PaulyWally

2006 Honda Civic 1.8L
~95,000mi

I've owned the car since somewhere around 35,000mi. I bought it Certified in 2009. I've just realized what a bad car owner I am (not by intention). I'm really good at regular maintenance, but I've never changed ATF because: 1) I had ATF changes/flushes on previous cars and experienced lots of tranny issues, and 2) I've heard from many mechanics, "never change the ATF in any vehicle if it hasn't been changed regularly" - and getting it explained in great technical detail why.

Well now I'm learning more about Honda's unique transmissions and I started to think, "maybe I should change the ATF." Trouble is, I have absolutely no way of knowing if the ATF has ever been changed before I acquired the car. I can ASSUME since it was Certified it very well could have had its 30,000 ATF change. But I received no service records on the vehicle. So I can't say for sure.

I've got 6 quarts of DW-1 and not sure what I should do. Here are some options I'm considering.

1. Leave it alone and return the $50 worth of ATF
2. Perform the "Honda 3x3" change (or a couple of them relatively close together)
3. Perform many incremental changes over the course of several months (i.e. - only replace 1/2 quart every week or 2, filtering the ATF each time)
4. Take it to a transmission specialist and let them do what they think is best
5. Something I haven't thought of?

The ATF is not low. The car shifts smooth during hard acceleration - at about 5400rpm. And I have no reason to suspect transmission issues. I'm just trying to be a better car owner now that I'm more educated about transmissions.

I've also got a 2003 (2.4L) Accord in a similar predicament. Currently at ~125,000mi. However, this car had an ATF change at a Honda dealer at 60,000mi. I'm not sure if it had one before that (it was bought Certified at around 50,000 with no maintenance records). The ATF in the Accord is almost a quart low. But like the Civic I have no reason to suspect transmission issues.

Attached is a picture of the ATF fluid in each car (cold). Any thoughts, info, empirical or anecdotal data would be much appreciated. Thank you!

av911

Up to your discretion.

I'm too lazy to do it every x amount of months, I do it in one go. Drain and fill one after another, around every 40K miles.

I have 175K+ miles. I would say I'm more "abusive" than your normal AT drivers.

These ain't the late '90s/early 2000s transmissions.

HondaPartsConne

Change The fluid ... Drive ... Change the fluid again. ONLY use the Genuine Honda ATF DW-1 from the dealer.

you should be fine in both of your cars situations.. Then remember to change it every 20 - 40,000 after that depending on your driving habits.

Zebra

I do the partial change about every 10,000 miles. That is just about 4 quarts. Supposedly Hondas transmissions cannot be power flushed without developing subsequent problems, so don't let some independent try and sell you on that. The fluid coming out after 10,000 miles is just slightly off color, which means it is still functional.

foumer

I change mine every 20k to 30k. Just drain an refill. Previous to this I have no idea when it was done on my car. Bought it with 112k miles now it has 142k miles. Transmission shifts fine. I has a little bit of a whine a lower speeds but its not even noticeable. Also remember to change the filter that sits behind the transmission as a precaution.

b16racereg6

iTrader: (2)

Hey man just drain and fill them both do it again in another 15,20k then do it every 30k you will be fine.

BrakeExpert

As a mechanic, I would advise do the partial drain and refill. I've seen cars with 150k or more on them that shift firm and you put in the Honda OEM fluid and sometimes it does in fact get better. Honda ATF is good stuff, it really is. Your fluid indicates normal wear, do the drain and fill.

cal653

Do people consider the late 90's transmission more or less reliable than current ones? I still have a old 6th gen Acura EL / Civic that's kept as a spare car with with no issues at the moment. I heard that the 7th gen had major problems. Picked up an 8th gen and I guess time will tell how it goes.