CVT getting harder to shift.

[TopFuel500]

Anyone have any experience or ideas why it would get hard to shift from park to reverse or drive and back to park? If so how did you fix the problem? Feels almost like cable is binding or seizing up. Nothing has ever been spilled around shift console.

Thanks in Advance.

[joecvt]

Originally Posted by TopFuel500

Feels almost like cable is binding or seizing up.

That is what it is....I have this happen every so often on my 2003 CVT and I am able to get it working smoothly again for about three months or so by doing the following:

Key in ignition turned on but with engine not running.
Keep foot on brake pedal (to release shift lockup)
Move from Park to Low and back and forth.
It will get easier to do the more you go back and forth.
Do this quickly about 20 times after it has broken loose and it will be good for a few months.

I think corrosion is getting built up inside the cable on the engine side and moving it back and forth quickly breaks it loose. It would be nice to be able to spray something to go into the cable but I am not sure where the build-up really is...

My 2004 CVT with more miles is still very smooth and I never have to do this but the 2003 started getting this problem about 2 years ago but after knowing how to fix it (temp fix), it is not much of an issue for me.

Hope that helps,
JoeCVT = Just your average CVT owner

[timny1984]

Same thing happens to me. That explication seems pretty good.
At one point it was so bad the car didn't really want to stay in gear. That's when i took things apart to see what was making it stick, and i didn't find anything since i didn't spill anything inside. I have noticed randomly the shifter will "break loose" and move nice and freely.
Have there been any major issues in the past with the cable becoming to corroded (breaking)? i haven't seen any threads on anything major occurring, just wondering.


Tim

[timny1984]

Sooooo I think i have a problem.... My CVT sat pretty much all winter. Drove it a few times, but it has sat for a good 1-2 months straight. Well as what "normally" happens, the shifter was really sticking a ton. Well I did the normal routine to get it freed up. Well it broken loose... and i mean really broke loose. Now i can't get it out of park and the level moves freely in all the positions.
Can anyone direct me to some directions on what to do? i'm going to go take apart the center counsel and see if anything let go in there. I didn't hear anything break or pop. The girlfriend is going to be upset since i was getting the car back in shape so she could start driving it tomorrow. Any ideas would be more then welcome.

Thanks,

Tim

[Need4Speed]

Replacement looks very simple from the service manual. To get it off the bracket at the shifter you need to rotate the part at the bracket that faces the firewall one quarter turn. You can screw around to set up the new cable or the service manual has installing a pin, then tighten the nut, then remove pin. Most of the work has the shifter in reverse.

If you can get a copy of the manual it would help a lot. I have a hard copy manual.

[Willie Williford]

My opinion.
It seems that all the complaints are coming from the NE, where salt is used on the roadways. I would first check the area where the cable(s) comes off the transmission for corrosion. I have a MT so I don't know the workings exactly for a CVT.
HTH
Willie

[timny1984]

found it it's the eye bolt that broke connecting to the transmission. I'm not sure if the eye bolt is rusted to the shift linkage. By rusted i mean completely rusted and i can't budge the thing. I can't get it off and don't want to break something else if it isn't suppose to come off. I don't have a manual, so i'm searching majestic honda right now for some diagrams. I'll get a picture on here of what i found for future people to see. it's not difficult to find the problem, but i'm not sure how difficult it is to fix. :-/

Thanks guys

Tim

[Need4Speed]

Eye bolt at the trans or the shifter? Get some penetrating oil on it tonight so it starts to work.

[timny1984]

Here is the part that broke. It's the eye on the transmission. I'll try some penetrating oil but i'll have to get that on there tomorrow. I'm sure i'll find a way to fix this without having to replace the whole $125 cable. I can fix a lot of things with $125 haha.

Tim

[aisbell]

Originally Posted by timny1984

I don't have a manual, so i'm searching majestic honda right now for some diagrams.

You can download the Service Manual from a URL in sticky topic in one of the 1st generation forums here. You should find the diagrams and maybe repair procedure needed to fix your problem.