Honda CVT

These are just observations about the CVT, Constant Velocity Transmission.

One thing bad right off the bat is it's a weak transmission in that you shouldn't tow very much at all. The limit is 1,500 lbs. I'm not even sure that is safe. The reason being is there is no first gear. I'm not an expert though I've heard that from experts. Ironically the CVT is quite good in hilly regions. That surprised me. The reason being is it finds the exact ratio for climbing a hill. They were banned for hill climbing in the early 1900s because they were so efficient. Leonardo Da Vinci invented it in 1490. That's a much earlier than I would have thought. He never patented it and a patent was issued in the late 1800s.

Here are my observations. The CVT is a constant shift transmission and a seemingly endless number of gear ratios. When I take off from a stop I generally leave the other cars way behind no matter the size of their engine. The reason being is they have fixed gears and fixed ratios. So while they have the slightest lag during shift my car continually is connected to the engine.

Another interesting observation is these cars will often floor the pedal to catch up and pass. You can hear them roaring by. It seems irritating to them. Personally I drive just a bit over the speed limit. I've found even driving 70 mph down a country road isn't fast enough.

Another observation is the gas mileage is greater than the cars with similar sized engines and the regular automatic transmission. A friend of mine gets about 4-5 miles less than the Honda and currently is about 10 miles per gallon less in the colder weather. Now that could be other factors.

I'll tell you I do wish I had some towing capacity at times so I could get a small boat to use for fishing. Other than that the CVT seems pretty good. Last thing, I have almost 109,000 miles on the car.

Quote from Spitbull

Most CRV's are only rated for 1500 lbs towing,I have an 07 with the regular auto tranny and it's only rated at 1500lbs.

Honda makes a pretty good CVT,nissan not so much. They've been used on snowmobiles and ATV's for years.

And in about every moped.

Quote from Spitbull

Most CRV's are only rated for 1500 lbs towing,I have an 07 with the regular auto tranny and it's only rated at 1500lbs.

Honda makes a pretty good CVT,nissan not so much. They've been used on snowmobiles and ATV's for years.

Maybe it's the engine size or the wheel base. I took my lead from Scotty Kilmer. Then too, Toyota is coming out with a CVT that has a first gear. It may already be out. I don't know. I think that is so the towing capacity can be increased. I'm not sure.

Quote from Spitbull

It's simple,want to tow more,get a pilot and pay more! There's a reason they have classes of vehicles. The brakes arent the greatest on hondas and the old school autos trannies tended to overheat. Back in the 90's accords were puking out the tranny pretty often,this was mostly seen in the southern states,hmm I wonder why.

The belt in an automotive CVT is made of steel,but they still have issues.They are getting much better,however I think the transmission will be a thing of the past before they perfect the CVT.

I like Pilots. I just didn't have the bucks. However, I have seen some for around 26k used. It's something to consider.

Quote from Spitbull

The biggest issue is the CRV is a unibody constructed vehicle so there is no way to connect a hitch that can tow much more than 1500 lbs. If you need to tow 3500lbs or more get a truck with a full frame underneath it. Then you can connect the proper hitch to tow more weight.

The pilot is rated for IIRC 3500 lbs.as is that fake truck the ridgeline.

I've owned hondas for about 30 years now,next one is going to be a toyota,looking at a Rav4 PHEV,but I'd really prefer a lexus they just dont offer a PHEV yet!

I looked at Ridgelines very seriously in the past. The rear doors don't open all the way. I'm thinking about 24 inches. I saw a video where the camera crew had a tough time putting their equipment in the back because of those doors. That was a no go for me. The next year they were the same way. Go figure.

I've heard nothing but praise for the Toyota Trucks. The one bad thing, and it may have changed, is the V8s have the starter in the rear. It will cost over a $1000 bucks to have a mechanic replace the starter.

BTW, the coolest truck on the Block is a Toyota Tundra. I should take a picture of it.

Right now, and I don't have the loot, I would choose between a Toyota and the F150.

Quote from Sluggo

Starter in the rear? What does that even mean? Oil changes cost double on them too.

The starter is under the intake manifold and really difficult to replace.