Towing with a Levorg

[Andyk]

Hi.

I have a few questions for people that have owned their Levorg for a while and have used it for towing a caravan or heavy trailer.

I have read mixed comments about the CVT gearbox for towing. What miles or Km have you done with your Levorg and have you had any CVT issues?

Also the UK service schedule says you need the fluid in the CVT and differentials to be changed more regularly if you tow with the Levorg, but is a bit vague on how often. What have you guys done about distance before a transmission oil change?

Many thanks in advance.
Andy

 

[nicodache]

I don't tow. But for the CVT, the dealer states replacement is not needed - this box is apparently sealed from factory.

I did get her a full coolant/diff flush for her 100kkm though (on top of the regular maintenance)

 

[Guvna]

Hi.

I have a few questions for people that have owned their Levorg for a while and have used it for towing a caravan or heavy trailer.

I have read mixed comments about the CVT gearbox for towing. What miles or Km have you done with your Levorg and have you had any CVT issues?

Also the UK service schedule says you need the fluid in the CVT and differentials to be changed more regularly if you tow with the Levorg, but is a bit vague on how often. What have you guys done about distance before a transmission oil change?

Many thanks in advance.
Andy

G’day Andy, I’ve had mine just over 4 years, done just under 90k. Car is rated for 750kg unbraked and 1200kg with brakes and OEM dealer fitted towbar. I tow firewood and camping trailer (not at the same time lol) I go by the original Subaru Levorg Owners manual, it states if you do a lot of towing the CVT fluid should be changed every 45,000km. Also that you DON’T tow in IA mode (up hills), you should tow in Sports or Sports # only. As Australia isn’t flat I always use Sports mode so I don’t have to keep changing the Mode, and this alleviates the risk of me forgetting to change it when I get to a hill, safer for the box. So far the CVT has been great with no issues at all. This should help

 

[Arkatee]

I tow a small caravan and a car trailer with my 1.6, no issues at all. I've done 30k miles. The UK service schedule states all trans oils replace at 40k miles including CVT fluid, I had mine replaced as a precautionary measure at the last service last August at 25k miles. I have a Brink tow bar which I fitted myself. The Levorg tows very well indeed, very stable, and with the CVT it's never in the wrong gear. There's often talk on here of fitting a trans cooler, but the UK version (1.6 turbo, not sure about the 2.0 na) already has one mounted in front of the radiator.

 

[Andyk]

G’day Andy, I’ve had mine just over 4 years, done just under 90k. Car is rated for 750kg unbraked and 1200kg with brakes and OEM dealer fitted towbar. I tow firewood and camping trailer (not at the same time lol) I go by the original Subaru Levorg Owners manual, it states if you do a lot of towing the CVT fluid should be changed every 45,000km. Also that you DON’T tow in IA mode (up hills), you should tow in Sports or Sports # only. As Australia isn’t flat I always use Sports mode so I don’t have to keep changing the Mode, and this alleviates the risk of me forgetting to change it when I get to a hill, safer for the box. So far the CVT has been great with no issues at all. This should help

Thanks, good to hear it is still going with no issues.

Andy

 

[Andyk]

I tow a small caravan and a car trailer with my 1.6, no issues at all. I've done 30k miles. The UK service schedule states all trans oils replace at 40k miles including CVT fluid, I had mine replaced as a precautionary measure at the last service last August at 25k miles. I have a Brink tow bar which I fitted myself. The Levorg tows very well indeed, very stable, and with the CVT it's never in the wrong gear. There's often talk on here of fitting a trans cooler, but the UK version (1.6 turbo, not sure about the 2.0 na) already has one mounted in front of the radiator.

Thanks Arkatee. I fitted my own tow bar as well, I went with a Witter detachable. That was on price but very happy with it. You can't tell at all it is there with the ball detached and the electrical socket swivels behind the bumper.

Can I ask how much they charged for the CVT fluid change in the UK?

 

[Andyk]

G’day Andy, I’ve had mine just over 4 years, done just under 90k. Car is rated for 750kg unbraked and 1200kg with brakes and OEM dealer fitted towbar. I tow firewood and camping trailer (not at the same time lol) I go by the original Subaru Levorg Owners manual, it states if you do a lot of towing the CVT fluid should be changed every 45,000km. Also that you DON’T tow in IA mode (up hills), you should tow in Sports or Sports # only. As Australia isn’t flat I always use Sports mode so I don’t have to keep changing the Mode, and this alleviates the risk of me forgetting to change it when I get to a hill, safer for the box. So far the CVT has been great with no issues at all. This should help

I have my first outing towing end of this month, looking forward to see how it goes. Thanks for the advice on sports mode, good advice.

