Rep Power: 813

so i did a routine yearly trans fluid drain and fill, something ive done 10 times or more. drained old fluid, this time didnt wait for all the drops to come out, put drain plug back, then filled the usual 2.8 qts which every single time has just slightly overfilled above the full line. went for a 10-15 min drive to completely warm up the trans, then came home to double check the fluid, which is normally fine. i pull the stick, its bone dry! so i add the rest of the bottle to 3 qts total, still dry. pour in a bit more maybe 1/10th bottle, i start to see a tiny drop on the bottom. still way below the min line. and i was noticing trans making strange noises. not sure if it always did that or i just realized now. kept filling fluid and checking the level slowly, and by the time i got to the full line i used up nearly 3/4th of the bottle! that makes 3.75 qts for a drain and fill! how is this possible, and did i do any damage to the trans by driving it with low fluid? at most it was 1/2 qt below the min line im guessing. this stupid trans already has so many issues and this is the last thing i need.

i drove it a second time and rechecked the level, its still full. so how is it possible that it took so much extra fluid? im really glad i had 4 bottles in the garage otherwise dealer was closed today. its never taken more than 2.8 qts before for full, and thats when i let all the drops drain out. i was expecting to be too full this time. imagine if i took it to the dealer for the drain and fill and they just dumped in 3 qts and said youre done, and i just kept driving it like that! also, i just checked the trans fluid a month ago and it was still full from last years change. no leaks, not a drop anywhere after i installed the new model dipstick last year. and the car was running warmed up when i checked. i jacked up the car same way i always do, same height, same jack and stands.

 
Rep Power: 286

I noticed the identical issue when I did a drain and fill on Friday! My trans took just under 3-1/2 quarts of ATF and it normally takes exactly 3 quarts after I let it all slowly drain out. I've done 3 drain and fills and never had this happen before, so I got really nervous since my trans is in rough shape too.

So, I took the fluid I drained out and poured it into the quart bottles to see how much drained out and I had 3-1/2 quarts of old fluid. I asked my friend who works in a lube shop about this and he said its no unusual for them to use more than 3 quarts of fluid to get to the full line. My trans sounds no worse than it did before though..

 
Rep Power: 813

i asked the parts guy at kragen who is a mechanic and he said it shouldnt cause any long term damage (unless you drove the car like that for weeks, then the car would start having trouble shifting and moving lol). there was a thick layer of metal debris on the drain plug too which is weird for only a year of driving. i may change the fluid again in a few days when i do the engine oil. i found a good deal on some valvoline maxlife full SYN that im gonna try. not expecting anything great but who knows. it still has the good maaxlife stuff in it. debating on upgrading to the full syn honda atf they have coming out. supposedly its compatible with the older Z1 but who knows. i would rather not mix in syn when a majority of it is still semi-syn in there (9 qts capacity).