TourNut

Found this 24 page long thread on replacing Subaru's CVT Fluid oil : consensus was since O.E.M. fluid was about $40 / qt. X ~ 13 qts + labor , etc. ; about $500 ! , guys have been only replacing about half of it , that is all you can get out of the sump & drain hole. ( ~6 qts. if you are lucky ) The rest of it is trapped in the torque converter and the rest of the transmission. After hours of reading this thread , the idea is to replace about half the oil about every 25-30 K miles and that is enough to keep the lubrication properties in pretty decent condition for performance for the CVT for the life of the car. The Valvoline and Redline , & 3rdly , ( the always expensive ) Amsoil , brands of CVT fluid/oils seem to be what they are using. If I could just find out which of these has the blue color to match the OEM fluid/oil ( for warranty reasons ) : ( http://www.subaruoutback.org/forums/99-do-yourself-illustrated-guides/52020-2011-2-5i-cvt-differential-fluid-change.html )

How many quarts does the Outback's CVT take ? Is there any hidden dangers beyond draining it using the drain plug and filling it up to the fill plug on the back ?

My 2012 Outback with the CVT has ~ 33k miles now. What is the consensus these days on if I should be replacing the CVT's oil ? Also what kind of oil is it ? ( I see a drain plug on the bottom of the CVT pan and another plug on the back of the CVT housing. It looks like I could change the oil )

How do you get that rectangular seat warming switches panel off the gearshift console without tearing up something visible ? It is moves relative to the console a bit , like it is snapped in some how. I am wanting to put in an additional switch in the blank rectangular spot next to the R.H. seat warmer switch .

I referred to the Manual about the equalizer but it was vague about it and nothing I tried worked - it was unresponsive to any change. So it's like you can't set up presets to have less bass or manually change the bass ( i.e., not using the presets )

OK , that worked , Thank you , now how do you change the graphic equalizer on the stereo so I get less bass / more treble ? When I tried I couldn't get the equalizer to react to any of my inputs that would change the presets so I could get less bass .

I have a 2011 Outback w / 3.6 liter eng. . This car has a GPS nav. system in it that I understand sets the clock up in the top center of the dash. But when daylight savings time change comes along in the fall , the clock doesn't change the hour and so it has been an hour off - all 3 winters since I bought it new. How do you get it changed to the right hour ?

I just got a letter from Chase Cardmember Services saying they are discontinuing their Subaru Credit Card ! Does that mean my Subaru bucks saved up , are no longer going to be good for the purchase of anything Subaru ?

We are just wanting to protect the 2012 ( & 2011) from rocks & pothole remnants from taking out the foglamps' lenses , again. Not doing offroad. It's just that the foglamp lenses are so low & vulnerable to damage. Need the gen 4 Outback guards or grilles , I found plenty of the old gen 1 & 2 type grilles or guards.

Are there 2012 Outback fog light protection guards or grilles available anywhere? If so, could I have a link to who sells them ?

I have looked in the manuals which only referred me to look at the GVWR , etc. weight limit plate on the cars . Nothing tells me what the roof , rack and crossbars can handle , weight loading-wise.

New to this forum but have had 4 Outbacks : 2000, 2001, 2011, 2012.; 2000 got drowned, currently have the last 3 , '01 , H3.0 with over 200K miles , being driven by an in-college son.