Hello People,  I have a 1998 Subaru Forester and live in Brazil.....The problem with this scenario is there is very few places to get work done on this car....especially since I live high in the mountains outside Rio......rioacima.com.br    My problem is this.....the transmission inappropriately down shifts......and seems to be getting worse.  The hold light on my dash sometimes start flashing for no reason......I was told by a friend that the transmission screens need to be cleaned inside the transmission...... Does any body have any idea what is going on with my transmission......Do the 98s have transmission filters on the outside of the box....??????  Any suggestion would be appreciated.........forestsprague@gmail.com

How does the fluid look? Clean and red? Or is it dark and burned smelling?

 

It could have both an external and internal filter.

The external filter looks like an oil filter. If it has the external filter, it will be on the left side near the front corner of the pan sticking off to the side.

The internal is inside the pan but its just a mesh screen and really never needs to be replaced.

 

A blinking light usually means the trans control unit has a code stored. There's a connector under the dash that you ground one of the pins in order to get the light to blink the codes. There is a secret handshake involved that you may be able to find out by googling.

 

Also make sure the engine is running properly by giving it a tune-up if it hasn't had one recently. Shifting problems are often caused by an engine problem. Fix the engine problem, shifting problems go away.