Honda Accord CVT Problems
I bought the 2013 Accord LX with the 4 cyl. and CVT. I can reliably reproduce an issue where the CVT stutters or jerks when gradually accelerating at in-town speeds (e.g., 10-40 MPH). It happens most often when going from a slow speed (e.g., 5-10 MPH) and gradually accelerating. I took it to the dealer and the garage manager rode with me and experienced the problem. We then went and got another 2013 LX off the car lot and drove it, and eventually reproduced the issue there as well. Later, the shop hooked up my car to the diagnostic tools and drove it to reproduce the issue, but no codes or out-of-spec messages appeared, so they said this is normal. Has anyone else felt this jerky behavior with the new CVT in the 2013 Accord?
See Also: CVT Problems
See Also: CVT Problems
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Since 1991, I bought 4 Hondas: 2 automatic transmission (Pilot and Accord), and 2 manual transmission (Accords). I really loved the manual transmission Accords. Unbelievable reliability, very nice to drive, dream cars.
Putting an automatic gear box on a Honda is a crime. It should be against the law. I am joking, obviously.
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About Hondas automatic transmissions mild jerking ... good luck with that ! I waited for like 20 years ...
There is just one solution to make you happy. Go on YouTube, and type: "manual transmission tutorial". Learn it, and buy a manual transmission car. Especially young guys will love it. After a while. In the beginning is cumbersome. But after you master it, having full control over what the car does, makes life nicer.
Instead of just saying it's "user error," perhaps offering tips on how to avoid such an error would be more helpful.
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I saw deaf and numb service advisors. They couldn't neither hear nor feel anything. Or perhaps they didn't want to. After the warranty expires, their hearing improves a lot. It's miraculous !
Just because kkuhns may have experienced no jerking issues does not negate the fact that some owners have. I don't care how long Honda's CVT has been around significant troubling issues in the 2013 Accord do exist. I blame myself for not picking up on this issue before purchase but I did. So...... buyer be warned.
There is a Paddle Shifters on sport version. Is it a solution of this issue if I do the transmission manually by the Paddle Shifters?
I think buying a first year model anything is risky and to have this "first ever cvt in an accord", knowing of honda's transmission past, would be really sticking your neck out.
Yes, they did have an unusually high number (for Honda) on some V-6 Odysseys and Accords. Still, percentage wise not that many caused trouble. We always hear of the problem cars but we don't hear about the overloaded, poorly maintained Odysssey that has 300,000 miles and still running fine.
That said, since I've been retired for two years now, I can't speak about the CVT's. Honda has been using CVT transmission in Insights and Civic Hybrids since 2000 and have had few problems.
I do know that all transmissions have their own feel and what someone else may not notice or care about can be perceived as a "problem" by others.
Nobody wants to hear a Service Manager say " They all do that" but sometimes this is the case and just normal operation.
I did drive my buddy's 2013 Accord demo and I was totally impressed. I didn't feel or notice anything amiss with his CVT.
Sorry about your buyers remorse, but overall I love the new design, features and that the LX had all the features I wanted (Alloys, Auto Climate, Auto Lights, Bluetooth and Camera) without having to go up to the EX-L like my 2009.
On a side note for the hosts, can we rename this group like the other ones "Honda Accord (2013+) Maintenance and Repair" and close the previous generation to "Honda Accord (2008-2012) Maintenance and Repair" to keep the format the same for these groups. Thanks!
The Honda Service Manager felt the jerking problem (twice) and acknowledged it was real, both in my car and another new car from the lot. I took it back later and they hooked it up and captured a snapshot of the transmission behavior and sent it to Honda engineering. Meanwhile, I sent a fax to Honda America explaining the problem and asking for an investigation. Later, I received a call from a Honda America rep asking for more details about my issue - he seemed genuinely interested. Apparently he talked to Honda Engineering and they asked my Service Manager to bring my car in again to take another snapshot. I took it in and don't you know, for the first time I could not reproduce the issue when I needed to. The Service Manager said that Honda Engineering wanted to see a snapshot clearly showing the issue. He said they might have an experimental fix to offer, but they need to reproduce the problem so they can see the before and after behavior after applying the update. So, I'll go back again later and try to reproduce this so they can send in a "before" snapshot, then we'll see if we can get the "fix" and see if it helps. If others are having the same issue, I encourage the same effort to see if you can send in a snapshot and perhaps get this fix.
