CVT Blew Up at the Dealership

[Cornercarver]

Sorry to hear about that. Mods good, CVT bad. On your next Honda, try to get one with a manual.
Honda always makes great manual transmissions. Automatics or CVT's not their strong point. .Apparently even on a 2019 model.
Better luck on your next project. Glad it is not your daily.

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[jconnway]

Forgive my ignorance about CVTs but what was the previous version on civics before the CVT? Was it more robust? I feel like those lasted forever. And if they were better, why then would Honda just keep the older ones rather than switching to the CVT?

CVTs are apparently better for fuel economy and probably manufacture cost. Previous civics just had traditional gearboxes

 

[jconnway]

that bites. my civic has over 86,000 miles with no ( other than K&N Intake ) performance mods & the CVT has had 2 fluid changes already, and a 3rd is coming up ( these 2nd Gen CVT should be serviced every 30,000 miles irregardless of whether maintenance minder alert ). the vehicle has never been raced, only driven daily . mine has started to have hard shifting & some slippage AGAIN despite the regular servicing, and 2 different Honda dealers have stated that EVENTUALLY to EXPECT a complete CVT failure AT OWNER'S COST.

That’s insane, trade it in. Incredible that 2 dealers admitted to you that a failure is inevitable and you wouldn’t be covered

 

[cvc17]

That’s insane, trade it in. Incredible that 2 dealers admitted to you that a failure is inevitable and you wouldn’t be covered

yes. looking @ toyota . very unhappy with Honda as my Civic has been well maintained & service records back this up. CVT service is almost $ 200 at Honda dealers on average, & now my Civic will be needing a 3rd service soon. AND, for " warranty coverage consideration from Honda ( per the dealers ), CVT service MUST be completed only by a authorized Honda dealer.

 

[Testudo]

damn, so it’s like a matter of time? Shouldn’t we all just trade it in now before our cvts blow up?

I’ve been running on Phearable 1.5 for maybe 15,000 miles now…about to start up 1.5R. Other mods SRI, intercooler. I’ve changed trans fluid once so far at around 45,000miles. I drive mostly conservatively, occasional bursts. I’ve never floored it, launched it. The fastest I think I’ve hit is 100 for maybe a second or two. So far no CVT issues. I’m hoping to last to 100k miles…
Please tell me I’ve got a chance!

 

[gtman]

What's going on with this hysteria? Seriously guys, relax. Even on tuned cars, CVTs have a fairly low fail rate, especially at OTS power levels. Yes, the OP had a failure but we don't know how it was driven for the 20,000 miles before he bought it. Change the fluid every 30,000 miles and don't brake launch the car. Keep in mind factory defects and lemons do happen from time to time but are rare.

Now, let's go ahead and look at some facts. We have 384 cars with CVTs in my community tuning thread. 7 have failed. A couple were on custom high power tunes. One happened on a hot day on a race track circuit. A few just happened randomly on base tunes. The overall failure rate is 1.8% - on tuned cars. In my opinion, that's surprisingly good.

Sure manual transmissions can handle more torque and abuse. They're more engaging. And for 25 years straight I drove nothing but sticks, so I know. But they have a weak point ... the clutch. Over 20% of tuned owners in my thread have upgraded their clutch due to slippage concerns. On the other hand, only 4 out of 722 tuned manual owners have blown their transmissions. That's a 0.6% failure rate. Amazing.

 

[latole]

CVTs are apparently better for fuel economy and probably manufacture cost. Previous civics just had traditional gearboxes

Don't you think that the economy is lost in the regular oil changes that CVTs require?

 

[VTecYoSelfB4UWreckYoSelf]

yes. looking @ toyota . very unhappy with Honda as my Civic has been well maintained & service records back this up. CVT service is almost $ 200 at Honda dealers on average, & now my Civic will be needing a 3rd service soon. AND, for " warranty coverage consideration from Honda ( per the dealers ), CVT service MUST be completed only by a authorized Honda dealer.

What Toyota would you get? If you want an auto the corolla is slower and smaller than a civic.

