Daffunda

Around what mileage did you do a drain/fill on your MT trans fluid?

Mine is hitting 27k, and wondering if I should do it. I don't have a garage, aka man cave.

What would the dealer charge? Any experiences?

LukeaTron

I've always done mine about every two years. I think the manual calls for a longer interval but it always feels a lot smoother afterwards.

carcrazyboy68

i did my change at around 45k. but the dealer said something to me about every 60k.

nj2pa2nc

I do mostly highway driving and have not had the MT fluid changed yet. The dealer told me to do it every 3 years. My tsx now has 70,000 miles.

Redline

Manual says 60k for severe conditions. I change mine every year or two years. Cant hurt, easy to do, and its like 20-30 bucks in fluids. Also, Honda/Acura changed the formula in 05/06, so if you have an 04/05 you will notice a much smoother shift.

Easiest to drain the fluid, then take off the left front wheel, use a trans funnel (or attach 3' of clear 3/4" tubing to a funnel) and keep adding fluid till you cant add no more. The filler hole is the max fill limit on the trans case. If you feel like going all out, splurge on a 64 cent crush washer from the dealer, but the old will work in a pinch.

dlee74

70,000 miles? You should change that MT fluid.

hiptech

Can't add too much more than what has been said here but I do change mine once a year. I try to keep my cars for at least 8 years or more and changing fluids is a cheap investment.

I do as much maintenance myself as I can and to me the toughest part of the job is refilling. I've tried various pumps and gadgets to get the new fluid in but the best I have found is also the cheapest. I usually jack up the car, turn the wheels left and support it with jack stands so I don't need to remove any wheels.

I use an inexpensive hand pump the fits into the Honda fluid bottle and has a clear host that I hold into the tranny with one hand and manually pump the fluid with the other.

Big question to me is why hasn't Honda (or anyone else) hasn't added a fill tube (like an automatic tranny) that can be accessed from under the hood? Life would be so much easier.

Just curious, has anyone discarded the aero "belly pan"? This is also one pain in the ass piece that gets in the way during almost any routine fluid maintenance.

Derka

i wouldnt ditch the under body pan thing, it has a bit to do with cooling

gftgrill

I know it's not a hard job, but I just paid the dealer to do it. I think they charged me around 65 to do it.

I think fluid alone was 30 or so. I think that the extra cash was worth not having to deal with the fill hole location and disposing of the old fluid.

nbtx

Maybe, but it has most to do with aerodynamics and fuel mileage.

nj2pa2nc

just had my car serviced by the dealer- they checked the MT fluid and told me not time yet?

ck123

for me, i would have done it twice already. But MT fluid can last a long time since MT's do not generate as much heat as AT and there is no combustion like an engine, so you can do very long intervals. When you do do your mt fluid drain, invest in a Magnetic Drain plug...

DuckDodgers

I'd always replace the crush washer. Don't forget that it's whats keeping dissimilar metals from corroding.

On the change, the local Acura stealership wants the same for an auto or manual fuild change, about $120-130. The local Honda dealer will do it for $59.99. Just remember your Honda dealer can do most of the work on your car as easily as the Acura dealer, just not warranty work. It's true the tech won't be as experienced on your TSX as an Acura tech, but...

nj2pa2nc

The acura dealer I get my car serviced at also sells and services Hondas.

Audioserf

I put in fresh Honda MTF on a whim at around 50k and it made the transmission smooth as butter, once again. That was the first time it had been done since I owned the car (picked it up at 20k miles in 2006) so I'd say 30k is a good interval for it. Probably more than is strictly necessary but it's certainly not going to hurt anything, and I drive my car a bit on the "rough" side of things.

Fresh Honda MTF + Comptech Shortshifter + Maven Mark One shiftknob = six speeds of sex, all day.

Jdm.CL7

iTrader: (1)

hm after reading this thread, i think i will change mine as well. mine is an 05 with 40k miles.

hiptech

Wow, haven't been to the dealer since the last warranty item about a year ago and have to say $120-130 to change some fluid and a crush washer is a lot of money!

Even $59.99 seems high since it mostly involves about $12-$15 in parts and about an hour of your time.

FYI - If your car is under warranty and you do the work yourself it is still considered valid even if you perform the required maintenance yourself. Just keep a log book or similar, note the date, mileage, list parts used and hang onto receipts.

I've successfully used this several times when warrantied items failed and Honda balked that the "required service" was not performed. After faxing my maintenance records and receipts they backed down agreeing to authorized the dealer to perform the warranty work.

Helpful Tip: Always record your maintenance in a log book and keep it handy - receipts are helpful to corroborate the work but it is much easier to track the work done through a log book.