CVT surging up and down

RDMerBC · Feb 5, 2016

Pulsey said:
So now its at the dealer second time, owned the car less than a month... I did think of this... which I should of done before I dropped it off. But if any of you can, video the dash. The RMP's pulse with the car as does the fuel mileage indicator. I am going to ask my niece to start a website. This should help with action from Honda and help others who can't quite describe the craziness. It took me a few hours of searching to finally explain the pulsing. I searched civic shimmers, civic shaking, all sorts of terms that did not quite explain it. You all have done an excellent job in describing. So if I can get her to do a website, everyone can post there videos and notes. I will post back if she will. Also, for those that want to pull your eyeballs out..hang tough, you woke up this morning breathing.. good news! Post, facebook, twitter, everything you can and I assure you, Honda WILL respond. Time is on our side!!! Survivor Honda, awesome.. vote me off the island PLEASE!!!!

I think the video idea would be very helpful for those having difficulty convincing Honda service people that the problem exists. Maybe a little GoPro camera affixed to the door jam (locked down in position) and trained on the instrument panel where it could video the speedometer, tach, cruise control settings, erratic mileage indicator, etc. Maybe another GoPro aimed out through the windshield showing the long empty stretch of flat highway where the whole thing is occurring. Should be pretty convincing.

My most recent experience with this issue showed the tach jumping about 200 rpm back & forth at around the 2000 rpm mark (110 kph or around 70 mph).

For what it's worth, when I first went in with the problem I took a little written summary of the the issue to my Honda service department. Just a paragraph. It seemed to help. The service desk guy wrote, "See customer's description of the issue, attached" on the work order. As I said earlier, those guys were great -- very respectful, and aiming to please. Never tried to dismiss it. This is the way to retain customers.

dick w · Feb 5, 2016

hunter44102 said:
The CVT on the turbo is unique to the turbo models, and is brand new.

Brand new is all relative.

Continuously Variable Transmission for 1.5L Turbo
Turbo Civic models offer a CVT that is an evolution of the CVT transmission that is offered in Accord 4-cylinder models. In this application, the transmission's final gear ratio is 4.69-percent taller than the Accord CVT on which it's based, to allow for lower engine rpm while cruising. A new generation of G-Design shift logic aids acceleration and has a more familiar driving feel. A new turbine twin-damper design for the torque converter provides tighter control and helps reduce turbocharger lag as the vehicle accelerates.

PhotoVoltaire · Feb 5, 2016

When I was having the surging issue last night, I also couldn't help but notice that the turbo gauge was going up and down.

KA0S · Feb 5, 2016

PhotoVoltaire said:
When I was having the surging issue last night, I also couldn't help but notice that the turbo gauge was going up and down.

It will because as the revs go up, the turbo will also spool.

hunter44102 · Feb 5, 2016

dick w said:
Brand new is all relative.

the software is brand new to pair with new converter and turbo. i am unaware of any Honda / Acura turbo/cvt combos in the past.

this software will most likely be updated

dick w · Feb 5, 2016

hunter44102 said:
the software is brand new to pair with new converter and turbo.

Probably just updated calibration tables--tuning it to the 1.5T and modified torque converter. They certainly wouldn't have had a need to start from scratch.

hunter44102 · Feb 5, 2016

dick w said:
Probably just updated calibration tables--tuning it to the 1.5T and modified torque converter. They certainly wouldn't have had a need to start from scratch.

yes but my point is, new software = bugs.

the 2013 Accord is an example

PRak_CivX · Feb 5, 2016

KA0S said:
The thing that's confusing, is that it seems to be at the same speeds (for me)...You'd think if there was a malfunction(false reading), it would happen at the same throttle position, and not just certain speeds...I'm at a loss for what it could be...

Perhap

hunter44102 said:
yes but my point is, new software = bugs.

the 2013 Accord is an example

Well.... lets get it done Honda Engineers! Put those masters degrees to work.

dick w · Feb 5, 2016

hunter44102 said:
yes but my point is, new software = bugs.

No doubt. This one has the hallmark of some kind of feedback loop tuning issue: oscillation.

PRak_CivX · Feb 6, 2016

And this may be why they arent working a fix for the 1.5 Turbo surging problem... bigger fish to fry.

"Stop sale issued for 2016 Honda Civic models with 2.0 L engine"

dick w · Feb 6, 2016

PRak_CivX said:
And this may be why they arent working a fix for the 1.5 Turbo surging problem... bigger fish to fry.

"Stop sale issued for 2016 Honda Civic models with 2.0 L engine"

What makes you think they aren't working on a fix? Honda announced over 2.5M cars for recall just this week for airbag and SRS ECU issues. I'm sure Honda has the internal resources to do multiple things at once.

