Transmission question

I own a 2013 Subaru Legacy 2.5i Premium CVT...

my question is when you are moving from reverse to drive gears, is it common to have a moment of hesitation to where pressing the gas pedal does nothing?? I mean I can press the pedal to the floor or varying levels of movement to no difference of acceleration... I do not have too many more problems with the transmission other than inconsistent acceleration during the warm up to operating temperatures...

I guess I am trying to figure out that this is another indicator of the torque converter issues...

I went through the other main thread dealing with this, but only found the hesitation is mentioned once...

oh I am up around 60k on the car...

 

 

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From my admittedly somewhat limited experience, it's pretty normal for the reverse-drive shift on a Subaru CVT to feel like it's taking a little longer than you might expect it to with a "regular" geared automatic. A bad torque converter probably wouldn't exhibit those symptoms unless you somehow broke it off of the flex plate or wrecked the transmission input shaft, at which point it'd just sit there indefinitely feeling like it was in neutral (and probably making all kinds of angry noises).

Yes, that behaviour is normal when it's not up to operating temp. Even my wife's 2017 Impreza Sport does it.

Yep. Totally normal

That honestly seems crazy to me... at times this car seems like a death trap... with it incredibly hard to get the car to accelerate, I feel like I am getting a work out by just driving it... and now the hesitation when backing up, this transmission almost seems like a design flaw... I also own a 2013 Hyundai Accent that accelerates faster than this car, and that is only a naturally aspirated 1.6 liter...

 

 

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OK. As I drive a 6MT, I am not knowledgeable concerning the technicalities of the CVT. I usually stay out of CVT discussions... However, your posts confuse and concern me. At first, you ask about the hesitation, when shifting between reverse and drive. All the answers I have read are accurate. In that first post also you mention 'inconsistent' acceleration during the warm up cycle, and that you understand the known torque converter issue. But you ask no question about those particular issues.

 

In your last post, it sounds like there is more going on. My wife and daughter both drive Subaru Imprezas with CVT. I drive both, on occasion. When I wish either of those two cars to accelerate quickly - from stop - or on the highway - that acceleration happens very quickly. The cars get out of their own way quite well.

 

It sounds like your acceleration - or lack thereof - may be presenting a true safety concern. Whether it is the torque converter problem or not, I respectfully suggest that you have a qualified service tech look at the issue.

Having driven an Accent and a couple of N/A CVT Subarus, I can confirm that the Accent should be painfully slow by comparison.

I have to say it is probably an over exaggeration on my part... you are probably right that I need to have the car checked out... see I drive in horrible congested traffic to and from work and there have been times where I try to pull out into a lane with 4-5 car lengths between myself and the next car, they still have to slam on their brakes even though my foot is to the floor...

 

 

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you should keep in mind that your car is drive by wire meaning the throttle is opened by a electric motor controlled by the computer. cvt transmissions are generally known for not handling much abuse so im thinking the computer is limiting power to extend the life of your vehicle. but if you feel there is something wrong you should have a professional look at it. maybe even have the parts store scan it, just cause there is no check engine light on doesnt mean there are not fault codes stored

Good points... maybe it really is learning to modulate the throttle and I probably need the fluid changed as I am only 1k miles from the big 60k service...

 

 

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Good points... maybe it really is learning to modulate the throttle and I probably need the fluid changed as I am only 1k miles from the big 60k service...

 

 

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I switched from 2004 galant with 4AT to 2010 Legacy which has the 1st gen CVT. Recently the dealer updated the firmware or ECM for the car and it now drives quite peppy. You just need to anticipate a little bit since this is AWD + 3k+ lbs with 170+ ponies. It will not beat the FWD with less weight but will speed nicely.

 

It was a learning curve initially coming from traditional automatic but the CVT does the job really well for the car. Might want to check with the dealers to see if there is any updates for the car.