Replacing my Maruti Baleno's CVT transmission oil after 40,000 km

My car is 2-year-old & the whining noise during acceleration and deceleration (without braking) has increased.

BHPian lxskllr recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Got my CVT transmission oil and filter replaced at Maruti Suzuki Service (MSM) Okhla, Delhi.

This post is for those who wish to get their oil & filter replaced, although the manual does not have a service interval.

My Baleno CVT Delta has covered 40K+ Kms in 2 years, and I wanted to get the CVT oil replaced. The whining noise during acceleration and deceleration (without braking) had increased.

I emailed the ASM of Delhi to understand where I could get this done. During the regular services, the SMs and the QM always insisted that CVT oil needs no replacement, and I can drive worry-free. But I always wanted to get this done for the peace of my mind!

The ASM directed me to MSM Okhla and gave me the contact of an SM stationed there. Please DM me if you need his details. After multiple discussions with him over calls, I gave a go-ahead to order the following parts on my behalf.

• 26572-58MR0 STRAINER ASSY/ FILTER
• 24762-82KA0 GASKET, T/M OIL PAN
• 24823-54LS0 PLUG, DRAIN (OPT)
• 24824-54LS0 GASKET, DRAIN PLUG (OPT)
• 99000-22B63-046, CVT FLUID GREEN-2. Only 1 can will suffice

STRAINER ASSY/ FILTER took around 3 weeks to arrive as they had to ask Maruti to assign the part from the factory. During this time, I asked the appointed SM to get in touch with Maruti to understand how the oil change can be done.

Once all the parts arrived, I drove down to MSM Okhla where my SM was waiting for my car, and he had arranged for a competent mechanic and an empty spot on a hydraulic lift.

A short 5-minute test drive was done prior to the oil change to see if there are any issues with the transmission. Post that the car headed straight to the workshop on the hydraulic lift.

On the floor, I was accompanied by the SM, and the mechanic in charge to carry out the job. The QA manager joined us as well to ensure that this is carried out according to the instructions given by Maruti.

We waited for the transmission to cool down, as I had driven for over an hour to reach the workshop. This time was utilized to remove the engine guard, disconnect the negative terminal of the battery, giving me a download of how the replacement would be carried out and all the parts needed for the job were placed on the workbench.

Apologies, as I do not have pictures of the process, but will try and help with schematics.

Cool-down took complete 45 mins, we helped ourselves with refreshments during this time. Post cool-down, with the car all the way up on the jack, an oil pan was placed underneath the transmission drain hole.

Drain plug (labelled 3) was unscrewed and roughly 2.2 lit of oil flowed out (refer to this for details), one can carry out this partial replacement of CVT oil as well if sourcing the parts is difficult.

Next, all the bolts around the pan (labelled 1) were removed. The team ensured that we unscrew the opposite screws slowly, like how we do for tires. Once you reach the 2 screws, you will observe oil spilling from the pan, do not panic this is normal. Another mechanic held the pan in place and the other unscrewed the final bolts.

Slowly the pan was lowered into the drain oil pan and more oil drained from the CVT transmission.

Next, there will be three bolts holding the oil filter, these were unscrewed, and a little more oil flowed out.

New oil filter was screwed on to the right torque specifications. The pan (labelled 1) was cleaned with a super cleaner (part: 99000M99280). Do note that the pan also has two magnets which collect iron dust, these were also cleaned with super cleaner and placed back on the pan at their original position. Cleaning the pan and the magnets is important as they would have accumulated iron dust from the transmission.

Once the pan was ready, the gasket (labelled 2) was replaced with the new part. All of this was torqued back to the transmission assembly. Post this, the bolt (labelled 3) was replaced with the new one.

The oil in the pan was measured and we made sure to fill in the same amount. Total of 3.4 lit of oil was measured and the same was poured back. The manual states 5.7 lit, but the SM and QM mentioned that this would be needed when they re-build the transmission. Not sure how accurate this is, or there is a step we missed.

Anyways, the negative terminal was re-connected, and the car was left to idle for a good 10 mins. Post this, with foot on the brake, the transmission stick was cycled to P->R->N->D->S multiple times. We also checked the hot level of the transmission fluid, to be double sure. Not needed, as we poured only the amount which we drained.

DTC codes checking was carried out to see if there are any errors – thankfully none. A short test drive was carried out in my presence to see if there are any issues in running. Post this, the transmission was re-checked for oil leaks and engine cover installed back.

The total damage to the wallet including the spare parts and labor was around 10K. I was satisfied with the way the replacement was carried out. The SM & QA were with me throughout the process and ensured that undivided attention was given to my car.

On the way back home, I noticed better pickup from a standstill. Whining reduced to a large extent both when accelerating and decelerating. Worth the time, money, and patience? For BHPians like us – hell yes! I intend to keep 40K as the interval to change the CVT oil.

Here's what BHPian dhruvritzed had to say about the matter:

Even I wanted to change it at the 4 year/35000km mark last year but folks at the service centre where I go are so clueless about regular stuff itself that this kind of job worried me more than anything else. I was sure they'd mess it up with wrong parts, wrong grade of oil or not doing the job at all, they are that bad.

From this time though I'm switching to Platinum Motors Mathura Road since someone I know is heading that, will surely get it done. Thanks for the heads up!

Here's what BHPian targaryen had to say about the matter:

Thanks for this post. I happen to own a Baleno Delta CVT too and my car has run close to 30k Kms in 3.5 years. As of now, I am not facing any noise issues from the transmission. There is brake noise but that is an issue with the brake assembly and not the transmission in my case. I was advised by Nexa Service to not change the gear oil at least till 1 lakh Kms as the CVT has been designed to run longer than that with the factory filled transmission fluid. I am not sure how far this applies to Indian conditions. At the same time, I am hesitant to replace the transmission fluid as the local Nexa or MS Workshop is clueless about the process. I will bookmark your post for the future.

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