Anybody liking CVT's?

[bdcardinal]

Love it when the quickie lubes fill a Freestyle or Five Hundred CVT with their bulk ATF and it gets brought to us on a hook for a new unit. I have done maybe 15-20 of these in my 5 years at the dealer, and its usually somewhere in the 6k range when all is said and done.

 

[user52165]

Originally Posted By: bdcardinal
Love it when the quickie lubes fill a Freestyle or Five Hundred CVT with their bulk ATF and it gets brought to us on a hook for a new unit. I have done maybe 15-20 of these in my 5 years at the dealer, and its usually somewhere in the 6k range when all is said and done.


I hope you send the bill to the quickie lube place?

 

[The Critic]

Originally Posted By: tgferg67
No - since they don't last 250k-300k like a well designed conventional automatic.


Do you think any of those new 6-spd, 7-spd or 8-spd autos will last 250k? Somehow I doubt it.

Anyway, the CVT in my mom's 2010 Altima V6 is fantastic. Smooth, effortless power. Of course it is paired to the VQ35, which probably explains why.

 

[bdcardinal]

Originally Posted By: user52165
Originally Posted By: bdcardinal
Love it when the quickie lubes fill a Freestyle or Five Hundred CVT with their bulk ATF and it gets brought to us on a hook for a new unit. I have done maybe 15-20 of these in my 5 years at the dealer, and its usually somewhere in the 6k range when all is said and done.


I hope you send the bill to the quickie lube place?


I assume that is where it goes. I happens a lot on those vehicles because they either have a AW sourced trans or the CVT. The CVT in those vehicles uses a chain type fluid as opposed to Mercon V or LV in the eCVT units. One of the internal components is on intergalactic backorder so we have to put in reman units.

 

[Astro14]

I've driven several, Murano, Subie and other rentals...and I can't get used to the feel...

I really don't like them at all...for a guy who grew up learning on a manual and shifting by ear (diesel...no tach) the CVT sounds and feels like a slipping clutch. Totally alien in feel and sound...it would take me a long, long, time to get used to it...and from some deep part of my subconscious, I would always be thinking "it's slipping!"....

 

[cchase]

Originally Posted By: Spazdog
I figure if anyone was good at CVTs it would be Honda. They've been doing them since the '80s.

Of course they were powering motorscooters.

Subaru was the first to use a CVT in regular production vehicles that I can remember.

I didn't particularly care for the CVT equipped Maxima.

Don't forget companies like Ariens, who have been making them for 50 years!

 

[sciphi]

I didn't like the one in a Dodge Caliber rental I had. I sampled the same unit with much revised programming test-driving a 2012 Jeep Compass, and really liked it! I didn't much care for the one in a 2005 Honda Civic Hybrid.

It seems the newer CVT's are pretty good after they ironed out the issues of the earlier ones.

 

[rjundi]

Originally Posted By: JTK

My Subaru is just plain awesome with it's Aisin built CVT. Love it. Can't say enough positives about it so far.

Joel


The loaner Legacy I got had this transmission and it was perfect for a normal car and everyday driving without sporting intentions.

 

[javacontour]

My wife's Altima 2.5S has one and I don't care for the motorboat sound sensation.

With that said, it gets good fuel economy and it's neat to watch the revs remain the same and the speedo climb as it adjusts the ratio to increase speed.

We'll see how long it lasts.

 

[azjake]

I like the CVT in my Outlander. Although the first week or so it was strange waiting for the shift shock to come as you accelerated and it never came.

 

[weebl]

Can't say I'm a fan of them. I've driven a few fleet, rentals, and my S-I-L's car, and it ranged from downright horrible, to acceptable. The worst unit was a Jatco in a rental Dodge Caliber. Noisy and not smooth at all. Better implementations seem to be done by Nissan (though also Jatco units), I've only had one Nissan experience on my S-I-L's Rogue, and Toyota's A-W units, in their hybrids (driven a Prius first generation and third generation, and Camry Hybrid). Though acceptable, I found these could get confused more easily than a conventional automatic, and they just don't feel "right" without distinct shifting or the traditional rev pattern.

