[DrZeus]

FYI, the transmission in my 2018 C-HR XLE has failed and was replaced (under warranty) in February 2020 with just over 36,000 miles. First indication that something was wrong was hearing a whining noise coming from the front end. If anyone else is or has experienced this problem, please let me know. I'm getting some feedback that this might be a known flaw in this vehicle... Not happy.

 

[zx10guy]

Did the dealer say anything about what failed in the trans? The whining could be anything from the differential to the actual CVT belt.

 

[DrZeus]

Did the dealer say anything about what failed in the trans? The whining could be anything from the differential to the actual CVT belt.

They said that they didn't know what caused the failure but that Toyota may want to look at it to make a determination. I guess I should have also stated that they replaced the torque convertor.

 

[zx10guy]

So did they just replace the torque converter or the trans with the torque converter? If they replaced the torque converter with the trans, is the failure just the torque converter?

 

[DrZeus]

So did they just replace the torque converter or the trans with the torque converter? If they replaced the torque converter with the trans, is the failure just the torque converter?

Good question that I did not ask. It was originally diagnosed with a faulty transmission (which was replaced) then, a week later (as it was still in the shop), they informed me that the torque convertor needed replaced as well. I was under the impression (google search) that if one goes bad, the other needs to be replaced as well due to metal shaving contamination. I am not mechanically inclined so I guess that I didn't know the right questions to ask...

 

[John Doherty]

Same thing just happened to us with our 2018 CH-R. Luckily we bought from a dealer that has a "free" lifetime powertrain warranty. My mechanic and friend diagnosed it and told me to take it to the dealership. 64k on it and the inspector is coming tomorrow to hopefully give them the go to replace it at the dealership. Fingers crossed. I'm a Toyota fan. I've had a 2nd generation supra, Scion Tc, Xb, and two Rav 4's. Currently we have a Rav4, Tc, and the CH-R. I really want to add a gx470 but if this isn't made right I will ditch toyota all together. The pursuit of fuel efficiency is going to tarnish the brand if they can't get these CVT's right. They just recalled the new Corolla's due to the similar transmission failure. The most ridiculously reliable/affordable toyota is now seeing trouble before getting out of the gate. Can't wait to see the problems the BMW motor will have in the Supra. It's really a bummer too because I'm nearly to the point where I will be able to afford a slightly used Supra. But yeah I'm not touching it with that motor.

 

[zx10guy]

Same thing just happened to us with our 2018 CH-R. Luckily we bought from a dealer that has a "free" lifetime powertrain warranty. My mechanic and friend diagnosed it and told me to take it to the dealership. 64k on it and the inspector is coming tomorrow to hopefully give them the go to replace it at the dealership. Fingers crossed. I'm a Toyota fan. I've had a 2nd generation supra, Scion Tc, Xb, and two Rav 4's. Currently we have a Rav4, Tc, and the CH-R. I really want to add a gx470 but if this isn't made right I will ditch toyota all together. The pursuit of fuel efficiency is going to tarnish the brand if they can't get these CVT's right. They just recalled the new Corolla's due to the similar transmission failure. The most ridiculously reliable/affordable toyota is now seeing trouble before getting out of the gate. Can't wait to see the problems the BMW motor will have in the Supra. It's really a bummer too because I'm nearly to the point where I will be able to afford a slightly used Supra. But yeah I'm not touching it with that motor.

The recall for the Corolla HB's CVT trans was not related to any issue with the design of the trans itself. It was a production issue which involved the torque converter. In addition, the trans used in the Corolla HB is not the same as our trans. It has a physical first gear which they refer to as the launch gear. I wouldn't draw parallels to that recall and what is happening here.

While it's disconcerting that there are two reported issues with the CVTs used in our cars, I would want to know what exactly is the issue. Plus two out of the thousands of trans' out in the wild isn't predictive of the overall reliability of these trans'.

