25k miles - 2019 Subaru Ascent = new CVT

[nthach]

Excellent AWD system for the money.

Yep, not everyone has Audi coin or wants to buy a 4Runner/GX or Land Cruiser/LX.

but with Toyota releasing an AWD Camry and Prius, Subaru now has competition for “affordable” AWD.

 

[zzyzzx]

Was the failed at 25K miles CVT made by JATCO?

 

[Jeep_Riot]

Was the failed at 25K miles CVT made by JATCO?

I believe Subaru makes their own transmissions.

 

[wdn]

Any 2020 vehicle is too new to make any assumptions about long term reliability. Even 2019 is for that matter. I don't get your point at all. Plus the fact that manh CVT models have been relatively unreliable for years.

If you don’t get my point I will restate it. The thread is about early transmission failures in the new Subaru Ascent model introduced in model year 2019. The 2019 model year has already gone by, and so has model year 2020. Both of those years are now history. Now they are selling the 2021 Subaru Ascent. The 2019 Ascent had reported issues with early transmission failures, the 2020 did not.

 

[350Rocket]

If you don’t get my point I will restate it. The thread is about early transmission failures in the new Subaru Ascent model introduced in model year 2019. The 2019 model year has already gone by, and so has model year 2020. Both of those years are now history. Now they are selling the 2021 Subaru Ascent. The 2019 Ascent had reported issues with early transmission failures, the 2020 did not.

So I take it you work somewhere that gives you first hand experience with the number of failures?

 

[ondarvr]

4 CVTs over the last 5 years, two Hondas, two Fords, still have one of each. So far no problems.

Purchased a late 90s Chevy truck new. At 35,500 miles it was on its third transmission and second torque converter.

The tech told me not to pull such a heavy trailer. I told him it doesn't even have a hitch on it, my wife drives it.

Traded it in before it got to the end of the 36,000 mile warranty.

Transmission problems happen in everything.

 

[350Rocket]

4 CVTs over the last 5 years, two Hondas, two Fords, still have one of each. So far no problems.

Purchased a late 90s Chevy truck new. At 35,500 miles it was on its third transmission and second torque converter.

The tech told me not to pull such a heavy trailer. I told him it doesn't even have a hitch on it, my wife drives it.

Traded it in before it got to the end of the 36,000 mile warranty.

Transmission problems happen in everything.

I agree that problems happen in everything. I haven't heard of any problems yet with the Honda CVTs, so maybe they are either too new or they figured out how to make a reliable CVT. For Ford I can't think of a model with a CVT other than the older ford 500/freestyle which didn't sell well anyway, so no idea about reliability.

 

[CKN]

I'm on my first CVT too, a '16 Nissan Versa. I bought the Versa used with a rebuilt title and 10K miles on it in Feb. 2019. It's currently got almost 25K and no problems thus far. Nissan just settled a class action law suit on these transmissions a few months ago increasing the warranty from 5/60-7/84. My biggest complaint about the CVT is that if you have the cruise control set and the speed drops slightly below the set speed instead of gradually increasing the speed the RPM's will go crazy often going from 1500 rpm to 4000 rpm in a matter of seconds. I learned that I can feather the gas with my foot instead of letting the cruise do it all and keep the RPM's from making such a drastic jump. I figure that much change in RPM's in a matter of seconds can't be too good for the transmission. I plan to do fluid drain/fill every 30K miles on mine.

I would think the warranty is not applicable on a vehicle with a rebuilt/salvage title. As a matter of fact this has been discussed previously and the warranty not applying is probably correct.

Versas are cheap to begin with-I hope you got yours "super cheap" with a tarnished title.

 

[FordMan59]

I would think the warranty is not applicable on a vehicle with a rebuilt/salvage title. As a matter of fact this has been discussed previously and the warranty not applying is probably correct.

Versas are cheap to begin with-I hope you got yours "super cheap" with a tarnished title.

I got it cheap. At the time of purchase in Feb. 2019 it only had 10546 miles. I got it for $5300. It currently has 25,8xx miles and is doing fine. I did receive a letter from Nissan with my VIN on it when they settled the class action law suit stating it was covered under the 7/84 extended warranty. I've still got that letter and if I have problems I'll take the car and letter to a dealer for repair. I'm not volunteering any information about the rebuilt title. I still plan to do drain/fill/filter every 30K miles. When I bought the Versa at that price I figured if I could get it to 100K miles I'd have driven my moneys worth out of it. I'm 61 and prior to Covid19 it was only getting about 10-12K per year so at my age it might last me the rest of lifespan. They claim high torque situations is what causes lots of the problems with the CVT so by doing all I can to keep RPM's as low as possible at all times should help.

