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Recently changed my CVT fluid in preparation for the summer. I have been performing drain-and-fill every year so far, and filter change x1 when I installed a Mishimoto heavy duty transmission cooler with fan and relay years ago. Only started to monitor the CVT temp recently. Not sure what normal temp range should be, but felt that the temp is still running high (up to 198F) cruising at 75-80mph with outside temp 75-77F after drain-and-fill x1, so I did another drain-and-fill plus filter change.
For Gen1, here are the parts. I ordered additional CVT cooler bolts in case it’s rounded during the removal/install. Remove battery, ECU/battery tray to access 3 of 4 cooler bolts. Remove front drive wheel and pull back fender liner to get to the last bolt.
![190327]()
Make sure to remove the filter O-ring too. New filter comes with O-ring. Filter should sit flush; otherwise, it’ll probably poke out quite abit making it hard to put the cooler back on.
![190328]()
On retrospect, not sure if I should have dipped the filter in CVT fluid prior to install like I do with engine oil, to keep the CVT from "running dry" during the first start... Anyone?
![190329]()
For the cooler O-ring, you can probably re-use it, but I suggest changing it out for good measure. I’ve re-used it last time and had leakage issue. It stopped leaking after tightening all the bolts as hard as I can, and fortunately I didn’t have to do everything all over again. Comparing the old and new O-ring, the old is somewhat flattened and the new bulge out somewhat against the housing surface. This is probably what caused the leak.
![190330]()
Visually, apart from being dark-colored, I don’t see any particles or metal shavings on the old filter. Took the car out on a drive and monitored the temp. Still, seeing 198F when accelerating (outside temp increased to 85F), but felt like the CVT temp drop slightly faster with the cooler fan on (3min vs 8min)? Probably insignificant. Not sure now if it’s worth it to change out the filter vs just drain-and-fill moving forward…
CVT50z listed the “OK” temp range to be 122-192F. But what’s actually OK? My experience has been on the upper range >185-196F cruising at 70mph under ambient temp so far, in the "HOT" territory...
For Gen1, here are the parts. I ordered additional CVT cooler bolts in case it’s rounded during the removal/install. Remove battery, ECU/battery tray to access 3 of 4 cooler bolts. Remove front drive wheel and pull back fender liner to get to the last bolt.
Make sure to remove the filter O-ring too. New filter comes with O-ring. Filter should sit flush; otherwise, it’ll probably poke out quite abit making it hard to put the cooler back on.
On retrospect, not sure if I should have dipped the filter in CVT fluid prior to install like I do with engine oil, to keep the CVT from "running dry" during the first start... Anyone?
For the cooler O-ring, you can probably re-use it, but I suggest changing it out for good measure. I’ve re-used it last time and had leakage issue. It stopped leaking after tightening all the bolts as hard as I can, and fortunately I didn’t have to do everything all over again. Comparing the old and new O-ring, the old is somewhat flattened and the new bulge out somewhat against the housing surface. This is probably what caused the leak.
Visually, apart from being dark-colored, I don’t see any particles or metal shavings on the old filter. Took the car out on a drive and monitored the temp. Still, seeing 198F when accelerating (outside temp increased to 85F), but felt like the CVT temp drop slightly faster with the cooler fan on (3min vs 8min)? Probably insignificant. Not sure now if it’s worth it to change out the filter vs just drain-and-fill moving forward…
CVT50z listed the “OK” temp range to be 122-192F. But what’s actually OK? My experience has been on the upper range >185-196F cruising at 70mph under ambient temp so far, in the "HOT" territory...
