Car CVT Trannies -are they any good?

[captpierre]

Looking at a new/used car or small SUV for the wifie

 

Many have CVT trannies. I guess to improve fuel economy.

 

Will they be as maintenance free and durable as their automatic predecessors?

 

Should they be embraced or avoided?

[chris.brock]

reliability wise, I don't know, google CVT problems

 

2 rentals I've had did have CVT and they drove great, driving them you can tell they would help with gas mileage with seamless upshifting when you are not on the gas

[Wagoneer]

Most of the gremlins have been worked out. There's only about 3 big suppliers of CVT trannies, but Jatco is the big one. They make trannies for everything from Jeeps to Mitsubishis. Their early trannies had a belt that was both too small and liked to overheat. That's long been fixed and most of the CVT's now can go as long if not longer than an automatic tranny.

 

I really used to hate CVT's, I'm a gear head and love to change my own gears. But recently there have actually been a couple really good ones coming out. The one in the impreza is particularly good. My father's Suzuki Kizashi sport also has a CVT and I've been really impressed with it so far. They're all going to be dogs off the line (just the nature of the beast) but on the highway is where they really make the most sense.

 

But they basically have the same limitations of an automatic tranny - heat will kill them. I wouldn't be at all worried about reliability though. There are thousands of CVT's out there running around with more than 400,000km on them.

[ecmilley]

More money to repair. As of yet no parts available when something goes wrong the entire unit gets replaced, fluid for them around $20 a litre. They seem to get better all the time but also see 6-9 speed autos gaining in popularity as well

[Gerry]

Had one in my 2007 Nissan Altima 3.5L and I loved it. I put approx. 130K kms on it and never had an issue. It took some getting used to not feeling gear changes but that was it. As for fuel economy, I can't say because I would need to drive one with regular tranny to compare. I'm now back to a car with a regular tranny and I miss the CVT.

[BillM]

I am not a fan of them at all. If I wanted to drive a snowmobile, I would

[DanD]

The last I heard was to stay away from Saturn CVT. Again hearsay from my transmission rebulder; but he says you cannot buy individual parts for these transmissions. If it fails you pull it out and replace the whole unit. The problem now is that with Saturn being dissolved, so are the unique to Saturn parts; which are no longer being produced. Once the last transmission comes off the shelf that it there aint no more.

 

Dan.

[FrankTheRabbit]

Picked up a 2015 Forester with the CVT option in mid-May. We've put in over 12,000 Kms. Did our first oil change at 10,000kms. No probs whatsoever. Fuel mileage is pretty good. I can regularly reach 600km easily before I fill up that's a combined hwy/city driving. It's a 60L tank. The CVT is more about fuel economy than road performance and results in a paltry towing capacity of 1500lbs. They do have manual tranny as standard. Take one out for a spin, it'll only take a few minutes for you to decide if you like it or hate it.

[ch312]

Picked up a 2015 Forester with the CVT option in mid-May. We've put in over 12,000 Kms. Did our first oil change at 10,000kms. No probs whatsoever. Fuel mileage is pretty good. I can regularly reach 600km easily before I fill up that's a combined hwy/city driving. It's a 60L tank. The CVT is more about fuel economy than road performance and results in a paltry towing capacity of 1500lbs. They do have manual tranny as standard. Take one out for a spin, it'll only take a few minutes for you to decide if you like it or hate it.

 

My ATV is rated to tow that much with it's CVT and little 686cc engine. You'd think a passenger vehicle would be far more capable???

[BillM]

 

My ATV is rated to tow that much with it's CVT and little 686cc engine. You'd think a passenger vehicle would be far more capable???

 

Your ATV isn't driving down the highway at 70mph. Big difference.

[4x4bassin]

Bought a 2014 Toyota Corolla with the CVT , had my doubts but you know what it seems to be pretty good.

It shifts different from a regular auto that takes some getting used to . The car is great on gas as well !

[Old Ironmaker]

My wife has a 07 Nissan Ultima 3.5. 255K later no problems. Service tranny at 80K. Average 8.1 l/100 kms. Driven hard too, really hard sometimes unfortunatly.

[kickingfrog]

I've had an Altima for 3 years and that's it for my experience with CVTs.

 

I have only ever owned manual transmission cars and was loath to change but for the type of family car with the features I wanted just after the tsunami I had little choice (and there is even less now in 2014). It's super fuel efficient for a gasoline engine with some hp. No issues yet, but that's only 3 years though so take that for what it's worth.

[Old Ironmaker]

Bill M.

 

Not sure what you mean about CVT's and ATV's. Like to learn something new everyday. All I really know about CVT's is from owning one. Switching to manual mode sure takes the boredom out of a nice drive along winding roads. That's what I like the most about them. A few liters per 100K is pennies really.

[BillM]

Bill M.

 

Not sure what you mean about CVT's and ATV's. Like to learn something new everyday. All I really know about CVT's is from owning one. Switching to manual mode sure takes the boredom out of a nice drive along winding roads. That's what I like the most about them. A few liters per 100K is pennies really.

 

My point was the tow rating between a car and a ATV are like apples and oranges. They aren't even close to being the same. Any ATV towing 1500lbs isn't doing that at 70mph on the 401

 

More like 2mph from the back yard to the front with a giant load of wood.

Edited August 12, 2014 by BillM

[Old Ironmaker]

Thanks Bill. Those mid size cars, any cars really, aren't built to tow anyway. A tractor can tow a heck of a lot more than a 1 ton truck too I think, both are made to do that but you do not see many tractors on the 401. Apples and bananas.