CVT reliability

[joecvt]

Originally Posted by Cobb

All this cvt talk has me worried. Its about 30 degrees in the morning and I have the heat on, so no auto stop. When I hit the gas it I guess locks up the clutch pack. Well shortly after the cold engine light goes out, if I give quarter throttle, the engline sounds like a weed eater stuck in high weeds. It revs up then bogs down as the car lurches off the line.

That is no good for the start clutch pack if that happens often.

I live in New Hampshire so I am used to cold mornings. In the winter time, you have to allow a bit more time before accelerating. Usually at a red light, once I see the light turn green, I let my foot off the brake so the engine can restart and allow the car to roll slightly on its own before touching the gas, then press down slowly on the gas until the clutch packs engage, then drive as normal....I sounds complicated or time consuming but it really is not and if you get into that habbit, I believe it will prolong the life of the CVT.

Basically, until the clutch pack is engaged, you can not drive it like a typical automatic transmission. Think of it as a manual transmission when starting out in first gear as you apply throttle smoothly as you let out the clutch. The CVT does the clutch stuff for you but the principal is about the same as far as throttle method goes. Once engaged, you can nearly do whatever you want without causing damage to the CVT.

JoeCVT = Just your average CVT owner

[lacertus]

Oh man. The "weedeater sound". That's exactly what my fried CVT sounds like.
I would have to assume that it's a slipping belt, since the prev. owner said it got progressively worse until it wouldn't move. He also said the dealer told him not to bother trying to fix it until it actually broke.

[Hugh-Falls]

Originally Posted by lacertus

Oh man. The "weedeater sound". That's exactly what my fried CVT sounds like.
I would have to assume that it's a slipping belt, since the prev. owner said it got progressively worse until it wouldn't move. He also said the dealer told him not to bother trying to fix it until it actually broke.

The "weedwacker sound" is probably caused by the worn out start up clutch. If it is not too late, drain the transmission fliud to flush out the metal particles and other debris that will destroy you transmission and entire belt mechanism. The wear-prone part of the Honda CVT is the start-up clutch. The belt is designed NOT TO SLIP under ALL NORMAL driving conditions. The start up clutch is designed to slip at start up to give you a smooth jerk free-start up, approximating the fluid coupling found in most other automatic transmissions and to fully lock up by about four mph and will continue to do this with minimum wear as long as "jack-rabbit" start ups are avoided. The CVT fluid is said to contain additives that allow the slippage to take place with the minimum wear in the start up clutch. These additives become depleted over time and must be replenished by regular Genuine Honda CVT fluid changes. In addition, suspended metallic and other wear causing debris is flushed out of the system when fliud is changed on schedule.

Follow the suggestions of CVTJoe for start up. Remember that it is a "start up clutch" designed to operate between zero and about four miles per hour and not for shifting in and out of neutral or for coasting above that speed and its operation is nowhere as robust as a manual transmission clutch whch can take a lot of abuse.

[Cobb]

I try to pause when I lift from the brake before hitting the gas. I normally do that with the heater off to avoid the lurch when auto stop works from a dead stop when its cold. The weedeater sound just happened once the other day.

I normally ramp up the throttle then back down to take it easy. I change hte fluid every 15 thousand and the filter at 30.

Thanks for the info

[Hitech]

The "Belt" is two spring steel bands supporting steel segments the make the "belt" cross section. the segments are quite thin about .060"-.090" thick. the pressure on the variable pulleys insure zero slippage of the belt. The only element that allows for slippage is the start clutch. If non Honda fluid is used it can start to "Jutter" as it engages. If it is severely overheated (long periods of idle, stop and go driving in traffic trying to hold on an up-hill (there is an "anti creep" feature that apply's the brakes to stop backward rolling which adds to the overheating in hilly areas). I make it a point to go into neutral if going too slow for auto-stop to re-cycle and never hold on a hill.

[GoMetricToday]

I used to have several Elements and if I am not mistaken my last one ( 2008 ) had a CVT in it and drove just fine. The Element was an AWD EX-P. The Element is quite a bit heavier than the Civic and Insight. I think those that report problems with the CVT may have been plagued with a fluke.

[lacertus]

I'm certain the CVT used in the Element would not be the same as in the Insight. Even the insight MT is a lighter weight (and apparently less durable) version of the Civic MT, so i doubt they would have used a heavier design for this much lighter car.

For my insight, I'm starting to think along the lines of a VX engine & transmission transplant. I saw where someone has done this and lost a couple hundred pounds of battery in the process. My 1st and 2nd synchros are totally gone now (have to come to a full stop any time i go below 20mph), and the clutch is behaving badly as well.

[2001Insight]

I just picked up a 2001 G1 Insight.
It has a slight shudder before the "start clutch" (Dealer $580 part)($60 Install)
TOTAL $750'ish with fluid flush and replacement of that part.
I called honda before buying my insight and decided the start clutch and fluid are basic things to do.

You guys with the "Lawnmower" starts and broken CVT transmissions are probably also people with no patience. When someone mentioned the "start clutch" I immediately knew being light on the throttle when starting off from a start can preserve the transmissions life. To bad honda did not include this information in the owners manual and even if they did, how many people read through it.