CVT Issues Thread

106351 Views 355 Replies 85 Participants Last post by relative4, 15 d ago

nebredsxt

Discussion Starter · Feb 3, 2008

Hi folks...new to the forum....I thought I would tell you about my recent CVT issue. Driving home from work last week, my Transmission fluid overheat light came on. I immediately pulled over. The light went off so I decided to try and make it home...I made it to within 2 miles of home when the light again came on and it went into limp mode (25 Mph max). I had it towed to the dealer, I am now told the CVT is fried..needs total replacement, I have 49,347 miles on it...thank god for extended warranty!!

301 - 320 of 356 Posts

Prop1

· #301 · Mar 25, 2014

The runners stuck open will eventually cause fuel economy to decrease, and the engine to bog. Those valves do a lot that are integral to the operation of the engine and the computer has a rough time managing the engine when they are stuck. With this being a CVVT engine and the CVT operation so closely linked to it; any operational issue will translate into the CVT not knowing what to do. And no, the runner valves are in play with any kind of acceleration, and when not accelerating them being partly closed makes a difference. You can keep chasing the wrong thing, but as another member found out, his CVT issue was the throttle body.

In short, if your kitchen is on fire, spraying water on the neighbor's house isn't going to help.

mangocat

· #302 · Mar 25, 2014

Thanks, and the runners may have been to blame for the bogging issues, there have been 2 solid "this thing is bogging and being a problem" events, plus 3 or 4 "I think it's going to bog" and then it doesn't really, scattered throughout the last year - including one on a 30 degree morning not too long ago.

The "not going in drive" started shortly after the last bog event, and I thought they were linked. This morning, we had another "not going in drive" event, and I confirmed that I was mistaken in my earlier post - these, increasingly frequent, not going in drive events are actually the transmission still being in Neutral (mostly I've been relying on reports from the wife about what's happening....) There might be 1/4" of play in the shifter, which seems like more than I remember when it was newer.... is there a likely place to look for a loose bolt? Or, are there other mechanisms that make the shift linkage loose?

I know in my Miata, there's a nylon bushing that breaks apart (after 15 years, or so) which loosens the linkage considerably - though since it's a manual it doesn't cause this kind of gear selection confusion...

See less See more

Prop1

· #303 · Mar 25, 2014

You likely have a stretched or slipped shifter cable. That has been reported in the past.

Also, just to re-emphasize what I posted earlier about the CVT closely linked together; here is an excerpt from the service manual"

" The CVT allows for maximum driving force and performance when compared to a conventional A/T. When the throttle is fully opened, driving force for the conventional automatic transmission changes unevenly because the gear is
shifted in steps. On the other hand, driving force for the CVT changes smoothly because it is possible for it to
accelerate while keeping it in the peak power range of the engine. Therefore, CVT avoids the loss of driving force,
and enables smooth and shock free driving.
Coordinated control of the engine and the multifaceted shift diagram have made it possible to realize both, smooth
and powerful driving with a good gear change response and an improvement in fuel consumption."

See less See more

bbkr

· #304 · Jul 27, 2014

Today I was driving about 150km/h (~100mph) during hot day 36c (~100F). After one hour of such driving CVT began to make whining noise - very similar to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNkEZt0mr-4 but more quiet. There was no change in car performance and no temperature warning light. I slowed down to 100km/h and the sound went away.

What I've found so far is that it is heat related issue - and my experience confirms it, after tranny cooled off I could drive car again like it was stolen

Is overheating the symptom of worn fluid and bad belt lubrication? Car has 128_000 km, fluid was changed at 50_000 km mark.
Or does Cali tranny always make such noise after exceeding some temperature?

Prop1

· #305 · Jul 28, 2014

bbkr said:
Today I was driving about 150km/h (~100mph) during hot day 36c (~100F). After one hour of such driving CVT began to make whining noise - very similar to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNkEZt0mr-4 but more quiet. There was no change in car performance and no temperature warning light. I slowed down to 100km/h and the sound went away.

What I've found so far is that it is heat related issue - and my experience confirms it, after tranny cooled off I could drive car again like it was stolen

Is overheating the symptom of worn fluid and bad belt lubrication? Car has 128_000 km, fluid was changed at 50_000 km mark.
Or does Cali tranny always make such noise after exceeding some temperature?