Regarding the use of a manual transmission, I have used them for years, but the new Accord with the CVT gets better gas mileage than the manual, and I wanted the best gas MPG I could get. If I can get a fix for the CVT and/or it lasts 200K miles, I'll be happpy with that.
If you’d like to know what’s wrong with your car, according to the manufacturer, please follow these steps to obtain a list of the recalls, campaigns, and technical service bulletins for your car (the list is free).
The manufacturer provided these documents to the dealerships to diagnose and repair cars more quickly than if they didn’t have this info (in a database). Normally, you wouldn’t have access to this type of information (other than recalls), but thanks to Alldata.com, you do now
1) http://www.alldatadiy.com/TSB/yr.html
2) Select the year of your vehicle, e.g. 2009
3) Select the manufacturer, e.g. Honda
4) Select the model, e.g. Accord
5) Select the Engine type
Three things will be listed
1) Recalls
2) Campaigns
3) Technical Service Bulletins (TSB)
Each entry in the index represents a document will have obtain access to if you purchase a subscription from Alldata.com (Alldata.com does not mail you anything; the documents will be available on their web site in a PDF format)
To purchase a subscription, select Click Here to Access full recalls and Technical Service Bulletins (above the list of the bulletins)
It is not uncommon to find a statement in the bulletin, indicating that, if the customer has the problem described in the bulletin, the dealership is authorized to repair the car for FREE (and bill the manufacturer)
If you find a bulletin of interest to you, call the service manager at your local dealership and ask if the dealership will repair the car for free (you might even consider mailing the bulletin to the Service Manager at the dealership so we can resolve the issue over the phone before you take the car to the dealership)
Thanks !!
http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/WebX/.f0b3259?displayRecent
477 posts regarding CVT issue/failures. There were recalls due to this on the HCH's made prior to 07.
As this is an "issues" column, I do have a few...
The aforementioned CVT issue at around 20mph under light acceleration may be real, although I felt it was fairly imperceptible on my car. As I have over 3K miles on it, I'll check it again as another poster said it was gone by 2K miles. Obviously for me, it wasn't a major issue but I'll check into it for y'all.
Rather, my biggest gripe is with the infotainment system (I'm a software engineer). It all feels pretty alpha/beta in the whole system for many reasons:
1) I set the Trip A to reset after each fill-up. Well, it works, kinda. Except the avg fuel economy is not retained under Icon #2 (historical Trip A)!!! It works fine with other reset options, including manual, but not after a fuel tank fill-up. Hello Honda software dudettes?
2) I have a very late model Android phone and have issues with both Pandora loading/starting under Bluetooth (inconsistent), proper phone directory sync (it can mix up people's entries), voice recordation for speed-dial (it labels some entries kinda wacko-like and can't be manually edited!). Indeed, I have multiple phones synced, but even after 'Factory reset' from the Other options menu, is still getting confused!
3) Android USB MTP not supported. Okay, Google bungled that one, but still! How hard can it be to provide an MTP driver inside the car?
4) Bluetooth sound relay is inconsistent and/or slow.
5) Why can't I activate the rear camera manually?
6) Too much lawyerish nonsense, non-evident customization options, etc. As I said, feels like beta software. The first two issues issues above being UNACCEPTABLE.
But she does drive like a car double its price!
Overall, it just makes the car react more dully and I haven't seen any fuel consumption benefit at all! Granted, unless I'm driving sporty, I'm a particularly smooth driver that may use the breaks in corners just about almost never as all just flows at optimal speeds for my intention. Nevertheless, I think that button is a gimmick.
