Drive Accord Honda Forums banner

For those who bought CVT, do you experience judders at low rpm's?

44K views 88 replies 48 participants last post by  ousooner2 
#1 ·
My apologies if this question belongs to an existing thread or another forum but I did an advance search for "cvt" in the title and in the posts but got negative results.

Is the judder limited to some drivers' experiences or is this a universal thing with the new CVT? How are the dealers and American Honda dealing with this issue/complaint?

If it happens to all Accord CVT's, then I hope there is a quick fix for it since that will be a huge turn off for me especially when during my early driving days, the juddering or shuddering of the engine in our older GM Opel Record and MB 300D meant that the engine was about to stall.
 
#9 ·
Mostly in Econ at very slow speed. It seems to me that Econ is pretty useless anyway so I've stopped using and see no obvious diff in milage...and no judders.

You want a judder free car....check out an Altima.
 
#11 ·
I noticed it a lot with econ especially at low speed as other members here,
As for the altima, The car is so generous, it has free judder at around 25-40 mph. (Yes this is supposedly fixed by Nissan by replacing Torque ROD, but it does the same thing with the recall and lowered my mpg by 2)
I don't need any more massage after driving around town.......
Well i am guessing this judder problem is small and would think its just a pay off for a better mpg...
 
#13 ·
I've noticed it a little bit as well.
I would say it is normal though.
My wife and I have had 2 Dodge Calibers a 2007 and a 2011 with the CVT transaxles and I can say after owning those,the Honda CVT is the best I've ever experienced.
I was going to get a 6 speed Manual Sport,but after test driving the CVT Accord sport I was very impressed.
 
#15 ·
I've been driving my Sport with CVT for 2 months and 4,400km and never experienced any judder, not at low speed nor in cold temperatures. Even at minus 12° Celsius. I drive in the city and on the highway every day and keep the ECON button engaged permanently.

Sent using AutoGuide.Com Free App
 
#17 ·
Occasionally, as stated, in econ (I am always in econ) at low speeds and very minor.

The CVT is very smooth.

I go up a 3/4 mile steep hill to enter my subdivision everyday. I make an immediate right just at the crest. In my 750Li just after making that turn, the 1-2 upshift was a slam that felt like a baseball bat to the mid back. So glad I never had any colleagues ride with me (my associate lives 4 houses away), it was very crude and would be embarrasing if you had someone with you.

My CVT Accord is as smooth as the center seed of a cucumber under the same circumstances.
 
#18 ·
I always notice the judder. It happens more than a little bit (but maybe not a lot) when I am slowing down for a red light. I never and have never used Econ.And i'd rather not feel it. I don't like the feeling. I know the car won't stop, but still.
I have not complained about it though.
 
#19 ·
^^^ Wow can the same model be that different. I almost never notice a judder and when I do it is mild. Did you notice it that much on the test drive presumably on a different car? One test is to drive another car and see if it is different from yours, which sounds excessive.
 
#20 ·
you know what, overall i would call it mild i guess; however, i totally and easily feel it so it feels like more than i would want to feel. Plus, i didn't know why it would do that. I test drove same exact model twice but at 2 different dealerships, 1 1/2 weeks apart (the second one was the one i bought). But i didn't feel it at all.

I don't know if it's something worth going back to Honda for though.
I still love the mess out of this dang car nonetheless. :banana:
 
#23 ·
Yes on the I4 engine vibration may be considered normal and yes we should have stop/start too. I don't feel the vibration of the engine all the time though. When I do, I can also feel it in the gearshift knob- not at all an issue for me. If I wanted ultimate smoothnes I could have ponied up the cash for the V6 which was unnecessary.

This vibration has nothing to do with the OP question of CVT shudder which I almost never feel and I have been looking for it the last 2 days and have felt nothing.
 
#22 ·
finalheaven, yeah i think you are adjusting to the change there.
plus i dont know if honda is using hydraulic engine mounts that were all the rage a while back to "eliminate engine vibration"? i could be wrong but i think honda still just uses rubber bushings?

as for the "judders"... i notice at low speed, like from a dead stop, that when i punch the throttle about 3/4 down, it feels like... chugging?
*waaa-wa-wa-wa-waaaaa*
engine warmed up (just stopped at grocery store for milk and ice cream)
econ OFF (i only use it on the freeway)
"D" selected on transmission

i would be okay with it if the engine/trans was cold. but it was at normal operation temp.
it almost jeks me around in the car its so pronounced.
if i mash all the way down it doesnt do it. almost like 3/4 throttle confuses the throttle position sensor or drive-by-wire system?

is this what we are all talking about?

somebody said to buy an altima. lol
my wife has a '13 and in all honesty... he's right. nissan has the CVT down to perfection.
we just had a '11 altima and it was great. the 13 is even better.
blasphemy, i know. but its true. :(
i love my accord, but i admit the altima has it beat in CVT and audio quality. (but thats all!)
 
#27 ·
What occasional thing I have felt would not even register in my mind as a trip to the dealer. You guys must be having some major shudder issues.
 
#30 ·
This is my first car with a CVT transmission and I definitely notice the "judders" through the steering wheel. It's almost feels like the car is about to stall. I'm glad I'm not the only one with this "issue." It's a lot more apparent too when it is really cold outside. Highest has been 10F degrees for a couple days now.

Is this normal for all CVT transmissions regardless of the brand? I don't remember having that judder feeling when I drove my friend's 2011 Altima, but that rubber band feeling bothers me more than the judders.
 
#32 ·
However, I've noticed my motor sounds like a 5+ liter diesel... lol
Ha ha, I didn't want to comment on the sound of the direct injection I4 engine under light acceleration, just so you don't think I'm mad... but for me it sounds very much like one of those Q400 turboprop airplanes. It is a low rumble without any interruptions because of the CVT. Actually those Q400 also use an ANC kind of system too. :)

Sent using AutoGuide.com free app for Android
 
#34 ·
I have about 4500 miles on my Sport now, and can't say that I've ever noticed any "judder" from the transmission. I rarely use the ECON feature, but when I have used it, it never caused a judder either. My first test drive was in an LX, and that one seemed silky smooth too. When first starting out I can feel the torque converter lockup, which seems to occur at a very low speed, but it doesn't cause a judder, just a slight change (drop) in engine rpms.
 
#35 ·
^^^I initially said the same thing "what judder" until I realized what they were talking about. At low RPM, light throttle, and in econ the car sometimes feels like it is in too high a gear i.e. a manual in 3rd gear rather than in 2nd. I don't think of it as a judder and if you are rarely in econ or you don't granny drive you'll never feel it.
 
#40 ·
I also feel the judder as the car comes to a stop but I have nothing to compare it against. It is good and bad of new technology.
To anyone in the know, are we getting 10% more fuel economy on the CVT (keeping all else constant) over a 6-speed Honda automatic transmission or it actually more?

I know it's very hard to determine since the 9th generation Accord also comes with a Direct Injection engine and past 4 cylinder Accords only have 5-speed automatic trannies.
 
#38 ·
Before I purchased my EX-L I test drove a number of cars, and they all seem to have had that slight shudder just before coming to a full stop. I thought it was the brakes not being smooth on a new vehicle, but now I think it has something to do with the fuel efficiency management system, not the CVT. There is no load on a transmission when it is slowing to a stop, so how can it be the cause?
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top