On the BMW motor. Barring some unique design quirks of the B58 motor, I wouldn't be so quickly dismissive of it either. I have the previous generation N55 motor in my 2013 BMW 135i. Other than the annoying smaller issues, the car has yet to have left me stranded or has had any catastrophic failures in my 6 years of ownership with 97,500 miles on the clock. I also had the factory PPK tune done about a year into owning the car and then a couple of years later had the Dinan S2 tune done. The two repairs I did which are known issues on my N55 are the oil filter housing gasket (OFHG) and the electric water pump. The OFHG failed on my engine and started pissing oil all over the front and bottom of the engine. It's an annoying issue since the design is the same across the inline 6s (naturally aspirated or turbocharged) of that generation of motor: N51, N52, N54, N55, etc. The water pump was replaced proactively as it's known to go bad eventually and does so without warning which will put the engine in limp mode. I did mine at 75k. Some have pushed their water pumps to just over 100k before failure. But the B58 resolved the water pump issue because it uses a mechanical water pump now. Oh and BMW finally got a clue and added an oil dip stick back into the motor. The B58 has been proving to be a pretty stout motor as many tuners are getting some pretty good power numbers from it. Papadakis Racing who are known for their 2JZ motor builds has been neck deep into the B58 when the new Supra came out. There are Youtube videos they have where they've built out a 1000HP B58 motor. And the ZF trans being used with the B58 also seems to be pretty reliable.

Personally, if I was in the market for another sports car, I'd seriously consider the new Supra or the M2C. The Z4 is out of the running because I don't want a convertible.

 

[Nestor Alexander Nazario]

I just got the call from my dealership today that my tranny and torque converter need to be replaced.

Brought it in 2 weeks ago for a weird humming/roaring noise coming from the front... my initial thought was CVT, but the head mechanic at my local dealership insisted it was a wheel bearing after taking it on a test drive with me. Mind you this visit was at 60,100mi, just barely out of warranty.

Fast forward to today, I take it in for oil change, tire rotation, and the wheel bearing.... currently sitting at 60,700mi. I get a call from the dealership a couple hours later stating that the tranny is going and it will need to be replaced along with the torque converter, but they are not sure if they would cover it under my freshly warranty or not.

Fast forward another hour. They call and say “good news, we got you some coverage under warranty, but we need to bring an appraiser in to take a look at things first. We will get back to you tomorrow or Friday.”

I’m a Toyota fan through and through, but I’ll likely be selling the car after they make the repair (which they better cover under warranty or I’m going to raise ****) and move onto something with a traditional auto trans. These CVTs just ain’t worth.

 

[zx10guy]

Wow. That sucks. I'd really want to know what exactly is failing on these transmissions.

As to finding a car in this class with no CVT, it's getting harder. The HR-V is a CVT. Mazda's CX3 does have a 6 speed auto.

 

[Tanveer0543]

Can anyone with the issue make a video if possible? Just to confirm the type of noise we should be looking for. I am getting around that mileage now on my 2018 and will take the car to dealership before i run out of warranty

 

[V͜͡м٭COBRA]

FYI, the transmission in my 2018 C-HR XLE has failed and was replaced (under warranty) in February 2020 with just over 36,000 miles. First indication that something was wrong was hearing a whining noise coming from the front end. If anyone else is or has experienced this problem, please let me know. I'm getting some feedback that this might be a known flaw in this vehicle... Not happy.

Mine just started this as well! Just hit 80,000 miles... Wonder if I can get it done under warranty?

 

[Shadowsnap]

The transmission is replaced at the same time as the torque converter because there is no available remanufactured tranny for the CHR available through Toyota. They sell the tranny with no torque inserted, you order the torque separate it will always be like this until a reman comes available. Not sure what's failing, sounds like bearing inside the transmission. I'm a service manager in Canada, we've done 3 so far all with 90km-106km.
Not good. Built in Turkey! Gwan!

