Welcome to the forum. Have it put on a flatbed and taken to a Subie specialist or stealership. If you stuff this up any further you will need to sell your soul to the devil.

 

Your transmission is a TR690 so make 100% sure that NONE of your resources are referring to the other Subaru CVT, which is the TR580. A lot of resources talk about "Subaru CVT" without identifying which one it is, and they are two different transmissions.

Please identify what resources you're using to figure out where the fill hole is. I'm going to add a diagram later in this post when I can find a good one, but I agree with @Wilko1 that your best bet is to let professionals do it. There's a very specific procedure involving temperature etc. But you aren't the first or going to be the last person who drained the transmission instead of the motor oil. Someone has that issue about once every 6 months on this forum.

What fluid are you going to refill it with? The 2020+ Outbacks use a new CVT fluid LV, which is clear/amber for the TR690 and blue for the TR580.

 

In this video for servicing the valve body on the TR690, it shows where the fill plug is at 6:00:

 

Here's another TR690 fill procedure:

 

Even better video! Minute marker is 3:30 if you want to skip to the filler plug removal and fill procedure.

Be sure to replace gasket (seal) on fill plug and tighten to 36.9 ft. lb. And choose the correct fluid!

 

Be aware that older videos may use different fluid, since the guide I posted above shows that different years take different fluids. Details are critical. Because of all the detail involved, I really think you should have a professional do it. The fact that you almost filled the wrong place on your transmission after draining the transmission instead of the engine, makes me worry that you're not the kind of person who is methodical and detail oriented to get it right, and if you make a second mistake it will compound your problem.

 

Wilko1-- This soul is not for sale!

2four-- thank you thank you!


SilverOnyx-- Thank you for the chart and the videos. I realized in my searches early on that Subaru varries a lot sometimes even if it's the same car with just a year's difference. I was trying the best I could to make sure the sources I read were for ONLY 2022 Subaru Outback Limited XT's 2.4L CVT, but there really wasn't much I could find since it's such a new car. So I was trying to find similarities etc and it really wasn't working out.

I wasn't even sure where to look to figure out what transmission I had, it probably would've made my searches much more streamlined. THANK YOU for the transmission model. How do you find that out anyway? I am brand new to Subaru. I'm still young, but I come from a family of enthusiasts of a different brand of cars. It surprises me that cars could be so different between makers. It's intriguing!

The fluid I had a neighbor pick up for me is off-brand. Yes, I did try to research why there seems to be so many people vehemently insisting that Subaru's CVT oil is special and you MUST NOT USE anything else, but I haven't found any posts outright proving that off-brand fluid bricked their car and Subaru's recommendation to use their special fluid is the end-all-be-all. I am not confident in using what I got still, but it's what I have right now.
Here is a link of what I have: COMPLETE Synthetic CVT Fluid - Lubegard

I live in a VERY remote area, nearly off grid, at least 3 hours from any dealer. So buying Subaru's brand formula is a big ask if I'm going to either get a ride, or ask a neighbor to just "pop by" a local dealer for me. Hell, if I was in an actual town, I probably would've already gotten the car towed on a flatbed to a dealer and been done with it. Those darn city people like to charge EXTRA for having to send anyone of their employees up to our area because of the "terrain". The quote I got for a flatbed tow was $500. It hurts. a. lot.

The brand claims it is compatible. I know this makes a lot of people uncomfortable. And the threads I'm seeing make me uncomfortable as well, but I'm on the fence if I should wait and special order direct from Subaru. Waiting is an option for me, but it means risking being stranded in the woods for longer than I'd like.


I am aware that the process of refilling is intricate, but I did measure exactly how much oil I drained out (and bought extra just in case), and have gone through the process very carefully and I'm still confident that I can do this. I have an OBD that monitors real time tranny fluid temps, a new crush ring for the fill hole bolt, a hand pump, a pan to keep under the fill hole for fluid overflowing out as it reaches the right temp, and an extra set of hands.