Andy

 

[Andyk]

I tow a small caravan and a car trailer with my 1.6, no issues at all. I've done 30k miles. The UK service schedule states all trans oils replace at 40k miles including CVT fluid, I had mine replaced as a precautionary measure at the last service last August at 25k miles. I have a Brink tow bar which I fitted myself. The Levorg tows very well indeed, very stable, and with the CVT it's never in the wrong gear. There's often talk on here of fitting a trans cooler, but the UK version (1.6 turbo, not sure about the 2.0 na) already has one mounted in front of the radiator.

I checked my car tonight and the 2.0 non-turbo version still has a transmission oil cooler.

A slightly related question, is there a way to check which CVT transmission is fitted to your car without putting it up on ramps? Also is the TR580 or the TR690 the heavier duty transmission?

 

[Arkatee]

Can I ask how much they charged for the CVT fluid change in the UK?

My trans oils were replaced as part of a full service, the total bill was £420.

A slightly related question, is there a way to check which CVT transmission is fitted to your car without putting it up on ramps? Also is the TR580 or the TR690 the heavier duty transmission?

UK Levorg and Outback have the TR580, the TR690 has a higher torque rating.

 

[Andyk]

Thanks for the information, much appreciated Arkatee

 

[MarkMelbourne]

I tow firewood and camping trailer (not at the same time lol)

Hi Guvna,
May I ask what camper you have? I was looking at a Cub Scout today that technically Levorg can tow (Tare 1113kg, Ball 120kg). Seems like a solid camper but I fear it would dwarf the car. It is literally bigger in all dimensions when packed up.

I also wonder if the OEM Levorg towbar ball height is 'standard' or lower to the ground than (say) Outback or Forester or Hilux. I don't want to end up with the camper pointing down at the front when hitched up.

Yes I'm considering MCA coilovers and specifically mentioning I want to tow (i think you did this?). Thoughts on your experience would be appreciated

 

[Guvna]

Hi Guvna,
May I ask what camper you have? I was looking at a Cub Scout today that technically Levorg can tow (Tare 1113kg, Ball 120kg). Seems like a solid camper but I fear it would dwarf the car. It is literally bigger in all dimensions when packed up.

I also wonder if the OEM Levorg towbar ball height is 'standard' or lower to the ground than (say) Outback or Forester or Hilux. I don't want to end up with the camper pointing down at the front when hitched up.

Yes I'm considering MCA coilovers and specifically mentioning I want to tow (i think you did this?). Thoughts on your experience would be appreciated

G’day Mark, the tow ball on the Levorgs will most definitely sit lower to the ground than the three other vehicles you mentioned, simply because their suspensions are alot higher. I’ve taken a photo of where the towbar comes out of the bumper so you can measure yours to get the height it will be from the ground. No point me measuring mine as I have lowered my suspension a bit.
Actually just thinking about it it’s probably more helpful with a photo with the tongue and ball attached, damn! I’ll take one and edit this post with it after I go out and put it on.
This one will give you an idea for now anyway.

Something else to consider… A question on your camper trailer, is it leaf suspension with a solid straight through axle? If so you can lower the height of it by changing the ‘axle to leaf’ mounts from under the axle to over the axle. That would lower it a couple to a few inches and level it our with the car more, though that would normally limit where you can take it off-road, the Levorg height is already the limiting factor for you so it won’t really matter. If you need to lower more still to get it riding more even you can always change the trailer Tyre size too, just a thought.

 

[MarkMelbourne]

Something else to consider… A question on your camper trailer, is it leaf suspension with a solid straight through axle? If so you can lower the height of it by changing the ‘axle to leaf’ mounts from under the axle to over the axle. That would lower it a couple to a few inches and level it our with the car more, though that would normally limit where you can take it off-road, the Levorg height is already the limiting factor for you so it won’t really matter. If you need to lower more still to get it riding more even you can always change the trailer Tyre size too, just a thought.

Thank-you for the pictures.

The camper has leaf suspension with a shock as well. You have made some excellent suggestions, and I understand the Australian factory can customise the build a bit, so that is well worth investigating.

 

[Guvna]

Thank-you for the pictures.

The camper has leaf suspension with a shock as well. You have made some excellent suggestions, and I understand the Australian factory can customise the build a bit, so that is well worth investigating.
View attachment 1057

You're welcome, customized at the factory sounds like the go to me

 

[MarkMelbourne]

Practical caravan (UK) tow test