If I was an auto driver and wanted a sedan I would pick up a 2.0T/10 speed accord while they are still low mileage and clean

 

[latole]

I always had Toyota with MT before Honda with MT . A great car these mt Toyota

 

[jconnway]

damn, so it’s like a matter of time? Shouldn’t we all just trade it in now before our cvts blow up?

I’ve been running on Phearable 1.5 for maybe 15,000 miles now…about to start up 1.5R. Other mods SRI, intercooler. I’ve changed trans fluid once so far at around 45,000miles. I drive mostly conservatively, occasional bursts. I’ve never floored it, launched it. The fastest I think I’ve hit is 100 for maybe a second or two. So far no CVT issues. I’m hoping to last to 100k miles…
Please tell me I’ve got a chance!

Straight from the Honda techs mouth - CVT fluid should be changed at least every 30k so you were pretty over. I'd service it again!

 

[partialprint]

At that point u might as well swap the trans if honda doesnt cover it. I know lot of times the warranties are for the original buyer and not carried over if resold. My civic 2017 sport hatch was sold with lifetime drivetrain warranty and powertrain. I keep all my oem parts in case i ever have an issue. u can always take a weekend to install and tow it to honda lol. but ive heard the cvt is delicaate and cant handle that much torque capping between 230-250. with all your mods you probably passed that and it couldnt handle it. im 27won intercooler prl cobra and msd ignition coils rn may eventually go dp and or remark exhaust but im scared to tune honestly for the exact reason

 

[gtman]

At that point u might as well swap the trans if honda doesnt cover it. I know lot of times the warranties are for the original buyer and not carried over if resold. My civic 2017 sport hatch was sold with lifetime drivetrain warranty and powertrain. I keep all my oem parts in case i ever have an issue. u can always take a weekend to install and tow it to honda lol. but ive heard the cvt is delicaate and cant handle that much torque capping between 230-250. with all your mods you probably passed that and it couldnt handle it. im 27won intercooler prl cobra and msd ignition coils rn may eventually go dp and or remark exhaust but im scared to tune honestly for the exact reason

A little "secret" for you. The more common fail point on tuned hatches are the rods, much more so than the CVT.

 

[jconnway]

The verdict is in boys - Honda denied my warranty claim.

They cited the tune as the culprit for the CVT failure. Despite being flashed to stock for inspection purposes, the ECU history printout clearly shows very recently elevated levels of everything (indicating a tune).

As they say, the jig is up. I knew it was unlikely they were going to fix this for free and I'm not going to play dumb and make it worse for myself. I'm looking at a decent deal for an almost brand new CVT and install so it will be back on the road sooner than later and at least this way, Honda techs will give it a total overhaul and make sure there are no lingering issues.

Also, after some research and discussion - the swap to manual is not impossible, but completely cost prohibitive. I'd rather take that 10k and put it into a new project that will take better to heavy mods anyway.

 

[xjoshuax89]

Definitely sounds like there was either a manufacturing defect which was exacerbated with the elevated power levels or the first owner drove the car like he/she stole it. Or perhaps combination of both.

If you can source a relatively low mileage CVT from like copart or lkq, you should be able to get it done for like $5k-$6kish.

Fingers crossed for me but I bought my car brand new and one of the first few folks to go nuts on the power mods.

Nearing 6 yrs of ownership on my 2017 Sport Touring Hatch with 60k+ miles on it with nearly 4 yrs of it at 300whp+ levels with no issues *knock on wood*.

Best of luck with your repairs!

 

[cvc17]

What Toyota would you get? If you want an auto the corolla is slower and smaller than a civic.

If I was an auto driver and wanted a sedan I would pick up a 2.0T/10 speed accord while they are still low mileage and clean

considering Toyota Corolla hatch. my 2001 Civic EX auto transmission went over 150,000 miles before needing rebuild, and was well maintained. a Honda service advisor informed me Honda could claim my Civic is used for fleet use due to driven 7 days a week & mixture of heavy stop and go & highway and this could void any warranty claim. Plus, have driven at 120 mph often on a toll road that has a posted 85 mph limit. this stresses the CVT and overheats the fluid - Really ? then Honda should have put a limiter and / or operating warning regards the CVT .

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