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Buying a 2013 Honda Accord EX-L 2.4L CVT

684 Views 8 Replies 8 Participants Last post by  Blackheart
I'm close to making a decision on a used 2013 EX-L 2.4 CVT. It's for my teenage son who's just starting to drive. It's a 1-owner car with history of dealer maintenance. I would like to hear from real world owners. The car has 113K miles. Price is semi-fair given the current market ($15K USD). I don't mind paying that much since it's a EX-L 1-owner car with meticulous maintenance record. But I've never owned a CVT car. I test drove the car and it feels solid but I would really like to know how these early CVTs held up. Thanks in advance.
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I purchased a 2103 EX with 78,000mi. on it back in 2018 for my kids as well. Right now, it's at 110,000 with no issues other than the rear rockers rotting (New England car). Thus far, the only money that I had put into it was for new rear calipers and brakes all around, one tranny drain/refill, and new tires. The car still drives perfectly. Other than the Carfax report I knew nothing about the vehicle, and it has not been babied. We've had four Hondas with CVT's. Previously, I had a 2015 CR-V since new that was traded in @110,000 miles w/o an issue, and I/we were not easy on it as well...not one transmission related issue at all! A lot of people are going to poo poo the transmission, but it has a solid history, and unless you're gonna mod the vehicle with insane power it'll serve your kid fine, and it'll probably fare no worse than any other transmission (unless your kid drives recklessly with it).
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The CVTs haven't proven to be particularly bad, there are just some like myself who are uncomfortable making the switch to it. Much like all the other Honda ATs the key is to change the fluid at the appropriate time religiously. For the traditional ATs this is typically at 30k, for the CVT IIRC it's more like 60k.
I'm not a huge fan of CVT, but I had a '14 EX-L for about 60k miles over 2.5 years. Zero major issue. Car was smooth and tracked very well. Stellar mileage on the highway and great around town too. The only minor issues I had were the crappy battery (died around 2 year mark) and glitchy infotainment.

I've seen a few here 9G's and plenty online that have gone over 200k miles too. So I'd think it's been mostly reliable.
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I paid $20000 CAD before tax in February 2015 for my sports with 26000 km, but we all know the current market is crazy. Still at that age and time, problem will start to show up. Degraded NVH and seized parking brake mechanism is what I faced so far, with 230000km. Current oil consumption is 1L/5000km. Car has always been driving carefully, along with proper maintenance throughout the life.

Transmission wise, nothing to concern about, maintain it properly and it’s good to go. CVT can take way more abuse than a parallel shaft AT, even that can still do fine when proper maintenance schedule is followed with right fluids.

If you’re open for different cars, I’d like to suggest a 10th gen civic and other compact cars. Cost less to maintain and easier to drive with a smaller body, perhaps it’s more suitable than an Accord for teenage.

The CVTs haven't proven to be particularly bad, there are just some like myself who are uncomfortable making the switch to it. Much like all the other Honda ATs the key is to change the fluid at the appropriate time religiously. For the traditional ATs this is typically at 30k, for the CVT IIRC it's more like 60k.
Initial change usually comes up around 60k miles then it’s more frequent thereafter. Full capacity is 7L (or qt?) but you only changed 4qt at a time.
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I bought my 13 Accord EX-L 2.4 new and am currently at 311K miles. I follow the maintenance minder for the CVT, which has turned on at approx. every 45K miles. Still running good. Only major issues I've had, is the tensioner pulley going bad, which I believe damaged the pulley on my alternator, because I later had to have that replaced. I am on my 3rd starter, which is a known issue for alot of people. I am still on the original brake rotors. On my next brake pad change, I will replace the front ones... finally. Check out my signature, and you can see my maintenance history up to a certain point. I would give a thumbs up to get the car for your son, however, him being that young I don't know how hard he will drive it. I have been very light on the pedal, and drive mostly highway.
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Thank you everyone for your input. I really appreciate it. I will probably buy it today. I wanted to sleep on it for few days and hear from people who own one. Thanks again - if everything goes well, I'll post few pics later tonight.
I have a 2013 Accord EX-l that I have owned since new. It currently has about 120,000 miles on it. The only repair issue I have had is the driver's side temperature blend door actuator got noisy and I replaced it. I have done all the scheduled maintenance myself. The main issue with the CVT, from the beginning, was jerking and hesitation. Those issues were all fixed with the Technical Service Bulletin on the CVT. Check to make sure that the Technical service bulletin was done, #13-053.

The fuel mileage is great and the large fuel tank allows you to go a long distance with no stops for fuel (over 500 mi easily). It is one of the best cars for long distance driving as the CVT is smooth on the Interstate. The front seats are not that great, I personally cannot take riding in the front passenger seat.

I have only done regular maintenance and brakes. I upgraded the battery from a 51r to a 24f and that was a great upgrade, I also upgraded the headlight bulbs to H9's.

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I have a 2013 Accord EX-l that I have owned since new. It currently has about 120,000 miles on it. The only repair issue I have had is the driver's side temperature blend door actuator got noisy and I replaced it. I have done all the scheduled maintenance myself. The main issue with the CVT, from the beginning, was jerking and hesitation. Those issues were all fixed with the Technical Service Bulletin on the CVT. Check to make sure that the Technical service bulletin was done, #13-053.

The fuel mileage is great and the large fuel tank allows you to go a long distance with no stops for fuel (over 500 mi easily). It is one of the best cars for long distance driving as the CVT is smooth on the Interstate. The front seats are not that great, I personally cannot take riding in the front passenger seat.

I have only done regular maintenance and brakes. I upgraded the battery from a 51r to a 24f and that was a great upgrade, I also upgraded the headlight bulbs to H9's.

Sent from my Pixel 5 using Tapatalk
I have the same experience with a 2014, with the exception of the blend door and the addition of replacing the starter. So glad I put the larger battery in, since my daughter has been driving it when in college. The car can get slightly better than 40 MPG on the interstate, if the speed limit is honored. It's been a great car so far.
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