FiftyFive

My 2004 MDX has 80,000 miles on it now and I was wondering if it is time for a transmission flush and refill.

The local shop that takes care of my car charges $195 for this service.

Is that an ok deal?

Thanks

AgentHubcap

I did it myself in about an hour. If you can change your own oil, you can do this job.

Other than that, $200 seems a bit steep to me, unless they're hooking it up to a transmission flush machine.

ductman

NEVER EVER FLUSH a Honda/Acura trans, you will dislodge any dirt and your transmission will fail, it IS not recomended by Honda, just a simple drain and fill.

FiftyFive

By drain and fill do you mean a 3x3 method thing?

ductman

Yes.

vas25tl

+11111111111

No flushing....drain & fill only.

csmeance

do a drain and refill with a better fluid such as Redline D4. Do this ONCE and see how the transmission responds. If it shifts for the first few days and stays like that for the next few hundred miles then try for a second fluid change and the same for a third. You can buy redline fluid for around 120 for 12 quarts on amazon.com!

FiftyFive

Thanks! I'll look into this.

acutech

Most dealers, I believe, recommend a drain and refill every 30,000 miles. Your owners manual says, under normal conditions, do it at 105,000 miles. a drain and refill only removes about 1/2 the old fluid. Considering Acura/Hondas record with V6 trannies, the dealers obviously know better. I have seen many BG trans flushes perfomed, and they did improve shift quality, and eliminate torque converter "judder". That said, I don't think a flush is needed unless there is a problem. I do believe Acura ATF should be used, in drain and fill. 3qts is needed. If you decide to flush it, the price is about right. Oh, and there is no dirt in an Acura transmission.

vas25tl

Why you shouldn't flush
http://www.diamondvalleyhonda.com/custom14-car.html

OperationDarkie

iTrader: (1)

Those places that call them flushes aren't really a flush so to speak, its just a chemical solvent they add to the fluid that is already in there. it will damage shit and your shit will break, just drain and refill, hell as far as I know you probably don't even need to do the 3x3 method.

vybzkartel

Did the 'drain and refill' yesterday. Bought only 6 qts of fluid, so only did...drain-refill-drain-refill. The color of the fluid on the 1st drain wasn't bad. But after the refill(drove around block once) and 2nd drain?!...OMG(lol)...the frigging fluid was dirty(black) like a mother! Kinda regret not getting another 3 qts to do the 3x3. Read somewhere that 2x2 was enough. Oh well, lol. Might just do a regular drain and refill(1x1) before next winter!

Also, the fluid was $8.53/qt at a Honda dealership! The guy at the service dept. was gracious anough to give me a 10% discount since I also bought a gallon of VTM-4 fluid(did a drain and refill too), lol.

Could have gotten it online for $5.99/qt, but figured the cost of shipping(it is heavy, afterall!) would render any savings moot.

The tranny seems to shift smoother so far....