Hi all,

I remember reading somewhere online that Honda's version of the continuously variable transmission (CVT) is more prone to malfunctioning b/c they use a cone-style shape as opposed to the Prius' planetary style. Anybody have any issues with this yet? What will the 2006 use? Cheers!

 

No problems yet in an '03 with 34K miles

 

2006 still uses the same type CVT. They do wear more quickly than the planetary gearing but if you are gentle they can last a while before needing major service.

 

Keep the fluid changed under the maintenance schedule and it shouldn't have any problems. Old fluid can cause it to be jerky.

Don't restart in N going over 40 though.
It doesn't like that at all.

I think a MT would be more durable.

 

Federal testing of Honda hybrids: CVTs fail at 81K miles!!

The Advanced Vehicle Testing Activity tracked fuel efficiency and maintenance costs of hybrid vehicles used in fleets. For CVTs in Honda Civic hybrid and Insight hybrids the average life of CVTs was 78,000 miles. One insight and one civic needed the CVT replaced twice. One insight had 73K miles with no failure of the CVT (but it did need a battery module). Catalytic converters also seemed to fail at about 100K. There were 5 cars with 73K miles or more, with 6 CVT failures (one with no failure at 73K and two with two CVT failures. The CVTs failed at: 77K, 69K, 89K for the Insights and 97K, 99K, 58K for the Civics for an average life of 81.5K miles.
There appear to be serious reliability concerns with Honda CVTs!!

My CVT has been slowly dying since 115K miles, in a 2000 Civic HX ( not a hybrid, but I think the CVT is the same). I've put $500 dollars into it and it still doesn't work right. It worked fine and I liked it for the first 110K miles.
I'd be very interested in the experience of owners of high mileage Honda and Prius CVTs.

Canadian fleet experience shows that non-scheduled maintenance for a 2000 Cavalier is $2.69, 2001 Insight is $1.78, 2001 Prius $0.19. They don't say if the Insight is a CVT or manual, but it appears that the Prius is very reliable.
--Walter

 

Since when has government fleet vehicles been driven like owners cars?

I'm sorry and feel for you about your own but there just hasn't been any widespread failure.

 

H_G-

Every day on my commute into work I cross a very long, very tall, and very steep bridge. It's literally the very first thing in the morning and the last at the end of the day. I live on the river and as soon as I cross it, I'm right in the heart of downtown. Anyway, it's especially loathsome to have my poor HCH start off it's day with a climb of more than a mile (the St. John's River is HUGE), so I often reward it by hitting the top at about 40 MPH and then balling into a FAS down. By the time I hit bottom more than a mile later, the ICE's been off for over a minute and I'm doing 60+ MPG assuming I don't need to ride the brakes in traffic, which I usually don't. Problem is that the last leg is a sort of impromptu highway that dumps us all off downtown but speed of traffic is 60 MPH for that last mile or so of flat highway. It never takes long to lose my glide of 60 MPH so I always restart in N around 50-55 or I'd get eaten alive by angry commuters. Should I drop the habit? To be honest, I think I'd rather just wait out the glide till I'm down to 40 MPH as the speed limit is 45, I just know I'd get honked flashed and flagged daily for it.

On the bright side, in the afternoon actually exit the bridge, continue to glide all the way in as I take my turnoff, glided into the lane of traffic for about 200m, and made the right hand turn into my apartment complex, past the first buildings, and a final right into my row and space ALL in FAS glide! It has to be several miles and I never hold anyone b/c the speed limit is in constant drop!

 

My 2 cents:

There have indeed been some problems with CVTs reported on the various forums I have read. Most, if not all, of these were with 2002-2003 CVTs.

As far as I could tell, the report stated above in the large red letters was testing 2002 HCHs.

Honda seems to be pushing forward with their CVTs, which I would find curious if they were fundamentally flawed and still prone to failure, given Honda's inclination towards quality.

I personally would not write off CVTs as "unsafe at any speed" or anything of that nature. Might there have been problems in the past? Certainly. Do I think that Honda would address these issues? Yes also.

Personally, I love my CVT and find it somewhat harder than it used to be to ride in the less smooth environment of either a traditional automatic or a manual. That's just my opinion.

 

H_G and Coyote: OK, I admit that the great big red letters were a bit overwrought . My own experience is just one data point and doesn't necessarily generalize. I really wish there were more data. However, the AVTA study shows some good things and some bad things about the Hondas: I don't think there were any serious engine or electric motor problems and only one battery set replaced in cars with up to 160K+ miles. But, the CVT seems to be a weak point in otherwise pretty reliable cars.

Thanks for the sympathy, but if it finally dies I'll probably get a hybrid (maybe even a HCH) .

I hope that some of the hypermilers get to try out a 2006 HCH before I have to buy a new car.

--Walter

 

Excellent point, and well done to be the one to finally bring it up. The 2006 HCH will be exclusively CVT transmission, which means Honda is pretty assured that its product is good to go.