 

[ondarvr]

I agree that problems happen in everything. I haven't heard of any problems yet with the Honda CVTs, so maybe they are either too new or they figured out how to make a reliable CVT. For Ford I can't think of a model with a CVT other than the older ford 500/freestyle which didn't sell well anyway, so no idea about reliability.

The Ford hybrids have CVTs

 

[nthach]

The Ford hybrids have CVTs

Those are eCVTs. Ford was able to license out Toyota’s patents for THS-II(Hybrid Synergy Drive).

 

[miden851]

what a joke of the company; the price of the car is in $40k and it fails on you just like that; like someone has said before, there is no guarantee that won't happen again

in the end, Scotty was right when he said do not pair a high HP engine with CVT

 

[Oildudeny]

Mazda has stayed away from the cvt.. And get great gas mileage

 

[wemay]

My understanding is that the issue with the 2019 was the electrical harness going to the pressure sensor that was defective and then caused transmission failures, not the mechanicals in the transmission itself which handles the power and weight just fine. This harness has been completely redesigned for 2020 and the issue resolved.

The vast majority of first year models of all makes have issues. Some of the bashing here is silly.

 

[wdn]

I stand by what I wrote two month ago. The 2019 Ascent was the first model year and had first model year glitches. It was fixed in 2020. I am seeing a ton of new Ascents on the roads here in New Hampshire. If you want information on the new model the place to get it is in Subaru owner forums and in the trade press, not this place. Subaru repaired or replaced OP’s transmission under warranty, and OP never came back with any follow up.

 

[ondarvr]

I stand by what I wrote two month ago. The 2019 Ascent was the first model year and had first model year glitches. It was fixed in 2020. I am seeing a ton of new Ascents on the roads here in New Hampshire. If you want information on the new model the place to get it is in Subaru owner forums and in the trade press, not this place. Subaru repaired or replaced OP’s transmission under warranty, and OP never came back with any follow up.

I agree, I've owned several Subarus and the information supplied on the Subaru forums is far more accurate than what you'll find here.

 

[dblshock]

I'd dump it before that becomes widely known as another problematic Subie and deep sixes your resale.

 

[DweezilAZ]

Three, count them three, coworkers in the last week have told me of their engine failures on their Subaru's in the last week. One Outback, one Forester and a one Impreza. The Forester is at 80k, the Outback is near 200K and I don't know the mileage on the Impreza. I will hear the updates in a month when I am back on dayshift. The Forester had a replacement engine under recall when it was quite new, 20k miles IIRC. My neighbor just bought a new Ascent and it looks really nice. He's a Subaru guy but trades his in every few years and has only great things to say about them. He always laughs at me working on my cars in the garage. FCA and VW. He has a a couple things that I don't. Continual car payments....I point this out and tell him that his lack of native skills doom him to be eaten by the rest of the survivors after the revolution. He laughs even harder then.

The Giggling Granny went to the gas chamber laughing.

 

[wdn]

I'd dump it before that becomes widely known as another problematic Subie and deep sixes your resale.

Subarus have the highest resale value of any make. The Subaru Impreza has the highest resale of any car on the road in 2020.

 

[wdn]

Here is the recall. It was indeed for the wiring harness on a sensor. It was only some 2019 models and does not extend to any other model year.

Recall Number 19V855000
Recall Date 12/02/2019
Component
POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION:CONTROL MODULE (TCM, PCM)

Summary
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2019 Ascent vehicles. The transmission hydraulic sensor may inaccurately measure the hydraulic fluid pressure.

Consequence
If the fluid pressure is measured higher than its actual value, the hydraulic pressure will be reduced. If this occurs, the transmission drive chain may not have the proper tension, resulting in a loss of drive power and an increased risk of a crash.

What Owners Should Do
Subaru will notify owners, and dealers will reprogram the transmission control unit. The hydraulic sensor harness will be replaced on vehicles with certain stored diagnostic trouble codes. In addition, any vehicle confirmed to have experienced low drive chain tension will have the transmission assembly will be replaced. All repairs will be free of charge. The recall began January 31, 2020. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Subaru's number for this recall is WUV-07.