CVT whine

[rs237]

Hi Guys,

I have a 2012 lancer active with 51,000kms on it. Today was a quite a hot day in Adelaide (about 35 degrees). I had just joined the expressway and accelerated to 100km/h. When i accelerated the rpm reached till 3000 rpm and stayed there for sometime as there was bit of a climb in the expressway stretch. Then i eased the accelerator and it came done between 2000 - 2500 rpm. Drove at 100km/h for about 5 kms. By now i started to hear the cvt whine.
After 5 kms, i took the exit onto a hilly road. Thats when i had to press the pedal more to climb and the whine was quite loud at that time. The rmp would have been somewhere around 3000rpm again. I also felt that if i press the accelerator more, the power expected was not there. When the rpm got low, there was very little or no whine audible.
So, anyone of you have had any similar experiences?
Is the whine at about 3000 rpm normal? Though when i drive in city there is no whinning from cvt at all.
Could this be a cvt issue or is normal?

I would be booking the car in for check-up at mitsu dealer for check-up. Though the manual says cvt fluid change at 90,000 kms, would it be fine if i go ahead with the cvt fluid change at 51000 kms.

Appreciate your comments and guidance.

[Dannn]

My CVT "whines" when its in the "manual" mode after a little bit of driving.

[rs237]

Hi Dannn,

Does t whine all the time or certain rpm?

Thanks

[Dannn]

Not all the time. Only when i use the manual fear selector. Not when its in drive.

[VRX_08]

CVTs whine quite a bit I have noticed over a manual one! It is probably working harder today with the heat so thats why it is probably whining more! The early CJs are known to whine especially when in sports mode

[himynameisdaniel]

the CVT is a pulley system with ours being metal bands.
the whine or mooing sound is quite normal.
if you are concerned about the health of the CVT you may want to flush the fluids in the first instance.
there is a great write up with pictures from Kal on here.
I have flushed mine every 45k km intervals. the fluid in my opinion does not last the entire 90k life. especially if you are towing or driving with a heavy foot.

[rs237]

Thanks for the comments guys.
I have booked car with a transmission specialist to get the oil changed. The oil as per manual is DiaQueen CVTF-J4. Guessing that this will not be available except from mitsubishi dealer, are there any alternatives with the same spec i can go for? Also any idea how much would this transmission service costs?

Please let me know..cheers!

[Markus09]

Hi i have a stock CJ ES 2011 and have experienced the same couple of days ago.
The car almost stopped while driving on a zigzag uphill. Switched to manual 3rd or 4th gear seems no difference then switched back to Drive and thats only time it regained a bit of power.

[aspir3]

How many revs is your engine going up the hill? To get up a hill using the least fuel you want to keep your engine under 3000 revs but to get up a hill fast you should be between 4500-6000 revs.

[CJsportback]

Mine whines like crazy too. Once I go over 110km/h it'll start whining on acceleration & it's loud in sport mode too Mines an MY13 with 59,000 on the clock. It's only started doing it in the last 5000k's or so. I'm by no means a granny driver and live in a hot climate. Maybe this is an excuse to use some of my new tools and do the transmission fluid.

[Dannn]

Mines been doing the whining too but ive been told its nothing to be concerned about.

[Kal777]

The whining or whirring sound is the first sign the fluid is stating to come to the end of its life. Mitsubishi service for this fluid is 90k but the harsh conditions service for the fluid is only 60k.

so as Daniel said. If the car is driven hard, carries a lot of weight eg towing or put though abnormal harsh conditions (meaning a lot of long continued driving, high speed or rpm, or high heat eg 40 degrees) then the fluid may need replacing sooner than later.

A good indication of the fluid getting old is if you take a drop off the dips tick from the transmission and smell it it will have a burnt smell if it is getting old. Also placing a drop on paper will also stain a golden/brown colour. Keep in mind cvt fluid is normally red or green.

[rs237]

Hi All,

Wanted to give an update on this, after starting this post regarding whine i heard. I would agree with kal777 response. It is the transmission fluid.
I got my car booked in for getting the transmission checked at Rowell & Searle Auto Transmission in Adelaide. They are apparently the best when in comes to transmission work.
They take the car for a good, high speed run on the motorway and the whine starts coming when the transmission gets hot and its quite loud and uncomfortable. They suspected that the transmission oil filter might be clogged or not seated properly as the whine sounded like the transmission was not getting lubricated enough. So they open up the transmission and check the filter first. The filter is fine and not clogged.
They they do a check on the quality of the oil and mentioned that the oil based on its color appeared fine and not burnt.
I asked them to go ahead and change the fluid as i read in this forum as well that the oil does not last 90,000kms as mentioned by Mitsubishi. So they change the cvt oil, new oil filter and thats it. Then they tested the car by running in sports mode with high revs in various gears (to make the tranny hot and replicate the problem) and the whine is gone.
I noticed such a big difference the moment i drove the car out of the service center. There used to be a very faint whine even at low speeds and even that is gone. The acceleration is more smooth now and seems faster to accelerate from standstill. Soon i would take to the expressway and same hilly road where i had heard the whine, but i am 100% sure the whine issue is resolved as it was the oil. The old oil when inspected might seem fine visually, but trust me its gone past its use and an oil change is must. Actually an cvt oil and filter change is mist at every 40,000kms if you want smooth, trouble free cvt.
So anyone who hears a whine, have driven approx 40,000kms - do not wait for 90,000kms to change cvt oil. Do it asap.
Hope this helps. Also the cvt fluild has to match the spec mentioned in service book - in my case it was J4 spec. and not J1. This is very important.
I will share my extended experience with this soon.

Cheers!

[aspir3]

As mentioned before the time and kilometres that the cvt needs the oil and filter changed will vary. No way do I need to change mine every 40,000 km as my Aspire is fitted with a transmission cooler and I drive a lot of flat freeways at 80km/h so my oil will probably last the 90,000 kilometres.
You are best to replace the oil and filter before it needs it to save your transmission. It's just cheap insurance. Good maintenance is a must to keep your car running

[sarusa]

As mentioned before the time and kilometres that the cvt needs the oil and filter changed will vary. No way do I need to change mine every 40,000 km as my Aspire is fitted with a transmission cooler and I drive a lot of flat freeways at 80km/h so my oil will probably last the 90,000 kilometres.
You are best to replace the oil and filter before it needs it to save your transmission. It's just cheap insurance. Good maintenance is a must to keep your car running

On low mileage cars would time, years of use, be a factor to consider?