List of cars with transmission defects.. based on Consumer Reports data

Cars have transmission problems..and we offer you a list of alternative transmissions

It’s natural for drivers to worry about reliability as a vehicle ages, because the risks of inconvenience and unexpected expenses rise during higher mileage. Most modern cars can run up to 200,000 miles with little to no routine maintenance and minor repairs to faulty components. But Consumer Reports surveys show that some cars have a much higher failure rate than their peers.

To understand how often such issues occur, we analyzed legacy models data from annual global private automated surveys, to see which key systems can lead to expensive repairs and identify which models have the greatest risk.

The data showed that the most prominent problems were problems: engines, and transmission defects . On some models, we found similar complaints about transmission defects, and we found that these problems occur frequently and suddenly at a certain age of the car or at certain mileage.

“Powertrain issues can lead to bigger problems like overheating, gear slipping and gear wear,” says John Ibbotson, chief consumer reports mechanic at Consumer Reports. In the end, minor concerns can lead to a catastrophic failure, leaving the car out of service. Rebuilding or replacing the transmission is an expensive and time-consuming project, and not all repair shops have the experience to handle this task, changing the same type of transmission will repeat the same problem, adding to the inconvenience.”

It turns out that many Nissans have transmission problems, and in terms of frequency we’ve found that the variable transmissions constantly need to be replaced. Some consumers reported that the transmission was covered by warranty or that the transmission was replaced under Nissan’s own extended warranty program, a type of customer service support that manufacturers sometimes offer to address common problems. Several Nissan cars and SUVs had transmission problems from 2012 to 2015. One Murano owner reported that the problem cost him $5,000.

We found pain in the comments of Ford Focus and Kia Forte owners, in particular, who struggled with transmission flaws despite having relatively few miles on their cars. Some owners of Focus cars said that the transmission problem was solved under warranty. One Forte owner said the transmission “stopped” when the mileage clocked only 4,300 miles and that it took 44 days for the transmission to be replaced, underscoring that such major issues can be very expensive and/or inconvenient.

To help warn both current owners and used car shoppers, we’ve rounded up 10 models that turn out to have the most serious problems, as determined by consumer data, frequency of complaint, and cost. We focused on models from the last decade. Looking a little further afield, there are several vehicles that have a disproportionate frequency of transmission issues and disadvantages, including, the following vehicles in order: 2013 Chrysler Town & Country/Dodge Grand Caravan, 2012 Buick Enclave, 2013 Cadillac SRX, and 2013 Fiat 500.

The ten featured models are presented below in order, starting with the cars with the highest rate of transmission defects, and various other issues based on the frequency of consumer complaints .

We’ve highlighted the model year that has the most problems (and, when needed, we’ve included the frequency of transmission defects on models in all years of release, recording all the years that the same transmission defects have recurred for the same model for subsequent years, and if transmission defects do occur) After a certain number of miles the car had traveled before the problem occurred.

Then we gave you recommendations to use a transmission from similar alternative cars that do not have this problem, and in cases where no alternatives are offered, it means that there are no similar cars and we could not find them, or that the alternative cars suffer from the same problem of transmission defects or Another big problem.

A 200,000-mile trip can be full of bumps, pitfalls, and problems, but it can be smoother if you have a good, reliable vehicle and maintain it properly, according to the directions in your owner’s manual. And Consumer Reports always recommends that shoppers refer to our reliability ratings, based on our extensive surveys, to predict which models have better odds of being trouble-free. These detailed data can be found on the vehicle evaluation and review pages.

2013 Nissan Sentra

Model years affected by gear problems: 2012-2013, 2015
Typical mileage when the problem occurs: 77000-123000
Replacement gears can solve this problem: You can replace it with the wheel brakes of Honda Civic models between 2011-2015, it can also be replaced with the Toyota Corolla steering wheel 2013 to 2015 / Also it can be replaced with Mazda 3 gearbox models between 2011-2015

2014 Nissan Pathfinder

Years of release affected by transmission defects in a Pathfinder: 2013-2014
Typical mileage when the problem occurs: 58000 – 108000
There is a replacement gear that can solve this problem, and you can use the gearbox for Toyota Highlander in the years between 2012 – 2016.

2014 Ford Focus

Model years affected by transmission defects: 2012-2017
Typical mileage when the problem occurs: 31,000-60,000
Replacements that can solve this problem: Replace it with the Mazda 3 transmission years between 2012 and 2015, it can also be replaced with Honda Civic transmissions production years 2013 to 2015.

2019 Kia Forte

The defect occurs in the 2019 version only, and the typical mileage when the problem occurs: 12000-23000, and
you can use a replacement gearbox to solve this problem: you can use the Toyota Corolla gearbox of 2017, 2018 and 2020, and it can be replaced with Kia Soul models between 2017-2019

2013 Nissan Murano

Model years affected by the defect Two years: 2011, 2013
Typical mileage when the problem occurs: 84000-119,000
There are Vets with replacement cars to solve this problem: you can replace it with a Ford Edge Ventis years of production between 2012-2016, you can also replace it with a 2015 Toyota Highlander VIX.

