CVT longevity daily habits

Ravnk · Dec 28, 2021

How does everyone drive their CVT daily? Is there an rpm range to stay under if I want the car to be able to last 10 years?

For the most part I am limited by city traffic so I’m usually below 3.5k rpm. But if I get lucky enough to be first and can take off from a light, I’ll be patient for the first second, 2-2.5k rpm to 15mph ish and then press in and jump to 3.5-4k rpm. Is there any issues with hitting 4-4.5k rpm semi-frequently? Or am I babying it too much staying under 4k rpm?

Honestly don’t know much about cars and while I’ve had 2 previous Hondas with CVTs I never knew what was too aggressive for keeping a balance between longevity and just enjoying the car.

robardin · Dec 28, 2021

Ravnk said:
How does everyone drive their CVT daily? Is there an rpm range to stay under if I want the car to be able to last 10 years?

For the most part I am limited by city traffic so I’m usually below 3.5k rpm. But if I get lucky enough to be first and can take off from a light, I’ll be patient for the first second, 2-2.5k rpm to 15mph ish and then press in and jump to 3.5-4k rpm. Is there any issues with hitting 4-4.5k rpm semi-frequently? Or am I babying it too much staying under 4k rpm?

Honestly don’t know much about cars and while I’ve had 2 previous Hondas with CVTs I never knew what was too aggressive for keeping a balance between longevity and just enjoying the car.

Baby the engine by keeping it easy on the throttle and low in the RPM, until it's fully warm.

After that, keep it easy on the throttle for maximum fuel efficiency, ... if that's your primary goal at the time you're driving.

But there is nothing wrong with revving to and past 4,000 RPM, until you get to redline, which is the manufacturer's own definition of a dangerous threshold - not in terms of engine longevity, anyway, obviously it'll use more fuel. And manufacturers are generally somewhat conservative with that redline, too, because they know some drivers like to go right up to that red line quite often. They also put in a rev limiter that will prevent this.

What damages the engine isn't the RPM but if the oil hasn't had time to circulate, or if the oil is not properly protective (the right grade and changed as necessary). Or modifying the ECU to raise the redline by another 500-1,000 RPM and then going up to THAT redline.

There is nothing wrong with frequently dancing with the red line, so long as the engine is not cold and the oil is good.

Zeroptzero · Dec 28, 2021

Ravnk said:
How does everyone drive their CVT daily? Is there an rpm range to stay under if I want the car to be able to last 10 years?

For the most part I am limited by city traffic so I’m usually below 3.5k rpm. But if I get lucky enough to be first and can take off from a light, I’ll be patient for the first second, 2-2.5k rpm to 15mph ish and then press in and jump to 3.5-4k rpm. Is there any issues with hitting 4-4.5k rpm semi-frequently? Or am I babying it too much staying under 4k rpm?

Honestly don’t know much about cars and while I’ve had 2 previous Hondas with CVTs I never knew what was too aggressive for keeping a balance between longevity and just enjoying the car.

I've had a few CVT's , I will say Honda and Subaru trannies have all been good to me, other makes are not nearly as good.

The one thing that kills CVT's is heat. Too much power being added to the powertrain from mods, jack-rabbit starts, and brake stands (holding the brake to get rpms up off the line). Normal every day driving will not kill the tranny in any sort of way. RPM's won't hurt the tranny , so don't be afraid of rpms, they only fail under abuse, and the 5 year warranty will protect you from unusual failures. Drive it as needed and don't be afraid of rpms.

Ravnk · Dec 29, 2021

robardin said:
Baby the engine by keeping it easy on the throttle and low in the RPM, until it's fully warm.

After that, keep it easy on the throttle for maximum fuel efficiency, ... if that's your primary goal at the time you're driving.

But there is nothing wrong with revving to and past 4,000 RPM, until you get to redline, which is the manufacturer's own definition of a dangerous threshold - not in terms of engine longevity, anyway, obviously it'll use more fuel. And manufacturers are generally somewhat conservative with that redline, too, because they know some drivers like to go right up to that red line quite often. They also put in a rev limiter that will prevent this.

What damages the engine isn't the RPM but if the oil hasn't had time to circulate, or if the oil is not properly protective (the right grade and changed as necessary). Or modifying the ECU to raise the redline by another 500-1,000 RPM and then going up to THAT redline.

There is nothing wrong with frequently dancing with the red line, so long as the engine is not cold and the oil is good.

