Based on what Igor said below, I would do some web research and find out who makes Subaru's CVT. It's not likely Subaru. Two or three companies make most of the world's transmissions, and I wouldn't be at all surprised if Nissan and Subaru use the same trans. If so, you can point to Nissan's extended warranty. Check NHTSA for owner complaints as well. I think you can make Subaru see the light. I'll ask around and see if there's any talk about this among the tech aware journalists.
Paul via phone > On May 29, 2016, at 12:52 PM, Igor PDML-StR <pdml...@komkon.org> wrote: > > > Mark, > > I do not know anything about Subaru's CVTs. > I've had somewhat extensive experience and learned about Nissan's CVTs > through the first-hand experience, numerous and very detailed conversations > with mechanics and reading/searching for information online. I don't how that > would apply to your case, - but I suspect the situation in the industry is > very similar for different mass-product manufacturers. > > Despite being in existence (in non-luxury models) for over 10 years, CVT > remains being somewhat under-tested/under-designed in the sense of > reliability and how well it is adapted to various driving conditions. > Nissan has had CVTs in many (most?) models in the past 5-8 (-10?) years. > Nissan had huge number of problems with various models. E.g. Rogue, that > started in 2008, has had huge number of problems that Nissan was denying for > long time. Ultimately, around 2011-2012, because of those problems, they have > extended warranty on the CVT up to 125 Kmiles. > Throughout this period they had a bunch of "patches", "fixes" and other type > of kludges introduced: > 1. reprogramming of the firmware for the CVT > 2. change in the physical design (or manufacturing/parts, ... - I am not sure > exactly what was changed, as it is not disclosed) > 3. addition of an additional cooling system -- if certain symptoms of > overheating are observed. > And with all of those, - they are still experiencing problems. > Ours started showing various symptoms within the 1st year, and I was bringing > it to the dealership it many times without any constructive diagnostics of > the probelm from that point until the CVT completely failed > in 2013 (I couldn't drive from a stop sign.). I don't remember how many miles > it had at that point, maybe 50-60K? > And the brand-new CVT is not completely symptom-free (although all those > symptoms are sort of subtle "anomalies", and none of them are any types of > failures.) > > I've been told that a line of Nissan trucks (Titans, IIRC) has huge number of > warranty repairs in the first 1-3 years. > > A number of experienced and smart (non-dealer) mechanics refuse to deal with > CVTs. The reasons are: 1. it's a complicated system, and 2. from what I > understand (but I might be wrong), - Nissan does not release any information > about repairs/rebuilding of CVTs. I suspect even dealership mechanics do not > do any rebuilding of CVTs: they either replace CVTs, or they add those > cooling systems as prescribed by the corporate Nissan. > > It doesn't mean that a smart guy cannot figure things out (you know, people > hacked more complicated electronic systems). But I would not expect an > average Joe's Corner Shop to deal with that correctly. > > > A few other thoughts: > I assume that you've already checked that Subaru didn't issue any extended > warranty for your model. Just in case, - I would google for your model and > CVT, - to check if it is a frequently experienced problem. If it is, even if > it is not an officially accepted problem, - you can try to push on your local > dealer's mechanic shop (good luck with that!), and they might > give you some discounts, as Paul has suggested. It's a slim chance, - but > might be worse trying. They might feel some guilt (har!) or have some > non-obvous incentive to be nice to you. > > If you travel long-distance (as opposed to local, in-city commute), - being > sure that you wouldn't get stranded in the middle of nowhere could be strong > enough reason not to go for the lowest cost, even if you can install 3 of > those CVTs for the cost of one new. > And in case one of the warranties is significantly longer than 1 year, I > would seriously consider that, even though I very seldom pay for any extra > warranties. > > Good luck! > > Igor > > PS. I like the performance and the feel of the CVT on Rogue, but I would do a > very careful research about CVT reliability when I will be buying my next car. > And I am not keen on the idea of the shift-point emulation on top of the CVT. > That's what Nissan does in some of the current models. > I think that is a fad that defeats the advantages of a CVT. > > > >> On May 29, 2016 11:12 AM, "Mark C" wrote: >> >> While just driving along the highway Thursday my 2011 Subaru Outback made >> some odd noises and suddenly lit up what looked like every warning light on >> the control panel. I pulled over and wound up getting it towed to the >> nearest dealership. On Friday they gave me the bad news - at just 78,000 >> miles the CVT transmission was shot. Needs a complete replacement. >> >> The shop that has the car quoted me $11,000 to replace the CVT with a new >> unit and just under $10,000 for a factory re-manufactured one. My local >> shop quoted me $7,700 for a Subaru remanufactured CVT. It might be more >> since I don't know if that includes the 6% sale tax on CVT itself. A local >> independent shop gave me a rough estimate of $4,400 for a used >> one,installed. All of the places figure about $1000 labor, everything else >> is the cost of parts plus sales tax on the parts. >> >> The only firm estimates I have are the ones from the first place. I got >> the news from them at 3 PM Friday, before the holiday weekend. The local >> places are quoting typical rates, they have not even seen the car yet to >> give me a firm estimate. I don't know the warranty on the used >> transmission at this point either, just that it has 25K on it. >> >> I do have a call into Subaru customer service and they have agreed to do a >> review of this under their goodwill program, so maybe there will be some >> relief there, but the car is out of warranty and no extended coverage. >> >> My concern with a used CVT, though, is that they seem to be pretty complex >> and high tech devices. I have heard that they are actually built in clean >> rooms. So I'm wondering if pulling one off a wreck would be a good idea. >> >> Any reason NOT to do a used CVT? Thoughts would be appreciated. My first >> task is getting the car towed back here next week. >> >> Mark > > -- > PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List > PDML@pdml.net > http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net > to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow > the directions. -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
