Who understands CVT transmissions?
 

I have a late model Corolla with a CVT transmission. I love the car!

But I don't really understand how the transmission would behave when towing a trailer. Not huge weight, the car is too light for that sort of thing. More a case of a dinghy or a dirt bike on a small-ish trailer.

I don't want to drive a few hundred miles with the transmission slightly slipping the whole way. Or does the "push" belt just find a ratio it's comfortable with and sit there without any undue grief to the transmission?

What are your thoughts and thanks.

It's a good way to find out how expensive a replacement CVT is. CVTs don't deal with torque or high loads. They also don't last as long a "conventional" transmissions but are 3 times as expensive to replace.

Sounds like a...what's the word....scam.

Well, automakers have to meet fuel standard regulations, so they throw expensive, questionable technologies with shortened lifespans into vehicles because they have no other option.

Well they last ok in Priuses.

And in Toyotas, particularly the ones in Corollas.

Does anyone know how it works when towing?

Appearantly....not the manufacturers......

They generate more heat than a conventional auto so you may want a cooler if you tow much. That said, if you are under gross for the car, the CVT should not care much. With 5 in the car and 2000# behind it may not last long.

Also for the record, I hate ours.

They can be drone mobiles. Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa aa

My wife bought a nissan sentra for our kids to use in high school and college, it's on it's third CVT transmission.
The dealer replaced the first two for free (out of warranty hint hint).

Evidently my daughter liked to go over the grapevine without slowing down much, and the heat from keeping it nearly pinned to the floor up those hills was too much for the transmission. Ironically the belt didn't fail, the bearings did. Go figure.

I wouldn't trust one to tow anything, but if I really had to I would at least make sure it has a good transmission cooler.

Do transmission coolers work on CVTs? Is there a fluid to cool?

Is it "belt" CVT or basically a planetary gear set with two motors as in Prius?

Prius tranny has three moving parts and no friction devices. It usually lives forever. Belt-type CVT's with "moving cones" (as in snowmobile) might or might not handle towing. My dad has Murano with 230kmiles on its CVT...it recently started acting up so he added additional cooler to it and issues went away. YMMV.

My wife mad a murano and gave it to my daughter with 100k on it and she drove it for 3 more years, never had a transmission problem.

But the sentra was a different story.
I was told it was because the sentra didn't have a decent cooling system.

I understand how they work...basically a variable speed pulley.
But, I don't understand how they manage to get a reverse gear out of them.
The engine doesn't shut down to reverse the belt movement...how does it reverse rotation??

More like no cooling system for the trans.... LoL

The belt is made of metal. There’s is still gear reduction and geared reverse.

We were told to add a cooler to ours because it was overheating on the hills in Kansas. We have not yet. We just don't take road trips in it anymore.