I know I'm coming off as someone that should not be attempting this procedure myself. The truth of the matter is- I grew up helping my dad fix his cars. My significant other grew up in a family where they pay out the ass for other people to do everything for them. I apparently inspired my boyfriend to try to change his oil by himself for the first time in his life. He attempted this without me there. He drained the tranny. He then came to me and said the car is revving in place and it won't move. I told him to turn the car off immediately and wait while we figure things out.

I was also having my dad go between me and his bona fide Subaru mechanic pal to ask questions. My dad is getting up there in age, but he's all I have to go to with car questions. I sent him pictures of the tranny, and he sent those pictures to the mechanic. Dad swears to me left and right the mechanic said the hole we were looking at IS DEFINITELY the fill hole, it can be nothing else.
I just came back to him with the information that our Subaru mechanic was somehow wrong, and he went back and re-read their messages. Lo and behold, the mechanic never said THAT was the right hole. He said its the wrong hole, and then sent my dad a picture of the back of the tranny where it should be. My dad missed this. He's getting old, and it really sucks. But what can you do?


I'm terrified of destroying this car while trying to fix it, which is why I want ALL the details before I put my hands on it. My bf is the type that gets impatient, and keeps trying the same thing over and over until he breaks something, or he gives up and pays someone else to deal with it. I'm trying to teach him to be a smarter person over things like this, but I think it's hard for him to take it from a girl. Seems like the roles are reversed and that makes him feel weird.




If you want a laugh, here's some god awful things I wish I didn't know/ see my bf do during this nightmare:

• Before we realized he drained the tranny oil instead of the engine oil, he saw that the engine oil dipstick was reading rather high (because it now had 2x the amount of oil it was supposed to have). He took the old tranny oil and poured it "back" into the engine oil hole because he thought it would "push the oil level back down... or something". Yes, we flushed everything out and re-did the engine oil right.
• He admitted to me that when his car was revving in place instead of driving forward in D or reversing in R, he just kept pumping the gas for a while to see if that would "fix it".
• He admitted that he put the car in Neutral, GOT OUT OF THE CAR WITH NO ONE ELSE THERE AND THE PARKING BREAK OFF, and tried pushing it forward "to see if the wheels would turn". The car is parked 6" from a 10' drop off.
• When we got the bolt off what we thought was the fill hole, I went back inside the house to research why it looked so odd. While I was gone, he tried pumping a qt of fluid into it anyway. Then he pumped yet another qt of fluid into it anyway. Then when that wasn't working he suggested we get pliers and "pry out" whatever is blocking that hole. I said no, we're going to stop and think and research more and figure out what we're doing before we break something.

I think I have the mindset to do this. I just need my partner to cooperate and not try and force things to just "work". I was just very confused and had laser vision because my dad insisted that our Subaru mechanic guy promised we had the right hole. I'm trying my best!

 

Here is a link of what I have: COMPLETE Synthetic CVT Fluid - Lubegard

Not compatible. Your TR690 requires the special OEM fluid.

 

I will say it again. It is time to flatbed it to a stealership. If you stuff a CVT with putting the wrong fluid in you are up for many thousands of dollars. We all make mistakes in life, don't let the cost of a flatbed and mechanic costs cloud your judgement. You are in over your head at the moment. Just stop and think this through rationally.

 

It is time to flatbed it to a stealership

I'd take that as sage advice and get it on the way to the dealer as soon as possible.

was also having my dad go between me and his bona fide Subaru mechanic pal to ask questions.

Alternatively, everything you do is akin to rolling dice. I'm hesitant to go with the "friend of my aging Dad who knows something about Subarus" given the potential gravity of the outcome.

was also having my dad go between me and his bona fide Subaru mechanic pal to ask questions.

My bf is the type that gets impatient, and keeps trying the same thing over and over until he breaks something, or he gives up and pays someone else to deal with it.

Sounds like the bf needs to be taken out of the equation perhaps, unless it's his wallet that's backing this fool's errand.

The good side is you can get off the hook for only about $10,000 if his 8th grade experiment goes afoul.

I am active in the Porsche community and watched a fellow do this and buy a $24,000 PDK. . . . it's not like overfilling the oil by a quart.

Choose your gambles carefully. Cheap can come back to bite you right in the keister.

