2015 Forester 580 Valve Body / Toque Converter Solenoid Issues

[Fsk8er91]

Having an issue where all the lights on the dash came on including AT temp light. The car started driving poorly we pulled over let cool got back home a few miles safely. Determined torque converter solenoid was bad had very high resistance around 50 ohms.

Replaced the torque converter solenoid with an aftermarket Ebay replacement that was correct spec 12.5 ohms. (I now also have a spare replacement as a bought 2)

Car drove ok for a few weeks. Fast forward the car is back to trying to lurch when stopped in drive, and does not accelerate rpms jumpy and doesnt seems like it’s shifting through gears properly only when warmed up, first 10 mins of driving cold everything feels and performs ok.

Its at 170k purchased at 33k and have never serviced the transmission fluid. Do you think we should start with transmission fluid level or just start by completely draining and refilling?

I ohmed out the solenoids back to grey wires at the outside of the valve body in an effort to not have to take everything apart again. I get the following readings cold

Grey - Orange 15.6
Grey - Purple 17.6
Grey - Green 19

Hot

Grey - Orange 19.5
Grey - Purple 21.5
Grey - Green 23

I would like to avoid swapping the solenoid again as it doesn't seem very far off from specs and seems to steadily increase in resistance as the vehicle warms up.

I am getting no check engine light or transmission lights in the dash and no stored codes with. Obd2 scanner.

Please advise on some direction here.

 

[JustRight]

Sadly, as much as half of the aftermarket parts available today are junk right out of the box. Even OEM parts can be a hit or miss at times. There are an alarming number of knock off parts displaying factory markings available on E-Bay and Amazon. Many techs are leaving the industry because of this. I only use real OEM parts from a verified dealer on our Subi. So far, so good.

 

[Grumpy1950]

Completely draining and refilling is way past due if you are at 170K miles and have never done it before. While Subaru lists the fluid as "lifetime" there is a history of the TR580 not holding up well if the trans fluid is ignored. That said, if you are willing to accept that the fluid is to remain untouched until the transmission fails, the in can be considered "lifetime" - it lasted for the life of the transmission. Transmission fluid for a CVT is quite expensive when compared to conventional transmission fluid, and it appears that Subaru considers it "lifetime" only in the U.S. to reduce the apparent cost of maintenance over the life of the vehicle. In the rest of the world, (including Canada) they recommend regular fluid changes. I have seen recommended intervals as low as every 30 K miles from some source. Most however, recommend every 50 to 60 K. You should have the fluid drained and replaced, but the high mileage may mean there are additional problems now due to extended use of the current fluid.