Hello all!
I've lurked the forums quite a bit and finally decided to register to ask about a few questions of mine.
I own a 2005 Civic LX A/T, purchased at 135k miles, it's in good condition from what I can tell, (previous owner was my aunt)and I recently changed the oil/filter at 138k

The only problems I've noticed were overheating which I just fixed with a new temperature sender unit I believe? Basically the radiator fan wouldn't come on, the mechanic swapped a new unit in a few minutes and it works fine now, before I would always have the AC on and turn the heater dial to hot as a precaution, glad that's over. I was curious if there could be any damage however as the dial did begin to rise a few times, never to the upper end though.

Anyway, my real questions:
According to my aunt the transmission fluid was changed at 124k, now what I'm worried about is if it was a full swap (I've read here the correct procedure is to drain it 4 times and refill to get most of the old fluid out) or just a simple change of 3 quarts.

Now, I've been considering doing a full swap but my dad gives me what sounds like an old myth to me, that if I change it now since it wasn't regularly changed that it will ruin the transmission, I assume from metal chunks that would come loose from the detergents in the new fluid?

My other question was when I'm braking, and lightly apply the break at a stop there is a deep croaking sound, until i press a bit more. From what I've read it may be the control arm bushings or could it just be me not applying the brakes enough and it is the pads themselves?

Thanks for any and all replies, sorry if it's a bit long and if I can find this info in the FAQ's let me know. I'd like to maintain this car as long as I can and plan to do the 'forgotten maintenance' part of the FAQ as well.

Thank you.

 

A fluid drain and fill won't do anything but remove the worn out fluid in the transmission. A pressurized flush will cause damage, but those are rather uncommon these days.