 

It sounds like you are working your way through the problems, which is how we all learn. Good on you for giving it a go.

Please be aware that if you get this wrong, the current quotes for a replacement CVT is $9,000 to $11,000 US dollars.

$500 for a flat bed tow truck is much cheaper than the cost of a replacement CVT.

The reason we suggest you use Subaru transmission fluid is due to the fact that Subaru have extended the warranty on the CVT’s in many of their vehicles to 100,000 miles and ten years BUT there is doubt that they will cover the warranty if genuine Subaru CVT fluid is not used. The extended warranty does NOT currently apply to the 2022 year models but it may in the future.

Seagrass

 

How many miles on that CVT? Can't believe a 2022 needs a drain and fill already unless you are pulling a horse trailer every day.

 

It was accidental. He thought he was draining the oil.

 

I am concerned on the cvt fluid poured into the engine.

Do you have a level surface to jack car up to do the fluid procedure?

 

I wholeheartedly agree - leave this one to the Subaru techs. Tow it (flatbed) to your local dealer and let them fix it. Cut your losses. A mistake was made, it happens, you both are that much more knowledgable.

If you continue to attempt this yourself you may jeopardize your warranty as well. If you let the service department do it, you potentially continue your coverage for the remainder of the 5 years / 60,000 miles.

 

If you want to do this the right way, you can buy 36 hours of access to the Subaru Technical Information System for like $30-ish, download the service manual procedure for replacing CVT fluid in your specific transmission (I have heard the 2020 TR690 layout is a bit different from the last gen TR690), and follow the instructions to the letter. Any scan tool that can read the CVT temp can stand in for the proprietary Subaru scan tool. I've heard plenty of cautionary tales regarding the use of non-Subaru fluid in Subaru CVTs. It's nothing like engine or gear oil where you can buy basically any decent brand of the correct viscosity and be fine - there are so many more factors at play in a CVT. You will have to buy the correct transmission fluid from Subaru (and in 2020 the TR690 moved to a new high-torque, low viscosity fluid), running anything else will almost certainly cause your transmission to fail. Subaru has even specified in their TSBs that use of the last gen's CVT-HT fluid instead of the new HT-CVT-LV fluid will cause damage, that's how precisely engineered these transmissions are to expect very specific fluid characteristics.

The other option is to let the Subaru service department fix the issue.

 

I'm going to agree on the flatbed. Reason being, not that you are in over your head and can't do this yourself, it's that the idiots at Subaru only sell the fluid you need in 5 gallon buckets. So, you are going to drop 3-4 hundred for the fluid anyways if you buy 5 gallons of it. If you are ok with that, go get the 5 gallon bucket and fill it and you'll be set for life on the fluid. It's not rocket science, but your issue is if the fluid was dropped cold/hot and you don't know exactly how much was drained. If it's drained cold, and you know the exact amount, and you add the exact amount back slowly, you'll be good.

 

In another thread, the use of OEM-ONLY fluid for the late model Subaru Lineartronic CVT is further buttressed - in the other user's case it's the TR580 with the blue CVTF-III but it also applies to the TR690 with the clear/amber high torque CVT-LV.

Gen 6 - XT CVT Fluid

Tough deciphering what is what when it comes to CVT fluid other than the 2.5 and 2.4 use a different spec fluid. Is the Amsoil CVTQT-EA the right spec? A good fluid? Okay to top off and mix with OEM? Or, is there something better? OEM only available in 5 gal buckets. TIA

www.subaruoutback.org

 

I must say this story is bordering on unbelievable - first it was "I screwed up", then all of a sudden it was "my bf did it when I wasn't looking"? Then, next chance he gets, he puts 2 quarts of fluid into the hole you originally said wouldn't accept any fluid? And then he wants to remove the thing that's blocking the fluid from getting into the CVT despite having no clue what it is? Maybe I'm reading-challenged but some of this really doesn't seem to add up.

And that aftermarket fluid is advertised for use in "any" CVT, but only 80% of them? How does that math work?