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2) Factory reset of Infotainment seems to have not made any difference, even with only one phone configured (paired) to it. And the pairing process each time you enter the car seems to be worse. The cold snap (28 degrees F) we're having nights in Central Virginia right now may have something to do with that...
3) Another bug (this one, an interface logic bug): to set the temperature of the climate control while the fan is off - yes! that is a normal function of any car, that is heating the incoming air from outside at speed while fan is off - a user must turn on the fan to gain access to temperature control (!?!) That's nonsensical. Also, the Auto climate control hates to regulate the fan speed until it fully gets to the set temperature, which is not optimal, especially when heating. It should ease off the fan speed the closer the temperature is being reached. If that's what it's doing (?) then that function needs to be optimized as I always intervene manually before the car does.
It moved down the miles per tank but not the avg mpg!
I wonder if Honda checks these forums and will take note or maybe I will write them.
If they do fix these bugs, do you think it is it a simple software update to the unit or the car computer?
I assume the unit would not need be replaced!
I have owned 45 cars, 6 of them Hondas. My personal experience is that short life expectancy from the brakes has been a recurring problem. I would consider my experience irrelevant, except that Consumer Reports also lists the brakes as the weak point.
As for the CVT issue I can say that I did not experience it on my test drive. I did like the Honda CVT better than the 2013 Altima I also test drove. The Altima had no hill hold downshift ability, while the Honda did. I believe that enough people have reported on the Honda CVT issue to make it a concern. I would wait to see if it turns into a reliability promlem. I agree with one other comment I read which suggests that there is inherent risk in buying a car in its first year after a new design.
In other words, if you can wait, next year's Accord will most certainly be better fine-tuned!
Brakes - me too, I've owned 5 Honda cars (same amount of motorcycles) and their brakes tend to be kinda weak and prone to issues such as irregular pad wear...
Transmissions - have always seemed a strong point at Honda. In fact, as you, I tried the excellent Altima 2013 but Honda's CVT sold me due to its more 'natural' feel...
Other issue I found is that when I release the acceleration pedal and the speed goes down from aout 25 miles to 15 miles, it feels some king of "bumpy", I think this has something to do with the CVT transmision. It just feel weird.
The transmission is very smooth. There's no Jerk or hesitation. The vehicle accelerates 0 to X linearly. The transmission feels very natural. It stops very smoothly as well. No stutter or sudden acceleration during the stopping of the vehicle. My 2012 EX has to down shift to a lower gear before stopping which some time causes a sudden but small jerking or acceleration. The 2012 Accord EX delays acceleration when I step on the gas. My 2013 Accord Sport has no such issue. It just goes. The only issue I have is a small rattle coming from the steering wheel during driving on rough surfaces. That was it. I think the dealer can take care of this easily.
I thought it's something to do with the new car, so started to idle the car a little in cold weather before driving it, the problem did lessen but still there. This is my 4th accord in a row and must say I am a little disappointed with the way it drives.
** I have had the stereo "screeching" problem 3 times, once it didn't go away after the 1st re-start. - weird problem.
**Squeak under front drivers side wheel..
** Bump where one of the leather sections joins on the steering wheel....really annoying - Honda are replacing the whole steering wheel.
** The lane change camera didn't work once - corrected when re-started.
** The display screen (top one) auto dimms sometimes....went really dark....don't know if this is normal, corrected itself when I fiddled with it.
** Some "dirt" "bump" under the paint on the rear passenger side window, small but noticeable.....Honda said they would have to re-paint the whole back half of the car to fix it....they are willing to do this under warranty but would need the car for 3 days and would not provide a rental. They also talked me out of doing it as "factory paint" is better??? There is another small bump just above the same window...small but ......................... <---Anyone have an opinion on this?
Not sure what to do about the paint. The other problem I will address with Honda when I change the steering wheel.
I still like the car...but expected a little higher QC checks, especially considering the Japanese as so quality minded.