PRak_CivX · Feb 6, 2016

Well fans, on my way back from lunch, i was on a long flat stretch of road without traffic... tried to maintain a constant speed of 45 mph, and the lurching and surging has returned (significantly). So i made it a grand total of 550 miles of smooth driving since the dealer performed the battery reset. I will be returning to them in the next couple days.

Pulsey · Feb 6, 2016

PRak welcome to the club!!! So, i took it to the dealer and he dismissed my issue basically told me he could not replicate.. Except, my 32 mpg was now 22 mpg and they put about 80 miles on my car. Had two people take it out for a nice little drive. How they got it to go from 32 mpg to 22 mpg.. Guess they had a little fun with it in the process, since i did tell them it does it at a cruising consistent speed of 48.... you think I would of got it back with 40 MPG if they tested at the speed I said was an issue.... WOW HONDA! AND, i did find out as someone else mentioned they have a STOP SELL on all 2016 Honda Civic 2.0's. WOW, apparently they rushed them out and there is an engine problem. They #1 car of the year just lost its title!!! Hopefully, that major catastrophe does not overshadow ours!!! Service guy, although kind of an arse, did document and said the unplug was a temporary fix. So he acknowledged he knew about the issue verbally, he did not put that on my paperwork. Which in lemon law land, I don't know how that will play out if it says that. I am still sure they will find a fix and this all will be old news... or at least crossing my fingers. After the reset, wow, what a great little car!!!! My niece said she would create the website, but because I wanted to add feedback and video upload it would take a few days. If there is only five of us with this problem dont know if its worth it.. but after hearing yesterday about the stop sell.. makes me wonder. Would hate for those that have no idea what the heck is wrong with their car to feel all alone out there... Also, since i got the reset yesterday, pulsey is cruising like butter and since they reset it and drove it like maniacs, my take off is super fast from memory drive.. may make me not so rushed to move forward till it does it again

PRak_CivX · Feb 6, 2016

Pulsey said:
PRak welcome to the club!!! So, i took it to the dealer and he dismissed my issue basically told me he could not replicate.. Except, my 32 mpg was now 22 mpg and they put about 80 miles on my car. Had two people take it out for a nice little drive. How they got it to go from 32 mpg to 22 mpg.. Guess they had a little fun with it in the process, since i did tell them it does it at a cruising consistent speed of 48.... you think I would of got it back with 40 MPG if they tested at the speed I said was an issue.... WOW HONDA! AND, i did find out as someone else mentioned they have a STOP SELL on all 2016 Honda Civic 2.0's. WOW, apparently they rushed them out and there is an engine problem. They #1 car of the year just lost its title!!! Hopefully, that major catastrophe does not overshadow ours!!! Service guy, although kind of an arse, did document and said the unplug was a temporary fix. So he acknowledged he knew about the issue verbally, he did not put that on my paperwork. Which in lemon law land, I don't know how that will play out if it says that. I am still sure they will find a fix and this all will be old news... or at least crossing my fingers. After the reset, wow, what a great little car!!!! My niece said she would create the website, but because I wanted to add feedback and video upload it would take a few days. If there is only five of us with this problem dont know if its worth it.. but after hearing yesterday about the stop sell.. makes me wonder. Would hate for those that have no idea what the heck is wrong with their car to feel all alone out there... Also, since i got the reset yesterday, pulsey is cruising like butter and since they reset it and drove it like maniacs, my take off is super fast from memory drive.. may make me not so rushed to move forward till it does it again

No worries here. I will just keep taking it back to the dealer and getting 300$ worth of waranteed labor for the test drives and battery reset plus a free car wash and shuttle ride to work and back to the dealer. Every 500 miles if that is what it is. I suppose if everyone experiencing this problem keeps going to their dealers, it will get more and more of Honda's attention.

Skell1117 · Feb 9, 2016

Just brought my car into the dealership today. They Test drove it and the mechanic came over to me and told me there is definitely something wrong/ abnormal, but he didn't know what it would be that is going on. He showed me the computer with the data that he had gotten from the car, assuming from when he drove it. He seemed to think it might be some kind of transmission issue. Wondering if anyone else has heard the same thing. He called Honda tech or whatever it is called. I was told it was in California. He said that they don't have a solution to the problem as of yet other than the cable reset, but to come back again if it comes back and they will go from there. He said that it may be necessary to Replace it with a new transmission, which kind of scared me.

CVT surging up and down

RDMerBC

Senior Member

dick w

Senior Member

PhotoVoltaire

Senior Member

KA0S

Senior Member

hunter44102

Senior Member

dick w

Senior Member

hunter44102

Senior Member

PRak_CivX

Senior Member

dick w

Senior Member

PRak_CivX

Senior Member

dick w

Senior Member

PRak_CivX

Senior Member

Pulsey

New Member

PRak_CivX

Senior Member

Skell1117

Member

Similar threads