danielm213

I just recently changed my transmission fluid on my 2004 Honda Accord EX V6 with 102K miles. I did some research on changint the tranny fluid and most sites state that not all of the old fluid will come out. I was prepared for that. BUT, when I raised my car drained the tranny fluid until I saw no more drops coiming out I turned the car on and shifted between gears (with parking brake ofcourse). When I did that allot more old tranny fluid came out. Would there be a proble doing this with the car not actually running? can I possibly damage something?

When I added the new tranny fluid, I was expecting to add about 2-3 quarts, but I ended up adding 4 and somehow I can't really tell if I added enough or too much from the dip stick:
I let turn the car on & let it warm up. I shut the engine off wait about a minute, remove dip stick & wipe it. Insert and remove and when I look at the dip stick the bottm back portion of the stick shows just below the bottom hole marker and the other side is smeared all over. I am alittle worried because I can;t tell if i put too little or too much tranny fluid. Any suggestions, comments would be appreciated.

GoLowDrew

I recall reading the the AT holds about 6-7 qt in total, so yes, all of it will not come out. That's why people to 3X drain & fill because all you get out is 3+. My concern (and waiting to see what others think also) is that you are starting the car, and shifting the AT, with less ATF in. In your description, more fluid came out. Good. But that means there are less in the AT to smooth things out. Bad (?). Yes, I understand the car is not moving.

Yes, AT dipstick is sometimes hard to read. I would say if there are smears between the dots, or on the top dot, you are good. A way lower level would not show any smears, if you put in a clean stick.

danielm213

Thanks for your input on this. I will doublecheck it when I get home.

But yes, when I was draining it I turned the car on and shifted between gears and alot more old fluid came out. Either way, I put 4 quarts in there, just worried about the dip stick not showing how much is in there.

danielm213

OK. Took my car to the dealer. Apparently they don't recommend shifting between gears while the fluid is drained, well the torque converter is drained, because technically there was ATF still in there. I managed to drain 5 1/2 quarts. The dealer was actually nice enough to inspect my car, add the 1 and 1/2 quarts of ATF for free. I was actually quite surprised that they checked and topped of my tranny for free. The dealer recommends flushing out the old fluid while new fluid is being pumped in, all at the dealer. I just might do that next time.

B20Luder

Exactly as stated above. I work at Honda and do trans fluid changes all the time. I believe they hold around 7 liters (depending on vehicle), and usually 2.5 to 3 drains out depending on the vehicle. So unless you do a flush not all of the fluid is getting changed.

GoLowDrew

Are these their words or yours? Flushing? Most would not want to flush out the ATF because it will loosen the crap that will flow elsewhere to cause problems. The "old" Honda AT for V6 can be finiky.


Most would agree, if your AT is fine (04 and 100K+) just keep doing the same thing (change ATF). Some experience more issues when they try to do flushing.

dan_g

It is not a good practice to run the engine when the drain plug is open. There is a way to do a complete flush by using the Transmission cooler lines.

My personal opinion, it is not needed unless the fluid is really bad. I just drain the fluid and replace with about 3qts of Honda ATF. Take it for a spin, shift through all the gears, check the fluid and top it if necessary. I do this every 30k. If you run the engine hard then it may make sense to do it every 15k or 20k.

GoLowDrew

I do mine 25K, just because I want to do one more just before the powertrain warranty runs out at 60K.

From what I read on the Odyssey side, some owners do all the right things and the AT still blows up. That's just the design of Honda's AT.

Then again, my uncle's Acura Legend and G1 TL all have 220K miles before he sold it, on original trans. And he is not a car guy and sometimes remembers to change his oil, when he is not busy, which is often never.