CVT

[culzean]

I am surprised by by the antipathy shown by some to the I-shift. I feel that the problem is twofold; the owner needs to understand both the driving AND the mechanics to get the best from the Jazz I-shift. The car needs to be set up correctly, well maintained with the recommended oil and wheels/tyres. Honda recommend 0W-20 synthetic oil and expensive spark plugs; why would you compromise the life of your motor by using anything inferior?
Mine has nearly 170k miles and does not use oil or coolant. It out-performs many larger engined vehicles.
The only concession to original spec I have indulged in Mitchellen tyres which I inflate a little lower than original.
My driving is a mix of heavy urban and long distance Motorway/A roads. It is by far the best car I have owned.

All the MK2's whether Manual, i-shift or CVT use expensive iridium plugs,  but you can use alternatives like I did in wifes manual car.

OW-20 oil is another can of worms, that is recommended for MK2 engine with any gearbox,  but then again I never use it, just get cheaper more readily available good quality 5W30 ( I use Castrol from choice ).

Seems the clutch setting can be a problem on i-shift,  if not set up properly it seems to result in jerky operation, but them again CVT seems to have problems if proper oil not used and changed regularly.

Other car makers used i-shift type automated manual boxes and they all seemed to have similar problems with clutch setup being very critical.

[chrisv]

Hi,
I found the best way to get a rapid fake off is to flick the paddles to get into the lowest gear as you pull up, that way it is already in the lowest gear as you pull away and doesn't  have to change down,
Chris

[jamesdean]

The plugs are a real pig to change although I manage it with only unfastening the brake fluid reservoir. However they do last a very long time. Naturally you use cheap plugs on your wifes car! Perhaps you do not live in an area that suffers much from low temperatures; short journey working temperature is more rapidly achieved with a recommended oil like 0W-20 synthetic. Should you want to save some money then try Petronas 5 litres from some Halfords, it does okay for Lewis Hamilton. Once set up the clutch adjusts itself especially if one is gentle with a cold engine.

[Jazzmeister]

The Gen 2 CVT has a torque converter not a clutch so one big question I have is it necessary to switch into neutral when stopped at traffic lights, some people say no it won't damage or wear out the torque converter?

And in a similar vein is it safe to creep along in Drive when in bumper to bumper traffic?

[Jocko]

No and Yes. A torque converter has nothing to wear out. I have had automatics for 25 years prior to the Jazz and you just stick them in drive and leave them in drive.

[Jazzmeister]

I moved to a CVT from a manual about 4 months back. Granted the Ability to drop into 3rd and quickly pick up for overtaking etc isn’t really existent with a CVT, but I’ve got used to it, and learnt to drive in a relaxed mode, slowly accelerating as well slowing down. I think I like it, but agree that it won’t be everyone’s cup of tea.

That's been my experience as well, it's more relaxing, it pulls off so effortlessly I don't feel the need to race and constantly be trying to put the engine in the power zone like I did when I had a manual.
I can definitely see how some people would hate that, they are still fairly nippy but not with that instant high torque response of a manual.

[Jazzmeister]

Is it normal with the CVT(2nd gen) for it to require a lot more force to push the shifter from Park to Reverse for the first time after starting the vehicle up?

[TnTkr]

If you park the car on a slope there is friction of the transmission lock making it harder to move the shifter from P. To verify this theory, apply parking brake before moving the shfter to P and do not release the brake before shifting from P next time you start the car up.

[Kremmen]

I look forward to a test drive in the Mk4 CVT.

I had a Civic iShift for 2 years and it was dangerous. Cutting power unexpectedly to change gear. Roundabouts were a nightmare to try and blend in and I had numerous road rage incidents at traffic lights when the following car thought I had deliberately slowed down to annoy them when it changed from 1st to 2nd.

Torque converter auto's are smooth, predictable and have been perfected over the decades. My 1.8 Civic auto achieves over 50 mpg regularly.

[culzean]

Is it normal with the CVT(2nd gen) for it to require a lot more force to push the shifter from Park to Reverse for the first time after starting the vehicle up?

The park position on autos actually pushes a locking device into place to mechanically lock the gearbox ( never, ever, ever try to select 'P' while vehicle is moving, no matter how slowly ) if there is any force on this from being on a slope where the wheels are trying to rotate against the lock pin  ( as TnTkr says ) then it will make it hard to move selection lever,  as advised use the handbrake.

[Jocko]

I look forward to a test drive in the Mk4 CVT

The Mk 4 does not have a CVT gearbox. It uses an electrical transmission which has no gears as such. It works similar to a diesel electric locomotive.

[Kenneve]

Which brings me back to my question on a similar post.
How does the Mk4 transmission cope with a long, steep, downhill section of road, where one would normally change down to around 2nd gear, in a manual gearbox to provide additional braking effort.
I don’t believe the Mk4 system can give as much retardatiion as a manual box, even in ‘B’ position.
So far, nobody can confirm this, or otherwise.
Also I don’t believe that modern brakes , don’t fade!!

[Jocko]

They do fade. On mountain passes and racing circuits. They also fade if you fit Chinese brake pads, Felodo brakes? OEM brakes won't fade on UK roads under normal driving conditions.
If the car requires more braking than regenerative braking can develop the motor directs the current to the generator and that then tries to drive the engine giving engine braking that way.

[Jazzmeister]

Is it normal with the CVT(2nd gen) for it to require a lot more force to push the shifter from Park to Reverse for the first time after starting the vehicle up?

The park position on autos actually pushes a locking device into place to mechanically lock the gearbox ( never, ever, ever try to select 'P' while vehicle is moving, no matter how slowly ) if there is any force on this from being on a slope where the wheels are trying to rotate against the lock pin  ( as TnTkr says ) then it will make it hard to move selection lever,  as advised use the handbrake.

So the difficulty in moving out of Park is related to how much force is acting on the locking device/pin and the way around this would be to first anchor the vehicle with the handbrake and then shift into park?

Normally on the first shift from Park into reverse in the morning I have noticed it being harder than it is at other times, the parking is level, the vehicle won't roll away if I put it in neutral and take the brakes off, though it may have some small dips.

[TnTkr]

If there is no slope to cause force on mechanical park lock and the shifting is harder in first time than later in the day, then it must be somethning else. Maybe some stiff grease on linkage or lock mechanism, which gets softer as the transmission gets warmer. Just a wild guess.