Are CVT’s something to stay away from?

[Britdude74]

I'm in the minority, but I had a Subaru with one and I really liked it. I could hold the rpms in the torque band without the shifts, and found that to be a good thing. I don't need to feel the shifts of the older automatic transmissions like others do.

The Nissan CVT required regular maintenance my friend had so many problems he traded the car

 

[KGMtech]

I've had 3 cars with CVT. Never any issues, but I over maintain most of my stuff. I really liked how well suited the CVT was in my '13 Maxima.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

Also, I understand that the tranny cooler is small in size. I don't know what do you think, maybe put in a larger cooler? Or NISSAN should???

I think it depends. Some have a cooler or external fluid exchanger, some don't. Our Sentra doesn't have a cooler. It has a fluid exchanger that bolts to the transmission. There's no external lines to even add a cooler. I believe a few people were adding paddle shift Rogue coolers because those had provisions for an external cooler.

 

[brages]

same goes with the Ford hybrid versions (Toyota and Ford cross-licensed some tech many years ago). No belts in these and really not much to break.

Although the design is similar in the Ford transmissions, be careful. I know there were some years with the Fusion Energi where bearing failures are common. There was one with issues for sale locally very cheap, so I looked into it a bit...

 

[zzyzzx]

Are CVT’s something to stay away from?​

YES!!!

 

[PimTac]

They are different and for some folks that is bad. You have to adapt to how a CVT works. If you have been driving other transmissions all your life then there will be a learning curve. It’s not all that bad.

 

[Nick1994]

You won't catch me buying a car with a CVT. Especially a Nissan or FCA car with one (Jatco).

I would MAYBE consider an Accord with one. Maybe.

 

[tyman]

Only if you get one from a brand that isn't good at them.

 

[Hermann]

Drive your eCVT like an old GM 2-speed Powerglide Transmission. Accelerate to the speed you desire at the rate that make your MPG meter happy for you, and let up. By George it feels like a Powerglide shift into Drive. If you are under the impressions that modern Ford and Toyota hybrids with eCVT's are slow and pokey, you are mistaken IMO.

 

[edyvw]

YES.
Put on a side potential mechanical issues and they are really not good under load, but stay away bcs. mental health.

 

[ARCOgraphite]

Or is their bad reputation something just from the web? Just curious as many new vehicles are coming with them.

Disclaimer. Ive never driven one so I have no idea how they even handle. Having not owned one, I am not sure on their service life either.

Are you looking at a car with one? Most new cars have them.
I had a 2014 Nissan Rogue Select with one. I break every thing - I didnt break that with 5 years of beating on it and forcing manual downshifts for engine braking.
Changed the fluid once and early (8-12 K miles) to get the wear in junk out. Valvoline CVT fluid is fine,and cheap enough.

Wife's 2017 Subaru Crosstrek had one. She beat that too - floored getting on highway all the time.
Ran as good as new when she traded it at 93K miles - and Subaru gave her a free extended warranty.
NO fluid change on that one.

I prefer a MT. But Going back to a six speed auto felt crude and shocking when it shifts.
CVT are much more pleasant in normal driving. Just like a Skidoo.

 

[JTK]

I've owned two Subarus with CVTs, a 2012 Legacy and a 2016 Forester and two Nissans., a 2016 Quest and 2019 Pathfinder. They happened to be the vehicle I liked at the time, for a price I wanted to pay. I knew about the potential issues, but rolled the dice anyway. Never had a CVT problem with any of them, but never exceeded ~70K miles either. Nissan/Jatco CVTs are nice because they are so easy to do fluid changes on. We're at 62K miles on our 2019 Pathfinder. I've done 5-6 drain/fills on it so far.

 

[edyvw]

Nissan moved Pathfinder from CVT to an automatic transmission. There is a reason for that move.

 

[PimTac]

Again it’s a personal choice. Having driven rental cars often both with CVT and automatic transmissions, I will take a CVT any day over a automatic that is constantly shifting.

The new Toyota e-CVTs seem to get good remarks here. I haven’t driven one of those yet.

 

[UG_Passat]

Toyota's eCVT are attached to their Hybrid models... which isn't a traditional CVT in any way. The magic happens in their Power Split Device which is a planetary gearset which the gear ratio is controlled by MG1 (which is connected to the engine).

Toyota just calls it a eCVT for simplicity sake because in the end, its behavior is like a CVT.

 

[Kuato]

Are CVT’s something to stay away from?​

YES!!!

Agree. What a horrid driving experience; I have had several Nissan rentals, and their CVT cannot decide between being a CVT or a automatic with six, or maybe seven gears. And I can't say that I love the rubber band/disconnected feel of these things, regardless of manufacturer.

Add to that the abysmal reliability of many of these units, and thanks very much but I will let someone else be the guinea pig until they get them reliable in five or ten years.

 

[joekingcorvette]

I have never owned a car with a CVT. I drove a 2016 Honda Civic CVT and it drove very nicely. I even liked the fake shifting noises they make. I am going to get the newer Civic with a CVT when I trade in my 2012 Civic.

 

[vwmaniaman]

I had read where Ford offered Mazda their CVT. Mazda said NO. We have 2 Mazdas in our family and the transmissions work great. One fluid change at 80K.

 

[Kuato]

I have never owned a car with a CVT. I drove a 2016 Honda Civic CVT and it drove very nicely. I even liked the fake shifting noises they make. I am going to get the newer Civic with a CVT when I trade in my 2012 Civic.

Fake shifting noises… Kind of defeats the whole purpose of having a CVT in the first place. The manufacturers have made all sorts of programming changes to make them "feel" or "sound" like a non-CVT transmission… It's ludicrous

 

[nthach]

Probably depends on the manufacturer. Subaru and Nissan seem to come up all the time with various problems over the years, while Honda seems to have theirs fairly well sorted. Granted, newer models have probably been updated and work better.

Several of the Toyota hybrid CVT's are not what you would consider a 'normal' belt CVT but something very much different and are very stout, same goes with the Ford hybrid versions (Toyota and Ford cross-licensed some tech many years ago). No belts in these and really not much to break.

But.....I'm with most car people that don't like the driving experience. Even my wife, who could not give a flip about driving doesn't like her dad's HRV with the CVT. I would tolerate one in a daily grocery getter I bought for fuel milage though, but I'd have to have something else to drive for fun.

Toyota is using a “new” in-house CVT in the non-hybrid Corolla as of late, I think 2014 was the cutover year for it. There’s been no complaints from what I’ve read. I’ve driven a few Subarus with their CVT, I like them but a feel for the Ascent/Outback XT and new WRX they should have used the Lexus 8/10 speed instead.

I’d avoid a Nissan or a early Honda one. The older Civic Hybrids and the first 2 Insights had the old, “rubber banding” CVT. The post-2012 efforts in the Accord and Civic/CR-V/HR-V have proven well. The Fit, oddly enough still kept its 5-speed automatic until Honda axed it.