[Tim Cole]

Hi guys!

I am approaching 300k miles on my 07 civic and am planning to buy a new one. I don't want a stick as I do lots of travel, stop and go, traffic jams, etc. However, the CVT transmissions still have me a bit cautious. What is the maintenance like on this gen CVT? Is there a maintenance interval for belt replacement? My 07 has been virtually maintenance free and I am looking to continue that experience. Planning on buying a 2.0 EX.

 

[g26okie]

From what I have read, belt replacement is not an option, they just replace the entire unit. As far as maintenance from what I have read as well, keeping up on recommended transmission fluid changes is all that is needed.

 

[Maxvla]

This CVT is brand new, so nobody knows its quirks yet, save Honda itself.

 

[10thGenCivic]

On my 2014 Accord (as noted above) the belt goes the life of the transmission. Unfortunately many transmission shops I have spoken to say these units really are not rebuildable. Fluid changes are all that is needed. However from experience I would recommend changing it much sooner than when the maintenance minder comes on telling you to change it. I changed mine myself at 25k and the fluid was getting dark. A lot of members on the Accord forum waited for the maintenance minder which was around 50k (depending on driving conditions) and changed it themselves and found in some cases they had near black fluid. Keep in mind the Accord would only drain 3.7 quarts out of 8 which is less than 50% so many changed it twice to get the fluid back in better shape. My recommendation is change it every 20-25k which should prolong the life of the transmission and keep fluid quality up. It's cheap to do so.

Bases on the pictures I have seen it appears the 2.0L Earthdreams engine offered will have enough room under the hood to get to the transmission fill fluid for the average person. The 1.5L turbo maybe require some disassembling under the hood to get to the fill plug.

I would not worry about longevity. Many Honda CVTs have seen 200k in fleets. Honda would not risk reputation on a less durable transmission.

 

[hunter44102]

my 2006 Civic Hybrid CVT has 171K miles on it. The fluid comes out very light every 30K when I change it. It feels like it can go another 100k easy. I think CVT's can last a long time with easy highway driving. The people I know that had issues had to drive up an down hills all day in California and other hilly locations. However, this is a 10 year newer CVT and I hope it uses better/stronger materials.

I'm hoping fluid changes on 2016 are as simple as the 06 Hybrid. You just undo drain plug and 3 of the 7 quarts empties. You then add 3 quarts in the dipstick. Easier than changing oil. You never really do a full flush, just these partial changes.

we also have a 2007 Jeep Patriot with a Jatco made CVT that can even tow 2000 lbs. They have had some issues with people that tow and heavy use. Ours has 68K with no issues at all, lots of short trips. The maintenance schedule is 100K miles to change fluid. Ours still looks somewhat light colored fluid. We are easy on it. We do go up inclines but not any big hills.

 

[g26okie]

Since I do about 20-25k miles a year on my car, a transmission fluid change once a year would be no problem.

 

[5TAR]

You might even want to change it sooner than that if you plan on keeping the vehicle past it's original warranty term, since you really can't go wrong with doing servicing sooner than what the schedule says.