Hey, from Toronto. And, a transmission question.

[MitsuCA]

Hey, everyone.

Hello from Toronto. Thank you for all the great advice posted to the forum. I have learned a lot from your experiences and advice. It's great to read all the international voices here--drive well and stay safe. I recently purchased a 2015 Mirage demo from a dealer. I searched around the city and they were in short supply. So feel lucky to be a part of this community now.

My concern focuses on the transmission.There is a lot to love about our cars, no doubt. Yet, I have some irksome feelings about the CVT transmission. Pardon my lack of technical language here. Every time I apply the brake, just before the car makes a complete stop it appears the transmissions "holds and then releases" producing a slight jerk forward at each stop. I suspect this is a transmission issue as I have placed the car in Neutral when applying the brake to a smooth complete stop with no jerking feel or sound.

Along these lines, when I coast at a low speed say around 10km/h (5miles/h) to a rolling stop, it feels as if the transmissions is "holding" the car back before releasing it to a smoother feeling stop.

Do you think there is a problem with the transmission or is this a common occurrence with CVT Mirages?

Thank you very much for your insight.

Warm wishes.

[Eggman]

Good morning, MitsuCA and welcome to the forum.

Hopefully, an owner of a CVT can chime in with their insight, as I have a manual transmission in mine. In the meantime, I suspect what you are experiencing might be related to the dual-range design on the CVT on these cars. It is my understanding that it is programmed to shift from low to high range at a certain point of acceleration, and then go back as the car slows down.

I encourage you to make an entry in your garage here on the forum. Add some pictures, and share a bit about yourself. Also, consider tracking your fuel economy using the Fuel Economy Log.

And one more thing: get your alignment checked. Not sure how much you've read about this, but it turns out some 2014 & 2015 versions have problems with rear axle alignment. The rear axle on these cars are not adjustable. The best remedy is replacement, and can be covered under the first year of ownership.

Welcome!

[Alex1a1f]

Your CVT is acting normally. You can have it checked, but they'll say nothing is wrong. What you're feeling is Mitsu's neutral idle logic, along with the feeling of the belt loading and unloading. Just remember, a CVT is very complex and feels nothing like a conventional automatic, after you drive it for awhile, it's not even noticeable.

[inuvik]

Agree with zx2uner. It's completely normal but can be annoying at first. I personally don't like it that much which is why I'll either manually downshift into "B" at about 10 km/h or just place it in neutral as I roll up to the stop. I manually shift my CVT a lot. We'll see if this contributes to any long term problems. 19k miles so far with no issues.

[MitsuCA]

Dear, Eggman, Zxtuner, and inuvuk.

I hope y'all are having a nice Sunday afternoon. Thank you very much for taking the time to read my hello note and to answer my inquiry. I really appreciate the three of you describing the intricacy of the CVT. Yeah, I hadn't driven a CVT prior to the Mirage. I bus and biked for 20 years then drove a '98 Honda Accord. So part of me thought, wow, this is what is a car is like, haha, and then, oh, this is what a CVT is like?

Eggman, thank you for describing the "dual-range" design which shifts at certain points of acceleration and deceleration. I hadn't given any thought to the rear-wheel alignment. I will ask them to look into it at my next visit to the shop. Also, thank you for reminding me to fill out my garage profile. I just enrolled on to the forum late last night, so will have to get that all set up.

Zxtuner, thank you for mentioning the "neutral idle-logic" along with the belt loading and unloading. You are right, I went to Mitsu and they as well said the transmission was working to design. It was my lack of information on the matter with needed repair!

inuvuk, thank you for the suggestion to "downshift into B" while rolling to a stop. For a while, I would similarly put the car into Neutral to coast and then brake to stop without the slight jerking mentioned. A friend advised against it citing it can cause premature wear on the transmission by disengaging it while in actively moving in drive. They were not all that aware of the CVT logic but I stopped doing so on their advice. Additionally, I believe putting the car into Neutral will use some petrol to maintain idle, while leaving it in Drive and simply lifting your foot from the throttle while actually stop fuel delivery to the injectors. So if anything, shifting the CVT may just effect your fuel consumption slightly.

I really appreciate your help, everyone. I wish you safe drives and awesome journeys.

[inuvik]

Dear, Eggman, Zxtuner, and inuvuk.

I hope y'all are having a nice Sunday afternoon. Thank you very much for taking the time to read my hello note and to answer my inquiry. I really appreciate the three of you describing the intricacy of the CVT. Yeah, I hadn't driven a CVT prior to the Mirage. I bus and biked for 20 years then drove a '98 Honda Accord. So part of me thought, wow, this is what is a car is like, haha, and then, oh, this is what a CVT is like?

Eggman, thank you for describing the "dual-range" design which shifts at certain points of acceleration and deceleration. I hadn't given any thought to the rear-wheel alignment. I will ask them to look into it at my next visit to the shop. Also, thank you for reminding me to fill out my garage profile. I just enrolled on to the forum late last night, so will have to get that all set up.

Zxtuner, thank you for mentioning the "neutral idle-logic" along with the belt loading and unloading. You are right, I went to Mitsu and they as well said the transmission was working to design. It was my lack of information on the matter with needed repair!

inuvuk, thank you for the suggestion to "downshift into B" while rolling to a stop. For a while, I would similarly put the car into Neutral to coast and then brake to stop without the slight jerking mentioned. A friend advised against it citing it can cause premature wear on the transmission by disengaging it while in actively moving in drive. They were not all that aware of the CVT logic but I stopped doing so on their advice. Additionally, I believe putting the car into Neutral will use some petrol to maintain idle, while leaving it in Drive and simply lifting your foot from the throttle while actually stop fuel delivery to the injectors. So if anything, shifting the CVT may just effect your fuel consumption slightly.

I really appreciate your help, everyone. I wish you safe drives and awesome journeys.

The CVT isn't like a regular automatic transmission where they don't recommend putting it in neutral while moving. With the CVT you can put it into neutral at any speed. You can pulse and glide like a manual transmission if you want but it's ok to put it into neutral as much as you want to while rolling.

[MitsuCA]

Thank you, inuvik. I had no idea that a CVT enables the driver to drive and then drop to neutral without fuss. I definitely need to watch some videos on the design and function of this transmission style. The information is much appreciated. Take care.

[Alex1a1f]

The CVT isn't like a regular automatic transmission where they don't recommend putting it in neutral while moving. With the CVT you can put it into neutral at any speed. You can pulse and glide like a manual transmission if you want but it's ok to put it into neutral as much as you want to while rolling.

I understand that putting a CVT into neutral at stop lights may not be harmful, but just dropping it into neutral just randomly and whenever is not good for any CVT or Auto. If a vehicle should be towed with it's wheels off the ground, like our Mirage with CVT does, then neutral should never be used rolling except for emergency purposes.

[MitsuCA]

Thank you for clarifying, zx2uner. All this is news to me. I appreciate your time clarifying.

Pardon my asking, given the differences between a common auto and CVT, is a transmission flush every required after a certain number of kms/miles?

[Alex1a1f]

Thank you for clarifying, zx2uner. All this is news to me. I appreciate your time clarifying.

Pardon my asking, given the differences between a common auto and CVT, is a transmission flush every required after a certain number of kms/miles?

Yes. IMO more important in the CVT than Auto because of the metal belt. I think it's every 30k, but check your manual for sure.