Leaderboard

Hello Subaru drivers, I have owned my 2002 Forester L for 6 years now. It has 125k on it. Good car, second owner. Look forward to helping out with any problems I have fixed and problems I am not having success with. Thanks, Mike

frankly, I have more concerns about stop-start and electronic parking brakes than the CVT.

Take a look in your area... When I was at the dealership, we bought several good used ones for around $500. We had several that had out-of-warranty torque converter failure, and it was cheaper to get a used trans than a new converter.

That's the thing - I haven't seen any FB or CVT issues personally yet. Acquaintances, friends, and family driving these things who typically come to me with questions are cruising along without issues. Also Subaru's growth over that same time period is going to result in increased *numbers* of vehicles with issues even if the *rate* stays absolutely flat. If the CVT has the same amount of failures as the older EAT trans, you'd see the same rate of failures but 3 times as many in quantity due to sales increases from like 180,000 to almost 700,000 in those 10 years. It wouldn't be hard for anecdotal people...which comprises most of this country...to make incorrect assessments from something that isn't noteworthy. There are FB and CVT issues but let the data speak not emotions, anecdotes, and opinions...

No If a small risk of cheap, straight forward trans replacement has you balking you’d never survive an auto swap on a modern Subaru. It would bolt up but swapping the harness would be a nightmare and playing nice with the CANBUS and FB would be all but impossible.

First and foremost stop throwing parts and hoping it’ll fix a problem. Is your CEL on? If so pull the codes and report back. Have you done a tune up using quality plugs and wires? I’d start there. Acceleration issues can be so many things including the fuel pump, clogged cat converter, and many things inbetween.