My other concerns with CVTs are the long term reliability, relatively new technology compared to conventional automatics and manuals, the poor suitability for towing applications, and the high cost of repair. Mind you I also have similar reservations about the dual-clutch automated manuals (like VW's DSG).

 

[hypervish]

The ECVT in my brothers Lexus RX450h, is perfect! There's no rubber banding effect, it's not noisy, and it can effortlessly pass cars.

The CVT is the future.

 

[SteveSRT8]

If CVT's are the future then a lot of us are going to be keeping older cars!

I haven't yet driven one that was anything more than a novelty. Once that wore off they stink.

With better programming they might be tolerable but they simply cannot take any torque, so they're never going to be on high powered cars.

 

[Cujet]

I'd agree that the Altima CVT is a good one. A few years back, I drove a Ford Taurus-X (or some such nonsense) with a V6 and CVT. I loved it on the highway. It ran right up to redline and stayed there, when I asked for "passing power". In fact, I found it kind of fun, as the car was pretty fast for a crossover ute.

One guy thought it would be a good idea to not let me pass. The CVT kept the engine at it's peak power and I was able to pass!

I've been hooked ever since.

 

[JOD]

Originally Posted By: Cujet
I'd agree that the Altima CVT is a good one. A few years back, I drove a Ford Taurus-X (or some such nonsense) with a V6 and CVT. I loved it on the highway. It ran right up to redline and stayed there, when I asked for "passing power". In fact, I found it kind of fun, as the car was pretty fast for a crossover ute.



Yeah, that was the Freestyle. I don't blame you for not remembering. It's kinda like remembering a Model J or something--not a lot of them out there.

I love the transmission, and I generally dislike automatics. What you described is exactly how it works; 1,400 rpm @ 60mph, but if you get on it, the torque converter locks up and it acts like a regular transmission--but without any bucking from the transmission.

While there aren't a lot of chain-drive CVT's out there to make any long-term predictions, I don't see any reason they shouldn't be more reliable and durable than a standard auto. There are already a few Freestyle owners with over 200-250K on the original transmission. I guess we'll see how long mine lasts, because I'm probably going to keep this car until it hits the boneyard. The fuel economy to space ratio is hard to beat. I just completeted 1,200 miles of driving with an average of 27.8mpg, including stops. For an AWD vehicle with this much space, that's hard to beat.

 

[Spazdog]

I gotta' admit, I do have a small desire for a CVT powered vehicle.

A Suzuki Burgman 650.

But there's just a few problems:

Automatic transmission motorcycles are supposed to "free up the mental bandwith" to further enjoy the ride. But the left handlebar control has a button to select "power" or "economy" another button to select manual or automatic, and two more buttons to shift up and down. This is in addition to the horn and high beam switch.

There's more going on there than a twist grip manual scooter. So much for "freeing up the mental bandwith"

The other problem is that it is nearly $10,000....while it would be cool to have a motorscooter that can easily cruise at 90mph, it is never going to be $10,000 worth of cool.

 

[rslifkin]

I've heard plenty of good about most of them, but I'd personally go insane from driving one. Nothing worse than a constant-RPM drone during acceleration with no shifting, feedback or feel to it.

 

[d00df00d]

Originally Posted By: rslifkin
Nothing worse than a constant-RPM drone during acceleration with no shifting, feedback or feel to it.

This is one sentiment that I never understood.

The constant-RPM drone means the engine is always operating in the right range for what you want it to do. The lack of "feedback or feel" means there is no shift shock, which makes the drive smoother and saves wear and tear on the drivetrain. In other words, what makes a CVT feel odd is exactly the same as what makes it worth having.

 

[exranger06]

The only experience I have with CVTs is the one in my girlfriend's Nissan Rogue. I really like it a lot. I don't miss the traditional "rise and fall" of engine RPM while accelerating at all. A CVT feels and drives the way an automatic is supposed to, IMO. Why have the engine RPM bouncing all over the place all the time when you can just hold it at a nice, steady, efficient point the whole time? It makes conventional automatics feel clunky and primitive.

 

[d00df00d]

Well said.