[johns_87]

Sorry to hear of your HRV CVT failure. Glad to hear that Honda covered most of it.

So a 2017 HRV AWD, 119000 miles. Under the recall extended warranty mileage, but over the 7 year extended warranty recall.
Good on Honda to cover 2/3 of the CVT replacement with no warranty coverage.

I would make sure that you have the replacement CVT Honda warranty in writing.
The warranty on your replacement CVT is extremely important. For you and for resale.


What is the maintenance history of your CVT? CVT fluid changes? CVT filter changes?

Good to know about the CVT warranty. Didn't know that was a thing. Thanks!

I didn't know there was a CVT filter lol. I'm bad when it comes to transmission maintenance to be honest... So I guess I'm lucky this lasted this long. I had warranty work done a couple times and that included changing "HCF2", once at 18,953, second at 47,700. I did the CVT update recall at 72,431. Then I changed the fluid myself at 115,677.

 

[johns_87]

So I got my car back after 2 weeks and there's a new weird "problem". On a cold start and under light acceleration, the RPM will jump up about 500 for half a second then come back down for half a second, and this repeats over and over for about 10-15 seconds. After that, it never happens again until I turn the car off and drive from a cold start. This has happened 3 times now since I've had the car back.

I called the dealership and the service guy said he'll ask the shop foreman (he did the work) about it when he's in next tomorrow and call me back.

Thoughts?

 

[johns_87]

I got a call back this morning. The shop foreman said he's not exactly sure, "maybe the car has to relearn the throttle position sensor", whatever that means. There's no immediate concern, so I'll drive the car for a few more days and check back in to see if they should look at it again.

 

[johns_87]

I've been driving the car a few more days and it's still doing the weird rev up and down thing. Drives 100% fine though otherwise.

The other strange thing.... That rattle/vibrating noise a lot of HRV owners report that happens around 2500/3000 RPM is gone! The receipt I got shows they did work to the stabilizer links so I'm wondering if it was common for them to be poorly built from the factory.

 

[johns_87]

Okay, update. The weird rev thing is still happening. It happens within the first 5 minutes of each cold start. I tried multiple things to try and see if certain things trigger it:

• let off the gas, like when I get stuck at a red light right after it starts. It continues after I start accelerating again.
• accelerate harder but it still happens even when RPM is at 4-5k. It does not happen under WOT, but will resume as soon as I accelerate normally.
• completely stop and park. It resumes if I start going shortly after.
• It seems like no matter what i do to get it to stop, it resumes as soon as I resume normal acceleration. And it always lasts 10-15 seconds, no matter how I break that time up with these various scenarios.

The only times it hasnt happened is when I let the car warm up for more than 5-10 minutes and it's beyond that period where it would normally occur.

I'll be calling my dealership tomorrow to let them know its still going on and see what they say. Perhaps I should talk directly with Honda as well.

Oh and the weird vibration/rattling sound that I thought was gone is magically back. That made me sad.

 

[johns_87]

Did this happen in 2024? I guess so because your post is dated Jan. 1 2025. Is the only way to find out if a used car had the update done, to call Honda Dealer. I really want to buy this HRV EX but do not want to have to have the transmission replaced later. Its a 2017 with only 55K miles on it.

The CVT failed a month ago, yes. Honda had it for over 2 weeks and I got it back mid January.

You say it only happens when the vehicle is "cold" and then it goes away when the engine (and transmission) warms up.
What temperature do you mean by "cold"?

Any warning lights on the dash?
Have you scanned for DTC's?
Have you checked CVT fluid level?

I would guess the replacement CVT transmission has an issue. It is likely a 3rd party reman.


We are still casually shopping for a replacement HRV. Not to be a Debbie Downer but...

- There are currently 3 (2016, 2018 & a 2019) HRV's for sale privately in our city with failed CVT transmissions.
Very low price, bring a trailer.

- There are currently 2 (2016 & a 2018) HRV's for sale privately with replacement CVT's stated right in the ad.
The 2018 HRV states 210,000km (130,000miles). The Carfax for it shows it's on it's 3rd replacement CVT from the
Honda dealer.

Crazy...

No lights, haven't checked for DTC because there are no lights on, and I can't check the fluid because it's the middle of winter and I don't have a garage lol.

Like I said in my previous post, it happens within the first 5 minutes of driving the car after I turn it on from being cold. The blue cold engine light will turn off and within the next few minutes, it starts. It does not happen when the car has been warmed up first and/or I'm out with it all day and I'm driving all over for a while.

It happens on my way to work and on my way home, each time. I always let my car warm up for 30 seconds to allow fluids to flow and then I go.

I was told it's a remanufactured transmission but it does come with a 3yr/36k warranty.

 

[johns_87]

4/3/2025 update: i get in my car to go to work and 2 codes showed up. CEL on, shift indicator was flashing all the symbols, brake system light and P! light was on, and red PARK was flashing. I called the service manager who helped me 2 months ago, gave him the codes (p0741 & p0977) and he says they're shift solenoid related. I bring in the car, they said we don't have a loaner at this moment but let's get it on the lift and see what we can find. About 45 minutes later, he comes to me and says, so I gotta call Honda Corporate to figure this out, so we've got a loaner, let's send you on your way. A day later, he calls me and says you likely will need another transmission. He said they've never seen this before, especially after only 2 months. He has to contact Honda again but it'll be another week at the least. 3rd transmission is a charm?

 

[johns_87]

Got my car back almost a week later and they didn't install the shifter properly lol. The button is extra harsh to push in and I can pull it into S or L without pushing the button. Taking it back....again.....to get that looked at. Its not doing the weird revving up and down thing though like it was the first time they "fixed" it.

Apparently the 3/36k warranty also only applies from January when I originally got the reman transmission.

 

[johns_87]

Went back to the dealership yesterday to have them look at the shifter and the service manager said they disassembled and reassembled the shifter and now everything works as it should. It also took several hours, which I feel like is a long time. Wonder what they did wrong the first time.

 

[johns_87]

Wow, that's unlucky. Did you change the transmission fluid as they recommended. I understand that it needs to be done at around 80,000 kilometres (50,000 Miles). They suggested I change it but my HR-V is only at 57,000 kilometres (31000 Miles). I am a bit concerned--it's my first car with a CVT. Previously I had a Honda Accord for 16 years and only had $151,000 Kilometres on it and never changed the transmission fluid--it never gave me any trouble either.

You know what's funny? I changed the CVT fluid once, and not until around 80k miles. Most of my driving was highway, where I was flooring it a lot to pass since the car has such low power. Not sure if that helped me or not. But the second transmission went bad within 2 months (local driving), so there's that too lol.

 

[johns_87]

It leaves me wondering if I should change the fluid sooner and hope for the best? I do both highway and city driving and drive far less annualy since I retired but there's the time aspect too--my HR-V is a 2018.

It doesn't hurt to change more often. If anything, you're just spending more money.

 

[johns_87]

Wow dude. Sell that thing with the quickness. POS cars Honda makes now.

For others following changing fluid makes zero difference. The failure point is the metal belt that basically disintegrates after long use. Search YouTube for Honda CVT failures and see the metal chunks they find in the pan.

The cars themselves are fine, the CVTs, however, are not. Honda isn't the only one having issues with CVTs. Like you said, it's the nature of the unit itself. Thousands of other cars with CVTs are having problems.