Author Topic: Year onwards to avoid CVT judder? (Read 1800 times)

GGT · « **on:** April 29, 2021, 08:37:47 PM »

Girlfriend wants to learn to drive in an auto. Said I'd buy her an older Jazz CVT when she passes (whenever that might be due COVID). From what year onwards would I need to buy to guarantee a judder-free CVT box? Flicking through here and elsewhere tells me 2012. Is that correct? Thanks in anticipation.

John Ratsey · « **Reply #1 on:** April 29, 2021, 08:57:14 PM »

CVT judder is caused by insufficient changing of the CVT fluid. Honda changed their recommended fluid change interval from 4 years / 50k miles to 2 years / 25k miles in around 2013 (it could be 2012) as a result of time and Mk 1 Jazzes showing that the original interval was inadequate. While I would hope that servicing since 2013 would have followed Honda's revised recommendation it's possible that a 3rd party organisation could have followed the original recommendation. If a vehicle has a good service history you can check this aspect.

However, I must add that time has also demonstrated that the CVT judder is reversible using two fluid changes fairly close together while there's an additive which can be used to help clean out the accumulated crud. There are now very few reports of CVT judder.

Steve_M · « **Reply #2 on:** April 30, 2021, 08:31:43 AM »

Post 2012 (e.g. Mk2 facelift) changed to a torque converter CVT rather than the start clutch (wet clutch) of the Mk1. There was I-Shift (automated manual) in between these 2 version of CVT.

chrisv · « **Reply #3 on:** May 01, 2021, 07:55:30 PM »

Hi,
My 2011 cvt has the torque converter and is judder free, HOWEVER despite having a honda service historyfor the previous 4 years it turns out the owner didn't have the recommended services carried out due to low milage. It had never had the transmission fluid changed, honda argued that it wasn't due until 5 years. A loud animated discussion followed and they agreed to pay to have it done at another garage i could trust. Recently I had to have the gearbox repaired which I put down to their neglicence

GGT · « **Reply #4 on:** May 03, 2021, 03:32:10 PM »

Thanks for the replies. You've quite enlightened me. I'd never heard of the i-Shift nor did I realise that the start clutch had been done away with. This is really useful information for me. A bit of digging tells me (thanks Honest John) that the Mk 2 facelift in January 2011 is when the torque converter CVT came in.

Reason I asked is that my old 05 plate Jazz started to suffer from CVT judder in only its early thirty thousands, although it was thirteen years old by then. It had been serviced by the dealer from new. They did a CVT flush on the back of a service. That made the judder better but it worsened again in time. I wouldn't want a new driver to have that. The i-Shift doesn't get great reviews so I think I'm looking at a CVT 2011 onwards.

Out of curiosity, if a CVT's judder went unaddressed, would it eventually fail? Thanks again. You've helped point me in the right direction.

John Ratsey · « **Reply #5 on:** May 03, 2021, 04:29:09 PM »

There's a long discussion of the problem here https://clubjazz.org/forum/index.php?topic=94.105 (and plenty more shorter ones if you look around). Some people have favourably commented on the use of XADO X120.

I attach an extract from the Honda standard service sheet (2015 version) which shows the shorter interval for the Jazz 2012 manufacturing year onwards but also shows that they never reduced the longer interval for the older vehicles.