In defense of CVTs

[El Kapitan]

In defence of CVTs

http://driving.ca/subaru/wrx/reviews...FQaTfgodKBsA1Q

is there any limit to the genius of Da Vinci?

[mikemustbebored]

What's the overall consensus of the CVT in the mirage? Specifically, how does it fair when daily driven in a typical U.S. commute (city and freeway)? Any issues been brought up concerning dependability/reliability? The Mitsu warranty is great, however, it loses it's appeal if the owner is repeatedly needing to bring the vehicle into the dealership to handle issues with the CVT. My Mirage has been fine as a daily driver except for the occasional grind into Reverse on the 5MT. Any input regarding the CVT would be appreciated as my coworker is looking to consider one as her next vehicle.

[alex16]

My reverse grinds 25% of the time, I've learned to leave it in 1st when parking then it doesn't grind when going to reverse, or go into first gear first then to reverse.

If I had a cvt I would treat it like my civic automatic, drain and refil every other oil change if doing 3750 severe changes or at every recommended 7000 oil change. It's cheap to buy the Mitsubishi cvt transmission fluid and it only takes like 2 1/2 or less, my large civic took about 2.1 qts if I did a quick drain and refill

[El Kapitan]

mine has been trouble free so far but i have not owned the car for very long. the CVT loves cruise control. i use CC with the CVT more than i've used it on any vehicle i have ever owned. although i'm a big fan of ford's "select shift" auto, i'd say that overall i like the CVT much more than a "regular" auto.

for alex: the mitsu service tech told me that they recommend a CVT fluid change every 48 000 kms. he also told me that mitsu was going to change that service interval to every 96 000 kms (twice as much). i noticed that you wrote that you would do it much more frequently. i don't have much knowledge of transmissions so i wonder why you like to do yours so often. is it for peace of mind? i'm thinking i might do my first CVT oil change sooner than 48 000kms just to clean any factory grit out of there...

[Daox]

An oil analysis when you change your CVT fluid will tell you everything you need to know about how its wearing. These cost about $25. I've used blackstone many times in the past for motor oil changes and I've been quite happy with them.

My experience with the 2015 Mirage CVT was very pleasant. I've daily driven a Prius (which they all have CVTs, albeit a much different mechanical design) in the past (which I also like), and I really liked the Mirage CVT. It gave you power when you needed power, but any other time it keeps the RPMs low and saves on fuel. I obviously can't speak to the life of the unit. We'll have to wait and see on that one.

[alex16]

For my Civic and I believe for the Mirage also the transmission fluid is actually easier to change than the engine oil. I prefer transmissions without a filter and a low fluid capacity, it makes changing the fluid a 20-30$ job that takes 30 minutes vs a much more expensive and messy ordeal.

I agree with having the fluid analysis done, I'm always over kill. I've replaced a lot of transmissions that were toasted from old/burnt up fluid. I noticed my civics transmission fluid would lose its factory fresh smell after 30K miles which was the recommended service interval. I just didn't have the money for a transmission started pampering it past 170k. The service only took 2.1 qts @$8 per qt so it was super cheap, I know the cvt fluid is super expensive though I just get paranoid because most of the transmission shops were quoting me very high prices for cvt rebuilds in hx civics (I thought about adding a cvt to my 99 civic). I also was told about the civic hybrid cvt that costs like 2500 to rebuild or something crazy!

[Dodger]

Most CVT trans take a special fluid and it is like my Dodge Caliber that you cant even check the trans fluid lvl yourself you have to take it in to the dealership and have them do it because the lvl is dependent on the temp of the fluid and such. The Caliber and Mirage both use Jatco CVT transmissions diff models but same manufacture. I know the Caliber CVT fluid has rubber in it to help the belt grip better and not slip its also VERY VERY noisy I am hoping that the Mirage does not develop that issue.

[El Kapitan]

having driven both transmission options in this car, i definitely noticed how much louder the CVT was when under moderate to high acceleration. at light acceleration, and of course cruising, it's fairly quiet. in level highway cruising (for me this is about 70-80 miles per hour), it's more quiet than the standard.

[GrnBn]

I wish the manual could be considered "quiet" at 70-80. ~75+ and I'm approaching 4k rpm's, which isn't insane or anything, but holding it consistently starts to make me appreciate my stereo.

[alex16]

I really dislike the high rpms, it reminds me of my corolla gt-s or mr2 sitting at 4K at 70. I normally drive as slow as possible, I love it when I hit a 55mph speed zone on the interstate, I normally do about 55 on the interstate, 50-52 when possible (in 55 zones). My Mirage does the best at about 40-42 in 5th gear, I forget what rpm.