I asked the original dealer we bought the car from for a quote to update the trans software per bulletin 17-017 or 17-018.

I told them I drained and filled the fluid 3x, along with replacing the inline trans filter, and three pressure switches, reiterating I only wanted the software update. (which is like .2 hours of labor). I figured they might throw me a bone because I just bought the car there.

The service advisor said it still didn't matter and that it would be $650 because they needed to "flush the trans fluid again". Mind you, this is the largest Acura dealer in Ohio.

I told them to get lost, and hit up the Acura dealer on the other side of town that I actually used to work at. Told them the above story. Service advisor says "Yeah man that will be $75 for that software update. Might take an hour because we're a little short on techs.".

Easy as could be. And now the car doesn't jerk or shift hard after the trans is cold in the morning. Definitely has improved driving quality, I highly recommend getting this update whether you still can claim warranty on it or not. (without paying $600, of course).

Bonus pic of the original trans filter that had 90k on it. Couldn't pull it out of the housing, but the filter was black as night. Keep in mind this was a car that has complete + proper history of the Acura recommended trans fluid change intervals too. Just food for thought, considering this software update is also noted to prevent the original setup from cooking the fluid too fast and reducing the time between fluid changes.



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WoW ,that filter is a mess...gotta change mine after seeing that cruddy mess. Just turned 97k miles on mine.. New KYB front struts , timing belt water pump and fluid changes and spark plugs,,Knew about the filter and forgot to mark that onto the list.
By chance , do you still have the filter part number handy?

 

Yeah, this filter is pretty common across Honda's, because I had an extra unused one from my wife's previous '06 civic and the part number matched for the RDX. It's 25430-PLR-003

I took pics/video and tried to document the filter change as best as I could, I just need to writeup some DIY instructions at some point.

Per usual, the hardest part was removing Honda's wonderful battery holder/tray.

 

Removing Honda's wonderful battery holder/tray? For what? The left fender liner is simply removed and this filter is changed. This filter must be changed every 30-40k miles, and yes the dealer never changes it during an trans oil change because the dealer needs the car to break down and you buy a new one. Never trust a dealer!

 

The main thing is to buy the Honda Genuine OEM 25430-PLR-003, and not 25430-PLR-003 from Amazon or eBay, otherwise after replacing the filter you will have to change the automatic transmission.

 

Hmm, I was doing 3 of the pressure switches at the same time, and I figured it'd be easier to see what I was doing (considering I have removing the battery tray down to a science, from previous vehicles). I also should mention I removed the splash guard under the front bumper to help with access and cleanup. When you pull the bottom connection to the filter, I had a decent amount of fluid come out, even though I had just drained nearly 4 qts of fluid. there was a decent mess on the splashguard and parts of the frame. I suppose you could access this all through the wheel well but that honestly sounds harder in my opinion. Guess I can't knock it until I try it.

 

Thanks for offering up the part #,,looks like I need to do this ASAP