May 3, 200718 yr Hi all - How many of you have experienced automatic transmission failure in your Legacy that required replacement? What year is your Legacy, & how many miles did the transmission have when it expired? Although driving habits vary from one person to the next, knowing the experiences of others may give me an idea of what I can expect. I recently turned 155k on my well-maintained 97 OB AT and I'm on my original transmission. I would guess this is typical. If your Legacy was regularly employed in atypical or extreme conditions, such as mail delivery or pulling trailers full of elephants, that info may be helpful. :-) Cheers, mp
May 3, 200718 yr subaru automatic transmissions (speaking of the 4EAT) are very reliable, for an automatic transmission! i'm not sure how to word this, but i would almost expect a 4EAT (your transmission) to make 150,000 miles without failing. anything can happen, but they rarely fail before that. i've seen them make far more, but 150,000+ is when all the failures i've seen start happening. there's no way to tell you what "you" will experience. but once you start getting towards 200,000 and 300,000 miles auto trans can't compete with manual trans in terms of reliability.
May 3, 200718 yr My 97 "Legato" (Legacy L auto 2.2 wagon AWD) has 145k, and exhibits slightly delayed shifts and a kind of weird bindup in low 3rd gear rpms. I don't know if it's engine management, powertrain bind, or what, but it's probably the tranny. I think someday I'll get it rebuilt, but I figure any other swap will be just as high mileage, and off-the-shelf rebuilt ones are either hideously expensive or of suspect quality, not to mention the interaction with the ECU, which will make me learn a whole catalog of parts and models, only to find out that it was a binding rear differential that was causing all the trouble. There is not a big market for expertise in 10 year old inexpnsive small batch cars, so I don't expect to find any hands-on help, even here near Chicago. So I can live with it, since it's just a commuter and weekend traveller. To think of it, it's only a car. And I have 3 other speeds to work with. I don't think I'll get stranded, and I drive easy. :-p Hi all - How many of you have experienced automatic transmission failure in your Legacy that required replacement? What year is your Legacy, & how many miles did the transmission have when it expired? Although driving habits vary from one person to the next, knowing the experiences of others may give me an idea of what I can expect. I recently turned 155k on my well-maintained 97 OB AT and I'm on my original transmission. I would guess this is typical. If your Legacy was regularly employed in atypical or extreme conditions, such as mail delivery or pulling trailers full of elephants, that info may be helpful. :-) Cheers, mp
May 3, 200718 yr Change the fluid regularly with good quality ATF and the tranny should stay happy. Add a cooler if you drive in hot climates. Pop in a magnefine or something for a little extra protection. AT's don't like dirty or burnt fluid.
May 3, 200718 yr 156k on my 1991 4EAT AWD and no failures here. Just some rough shifting sometimes - acceptable for a 16yo tranny.
May 3, 200718 yr Taken care of, it should last a while. Compared to other automatics, the 4EAT is very reliable, often going 200k-300k, but it's always a gamble with autos (always been a manual transmission fan myself). Mine is about 10 miles short of turning 181k, and it seems to work fine. Some of the shifts are delayed a little, which appears to be a common thing on the older ones, but it never slips or anything. I also think my AWD clutch pack is starting to get a little old. I figure I'll run it until something happens, or if I make it to the 240k maintenance interval without it going out, I'll throw in a factory reman unit at that point for reliability's sake. I've also never seen one fail suddenly and/or catastrophically. They tend to give plenty of warning before becoming completely inoperative, which I find very comforting.
May 3, 200718 yr Almost 270,000 miles on my '93 wagon (original tranny) It has torque bind (I have since removed my driveshaft for the summer to eliminate this problem) .....and as far as shifting goes, the 1-2 shift is hard, and the 2-3 shift is delayed sometimes. I am *waiting* for it to die, but these friggin cars have the strongest will to live Ive ever seen. my 2 cents -Backwoodsboy
May 3, 200718 yr 205,000 miles on the original tranny. 185,000 miles the clutch pack was replaced. New computer controlled trannies (on almost all cars) now last the life of the car if they are built right and properly maintained. nipper
May 4, 200718 yr Yes hats off to Subaru. Many domestic manuf's AT's (and the rest of the vehilce!) were complete garbage during the early-mid (and late!) 90's (and current!) timeframe.
