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Thread: CVT owners respond/ I cant drive 55!

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    Senior Member Dirk Diggler's Avatar
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    CVT owners respond/ I cant drive 55!

    My CVT owners, like the Sammy Hagar song, I cant drive 55! I just cant in Atlanta, Ill die. So my rpms are constantly over 3k but never over 4k. Now I could care less about mpg, Im constantly doing 75 mph so Im lucky if I get 35 mpg, but I dont care about that. What I care about is reliability and stressing my drivetrain out. I get from my manual brothers on here that your setup is bulletproof and Im happy for you but I need to hear from the CVT folks on here. Is commuting at 3500 rpms doing 75 mph going to destroy my drivetrain prematurely or is it more like an Italian tune up and not a big deal?



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    Moderator Eggman's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dirk Diggler View Post
    My CVT owners, like the Sammy Hagar song, I cant drive 55! I just cant in Atlanta, Ill die. So my rpms are constantly over 3k but never over 4k. Now I could care less about mpg, Im constantly doing 75 mph so Im lucky if I get 35 mpg, but I dont care about that. What I care about is reliability and stressing my drivetrain out. I get from my manual brothers on here that your setup is bulletproof and Im happy for you but I need to hear from the CVT folks on here. Is commuting at 3500 rpms doing 75 mph going to destroy my drivetrain prematurely or is it more like an Italian tune up and not a big deal?
    I suspect that continued high speed operation would contribute to increased metal shavings in the CVT fluid, leading to clogged valve body passages and screens, leading to an early failure. But I'm no expert, it is just an opinion.

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2015 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 49.6 mpg (US) ... 21.1 km/L ... 4.7 L/100 km ... 59.5 mpg (Imp)


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    Dirk Diggler (08-10-2020)

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    Senior Member Dodge Aries K's Avatar
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    I have a severe disdain for the CVT transmission (and people) after trying to find an inexpensive used automatic Mirage. Change the damn fluid... the transmissions will NOT last if the fluid isn't changed.
    -Karl B. No Mirages currently...

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    Senior Member Dirk Diggler's Avatar
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    Yeah the car has taken a beating after 30k hard uber miles and long road trips but its still running good after 2 fluid and 1filter swap. Im at 74k miles now. If it can hit 200k miles before grenading, Ill be happy with it. If it craps out at 100k just because I took it on roadtrips and drove it on the highway at 75 mph (which quite frankly shouldnt stress out any car designed in the 21st) well I guess its my fault for trying to treat a city car like a regular car lol. Still though is 3k rpms really that hard on the 3A92 engine? Lame.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Dirk Diggler View Post
    Still though is 3k rpms really that hard on the 3A92 engine? Lame.
    No, my 5-speed manual is whirling @ 4,000 rpm at 75+ mph. 3,000 rpm is nothing. If an engine can't handle that, it's not worth owning. Keep in mind these cars are 3-cylinder engines. You would expect it to wind up more than a 4, 6, or 8-cylinder engine. My Honda vehicles with manual ran at higher rpm, too.

    What I find odd is the mpg rating the 5-speed manual get at the higher rpm. I never see below 40 mpg in the summer (even going 75+ mph with the A/C on). 44.5 mpg is the lowest tank I've seen this summer, most have been 46+ mpg. I drive normal (slightly above posted speed limits at times).

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    Senior Member Dirk Diggler's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dodge Aries K View Post
    I have a severe disdain for the CVT transmission (and people) after trying to find an inexpensive used automatic Mirage. Change the damn fluid... the transmissions will NOT last if the fluid isn't changed.
    Oh Ive been on top of that rest assured, changing the fluid. What Ive noticed is I cant find a single used CVT Mirage with 175k plus miles on it for sale online. Hell I could hardly find any over 120k miles! To me this just screams throw away car or the vast majority since 2014 are still being driven. Granted we're only talking CVT version, not the bulletproof manual version. If you go on Reddit though your starting to see more and more Mirage CVT owners complaining about their trannys failing around 100k miles or starting to act up. After talking to that Aamco CVT specialist though awhile back, about the low torque = much greater reliability theory. I remember I could just tell from his facial expression, he didnt agree but didnt want to burst my bubble lol.

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    Senior Member Dirk Diggler's Avatar
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    I was talking to my neighbor, he was working on his FIAT 500 Abarth 5speed, about my Mirage. He asked how I liked it and told him its a good little car but ask me around 150k miles. I also said the 5speed manual is really the way to go though and showed him Steve's post about hitting 300k miles. He didnt believe me at first, he's a big rig tractor trailer mechanic, and said he never heard of any Mitsubishi going over 200k miles lol. But he might of been thinking about the 80s or 90s vehicles who knows?

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    Senior Member Dodge Aries K's Avatar
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    Mitsus of old would run a long time. I have owned a 94 Plymouth Voyager with the 3.0L V6 (Mitsubishi engine) and that thing got piss beat as hard as possible at all times and it finally puked at a bit over 300,000 miles because an injector failed and it ran very lean while on the highway and blew the head gasket. Fantastic motor.
    -Karl B. No Mirages currently...

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    Moderator inuvik's Avatar
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    Dirk, you can run 3000-4000 rpm all day every without worrying about the engine grenading. Just make sure your oil levels are good (only 3.2 quarts capacity). Keep on a regular CVT maintenance schedule and you should be fine.

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2015 Mirage ES 1.2 automatic: 40.5 mpg (US) ... 17.2 km/L ... 5.8 L/100 km ... 48.6 mpg (Imp)


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    Senior Member Dirk Diggler's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dodge Aries K View Post
    Mitsus of old would run a long time. I have owned a 94 Plymouth Voyager with the 3.0L V6 (Mitsubishi engine) and that thing got piss beat as hard as possible at all times and it finally puked at a bit over 300,000 miles because an injector failed and it ran very lean while on the highway and blew the head gasket. Fantastic motor.
    My buddy in high school had a teal Plymouth Laser (rebadged Eclipse) that was by far the funniest 5 speed to drive! Driver's seat felt like a cockpit!



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