The un-CVT

[pavulon]

Not very sad about this. All things equal, I’d not much want to own a CVT equipped automobile. I wonder if Subaru and others will make the same change even if their CVTs seem relatively durable and reliable. I hope so.

https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a70838898/2027-chevy-equinox-gmc-terrain-cvt-dead/

[onewhippedpuppy]

I owned a Nissan Quest with a CVT, and will never own one again. I had a CVT equipped Accord last week as a rental, otherwise a decent car but totally ruined by the moaning mooing transmission. I would 100% not buy a car solely because it had a CVT.

[gregpark]

The only thing I like about CVTs is when using the Cruise control. No gears to kick down on small hills reving the piss out of the engine

[Steve Carlton]

I got my (ex) wife a MINI when they first came out. NA engine with the CVT. Fun car and hella cute, but the transmission sucked most of the fun out of driving it. Silk Green with matching roof, different wheels than these.

[Pazuzu]

My wife wanted a Subaru Crosstrek, but I refused to own a CVT car. Then she found one with a 5-speed, and the rest is history. Say no to rubberband transmissions.

[Bill Douglas]

My Corolla is CVT and I love it. Driving around town it's only doing about 1,100 rpm (VVT engine) and I've had it up to 180kph - that's about 112mph and it was doing 6,000rpm. It has no set ratios for a speed it just does as many revs as it needs to provide the required HP.

[pavulon]

Originally Posted by Bill Douglas

My Corolla is CVT and I love it. Driving around town it's only doing about 1,100 rpm (VVT engine) and I've had it up to 180kph - that's about 112mph and it was doing 6,000rpm. It has no set ratios for a speed it just does as many revs as it needs to provide the required HP.

I think that’s the best argument for a CVT. They do their job even if in a really boring way and possibly better than a traditional transmission a lot (or the majority) of the time. It’s not very rational to resent them when they work well (not all of them do). Also, replacing a CVT with something having more than 4 gears should attenuate trips to the redline when passing.

Yet…ugggh.

[Porchdog]

I bought my wife an Impreza with a CVT in 2013 ( 2nd generation CVT for Subaru).

I initially found the driving experience a bit odd, but I quickly came around. Subaru especially did a good job of "downshifting" for engine braking.

It's currently my daughters with over 100K. Trans fluid was changed twice, no problems with the trans. (or motor for that matter)

I have gotten Nissans with CVT's as rental cars - those are terrible.

[astrochex]

Originally Posted by Pazuzu

My wife wanted a Subaru Crosstrek, but I refused to own a CVT car. Then she found one with a 5-speed, and the rest is history. Say no to rubberband transmissions.

Wife has a Crosstrek. In normal mode it is anti-fun. God forbid the engine rev past 3K rpm.

[911 Rod]

A million Corollas can't be wrong.

[Steve Carlton]

Constantly Vexing Transmission

[aschen]

Who cares for an appliance vehicle? We had a cvt forester for a while, seemed fine for us. Not exactly exciting to drive but wouldent expect it to be.

Our hylander hybrid is technically a cvt variant. Toyota hybrid cvt is near peak automotive engineering IMHO, only one gear set and no belts. Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication

[Por_sha911]

Originally Posted by 911 Rod

A million Corollas can't be wrong.

Reminds me of the old joke: "Eat feces. Trillions of flies can't be wrong".
No reflection on Toy-yoyos and Corollas.

[masraum]

My wife's got a 2018 Outback with the 3.6L H6 and a CVT. The transmission is fine except that you can't check or top off the fluid. It was sold when new as "lifetime" but Subaru has since changed their mind. I think her car has about 130k miles. We bought it with ~30k miles. We have towed a small u-Haul trailer half a dozen times.

Originally Posted by astrochex

Wife has a Crosstrek. In normal mode it is anti-fun. God forbid the engine rev past 3K rpm.

Weird. Ours is similar to pretty much any/every auto car that I've ever driven. The rpms depend upon your right foot. The car will lope along at 1200rpm if you're steady state at a low enough speed. If I'm accelerating, it's usually in the 3k-4k range. If I'm trying to get on the freeway into a specific gap it'll run right up to 6k.

[flipper35]

Our old 2013 Rogue had the transmission overheat in Kansas.

The eCVT isn't bad to me as they have no belts or chains. The unlimited ratio advantage is partially ruined by belts in some.

[porsche tech]

I have a Honda Civic and obviously not as critical as you guys, as I find no fault with its operation…back and forth to the golf course, church, grocery store, etc. You are correct that there is no dipstick for checking the level but I believe that is becoming more and more the norm with many manufacturers. There is however a small 12mm headed check bolt that you remove to make sure it drizzles out when it’s full. As I recall Porsche had a similar setup, even requiring the tester be connected to monitor temperature when checking. Nothing is simple any more.

[porsche tech]

Oops.

[908/930]

CVT no thanks. They are cheap so many manufacturers use them. When looking for cars a couple years ago anything with a CVT was off the list. I would prefer an old 2 speed powerglide. Hot fill has been a normal for sealed ZF transmissions for about 20 years, quite a pain.

[astrochex]

Originally Posted by masraum

My wife's got a 2018 Outback with the 3.6L H6 and a CVT. The transmission is fine except that you can't check or top off the fluid. It was sold when new as "lifetime" but Subaru has since changed their mind. I think her car has about 130k miles. We bought it with ~30k miles. We have towed a small u-Haul trailer half a dozen times.



Weird. Ours is similar to pretty much any/every auto car that I've ever driven. The rpms depend upon your right foot. The car will lope along at 1200rpm if you're steady state at a low enough speed. If I'm accelerating, it's usually in the 3k-4k range. If I'm trying to get on the freeway into a specific gap it'll run right up to 6k.

I was being dramatic with rpm comment. When not accelerating hard, it downshifts ridiculously early. My wife won’t let me drive it in semi-manual mode, where it doesn’t have the limitations of auto.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by porsche tech

I have a Honda Civic and obviously not as critical as you guys, as I find no fault with its operation…back and forth to the golf course, church, grocery store, etc. You are correct that there is no dipstick for checking the level but I believe that is becoming more and more the norm with many manufacturers. There is however a small 12mm headed check bolt that you remove to make sure it drizzles out when it’s full. As I recall Porsche had a similar setup, even requiring the tester be connected to monitor temperature when checking. Nothing is simple any more.

I watched (only half paying attention) this video a year or two ago and thought "that seems like a huge PITA". But it turns out that this video is 1) Changing Fluid and 2) clearing any adaptive learning.
https://youtu.be/1CFlrfwYw4o

But you're right, the fluid change bit isn't that big a deal. Drain the fluid, fill, run the transmission until the fluid is 95º, then add fluid while the car is running until it just trickles out. Hell, I can do that. And I will once I get a bunch of fluid.