Originally Posted by littlehulkster
Originally Posted by supton
Originally Posted by littlehulkster
Toyota has been using CVTs in their hybrids for over a decade now and not only have they had no significant issues, the Prius one of the, if not the most reliable car you can buy and has been it's entire existence. This is despite the Prius getting heavy use as a fleet car in cities and racking up god even knows how many miles.
CVTs can be fine if they're not designed by idiots.
Before you counter with the low power argument, I will also point out Toyota CVTs have been used in huge, stretched Lexus limos with over 400hp and still have no significant problems.
At least in the early Prius's the trans was not a CVT. By summing engine speed with electric motor speed they could vary the speed of the car and motors. I think recently they added a speed, but those early ones were not a CVT in this sense.
Even in the first Prius it was a planetary gearbox, however Toyota calls it a CVT and always has. It's different from most, but it's still a CVT.
You have to understand that the planetary gear set found in Prius and Ford Hybrids only operates as a CVT, but it's operations requires two electric motors. It's not even a transmission in a traditional sense. It simply behaves as a CVT but it is definitely not the same as CVTs found in gas only vehicles and should never be compared to them.