Corolla and CVT?

supton

supton

Joined
Nov 9, 2008
Messages
23,874
Location
NH
So I'm trying to warm up to the idea of a Corolla. How are the CVT's holding up? Some early teething problems I saw, but fluid change (at least drain and fill) doesn't look too bad. I saw at least one admonition to not use high revs or drive hard, which I get, it's an econobox, get something else if you want to drive hard--but my daily gets flogged and sees 5k on a regular basis trying to keep up at times. And it's an econobox and it's still managed 260k (albeit a conventional slushbox).

Does one really have to go hybrid to get a good transmission in something cheap? I mean, all the complaints about 8&9 speeds, bad programming, etc. Our hybrid seems to just do what is needed.
 
With your commute a HAH would make all kinds of sense, but they're now $30K+so the window of opportunity has passed.
Guess I bought mine at the right time.
The Corolla is very abstemious in its use of fuel and I'd doubt that it's as fragile with the CVT as some might say.
Toyota might not make excitement or market leading tech but they also don't make junk.
 
I had a 2015 last year for about 10k miles, sold it with 113k. It was a pretty nice highway cruiser. The drain/fill was as easy as a normal AT. No issues at all with the CVT, it was one of the better ones I've had with a natural feel. @atikovi has posted questions about his very high mileage 2017 and might chime in on how its doing. The 2023 gasser hasnt changed a whole lot mechanically since 2014, I think it does have the slightly newer engine that had some issues but I think they are cleared up by now.
 
atikovi said:
No issues with my 2017 at 251K. Just changed the fluid and filter which was pretty easy. It has a separate fill plug.
Click to expand...
Toyota has a few different CVT's (K313, K120, etc) but apparently they got it right across all of them, I guess.

Maybe tomorrow I'll test drive one. I'm just not convinced that my '99 will last forever, nor do I think the cheap budget used market will ever come back.
 
Probably about as good as they get. On-time fluid changes and not abusing it should be a long life. Being a mass-produced car, if it fails at 200k+ miles you'd probably have an easy time finding a used one to toss in with low miles someday.
 
Looks like they still have a conventional automatic transmission in the Mazda 3. They seem to be a nice driving small car. My SIL had one and really liked it.

The only knock I've ever heard against Mazda was rusting but I think you could beat that by having it rust proofed right out of the showroom. One more thing to research if a Mazda 3 interests you.
 
2015Corolla said:
There was a service bulletin for my 2015. Dealership did the service. Something to look out for.
Click to expand...
I'd go new. Used market is nuts up here. Last few vehicles we've had, we've owned for upwards of 10 years--seems like something that I'd rather buy new, get its best years, maintain it to a T, and hopefully reap the rewards.

ecotourist said:
The only knock I've ever heard against Mazda was rusting but I think you could beat that by having it rust proofed right out of the showroom. One more thing to research if a Mazda 3 interests you.
Click to expand...
I suspect the Mazda would be more fun, but I think I'm going to wait another 5 or so years before I attempt to get a "fun" car. If my finances swing wildly high then I'll hand down whatever I have to the kids and... have fun. Until then, plain Jane for me.
 
ecotourist said:
Looks like they still have a conventional automatic transmission in the Mazda 3. They seem to be a nice driving small car. My SIL had one and really liked it.

The only knock I've ever heard against Mazda was rusting but I think you could beat that by having it rust proofed right out of the showroom. One more thing to research if a Mazda 3 interests you.
Click to expand...
I‘ve owned both. Assuming relatively equal costs I would go with a Mazda 3 because of the conventional transmission.
 
supton said:
I suspect the Mazda would be more fun, but I think I'm going to wait another 5 or so years before I attempt to get a "fun" car. If my finances swing wildly high then I'll hand down whatever I have to the kids and... have fun. Until then, plain Jane for me.
Click to expand...
I suspect the purchase prices would be quite similar. The Corolla would have better resale value but if you put 250,000 or 300,000 miles on it there isn't much resale value anyway.

I've told this story before but some years ago I said to a group of auto enthusiasts, "I test drove a car on the weekend and it was the most fun I've had driving in years." More or less in unison they all said "Mazda 3?" At that time I was driving a BMW 528i M-Sport 5MT. These guys drove a BMW 340i, Mustang GT, Audi 3 and a Panos.
 
zzyzzx said:
The new Chevy Trax has a regular automatic transmission.... Just saying...
Click to expand...
Price is right (under $25k). CUV. Ok, I could live with that. 32mpg. Ok, maybe I could live with that... not desirable though. What size tires are those on the alloys? Looks like 205/70R16 or some sort of 18". Not sure what trim level forces you into the bigger wheels.
 
i had an ex-hertz 2004 toyota corolla le from 24k to 103k happy miles. i rented a recent cvt corolla; toyota managed to give a reliably unchallenging economy car an insipidly soulless driving feel. if i could more comfortably fit behind its steering wheel, and the dealership was nearby and decent, i would look at a non-turbo, non-cvt mazda 3 over a toyota corolla for a new small sedan. or maybe a vw jetta.
 
jstert said:
i rented a recent cvt corolla; toyota managed to give a reliably unchallenging economy car an insipidly soulless driving feel.
Click to expand...
Most Corolla owners don't want a challenging car and couldn't care less about driving feel. They just want an appliance that starts every morning and isn't in the shop every month. I don't dislike the CVT in my '17 and it is smoother driving then geared automatics.
 
atikovi said:
Most Corolla owners don't want a challenging car and couldn't care less about driving feel. They just want an appliance that starts every morning and isn't in the shop every month. I don't dislike the CVT in my '17 and it is smoother driving then geared automatics.
Click to expand...
Agreed. My Corolla had one job: to start every time I turned the key and not stop until I turned it off. When I sold it at 178K it hadn’t failed once.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

G
8th gen Civic or 9th Gen Corolla?
2 3
Replies
43
Views
3K
Quantico
ls1mike
2023 1.5/CVT Malibu Rental car.
2
Replies
28
Views
2K
zzyzzx
pezzy84
Rental car review - 2021 Toyota Corolla LE
2
Replies
31
Views
4K
VersatileGuy
Number_35
2015ish Nissan Sentra - things to watch for?
Replies
10
Views
900
Number_35
A
One week impression of a high mileage 2017 Corolla iM
Replies
16
Views
2K
JoelB
Back
Top