2004 honda civic transmission fluid
 

I have a 2004 honda civic Dx model.The dealership said my transmission fluid is getting dirty.I have called several transmission places,as they are cheaper than the dealer,some say I need to change the transmission filter,others say all I can do is change the fluid.does anyone know the real answer?

Re: 2004 honda civic transmission fluid
 

I've changed my transmission fluid several times. I didnt even know there was a transmission fluid filter... needless to say, your car will mostlikely be fine without changing it. How many miles are on your car, and are u auto or manual?

Re: 2004 honda civic transmission fluid
 

auto or manual trans fluid will last u about 60-100k depending on how hard u drive.

just go buy some tranmission fluid from HONDA (always use OEM on ATF or MTF) and have a shop change it for you.

and i dont htink there is a transmission fluid filter...nope.

Re: 2004 honda civic transmission fluid
 

I have almost 50,000 miles on a automatic transmission.Thank you for your answers,I was confused,Two shops said my filter needed to be changed,and two shops said the filter cannot be changed,just change the fluid.

Re: 2004 honda civic transmission fluid
 

my buddy has a crv and asked the dealer about trans filters and he was told at the dealership that honda auto trannies don't use a filter. You've gotten good advice up there ^ use OEM ATF

Re: 2004 honda civic transmission fluid
 

use honda atf, dont pay more than $50 (including fluid) for someone to change it. its just loosening one bolt, letting fluid drain out, and pouring new in. easier than oil change. the filter is internal (yes it has one) and cannot be replaced without tearing apart the whole trans.

Re: 2004 honda civic transmission fluid
 

Thank you for your reply.the one transmission place said around fifty dollars.All the others were from 90 to 100 dollars.I will take your advice and go to the repair shop that said 50 dollars.

Re: 2004 honda civic transmission fluid
 

make sure you bring honda atf, dont let them use other fluid cause it will make the trans shift rough.

Re: 2004 honda civic transmission fluid
 

Thank you I will be sure to bring honda transmission fluid to the transmission shop.

Re: 2004 honda civic transmission fluid
 

actually there's no filter buddy, the oil cap has a magnet that attracts all the metal *hit and crap that may hurt your tranny. use only Honda ATF Z1, no Dextron or anything else or you will burn it

Re: 2004 honda civic transmission fluid
 

I want to thank everyone for your response.I got my transmissionn fluid changed yesterday.I made sure Honda transmission fluid was used.I stood there and made sure.The best price I could get was just under $60.00. Thanks all

Re: 2004 honda civic transmission fluid
 

well, taking care of your transmission will help in the long run...I changed mine at around 60K....you will notice the smoothness...

Re: 2004 honda civic transmission fluid
 

my gf was told by a shop that an oil change and transmission fluid flush would cost $330. something told me this was too much. so who is right between the one guy that says there's an internal filter and those who say there isnt a filter at all? no filter at all is what they told us at the dealership in annapolis. if there is one, maybe they actually did take it out and change it, thereby legitimately incurring the huge cost?

bummer.

Re: 2004 honda civic transmission fluid
 

i know for a fact they said there was a filter in my friends crv. But they told him that the Honda ATF filters were designed so that the trans filter never had to be replaced. Maybe it varies vehicle to vehicle. Either way, wether it has one or not, the cost is in the labor of changing it. I honestly don't know why they charge so much, I was quoted around that much at the Honda dealer in Fairfax, it's an easy enough job if you know how to change your oil that you could do it yourself.

Re: 2004 honda civic transmission fluid
 

heh, someone here took apart a 7thgen trans and posted pics of the filter inside, it was completely clogged and filthy with black crud. but unless a shop is opening your transmission to replace it and charging $600+ then chances are they are not changing the filter. what the dealer meant to say was there is no "servicable filter," like there is on the HX CVT civic. i actually bought the HX external filter and holder for $25 and installed it to my EX auto trans. as for normal labor rates, oil change should be around $20 without supplies and trans fluid change with honda atf should be around $50, again these prices are on the high end because im assuming you use the good stuff. if you diy, trans fluid costs $27 for 3 qts at the dealer and maybe 10 mins of your time. before my car was lowered, i did not even have to jack up the car to change the trans fluid.

Re: 2004 honda civic transmission fluid
 

thats because shes a girl. if you go and ask, i doubt they would quote you any higher than $90-100.

