WARNING: If you changed your transmission fluid, please read

[MrBodyMassage]

I hope this is an isolated case, and I think it might be since I don't recall having read this anywhere else on the forum. Regardless, I just had my clutch, pressure plate, throwout bearing, and input shaft seal replaced at the dealer under warranty. I have a 2013 BRZ 6 speed with 33,000 easy, mostly highway, miles on the odometer.

My clutch started slipping 1,000 miles ago. I baby my car, have never tracked it, and only have an intake and exhaust on it. I have driven manuals for a decade, and my technique is fine. I replaced the transmission fluid with Pentosin about 10,000 miles ago. When I took it into the dealer for the clutch slipping, they tore it down to reveal transmission fluid on the pressure plate and clutch. The input shaft seal was leaking fluid. The fluid was a different color than stock, so Subaru cried foul. The service manager went to bat for me and said that the stock fluid had just changed color over time. Subaru was concerned that non-stock transmission fluid will leak past seals, trying to pin the blame on that. Service manager could not tell if the seal was to blame or the fluid was actually too thin.

Shorter version: front input shaft seal leaked Pentosin transmission fluid onto clutch disk causing slip. Subaru begrudgingly replaced under warranty after convincing. Subaru thinks that any fluid other than factory will possibly leak past seals, causing clutch slip. Had service manager not helped they would have denied my warranty claim.

[coyote]

Manufacturers monitor these kinds of forums.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk

[jvincent]

If the Pentosin that you used matches the specifications for the transmission fluid, then there is no issue.

Subaru cannot mandate only Subaru factory fluid. They can mandate fluid that meets certain specs.

[xwd]

Ding ding ding. As long as the Pentosin bottle lists the grades they put in the manual, Subaru can go pound sand. I've been using the same Pentosin fluid for over two years now, albeit only 11K miles, and had no issues.

[N1rve]

If subaru mandates that only OEM subaru fluid could be used, it has to be provided if there is no equivalent. There's a law for that, I forgot which one.

[MrBodyMassage]

Originally Posted by coyote

Manufacturers monitor these kinds of forums.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk

Yes they do, which is why no dealer specifics are mentioned. And hopefully they monitor the next post below yours...

Originally Posted by jvincent

If the Pentosin that you used matches the specifications for the transmission fluid, then there is no issue.

Subaru cannot mandate only Subaru factory fluid. They can mandate fluid that meets certain specs.

My thoughts exactly. Just wanted to post this up to let people know of my experience.

[AJPG]

Or the seal have some defect or it was overfill. Anyway if it is only the seal (and clutch due to contamination) shouldn't be to expensive.

[Norton 850]

Originally Posted by MrBodyMassage

Subaru thinks that any fluid other than factory will possibly leak past seals, causing clutch slip.

Now that's the most ridiculous excuse for a leaky seal I've ever heard!

So, if "thin" fluid leaks past the seal, then to fix it all the Dealer would have to do is drain and refill the transmission with "thicker" fluid. But they didn't do this fix, because it's the seal, not the fluid at fault. This is absolutely laughable!

The problem is the lousy AISIN transmission. This has to be the worst manual transmission, in terms of shifting performance and now leaky seals, that I've ever shifted. And I've been shifting manual transmissions since 1970.

[DJCarbine]

Originally Posted by Norton 850

The problem is the lousy AISIN transmission. This has to be the worst manual transmission, in terms of shifting performance and now leaky seals, that I've ever shifted. And I've been shifting manual transmissions since 1970.

I've only been shifting transmissions for 12 years or so, but have had the pleasure of daily driving everything from a 60's ford toploader 3 speed to more modern BMW ZF boxes. The AISIN has been a pretty good transmission to me so far

[Sportsguy83]

@jabbathewhat

[CamryDS]

wow -- what a load of crock from subaru

[Kuros]

Thin fluid leaking by seals lol.

I don't understand why SOA has become such a pain to deal with over the last few years.

[Griever423]

Originally Posted by Kuros

Thin fluid leaking by seals lol.

I don't understand why SOA has become such a pain to deal with over the last few years.

I'd blame it on the ignorance of the general public when it comes to maintaining a vehicle. That and vehicles becoming more complex and finicky than before.

[Dezoris]

Subaru makes me limp. Sometimes wish I never bought this pile because of their post purchase support and attitude. It's insulting the lengths they go to create BS excuses for everything.