What viscosity MT fluid does honda recommend for the TSX? I bought this 5W-30 synthetic Synchromesh MT fluid from AMSOIL, and I want to make sure it will be OK. It says its mostly for GM trucks, so I am a bit worried (don't want the TSX to start shifting like a truck).

I know, I know , but it's cold out and I don't feel like getting it from the car.

 

Honda MTF is the recommended fluid - available at your ACura or Honda dealer.

 

My service manual says 2.1 US qts of Honda MTF, but gives no viscosity rating. I assume you have at least 100k miles, right?

 

Tranny fluid (MT) changed at 100K miles? Is this according to the manual?

 

Yes, and 100k miles is the "Severe" category like ppl in the salt belt. If you aren't in the "Severe" category, then it is 120k miles.

 

Wow. For the Prelude (my previous car), I think it was every 30K (and I often had it changed sooner, when the shifting started to get bad). I have read of a couple of people on the Prelude boards using GM Synchromesh (so maybe you could find more info if you did some Googling), but I always used Honda MTF. Good stuff! Some of the guys that used other fluids had problems, but I don't think I heard anything bad about the Synchromesh. Even so, it's not the kind of thing I feel comfortable in experimenting with. :-) But hey, it's your car.

Are there different grades of synchromesh? I mean, if so, at least get the kind made for cars. Not that I know for sure, but still, just sounds a bit iffy...

 

I used Synchromesh in my Prelude but I didn't switch to a different oil type until after 100k miles. I had a bit of grind in 5th gear, which is a common issue with high mileage preludes and switching to GM Synchromesh got rid of the problem. That said, I wouldn't switch to a non-Honda oil unless there was a good reason to.

 

When you use other fluids like Royal Purple, Redline, and other synthetic fluids the tranny seems to be to slick. I have found out that on Honda trannys its best just to use the OEM Fluid. The OEM fluid doesn't have a standard rating. I know that if you dont have Honda MTF you can use 10W30 or 10W40 motor oil as a temporary solution. Amsoils states that there 5w-30 tranny fuild is a direct replacement for the Honda MTF. The Honda MTF is a very high quality transmission fluid. I put Honda MTF in my buddies Subaru and he said it feels like he has a brand new tranny. Like I said before just use the OEM Honda Fluid.

 

These statements seem to contradict one another. So my AMSOIL 5w-30 should work the same as Honda MTF? I only have about 28k miles, but I engine brake a lot so I probably shift more per mile than most people. The shifts seem to have gotten much notchier lately, but that is probably just the cold.

Thanks for the info

 

I was just confirming that Amsoils 5-30 is a direct replacement for the OEM Honda MTF. In my own opinion I think that the quality of the OEM fluid exceeds that of Amsoils. I know alot of people who ran different fluids such as Royal Purple, Redline, Mobil, and Amsoil and almost all of them went back to the Honda fluid. So I am just recommending to you that you stick with Honda MTF instead of the Amsoil. But thats just my opinion.

 

I'm not too far from you at the moment (in Lynchburg) and the cold does make it more notchy. Engine braking isn't going to do anything to the fluid... the gear would be moving anyway. I would just stick with Honda MTF.