When did your CVT Transmission break? Or not?

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It seems like everything is a CVT now. I'm a big proponent of 3 pedal vehicles, but at some point my wife will probably want to go automatic. I want to know:

When did your CVT break? Year Make Model Miles % city driving. Repair cost? The fuel economy of CVT cannot be refuted, and may save enough gas to pay for a new trans compared to a regular AT.

I also want to know if you have put about 100,000 miles on a CVT without issues.

Please, no brand wars, just facts, thanks.

Can i trust anything other than a manual gear box to last a decade without issues?
 
few points to consider:
-no first year model ( this means problems with trained techs, fluid availability, limited knowledge)
-find a tech/ dealer that has a tech that works on these
-see other forums

disclaimer: i don't own a cvt, i just researched for ford frestyle. their cvt range from 300k miles with no problems to 50-70k complete crash (this ones seems to had a part missing during assembly at factory)
 
I may be breaking one of your rules but...

Originally Posted By: dareo
The fuel economy of CVT cannot be refuted, and may save enough gas to pay for a new trans compared to a regular AT.



Uh, yes it can. I see no evidence that CVTs offer a clear advantage across the board in fuel economy. Consider that the '13 Sentra's EPA ratings are not substantially different than the Mazda3 Skyactive or Elantra, both with conventional autos.

Same with the '14 Mazda6 with conventional auto and the '13 Altima with CVT.

I really hope DCTs are perfected quickly and become the norm rather than CVTs. On paper anyway DCTs have superior performance characteristics and are highly efficient.
 
The fuel savings of an automatic vs CVT will never ever yield enough money to covering the repair of a CVT. Ever!

I think you will get poor data here as CVT adoption rate is only new/recent models and very few older models. Maybe look at consumer reports and specific model forums for CVT data.
 
136,000 miles on my Murano and all is okay (knock on wood). I flushed fluid at 108,000 miles, it cost $500, probably was not needed.

Nissan extended warranty to 110,000 miles due to problems with their CVTs.
 
I don't trust them - way too many problems.

But I don't understand why. It's two variable pulleys, connected with a belt/band/chain connected to the engine with a torque converter.

A lot less parts than a traditional automatic transmission. If someone could make one that would last, I think they would be an EXCELLENT idea.

Until then, I'll stick with 3 pedals on the floor OR automatics that have been proven to be VERY good.
 
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I don't own one, but from my experience here, the only failures we see are on the Ford units that specifically take chain type CVT fluid. The vast majority of the failures on those units are from independents and quick lubes putting T-IV in them thinking they are the AWF-21 automatic gearbox. I think one or two had actual mechanical failures, but the last one must have been 4+ years ago that I can remember.
 
uh, good luck getting a survey this way. you need to search instead.

off the top of my head, very troublesome CVT's include:

Saturn Vue
Ford Freestyle
Ford 500
 
Originally Posted By: Falken
I would not bother with a CVT.

What is the point.


Go test drive a new Subaru Outback with a manual transmission. Then you'll understand.
 
Scurvy, I have always driven an Automatic.

I don't see myself rowing through six gears of anything to get anywhere, especially not in the econo boxes that appeal to me.

Maybe on some cars the CVT is the way to go. I do hear (to mention brands) that Nissan has the most refined CVT for the time being but not sure.

I just hate being an early adopter when the tech breaks all the time and is costly to fix, and nobody knows how to fix it yet.
 
The Murano is the largest vehicle offered to the general public with a CVT.

My brother and his wife had one of the early Muranos with a CVT. Add driving around the Pittsburgh Pennsylvania South Hills area where you are constantly going up and down hills, and it is a failure waiting to happen. They had the CVT on their Murano fail under warranty. After they got the vehicle back, they asked how much it would have cost if it had not been covered by the warranty. The reply was "you don't want to know".

Nissan stopped making the Murano for a year because of all of the problems with the CVT.

And while I do not own one, I heard that they require changing the special fluid more often than a regular transmission, and that the special fluid is very expensive.

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That said, years ago I heard that the all wheel drive vehicle used at some airports to push and pull the largest aircraft in the world require a CVT. And apparently someone managed to figure out how to make a CVT that can handle the heavy loads put on it in that application.
 
