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Sorry if this has been covered, but I searched and was unable to find anything specific.

I purchased a 2001 Civic LX with a manual transmission about 6 months ago. Last week I changed the starter which had been shorted out due to the oil leak from the cylinder head plug. I replaced both and felt like I should go ahead and do a full service to the vehicle since it has around 127,000 miles.

My main issue, having purchased it used, is that I am unaware exactly what has been done to the vehicle in the past, other than consistent oil changes every 3,000-4,000 miles. According to the owners manual and the factory service manual, under normal driving conditions the manual transmission fluid should be changed at 120,000 and 180,000 miles. However, I have read numerous things that say if the transmission has that many miles on it without the fluid having been changed could cause a failure shortly after changing the fluid.

What do you guys think? I spoke to a guy at my local dealer and he said Honda sent out a memo similar to this but he was very vague...

 
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Change the fluid, you won't hurt anything. Use Hondas manual trans fluid.

 
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I think this is more a rule of thumb with automatic transmissions, not manual ones. Honda, since their auto trans design is quite different from the status quo (in other words, everyone else), did have some similar 7th-gen problems with the autos early on... but IIRC it was only for the 2 earliest model years.

 
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but just check WHICH fluid Honda uses. DO NOT put a 90 weight oil in there or you will not be shifting for a while.

 
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Thanks for the help, gentlemen. Much appreciated.