What if it had a known defect and was maintained on schedule?
As far as I know all CVTs can be problematic if fluid changes are not performed regularly.
An in-law of mine bought a new car with a CVT a few years back. I looked over the owners manual and specifically pointed out to them where it said to change the CVT fluid at 30k miles intervals.
Of course they never bothered with this chore.
At 75k miles the CVT was going out and they were wondering why as they traded the car off…
As for FOMOCO, they owe you nothing. An 11 year old car with a 138k miles and a shaky or non-existent transmission service history is not entitled to anything.
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I’ve heard from a friend of mine about Freestyle issues with CVT, he was saying that one of his relatives had to fix it and they were able to fix an input shaft only, not replacing entire transmission.
Google, help!
Here is the first result popping up: https://www.myfordfreestyle.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=4331
Ok, i need some help and you guys seem like you know what you are talking about. I have a 2004 Saturn Ion Coupe.(cvt) I know it has a transmission leak that we are trying to fix because we just found out about it. But it’s slipping bad. New transmission at a shop is out of our budget… so we were going to get one if if eBay or a junkyard and have my fiancee replace it. Unless you can switch to automatic? I don’t understand cars so please help, I owe a lot on this car so I can’t trade it or sell it or anything yet.
Danielle-seems all CVT trans repairs are pricey
I dont think the ford OP has any cheap solutions either.
Would the eBay transmission come with a warranty? You don’t want to buy a replacement in similar condition to the one you have now. If your fiancée is a diy mechanic with moderate experience, I’m not sure that’s a good idea. The car was also available with a 4speed and 5 speed automatic. I don’t know if you would need a new computer or not to make the change.
Mine is the ion 3. So it is possible to make the switch? It would bolt to the motor and everything?
You would be better served by starting your own thread.
I am not sure if you have a manual or automatic transmission by your post. If manual the slipping is most likely the clutch and as for the leak do you really know where it is?
As for Ebay, I would not do that for a transmission.
There’s FAR too many changes, if you want to go from cvt to regular automatic
You’re going to destroy yourself physically and financially, trying to do so. The wiring harness alone will be totally different.
It would bolt on . . . but it literally wouldn’t work, because of the massive differences. May as well just BUY another Saturn with a regular automatic transmission. It would be easier
My advice is brutally simple . . .
Either install a good cvt . . . whether new, good used or rebuilt.
Or get rid of the car. I mention that because a 2004 Saturn Ion isn’t worth much.
If you choose to install another cvt transmission, the only way it even partially makes sense is if your fiancee installs it, so at least the labor was free. I would rather buy from a junkyard, and ONLY if they guarantee it was working when they pulled it and put in on the shelf and can tell you what the donor car’s odometer read.
I believe buying a transmission from ebay is a roll of the dice. I would never buy such a large item, sight unseen. Just imagine if it doesn’t work. Dealing with the seller, packing it back up and returning it to him could be a real nightmare.
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Thank you. I can’t get rid of it because I’m still paying on it…too much… it’s a good little car and we were thinking junkyard. Thanks a lot!
How are you making payments on a 14-year-old car?
That’s a rhetorical question, so I don’t expect an answer. It’s just something for you to think about.
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Keep it simple @Danielle_Gill , if you intend to replace your transmission with a used one, ask your auto-recycling shop to locate another compatible used CVT for your car. If you can locate one from the same model year, even if it costs more, do that. Suggest to pay a pro transmission shop for a diagnosis of the current transmission first. It might be repairable.
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@Whitey I just bought it in May…from a not so good used car dealership.
Make sure the fluid level is correct and in good shape of course before assuming the worst.
There’s some CVT customer interest bulletins you might ask your shop to take a look at @Danielle_Gill .
5-7-30-3 Launch hesitation
5-7-30-5 Low speed grinding noise
5-7-30-6 SES, p0742
4-7-30-7 No wheel movement in slippery conditions
4-7-30-5 Hiss/chirp noise in park/neutral
4-7-30-32a Grind in P/N on cold start
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Thanks! I just know it’s slipping really bad.
I sure hope it wasn’t a “buy here pay here” used car lot . . .
Sure was…
I advise you to spend a modest amount of money . . . say 1 or 2 hours of labor . . . to definitively confirm you are in need of a used or rebuilt transmission.
Next, you need to think about getting this car payed off as quickly as possible. I know some others will disagree with me, but I think this should be pretty much your main priority. If it means borrowing money from relatives, so be it. If you could work out some kind of cash deal, in which the used car lot hands you the title in exchange for an agreed upon amount, good. I’d rather do that and owe your relatives money, versus owing the used car lot money for years.
I believe these “buy here pay here” businesses are ruthless, and if they believe anything is amiss, they’ll just take the car away from you, and you’ll be left without a car and destroyed credit
They’re gambling on you to miss payments, so that they can reclaim the car, and resell it to somebody else
I’ll assume the car was already older and had plenty of miles, when you bought it
If you’re able to do as I suggested, then and only then should you think about fixing the car. Call junkyards and ask if they have a transmission which they can guarantee was working when it was pulled. A written guarantee is better than somebody’s verbal acknowledgement. Then have your fiancee swap it out.
The buy here pay here lots can damage your credit, and that might hurt you more, versus the value of the car.
So to sum it up, I personally see the buy here pay here lot as your primary problem, and the transmission as secondary
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having friend put in a 1200 used trans and hope for success is about only route
i have no experience with BHPH lots. do you agree to pay them XX dollars for car
and than what happens at end of payments? do they give you title?
Here’s the business model . . .
They sell cars which are old and high mileage at the same time
No such thing as younger cars or cars with low mileage
They actually DO have a price, but it’s sky-high . . . most people seeing it would think “These guys are smoking crack” and keep looking elsewhere
It’s built upon the premise that many/most buyers will default, at which point they repo the car and simply “sell” it to somebody else
Old clunkers, which in any other context would be ready for the crusher, are instead gold mines for these guys
I suspect most people doing business with these guys never actually see the title in the end, because they never reach that point
You are obligated to return to the lot at set intervals, and you pay them on the spot. Not only that, but once you pull in, you’ll get blocked in. That way, if there’s ANYTHING amiss, they’ll simply keep your car.
There’s actually quite a few of these shady businesses in my area. You can often tell what they really are, because they list a grossly inflated price, and focus more on your payments, versus the actual price.
Theoretically, yes . . . you do agree upon a price, and supposedly you’ll get the title at the end of payments.
But as I said, for every guy that actually fulfills his obligations and receives his title . . . after grossly overpaying . . . there are probably countless guys who made several payments, then had the car repo’d and have nothing to show, except for ruined credit.
Even though the business model is legal, I consider it to be exploitation. I consider it to be like payday advances . . . preying upon people