It’s so amazing seeing no rust on these southern cars. #rustbeltprobs

Hands down the best channel for all things Subaru! Having finally bought my first one in 2022 I find myself coming here for everything even if it’s just to learn the ins and outs. Great stuff!

Excellent videos. I used your videos to perform the CVT transmission fluid change as well as the front and rear differential fluid change. I even used my Topdon Phoenix Lite 2 to do the transmission relearn. Which I bought with the money I saved doing all this myself. Thanks Mr. Subaru!

Such an important service it makes a huge difference. Great video

I had my cvt fluid change on my 2015 2:12 legacy 3.6 and made a world of difference, I went from 15 -17 mpg to 19 mpg city , and much crisper acceleration.😅

Thanks for these video's. I've already serviced a bunch of TR580 Subies without any issues.

Pretty clean underneath for all those miles! Thanks for the great video!!

Super helpful! I thought this was a bit more complex than this so I had always taken to the dealer. Recently caught my sister's Crosstrek up with 2 drain and fills since we didn't know the history of her car. Seemed not too dirty for 140k so I have hopes that it has been serviced in the past.

Such an important service it makes a huge difference. Great video. It’s so amazing seeing no rust on these southern cars. #rustbeltprobs.

Thank you for showing procedure much appreciated

Just bought my first Subaru today! 2021 Outback limited XT, has 42,000 miles on it and the service department said the fluid hadn’t drained and filled yet, must do this soon!!

PSA, you will need a breaker bar to get the fill plug out if its never been opened before. They are in ridiculously tight from the factory.

I really like that graphing

What ever happened to the hood ol days when changing the tranny fluid was just a dump and fill…lol. This is definitely not for the lay person unless you have all the diagnostic gear to plug into the OBD. Another great video.

Another great video. Thank you for doing this.

Love your videos, as I own my 4th Subaru, a 2023 Outback Touring XT. Sometimes the service department is the customer's worst enemy. I had a 2015 Outback 2.5i Limited. I do not put a lot of mileage on my car ( I own my current Outback just shy of a year and just coming up to 5k miles) t 3 years of ownership I requested the CVT fluid change and the service manager gave me an argument. He tried to convince me it was a "permanent fluid". So I asked what is the difference between the American fluid and the Japanese fluid? The Japanese home market recommends changing the fluid every 3 years or 36k miles. Then I told him, just do it, I am the customer.

I was involved in changing gearbox fluid on a Volvo V70 and the trick we used was to disconnect the hoses from the oil cooler and fill fresh fluid in the return hose while draining the old through the feed hose - and trying to keep track of drained v.s. filled volume and waiting for the color change. That actually worked pretty well and most of the fluid was then changed because the oil drained did pretty much match the specified volume for the gearbox. Maybe it was a bit lazy, but if it works it's not totally wrong.

Thank you for this. I did it successfully for a customer. However, this is why all my vehicles have manual transmissions.

thank you for the quick tutorial!

FYI y’all Idemitsu is the OEM supplier for this fluid…. Also for the 5EAT …. they also make the OEM fluids for Honda, Nissan…

I'll never work on my own cars anymore, but we just bought a Forester Wilderness so it's good to know more about Subarus so I am better educated when it comes time to take it in for servicing. I've heard our local Subaru dealer is pretty decent, so I'm hoping for better experiences than we got with our previous Kia vehicles.

Very helpful, thank you.

QUESTION! do I need to do the AT learning value thing? I have a 2018 crosstrek 2.0 liter.

Great video don with care and attention , many many people with cvt issues I feel from what I have seen think that you just dump the oil put in x amount and you are good to go. One reason that either very experienced technicians should do this or a dealership. Nissans especially since they were one of the early companies had issues of which many drove them 100K before they had the tranny serviced. We have ours done every 25 K, 2019 Pathfinder. Subaru builds a great vehicle.

The fluid draining from the transmission is a good color. from factory if never changed the cvt fluid is a darker red ish color like that. the stuff you fill it with on its first service will be a lighter green cvtf-2. I've replaced under warranty many tr690s and tr580s and the fluid is always this color no mater the mileage.

Familiar thing. A couple of long trips on even surfaces with very gentle acceleration should do the trick.

My 2013 does the same thing. I just assumed it was normal.

Must be nice to live in an area where these older cars aren't completely rotted out from road salt! Good to know the CVT fluid replacement seems relatively easy though.

Excellent video on the process, which as some of us know can be royally screwed up with catastrophic results. Mr Subaru do you need TOPDON Phoenix Max for the CVT relearn or would a Phoenix Plus be sufficient?

