How to Check Fluids 2014-17 Subaru Crosstrek
Created on: 2018-01-30
How to check and refill the power steering, brake, and washer fluid, coolant, and engine oil on the 14 Subaru Crosstrek
-
step 1 :Checking the Brake Fluid
- Twist the brake fluid reservoir cap off counterclockwise
- Check the brake fluid level, using a flashlight if necessary
- Check that the brake fluid is between the minimum and maximum lines
- Check that the brake fluid is clear or an almost yellow color
- If the brake fluid is murky or dark, drain and refill it
- Twist the brake fluid reservoir cap on clockwise
-
step 2 :Checking the Washer Fluid
- Pull off the washer fluid reservoir cap
- Check the reservoir has fluid above the MIN line
- Snap on the washer fluid reservoir cap
-
step 3 :Checking the Oil
- Pull out the oil dipstick
- Clean off the oil dipstick
- Insert the oil dipstick
- Pull out the oil dipstick
- Check that the oil level is between the low and full marks
- Insert the oil dipstick
- Twist the oil fill cap off counterclockwise, to add oil
- Add oil as necessary
- Twist the oil cap on clockwise
-
step 4 :Checking the Coolant
- Wait for the engine to cool
- Remove the radiator cap with the engine cool
- Make sure the level is right at the top of the radiator
- Pull the coolant reservoir cap off
- Check the coolant level, using a flashlight if necessary
Tools needed
-
Windshield Washer Fluid
Brake Fluid
Anti-Freeze
Engine Oil
Hi, I’m Mike from 1A Auto. We’ve been selling auto parts for over 30 years!
Open the door. Reach down underneath. There's a little logo here telling you where the hood release is. Pull it down. Going to look for the safety release. It's right here. Push it to the passenger side. Put the prop rod—that's the normal position. There's also a service position, so the prop rod can lift the hood up further. Put it in there, give you more space so you don't hit your head.
Brake fluid reservoir is up here on the firewall. There is a minimum line and a maximum line. This is just below the maximum line, but the fluid looks nice and clear and clean, so that's in good shape. If you need to add some, you can open it and add the recommended fluid up to the max line and then close it up. I'm going to go to the front.
Windshield washer tank is here. To add fluid, just open it up. There's no dipstick or anything. The container is translucent, so you can actually just see how much is in there. They usually hold about a gallon. We'll top this one off, and you'll just see it fill up. There it is. It fills right up. You can tell it's full simply by looking at the filler neck here. It'll be blue or whatever color washer fluid you're using.
To fill the oil, remove the oil cap. This is an aftermarket one. Yours might be bright yellow like these other caps. It'll actually say the oil weight on here. It's 0W-20 full synthetic. Dip stick is on the other side of the engine. This is an aftermarket one. Factory one is usually bright yellow. Just pull it out, wipe it off, dip it back in, and pull it out. This oil is nice and clean and clear. It's really hard to tell, but it's up at the full mark there. It's got plenty of oil in it. Reinstall the dipstick.
Coolant—this is your overflow tank. It's on the front of the radiator. You can actually see there's a low line here and a full line here. This is right in between. You can add coolant to the overflow by just opening up the cap and pouring it in there. What you should really do is, when the vehicle is cool, to check the coolant level is to open up the radiator cap, but only do this when the vehicle is cool because, otherwise, hot steam could come out and burn you. This car is cooled off, so I'm going to open the radiator cap and check. I'm looking for the level to be right at the top of the filler neck, right at the top of the radiator neck, which it is, so the radiator's full of coolant, so I know the radiator's not empty. I'm going to add just a little bit of coolant to the overflow. Open that up and put our funnel in. Got a 50/50 mix of coolant. I'll fill it up to the full line right about there. Didn't take much. That's good. Take the funnel out and close the cap back up.
This vehicle is equipped with electric power steering. There's no power steering fluid to check.
It also has a CVT transmission, so there's no transmission fluid that needs to be checked. You just leave it alone and change it at the recommended service intervals. Also, when you're under there doing an oil change, you can check for any leaks, and if you've got any leaks, then they can be addressed.
Thanks for watching. Visit us at 1AAuto.com for quality auto parts, fast and free shipping, and the best customer service in the industry.
Why You Should Rotate Your Car Truck or SUV Tires
This video shows you why you should rotate your tires on a regular basis.
