I used to be a Toyota tech and it was very rare for them to fail, except for the CH-R (which in my opinion is one of the worst Toyotas you can buy). Only ones I saw fail besides those were on very few Corollas with the direct shift CVT. And when I say very few I mean maybe 2-3 per year. The previous gen CVT was basically bulletproof. They are NOWHERE NEAR as bad as Nissans JATCO transmissions.
Owner reviews for CVT transmission
Been dealing with Toyota's CVT's since the first 2014 Corolla.
Overall they've been extremely reliable with basic maintenance. I've changed Corolla CVT's two under warranty, one at 80,000 KM because the torque convertor seal was leaking and Toyota didn't offer a replacement at the time so it got an entirely new CVT instead. The second was last year, it hadn't been to a dealer in a decade, hadn't had a Limited Service Campaign (LSC) done nor had it ever had the fluid changed. At 220,000 KM I replaced it under warranty because it had failed likely due to not having the LSC done combined with the original fluid.
I've done a few CH-R CVT's under warranty, the Turkey built ones in particular have been problems and there is a Warranty Enhancement Program for them.
However overall Toyota's various CVT's have held up quite well.
My CVT in my ‘17 Corolla iM is at 95,000 miles. Super solid.
Can't go wrong with either, I would test drive and see what you enjoy better. Both are top in class in reliability.
I've got a 19 Soul exclaim with the 1.6 turbo and 7 speed DCT transmission. Drives great now but It only has 43k miles on it so I do worry about down the line since I'm out of warranty at this point for any possible drivetrain issues.
Last yr I bought my 1st car, a 2012 Toyota Corolla Altis. 2.0v variant, so it has a K111 CVT in it. Thankfully barely used by the 1st owner, only 43k km on the dash when I got it, confirmed legit by mechanics and dealership service history.
Now it's at 51k km, basically my daily and only car. Had a trans fluid change done last December, then planning a 2nd one next month to slowly flush out the old fluid.
Aside from underchassis issues, it's been driving ok honestly. I hope it stays this way for a long time.
I’m driving my 9th Toyota (a 2018 Camry SE) and I work for Toyota. I’m NOT happy that Toyota decided to make Camry a hybrid ONLY car with CVT transmission. NOT HAPPY! I want POWER and I want a transmission that can deliver it to the wheels… ALL OF IT, without having to worry about tearing it up! CVT transmissions are NOT reliable and they don’t last!
Very disappointed!
I had a 2015 civic LX, a CVT... it lasted me nearly 8 years. Yes, I changed the cvt fluid with oem like I was supposed to. The transmission failed last month at 166,510.
Same thing just happed to us. 2014 Accord with 88k miles, CVT transmission inside belt snapped. I was in the car when it happened. No warning symptoms, no dash lights, just suddenly stuck on the side of the road.
My in laws cvt transmission went out at 45,000 miles and they wanted $10k to replace. Thankfully they ended up replacing the cvt under extended warranty.
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