Great channel Mr. Subaru. Thank You. I have 2010 Outback with around 100,000 miles that has given me very little trouble. I try to do most of the maintenance on it myself. Thanks to your channel, I am convinced that it will make sense to change the CVT fluid soon. If my CVT is not giving me any issues now, is it necessary to go thru the relearn procedure? Secondly, what scanning tool would you recommend for budget-minded DIYer to use to monitor the CVT temperature to properly change the fluid? Thank you

Awesome video also what specs are for the crushwasher?

I have a 2019 Outback with 72,000 miles. At about 50,000 I went to a dealer for service, asked for the CVT fluid to be replaced. Was told it wasn't needed until 100,000 miles. Seemed odd but I did what they told me to do. Well guess what.This week I heard a strange sounds coming from the drivetrain. Took it back to the same dealer, they did their diagnostic work and informed me my transmission was bad and I needed a total replacement. Good thing I have a extended warranty!! Also had my touch screen go out last year. Took them over 9 months to find a replacement.

Thanks .....................I have a 2013, Legacy, 80,000 miles, I need to do this........................

Mr Subaru, how about a video on the high torque fluid. Specifically, any alternatives such as Idemitsu or Motul?

My dealership couldn’t even do my 5 tire wilderness rotation correct 😂. Time to do maintenance myself!!!

Hello again Mr. Subaru! Excellent explanation, BUT you left me with an important question. I have replaced the fluid and filter in my 2013 Subi Crosstrek Limited as you explained; EXCEPT for not having a scan tool as you do and did so I could NOT do the re-learning. What types of problems can I get into for NOT doing the re-learning part of the operation, please? Is the a an easier way to do it without spending all that money on the scan tool, please? OR taking it to the dealer to have them 're-learn' it??

We have a 2020 Ascent with just under 30k on it. And it is doing a weird stumbling type event every once in a while. When you take off from a stop, at maybe 10ish mph it will occasionally just fall on its face as if the engine stalled or the transmission missed a shift. Then picks itself back up and accelerates normally a half second later. I wonder if it needs a transmission relearn? Of course this happens so random and infrequently the dealer says they can’t find anything and cannot replicate the complaint.

Hey next time you do one of these videos on CVT with hesitation, try test driving it without the re-learn so we can see if it makes a difference. My Crosstrek does the same, I've done 3 CVT fluid changes and no difference. Looks like the re-learn is what really made the difference but some folks say you can skip it. If you're having hesitation, don't skip the relearn or you'll waste 5 quarts of good CVT fluid. (10 in my case)

What's your opinion on the Subaru oil filter bypass valve pressure rating? Should it be >20psi? What are the Subaru OEM filters rated to?

Seems a lot easier than I thought. I guess if my scanner shows atf temp then I’m good to do this myself.

Great video.. so I have a 21forester that I take off road and a trail I went on I noticed the cvt was slipping not letting the tires spin .could it need new fluid or a trans cooler ?

MrSubaru I have wathced your other video but this one popped up again and thought I'd ask you since learn from you how to do anyways. I have a 2012 Outback 2.5 sohc and the tr690 tranny, it was driving fine except clicking from the shifter and I knew that was the locking solenoid anyways, but the at oil temp light came on. Got the scanner tool and the duty lock up solenoids or whatever was throwing codes. It was driving fine just had been driving it 120 miles in a day here and there. Went to Subaru got the valve body and the fluid. Change them as you did in your videos, added the fluid. Went to relearn when was at temp all the good stuff followed per your instructions and the re-learn failed. The car was level and I adjusted the e-brake then as sounded like tire slipped. I then changed brakes sensor on brake pedal and the shifter to get rid of the shift lock going in and out it was always clicking. So have done pretty much everything that could be causing it and still can't figure out why it won't relearn. Had to move it no choice was in neighbors garage mine was full at time, but when I moved it not far not even far or fast enough to shift, but it did go up hill. Now I start it and it wont move when fluid is cold? What should I try now to get it to relearn? I know that can be a pain, and have been through most of it. One time when was filling the fluid it did all the sudden start gushing out the fill hole before it was full wasn't even up there yet started gushing and had to turn off loosing a quart or more. Never did that again, if you could provide some suggestions I'd be greatful.

Great videos! Pls, do you have experience with a situation, when CVT doesn't want to use Manual mode (if you use paddles or move gear shifter to M, but remains D)? Subaru Levorg 1.6. Thanks!

What size vinyl tubing should be used to fill the trans with a funnel from above? Thanks.

Hey, love your quality videos. I've got a 2018 wrx limited 6mt. Bought used in 2021. Within a year of ownership, I've begun to notice hesitation during acceleration throught gears 1 through 5. Took it to dealer and they said they could find an issue vehicle was operating within parameters. The tech gave me a bottle of fuel injection cleaner but Issue not resolved. Have you come across this with wrx?

what nozzle setup is on your sureshot, I like it.

