Originally Posted By: KGMtech
CVT fears are overblown. That Honda, Toyota, Subaru are all joining Nissan is solid evidence that the product is reliable and saves fuel.
The 19 Altima is interesting design, but I concede that the new Camry is slightly ahead in styling. Not rushing to Toyota store...
Not to be a nattering nabob of negativity here, but Subaru recently extended the transmission warranty on many (maybe all?) CVT-equipped models to 10 years/100kmiles. Not too long after that, I started getting a persistent tranny-related OBDII code along with CELs and found some online stories about a valve body replacement when I googled the code along with Forester.
Sure enough, I went to the dealer and they replaced the CVT valve body...under warranty at close to 80kmiles thanks to the extension.
I suspect pretty strongly now that the wrong CVT fluid was used at my 60kmile service, a special orange high torque fluid is supposed to be used in the Subaru turbos with CVTs and the dealership mentioned that the fluid that came out when the valve body work was done was green (meaning the standard Subaru CVT fluid). They asked to see the car again after I mentioned the color discrepancy and I think they changed the fluid again, but this was not indicated on the paperwork...it's possible that my valve body problem could have been related to the improper fluid, IDK.
Anyway, I think CVTs are here to stay but there might still be some teething issues to work through. I guess I don't have a lot to complain about since my issue was handled at only the cost of some of my time, but I am a bit wary of getting this car to 160kmiles and will probably figure out the CVT fluid change procedure on my own as I don't have a lot of confidence that I will get the proper fluid at a dealer in the future.