A lost Asset in Auto Transmissions

[timswi]

A manual transmission nowadays is the best form of anti-theft control.

That is certainly true

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

I wonder how the new CVT trannys will hold up, and how they operate in slippery conditions? These are in many of the new sedans in order to get good mileage. The jury is out on how long they'll last and how much to repair. I'm hoping the repair cost will be lower because of significant design differences.

 

[MinnesotaEric]

A manual transmission nowadays is the best form of anti-theft control.

If you can even find one.

 

[Norm W]

It would seem that all the "Help" that the cars are supposed to give the drivers, just make for more idiots. The automatics that have been put into semis such as the "Spicer Auto Shift" lasted about a year before the drivers and the mechanics had had enough. Worthless in snow and the "Brain" had melt downs usually in the worst possible spot. Even with standard shift the traction control had to be turned off when to conditions got slippery. The latest wrinkle with light trucks is the transmission down shifting when you lift your foot from the accelerator. It won't let you use light compression braking. It can be turned off, but it is something like, "Hold the tow haul, turn the key on and off three times, swing a dead cat around your head and spit out the passenger window." I get the feeling that if you absolutely need these "Safety Features" you probably shouldn't be driving.

 

[MinnesotaEric]

I wonder how the new CVT trannys will hold up, and how they operate in slippery conditions? These are in many of the new sedans in order to get good mileage. The jury is out on how long they'll last and how much to repair. I'm hoping the repair cost will be lower because of significant design differences.

They last forever. What jury? Japanese Transmission Company has been making CVT transmissions since 1977. They continue to become more and more reliable with each new generation. The fifth generation Jatco transmissions are going into 2014 and newer vehicles.

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

All I know is that the Altimas were switched over to CVTs in 2013 and on carcomplaint.com they are having more tranny problems than in previous year models.

 

[MinnesotaEric]

I believe the point you are not understanding is that in the past, many automatic transmissions for 4wd and 2wd vehicles allowed you to start out in second gear.

I know that.

As a Minnesotan aware of driving in ice and snow, aware of traction control systems, second gear starts are completely unnecessary and require heavier transmissions to reliably move in second gear, a thing that none of those old transmissions could long do without servicing anyway.

My pushback is that new transmissions are simply better in every imaginable way.

 

[MinnesotaEric]

All I know is that the Altimas were switched over to CVTs in 2013 and on carcomplaint.com they are having more tranny problems than in previous year models.

The question you should ask is what is the nature of the complaints? Example: Ford was in the top five reliability indexes and then they introduced My Ford Touch, a truly ****** system that worked, but was hard to use. Because of bit-ching about inability to use complaint, Ford moved down to one of the worst OEMs for reliability, while in point of fact making a pretty good product with a hard-to-use center console.

CVTs main complaint is people expecting it to behave as through it has fixed gear ratios.

 

[jejeosborne]

I know that.

As a Minnesotan aware of driving in ice and snow, aware of traction control systems, second gear starts are completely unnecessary and require heavier transmissions to reliably move in second gear, a thing that none of those old transmissions could long do without servicing anyway.

My pushback is that new transmissions are simply better in every imaginable way.

You were touting how great traction control is and I was just pointing out that it would not benefit the OP with his problem. First gears are so low on these new 6-9 speed transmissions that managing wheel spin is difficult on snow or ice. I too have a lot of experience with driving on ice and snow. I don't understand your concern on needing a heavier transmission to crawl away from a stop sign in 2nd gear. I never had transmission problems from the few times I have used 2nd gear in the snow or preventing me from spilling the baked beans going to the potluck.

It was somewhat common for automatic transmissions to have a "feature" specifically called out in the owners manual that allowed the car to start in 2nd gear for this very reason. The OP simply stated that manufacturers are now deleting the bonus feature. So in some minds, your opinion that "new transmissions are simply better in every imaginable way" is false. I will agree that transmissions are generally better today but not in this one specific situation.

My feeling is that some don't understand this missing feature the OP is discussing so I am trying to describe it better.

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

The question you should ask is what is the nature of the complaints? Example: Ford was in the top five reliability indexes and then they introduced My Ford Touch, a truly shi-tty system that worked, but was hard to use. Because of bit-ching about inability to use complaint, Ford moved down to one of the worst OEMs for reliability, while in point of fact making a pretty good product with a hard-to-use center console.

CVTs main complaint is people expecting it to behave as through it has fixed gear ratios.

Complaints are about shuddering while accelerating and decelerating. Enough for carcomplaints.com to put a warning up about the 2013 models.