Rep Power: 0

Hello,

I have a 2007 Honda Civic EX 4-door automatic sedan with 32K miles. Took in at the dealer for state inspection and asked for transmission drain and refill. New service advisor put in request for trannie flush and technician did the flush.

After I questioned the technician, he replied that Honda does not recommend a flush on high mileage cars but for my car which was a low mileage car, flush is fine.

Any thoughts on this? Is car ok? Should I be concerned?

Can anyone point to the service bulletin where it states that there can be damage to trannie or t/convertor?

Thanks in advance.

 
Rep Power: 314

Don't worry about it.

 
Rep Power: 512

I highly doubt you can damage anything by cleaning the crap out of something then re-filling it with clean fluid.

x2 on the don't worry about it.

 
Rep Power: 812

keep your receipt in case the trans starts slipping and goes out. happens all the time. at least you have a record of what they did against your orders. btw, honda NEVER recommends flushing the transmission no matter what the milage is. that dealer maybe didnt know any better. if you start noticing the gears slip when shifting, take it back asap.

 
Rep Power: 512

Good to know.. Did not know that at all.

 
Rep Power: 812

the biggest problem is the heavy particles that form in the trans (usually within the first 10k miles). when you do a flush, they all get loosened and pack into the small internal filter. then the filter is clogged and fluid is blocked, causing pressure to drop. it starts with slipping gears and eventually the whole trans overheats and fails. normally this wont even be an issue, since alot of cars have a servicable trans filter, except the newer civics that is. a simple filter change after flushing would be just fine, but in the civic's case not possible without dismantling the entire trans housing. now maybe the 06+ civic went back to an external filter setup, it might be worth checking into and changing that filter asap before damage is done. if not, just hold on for the ride and hope that the filter did not clog too badly.

 
Rep Power: 0

Is there a way to find if this generation civic has the external filter?

 
Rep Power: 812

well possibly but everyone seems to have a different idea. you could ask the auto store see if they have a trans filter kit for the car. im also not sure if the filter would be located in the trans housing itself in the pan, which can be removed when doing a drain/refill, or if it has an external filter in series with the trans cooler lines. the external is pretty easy to spot, it looks similar to a fuel filter and is black and cylindrical with a bracket holding it in place and one hose on each side coming from the trans and going to radiator. they use these filters alot on hondas and acuras, i know the 2001 auto trans civic HX with cvt trans and the acura rsx with sport auto uses them.

this diagram is from 2001 hx cvt. it comes with a separate oil cooler and external filter! something all newer honda trans should have had to keep the trans in good shape. #10 is the filter. see if yours has that somewhere. and also ask around see if there is a replaceable filter in the pan.

 
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External filter. The service manual shows how to remove and replace but not a real good picture of where it is.
It is upstream of the ATF warmer, so if you find that and trace the hoses back you should find it.

Looks like a fuel filter .

 
Rep Power: 245

Yes, it has an external filter (see #7). I agree on changing it by around 30K. It is $20.02 at full retail dealer pricing...super cheap IMO.

 
Rep Power: 812

you guys are lucky with 8thgens!!

 
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they buried it beneath the air cleaner...not to bad to access, I guess.

I think in a few weekends I will attack it, and post results.

 
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what is the diffrence between flushing, and drain?

 
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Good to know. I didn't know it had one, thought I had read somewhere it didn't. Would like to hear how it goes, and if you find out about any instructions/warnings.
(avoid air bubbles in the line or hose, or something...sounds dumb, I know)

 
Rep Power: 314

Flushing the transmission removes all the fluid including the fluid that's in the torque converter. It basically draws everything past the filters and clogs them up. When you drain and fill the transmission your only removing 1/3 of the fluid and refilling a 1/3. You only flush the transmission if your rebuilding it.