2011 Subaru Outback | CVT Fluid Service | Transmission Drain & Fill 

Thank you so much. I didn't know the later Outbacks came with the TR580.

All 3.6's use the TR690 high torque unit. I would think the 2.5L O.B.s with the 690 would have an overbuilt transmission.

That’s exactly what I was going to say. Learned that one the hard way.

Hey my friend. I'm actually from Ontario LOL. No French in me other than my Shameless pitiful attempt at doing a French Canadian accent which sounds decent from time to time LOL but thank you for the compliment. I'm glad you found the video helpful.

I agree. It would be really nice to have an external filter to service. The other thing I didn't like about the cvts is you'll notice on the drain pan the drain plug is elevated so there's always residual crap that's left over in the CVT as opposed to the old Transmissions where you're able to get more out because it's on the side at a 45° angle. But hey I'm just a mechanic not an engineer LOL.

Hey my friend. If that oil has worked for you that is great. However I always recommend getting OEM oil from the dealership. Just less headache and less chance of screw ups.

I just came into the comments to ask the same question as I only drained just a little over 3.5 qts. I kept this in mind and pumped as much as I could back into it and it started running back out just before I finished putting the 4th quart into it. I guess it’s good. 🤷‍♂️

Yes you are 100% right it is definitely worth replacing if it is completely rusted. And of course definitely check it before doing the job. Especially if they are damn it inverted hex and not a regular hex bolt. Thank you for watching and I'm glad you enjoyed the accent.

Hi Greg, on the cvts I am not aware of any external filters or any internal filters for service. There may be one in the transmission somewhere but I have never seen one that is for sale that you can service. So as far as I know the only way to best service your CVT is just to drain and fill the fluid.

LOL I'm glad you found it entertaining.

I'm assuming this is in regards to the radiator replacement video? You should be using a scanner with a live data function to check your temperature. ECT is usually what the heading is. As for the level of coolant if you're going to reuse you will still need to take your time when putting in the coolant because it's not going to take it all into the system right away. I do however recommend using brand new coolant.

​@@JimmysAutoClinicI think they were talking about the temperature of the CVT fluid and knowing when the fluid is at the right temperature to gauge full or not full. Fairly sure a scan tool that can read transmission temperature is the way to go there as well.

​@@spasmonaut10 A shop will use an OBD scan tool to check temps. I just bit the bullet and had the dealership do it. They'll use the OEM fluid and will have the transfer pump to maximize fluid exchange.

Yes they do have gaskets, they are known as the gasket of whatever drain plug it is you're removing. Best advice I can give you is to call the dealership with your vin number tell them which drain plug gasket you're specifically looking for and they will most definitely be able to help you

Do you mean the washer for the plug? I think its the same as the oil bung.

Hey my friend this is exactly why I just give my vin number to the dealership and they gave me the correct fluid. It takes all of the gambling or headaches out of trying to find fluid. Plus you don't save that much more with regards to Subaru CVT fluid. At least in Canada there's not much of a difference. What you can do of course is get the Subaru part number from the dealer and then try to cross reference it online. Although I still don't recommend doing that it is an option.

Unfortunately my friend you're going to have to continue to change the fluid. What you can do is take it into Subaru for a transmission flush. If you've never done one before I do not recommend doing it yourself. The way that you can do it is find out which is the inlet on your particular vehicle and as the vehicle is running you can hook up a 1 L bottle of fluid or a jug of fluid to that inlet tube and it will push the fluid how much from the outlet tube pushing out the water however this is a very risky repair to do if you're not familiar with it and you can damage your transmission. Whenever swapping fluid there is only about 40 to 50% of the fluid that drains out the rest of it is hell throughout the transmission and mainly in the torque converter. This is why you still have water inside of your transmission.

Generally what I charge is $200 plus fluid and whatever other parts such as the drain pan bolt gasket. Definitely would recommend doing it as it is relatively inexpensive compared to the cost of a new transmission. I see the most important thing is whoever does it you should trust their ability as well as make sure you trust the person to do the job correctly with the right parts. I always recommend getting the dealership fluid as there is no potential for mistakes there. Good luck my friend

For older Transmissions this may be the correct train of thought however with the CVT fluid it is something that I would definitely recommend replacing the reason being is because the more time that you leave it inside the worst things are going to get. However if you have an existing issue or a transmission that is not operating very well at all, there is a high risk that when you do replace the fluid you may end up needing to replace the transmission so that may be the reason as to why they're telling you not to replace it.

@@JimmysAutoClinic no current issues. All of these mechanics came from years at Subaru, now on their own in a shop. They said if it’s never been replaced and high mileage, then they find it causes problems to change it. I’m at 223k so far:):) 2010 Outback. I asked them about changing the fluid, they talked me out of it. My first CVT. Bought at 131k. 🤷‍♂️

For me personally it really depends on two things how it was driven and where the car is located. If it's driven relatively easily and it has higher mileage than I would say it's okay to change it however if it's driven quite hard and a lot of hilly Terrain and has never been changed just be prepared that if you do change it the possibility of some issues happening is highly likely. Cvts however do operate quite a bit differently than automatic transmissions and really don't usually have issues in terms of operation after a fluid change. You usually have components fail such as the torque converter or solenoids on the valve body.

Good morning knock

You'll need a computer/scanner reset it and if it is a hard fault it will come back up right away.

But luckily for me I've never had to do a learning process. I'm pretty sure the scanner that I use can perform it but I have never had to do it and I don't know how to do it. I've done probably about 20 cvts and none of them have required a relearn.

Yes my friend, I am located in Concord ontario.

Is that just labor or including parts and labor?

Unfortunately there's not much help I can give you. It could be a number of different factors as to why you have a code occurring essentially what's happening or what the code means is that there is a Communication loss between your transmission computer in the Can BUS system. So it could be anything from a bad connecter to a broken wire a faulty component like a TCM or related module. I don't know of any common problems with your particular model related to the code. Sorry I hope this helps you out somehow.