Anytime you push a car like that; you are approaching it's limits and the tranny will get hotter than at normal speeds. You will also find that if you do it enough; you are falling into the "rough service" category that requires 60K mile fluid changes.

Spz0

· #306 · Jul 28, 2014

bbkr said:
Today I was driving about 150km/h (~100mph) during hot day 36c (~100F). After one hour of such driving CVT began to make whining noise - very similar to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNkEZt0mr-4 but more quiet. There was no change in car performance and no temperature warning light. I slowed down to 100km/h and the sound went away.

What I've found so far is that it is heat related issue - and my experience confirms it, after tranny cooled off I could drive car again like it was stolen

Is overheating the symptom of worn fluid and bad belt lubrication? Car has 128_000 km, fluid was changed at 50_000 km mark.
Or does Cali tranny always make such noise after exceeding some temperature?

I would advise to not make it a habit of driving a CVT @ 100MPH for any length of time, unless you have a way to monitor your coolant (ie: torque). I would take a sample of your fluid and compare it to a new quart to see if you damaged your fluids.
I have pushed my CVT to 110MPH only for about 2 minutes. Monitoring my coolant temps, my rad fluid raised to 225oF and my trans fluid was 220oF. I decided to back off the throttle. For reference, 165oF is normal operating temp.

bbkr

· #307 · Jul 28, 2014

Prop1; said:
Anytime you push a car like that; you are approaching it's limits

Spz0 said:
I would advise to not make it a habit of driving a CVT @ 100MPH for any length of time

Weird design - tranny has its limit at 2/3 of what R/T engine can be pushed to. So much unused power

Spz0 said:
For reference, 165oF is normal operating temp.

That is the info I was looking for. I use my phone as dash cam so I will also add some background OBD monitoring.

Thanks for answers. I was worried that tranny is falling apart, I wasn't aware that limit is so low.

Prop1

· #308 · Jul 28, 2014

bbkr said:
Weird design - tranny has its limit at 2/3 of what R/T engine can be pushed to. So much unused power

That is the info I was looking for. I use my phone as dash cam so I will also add some background OBD monitoring.

Thanks for answers. I was worried that tranny is falling apart, I wasn't aware that limit is so low.

These (even the R/T) are not race cars. They go over a 100mph, but the intent is for short durations like passing. If you want to go those high speeds for long durations, then you better buy a Lamborghini.

Spz0

· #309 · Jul 28, 2014

Prop1 said:
These (even the R/T) are not race cars. They go over a 100mph, but the intent is for short durations like passing. If you want to go those high speeds for long durations, then you better buy a Lamborghini.

Not true! This hotrod here gets to groceries and home in under 9 seconds! Badass...

lmao

Prop1

· #310 · Jul 28, 2014

Spz0 said:
Not true! This hotrod here gets to groceries and home in under 9 seconds! Badass... lmao

You missed the point. I seriously doubt you do 100+ mph to and from the grocery store for an extended period of time. How long do you think an unmodified 4 banger with a CVT that is highly susceptible to overheating will last under that abuse? 9 seconds does not equate to 10s of minutes or hours.

Spz0

· #311 · Jul 28, 2014 (Edited)

Prop1 said:
You missed the point. I seriously doubt you do 100+ mph to and from the grocery store for an extended period of time. How long do you think an unmodified 4 banger with a CVT that is highly susceptible to overheating will last under that abuse? 9 seconds does not equate to 10s of minutes or hours.

I think you missed the sarcasm m8

Spz0

· #312 · Jul 28, 2014

Meaning that these cars (r/t) are just nice looking grocery getters

mpprice

· #313 · Aug 5, 2014

Hello to all

Great information here and very much appreciate all the advice. Hoping someone can share their thoughts on my issue.

My daughter has a 2008 SXT with about 75K miles. Recently we started noticing a slight shudder or vibration when accelerating. No issue when at speed or coasting. I can make it happen when we start driving up the street at about 3 – 3.4K rpm.

