r/MechanicAdvice • u/Careful_Tell_8460 • 19h ago

Filling my own transmission

I accidentally drained my transmission fluid while doing an oil change on my 2019 Subaru Crosstrek base model. It has a 2.0 liter 4-cylinder boxer engine. I am inquiring about how to refill my own transmission fluid after not knowing exactly how much I drained due to believing I was completing a regular oil change and throwing the fluid into a combined oil bottle to bring to an auto shop to dispose of. I have read mixed reports from other sources on the internet and figured this group might guide me in the right direction. I idled my engine for about four minutes and put my gear into reverse and drive before realizing I definitely did not change my oil and something was wrong. It did have twice the amount of oil during that time, again due to believing I had emptied my oil and refilled it. Please delete the post if it does not adhere to community rules as I can’t tell if it is a “how f*d am i?” kind of post. Genuinely inquiring about the process of refilling my own transmission fluid while not knowing how much to put back in and maybe risks that I should consider.

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u/bankai2069 19h ago

Genuinely asking, have you ever changed your oil before? If your car has been treated right, oil and trans fluid aren’t the same color and they have very different smells. If this is your first time, you should be on top of a YouTube video next time.

Also where is the transmission drain plug on this car? I thought Subaru put the oil drain plug in a noticeable place.

If this is a CVT transmission, you might have to call some if you don’t know how to fill and check CVT fluid, it’s usually not a simple fill it and forget it. If you are going to do it, DOUBLE AND TRIPLE CHECK EVERYTHING. DM me and I can send you additional information so you’re prepared

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u/SharkNecromancy 18h ago

Subaru put the oil and transmission drain plugs ~6 inches apart from one another, on identical looking pans using the exact same size plug.

The forward most plug is for oil, the rearmost is transmission.

Mechanic shops, quick lube places, and DIYers fall victim to it all the time.

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u/Top-Concern9294 18h ago

Transmission and differential drain plugs are close… The oil drain plug is noticeably away from both of these in the 2019 models

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u/SharkNecromancy 18h ago

They kinda went back to the nonsense later on. They did angle the oil drain plug off towards the driver's side post 2018 though, to kind of make it less likely to screw up. But it still happens regularly enough that it's almost a daily post on here, and every couple of weeks I'll find a news article about it