Tonst3r

So my transmission was "Jumping" when shifting upwards the other night. Checked the fluid and it was "brownish" colored (nothing close to the pink I was expecting). Car has 80k miles, bought it used with 25k and don't believe the transmission fluid was EVER changed before. 2008 Honda Civic EX.
EDIT: Sorry, automatic! can't believe I forgot that considering the problem...

I Rushed the car to the mechanic the next morning but the issue seemed to already be gone. They couldn't find anything and wanted to run Solenoid tests but advised me to come back another day to leave it with them. I had asked they change the fluid but they didn't want to do that without first running the solenoid tests. My thought was "Ok, i'll just change the darn fluid myself..."

After talking to some people about it, I've been told that "Since the fluid hasn't been changed in 80k miles you shouldn't change it at all because it could cause much bigger issues. If it was routinely being changed then that's fine but now it's too late it shouldn't ever be changed."

To me (a non-mechanic computer-guy) this makes no sense at all. Most of the people I talk to agree I should just change the fluid, however I had someone provide some insight recommending against it.

Idk what to do... This has happened a long time ago (about 1.5-2 years ago) but after checking the fluid it stopped having a problem (didn't change anything).

My main question is in short: Is it true that if you haven't change the fluid for ~80k miles that it should NEVER be changed at this point?

Poopies

iTrader: (4)

You should change your transmission fluid! I changed mine for the first time at around 150k miles and it was black as hell. I changed it again a year later, but that was a waste of time because it was still practically new. I don't know if you have manual or auto, but I've NEVER heard of not being able to change it. I recommend OEM fluids though.

RIPSAW

Before you start, find the external inline filter on the transmission fluid cooling line going into the radiator. Few dealers know about this since it's not a called out maintenance part and it's only shown on the fish for the radiator. Get one. Replace yours making sure you put it in the correct direction (not marked, so compare and mark direction on old and new one.) (remove the oil line carefully by slight twists and pulling back at the fragile radiator, the two filter bolts and drop down and remove the filter and replace with new one. Probably only takes three quarts. It's probably thick from heat and age. Get 9 quarts from the Honda dealer. No generics. Dump it and pour in three. Start it for 30 seconds and shift thru the gears and turn it off. (helps to purge torque converter). Drain and add three more. Drive it 20 miles and do the remaining three. Will last the lifetime of the car. You will know if there is any problems in a few weeks after changing it. If you do what they want, they will tell you you have problems now. I have two now and wore out two other Hondas. Only problem I have ever had was putting generic fluid in an 85 Civic. I do all my own work since 1964 and still do. Following is filter on my CRV forum. Not sure if you can access it.

http://www.hondasuv.com/members/showthread.php?t=43584

Tonst3r

Btw it's Automatic, updated the original post (sorry!)
Holy wow... I actually stopped at a local Honda dealer (originally to purchase the fluid) and the parts guy asked the tech who said it's a really bad idea but didn't give me any details on it. My father was a mechanic for many years and he was shocked to hear people said not to change it as well.

This is definitely a touchy decision but the replies are both from experience (esp. ripsaw ty!) and just happen to be in complete agreement.

I'll watch this post for a day or two to see if anything else comes up but I feel like I should change the fluid...

EDIT: Thanks a ton for that instruction update Ripsaw! :]

EDIT2: I'm actually going to make an appointment @ this transmission place (F&J). They've helped me with repairs before and they do specialize in transmissions (they were the shop I took it to and he actually said he didn't want to replace the fluid unless he is sure it's the problem because he's seen the care not start after). The person who initially sparked all this worry had a chevy (obv different car) but explained why (which actually didn't make sense if i'm FLUSHING it instead of just doing one change but maybe I misunderstood) and I got worried because... well I love my civic I get that this may hurt the bank but I'm probably going to need it for the piece of mind. I'll update this by Sunday with what happens.

lowlife9

honda does not recommend flushing the transmission do what the other guy said and drain and fill it. that's probably what they mean when they said not to change the fluid they mean don't have it machine flushed. also why would you pay someone to do such an easy job you literally remove one screw.

ezone

At ONLY 80k, the only issue I can think of seeing is TCC shudder on unserviced transmissions. (Seems like I don't really notice until well past 100k though.)

