MY 94 SUBARU SVX TRANSMISSION WILL NOT MOVE IN ANY GEAR. VERY COSTLY TO REPAIR SUBARU SHOULD PAY. POOR DESIGN IN TRANSMISSION *TR
1994 Subaru Svx
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
Limited comparison data
There is not enough comparable history to draw a useful model-year comparison.
About this comparison →How this year compares
Owner complaints by model year
Compare all Svx years →Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.
What owners reported most
All reported categories
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When problems were reported
Mileage at the reported incident
Limited mileage data: 6 of 28 reports include usable mileage. There isn’t enough coverage to show a useful chart.
NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.
What to inspect
Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.
- Power Train. Review the 22 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Service Brakes, Hydraulic. Review the 2 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Suspension. Review the 2 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
What owners actually said
28 reportsMY SUBARU SVX TRANSMISSION RECENTLY STARTED SUFFERING A DELAY WHEN SHIFTING GEARS, HIGH REVS AND SLIPPING WHILE SHIFTING AND JUST NOW I TRIED TO DRIVE IT AND A CLUNKING SOUND HAPPENED WHEN PUTTING THE CAR IN REVERSE. NOW IT WON'T GO IN TO REVERSE AT ALL, ALSO, 1ST GEAR DOESN'T WORK HALF THE TIME AND THE REST OF THE FORWARD GEARS…
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MY SUBARU SVX TRANSMISSION RECENTLY STARTED SUFFERING A DELAY WHEN SHIFTING GEARS, HIGH REVS AND SLIPPING WHILE SHIFTING AND JUST NOW I TRIED TO DRIVE IT AND A CLUNKING SOUND HAPPENED WHEN PUTTING THE CAR IN REVERSE. NOW IT WON'T GO IN TO REVERSE AT ALL, ALSO, 1ST GEAR DOESN'T WORK HALF THE TIME AND THE REST OF THE FORWARD GEARS SEEM TO SLIP SEVERELY MOST OF THE TIME TOO. THE CAR HAS LOW MILEAGE, AND I HAVE NOT HAD ANY TROUBLE WITH IT BEFORE. TROUBLE STARTED MAYBE A FEW DAYS AGO.. THE HEAT TRANSMISSION INSTALLED IN THE SUBARU SVX AND LEGACY MODELS SUFFER FROM A SEVERE COOLING PROBLEM. THE RADIATOR BASED TRANSMISSION COOLER CAN NOT COOL THE TRANSMISSION FLUID COOL ENOUGH. THE TRANSMISSIONS POOR DESIGN DOES NOT ALLOW THE LUBRICANT TO FLOW THROUGH IT TO KEEP PARTS LUBRICATED(THUS MORE FRICTION AND HEAT DAMAGE). UNUSUAL HIGH OVERDRIVE PLACES ADDITIONAL SIDE LOADS ON BEARINGS GENERATING HEAT. THE ALL-WHEEL-DRIVE SYSTEM PUTS EVEN MORE STRAIN ON THE TRANSMISSION CAUSING EVEN MORE HEAT. THIS PROBLEM IS OF EPIDEMIC PROPORTION SO COMMON AMONG OVER 90% OF THESE CARS MANUFACTURED. SUBARU IS AWARE OF THE MANUFACTURING AND ENGINEERING DEFECTS IN THE TRANSMISSIONS FOR ALL SVX MODELS. ALMOST ALL SVX OWNERS, EVERY WEBSITE, AND EVEN YOUR OWN COMPLAINT FILES ARE AWARE OF THIS MAJOR DEFECT AND SPECIFIC PROBLEMS WITH THE TRANSMISSIONS. SUBARU HAS DONE NOTHING IF ANYTHING TO CORRECT THIS PROBLEM. THIS PROBLEM IS WIDESPREAD AND THE MANUFACTURER KNOWS ABOUT IT. AT THE VERY LEAST I NEED SUBARU TO REPLACE MY DEFECTIVE TRANSMISSION WITH A NEW ONE UPGRADED WITH HIGH CLUTCH DRUM AND THRUST BEARINGS, NEW REVERSE CLUTCH STEEL PLATES, MODIFIED TRANSMISSION CASE, OIL PUMP GASKET AND TRANSFER CLUTCH DRIVEN PLATE, A TRANSMISSION OIL FILTER KIT AND AN AFTER TRANSMISSION OIL COOLER AND WARRANTY IT. THIS CAR IS TOO EXPENSIVE TO FIX THE DAMAGE FROM THEIR DEFECTIVE DESIGN AND UNUSUALLY HIGH COST COMPARED TO OTHER TRANSMISSIONS. *TR
