CVT Transmissions ???

[sgt_doofey]

Hi all,
We're looking at new cars and one (Renault Koleos) has a CVT transmission in it.
Are they reliable or should we steer clear of CVT?

[Hayden1]

My mum had one in an A4... We ended up selling it because of the transmission, it kept stuffing around requiring frequent services until finally it shat itself and was a couple of grand to fix. Couple of talks on the phone with Audi and they paid for it.

Of course this is only my opinion (and my experience was with a totally different car), I would stay clear of CVT's

[chevypower]

you lose more power to the wheels with CVT.

[Franco Cozzo]

Pretty crappy invention, used to have these on the 2007 Honda Jazz, I had a couple come in when I was at Honda and was involved in doing the flush on the gearbox.

At one service interval they needed some special CVT fluid, it had to be flushed twice, 8L of fluid at $120/L.

They've got them in the Mercedes Sprinters 316 as well, they're fairly crappy compared to the old slushbox auto in the older shape, doesn't seem anywhere near as responsive.

[Hayden1]

Originally Posted by Big Damo

Pretty crappy invention

IMO I think its a great idea but they haven't been used/tested/improved as much as a normal transmission therefore they haven't reached their full potential. Maybe I'm wrong and it's a POS idea but I think CVT's could play a big part in the future of cars.

[Bossxr8]

I've never really heard a good review of a CVT, usually it results in a droney hum from the engine and many have said it makes it feel like a car with a slipping clutch. They aren't well regarded, but some manufacturers still persist with them.

DSG's are a lot better IMO.

[Cúl-Báire]

I was looking at a V35 skyline with the CVT8 transmission a year or two ago; the CVT seemed great in theory, but the way it drove just didn't seem "right" to me - the importer I was dealing with said they had a world of problems with the CVT on other V35's, he didn't recommended it (talking himself out of a sale almost); a bit of further research and I discovered the transmissions need to be serviced religiously, with the right oil (@$150+ per litre).

[Ford_The_Win]

Whats the difference between a CVT and a DSG? I thought they were the same thing?

[hawke]

CVT - Constantly Variable Transmission - has two varying sized pullies and a belt, but no manufacturer calls it a belt drive. The idea has been around for a million years. Engine speed can stay constant, road speed changes.

DSG - Double Clutch Gear Box. Manual gear box with two clutches. When one gear and clutch is working, the next gear can be selected at the same time, but its clutch is not activating. When time to change, one clutch disengages the other engages. Very fast gear change, but more correctly, very fast clutch change.

[4stanger]

Mitsubishi has their CVT's with the 5/10 year drive train warranty, so they must be confident with reliability side of it.

[SSVPom]

My Outlander has the CVT, but with paddle shift and 6 'speeds' programmed in to mimmick gears. It works OK, the motor stays in the torque spot as you accelerate, but yes, it's a constant revving sound (unless you use the 'gears')

The V6 Outlanders have a regular 6 speed box by the way.

[Kevaclone]

Suzuki SX-4 has it also, strange to drive but in "Sport Mode" it seemed to have plenty of go with the revs a constant 6000rpm and the speedo climbing from stopped to 120kph
as for reliability, no idea

might be better to have a look on the groups relating to the vehicles fitted with them

[My poor XF]

Originally Posted by Arnaldo

Mitsubishi has their CVT's with the 5/10 year drive train warranty, so they must be confident with reliability side of it.

Agreed, bullet proof in the courier cars used by my previous employer. I'm not a fan, but they were trouble free.

[mik]

have no idea if they last or not, but after seeing some in action via you tube, i would`nt touch one, personally i think they are rubbish.

[mik]

Originally Posted by Arnaldo

Mitsubishi has their CVT's with the 5/10 year drive train warranty, so they must be confident with reliability side of it.

either that or they are cheap to repair.

[Whitey-AMG]

Originally Posted by SSVPom

My Outlander has the CVT, but with paddle shift and 6 'speeds' programmed in to mimmick gears. It works OK, the motor stays in the torque spot as you accelerate, but yes, it's a constant revving sound (unless you use the 'gears')

The V6 Outlanders have a regular 6 speed box by the way.

Our Suzuki Kizashi has the CVT.
They are weird to drive.....you keep waiting for the gear change that never comes. What I do like about them is that they will keep the engine in its peak torque RPM when accelerating hard without allowing the engine to drop any revs at all.....it will keep the engine pinned at 3 or 4 or 5000 RPM without dropping even 100 RPM. You get less flat spots in smaller capacity engines that may struggle with less torque outputs as they drop out of their sweet spots with more conventional transmissions.

Initially , I struggled with the way it made the car feel.....the more I have driven it, the more I like the way it functions. Very quiet, smooth and clever. Not for everyone that's for sure , but definitely worth a drive in one ( give one a thrash ) and form your own opinion..............

In terms of reliability - technically they should be extremely durable as they have bugger all moving parts. Our Kizashi has done over 40,000 Kim's so far and definitely no issues. As with any transmission....there will be good versions of CVT,s and not so good versions. From my own personal experience , the Suzuki effort is pretty good.

