Hi,

I am planning to do the 3 drain and fill routine on my accord. I know most folks recommend using genuine Honda ATF. But has anyone had success with other brands at all?

I saw some very good reviews (by honda owners) about Valvoline VV324 MAXLIFE DEXRONIII/MERCON ATF. Any suggestions?

thanks

 

We all have our ideas......mine, ONLY use Honda fluid....the only "success" I have with my opinion is that the 95 Auto (orig trans) has over 367K...at 65MPH turns just shy of 2,250 RPM's. if you are having to "do the 3 drain and fill routine"....then it sounds like someone has not done the regular maint. So you may not get the same results.

The choice is yours....if you have cold shifting issues in the future...humm. If you don't, good.

 

IIRC the Honda Owners manual states that in an emergency, you can use Dexron II, and this was for a '95 model. I will try different oils, lubricants, brake fluids, tires, brakes, that were spec'd from the OEM. But one thing I will not take chance on is ATF. Certain kinds of ATF are spec'd for a reason, Type F is different from Dexron/Mercon, which is again different from DexronIV. Unless someone can prove with tech and analysis that Honda ATF is the same as another type of ATF, I'm all ears. Until then I will not chance any non spec'd fluids inside a perfectly working AT.

 

Well i am sure i am in the minority here and probably will get flamed for it. I use Valvoline MaxLife ATF in all 3 of my Honda's, a 92 CB9 W/ 116k(last 10k w/ maxlife atf in the sump) 95 CD7 W/ 245k (last 40k w/ maxlife in the sump) 97 CL W/216k (last 20K w/ maxlife in the sump) all w/ no shift issues what so ever. My friend also uses it in his 00 Odyssey van w/ no problems. I personally reccomend it to all my friends w/ Honda's. I also use it in my niece's 02 Nissan Altima w/ out any problems. If want to do a little more research go to Bobistheoilguy.com there is plenty info on both the Honda Z-1 ATF and the Maxlife ATF.

 

Whenever I splash my transmission I use 1.5 quarts of the Castrol Import Multi-Vehicle and 1 quart of Lucas High Mileage ATF. I have had positive results in all of my Hondas.

 

Has anyone added LubeGuard or Lubricone as an additive to their transmission fluid? I'm getting ready to service before a cross country move going from coastal to desert climates and want to be safe.

 

I usually don’t fall for the ‘you have to only use our stuff or else...’ clause, I have never used Honda coolant and haven’t had issues in the last 12 years. But I have been told by more than 1 independent Honda guy that it’s the way to go for the ATF, so when I did our ‘fleet’ I looked around and found out that the Honda ATF-Z1 fluid actually costs less under the Acura brand (figure that one out...). In some cases it’s actually cheaper than the 3rd party stuff, or at least close enough that, IMO, it’s not worth using anything else.

Here’s one place that sells it for $5.79/qt + shipping. Last time I had several cars to do, I bought 2 cases, shipping wasn’t bad, and compared to what my local H dealer wants for the stuff I saved a bundle. They will probably just ship you DW-1, the Z1 replacement – that’s what I have in 2 cars now, it works just as well.


http://acura.bernardiparts.com/produ...200-9001A.aspx

BTW - I know everyone puts in 3 quarts, and for the flushing that's probably OK but for the final fill you actually only need around 2.6 quarts or thereabouts if you don't want to overfill it.

 

i picked up a 98 accord 4 cylinder auto with 166k. it had a shudder going into 4th/overdrive. there was lots of shavings and the trans fluid looked brown with some sludge on the drain plug. after doing one 3 quart change with vavoline maxlife ATF and about 150 miles of driving the shudder is just about gone. i am going to do another 3 quart change soon for good measure.

 

I've got Maxlife and Lubeguard in my 95 also. Only been 1k miles but no noticable differance from Honda ATF.

 

One thing I can tell you guys is to NEVER use Lucas Trans sealer and conditioner. It trashed my Toyota trans. I only use Honda fluid in my 97 Accord.

 

Don't take this in the complete wrong way......but if you use anything other than Honda ATF you are a dumbass. Why use an AFTERMARKET fluid for a transmission that costs thousands to replace? There are MULTIPLE threads/tests about how using shitty fluids such as valvoline/castrol/etc. are just as good as Honda. It is FALSE. Please, research and you'll find that 99% of the time, many experience problems/failures x amount of miles later.

