Subaru Impreza 2013, leaking

[MikeSu]

I have Subaru Impreza 2013 2.0 L, CVT with 65k miles on it.

 

I took my subi to a local autoshop to change the oil and rotate the tires, and the technician called me saying that there is some king of liquid at the bottom of the car. Please see pics attached. I took one drip on my finger: the liquid doesn't have any specific color or smell, yellowish oily substance. The guy told me to take the car to a Subaru dealership, so I did.

 

At the Subaru they lifted the car and 'tested' it. In the report it saying that CVT fluid is leaking from between engine and CVT, and rear seal on the transmission need to be replaced and the cup must be resealed. In order to do it, they need to take CVT unit out of the car, do the job and put it back. The price for the work is $1200.

 

I have a gut feeling that they are trying to rip me off, because I called two other Subaru dealerships and they told me that they never heard of rear seal leak on a CVT transmission before.

 

Charging $1200 to replace $50 part is ridiculous, I'm so not happy with the situation.

 

Please help, what do you think could it be, does it look like what they are saying?

 

Thank you. Mike.

[gbhrps]

MikeSu,

 

From your description and the pictures, the fluid is not engine oil, nor washer fluid, but could it possibly be power steering fluid? Coolant is out because its not the proper colour, as is brake fluid, since any painted parts would have the paint wrinkling off. That leaves CVT fluid.

 

CVT leaks are almost never heard of, as are CVT problems ... very rare. But eliminating the other fluid sources, you are left with the CVT.

 

Some drive train leaks aren't worth fixing, as long as they are slow leaks, are on systems that are non critical,  and they are easy to monitor. An engine oil leak that you top up with a cup of oil between oil changes, and can be checked with the dip stick falls into that category. But a CVT with a leak, that can only be checked from under the car with tools, is one that you can't ignore, as a total CVT replacement is in the $8 000 class or more.

 

It will pay you to take this seriously, get another opinion from a second dealership, and then decide on a course of action. You are just over the drive train warranty of 60 000 miles, but a friendly but firm call to SOA may find a friendly ear and a full or partial fix "in good faith".

 

This shouldn't have occurred, but a vehicle made up of 35 000 parts will occasionally have a bad one.

 

My advice would be to get a second opinion, and if it is the CVT seal, see if you can get SOA to help you out as a goodwill gesture. Good Luck, and keep us posted.

Edited May 12, 2017 by gbhrps