Cvt towing

[chrisv]

Hi,
I would like to have a light weight trailer tent but it seems that honda says that the cvt is not suitable for towing? My car is a 2011 1.4 cvt. Has anyone actually used a cvt for towing and had any oroblems? I really like the car  and am loath to change it,
Chris

[chrisv]

No takers then?

[culzean]

No takers then?

I Honda do not advise towing with CVT you will be at your own risk if you do.   I would guess a light trailer would be fine though,  no more weight than a car full of people and luggage.

I had a thought though,  when Honda say it is not suitable for towing do they mean being towed behind a motorhome or by another vehicle in a breakdown situation or  ?  It is normal with automatics of any description to have the driving wheels lifted off the ground when being towed,  otherwise transmission damage will occur. 

[Jocko]

According to this site it would appear it should be okay.
http://www.uktow.com/towing%20capacity.asp?make=Honda&model1=Jazz%201.4i%20DSI%20CVT

[Jocko]

And the Caravan Club too.
https://www.caravanclub.co.uk/media/1022829/automatic-transmission-for-towing-mo.pdf Page 8.

[guest1372]

I think the US Fit with the 1.5 i-vtec manual is not listed for towing although people put towbars on it.  Of course in other territories the 1.3 / 1.5 manual are given a towing rating, and we have a somewhat generous 1000kg braked limit which compares favourably with many mid-size cars.
I would expect a tiny Halfords type trailer would not be an issue on a CVT, although the tiny ones are more difficult to reverse compared to an heavy 8' x 4'.  I have a ladder rack and long tailramp on mine so it's also easy to see in the rear view mirror when backing up, a neighbour has a lightweight 3' x 3' on his Jeep - he can't see it until it's sticking out the side.
--
TG

[guest5079]

Having looked at the Caravan Clubs piece on towing, it mentions an oil cooler as standard on the Honda Jazz. Whilst our old Rover had an oil cooler for the auto box, I have never seen this mentioned on the Jazz forums Can an oil cooler be fitted to a Jazz with CVT?  An oil cooler I believe is absolutely essential as two separate people I know have found the hard way how necessary an oil cooler is if towing with auto transmission..
However, a light trailer perhaps might be OK BUT even a light trailer can be loaded with a considerable weight causing stress to the transmission.
More so if we are to continue to get the weather we are experiencing at the moment. 36 degs outside today. I have never seen that in the 25yrs we have lived here. As an aside, this am went out and the coolant light was out in less than 100 yds. The glass roof was too hot to touch.

[Jocko]

Found this elsewhere on the site:
I have a 1.4 CVT 2006 that I tow a trailer. I have towed from UK to Finland many times and run to Germany from Finland for wine, beer & lower priced food (than here in Finland). My Finnish trailer has a 700 kgs capacity and an Alko anti snaking & braked coupling. I have never had any problems even in winter with studded tyres on the trailer. I have noticed that my 2011 1.2 Trend (based in Cape Town) was not recommended  to install a tow bar - but I did for a bike rack. Looking under the car the chassis does not look as HD at the 2006 model - I know the Hybrid should not have a tow bar fitted - but can only think that Honda might not want any 'warranty claims' if you tow a small dingy, trailer if the CVT fails? My USA imported Lexus GS 300 (2007) advised (in USA) that you should not install a tow car, but when in Finland I fitted a Lexus EU approved tow bar and towed a 1400 kgs caravan with no problems. I reckon Lexus USA just did not want to see a Lexus towing a trailer or caravan !
https://clubjazz.org/forum/index.php?topic=4845.0

I had a look in my Haynes manual, and there is no mention of an oil cooler when removing the Auto box.

[guest1372]

The cvt is cooled from the bottom of the radiator.  Both manual and cvt have the radiator connections on a Mk1/GD, but only the cvt has them connected. This may be similar on a Mk2/GE.
--
TG

[guest5079]

There is one thing that stands out on Club Jazz and that is the amount of good technical help given. I do not include my efforts.
Later on in the day I posted my bit, I went onto to good old Google and found a YouTube ( of course brain dead me didn't get the link) piece titled 'CVT Water to Oil cooler' it was worth watching and it only lasted less than 5 minute. It was extremely informative.
Good luck with what ever you decide to do. 

[Jocko]

Sounds like it is a computer reading a computer translated Japanese to English document!

[Jocko]

Found this in online manual.
http://www.hondafitjazz.com/manual/A00/HTML/02/SAA2E02E15100013012KBAT00.HTML

[chrisv]

Hi,
Thanks to all who replied, looks like a small lightweight trailer tent could be on the cards,
Chris