My understanding of the transmission belt operation makes me think there is an area of the pulley that may have a slippery spot on it? ? ?

I have read and searched this post as much as I can but see that no one else has this kind of problem.

Thanks in advance for any help or direction - New Guy

See less See more

Prop1

· #314 · Aug 5, 2014

mpprice said:
Hello to all

Great information here and very much appreciate all the advice. Hoping someone can share their thoughts on my issue.

My daughter has a 2008 SXT with about 75K miles. Recently we started noticing a slight shudder or vibration when accelerating. No issue when at speed or coasting. I can make it happen when we start driving up the street at about 3 – 3.4K rpm.

My understanding of the transmission belt operation makes me think there is an area of the pulley that may have a slippery spot on it? ? ?

I have read and searched this post as much as I can but see that no one else has this kind of problem.

Thanks in advance for any help or direction - New Guy

This is not a CVT issue. You likely have one of 5 things going on here:

1. Bad spark plugs (30K change interval), or bad coil pack(s).

2. Dirty or bad throttle body.

3. Broken motor mount(s).

4. bad injector(s).

5. Failing fuel pump.

The first 2 may have thrown a code. Rest assured, the CVT is 99% sure to be fine.

See less See more

mpprice

· #315 · Aug 6, 2014

thanks for the input. All good directions for me to look into. I was not looking forward to dealing with the CVT, but it sure felt like something coming from the drivetrain.

she had the plugs changed once a few years ago, but i'll look at them again. Probablly due anyway.

again, thanks for your help.

Spz0

· #316 · Aug 6, 2014

You may want to grab a pair of copper spark plugs and change those old ones out. Coppers burn hot and die fast, but they are cheap and give the most bang for your gas $. Set a 10k change schedule for copper plugs for the best performance out of them

SamMac

· #317 · Sep 3, 2014

Twice in the last two months, the Transmission Over Temp light has come on. I have a 2007 Caliber R/T AWD with approximately 121,000 miles on it. The last time it happened, it was over 80* outside, I was driving 70-75 mph, and about 1 hour in on a 2.5 hour trip. The car started slowing down, so I hit the hazard lights and pulled off to the side of the toll road to let things cool down. I didn't have any further issues on the trip (there or back - both the same day).

Over the last month or so, I've been hearing a noise similar to the one in this video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=miY6I4EXsLo&feature=related) when I am accelerating. Others can't seem to hear it, but I do and know it wasn't there when I bought my car in February.

I've called a few dealerships in the area, and I've been quoted anywhere from $99 - $150 for diagnostics to be done. I've also been told that changing the fluid is not recommended by Dodge so they don't even have a price for it/offer it, but another dealer quoted me a special of $179 for a transmission flush. Another dealer I called said that they don't recommend doing the flush as it doesn't seem to resolve the issue and the only thing that does is replacing the transmission, which they estimated at between $3k and $5k. I still owe $6k on the car!

Also likely worth noting is that my car had been throwing the P0420 error code prior to the latest incident. Since then, the check engine light has been off.

Any suggestions? Should I start looking to trade my car in for something different?

See less See more

Prop1

· #318 · Sep 3, 2014

SamMac said:
Any suggestions? Should I start looking to trade my car in for something different?

The cheapest route is to trade it off. That's what I did.

Spz0

· #319 · Sep 3, 2014

I would start with a rad flush, then a trans. flush. Keep up with the trans flushes every 30k miles and for god sake dont run your cvt at 160kph like that douche in the youtube video -- you're just asking for a 3000$ mechanic bill.

Good luck and post back with results!!

Prop1

· #320 · Sep 3, 2014

Spz0 said:
I would start with a rad flush, then a trans. flush. Keep up with the trans flushes every 30k miles and for god sake dont run your cvt at 160kph like that douche in the youtube video -- you're just asking for a 3000$ mechanic bill.

Good luck and post back with results!!

Dodge highly discourages any but the radiator flush on these cars. A TSB was even released to prevent dealers from doing flushes. The radiator flush will do nothing to fix the issue, anyways. Everyone that has had this issue have had to replace the CVT in the end. Your advice is unsound based on the history of this issue.

301 - 320 of 356 Posts