@SVXCESS... excellent post!
Personally though, I'll take exception with Subaru's claim that it's maintenance free. Perhaps they feel that by the time the filter is plugged with foreign material, the 4EAT is toast anyways. Perhaps they thought that requiring the filter to be changed on a regular basis would leave them culpable for repair cost further on down the road. Who knows?
I recently purchased a brand new John Deere. Imagine my shock when I read the warrantee.. 120 hours. Yup, that's right, if I use it 40 hours a week, it has a three week warrantee. In the manual, it says the hydro-static trans-axle is "sealed for life" and is "maintenance free". According to several forums, I can expect 150 hours of hard use out of it, and about 300 if I'm semi gentle. However, if I drain out the cheap dino oil ( which requires removing the trans - axle, because it was made non serviceable ) and put in a premium synthetic, and change it every 100 hours, it should have a minimum service life of well over 1000 hours.
My long winded point.. lol.. Manufacturers, Subaru included, well, I wouldn't actually call them liars. Let's just say they shade the truth in their favour.
"Never needs service under normal driving conditions" belongs right beside the other term " Your mileage may vary"
"Under normal conditions" .. .. I never would have dreamed I would have ( then ) bought 16 year old car, with 140,000 miles on it.
Lost in the mix was the OP's original question "Anyone do this?"
Yes, I do.. And IMHO, I think it would be only fair, as it's a possibility that Subaru shaded the truth about " Maintenance Free" , that you should probably change it soon, and then again every ummm let's say every ten years from here on in.. Just as a precaution..