I just change my CVT tran just today, while watching your latest video you made refill at 95 degree and close it. Are we supposed to refill then let it run and at 92 degree open fill plug let dribble until 100 degree. Is that correct. Thanks for your help

Hi Robert, I recently purchased a 2022 Subaru Ascent Touring. We have previously owned a 2022 Forester and really enjoyed the car but needed something larger. Question for you on the on the Ascent, it feels as if the engine is lugging when tasking off from a stop position. Almost as if its shifting to a higher gear too fast. Is it possible this is due to the previous owners driving habits and we need to have the AT learning reset?

Is the relearn necessary when changing the cvt fluid on the TR690? Or only when replacing the valve body?

Yesterday I got couldn’t get out of a parking space in my 2016 3.6 Legacy. The front wheels were on dry pavement but the rear wheels were on ice. I was going up hill. The rear wheel in the ice just spun. I have 32K miles, the car was delivered in 9/2015, and it is always parked outside. I don’t recall having any issues before. I’m in DC.

please comment on reliability issues for FB16, FB20 & FB25, if any, thank you..

Is the relearn a mandatory step ? I have seen other videos from you (the 2015 white Subaru) where you didn’t relearn it !! Thanks in advance 🙏

Mr.Subaru, how do you think, full transition fluid replacement + changing of transition fluid filter is a bad practice or required after some specific mileage \ conditions? Or if you interesting in extending transition's life as much as possible - it's must have procedure for every 60 - 30 - 30 -... thousands miles?

I had my 2016 outback cvt fluid done and the dealer was only able to change 1/2 the fluid. It took forever because it had to be a certain temp and was supposed to be done in like a clean room environment! At least half of mine was changed. I'm amazed that dealers do not have the proper equipment to do it correctly.

Soooo, if my wife and I both drive our 22 Forester Sport, how will it learn both styles of driving?

Does the other Topdon bi-directional scan tool listed on your Amazon affiliate account perform the transmission re-learning also, or does it require the phoenix model?

Never mind. You said it does on the video

I see the fluid only changed in color a little bit when you drained it a 2nd time. Will that fluid always be about that color with each flush. Im sure the fluid will never be the same turquoise color it was when it was new once it circulates through the transmission right?

I can't help but wonder if the relearn alone would have resolved this issue. Based on the looks of the CVT fluid, I don't disagree with the need to replace it, but I really would like to know if the relearn was the fix, or if it was the fluid replacement.

I just got the cvt fluid change on my 2014 legacy with 60000 miles. He insisted it was fine to use another manufacturer's transmission fluid. I was assured it would be a non issue. Whats your opinion? This is a small yet highly reputable family shop.

MrSubaru, can you help me decide between 2013 Forester XT Premium and 2015 Forester XT Premiun? Im based in Australia and buying my first car these are the options im torn about. I tried comparing it using online but not satisfied on the outputs. It would really help me alot if you have any input

Just subscribed. I have some Subaru specific questions where can I ask them?

Is the most accurate time to check oil level is when the engine is cold?

Hey Mr.Subaru how many litres did you use for this drain & fill procedure?

Off topic. The auto gearbox on my 2002 Forester made it to 500,000 km yesterday. No repairs ever, just oil and filter changes. Not bad! I do have to let it warm up for a few minutes these days or it will clunk a bit when I put it in reverse. I assume this indicates some part/s is worn and it's gradually dying (I'm no gearbox expert), so slowly saving for a replacement. Still happy about how long it has lasted though.

Hi MrSubaru. I have a 2018 crosstrek. The access to fill/check plug is blocked by the exhaust pipe, however, on the other (passenger) side of the transmission there is a similar 8mm hex plug. Can I use that instead?

Could you explain the "learn function" that you spoke of? Why did you want the vehicle to "learn" the customers driving style as opposed to yours?

კაი ვიდეოა რომელია ყველაზე კაი ზეთი მაგ გადაცემათა კოლოფში

Mr. Subaru hopefully you can answer this question I bought a Tokyo Roki oil filter 15208AA100 do you know if it will fit a 2015 sti ? Hopefully you can reply

Yeah, I learned the hard way mini years ago about taking the fill plug out first on an old Ford ranger with a T5 manual transmission could not get the fill plug out so I ended up pulling the shifter out of the transmission through the floor of the truck and put the fluid in that way Outside the box thanking there 😂

Is the car running when you do the final fill?

Can you do the same thing on a 16 Crosstrek

Next time u run into another Subie CVT fluid change w/ this same CVT, can show us how u replace the internal filter also?

How does C2521, C1531, C1532 affect the VDC,ABS,TCM? What does it do to the lock up? What about the control valve?

