CVT autobox long-term reliability

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Wed 19 Nov 2008 17:53
CVT autobox long-term reliability - Vincent de Marco
Are they really that fragile? If so, how come top Jap manufacturers still use them? And the all-new Toyota Avensis will have one as well.
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Wed 19 Nov 2008 17:58
CVT autobox long-term reliability - retgwte
its a balance of factors such as

reliability

versus

emissions capable of being driven down to
low weight
cheap to make
mpg

in these balances reliability comes out fairly far down the list when user choosers want lowest CO2 and best mpg they can get, and many 1st time buyers dont care as they will be in warranty if it goes bang in the 1st 3 years and they will then be replacing anyways, company car drivers even less concerned about that

same reason for so many MMT auto boxes

its emissions legislation driving much of it

its not really a good environmental policy cos fixing so many faulty gearboxes many being replaced is not good for the environment, but when tax etc is calculated on simple CO2 figure that drives behaviour

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Wed 19 Nov 2008 19:39
CVT autobox long-term reliability - tawse
I wasn't aware that CVTs were fragile. That Leonardo hey!
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Thu 20 Nov 2008 08:28
CVT autobox long-term reliability - jc2
They were never that unreliable-it was just that very few people knew how to set them up correctly.
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Thu 20 Nov 2008 11:07
CVT autobox long-term reliability - pyruse
They are not inherently more fragile than any other sort of transmission, if they are properly built.

Honda seem to do a good job making reliable CVTs, for instance.
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Thu 20 Nov 2008 16:16
CVT autobox long-term reliability - HectorG
There is a known problem with Jazz CVT gearboxes. Our Jazz developed a judder when pulling away. The car had covered about 45000 miles and was about 3 1/2 years old. The usual procedure is a CVT oil change and flush. If this does not work then the 'box is rebuilt. In our case it was a rebuild. To be fair to Honda, they have extended the warranty on the CVT to 7 years, so it cost nothing.

ASAIK it was due to unsuitable CVT oil which has now been re-specified, so the problem should not re-occur.

I must say I prefer a standard torque converter box as in my Forester. They are usually pretty unbreakable, but you pay the price in reduced efficiency. A Volvo 740 auto my family ran to over 170,000 miles had no issues at all in 18 years.

HectorG
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Thu 20 Nov 2008 16:50
CVT autobox long-term reliability - Vincent de Marco
Exactly, when it comes to CVTs, Honda operates on a - sort of - unknown territory, hence the above mentioned "known problem". I fear we might witness the same sceanrio with Toyota's 7-speed CVT in the new Avensis.

I remember Audi wanted to stop their Multitronic production at one point, about 2-3 years ago, though something must had changed. I don't know, the assembly process itself, the materials, because it resurfaced in a form of 8-speed they now use in the current A4.
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Thu 20 Nov 2008 18:16
CVT autobox long-term reliability - KB.
"There is a known problem with Jazz CVT gearboxes. Our Jazz developed a judder when pulling away".

Having just bought a new CVT Jazz this was a question I asked prior to purchase. It was well acknowledged by the workshop foreman at my local dealer but I was assured that it was, indeed, due to the fluid and the new spec oil now has rectified the problem. I gathered that the warranty isn't now specifically extended but would be very hopeful that any future problem beyond the first three years would be sorted by Honda.....provided.....that it had been Honda serviced - which effectively prevents independant servicing for the foreseeable future.
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