We're off to look at Accords. Putting aside other concerns, what do people know about the CVT in the non-hybrid version (and am I correct in thinking the eCVT in the hybrid version is more or less like the Prius arrangement?)
I haven't driven many CVTs, and I fundamentally dislike the idea, but if it drives well then the real question is whether Honda's are reliable. I mean, the whole reason we're looking at Honda is reliability.
Following.
My wife bought a new CRV last June...turbo, AWD, lots of stuff that can fail.
Have only ever seen two Honda CVTs fail, and they were both in 1.8l HRVs. Aside from those two, they just seem to work. (Things come in pairs, those two failures happened in the same month or close to it)
There's a pressure sensor on the top/radiator/end of the trans. I saw a Civic unthread that pressure sensor, once. Bizarre failure. They drove it until it stopped moving due to lack of pressure. It pumped most of the fluid out and all over the place, I was expecting to see a broken case until I saw the sensor dangling off of its wire. The remaining fluid was burnt and black and nasty! I replaced the sensor just in case, changed the fluid twice, and it was fine. Trans had something like 150k on it.
In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :
Thanks!
Unrelatedly but jumping back to answer my own second-tier question, the eCVT isn't like Toyota's, more like a Volt as I understand them; series hybrid except engages the engine to the wheels at certain freeway cruise conditions and otherwise is generating electricity with the ICE and driving the wheels with an electric motor.
I'm sure I mentioned it elsewhere, but I've had zero issues with the CVT in my 2015 Fit at 102,500-ish miles.
I bought the Fit with around 27,000 miles on the clock and it was sold new in Wisconsin, if that matters at all.
And if I remember correctly, horsepower output was decreased following the 2015 model year, so that might be something to keep in mind as well.
Fit/HR-V are basically the same vehicle. The CVT's seem to be durable from what research I did prior to my wife buying her HR-V. I don't know how I'd feel about one in a heavier car like an Accord though.
The CVT is...a CVT. It drives like it is one. Which is to say, it's kinda stupid, even for an 'automatic'. I'm not really a fan.
In reply to ddavidv :
They are probably more reliable because they don't have faux-gears like Nissan. That sounds like a recipe for step wear in the pullies, which would chew up the chain.
We have one in our 2019 Fit, but we only have 26k on it so I can't say much about its long-term durability. However, I will say that much like my '09 Fit where I can use throttle modulation to control the shift points, you can similarly control the CVT's...um, engagement points(?)...in my wife's car with throttle modulation too.
My wife has a 2017 CRV with over 100K miles on it now and so far the CVT has been fine.
Well, we've circumvented the question by deciding the Accord isn't for us. It was okay, but then we found the seat bottoms to be at an awkward, non-adjustable angle (no adjustment for that on any trim level), and that tipped us over into just deciding it wasn't the one.
We tested a base model (SE?) with the CVT; I didn't drive it because we got our questions answered before getting that far. My wife wasn't bothered by the CVT-ness, though she did note it lacked oomph; if we'd liked the overall car more the hybrid version probably would've answered everything with a little more power, EV torque delivery, and no CVT questions (even though the signs here appear to be good for a Honda).
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