Originally Posted By: JimPghPA
The Murano is the largest vehicle offered to the general public with a CVT.

My brother and his wife had one of the early Muranos with a CVT. Add driving around the Pittsburgh Pennsylvania South Hills area where you are constantly going up and down hills, and it is a failure waiting to happen. They had the CVT on their Murano fail under warranty. After they got the vehicle back, they asked how much it would have cost if it had not been covered by the warranty. The reply was "you don't want to know".

Nissan stopped making the Murano for a year because of all of the problems with the CVT.

And while I do not own one, I heard that they require changing the special fluid more often than a regular transmission, and that the special fluid is very expensive.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

That said, years ago I heard that the all wheel drive vehicle used at some airports to push and pull the largest aircraft in the world require a CVT. And apparently someone managed to figure out how to make a CVT that can handle the heavy loads put on it in that application.


If you make it reliaable and heavy duty, it loses fuel efficiency.
 
Originally Posted By: JimPghPA
The Murano is the largest vehicle offered to the general public with a CVT.


The Murano/Maxima platform yes but not the Murano itself, the J35 is bigger and heavier and only available with a CVT.
The lack of a regular auto is costing them sales! I know two qualified buyers that have walked away from these cars because of it and only because of it.

These things have a miserable tow capacity compared to similar sized/powered vehicles with a conventional auto.
The J35 has 3,500lb, the Acura MDX 5,000 lb. I guess Nissan didn't want the weak point (the CVT) to be put under too much stress.
Personally i wouldn't touch one of these things with a ten foot pole.
 
Originally Posted By: JimPghPA
The Murano is the largest vehicle offered to the general public with a CVT.



Actually the JX35 by Infiniti uses CVT which hampers it performance. It also seems to also fail in delivering decent MPG(18/23) vs the 2014 Acura MDX with 18/27 MPG and delivering brisk performance out of a 6 speed auto.
 
Quote:

Uh, yes it can. I see no evidence that CVTs offer a clear advantage across the board in fuel economy. Consider that the '13 Sentra's EPA ratings are not substantially different than the Mazda3 Skyactive or Elantra, both with conventional autos.

Same with the '14 Mazda6 with conventional auto and the '13 Altima with CVT.

I really hope DCTs are perfected quickly and become the norm rather than CVTs. On paper anyway DCTs have superior performance characteristics and are highly efficient.


Mazda gets its MPG from the Skyactiv engine, and its not a conventional AT but something inbetween a dual clutch and regular AT. a CVT + skyactiv engine would be higher MPG but not as fun to drive.

CVT is only for fuel economy. Nobody asked for its quirky power delivery, noises, questionable life span, or expensive warranty obligations. It's one more step towards CAFE regulations.

Why are many CVT cars rated higher in MPG than the exact same car with a standard clutch manual trans? The tester can't drive? or is the CVT is very efficient? I don't want what i call a rubber band car but i think someday that will be all that is offered.
 
My fiancee has a 2012 Nissan Rogue with a CVT. I REALLY like how it drives; it's better than pretty much any conventional automatic. No engine revving up and down, transmission jerking through gears. Just smooth acceleration with the engine rpm staying right where it should.

I can't comment much on reliability as the car has only 26k miles on it. But, so far so good. I plan on changing the factory fill at around 30k. It's really easy to service: it has a drain plug and a dipstick.
 
I love our CVT, but can't comment on reliability as we have 4000 miles. A friend has one with 80000 miles on a Rogue without any problems. I love it because in town (city driving) it will keep the engine revs low and quiet as I accelerate. So far, we are averaging almost 34mpgs in a car with zero aerodynamics. I think (as with many things) the internet exaggerates the actual problems. We shall see.

ref
 
"Everything" is CVT now? I disagree. Conventional automatics are still in the overwhelming majority, and as they continue to add more speeds and smarter torque convertors, it may well be that CVTs never make deep inroads.

Secondly, CVTs seem pretty darn reliable in vehicles up to the size and power of the Nissan Murano. The main manufacturer of CVTs (JATCO- which is the supplier to Nissan, Chrysler, and many others) had a "don't repair it, return it to us for analysis" policy that seemed to be aimed at debugging it as quickly as possible.
 
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