Drove a CVT for the first time this weekend...

RossD wrote:

Feedyurhed wrote: Had a rental car last year with a CVT, it was either a Focus or Fiesta and it was flat out miserable. It stumbled and jerked and didn't seem to have any acceleration at first, then would lunge forward.

I'm guessing it was not so much the CVT but the drive by wire throttle delay that they use to keep drive train shock low and to help boost fuel economy.

I don't think Ford ever used a CVT. But I do know they have a DBW throttle that sometimes has to stop and think about whether you really pushed the loud pedal or not.

Or it could have been one of the early DCT's (dual clutch transmission) that they had some problems with.

Ford used a CVT in the Five Hundred and Freestar for a few years.

Freestyle, not Freestar (the Freestar was just a Windstar with its pushrod Essex engine stroked out to 4.2L)

Freestyle was later renamed the Taurus X after they renamed the Five Hundred the Taurus.

My wife's Accord has one, with the 4 cyl. I like it. No fake shift points that I know of.

The "rubber band" feeling is odd at first, but it feels remarkably quick when you step on it.

Toyman01 wrote: My Mom has a Freestyle with the CVT. She loves it. Calls it her lawnmower transmission. I've driven it, I don't hate it, but I wouldn't buy one. Her's doesn't have the simulated shift points, so to me it always sounds like it's slipping. It's just shy of 100k and my Dad is ready to dump it before the transmission pukes.

those are all over CL in beautiful shape with bad CVT's for $600 or under. i thought "wtf, let me price a transmission!" and copart wanted $3250 for a used unit with 115k.

erohslc wrote: *snip* OEM's wouldn't let them out the door if they were going to be a warranty problem.

I think we always have at least one bad one at work... No, I won't say which company.

Next to making it a prius style hybrid, I see no way to suck the fun out of a car faster than installing a crappy cvt.

Do you know what a Prius CVT really is? It's a CVT with electric torque fill and no real wear items and a shockingly smaller number of parts. Oh, it also completely replaces the starter and alternator. Have you ever replaced a starter or alternator and wished you were doing something else, or just not spending money? In short, it's COMPLETELY superior to a Nissan CVT, not the other way around.