[Ikabob]

I love my new Civic Touring. The ride is smooth and quiet. The technology and the infotainment versatility is so great.

The more I read about the CVT transmission, the more I wonder if I actually bought the right car. From what I read, it is inevitable that at about 50 K miles I will be hit with a $5-6 thousand charge for a new CVT. I rationalize by thinking that this was old time CVTs and these new 2016 CVTs have been perfected especially when combined with a turbo. Please someone with expertise tell me what kind of longevity I can expect. My 2002 Passat had 206,000 miles on it and was still in good shape. I do not regret my purchase EXCEPT if my Civic Touring days are numbered.
Thank you.

 

[Mannup93]

I have never heard about 50K miles being the end of the line for the CVT in Hondas. I think with proper maintenance and if you don't beat the CVT up daily you should be good pass 50k and into 100k. I'm sure at some point the belt on the CVT will have to be replaced but i don't think the whole system will have to.

 

[hunter44102]

My original CVT in 2006 hybrid is still going strong at 175K miles. The fluid looks great . I was changing it between 40k and 50K miles since day one.


CVT's last a long time. If you go up an down hills like crazy (San Francisco), it may take a small hit, but so would any other transmission.

 

[Traum]

My family has a 1st gen Murano with the CVT, and throughout its 150k+ km life (just shy of 100k miles), the CVT has never given us any trouble. (I wish the same can be said for the rest of the car.) Of course it needed regular fluid changes, but every transmission needs that.

Given the Fit / 9th gen Civic's CVT recall, I do have some concerns over the longevity of the tranny. But at this point in time, the piston pin snap rings issue worry me a lot more.

 

[Josh Aden]

Your best bet is to change the CVT fluid every 30,000 miles. I'm not sure what is involved in changing it on this car but the fluid only costs about $20 for a drain and fill.

 

[4Tires]

Hondas are usually built like tanks as long as you take care of it and bring it in for scheduled maintenance.

 

[jamis]

I have never heard about 50K miles being the end of the line for the CVT in Hondas. I think with proper maintenance and if you don't beat the CVT up daily you should be good pass 50k and into 100k. I'm sure at some point the belt on the CVT will have to be replaced but i don't think the whole system will have to.

AFAIK, the belt/chain in the CVT can not be replaced at a dealership as the process requires jigs & fixtures that they don't have. If the belt fails, it's a remove and replace with a new transaxle. That said, the belt/chain is the least likely part to fail in this transmission. I haven't looked at the OM for this car yet, but if there isn't a maintenance item listed for the CVT, I bet you have nothing to worry about. The old 5AT doesn't have a maintenance item for it, until the MM calls for servicing it.

 

[Traum]

Hondas are usually built like tanks as long as you take care of it and bring it in for scheduled maintenance.

Unless you are talking about the 01-03 Civics, or pretty much any Honda automatic transmission that are mated to Honda V6.

 

[dick w]

I haven't looked at the OM for this car yet, but if there isn't a maintenance item listed for the CVT, I bet you have nothing to worry about. The old 5AT doesn't have a maintenance item for it, until the MM calls for servicing it.

Maintenance Minder code 3 is replace transmission fluid. Who knows what conditions cause it to display.

 

[RedCivicTouringMA]

I read that from one idiot who posted it on facebook, hardly a reliable source.
Believe me Honda did not win car of the year for the Civic, by putting a transmission in it that lasts 50k

 

[Traum]

Believe me Honda did not win car of the year for the Civic, by putting a transmission in it that lasts 50k

But apparently you can still win COTY without installing piston pin snap rings!

 

[RedCivicTouringMA]

But apparently you can still win COTY without installing piston pin snap rings!

Win COTY? Whats COTY?

 

[dick w]

Car of the year.

 

[Josh Aden]

I read that from one idiot who posted it on facebook, hardly a reliable source.
Believe me Honda did not win car of the year for the Civic, by putting a transmission in it that lasts 50k

How do you know? Are there a lot of 16's with 50k+ miles on them? That said, I would have no fear of buying a new Honda CVT.

 

[hunter44102]

If you drive it hard, change fluid more often (every 25k miles). If you are a highway commuter that keeps speed steady all the time, you can probably do 60K easy before changing the fluid.

I was told the maintenance minder for CVT is around 60K normally

Also if you change the fluid yourself, (if its like the 06 hybrid civic), there is a magnet on the drain bolt. You have to wipe the microscopic small accumulation of metal / debris off it before re-installing!

 

[jamis]

Maintenance Minder code 3 is replace transmission fluid. Who knows what conditions cause it to display.

Same as the 5AT in Black Betty and nobody knows what causes it to display either.

 

[Tennesseestorm]

Not sure about Honda, but a friend of mine at work has a 2014 Nissan Sentra SE and her CVT went out a couple of months ago at 10,500 miles. Nissan replaced the entire thing under warranty thankfully. I have heard some people not having any trouble with Nissan and others do. Hopefully the Honda will be a long lived one.

 

[Vegasheat]

I love my new Civic Touring. The ride is smooth and quiet. The technology and the infotainment versatility is so great.

The more I read about the CVT transmission, the more I wonder if I actually bought the right car. From what I read, it is inevitable that at about 50 K miles I will be hit with a $5-6 thousand charge for a new CVT. I rationalize by thinking that this was old time CVTs and these new 2016 CVTs have been perfected especially when combined with a turbo. Please someone with expertise tell me what kind of longevity I can expect. My 2002 Passat had 206,000 miles on it and was still in good shape. I do not regret my purchase EXCEPT if my Civic Touring days are numbered.
Thank you.

135,000 miles in our 2007 Civic with CVT And just like new. The key is every other oil change, change the CVT fluid. There is no such thing as lifetime fluid, it's easy and cheap to change and Great insurance.

25,000 is too long to wait, every time I change the fluid is a little dirty. This is a car that should last 200,000 miles with aggressive maintenance. Change the oil religiously, change the train fluid at least every 15,000 miles and drive it like you stole it.

 

[jamis]

The '07 Hybrid MM would trigger a CVT fluid change at around 20K miles or so. I know the one in my car hasn't called for an ATF fluid change in the first 29K miles of mostly city driving. I still have no idea what the algorithm is for this maintenance item. I sure wish someone could find out.

 

[Vegasheat]

The '07 Hybrid MM would trigger a CVT fluid change at around 20K miles or so. I know the one in my car hasn't called for an ATF fluid change in the first 29K miles of mostly city driving. I still have no idea what the algorithm is for this maintenance item. I sure wish someone could find out.

The newer cars try and say it's a lifetime fluid or 100k miles. This gets them through the warranty period and makes people think lower maintenance cost, this does not help you transmission last 200k miles. I would search the year and model car you have on Google and add DIY transmission service.