May 4, 200718 yr Honda Odessy trannys have a nasty habit of going... under warranty. So even brand new trannys can suck.
May 4, 200718 yr Author Wow. Over 1 million miles noted in this thread and not a single failed transmission thus far. Maybe a more appropriate question would have been if anybody has ever needed to replace a Legacy transmission. I was contemplating picking up a used tranny from the local bone yard as a backup, but I can hardly see the point in doing so if I may not need it for years. Cheers, mp
May 4, 200718 yr AT's are definitly more reliable ill bet a AT tranny could last forever if the fluid was changed often, just might not shift or something But i don't think they would ever FAIL.
May 4, 200718 yr Mom's 98 legacy 2.2 has 172K on the original trans, its getting delayed shifts and some other stumbling. But nothing drastic. Regular fluid changes, and general upkeep are the way to go. The worst that can happen is usually torque bind, but there are simple solutions to that as well.
May 4, 200718 yr 1993 legacy, 143K miles, tranny still smooth. Replaced fluid with synthetic last year. How often should these have fluid changed?
May 4, 200718 yr Ok so it's not on a legacy but i think is is worth mentioning... my 95 impreza had over 400,000kms on it when I wrecked it original transmission and didn't have the transmission fluid touched in at lease 200,000kms (the person who had the car before did nothing with it). I am sure the transmission is still fine in it, where ever it is now...
May 4, 200718 yr Wow. Over 1 million miles noted in this thread and not a single failed transmission thus far. Maybe a more appropriate question would have been if anybody has ever needed to replace a Legacy transmission. I was contemplating picking up a used tranny from the local bone yard as a backup, but I can hardly see the point in doing so if I may not need it for years. Cheers, mp On this entire list I remember maybe 6 trannies being replaced, two of which didnt need it, as it was just TB and not a tranny failure. nipper
May 4, 200718 yr 93 Legacy wagon with original motor/trans: Just clicked 290,000 miles no problems ever . Had a trans flush at 120,000, and again at about 250,000(when I bought it from mom) From 250,000 to 280,000 it was used daily for pizza delivery in city. And I was not gentle to her. Still drives smooth, shifts fine, AWD works great still. 89 GL with original first gen 4EAT: 240,000 miles. Sometimes i get VSS codes. Once I got a shift solenoid code but it drives and shifts fine. AWD does not like to engage on it's own(these early ones had a different split ratio and computer) It's good enough to get me unstuck in snow. I have to let the wheels spin for a while, then BAM! I feel the back get power and start going, but the power to the back feels like it comes in surges ? Had to wire in a *diff lock* switch for real 4WD type weather. Can't judge the 4EAT by this trans to much, it is a very early version, and this particular one was thrashed on before I got the car.
May 4, 200718 yr 91 Legacy LS wagon. 210,000 km (mostly city). Original automatic, no repairs. (I'd still rather have a manual though)
May 5, 200718 yr :Flame:WEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!! *sry I just love this new emote icon* ... Been a while since I said "HI!" to alot of ya, so "HI!" Sorry, back on topic, right ... I have a '91 Legacy Sport Sedan (turbo) and it's old tranny was full of metal at about the 150k mark, but I got a N/A motors' tranny to replace it, and it's got something like 140k on it I think, so it should last a while, turbos are harder on them I hear, and btw ... the old tranny didn't "fail" it was just needing to be warmed up a while in the morning b4 it would shift, and I replaced it as a precaution mostly, well I got the car back from the guy who was buying it ... long story .. but it's going to be for sale here soon (just have a few minor things to iron out, gas gauge, power antannae, and an odd "hum" from the front end I have yet to identify ... but soon it should be something I can sell an hopefully get caught-up from the 2 mons I was too sick to work ... might have it here soon if I have trouble selling it locally .. anyhow, good tranys .. just have to know their limits, (read not driving them like Freerange (Nells) does :-p )
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