 

[V͜͡м٭COBRA]

Does anyone know what the cost is to replace the transmission and torque converter on our car? I just want to brace myself in case they won’t help me out at all... I am sitting at 80,810 miles and I have an appointment with South Toyota in Texas tomorrow morning! Fingers crossed, wish me luck lol 😂

 

[zx10guy]

Not to scare you. But based on the Toyota Parts website, the MSRP of the trans is $6500 and the torque converter is $970. I doubt you'll be paying full MSRP and there probably will be a factory refurb option. But it's going to beat up your wallet. Add to that around $100 to $130 an hour for labor. I'm taking a stab but I'm guessing about 6 hours of book time to do the job.

 

[V͜͡м٭COBRA]

Thanks for the quick reply... So I’m looking at roughly $8250. 🤦🏻‍♂️ The car is less than 2 years old and if it were in perfect mechanical shape it would be worth $12,000... according to KBB. So we can pretty much call it totaled.
I can officially say this is the worst purchase I have ever made. Funny thing is I am driving my 2005 Toyota Tacoma right now and it has 290,000 miles on it with the original transmission & motor. I assumed the CHR was going to at least get me half of that. That’s what I get for thinking.
There is obviously a defect in these transmissions and I am certain we will start seeing a ton of CH-R’s start dropping like flies!

 

[zx10guy]

I don't think it'll cost $8250. I think a Nissan CVT trans replacement runs around $4k or so.

I also don't know how wide spread this is. The C-HR has been on sale overseas since 2017 maybe 2016. I haven't heard of any widespread CVT failures. I would still like to see what exactly is failing in these trans. I saw a tear down of a Jatco CVT on Youtube taken off of a Pathfinder. Can't remember exactly, but I think it was a failure in the variable part of the pulley system causing binding which ultimately caused the steel belt to fail. There were pieces of the little metal ribs that make up the belt everywhere in the trans.

 

[LynDumont]

FYI, the transmission in my 2018 C-HR XLE has failed and was replaced (under warranty) in February 2020 with just over 36,000 miles. First indication that something was wrong was hearing a whining noise coming from the front end. If anyone else is or has experienced this problem, please let me know. I'm getting some feedback that this might be a known flaw in this vehicle... Not happy.

hi - unfortunately, I think I agree that this is a known problem that Toyota hasn't addressed properly. back early February I was driving home from Albany and experienced some sluggishness while driving and then the indicator on panel started to flash Abnormal Voltage...the indicator eventually went away that night and within a months time battery shut down 2x and just yesterday got it restarted and now car is "locked" all malfunction indicators are lit and the car will not MOVE. set into drive/reverse/neutral and it will simply not accelerate. I literally had to let the car "roll" into a safe spot. I felt yesterday the system failed and locked the transmission. will call toyota today and see what they say. Hope this helps.

 

[marley]

15 CVT Transmission Pros and Cons


Long time lurker considering C-HR. Above is an excellent article on the CVT transmission from a well respected site.

Seems average life can be between 60K - 100K.

 

[roya_bee]

FYI, the transmission in my 2018 C-HR XLE has failed and was replaced (under warranty) in February 2020 with just over 36,000 miles. First indication that something was wrong was hearing a whining noise coming from the front end. If anyone else is or has experienced this problem, please let me know. I'm getting some feedback that this might be a known flaw in this vehicle... Not happy.

I took in my 2019 CH-R to the dealership yesterday. I've been hearing a loud whistling sound over the past 3 weeks, since I took the car in for the 5,000 mile maintenance. At first, they said that a chirping sound was normal, but I urged them to look into it more because it is a WHISTLE when the car idles at a red light or when parking. Just got a call back and they said that it's the transmission... that they DON'T know what the problem is. However, they are replacing it (must be under warranty). Transmission problems at 5,000 miles? Seems a little crazy to me.

 

[zx10guy]

This is concerning. I've been noticing some strange "gear shifting" behaviors with my trans lately too. I guess I'll have to start paying close attention to the trans now. I'm at 26,200 miles on my 2019.