 

I double checked Lubegard's pdf application guide and they don't mention the CVTF-III nor do they mention High Torque LV CVT fluids. They seem to make the incorrect assumption that the TR580 and TR690 prior to 2020 uses the same fluid as 2020+. They also seem to think that the 3.6 engine stopped at 2017 and the 2.4 engine was used from 2018. Very odd. It's full of errors.

 

Two things from me still not mentioned. It's very important to properly torque the wrong bolts you (or your bf) removed, so find out what the TQ is for both, and torque them properly. You have a torque wrench, right? And second, in a little bit of humor (but not that much. Ha ha), I'd dump that bf if he doesn't pay for his entire screw-up... AND promises not to touch your car again. By the way, never heard of somebody putting CVT fluid in the engine, so hope you did the research how to deal with that (how many flushes). Best of luck.

 

Someone here has the shop manual for the 2020+ Outbacks (I don't) but I can find the torque specs for the 2019 version of the TR690 and it's hard for me to imagine that the torque values are different but 🤷‍♂️ If you want me to look it up let me know, or maybe someone with the 2020 version will provide.

Ok I attached a PDF with the torque values for the 2019 TR690's case.

 

Someone here has the shop manual for the 2020+ Outbacks (I don't) but I can find the torque specs for the 2019 version of the TR690 and it's hard for me to imagine that the torque values are different but 🤷‍♂️ If you want me to look it up let me know, or maybe someone with the 2020 version will provide.

Not to derail this thread, but I'm super on the hunt for that manual. STIS seems to prevent me from accessing gen6 stuff, and I can piece together things here and there, but the complete manual would be 👌. I'll probably start a thread once I get desperate enough.

 

I know - it sucks that they don't have a CD you can buy or something, or a single large file to download. While it's true that there are revisions to shop manuals, 99% of it is the same and still 99% useful.

The 2019 manual is 7434 pages.

 

By the way there is a company that claims to have a subscription to download manuals from manufacturers directly (like an STIS subscription) and an automated script to download the entire manual based on your exact VIN and then let you download it for a short period of time.

A couple members have said they used the service successfully but I can't recall who they were or find their posts, and I think we're not allowed to post the guy's website for "factory manuals"

 

Get to the dealership. Why ruin your car. And you clearly will.

 

This sad story illustrates why I don't buy used cars.

 

Hello everyone, sorry for such a late update.
I appreciate the help and advice you all gave, even if it was what I didn't want to hear.

It's been 1 day since I pumped new CVT fluid (the LubeGard one I linked in an earlier comment) into the transmission. I only pumped in the amount that was drained out. I still followed the procedure to a tee, and waited to see if any fluid would spill out after the car got up to temp.

The fill hole was indeed on the back end of the transmission (towards the rear of the car), the exhaust pipe was sort of in the way but it wasn't hard to get around it and have a clear view.

After filling, I took baby steps and drove the car up my driveway. Then up to my mailbox (it's ~2 miles away). Then down the road at highway speeds (60-70mph) and back to my house. The car is running great SO FAR. I'm still expecting something horrible to happen. If I hear/ feel anything off, I'm taking it to the dealer. And I'll update this post if anything goes awry.

I've put 100 miles on the car since I pumped the new fluid into the transmission, and so far it's running smoothly. I'm driving with my windows down so I can hear anything and watching the engine temp meter on the dash. Everything is reading nominal!

 

It's been 1 day since I pumped new CVT fluid (the LubeGard one I linked in an earlier comment) into the transmission. I only pumped in the amount that was drained out. I still followed the procedure to a tee, and waited to see if any fluid would spill out after the car got up to temp.

You are absolutely not supposed to mix CVT fluids. And that one you chose is absolutely NOT compatible.

I've watched this done before with multiple Ascents and helped dealers and owners fix the issues.(your CVT is borrowed from the Ascent design).

I'd bet good money you will have a CVT failure in a few thousand miles. Please report back when you start smelling odd burning smells like brake fluid or ATF burning.

Sad news is, if you wait that long, you WILL need a new CVT.

The damage caused by running the wrong fluid is irreversible in our generation TR690.

Good luck 🤞

 

Thanks for the update and glad it's working ok!