Transmission are EXTREMELY SENSITIVE to transmission fluid. Try using Dexron or Mercon in Honda transmissions and see what happens. Now if they mess up by using the incorrect fluid this is a blatant sign that using the CORRECT fluid is essential and there ARE differences.

Sorry, but saving a whole $3 on transmission fluid does not seem worth it in the end to have the transmission replaced. I am ONLY loyal to Honda transmission fluid. Oil/coolant I use Prestone and Castrol.

In all - do as you please.

 

id recomend from experience , that you use only honda oil and dont put anything else in it. no additives.
Frank Allen

 

just a insert, i put lubeguard in my 92 accord, the next time i drove it was the last time it just quit, there is a product out there for the shutter in lock up , it is anti shutter and worked on my 93, but it is a small amout, but i am hesitatant to add anything anymore, have had a time with used transmissions ever since and cant see spending 1600.00 for a rebuild on a car thats not worth that much money
Frank Allen

 

My factory owners manual calls for Dexron II for my 1991. I've been running maxlife for the last year. The former owner ran bog standard Dexron II or III for the last four services.

I still have yet to find out when Honda introduced their miracle fluid and parts guys seem to be way too eager to sell it.

The only genuine Honda fluid I run is power steering.

 

I feel your pain Frank, but honesty I doubt Lubegaurd was responsible for that. Actually, the red bottle lubegaurd that I use states only an ounce or so per quart (of trans fluid) and so is very little as a percentage.

 

cant say for sure what caused trans to go out, just passing info along
Frank Allen

 

Oh that is stuff that is "suppose" to make reg trans fluid magically work in Honda's...Sorry, I'm with most everyone else....I know what the owners manual says for the older ones....However if you have a Honda with a lock up converter, ONLY use Honda trans fluid...so the 1st and 2nd gens are not included in this conversation, some of the 3rd gens are out as well.

 

I am all for using pure Honda OEM fluids in my 2005 Accord, but I am worried that it has become compatible crap. Right after my trans was serviced by Honda it developed a strange noise. On leaving the shop in the dealers shuttle, I noticed the same noise coming from it. I am concerned that Honda is tampering with the formula to get better fleet mileage or just to cut costs at the expense of service life and my wallet.

 

Oem dw-1 is the only way to go, i used it in my failing transmission 6th gen and it gave me 11,000 miles not perfect but drivable and still going,i recently did 2 drain and refills (6qts)with maxlife because i was to lazy to drive to the dealer lol and it runs like *** now for real......it now slips more when its cold and has a pause from 1st to 2nd shift ......now im just waiting for it to fail so i can do my manual swap lol which will be done in feb if i dont get rid of the accord .......use oem dw-1 only nothing else if you want your tranny to last as long as it can.....When i got my accord it slipped nasty couldnt drive it but dw-1 made it drivable. MAXLIFE = FAIL in 6th gen accords dont do it dont do it dont do it ......dw-1 will make your shifts harsher though but better for your tranny something to do with less friction modifier in it so there is less slipping

 

I tried using wolfshead synthetic ATF in my 04 Acura Tl and i got horrible results. I did the 3 drain and refills twice with 3k miles inbetween those services. So i did it again with Honda fluid and i was totally amazed at the results. Its not worth trying to save a few $$$ and get anything other then Honda genuine fluid.

 

Another vote for Castrol Multi-Import, readily available and competitively priced.

 

There is no money savings, so why do people use other stuff? It's a very sensitive/expensive item on a car. Why take the chance? Just use the OEM fluid. People hate using OEM fluids/parts because of the cost, yet they don't realize that the reason Honda's last so long is because they use RELIABLE fluids/parts, so why not use the same stuff that came in/on the car? I just don't understand the reasoning.

My 94 Integra needed a starter at 175k. That was 175k worth of starts, so I replaced it with the same part and never worried again.

 

because honda parts departments usually don't open on the weekends when i have time to work on my cars and walmart is more convenient

 

I use valvoline with great success so far and have heard great things about it (odessy people trannys were dieing with honda but seem to last longer with maxlife)....Cheap too

 

Lol go post that on a honda odessy forum and you would likely get flamed. Some of them used honda fluid and their tranny had problems, used maxlife and they were good.

EDIT: And I doubt the fluid is that strict spec wise. AFAIK most/all honda's use the one type of fluid, that doesnt sound that specialized. And on top of that they stopped making the original fluid so you have to use the newer fluid, which from what I know is pretty different than the old one; yet honda says its fine to use it.