Is this the same service that Could be done to a TR690? I have a 2020 WRX with the TR690 and it has 37K on it. No issues at all, but I would like it to stay that way. Seems like its time for a drain and refill. Would you concur?

I just test drove a new Crosstrek Sport a couple hours ago and the CVT felt sluggish and I felt lost. Immediately upon depressing the gas pedal, it shot above 3000 rpm and seemed to hesitate. To you experienced CVT drivers, is this something I can get used to? I’m so used to driving a 5 speed Civic, I can see the adjustment difficult.

Hey Mr Subaru. My friend has a 2014 Impreza CVT with 130k miles. Vehicle “shifts” roughly and transmission drives poorly. Fluid and valve body were replaced. Getting an occasional P0841 code. If accelerating normally from a stop it hesitates and slips but if you slowly ease off the brake and slowly onto the gas it’s fine. This issue only happens when the vehicle is warm/operating temp. When cold, no issue. There is also some rattling/rotational sounds coming from the transmission, even at idle in drive. The other day he was pulling into the driveway and the car just stopped and started making noises from the transmission area. Hasn’t happened again since but still drives poorly. I told him it sounds like the transmission is going out but wanted your opinion on this subject and it’s possible the secondary oil pressure sensor right by the fill plug may be a culprit? Any advise would be greatly appreciated.

Could you recommend a reasonably priced OBD tool for cvt relearning, please?

Why does it want you on jack stands when the leaning process doesn’t spin the tires? I want to know to determine if I really need to use jack stands.

Also do u know if the 2017 2.5 L Foresters (I think is 3rd or 4th generation of Foresters) use the same CVT as this Outback that I think u said is a 2013?

What’s the best budget system to buy to do the relearn?

Didn't know these CVT fills are temperature specific, require warmed up fluid. Thanks.

I just watched the video you did from 4 years ago about servicing the CVT fluid and you mentioned to not do it? Is that only before 120,000 miles based on the Subaru warranty?

Is there a less expensive Top Don unit that can be used to do this relearn procedure. Asking for us mere modals! 🤨 Thanks

Whats the other plug for? The one near the TCM connector?

I have a 2020 crosstrek limited and i get hesitation when crawling in traffic Which i think is the cvt gear hunting which is annoying so i flip into sport mode and it goes away no more cvt hunting for a gear while crawling in traffic

Following up on previous comment about shudder I did 3 oil replacements, the oil that came out wasn't looking too bad, just a little on the brown side but still transparent yellow and wasn't as tacky as the new CVTF II. Reset by disconnecting battery during 1 hour after completed last refill. car operated great for about an hour in traffic then shudder came back, sounds very much like torque converter locking at low speed, no shuddering if under acceleration with a bit of gas but if low or moderate gas applied then the shuddering occurs below 35mph. What it does fills like putting a manual gearbox in 6th gear at very low speed, the engine tries to rotates all together and collapses the engine mounts instead of sending torque to the output shaft. No codes. Anyone experience this and wishes to share how the overcome that issue thanks in advance.

Ask questions and do your research… Dealership A: Drain/Fill/Relearn $330 Dealership B: Drain/Fill $330, $364, $375 (Told me a relearn wasn’t needed. Treated me like I was a dumb ol girl. Three different people quoted me three different prices.) Went with Dealership A since they were in line with Mr. Subaru.

Nice video as usual! Is relearn necessary for just a change under normal conditions? And also is relearn similar to when the battery gets disconnected? Our 2013 drove so wonky after a battery change for a while.

how is the interval of the oil and filter change?? in kilometers?

ECM reprogram? I had to get a CVT programming update on warranty

Thanks for that, can i ask if it's recommended to change to cvt pan with the (i think) integrated filter at the same time as changing the fluids? Thanks again for another informative video.

👍👍👍👍👍

Why was there several ounces of overfill draining from the fill port when you initially removed the fill plug?

Am I able to do the same drain and fill without all the nice equipment and read outs or should I just take it to my Subaru dealer? If I can do I change anything? I noticed it took about 5-ish min for the CVT fluid to get to optimal temperature so I can use that as a gauge. Anyways, thanks for the awesome Subaru vids

There was a significant amount of fluid draining from the upper plug compared to the final amount of replacement fluid. Please explain if this is a problem and why not.

Do you recall what the hesitation was like? Was it only at certain speeds?

If your car drives fine..do ya still need the scanner to recalibrate?

is this the same procedure for the 2015 Crosstrek CVT? and what scan tool is needed that I could buy to do the relearn reset>

ive "fixed" several stuttering TR690s and TR580s just by changing the CVT fluid. ive found the Lubeguard Complete CVT fluid is just as good or better than the OEM at a much lower cost than the absurd price the stealership charges for it