blouthan

I have a 2006 Honda Civic with automatic transmission. It was time for me to change the trans fluid. I heard it was not advised to 'flush' the transmission. Rather, it was recommended to just drain and refill 3x. I bought 'official' Honda ATF-Z1 from the dealer. I pulled the dip-stick to allow air in. I unscrewed a plug to let the fluid out. The plug I unscrewed was not a normal bolt, rather it had a square hole in it where I inserted a 3/8 inch socket. The plug appeared have a magnet at the end. Therefore, I THINK I unscrewed the right plug??? Approximately 2.2 quarts of fluid drained from it. I put the plug back in. I poured 2.0 quarts into the dipstick hole. I was going to add more after the fluid settled and I could get an accurate reading on the dipstick. I drove the car to mix the fluid. It slipped initially, but it got better after 8 miles. I checked it while in 'park' (not neutral) and the fluid was 3/4 inch above the highest hash mark on the dipstick. Things seemed to get better, but there was still slipping. I then decided to do my second 2qt drain/refill (I was planning to do 3 total to get rid of most of the old fluid). I drained 1.5 quarts out this second time. Since the fluid 'appeared' high, I only put 1 quart back in. Now it REALLY slipped. I checked the fluid again (this time in Neutral). It was still high. I've heard it is not good to put too much fluid in -- I don't want to ruin the transmission. However, according to my calculations, I drained 3.7 quarts and only put in 3.0 quarts. Is it safe to put in another quart if the dipstick is showing over filled already? I was also wondering if a 'bubble' of fluid was stuck in the filler hole and that was giving me a bad reading. One last factor is that I live in northern Wisconsin. It was about 5 degrees here. Could that inhibit the fluid from flowing down the dip stick hole to the bottom of the transmission (I don't know if it is a straight shot or if it has to wind around a bunch of stuff to get down there). Aside from ruining the transmission, I am afraid that if I break my wife's car she will kill me.

Also, I just noticed that the owners manual says to warm the engine up, SHUT IT OFF, and then measure the level. I did that and it was still high. There is a chance the level was higher after my second drain-refill. I did all the maintenance based on the Honda schedule. The car has about 80,000 and this is the FIRST time it recommended changing the trans oil. They probably wanted me to change it AFTER the warrantee was up.

Evs-One

Your car should take 2.9 for a drain and fill. Your manual is right...engine off on level surface. Wait a couple minutes after shutting it down to check the fluid. You're not doing something right.

blouthan

Thanks for the reply. I wasn't sure if I was draining it from the correct place. I have further information. First, I carefully measured all the fluid that I drained from it (3.7 quarts). After adding 0.7 quarts, the fluid currently in there is now the same as it was before I started working on it. I noticed that everytime I added fluid, the level in the dipstick went up. However, draining it resulted in less fluid coming out. Next, I drained it for the third time and only about one pint came out. Then, while the drain plug was out, the dipstick still indicate the exact same level as it was before I drained! I think that there are 'drain' holes that allow the fluid from the dipstick opening to drain into the pan. I assume these holes are plugged with gunk. I am going to try to suck the fluid out of the dipstick (until it reaches the correct level) and insert it into the the drain plug -- then quickly insert the plug. If the car stops slipping, then I can investigate how much it will cost to unplug the holes.

Turbowa

Thats not really going to tell you muchby doing that. Your right by saying it sounds like there is a blockage inside the tranny. If its in the valve body or the torque converter you will never see it. Try taking off the tranny cooler lines on the radiator. Put the hoses in a bucket and start the car. Only let it run for 10-15 sec. then see how much fluid you get out. I would also replace the filter on the tranny cooler line.

Just FYI you should have replaced the fluid every 30k. If this was the first time that you changed the fluid there is a very slim chance that any this that was letting the tranny shift normally is not gone.

All Honda automatic transmissions have there fluid checked with the car turned off and on level ground.