I’m looking for advice because I honestly don’t know if I’m being told the full story anymore, and I don’t want to keep wasting money without actually fixing the problem.

I have a 2014 Subaru Outback with a CVT transmission. A few months ago while driving, something failed and the transmission stopped working properly. I took it to a mechanic and they replaced the transmission. The replacement came with a 1-year warranty.

After the replacement, the car drove perfectly — no noises, no shaking, everything felt normal.

About 1–2 weeks later, the car suddenly stopped shifting gears again. Since it was under warranty, I took it back.

For context: when I bought the vehicle about three months earlier, the previous owner told me they had replaced the radiator, and I had already informed the mechanic about this before the transmission work.

The mechanic later told me that the transmission cooler line connected to the radiator had not been installed correctly, which caused transmission fluid to leak and supposedly damaged the replacement transmission.

They replaced the transmission again under warranty, but I was charged an additional $500.

After getting the car back, I started noticing severe shaking when the car is in Drive or Reverse while fully stopped and I’m pressing the brake. The whole vehicle shakes uncontrollably, but only when it’s in gear at a complete stop. If I shift to Park or Neutral, the shaking goes away.

I took it back again and was told:

	1.	The support brackets were badly rusted and causing the shaking.

	2.	The radiator still needed to be replaced because it was leaking transmission fluid.

They replaced the radiator, and again the car seemed fine temporarily.

Now the exact same issue is happening again — strong shaking/vibration at a full stop in Drive or Reverse while holding the brake, and I’m worried the transmission is going to fail again.

At this point I’m confused because:

	•	The CVT transmission has essentially been replaced twice.

	•	The radiator and cooler line issues were supposedly fixed.

	•	The same symptoms keep returning.

	•	The shaking only happens when the car is in gear and stopped.

Has anyone gone through something similar with a Subaru CVT or after a transmission replacement?

I’m seriously considering getting a second opinion, but I don’t want to waste more time and money if this is something obvious or commonly misdiagnosed. I just want the correct fix and an honest answer about what’s actually causing this.

CVT transmission replaced twice — violent shaking only when stopped in Drive/Reverse. Has anyone experienced this?