Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Question: Continuously Variable Transmission ??

Work on bicycle well, cars not so well.

My daughter purchased a new 2011 Honda CRV it now has 145,000 bullet proof miles on the OD.Just the basic maintenance done so far.

Most people replying have never owned a CVT, just repeating what they have heard. I had a 2012 Nissan Sentra that I put around 100,000 miles on before someone ran a redlight and totaled it. It ran and handled itself as well as or better than a similar equipped auto transmission and got 36 mpg. Never had any trouble what so ever out of it. Just my experience. Much fewer parts than in an automatic transmission, no planetary gears or clutch packs. basically two variable pulleys, a chain and an oil pump. Reverse consists of basically the same mechanics as an auto transmission. I wouldn't be afraid to buy another. Bought my daughter a new Toyota in 2018 after the Nissan was totaled , and it has proven to be problem free so far with what few miles we have put on it. If you want advice on something to run backwards from, stay away from Ford's automatic clutch manual transmission. Talk about a cluster F@%^, wow.

I drove about 60 miles in a Honda CRV with CVT. There were some mild hills, but mostly relatively flat. That dam engine ran at high RPM the whole way. I hate noisy engines when you're cruising. I would be very hesitant buying a CVT.

It was 10 years ago, they may be better now.

I have a friend who is a regional training director for 1500 Nissan mechanics. He dislikes the CVT, as of last summer when I last spoke with him. He wishes they would design or use something else in the Nissans.

I had the same experience in a rented Toyota Corolla 3 years ago. It was loud, ‘cause the engine was always racing, and it was DANGEROUS ‘cause nothing would happen when the gas was punched. If you needed to accelerate to avoid something, it wasn’t going to happen.

Given that Corollas have had nearly unbreakable automatic transmissions for decades, I can’t believe they thought of changing it, nor that they let that vehicle leave the factory.

I’d be extremely wary.

Just one man’s opinion.

FC

I'm on my 3rd Subaru. I've gotten over 100k on each of my first 2 and had them for 10 years. This last one, purchased a little over 2 years ago, has a CVT. At 40K, no issues. My independent mechanic says to replace the transmission oil on a CVT every 30K or so to maximize their life and reduce issues, which I did. Mine has the std 2.5L engine and it has plenty of acceleration for the highways I drive, but then I don't drive it like it's a race car either. Subaru did extend the warranty on them and I know that's because some have had issues with them, but if they will make good on them, I'm ok. They are going with the CVTs to get maximum gas mileage. I avg 30 mpg on the country roads I travel and get 34 mpg on most highway trips. I like that. Honda makes a great car too.

My dad has a Sentra with one and he dislikes it.

i have a 2016 outback that i've put 70k on in a little over 4 years. so far so good. i think the problems with subaru cvt's were in a past generation around 2010. it is kind of doggy but i am not a racecar driver. hopefully it will be good for 200k. we'll see.

Be aware that according to Subaru, if you do anything to the CVT, including changing the fluid, the warranty is void. If you insist on doing that, have it done at a dealership, and be sure to discuss warranty coverage with the service manager first. I just participated in a situation where Walmart drained the transmission fluid by mistake during an oil change, refilled the trans with non-OEM fluid, and voided they warranty on a vehicle with 70K miles. That one's headed to court, I'm pretty sure. After just a very few miles with the wrong fluid, the trans can't be fixed.
Jerry

While my preference is a manual transmission, we've had a few cars with CVTs and they work fine from our perspective. The old one, in a Nissan Altima, was fine for its purpose (an around town car that my parents used), and the current one, in a Subaru Outback, has been smooth and troublefree. Maybe I'm just not paying attention, but I honestly have never had an issue with how CVTs operate and can't really tell them apart from a traditional automatic. I wouldn't hesitate to buy a car with a CVT. Still, when it comes to a car that I like to drive, I will always go with the manual.

No personal experience, but a close friend bought a Infinity Gwhatever (15+) years ago. Described it as a "rocketship".
He was a computer guy, not a car guy. Sold the company he built to TI so no real money worries. I doubt he kept it to 200k and I never really heard him mention it again.

Assign what value you will to my account of his account.....

The only manual transmission Subaru anymore is the Crosstreck. Thought about one of those too but only rated to tow 1,500lbs vs 2,700 on the Outback. Weird considering they seem to be essentially the same vehicle with different length wheelbases.

My Mother in law has a 2015 Nissan and it gets around 34 MPG.

It is one of the few cars made today that i would want.

There is lots of room.

This car only has 27,000 miles on it and it did some grand-ma miles but then the brother in law,wife and myself drive it it hauls.

34MPH? Man, that is very slow. My 1978 Arctic Cat had a CVT. DeVinci designed it in 1490, er, that was before powered vehicles. Actually several versions are out there. D.Benz used them first on a vehicle in 1886. I think they are a lot better now, but we have replaced several of them over the years, but factory replacements only.

That's a bummer. They did make them on the Forester only a few years ago. I'd get one of those.

Dunno if I'd want a manual transmission anymore tho every vehicle I have ever owned had it. By the '09 Corolla they moved over to an electronic gas pedal, easy to stall out in stop and go traffic because the computer algorithm between you and the throttle. Also, potentially I could drive this next vehicle until I'm 80, dunno if I'll always have the knees for it.

Watch this guy's Videos on CVTs first, he has several..... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GflS2YOPixE

YES
Bump

Appreciate all the input.