Wonder where they're getting the 10k # from....
factory new cvt
Sorry to hear, hope you can get it righted.

 

They probably meant factory new. Don't know for sure. I don't hear about CVT's being rebuilt much, but only replaced. I ordered a solenoid off eBay:

Pardon Our Interruption...

Its a $71 test basically. Compared to a $10k new trans installed on a car with "other problems".

To Subaru's credit, I've maintained my mother's 2016 Outback 2.5L since about 30k miles and its really nice, running well at about 100k miles.

This Crosstrek was a lemon from a shady used car dealer, I think.

I think it had known problems when it was sold. Oil in the coolant.

I did the head gasket myself a couple years ago, using a machine shop for a couple things.

But still more problems... so sad... I recommended to him a AWD highlander... don't stone me here at XV Forum....

 

p0971 subaru cvt - Search (bing.com)

 

@CRAZYHAWK

There are videos on YouTube of people replacing only the solenoid.

Remanufactured valve bodies I was looking at are about 400. Or Subaru genuine about 800.

2013-2014 XV Crosstrek 2.0L TR580 CVT Transmission Complete Valve Body 31825AA050 31825AA052 31825AA051 Generic

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31825AA050 - Subaru Parts Deal

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But if there's more damage to the whole transmission, or anything else, why drop 400?

For $71 solenoid, I'm going to test drive it and see what the difference is. I don't think the owner wants to drop 10K or 5.8 k on this car.

The valve body is on top of the transmission on the TR580 so I would not have to drain the fluid to do this.

 

@77'911 Do you own a 1977 Porsche 911?

 

Sunroof coupe.

 

@77'911

Fun =)

And you're on XV Forum so I surmise you are a boxer engine lover?

 

@77'911

Fun =)

And you're on XV Forum so I surmise you are a boxer engine lover?

Yep, have a 986 boxster as a daily. The Crosstrek is my family member's.

 

Hello I have a relative's 2013 Subaru Crosstrek with a CVT issue. It's got the p0971 solenoid C high pressure code.

A transmission shop said a complete new replacement is recommended at $10K. Or a used replacement would be $5.8k.

The car is at 111k miles. Purchased used at 81K miles.

I test drove it and the code did come on, and the transmission/engine does seem to not be giving full power. Traction control light came also. There were some noises also at low speed turning.

I researched and the solenoid C code is the AWD solenoid in the valve body. The valve body is on the top of the transmission on the TR580. It's the 3 to 4.5 ohm solenoid. eBay like 80 bucks.

I was either going to replace the valve body with a complete remanufactured valve body, or just the solenoid.

Since more of the transmission may be damaged, I was opting to just replace the solenoid for $80 to see how it drives, and if the code comes back. And go from there.

Just wondering if anyone has any experience or advice or places to point to for information.

Thank you

I was told to replace the valve body on my 2013 and fixed it myself in less than an hour with a solinoid from Amazon. Car is running great. I have over 206,000 miles on the car. The sound turning at low speeds is likely just the limit slip in the transmission/front differential. I have had it on all 3 of my past Subaru cars.

 

Yeah I figured why I spend $400 on a valve body if a solenoid is bad. Throwing out that huge chunk of metal.

I bought my solenoid from eBay. The seller had both aftermarket and genuine solenoids. I contacted him. This one is the orange and black wires for the AWD.

Pardon Our Interruption...

I've replaced the solenoid in the valve body, and reinstalled the valve body, but I have not completely reassembled everything, and I need to get CVT fluid because I drained it all out. Also I want to remove the transmission pan and clean the metal detrius, and get a paper gasket by Transtech. I've used one before on an outback.

Transtec B11610 Transmission Pan Gasket (fiber) Tr580 09-17 for sale online | eBay

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@RatRod69 less than an hour? That's champ level.

 

I’m a little scared but ready to dive into this repair. Just can’t bring myself to drop $1800 at the dealer to have them replace the valve body. Thanks for the pics and details.

 

I have been restoring cars, trucks and motorcycles for nearly 40 years.

 

@RatRod69

What's parts of the restoration do you do, and what do you outsource?

Well, I hope my results are the same as yours: 206k miles. This one is currently at 111k miles-- and since this is a relative's first used car purchase, he is very attached to it. =)

206k miles, at this point, would be a victory, seeing that he was quoted $10k for a new transmission, and was very close to pulling the trigger, until I talked some sense into him. It was purchased for $17k with 81k miles, so it would end up being a lemon money pit car if it needs a new transmission.

Any Subaru specific knowledge on how replacing the whole valve body can be useful with a known bad solenoid code P0971? I know the fluid channels can have issues with metallic debris in the fluid. Buy any real life knowledge on the benefits of replacing the whole valve body? $800 Subaru OEM, $400 reman.

I just dropped the trans pan, first time ever for this car, and its magnetic donut had quite a lot of metal detritus. Also underneath the valve body there was quite a bit of metal detritus, but it didn't seem super abnormal. I tried to clean it out. Happy to get that metal out before I put Lucas CVT in it and try to flush the torque converter a bit before its done.

 

My car behaved completely different after changing my trans filter. It's like a new car lol.

I dont outsource anything. I build engines, Trans, upholstery, body, paint, etc etc.

 

@RatRod69 Damn, you do paint too? you have a room setup? crazy. fun.

The filter on the TR580 CVT is inside not easily serviceable, I believe. There's a screen on the bottom though under the pan.

