stoopid

This is the first vehicle I've owned that used sensors to determine maintenance intervals. Does this really work? Has anyone actually had theirs tell them their transmission was to be serviced (fluid change time)?

I recently got a '07 Civic LX with 60k and it appears minimal maintenance has been done on it. Still running great but the tranny fluid's orange-brown, and the brake fluid's getting dark (no condensation under the cap though). I'll assume the iridium plugs are fine until 100k.

MelJ

Whoa! Albany!? Welcome neighbor. I think the maintenance minder is just for oil changes. I could be wrong. I own a 6th gen and have a maintenance required tab which just means it's around the time I should be changing my oil. The members here suggest changing the tranny fluid every year, year and a half.

stoopid

My owner's manual pg 233 it says "... should be drained and filled... when this service is indicated by a maintenance message on the information display." It's also worth noting that the only firm date I could find for regular maintenance items in the entire manual has been a 15k air filter change in severe conditions. It sounds to me like I'm supposed to actually rely on these sensors, but can I really trust it?

MelJ

I mean, it's better to be safe than sorry. I misread your post and thought you had a 7th gen. Sorry about that. The sensors go by mileage.

MindBomber

There are no sensors in the 8th gen system that actually measure the health of oil and indicate when to change it, the maintenance indicators are just glorified odometers. You reset the odometer and it tracks your mileage until you reach the recommended service points and it reminds you to service.

Do a transmission fluid drain and fill now, not a complete change, only partial; from this point on I would recommend you change the fluid every 15-30k miles or once a year depending on the type of driving you do. I'd also recommend you change the transmission fluid filter at 100k miles, it's not an item that requires service, but changing it is inexpensive insurance against a very costly repair.

Brake fluid I'd recommend changing once every 3 years or when you start to feel your brake pedal lose responsiveness.

Coolant should be changed every 4 years or once it starts to get dirty, thats another bit of inexpensive insurance against costly repairs, like a clogged heater core.

Iridium plugs will last 100k miles without a problem if you use good quality gas and keep up with your oil changes.

stoopid

Thanks guys!

I'm leaning towards a transmission drain/fill regardless of how long I can push it. It's a very expensive item! Local Honda shops apparently sell the tranny fluid relatively cheap. Just need to find somewhere to drain/fill (Mel, where do you go?). Last time I went to get a transmission service done they all wanted to perform a full flush.

Is there a particular anti freeze or can I use prestone all vehicle?

MelJ

I've always preferred Honda OEM fluid. Then again, with these newer cars, you have to be really careful because some of them use different types of coolants and the "all-purpose" stuff won't cut it.

LTDan

It's really not much more expensive to use the Honda OEM fluid bought from the dealership. If you really want to do your own coolant flush or transmission draid and fill, I'd just buy the flluid directly from the dealership.

MindBomber

The fluid required to do the change costs about $30 from Honda, its very simple to do yourself.

Just remove the bolt, wipe it clean and let the fluid drain out, reinstall to bolt, add fluid, check the dip stick. Its even simpler than changing your oil.

stoopid

Without ramps I doubt I could get under there enough to loosen anything... is the fill bolt easy to access? Can I reach it with a long funnel from the top/engine compartment?

Everything in this car is tightly packed together!

But I digress... since posting this I've learned A LOT about this car. Most importantly, was not to panick about the tranny fluid. Plugs are definitely good until 100k (iridiums). Already replaced the air filter and have the cabin filter coming. Old will be synth blend every 5K. Not going to touch the brakes or coolant yet.

MindBomber

Before most of us lowered our 7g Civics we were able to change our auto-trans fluid without jacking up our cars, I haven't tried it on a 8g Civic though. The fill hole is easy to access you just need a long funnel, but if you can't get to the drain bolt you could buy a jack and stands for $30-40 at auto zone, thats still a $40 savings over what most dealerships charge.

stoopid

That's true MB. I have stands already ($50 set from Walmart), just need to get a hydraulic jack (have been using a cheap hand jack). It got tiring doing brakes, etc using the hand jack. I'm expecting to eventually plunk down the $80 for a decent jack. Maybe doing the tranny fluid will be my excuse. I'll also check for youtube/diy videos. The one I had for my Suzuki (then Subaru's) brakes was key to saving me a lot of time and frustration, and I had never done brakes before. I'll need to make sure there's no surprises. I went to do the differentials on my Subaru only to discover there was no way to get the nuts loose without a breaker bar, and no way to use a breaker bar squeezed under a car (has to be on a lift). Luckily I didn't open the fluid and returned it, but still cost me $$ to get the socket adapter and heavy duty socket which now sits collecting dust. I couldn't return them with the wear marks they earned from my vain attempts at the impossible.

Still not cost effective to do my own oil. After oil and filter costs I'd save $5 and not get a free car wash, so I just pay the $5 difference and let someone else do it (and get a car wash).