Toyota K110

Transmission general data

TOYOTA K110 / K111 / K111F / K112 / K112F / K114

The first generation of CVT transmissions designed by the Japanese company Aisin was produced in August of 2000. Initially, the CVT K110 was designed for FWD cars with the engine capacity of 2 liters. According to many sources, Toyota (co-founder and co-owner of Aisin) combined the license (bought from Jatco) and its own developments in the field of CVTs (the first CVT named as P110 was successfully tested by Toyota on Toyota Prius with the body NHW10 for the domestic Japanese market).

Technical issues and repair guidelines

The first car with the K110 CVT was Toyota Opa, 2.0 (2000-2005), which was sold exclusively in the domestic market of Japan. A year later (in 2011) the K110 transmission was installed on sedans Toyota Alion/Toyota Premio and minivans Toyota Voxy/Toyota Noah/Toyota Estima, etc. All these right-hand drive cars were originally intended for sale at the domestic market of Japan as well as in some Asian countries. For 4 years of production, Toyota managed to fix some standard issues related to this CVT. In 2004, Toyota released an improved version of K110 which was named as K111/K111F (prefix “F” means that this CVT is intended for all-wheel drive vehicles).

The K111 transmission was designed on the basis of K110, and these two transmissions are very similar in terms of technical solutions. The K111 transmission (in contrast with K110) has a new belt as well as linear control over the N gear and acceleration. It has a positive impact on fuel efficiency and transmission performance characteristics.

For some time, Toyota was actually “catching up” with other Japanese companies in terms of CVT application. Therefore, Aisin (which produced CVTs for Toyota) had to use spare parts of different manufacturers for assembly of K110 and K111. Moreover, Aisin heavily depended on third-party suppliers and on quality of supplied spare parts. For example, belts for Aisin CVTs were produced by the German company Bosch. Toyota didn’t want to put up with such state of affairs. The Japanese auto giant wanted (via its subsidiary Aisin) not only to fully control the whole process of transmission production, but also to develop and introduce new CVT technologies. Thus, in 2002, Aisin jointly with Bosch established a joint company Shivutech Co., Ltd. (trade mark CVTEC). The purpose of this company was the development and production of components for CVTs. Three years later in 2005, CVTEC developed the belt for a new type of CVT.

According to the original technology, this new push belt consists of thin steel sheets with high-precision gaps (equal to several microns). This solution ensures high strength of belt elements. In addition, the durability of this belt was enhanced by the sandblasting procedure. These measures made it possible to launch in production a new series of CVTs K112/K112F in October of 2005. These CVTs with higher torque transmission capacity were initially intended for coupling with 2,4-liter engines. The first car equipped with the K112/K112F transmission was Toyota Rav4. Later this CVT was applied in Toyota Estima, Toyota Blade, Toyota Vellfire and many other cars.

Typical problems in K110/K111/K112

Transmission specialists often have to deal damage of bearings on the input shaft of K111 and K112. This problem may be caused by production defects or contaminated ATF with metal shavings. These metal shavings reach the bearing via a small hole in the gearwheel. As a result, balls in the bearing become cemented leading to its wear. Over time, the “dying” bearing damages the gear-wheel itself

If K110 / K111 / K112 transmissions get overheated (ATF has a “burning” smell), then it may lead to replacement of the complete set of friction clutches. In this case, transmission specialists also replace gaskets, rings, and seals (the reason is simple – rubber hardens affected by temperature and becomes less flexible; eventually, it leads to oil leakages. Long-term usage of the car with worn friction clutches and rings leads to overheating of pistons and their consequent replacement.

Acceleration from rest with the cold CVT (in winter time) leads to curving of the CVT belt on cones (on minimum radius). At the same time, the belt touches cones on the minimum area. It often leads to the belt slippage (with cold ATF). In this case, the belt wears down and scratches cones. With time surfaces of cones will have tears. The belt slippage also will have a negative impact on solenoid-operated valves.