Definitely change the fluid. If you can change your own oil, this is almost easier.
Definitely use HONDAS DW-1 fluid. Take your own fluid if you need to.

NO machine flush and NO chemicals

You might consider just changing trans fluid along with changing engine oil over the next few services instead of trans fluid 3x in one day.
I used to change ATF in my moms old Accord with every other oil change.

The filter is on the rear of the trans....Pic at the end of this post



Don't let the trans shop use their own fluid. I know many that do this and they only use the cheapest stuff they can buy in bulk.....then use additives to "turn it into" something it's not.

If the trans shop has an employee telling people to NOT change their fluid, I'd just steer clear of the shop entirely.

Hondas automatic transmissions are not built like anyone elses' automatic transmissions.




^ Filter @ about 10:00 from the torque converter ^


Filter hiding below throttle body:

Tonst3r

I cannot thank you all enough for all the help! Long story short, I'm going to pickup the fluid either today or tomorrow and just going to do it on my own. I've changed my own oil & filter (among most of the easier things... except kept forgetting this /fail) the only thing I was nervous about was the filter but in all honesty there's more then enough information on this thread alone to do it, plus the manual itself has info as well.

Will most likely hold off for one more day so I can do it on a Friday JUST IN CASE the worst happens (I'm relatively confident changing it will be fine after reading all this from experienced Honda users).

Will post the results, THANKS A TON FOR ALL THE HELP!!

P.S. - Only doing the fluid, going to have a different mechanic who's a family friend do the filter over the weekend. (Hose Clamps Scare Me)

CraigW

iTrader: (1)

Don't forget to wipe off drain plug magnet.

mac25

...didn't you know Honda atf is good for the life of the vehicle. jk.

RIPSAW

The bean counters said that when they figured they where not making big $ on maintenance since a Honda is easy for owners to change and they still wanted you to buy a new car ever 5 years?!.. Pretty sure my 05 CRV says that however.

CraigW

iTrader: (1)

A friend of mine had a couple of Daewoo vehicles for a short while, they had no way to check the ATF fluid level.

ezone

It's not that nobody was making money on maintenance.....

Maintenance cost is factored in with cost per mile of ownership. This is extremely important to JD Power and Associates. The manufacturers try to get this number as low as possible because JD Power is soooo important for new car ratings.

That was a GM trans... (May have been a 4T40E?) Same one was used in 4 cyl Cavaliers and several other GM models for many many years and untold millions of cars. There is a fluid check plug underneath near the right axle.

Tonst3r

Very sorry for the delay guys! Changed the fluid myself on Saturday (will have a mechanic do the filter asap, don't have any hose clamps and they scare me) and it's been running smooth ever since!
Below is a picture of what my fluid looked like after draining as I thought you all would get a bit of a kick seeing how bad it was. Yes, this is TRANSMISSION fluid, NOT regular engine oil (although you'd never know by the color )



So it ended up needing just under 3 quarts to fill up (checked with engine warm to make sure I wasn't crazy) but what's annoying is it's already lost the nice pink color to it from whatever didn't drain. It was surprisingly cheap so I will follow some of the advice above and just change it next two times I do oil so it slowly cleans out.

Huge thanks again to everyone for the assistance! Was soo happy it worked out and couldn't believe how easy it actually was!

06 EX Mild Mods

Buy stainless steel threaded hose clamps from a decent auto parts shop, they are usually better than the cheep stock spring type. Only a screw driver is needed to tighten and loosen them. The spring type come off with plyers. Don't be afraid, that's how you learn and save significant $.

RIPSAW

The screw type are totally wrong for this application and any place probably on a modern car.. They are for old style heavy wall tubing or pipe and thick rubber hose. They have a big bump and are not truly round. Even if you can get them to seal without destroying the radiator fitting, they will tend to leak over time due to the hose compressing and the clamp remains the same. The spring type just get smaller.

ezone

Spring clamps are FAR superior to those damn worm drive screw clamps in normal service.
That's why 90% of all car manufacturers use them.









JMHO. YMMV.