auto tranny fuid replacement

[rafalc]

I know this topic has been covered before and I have seen very different answers/suggestions but....

Here is my dilemma...
2002 coupe 4 cyl. currently 144k miles. Last time tranny fluid replaced was at 62k miles. Fluid is dark brown, when wiped on a white tissue you still see the dark pink shade. Does not smell burnt.

Do I drain/fill or is it too late and I leave it alone? No jerking, no slipping, tranny has been really good to me for the past 100k miles.

Some Honda dealerships told me not to touch it, others told me to drain/fill, yet others told me to still flush it (out of the question!).

So what do you say? Any personal experiences? Going by the smell and color is tough cause you never know and have nothing to compare it to.

I am leaning into a one drain and fill, then maybe a month later do another.

Thanks

 

[simplicity]

I would do a single drain and fill and then do it again on next oil change...

 

[RedRyder]

What dealer told you not to touch it. They want your car to break and have you come back in to take more money.

Just do a simple drain and fill. And you're correct, do NOT get a flush.

 

[jwong512]

If it's dark brown and smells foul, I would do at least 2-3 drain and fills. Just drain it out, drive around, makes sure all the gears engage including torque converter lockup, go back and drain it out again and repeat. Honda has a new fluid called DW1 now and it seems to be better than Z1.

 

[DarkSideAccord]

how often r we supposed to change our tranny fluid?

5spd btw

edit: nm... found it... 30k or 2 yrs

 

[rafalc]

If it's dark brown and smells foul, I would do at least 2-3 drain and fills. Just drain it out, drive around, makes sure all the gears engage including torque converter lockup, go back and drain it out again and repeat. Honda has a new fluid called DW1 now and it seems to be better than Z1.

Could you clarify... how will I know if the torque convertor lockup is engaged? I'm not familiar with it at all

Thanks

 

[001Stunna]

Could you clarify... how will I know if the torque convertor lockup is engaged? I'm not familiar with it at all

Thanks

Just do this...

1-Drain old fluid into a measured container.
2-Add new fluid, turn car on and shift through p-r-n-d4-3-2-1 and back to park and proceed to check tranny dipstick to make sure you filled it up as needed. (what you added should be pretty close to what you took out, unless you were low on fluid)
3-Find an empty road/large parking lot and drive the car in 1st,2nd,3rd,4th, R. Do not go over 3000-3500rpm in 1st and 2nd as it'll just be unnecessary.
4-Repeat 1-3 another two times

 

[jwong512]

Could you clarify... how will I know if the torque convertor lockup is engaged? I'm not familiar with it at all

Thanks

Torque converter is when your hit cruising speeds and the final gear shifts in D4. You usually hit this going on freeways. It drops the car about 500rpm from 4th gear and acts as a "imaginary 5th gear" according to my owners manual. From what I've heard, fluid flows and mixes completely when the torque converter is locked up.

 

[jhart]

i seen a how to on youtube on a full flush. is that not necessary? i'd like to use dextron 3 to do the flush method, then use the honda fluid afterwards, cause dextron 3 is less expensive than the honda fluid, just figured if i'm just pouring it in there for it to flow out and the rest drained out, it wouldn't really matter.

 

[SykVSyx]

DO NOT FLUSH YOUR AUTO TRANNY!

There is no reason to do more than a drain and fill.

There are plenty of threads on here about what harm a flush can cause to your auto tranny.