also.

[snow05gtRI]

There are some instances where OEM fluids are the most appropriate (i.e. coolant in alot of systems), but with ATF I'd suggest going elsewhere. As I said above, a higher quality synthetic ATF will have better operating characteristics over a wider temperature range.

 

Nothing wrong with OEM, but you can get just as good for less at wal-mart in the non-synthetic realm, and better in the synthetic realm.

 

Keeping it fresh is the most important thing though, as once your ATF begins substantially breaking down (you can tell if it's brown or smells burnt), your trans is taking a beating.

 

Joe

 

i'm surprised no one has scolded you for this yet (as happened to me) but apparently OEM Subaru ATF is the bees'-kneeze, that or amsoil. In the manual it only lists a few "acceptable" fluids for the 5EAT.