2011 Ford Fiesta

Affected model years: 2011, 2014
Typical mileage when the problem occurred: 115000-145000 Replacement
car gears to solve this problem: 2011-2013 Honda Fit, 2012-2013 Hyundai Accent

2014 Infiniti QX60

The problem occurs on this year’s model, typical mileage when the problem occurs: 92000-95000 Replacement
car gears to solve this problem: 2012-2016 Lexus RX

2011 Nissan Rogue

Model years affected by the problem: 2011-2012
Typical mileage when the problem occurred: 94000-150000 Replacement
car gears to solve this problem: 2011-2013 Honda CR-V, 2011 Toyota RAV4

2016 Nissan Altima

Affected model year 2016 only, typical mileage when the problem occurred: 42000-77000 Replacement
car gears to solve this problem: 2016-2017 Volkswagen Passat, 2015-2017 Toyota Camry

2018 Volkswagen Jetta

Affected model years: 2018-2020 and also 2009-2010 Volkswagen was able to solve the problem and provided some of these models with solutions to the problem, and we could not find cars that shared the same Volkswagen Jetta transmission.

2020 Volkswagen Passat

Transmission defects in the 2020 Volkswagen Passat can appear in the form of a shift lag, grinding when accelerating, a feeling of vibration, or whistling sounds and the smell of burning coming from under the hood.

This problem appeared in the 2020 model, and there are maintenance methods and solutions to solve it provided by Volkswagen. Do not replace it, but fix it because there are no transmissions similar to it.

2013 Skoda Octavia

Model years affected by transmission defects: 2013-2020

The defect in the Skoda Octavia transmission: The Octavia Mk gearbox is of a dsg type. A defect appeared in it after the car had traveled 66000 miles, and it appeared in other cars after 86000 miles, it appeared D and not D1 and then I gave a problem in the transmission.

We are still looking for an alternative transmission for this car

2012 Hyundai Tucson Turbo

Affected model years: 2007-2010, 2012-2013, 2016-2021

Disadvantage: Transmission problems in a Hyundai Tucson can manifest themselves as gear shifting delays, grinding or jumping during acceleration, car shaking on the road, whistling sounds or a burning smell coming from under the hood. They are the same disadvantages of the DSG transmission.

We are looking for an alternative transmission for the 2021 Tucson transmission, and we will update the results as soon as alternative solutions are reached. We believe that the 2022 version has resolved the problem, and we will provide you with more results. A solution to confirm an alternative transmission

2013 Chevrolet Traverse

The year affected by this problem is 2013 only, typical miles when the problem occurs: 110,000-135,500
Alternatives to solve this problem: None

After reviewing the types of cars that suffer from transmission defects, we will get acquainted with some types of transmissions in ordinary and electric cars. We start with some types of transmission that are notorious for having problems, and the similarity between the types of transmission in multiple cars.

Dual Clutch Transmission (DCT)

This type of gearbox is quickly becoming the most popular type of automatic transmission for gasoline and diesel cars. Most of the Volkswagen Group brands – VW, SEAT and Skoda – call it DSG (Direct Transmission), although Audi confuses things further by calling it S-tronic and Porsche prefers the PDK name, but they’re all the same.

As the name implies, there are two types of gearboxes. In its simplest form h, there are two separate clutch systems – one for odd gears and one for even number gears.

So the gearbox can pre-select the next gear before a shift occurs, which means shifts are much faster than with other types of gearboxes. In high-performance cars, this is so advanced that changing gears is almost imperceptible.

This type of transmission provides the same direct feel as the single-clutch version, but is usually smoother and more efficient to drive. It can also usually offer better fuel economy and performance than a manual gearbox. But there is still some wiggling at low speed, and it can be a bit tricky when shifting between 1st and reverse gears.

Early versions of these gearboxes (mid-late 2000s) were less reliable than later versions of the last decade, and could be very expensive to repair if they failed. The following cars share the same transmission under different names:

Audi S-Tronic
BMW/Mini Steptronic (yes, same name they used on older car transmissions)
Ferrari F1-Shift (yes, same name they used…)
Porsche PDK
Volkswagen DSG.

Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT)

CVT transmission has many problems, and the Japanese manufacturer Toyota is considered the best quality CVT transmission, and if manufacturers find a way to address the defects of this transmission, it will make driving more enjoyable, and will outperform all types of gearboxes other.

The CVT has no gears at all. Instead, it uses a conical shape with a bar around another axis. The bar can be moved up and down in the shape of a cone to change its length and, accordingly, the gear ratio. In theory, it offers infinitely variable ratios between its upper and lower bounds, meaning that it can be optimally optimized for fuel efficiency or performance at any time. This is particularly useful for hybrid cars, which can use a CVT to balance the workload between the gasoline engine and the electric motor.

The downside is the driving experience, which tends to feel strange and often unpleasant. When accelerating, it feels like the car is pulling on a rubber band. Meanwhile, the accompanying noise is horrible because the revs go straight to the point of maximum power and stay there while the car revs, rather than going up and down as you work your way through multiple gears.

This type of transmission is more limited in how it works with modern four-wheel drive systems than it can alter the amount of drive that moves between the front and rear wheels, so many SUVs will use a torque converter or dual-clutch transmission instead.

The latest CVTs from Honda and Toyota look much better, so there’s hope for a transmission flawless gearbox…the same transmissions are shared by the Audi Multitronic and Subaru Linartronic.

Single Speed ​​Transmission

Electric cars brought us a new kind of transmission. If you drive an electric car (or a hybrid car that goes in electric mode), you don’t have a gearbox at all. This is because there is only one gear to transmit power from the electric motor to the wheels. If you want to run faster, the electric motor spins faster. And if you want to go slower, the motor slows down.

With no gears and direct motor-to-wheel contact, the feel is smooth and seamless, but also direct with maximum efficiency. But it is free of the defects of the previous transmission in fossil fuel cars.