Having been fooled twice, I did it again – I contacted the Subaru dealer.
17 Rides out 48k miles
Recently, I noticed a change in the behavior of my transmission and based on the recommendations of the Jap and Can markets (30K and 60K) I decided to change the transmission oil (until then I did not know that a complete change is almost impossible – if you have unlimited budget you can drain 5-6 quotas, fill them with new oil, drain again etc. But that’s not the point of my story). I was reading this forum and all over the internet and they all say – use genuine subaru cvt-ht (high torque) fluid. So I ended up at the local Subaru dealership.
They pumped 2 gal. of “Genuine Subaru cvt-ht” to me for $220. When I opened the transmission refill hole and some oil leaked out, I noticed that the color is orange, but the new oil I have is red – just like regular ATF oil. Another search and I found the Subaru Fluid Application Guide (attached) where I learned that past model Subaru used red oil for the 3.6 in the 19th century (well, 2014). The 2017 is orange (and different specs I assume). Best case scenario, the dealer is using aftermarket oil with the same specs and worst case is using 2-3 types of oil for all years and models (just like rental car companies have 5w30 and 0w20 for all their fleet). I will go there, of course, to ask my stupid question to the busy people, not because I want my money back (this purchase is non-refundable), but just to see their eyes. But I want to be prepared and know for sure that the only oil allowed to be used in the ’17 3.6 is subaru orange cvt-ht and I have an official source of this knowledge, not just a picture on the internet.