Re: 2004 honda civic transmission fluid
 

DIY FTW. They may have been what the dealer meant when he said it wasn't designed to be replaced, they didn't replaec it in my friends chris's 2000 and I was standing there when the guy said it doesn't get replaced. It sounded kinda retarted to me why you wouldn't change the atf filter after a what? 60k change interval? then again the trans is enclosed and not open to elements like the crankcase therefore maybe it doesn't get as dirty? Since it's a sealed system and only the fluid is going around the gears?

Re: 2004 honda civic transmission fluid
 

it only cost me $20 for fluid and washer.....pick up at the dealer and change the fluid and drive back to dealer to drop off used fluid...
mine was manual and it's harder to change manual....i've done it on my mother's accord, super easy and she noticed it too...

Re: 2004 honda civic transmission fluid
 

I went to jiffy lube for oil change. I was told that my car (Honda Civic '06 - Automatic) needed Transmission Fluid change coz it was dirty. I was charged $120.00 for that. Was it a rip?

Re: 2004 honda civic transmission fluid
 

just went to the dealer and got confirmation that the auto trans has internal filter requiring cracking open the trans to replace. he mentioned an external filter that could be replaced but from experience, i figure it can be cleaned instead of replaced if it's all metal. I'm doing a drain and fill every 25-30K and I'll check on cleaning that external filter @ 50K.
I have some rare earth magnets that i was thinking of sticking to the bottom of the trans just for good measure (since there's no pan to drop and clean). any thoughts?

Re: 2004 honda civic transmission fluid
 

There are always the same people on this forum that say only use Honda ATF, but there's no reason you have to. There are other fluids that are equal and better than Honda's; even in a Honda. And in fact, before Honda changed their ATF from Z1 to DW-1 a couple years ago, their fluid (Z1) was terrible. And remember, Honda doesn't make fluids.
I, and many, MANY others have for example used Valvoline Max Life and have better performance with it than the Honda ATF gave. It *is* a better fluid.
Here's one of many examples:
http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums...Number=2708887

Re: 2004 honda civic transmission fluid
 

Z1 is old and covered y modern synthetic transmisson oils these days, you just have to find one that covers the spec. I know for a fact that Total G3 meets the spec.

in many vehicles once you drop the trans pan there is a filter and gasket to be replaced, most around the size of an air filter, but 01-05 civics don't have this style of filter. they use an internal metal mesh filter that is life time for the vehicle.

doing a drain and fill will only clean 20-50% af your transmission fluid if you have an auto. if manual you'll be fine to do a drain and fill. in the auto's if you try, the only fluid that drains is in the oil pan but there is still a large amount of fluid up in the torque converter. so if you do it at home,find the transmission fill capacity, use a measuring cup while draining, cap the drain, fill the pan the same amount as the drained fluid and start the car. shift through all your gears, then shut off the car to check the level (honda's are a dead check meaning you check with the engine off). repeat until you've met the spec of the fill.

or take it to a shop that uses an actual transmission machine and not the draining method 9again for auto's, manuals are fine to drain and fill).

Re: 2004 honda civic transmission fluid
 

Don't use a machine to do a transmission flush, I believe Honda recommends not to do any flushes, just drain/fills. Also, always use genuine fluids. The genuine fluid doesn't cost that much so why risk anything.

Re: 2004 honda civic transmission fluid
 

Valvoline Maxlife is a genuine fluid. :)
The only thing you'll risk is getting better fluid than fluid with the name Honda put on the bottle, for less money.

Why tell someone to always use genuine fluids unless you can prove why?

Re: 2004 honda civic transmission fluid
 

And I am curious where you found that bit of information?

Re: 2004 honda civic transmission fluid
 

What information?

Re: 2004 honda civic transmission fluid
 

That Valvoline Maxlife is fully compatible with a Honda automatic transmission.
I wouldn't just trust a bottle that says it is compatible

Re: 2004 honda civic transmission fluid
 

You wouldn't trust a major oil manufacturer to make this claim on their bottle, risking lawsuits, yet you'd trust Honda, who wants to sell you the fluid they put their name on, to tell you you need to only use their fluid, when there's likely no way they can get in trouble for making said claim?
Anyway this goes back to what I said 6/29/13.

Read around somewhere other than here (ie. as I said, BITOG) and you'll see plenty of proven cases of things I've mentioned. I've experienced it myself as well.

Just like with buying so many other things these days, some people just only stick with the most popular, claim it's best when that's all they've tried, and don't bother researching for something better.