I believe one of the benefits the makers of CVTs sought was increased
mileage by
tuning the engine/trans to operate in the optimum power range.
However most people, use to the (gear) steps in an automatic find the
constant acceleration to be unusual and to some unnerving, resulting in
customer complaints and their effects on 'things gone wrong'.
The inclusion of 'steps' is the manufacturers effort to improve customer
satisfaction.
I believe its another case of the industry unleashing 'new' technology
without properly preparing the potential buyers for the different/unusual
characteristics.
I've not seen any numbers but the inclusion of these emulated steps can't
have a big effect on overall economy.
I also prefer a good manual transmission - I prefer the involvement - but
I've driven some of the better dual clutch vehicles and they are very hard
not to like and generally shift quicker than most can shift a manual.
Kenneth Waller
http://www.pentaxphotogallery.com/kennethwaller
----- Original Message -----
From: "Igor PDML-StR" <pdml...@komkon.org>
Subject: Re: OT -Unexptected Good News from Subaru
IMHO, those emulated steps on top of the CVT are ludicrous.
One of the biggest advantages (and the reasons why CVT was invented in the
first place) is the stepless, smooth transmission.
So, this "emulation" is undoing the benefit.
And I know that Nissan and Honda (and a few others) are doing that
horrendous stupidity to satisfy people who need to be jolted every time
they accelerate. The worst part is that you cannot disable that stupid
emulation. (That should be very simple - that's a computer program.)
I actually enjoy the smoothness I had from the CVT in Nissan Rogue, except
for the problems, which include the higher-pitched "whining" sound.
And yes, I enjoy the manual transmission too, which I've had for many
years, but now I am giving up on that, as that requirement complicates
things: 1) the choice of cars is narrowed significantly and 2) the
logistics more complicated when my wife's car needs to be serviced, or
whatever...
Anyway...
Igor
Mon Jul 17 11:34:56 EDT 2017 P. J. Alling wrote:
That's simply because most drivers are used to automatic transmissions
with discrete gears. I don't prefer either, given a choice I'd take a
manual transmission any day. I'd also like to mention the fact that
with the current generation of car thieves a manual transmission is an
unintended anti theft device.
On 7/17/2017 9:59 AM, Ken Waller wrote:
That constant acceleration - lack of shift feel is subjectively seen by
some drivers as a negative, so much that some manufacturers have added a
shift feel to their CVT transmissions so as to eliminate the constant
acceleration feel.
-----Original Message-----
From: Zos Xavius <zosxavius at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: OT -Unexptected Good News from Subaru
My mom has a CVT Nissan Sentra. Its pretty peppy between 0 and 80.
What's nice is that once it starts accelerating it doesn't stop. Just
smooth acceleration until you take your foot off the pedal.
On Sun, Jul 16, 2017 at 11:04 PM, Paul Stenquist <pnstenquist at
mac.com> wrote:
I'd be worried about CVT durability, but for me, the main drawback is
the driving feel. My 2014 Equinox has an 8-speed automatic, it feels great
with a peppy 3- liter four, and has been trouble free. Nothing but oil
changed thus far.
Paul via phone
On Jul 16, 2017, at 10:48 PM, Mark C <pdml-mark at charter.net>
wrote:
Hi Igor -
I'm certainly happy with Subaru's decision to extend the warranty on
their CVT's and to provide retroactive compensation. I don't expect to be
using the money for a new lens. I'm pretty happy with the lenses I have -
turns out that hanging onto good full frame glass was not a mistake The
only lens that I am tempted to replace is the FA 20-35 f4, but I can't get
a good handle on its performance on the K1. Sometimes it shines, sometimes
it's a dud. It's clearly better (marginally) on film than on the K1 in
terms of edge and corner sharpness. It also seems to be better at the long
end than at 20mm. I recently fine-tuned the AF - and it needed about 5
steps of correction IIRC - so I'm hoping that helps. But I seldom shoot
wider than 28mm so I don't feel too motivated to upgrade to the DFA 15-30.
I suspect that the reimbursement from Subaru will go into the VW
repair fund. My wife's 2009 Tiguan seems to develop a $500 - $1000 problem
every 10K or so. In the past year and a half we've replaced the timing
chain, PCV system, rear main seal (blew out when the PCV system failed)
and water pump. Last Thursday the dealership told me that both rear
springs are broken - I need to get that checked out by an independent
mechanic. Seems odd that both springs would break at the same time and
that the car would still ride just fine.
Good luck with your car search. CVT's are a fact o life these days
but they seem to be prone to funky and fatal errors. I would do serious
research on any CVT vehicle.
Mark
Igor PDML-StR wrote:
Hi Mark,
I was just thinking about you and your Subaru CVT a few time in the
past week. (We are looking for a car right now.)
I am glad to hear that good news. I'd say that's probably an
indicator of Subaru being one of the better manufacturers (behavior-wise).
(Even though they should've admitted their problems much earlier.) And
your local dealership is also among the better once since they've covered
50% even before this event.
Nissan gave us all sort of problems with our CVT (on Rogue) over the
past 9 year, starting from the 1st year. And both, our dealership and the
corporate office were very bad to address these problems. They were
refusing to admit the problems despite the symptoms, until the
transmission failed completely. And for the 2nd time, they were delaying
admitting the problem it until the mileage was beyond the limit.
After almost 20 years of owning Nissans (not exclusively), I am too
afraid to buy any Nissan at this point: all models I would be potentially
interested in have CVTs, and Nissan CVTs are plagued with problems, and
Nissan is bad addressing them.
Speaking of "impressive" warranties (mentioned by Alan), - I've just
learned that the "best industry warranty" advertised by Hyundai is to a
large extent a gimmick: Only the 1st owner is eligible for the 10 yrs/100k
miles (powertrain) warranty, for the subsequent owners it is 5yrs/60K.
(Additionally, there is practically no "bumper-to-bumper", large
portion of the coverage of the "limited" warranty ends within the 1st
year.)
Kia's "industry-best" warranty is a similar gimmick.
Anyway, - I am glad Mark for you. Despite the headache, at least you
didn't suffer as much of the financial hit...
And the most intriguing question (for this list):
Are you going to buy some new lens with the unexpected ~$4K?
;-)
Igor
Mark C Sat, 15 Jul 2017 20:46:26 -0700 wrote:
Just over a year ago I posted about the failure of my Subaru CVT
transmission, and appreciated the advice I got here.
Yesterday I received a notice from Subaru that they have
retroactively extended the warranty on the CVT's to 10 years / 100K. The
letter included a claim form to get reimbursement for out of pocket repair
costs for those of us who had their CVT fail. Subaru picked up 50% of the
cost to replace my transmission but I was still out of pocket about
$4000 - good on Subaru to step and cover this problem.
Mark
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