CVT reliability, driving and ownership?

[fordulike]

I like the idea of Toyota using a CVT, instead of MMT on the new Aygo.

I just wondered if anyone could give real world experiences of a CVT on any cars they've owned. Doesn't have to be Toyota!

My style of driving is half town, half dual carriageway. So would a CVT be suitable for me, especially as the Aygo has only something like 72bhp?

[flash22]

cvt's get a bad name due to Nissan/jatco boxes tending to grenade at anywhere after 30K miles

the Toyota cvt's have been around a long while as long as you do a filter and flush at 40-60K miles, all's good

All cvt's that i have driven are on the loud side as the engine just revs as there is no gear/ oil passage change, so the revs don't drop

[alan333]

CVT gearboxes are really smooth to drive, there's no discernible feeling of jerkiness or gears being changed or anything like that, they simply and smoothly go a bit faster when you press the accelerator further.  They also 'creep' well so they’re good for stop/start journeys and hilly parking etc, and they pull away softly like a traditional auto.

However, driving one feels a bit like driving a car with the clutch slipping.  When you press the accelerator the revs rise, but not directly related to the road speed. But the further you press it the more it 'grips' and the faster it goes, unlike driving a car with the clutch slipping.  The down side is that the revs rise higher as the pedal is pressed further. This engine revving highly noise is most noticeable on hills, especially at higher speeds, and can be annoying to some people, but others won’t even notice it.  You really need to drive one yourself on some hills somewhere and see which camp you’re in.

I believe they’re pretty reliable and I personally wouldn’t worry about it, although it was pointed out to me on this forum a few years ago that there was a huge problem/recall or something on some cvt's, IIRC in the USA.

 

[Hybrid21]

I would agree that you really need to drive one first to see if CVT is for you.

Some people will love it and some people will hate it, a bit like Boris 😀

[Cyker]

I would have avoided belt-driven CVTs like the plague a few years ago but the Toyota one has proven to be very reliable - Off the top of my head I can't think of a single post on here with a major problem since they were introduced, which is a small miracle in itself!

Stark contrast to the MMT, which have more posts than I've had hot dinners  

They can get a bit irritating if you're driving them efficiently as the engine will hold the same RPM while the CVT slides to increase speed, so you lose that rising engine note and feedback that clutch-based transmissions give, although if you give it the beans Toyota made the system pretend to be more like a clutch-based system with rising RPM and simulated upshifts to try and give more driver engagement.

I've had to learn that with my hybrid, i.e. to stop linking engine note/sound with speed, and associate it with load/power demand instead.

[RDPP]

Yep i seccond that

[RDPP]

On another note does anyone remeber the Daff Variomatic 😁

[davidif]

1 hour ago, RDPP said:

On another note does anyone remeber the Daff Variomatic 😁

Do I recall reading that they were able to travel in reverse at the same speeds as they could go forward??

[Roy124]

2 hours ago, RDPP said:

On another note does anyone remeber the Daff Variomatic 😁

I remember one that the kids next door filled with water.   It was waterproof 😂

[RDPP]

On 8/24/2022 at 3:52 PM, davidif said:

Do I recall reading that they were able to travel in reverse at the same speeds as they could go forward??

Yeh until the elastic band broke 😂