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Old 04-25-2021, 03:27 PM   #1
militarydave
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Unhappy Accidentally drained the CVT fluid instead of the engine oil during an oil change

Well, I hate to admit when I make a mistake but I drank too much and attempted to do my first oil change on the wife's 2015 Subaru Impreza 2.0 hatchback CVT automatic. We ran out of the 2 year free maintenance and receive oil change coupons to our local Subaru dealer that makes it easier on her to take whenever she needs an oil change as my hectic schedule usually has we away on weekends working for Uncle Sam. I'm home on leave for a month and decided to change the oil on her Impreza (first time for me on this car) and I accidentally drained the gear oil from the automatic transmission. When I realized it was the wrong plug it was too late - the oil on the dipstick was black and the oil draining was amber/sweet smelling.

It wasn't until I removed some plastic did I see the black oil drain plug and drained that one.

Luckily this is in our garage, and no damage was done (except my pride and intelligence) and simply needs to be re-filled.

Since this is Sunday, all dealerships are closed. I plan to go to the local Subaru dealer Monday and pick up 2-3 quarts as I do not know how much drained out and there is no dipstick for the transmission. I don't even see where I can refill it from the top of the engine.

Per the owner's manual, it's 75W-90 and I can buy any gear oil at a local auto part store, but i prefer to stick with OEM fluid when it comes to transmissions.

Can anyone please point out how I can refill the transmission? How many quarts it takes on a simple drain/refill?

If it's anything like the Miata we had years ago, You have to fill the trans by removing a fill plug on the side of the transmission until the gear oil weeps out from the fill hole. Is that the same on this?

Again, it's a 2015 Subaru Impreza Hatchback 2.0 automatic with CVT.

Thank you all, and I know... I know.. how could I "NOT SEE" the transmission plug, i'm an idiot, so on and so forth.

To be honest, just too much on my mind, lots of issues at work, lost some colleagues/fellow service members to suicide recently.

No excuse, I know, but just part of being human I guess.

Anyways, I hope someone can point me on the right direction on how many quarts I should purchase from the dealership, and more importantly how to refill the transmission to the correct level.


And yes, I'll be more diligent next time.


V/R,
MilitaryDave
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Old 04-25-2021, 06:17 PM   #2
militarydave
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Ok, looks like yes - the fuild is filed on the driver's side next to an electrical connector with a hex-head fill plug. Looks like CVTF-II fluid?
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Old 04-25-2021, 07:25 PM   #3
moral hazard
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Seems like this is a common occurrence:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=H5xbnpTYk0s
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Old 04-26-2021, 01:10 AM   #4
IHaveAHorse
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I think 6 quarts usually covers it. IIRC when I did it I used 5 + a little bit of the 6th.

https://www.amazon.com/Valvoline-Con.../dp/B00DJ4FGIK

https://www.amazon.com/Castrol-06811.../dp/B00T96Q956

2 trusted brands

and you certainly don't have to justify mistakes to us, it happens. Hope things get better for you soon.
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Old 04-26-2021, 10:52 AM   #5
militarydave
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Thank you. Glad to know i'm not the only one lol. The video was helpful as I now have torque specs and know where/what to do.

Thanks!
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Old 04-26-2021, 01:38 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by IHaveAHorse View Post
and you certainly don't have to justify mistakes to us, it happens. Hope things get better for you soon.

I'd like to note the Subaru community is much more mature and helpful than the jerks over at the Corvette and Nissan forum/groups.
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Old 04-26-2021, 02:02 PM   #7
2016fa20dit
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Quote:
Originally Posted by militarydave View Post
I'd like to note the Subaru community is much more mature and helpful than the jerks over at the Corvette and Nissan forum/groups.


I did the same thing on my then girlfriends now wife’s corolla. The extra dumb part it is I couldn’t figure out why the oil was at the very top of the dipstick. It’s an automatic and I figured it out when the car wouldn’t move in gear. Was in a bad headspace at that time. You’re definitely not the only one to do it.
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Old 04-30-2021, 03:20 AM   #8
Vancouver98STi
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Quote:
Originally Posted by militarydave View Post

2015 Subaru Impreza 2.0 hatchback CVT automatic.

I plan to go to the local Subaru dealer Monday and pick up 2-3 quarts... Per the owner's manual, it's 75W-90 and I can buy any gear oil at a local auto part store, but i prefer to stick with OEM fluid when it comes to transmissions.
I know nothing about these fancy new CVT automatic transmissions... but you're saying it takes 75W-90 gear oil... the same stuff I was using in the Muncie M21 4-spd in my '67 Chevelle SS396 five decades ago?
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Old 04-30-2021, 08:12 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Vancouver98STi View Post
... you're saying it takes 75W-90 gear oil... the same stuff I was using in the Muncie M21 4-spd in my '67 Chevelle SS396 five decades ago?
But unlike five decades ago, 75W-90 now comes in synthetic.
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Old 04-30-2021, 08:33 PM   #10
Vancouver98STi
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Quote:
Originally Posted by vintage42 View Post

But unlike five decades ago, 75W-90 now comes in synthetic.
Synthetic vs dinosaur juice aside... I was just surprised that this automatic transmission requires heavy gear oil, as opposed to the relatively thin ATF that other automatics use.
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Old 05-01-2021, 01:48 PM   #11
Elbert Bass
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Vancouver98STi View Post
Synthetic vs dinosaur juice aside... I was just surprised that this automatic transmission requires heavy gear oil, as opposed to the relatively thin ATF that other automatics use.
Clarification is required here.
A Subaru transmission has the gearbox and front differential in the same case. Automatic and CVT front differential uses gear oil and is separated from the gearbox which uses either ATF (automatic) or CVT fluid (CVT transmission)

This is why folks get in trouble - there is a drain in the transmission pan for the gearbox, then in front of that is the drain for the front differential. These are behind the front crossmember. The engine oil pan drain is in front of the crossmember, some times hidden by a rock shield or plastic underpanel depending on model.
Folks see that drain plug in front of the transmission pan and assume that is the engine oil drain. You would be amazed by how many Subaru transmissions quicky oil change places buy each year for burning up a front differential by draining the front diff and then overfilling the engine oil.
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Old 05-01-2021, 07:16 PM   #12
Vancouver98STi
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Elbert Bass View Post

Clarification is required here.
A Subaru transmission has the gearbox and front differential in the same case. Automatic and CVT front differential uses gear oil and is separated from the gearbox which uses either ATF (automatic) or CVT fluid (CVT transmission)
Thanks for the clarification, Elbert. It makes perfect sense that the gear selection part of the CVT transmission does not use heavy gear oil.
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Old 05-04-2021, 06:45 PM   #13
militarydave
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Yes - I apologize, the front "diff" uses gear oil. I went to the local Subaru dealership and purchased 4 quarts of the OEM Subaru CVT II transmission fluid (blue). I did not drain nor touch the front diff... just the CVT itself, and refilled with CVT II fluid.
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Old 07-08-2021, 04:14 PM   #14
militarydave
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I ended up taking my Impreza to the local subaru dealer as it was making a noise when the car was cold and you'd put it in reverse. They kept the car for about 5 days (gave a loaner, luckily!) and ended up topping off the CVT fluid and ensuring there are no leaks. This was covered under the 100k Subaru CVT warranty.

So, all set now. Never going to make that mistake again lol!
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