[atmoxr6]

Originally Posted by sgt_doofey

Hi all,
We're looking at new cars and one (Renault Koleos) has a CVT transmission in it.
Are they reliable or should we steer clear of CVT?

I'm pretty sure the koleos drivetrain/running gear is based on the outlander.

[sgt_doofey]

Originally Posted by atmoxr6

I'm pretty sure the koleos drivetrain/running gear is based on the outlander.

Nope. It's the Nissan X-Trail if the salesman is to be believed.
Thanks all for the opinions. Keep them coming.

Those people that own them. Has anyone had a bad experience with them? What about servicing? What have you done/been told to do with them?

[Ben73]

I had a jeep with CVT. It never gave me any problems, but I hated the transmission anyway. I never want to own a car with CVT again

[chevypower]

They're great for ATVs and snowmobiles, but not good for cars or trucks.

[brydie76]

Only experience I have with them is in my scooter. Honestly I don't notice any slip/other dodgy problems, and I haven't had any issues with it to date (apart from the belt overheating and slipping if the scooter overheats, but that's more a scooter itself issue).

[Rodge]

Wife is a greenie and we bought a new Honda Civic hybrid in 2006 so she could hug trees and feel good. It deveoped the well known, (too Honda), initial take-off shudder in the CVT after about 20,000 km's. Decided to trade it in on a demo facelifted Honda Civic hybrid fitted with DSC about 18 months ago, (I'm wanted her to be driving a car fitted with DSC) and it seemed like a cheap way to solve the problem and we got a really good change-over deal, the idiot Honda dealer didn't even drive the trade-in.

The facelifted hybrid has had no probs with the CVT but its only done 26,000 km's and its only coming up to four years old so that's hardly a glowing endorsement on longevity. Honda reckon changing the CVT fluid every 80,000 km's or 6 years whichever comes earlier is the go.

Talk of fluid prices earlier in this thread, frankly had me in shock so I did some reasearch and talk of $100 plus per litre seems at stark odds with my own reasearch on the net regarding genuine Honda CVT fluid which I've seem for less than $10 U.S. per quart, (I will import some myself if the local Honda agent is unreasonable).

If your vehicle is to be purchased for private use you are convered by the consumer protection laws concerning suitability for purpose and reasonable durability so provided you have it serviced in accordance with the manufacturers spec's you should be covered not only by the warranty but also by the durability provisions of consumer laws which appear to confer protection for the first six years.

Personally I don't like the CVT thing or the Honda Civic hybrid thing, (its her shopping basket). Its fine in theory but give me a decent normal auto gearbox anyday especially if its made by ZF which is light years ahead of any CVT IMO.

[SSVPom]

Originally Posted by sgt_doofey

Nope. It's the Nissan X-Trail if the salesman is to be believed.
Thanks all for the opinions. Keep them coming.

Those people that own them. Has anyone had a bad experience with them? What about servicing? What have you done/been told to do with them?

No issues, no special servicing.

[eb2fairmont]

Spent the last 2 weeks driving a murano with cv in the us. Didn't mind it but the slipping feeling is noticeable. Not as good as my golfs dsg.

I wouldn't own one as the droning with a lesser engine than nissans vq series motor would be annoying

Mind you the t5 in xf ute is better still for involvement.

[Chopped]

We had company Lancers that had CVT. I didn't like the feeling of them when driving. They are smooth but the way the engine revs is just weird IMO.

[redman]

The Darl has a Mitsubishi Colt with CVT. She loves it. So do the photo cops.

It has the uncanny knack of being able to accelerate with a 'dying' engine note. It is great for sucking you into travelling faster than intended.

[janddbone]

I am a fan, even if I am the only one! Mitsubishi ones seem quite reliable.

[Road_Warrior]

Originally Posted by Arnaldo

Mitsubishi has their CVT's with the 5/10 year drive train warranty, so they must be confident with reliability side of it.

It's a pity they're absoutely woeful to drive then, we've got current model Lancers at work with CVT auto and they're horrible things, noisy and it feels like you're driving a car with a slipping clutch.

[janddbone]

If you want a sports car, then you could argue that the driving experience is not very good, in a seat of the pants sense; for the slipping sensations described and the continual high engine speeds.

However if you use the CVT to help obtain smooth and fuel efficient driving, (you could argue that is what they were invented to do) then they are very very good. The same things can help make for a great driving experience, if used properly. The whole point is that you can use the accelerator very lightly, and the gearing will constantly change, to allow for an increase in speed whilst the engine stays at a low speed.

So for example, if your ultimate speed on a commute is 70km/h, you can learn how much accelerator travel you need to maintain that speed and then that is all you apply from a standstill; the car will increase in speed in an efficient manner. A conventional automatic usually requires variable revs as you go through the gears, so this results in different accelerator pressure being required.

So next time try using your CVT this way, and adjust your driving style to suit the technology!

[chevypower]

@Brett, I don't think CVT is the best for fuel economy because it has a greater efficiency loss. That's why touring ATVs have CVTs, but racing ones do not. If you lose efficiency, you lose both performance AND fuel economy.