STARTED OUT AS 3RD AND 4TH SLIPPING, AND AFTER BABYING IT FOR A WEEK OF GOING TO WORK AND BACK HOME IT WILL NO LONGER HOLD 3RD OR 4TH. AFTER DOING RESEARCH IT HAS BEEN FOUND THAT THE 4EAT HAS ABOUT AS MUCH ISSUES AS THE PINTO (WITHOUT THE EXPLODING). EVERY OWNER OF THE SVX AND A 4EAT HAS SUFFERED THIS IN ONE FORM OR ANOTHER. …
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STARTED OUT AS 3RD AND 4TH SLIPPING, AND AFTER BABYING IT FOR A WEEK OF GOING TO WORK AND BACK HOME IT WILL NO LONGER HOLD 3RD OR 4TH. AFTER DOING RESEARCH IT HAS BEEN FOUND THAT THE 4EAT HAS ABOUT AS MUCH ISSUES AS THE PINTO (WITHOUT THE EXPLODING). EVERY OWNER OF THE SVX AND A 4EAT HAS SUFFERED THIS IN ONE FORM OR ANOTHER. THE LEGACY'S WERE RECALLED AND REPAIRED, BUT WHAT ABOUT THE SVX? FOR A $30-$40K MSRP FROM THE DEALER, YOU WOULD ASSUME THEY WOULD TREAT THESE CARS WITH A BIT MORE CLASS IN THIS SITUATION. TOP IT ALL OFF, I ONLY HAVE 58K MILES ON MY 94. *NM
I HAD TRANSMISSION FAILURE OF THE 3RD AND 4TH GEARS THAT STARTED OUT AS GEARS SLIPPING, THEN THE TRANSMISSION STOPPED SHIFTING TO 3RD AND 4TH ALL TOGETHER. I DID NOT DO ANYTHING TO FIX THE PROBLEM BECAUSE IT IS TOO EXPENSIVE. I HAD TO BUY ANOTHER CAR JUST TO GET TO AND FROM WORK SINCE IT WAS CHEAPE, AND I HAVE BEEN LETTING THE…
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I HAD TRANSMISSION FAILURE OF THE 3RD AND 4TH GEARS THAT STARTED OUT AS GEARS SLIPPING, THEN THE TRANSMISSION STOPPED SHIFTING TO 3RD AND 4TH ALL TOGETHER. I DID NOT DO ANYTHING TO FIX THE PROBLEM BECAUSE IT IS TOO EXPENSIVE. I HAD TO BUY ANOTHER CAR JUST TO GET TO AND FROM WORK SINCE IT WAS CHEAPE, AND I HAVE BEEN LETTING THE CAR SIT IN MY DRIVEWAY.*AK
WHILE DRIVING 100 MPH TRANSMISSION FAILED. ENGINE REVVED AT A HIGH RATE. THEN, VEHICLE LOST POWER, AND THE CONSUMER HIT A WALL. VEHICLE WAS TOWED. THE DEALERSHIP WAS NOTIFIED, BUT DID NOT RESOLVE THE PROBLEM. *AK
AFTER RESEARCHING ABOUT MY SUBARU SVX, I FOUND OUT THAT THERE IS A CHRONIC PROBLEM WITH THE TRANSMISSION SUBARU PUT IN THESE CARS. THERE IS AN EXTENSIVE FAQ PAGE AT SUBARU SVX.COM AS TO THE REASON FOR THE PROBLEMS. MY CAR WILL NOT TRANSFER IN TO 4TH GEAR AND THE TRANSMISSION RUNS HOT. *JB
JUST ANOTHER DEAD TRANSIMISSION IN MY SVX. IT SEEMS LIKE 116,000-124,000 MILES IS THE LIFETIME OF THESE THINGS (SO MANY DEAD THERE HAVEN'T BEEN ANY NEW TRANSMISSIONS AVAILABLE SINCE 2001) . *AK
1994 SUBARU SVX, HAD A TRANSMISSION FAILURE. THE FAILURE IS WELL KNOWN TO SVX OWNER COMMUNITY. THERE ARE MANY SITES AND ARTICLES THAT ADDRESS THE ISSUE OF THE 4EAT TRANSMISSION FAILING. THE REPAIR OR REPLACEMENT IS VERY COSTLY AND SUBARU SHOULD HELP. *JB
THIS IS OUR THIRD SVX AND ALL THREE HAVE HAD WHEEL BEARING FAILURE.*AK
CONSUMER WAS TRAVELING ABOUT 55MPH ON HIGHWAY AND HEARD A WINDING NOISE COMING FROM UNDERNEATH THE HOOD. WHEN SHE TRIED TO SHIFT VEHICLE, IT WOULD NOTL MOVE. DEALERSHIP WAS AWARE OF PROBLEM. *AK
Official recalls
0No recalls in this snapshot.
Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗
NHTSA investigations
0No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.
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