Financed Subaru Forester 2.5i with dead CVT transmission

Asked by Brad_234 May 25, 2019 at 04:16 PM about the 2014 Subaru Forester 2.5i Limited

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

I have a 2014 Subaru Forester 2.5i.  I have changed the oil on it before, but
when I did it this last time, I accidentally drained the transmission fluid (the
two plugs are only a few inches apart) and not realizing my mistake, put my
5 quarts of oil in and backed the car off the ramps. The next morning, I went
to drive, and made it about 20 feet down the driveway when all the lights
came on.  I tried backing up but had no transmission power.  I coasted down
the hill to a place to park.  Realizing what I had done, I had the car towed to
a shop.  They filled/serviced the transmission, drained and properly filled the
oil, but on test drive, the transmission is shuddering hard and not shifting
gears.

My problem is that I currently owe about $12k on the vehicle still (I am under
water on the loan) and the dealership is quoting $8-9k for new CVT.  I have a
shop that quoted me $2400 for labor to install a used CVT, but still looking at
a total of around $5-6k, depending on the cost of used CVT that can be
found.

It has 135k miles on it and KBB is about $7k.  

It seems stupid to sink almost $6k for a used CVT into a car that is only
worth $7k (knowing that the used CVT may vary well have the notorious
problems of CVT transmissions as well) and even more foolish to put a new
CVT in at the dealership.

I'm mad that Subaru would put the two plugs so close together, and pissed
that they made a transmission that is so delicate that it is trashed after
driving a few feet without fluid.  Yes, I know that is never good, but seriously?

I feel like I am royally up s*** creek on this situation, but I thought I would
reach out for any advice.  

2 Answers

You really can't blame Subaru for this. Shop around as the installation price is too high. All cars are "delicate" when you run them without oil.

2 people found this helpful.

Your Answer:

Forester

Looking for a Used Forester in your area?

CarGurus has 24,066 nationwide Forester listings starting at $2,250.

ZIP:

Own this car?

Share your experience with others.

2014 Subaru Forester

Review another car

CarGurus Experts

  • #1
    Chris W
    Reputation
    11,400
  • #2
    TheSubaruGuruBoston
    Reputation
    9,790
  • #3
    Nick Eidemiller
    Reputation
    6,220
View All

Know more, shop wisely

Search

Related Models For Sale

Used Subaru Outback
1,340 Great Deals out of 40,044 listings starting at $2,449
Used Subaru Crosstrek
645 Great Deals out of 27,325 listings starting at $5,995
Used Toyota RAV4
2,012 Great Deals out of 29,029 listings starting at $1,450
Used Honda CR-V
2,119 Great Deals out of 41,460 listings starting at $1,500
Used Subaru Impreza
348 Great Deals out of 7,776 listings starting at $1,950
Used Mazda CX-5
1,254 Great Deals out of 39,689 listings starting at $4,495
Used Toyota 4Runner
1,232 Great Deals out of 17,903 listings starting at $1,800
Used Toyota Highlander
1,415 Great Deals out of 18,949 listings starting at $2,490
Used Subaru Legacy
337 Great Deals out of 7,075 listings starting at $499
Used Toyota Tacoma
2,055 Great Deals out of 33,945 listings starting at $2,990
Used Honda Pilot
1,059 Great Deals out of 29,093 listings starting at $1,200
Used Nissan Rogue
2,112 Great Deals out of 56,839 listings starting at $950
Used Honda Accord
1,510 Great Deals out of 30,010 listings starting at $1,250
Used Hyundai Tucson
1,073 Great Deals out of 27,973 listings starting at $2,900

Used Cars for Sale

2024 Subaru Forester For Sale
64 Great Deals out of 10,954 listings starting at $24,803
2023 Subaru Forester For Sale
73 Great Deals out of 1,228 listings starting at $23,844
2022 Subaru Forester For Sale
79 Great Deals out of 824 listings starting at $16,995
2021 Subaru Forester For Sale
207 Great Deals out of 2,939 listings starting at $12,499
2020 Subaru Forester For Sale
107 Great Deals out of 1,257 listings starting at $10,550

Content submitted by Users is not endorsed by CarGurus, does not express the opinions of CarGurus, and should not be considered reviewed, screened, or approved by CarGurus. Please refer to CarGurus Terms of Use. Content will be removed if CarGurus becomes aware that it violates our policies.