My daughter's 2016 Outlander Sport 2.4 SEL is approaching 30k miles. She took it to a local dealer for a recent oil change and tire rotation. When she picked up the vehicle, they recommended a transmission fluid change which she turned down. I looked in the Warranty and Maintenance manual and changing the CVT fluid at 30k miles is only listed under the severe maintenance schedule (Schedule 1) but not in the regular maintenance schedule (Schedule 2). Schedule 2 doesn't even list the need to change the CVT fluid at all. She does not drive the car in severe conditions. Does this vehicle need the CVT fluid and filter changed every 30k miles?

 

Since its a 2016 , I would drain and refill regardless of the milleage , that may help you also if you need to use the warranty on the cvt

 

I think it would be a good idea. Here in Australia the interval is 90000km or 45000 for severe usage., and most travelling here if you read the small print is severe.

We advise at 90000 soiing the oil twice, with a run inbetween to ensure torque convertor gets some clean fluid. Maybe if people stuck to the severe usage at changing it at 45k then it is the same as doing it twice at 90k. And 45000 kms is just under 28000 miles, so you are not far out.

The biggest issue with these transmissions is contamination, the correct oil is J4 for your trans, as it says on the dipstick, and I would never risk any other oil in these CVT's.

 

Awesome! Thank you for explaining the reason. I can do a lot of maintenance work myself, but CVT transmissions scare me. Not sure I would be comfortable working on one. Maybe should leave this one to the pros. Thanks again!

 

Im pretty sure you can, if you can change engine oil you can change CVT oil :-) Do it at ambient temperature to eliminate any guessing. Measure whats coming out, and pour the exact same amount in , its not harder than that , lets go bite the bullet yes you can lol :-)

If you really want to change the external filter under the battery , its also not a big deal .

 

Dealer changed mine last with BG CVT fluid. Wasn’t thrilled about them using non OEM fluid, but it’s been 10k miles with no issues. When asked how the fluid is working out, they said great. Apparently BG will help cover the cost of transmission replacement if it fails due to fluid...

 

As long as you can prove it is down to the fluid...

And by using non genuine fluid in the trans, you have lost all warranty coverage.

These transmissions are fragile enough...

Good luck

 

Forgot to mention, BG uses a flush machine too, so it should exchange more old fluid with new. Here’s the application chart: https://bglsi.com/BGProducts_Oklahom..._Chart-R10.pdf At 15K miles on BG and no issues. 75k total miles. I change the CVT fluid every 30K.