What I remember of the manual is the "AT oil temp" indicator lights when
your Auto transmission fluid temperature is higher than what is deemed
comfy. Drive at a reduced speed (50 mph or below) and avoid any extraneous
loads on the tranny, such as towing, or holding yourself on a hill using the
transmission instead of breaks (it must sound almost silly, but my sister
uses her transmission instead of breaks when stopped on an incline quite
often). The manual did not make this out to be a super-unusual case, but,
to be extra careful when you do receive the warning. I don't remember
anything about the indicator flashing, but it's been a while since I read
that part so maybe that's the normal function when lit.
I would venture your driving style or conditions could be factors in
receiving such an indicator, but wouldn't rule out low fluid or failing
cooling aperatus as possible sources. Might be worth taking to a Soob
dealer to ask about, or a trusted transmission shop before any serious
damage occurs. Subaru transmissions are not cheap, not that other brands
are so much more affordable!
Because the transmission oil is cooled by a small radiator in the front
of the car, unless malfunctioning, I would suspect that driving reasonably
will keep better oil flow throughout the system and help reduce the
temperature of the oil more than pulling off to the side of the road. This
is of course barring any unusual, unforseen harbinger of doom that could be
causing the oil temperature to rise.
Ever have the oil in your transmission checked / changed? It's a
recommended practice, just as you change the oil in your motor, but not as
often. (-; A girl who works where I do had her transmission grenade on
her. High mileage vehicle, severe service driving, and from my
understanding, the fluid wasn't changed in some 120,000 + miles. Not a
Subaru though so YMMV.
You mention you can't pull any codes off "it." Any check engine codes?
Was outside ambient temperature unusually high when the indicator lit? Were
you driving a steep grade? Did you have the transmission in low gear, and
run the motor at higher revs for an extended period? Any seemingly unusual
movement of the tach before / after the AT oil temp indicator began
flashing? Any funny noises? Any services performed on the car recently? I
suppose a service shop could even have put incorrect fluid in the
transmission, and the fluid is not performing well.
By "hard shift", do you mean that the transmission went "clunk" rather
hard after being placed into Park, or that you have difficulty in moving the
shift lever to the Park position? Before attempting to shift the
transmission into Park, did you first set the parking brake? If nobody
elses', this practical procedure is at least in my user's manual. If your
fluid was still overheating I would speculate viscosity could be reduced,
but I do not know if this could influence moving the shift lever into the
Park position.
~Brian
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