Considering Another Mirage

[Johnny Mullet]

My 2017 hatchback ES model is almost paid off and now considering another since the old one has been so awesome. We will keep the 2017. Whatever new car we get the wife will be driving and she wants a G4 automatic. The only thing that bothers me is the CVT and some people having issues with them where the 5 speed manual is pretty much indestructible.

Those of you with the CVT, do you service them every 30,000 or 60,000 miles and does this keep them reliable, or is it hit and miss with these? I don't mind financing another Mirage, I just don't want transmission issues.

[PityOnU]

I think there are other gentlemen on here who can answer with more details re: the failure modes of the CVT (the term "thrust bearing" comes to mind, but I honestly have no clue if that's correct or what it even means), and whether or not regular maintenance would help prevent it.

That being said, while the CVT's likely won't be as reliable as the manual in the long, long run, I think it's worth keeping in mind that the particular transmission the Mirage uses is also used in much larger, heavier, more powerful vehicles, meaning it's probably overspec'ed for our use case and likely under-stressed.

Personally, I'm trying to change the CVT oil using an RC car fuel pump (detailed by another member here in a thread somewhere) every 10,000 miles - seems relatively cheap and straightforward. For the every 30K "recommended" change, I will absolutely be giving the dealer the parts and having them drop the pan and clean the gunk out. Pro tip: they do not do this for a "standard" CVT oil change, but still charge like $270 for it - wtf :/ The local dealership charges like $115/hr for "custom" requests, and somehow I doubt dropping the pan off the transmission would take more than 2 hrs...

- EDIT -

Realizing I haven't answered your question w.r.t. reliability - I have just passed 20,000 miles with my hatchback CVT after about 2 years of ownership, I think. The big difference for CVT vs. manual is that the CVT is almost entirely computer controlled, so the thing you have to keep in mind there is that it's not just physical reliability, but also the quality of the control software.

In terms of physical reliability, I don't think I've had any issues yet. When I first got the car brand new, I did experience the CVT "sticking" and not disengaging when coming to a full stop, resulting in the car trying to drag me through an intersection. That was scary as ****, but only happened twice, and it was during the first few weeks of ownership. So I think it was a combination of the car being entirely new and not "broken in," with a little dash of "the car was already two years old when I bought it new so had been sitting entirely unused on a dealer lot for that entire time which cars are famously terrible at" thrown in for good measure.

In terms of the control software, there's been maybe 2-3 times where the computer failed to switch the CVT into the proper driving mode after I selected it with the shifter. By that, I mean shifting from "P" to "D" or "R" did not properly engage the drivetrain. I'm pretty sure this was a CANBUS error each time as I needed to switch the car entirely off and then back on again to get things back to working properly. Other systems on the car (EBD, for e.g.) also locked up in conjunction with this once, which was not great. The car also has a tendency to roll backwards a few inches first when quickly switching to "D" - not every time, but it's common enough that I take it into account now. Maybe once every couple of weeks. Although thinking about it now I can't remember this having happened for some time. So all-in-all, maybe one software glitch every 3-4 months.

Other than that, super happy with the CVT and incredibly impressed that we can get such amazing technology for so cheap these days. Like most Mirage owners, I drive for efficiency, so my light use of the accelerator combined with the CVT means that I almost never go over like 1700-1800 RPM. Incredibly impressive to me. I've also towed ~1200lbs about 100 miles before and things seemed to hold together fine, although I am reluctant to crow about that accomplishment too much because only time will tell how much wear that actually put on things, and without any sort of instrumentation it's near impossible to determine the amount of stress things were under at the time.

[Wil B]

I've had 2 Mirages both with CVTs. My 2018 now has 110,000 miles with ZERO CVT issues. I'm pretty much sold on this tranny. Smooth, and well-programmed to get the most of the little engine. Easy to use with the mpg readout & tach to get the best mileage. And...I can cruise all day at 75-80 mph at pretty low revs!
I've had the oil changed at 45k and 90k. Next I might pop for a transmission shop to do the filters. The dealer refuses to even consider it!

[Johnny Mullet]

Thanks for the input. Too bad a new G4 with any kind of package is now pushing $20,000 compared to the $11,900 I paid for the 2017 ES

[defensivetackle88]

What if you get the base model at MSRP? It definitely easier versus a Corolla.

[Wil B]

Well almost any car in the market now is priced with no discounts, and often a premium. I'm lucky my 2018 Mirage SE hatchback CVT cost $13,700 out-the-door (no trade in.) I joke, they took 4k off the price when I walked in the door. The SE had all the goodies, alloys, cruise, foglights, etc, and at that price I saw no reason to be a cheapskate and buy a lesser model. This car has been a feature packed wonder and I still enjoy it.
BTW love your videos, man.

[Johnny Mullet]

Well almost any car in the market now is priced with no discounts, and often a premium. I'm lucky my 2018 Mirage SE hatchback CVT cost $13,700 out-the-door (no trade in.) I joke, they took 4k off the price when I walked in the door. The SE had all the goodies, alloys, cruise, foglights, etc, and at that price I saw no reason to be a cheapskate and buy a lesser model. This car has been a feature packed wonder and I still enjoy it.
BTW love your videos, man.

Yeah I get it. Prices are crazy high.

[Johnny Mullet]

Sadly I been checking inventory in the entire state of Ohio and there are not many options to choose from right now.

[defensivetackle88]

What about white bear? They have some in stock

[Mark]

What about white bear? They have some in stock

I only see one G4 @ White Bear, & it is $20,000+.