CVT transmissions.

Does anyone have any insight into CVT transmissions in terms of reliability and driving characteristics?

A friend of mine is looking to buy a 2010 Subaru Legacy. They want a CVT transmission because it gets slightly better fuel mileage than the 5-spd automatic.

2010 is the first year for the CVT option. I have suggested they go for the cheaper automatic. The extra money the dealer wants for the CVT can buy some gasoline.

Also, since they will keep the car for a long time, the automatic will be cheaper to fix than a CVT if it breaks.

And finally, the automatic is more responsive to drive than a CVT.

Do you think my advice is on the right track?

I haven't really heard anything bad about them (aside from being boring). Nissan has been offering them for years.

But I agree, I wouldn't buy anything that's a first year option.

I don't know anything about the Subaru ones, but I do know the Honda and Nissan/Renault CVT's are very reliable.
They have been around since the early 90s, so it's not new technology.
I would imagine that Subaru are using someone else's gear box, possibly a Nissan/Renault one as they are the only company I know who have been able to build one strong enough to work on a large car (fitted to the V6 Maxima in Japan, NZ and Europe since about 2001).
I've yet to see the Honda units fitted to anything larger than a 1.7L Civic.

I've driven a couple of the CVT Logos/fit/Jazz, and they are a great little car. As you can imagine power delivery is very smooth, if a little disconnected.

Just avoid the Audi/VW CVT. We had to replace one in an A4 at the shop that was damaged in an accident. Its not rebuildable (practically) and a used replacement was $1400. The fluid to put in it was $29/qt.

In general, the CVT hasn't been around long enough in V6/large car applications to prove to me that its worth it from a reliability standpoint.

In general, the CVT hasn't been around long enough in V6/large car applications to prove to me that its worth it from a reliability standpoint.



That's what I would be worried about, especially when combined with the added load from AWD.


CVT as a technology has been around for a very long time, as long as the car, but there was until the early 90, a problem getting the systems to hold up under high torque loads.

My mother's last car was a Subaru Justy. A 1994 model I believe, with the three cylinder engine.
It had the CVT transmission and it had its own driving characteristics. Personally I didn't like the car.
It was like driving a Fall-Fair bumper-car. In the four years that she had it the transmission had to be
repaired; and then the repaired transmission had to be replaced. The replacement transmission also
had to be repaired and then it was going to have to be replaced as well. That was the end of the Justy.
Considering that the engine wasn't even producing eighty horsepower (66-73) I would have to say that
the CVT showed itself to be very fragile and unreliable. I have no doubt that improvements have been
made since that time, as technology marches on, but I would not buy one nor would I encourage anyone
else to buy one either. When it comes time to fix one it is expensive as well as a waiting game because
nobody's got parts. I'd avoid it like the plague.