ZF CFT23 / CFT30 (Batavia)

ZF's CFT chain CVTs, built by its Batavia joint venture — in the Ford Freestyle, Five Hundred and Montego, and the Mini before them.

⚑ These have a poor reputation and it is largely earned. The CFT30 in the big American Fords is the unit most reports concern, and it failed often enough that many cars were converted to a conventional automatic. A high-mileage survivor is rare rather than reassuring.

Batavia closed in 2004, which is the practical problem: the gearbox outlived the company that made it, so parts and rebuild expertise both depend on specialists rather than on a supply chain.

Fluid is the one thing an owner controls and the specification is particular — but on this family a correct fluid history improves the odds rather than settling them.

A reader diagnosing one should establish early whether repair is economic, because on these cars it very often is not, and that is an unusual thing to have to say about a gearbox.