 

My car behaved completely different after changing my trans filter. It's like a new car lol.

I dont outsource anything. I build engines, Trans, upholstery, body, paint, etc etc.

 

I was told by a Subaru parts department that this was a screen not a filter and that the filter is internal.

But this one looks pretty dirty so I should probably replace it.

 

Some subaru transmissions have a small canister filter on the outside. Looks just like a small oil filter. In my book, if you opened the transmission to access that, it's internal. Call it a filter when you order it online.

 

@RatRod69 "In my book, if you opened the transmission to access that, it's internal." That's a good point.

But I meant more "opening up the whole transmission type of internal" which requires removing the whole transmission as well, as far as I know.

Transmission pan is pretty easy. Transmission filters are a common replacement when they are under the pan.

The one below on a TR580 is called a "strainer":

"Some Subaru transmissions have a small canister filter on the outside. Looks just like a small oil filter." Wish this one did as well, because it most likely needs it, and it would probably improve the driving like in your case.

A relatives 2012 odyssey had the 6-speed version with an external transmission filter, easy replacement, while the 2012 odyssey 5-speeds had internal non serviceable transmission filters. I cut it open too to see how dirty it was (@ 105k miles).

I've never rebuild or removed a transmission. I do have a trans jack though.

But I am willing to remove this TR580 and replace it with a used eBay one, in the case that nothing I do will fix it. Instead of my relative dropping $10K at a trans shop.

 

Also anybody have knowledge on how to drain the torque converter tr580?

 

I have a 2016 Forester with a TR580 that threw this code on my wife and the dash lit up like a Christmas tree. We immediately parked it and I started testing the solenoids after reading up on the issue. The AWD solenoid is showing 11.8 ohms and should be 2-4. All others tested within range. Any idea if there is a quality replacement on Amazon I can get quickly? I looked at the aftermarket valve bodies on Amazon and Ebay but they look to be cheap China stuff and reviews were very poor. Its my wife's daily driver so I'd like to replace the solenoid with a quality part. Would like to get her back on the road so she can quit driving my truck, lol. Any suggestions appreciated.

 

Dorman are manufacturing quality ones now. Yo I should be able to search for them quite easily and pick one up your side. They are the best on the market for those aftermarket solenoids.

 

@Kcross47601

The link I gave above is a genuine solenoid.

Genuine

Pardon Our Interruption...

I contacted the seller to ask him about it. Its installed, and working fine. I test drove it twice, second time a lot harder.

I also used 8 quarts of Lucas CVT fluid. So I am going to do a CVT fluid flush when more Lucas CVT gets here to get all the old Subaru OEM fluid out.

But it ran great, no more P0971 code, no more weak acceleration. No more traction control light coming on. And the Solenoid definitely was bad, 250 ohms resistance.

I am surprised. It shipped quick. I would not hesitate to use that part above. I can't vouch for any other parts, but I was looking around on amazon and ebay, also. Also I read that TransGo sells OEM solenoids to businesses, but I could not find them listed.

There's a picture above with both new and old solenoids next to each other.

There are 4 solenoids on the valve body, they are not all the same, you have to get the right one, with the right resistance.

The standard method is to replace the whole valve body. OEM is like $850, reman is like $450. You could go the safe route and just get a whole new valve body with all new solenoids.

 

I’ve got the same issue, P0971 code. I’m considering replacing the solenoid too. Looking at the link to that solenoid on eBay, it says that it would not fit my 2017 Crosstrek. Do you know how I can look up the specific transmission model number so I know if this solenoid will work for me?

 

Speaking of doing a fluid flush, I don't know which CVT cooler hose is which, so I was just going to take them both off and hose both into a bucket when I am flushing the torque converter.

 

Update:

Crosstrek is back to its owner.

Finished getting the Lucas CVT fluid into the trans (35-45 C temp method), and getting most of the old OEM fluid out. Did front and rear diff fluid and oil change + air filters. Ran great, test drove it 100+ miles last night. No codes. Shifted fine. Power delivery seemed normal. Thanks to all who helped, especially @RatRod69. Glad I could find a OEM solenoid on eBay to fix this. Thanks Suby DIYers.

For those with similar problems, a solenoid or valve body replacement can solve the problem. But I would HIGHLY recommend that the transmission pan is removed, and the pan and magnet are cleaned from metal detritus in the process. Paper gaskets are available, you don't have to do the liquid gasket. Also some aftermarket CVT fluids may perform better, so you may want to get a better CVT fluid in there along the way.

 

How did you determine that the Lucas CVT fluid is better than OEM? Any independent tests or anything you can point me to?

 

Update on the wife's Forester. I replaced the solenoid with the one from Ebay mentioned above. It was reading the right ohms at 3.0 and after installing it and putting everything together, I warmed up the unit and added fluid. After road testing, no current codes were present. Wife started driving it again and after 4 days. All dash lights came back. Tested and gave p0700 and p0974 which indicates possible fluid level issue. Checked fluid level and seemed overfill when warm from driving. Let a little drain out, and reset. I drove it a few days and after 40 miles, the p0700 and p0974 codes came back. Should I just bite the bullet and replace the valve body?? Thanks for the help guys.

 

I don't know but I know that you should not take it to a regular transmission shop but take it to a Subaru dealer for a diagnosis even though it's $200 they know way more about their cars

 

I did not have the p0700 code so I can't be of too much help to you I only had the other code

 

Even if you do the work yourself getting a really really good diagnosis is worth its weight in gold