In the market for a small automatic as a first car for my daughter. Budget will see us buying something around12 years old with a 150ks on it. Honda Fit seems a nice wee car but they all seem to have CVT transmission, and the Dog & Lemon guide suggest staying away from these because they're prone to break down, and expensive to fix when they do. What's the general consensus,please. Agree with the D&L or are they scaremongering?
illusion_,
Oct 9, 8:56pm
Dog & Lemon is well known to be a dog
andy61,
Oct 9, 8:57pm
Go for a 2008+ Fit, the transmission issues have been sorted, hey if they have been voted Britains most reliable car in service(based on real world facts and figures) they cant to to bad. Now throw that D&L book away and never use it again.We have a 2009 Jazz and absolutely delighted with it, very comfy, so economcial on fuel, has never missed a beat.
fordcrzy,
Oct 9, 9:03pm
stay away from CVT they are crap. "most reliable car" would be for lease/new cars under 5 years old and still under warranty probably. not for 10 year old cars. if you buy a cheap car with a cvt be prepared for the fact that WHEN the gearbox craps out youll be taking it to the scrap metal yard. maybe look at a mazda Verisa instead
tgray,
Oct 9, 9:06pm
Depends entirely on what car, as to whether to buy CVT or not.
floydbloke,
Oct 9, 9:58pm
Specifically, it is a 2003 Fit, import, with 165K on it. No idea of the service record; listing no. 962003777 Thanks for the points above about the newer models. Noted, but I don't think the budget can stretch that far.
tamarillo,
Oct 9, 10:18pm
Yeah 12 yr old car, 165 k on small car, import so no service history. No. General opinion is CVT has got a lot better and tougher, but older ones must have been properly serviced with right fluids etc to last, especially the fit and Nissan ones. As said above in uk they flick cars on so quickly these surveys are applicable to much newer cars.
cjdnzl,
Oct 9, 11:15pm
Your opinions are equally crap as well. A properly serviced cvt is as reliable as any other box. If all you can do is regurgitate rumours then please keep them to yourself.
vtecintegra,
Oct 9, 11:19pm
The specific CVT in the Jazz/Fit is fairly unreliable though - better off just looking for a manual
leonv8,
Oct 10, 5:18am
Believe the Dog and Lemon - buy a Toyota
tgray,
Oct 10, 5:57am
Honda Fit transmissions are well known in the industry not to be trusted. I would never purchase one for this reason.
fordcrzy,
Oct 10, 6:06am
no they are shyte and proven so. sister had one that shat itself just 3 days after a service. they are unreliable FACT. the ONLY reason car manufactureres put them in cars is that A0 they are cheaper to make than regular autos. and B) they are more expensive to service than regular autos , so thats a win win for the dealer. why do you think Nissan were so hell bent on pushing CVT right after they came so close to bankrupcy in 1999. they ARE NOT designed to last more than 5 years.
richardmayes,
Oct 10, 6:14am
NZHondas people talk about the Constantly Vibrating Transmission in the Honda Fit / Jazz like it is a bad thing. Probably best avoided.
Some NZ new Honda Jazzes came with a conventional automatic gearbox, those are probably a better bet if you can find one.
I'm not sure I'd want to own any CVT long term or at high mileage. We have a new 2015 CVT Corolla at work and it's the most responsive, fastest, cleverest automatic gearbox I've ever driven by a mile. but you do have to step on the gas quite a lot BEFORE it decides to give you the extra revs you want, and then it sort of "slips" up to higher revs. it just sounds and feels like the gearbox is working hard and it might not live for ever. (Ironically if you put it in "sport" mode it becomes much more rev-happy, and the gearbox sounds like it's having an easier ride than it does when it's in normal or economy mode. )
dinx,
Oct 10, 6:58am
I found out about the Fit/Jazz CVT reputation, but test drove a civic with the problem. But not all CVT's have that reputation but Honda does.
I got all sorts of conflicting info about the newer ones being OK or not but on a low budget I was really only able to look at the older ones. Ended up with a Colt and quite happy.
For around the city and the hill driving I do, I quite like the CVT, some of the hills always had gaps in traditional autos & manual that just seemed to sit in the wrong place between gears, too high or too low, and that doesn't happen with CVT.
wayned,
Oct 10, 7:18am
I would query the service & correct fluids etc rather than the car. Three days after service.
Can't remember which year it was but was def a cvt and showing the start clutch issue. Given my budget it was likely a 2000-2005/6ish, maybe older. But some are std autos that age too from memory.
Just search the civics on here for CVT and you will get an idea.
joanie32,
Oct 10, 8:31am
We are selling daughters old car currently, it's a mitsi with ctv and never gave a problem. I personally don't like the feel of driving this type of tranny, but females in the family like them.
tamarillo,
Oct 10, 8:32am
Might have been a hybrid civic - that used CVT.
kazbanz,
Oct 10, 8:48pm
In the very specific case of the 02-06 Honda fit it is not scaremongering. They do have an issue with the CVT gearbox that costs about $2000 to fix. That said --By 150k if there is a receipt to say the issue has been fixed recently then I'd be happy it will be fine for a few years. If not I would strongly suggest avoiding --or budget the 2k
cjdnzl,
Feb 28, 2:19am
The cvt in my 1998 Primera has done over 140,000 k's, is 17 years old, and goes well, long trips no problem, like Palm Nth to Waiheke and back, Palmy to Taumaranui and the Forgotten highway (43) and back, and others, never missed a beat, and I stoke it along as well.
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