Appreciate the reply. Glad to hear hitting 4k and a bit above should be fine. The way traffic is here I won’t get that close often but do enjoy the way this engine pulls up once it’s going. The cvt lag isn’t so pronounced as my last two once it’s rolling.

I started idling longer in the mornings to let the engine heat up in the last car. So been doing that with this one too. Lucky me Florida weather means fast warm up year round.

Ravnk · Dec 29, 2021

Zeroptzero said:
I've had a few CVT's , I will say Honda and Subaru trannies have all been good to me, other makes are not nearly as good.

The one thing that kills CVT's is heat. Too much power being added to the powertrain from mods, jack-rabbit starts, and brake stands (holding the brake to get rpms up off the line). Normal every day driving will not kill the tranny in any sort of way. RPM's won't hurt the tranny , so don't be afraid of rpms, they only fail under abuse, and the 5 year warranty will protect you from unusual failures. Drive it as needed and don't be afraid of rpms.

thanks for the reply. I got used to starting a lot slower in the crv than the last civic and now with this one I’m glad to hear that my infrequent opportunities to hit 4k rpm won’t have much impact long term.

Joden Thorne · Apr 14, 2023

Yeah dude I drive the k20 CVT and I love it man. With Econ I never go over 3k and like to hover under 2k if possible. Same with normal. In sport with paddles though, I’ll take that puppy up to 4.5k easily. Frankly it feels like it shifts better at those RPMS than at 4k.

People really hate on these CVT’s without really giving them a chance, they’re responsive, versatile, and can be very fun.

DaveR · Apr 15, 2023

I wish the CVT would “hold a gear” longer when I’m using the paddles in normal mode. Example….I click the down paddle when I want to have fun, stay in the gas and then it randomly decides to “shift” and lower the RPMs when I’m still in the gas. I can’t figure it out. Does it all the time. Shifts way before redline.

nj_rr23 · Apr 15, 2023

DaveR said:
I wish the CVT would “hold a gear” longer when I’m using the paddles in normal mode. Example….I click the down paddle when I want to have fun, stay in the gas and then it randomly decides to “shift” and lower the RPMs when I’m still in the gas. I can’t figure it out. Does it all the time. Shifts way before redline.

That would drive me a little batty as well. I wasn’t going to buy a new car I had to compromise on, and that’s what the CVT would have been for me. I’m sure there’s not much difference in reliability and longevity compared to the manual, but It’s a hunk of metal and it should do what I want it to do. Not vice versa!

Joden Thorne · Apr 15, 2023

DaveR said:
I wish the CVT would “hold a gear” longer when I’m using the paddles in normal mode. Example….I click the down paddle when I want to have fun, stay in the gas and then it randomly decides to “shift” and lower the RPMs when I’m still in the gas. I can’t figure it out. Does it all the time. Shifts way before redline.

if it’s in sport mode it’ll holdgears indefinitely. You can baby the engine pretty good that way, or work it hard.

DaveR · Apr 15, 2023

Joden Thorne said:
if it’s in sport mode it’ll holdgears indefinitely. You can baby the engine pretty good that way, or work it hard.

I do drive in sport mode from time to time. The thing I don’t like is it hangs the revs very high when you’re just crusing and it also requires you to manually shift if you use the paddles at all. It’s stuck in a manual shift mode. If I keep it in normal mode, I can use the paddles, but the damn thing “shifts” by itself when it wants to to the next position and drops the RPM even when I don’t want to do that. It’s very odd. It should know that if I’m in the throttle pretty hard it should hold the “gear” until redline or I use the paddle. Frustrating as it’s almost great.

Joden Thorne · Apr 15, 2023

DaveR said:
I do drive in sport mode from time to time. The thing I don’t like is it hangs the revs very high when you’re just crusing and it also requires you to manually shift if you use the paddles at all. It’s stuck in a manual shift mode. If I keep it in normal mode, I can use the paddles, but the damn thing “shifts” by itself when it wants to to the next position and drops the RPM even when I don’t want to do that. It’s very odd. It should know that if I’m in the throttle pretty hard it should hold the “gear” until redline or I use the paddle. Frustrating as it’s almost great.

Ah I see. I agree with that, cuz I’ll be petal to the metal and it’ll upshift lol…

course I tend to just use sport briefly to accelerate then switch back to normal. I switch all the time, but yeah wish normal was better.

CVT longevity daily habits

Ravnk

robardin

Zeroptzero

Ravnk

Ravnk

Joden Thorne

DaveR

nj_rr23

Joden Thorne

DaveR

Joden Thorne

Top Contributors this Month

Recommended Communities