If any one perform transmission oil drain and fill, please share instruction\advice.
Thanks

 

I did drain and fill on my 2013 RDX. The drain plug is near the front of the vehicle just behind the front bumper and faces the passenger side. I didn't have to jack up the vehicle to get to it. It comes off with a 3/8 inch ratchet - no socket is required.

Even though the owners manual says a drain and refill requires 3.3 quarts of DW-1 fluid, I measured mine and 4.2 quarts came out - this was the factory fill so go figure. The drain plug has a small magnet on it that should be wiped off.

You don't fill this transmission thru the dipstick like other cars (although you could). There is a filler bolt (marked with blue paint) on top of the transmission for the fill. I don't know who torqued this at the factory but it was relatively hard to get loose. You need a very long extension and socket to get to it which doesn't help on twisting it off.

Fill thru the hole using a funnel and flex tube, replace bolt, start and warm up vehicle, go thru the gears and check the level per the owners manual.

It's a pretty simple procedure. Like changing engine oil but without the filter (since Honda doesn't have one in the transmission).

 

How many miles did you have before you changed the transmission fluid?

 

The B123 maintenance reminder came on at 29,000 - which I thought was pretty early.

 

Mine came on at about 31,000 miles. Taking it in next week at about 35,000. Best we could do with busy schedules and the dealer is 45 min away.

 

Trans fluid change at 30K miles? That seems awfully soon. It certainly won't hurt but most cars I know of it's more like 60K or more.

What conditions do you guys drive in?

A bit of advice if you're planning to DIY...be sure you can get the filler plug out BEFOFE you drain the fluid.

 

Nothing unusual on driving for us. In fact MID for oil changes have been running about 9,000 miles. I do those myself and have never had to add oil between changes. Mostly freeway miles as you might guess with 35,000 in about a year and a half! RDX has had no problems of any kind in this period with the exception of the noise fix on the under panel which was easy.

 

Probably 70/30 commuting/highway on an AWD.

I have to agree that this vehicle seems to need a lot of routine service early. By 30,000 miles I'm already on my fourth oil change, a transmission service, a rear differential service (at 20,000 miles), a transfer case service, plus an engine air cleaner.

One piece of good news is that if you can't get the filler plug out, you can always refill the transmission thru the dipstick (like just about every other car). Now the transfer case (which requires service at the same time) and the rear differential are a different story.

 

Would it be wrong for me to guess that it's designed to help dealers earn more and increase the reliability ratings. The more "standard service" the less likely something would go wrong with any car. BMW throws in the service for the first 4 years and the required service was much less. Nothing ever went wrong with the BMW.

 

try every other oil change on the older cl/tl 5sp at due to the cooking of the fluid...

 

Dealer charged 208.00 for Trans and Transfer case fluids change and a tire rotation. I bought an air cleaner and cabin filter at the dealer for $45.00 and installed them myself in less than 10 minutes. Acura did make those a really simple DIY. Good engineering at least for that. DYI oil and oil filter changes are also very easy.

 

I have a 2010 Acura TSX automatic and changing the transmission fluid was as easy as pulling the drain plug to empty and filling it back up! I wish every car was this easy!! If u can change oil u can change the fluid on these! Just do it yourself and buy honda/acura grand fluid kit. It will come with a new washer for the drain bolt as well for I think $30ish

 

I was worried about the Transfer case fluid change on the AWD. Do you think that is as simple as well? The invoice charged me for 3 Qts. of 90W Gear Oil on that change.

 

Transfer case only uses 1/2 quart.

 

should be 1 fill hole at the top and one drain plug at the bottom

 

The invoice just said 3. Maybe it wasn't quarts. The fluid price was only about $4.00. But it did say 90w gear oil. Does that seem correct?

 

yeah the gear oil type seems right. My little vin0 125 takes 4 oz of gear ol and it is 80w

 

Nope. For a 2013/2014 RDX it should be Honda HGO-1, GL-5, 75W-85 transfer case fluid. $22.93/quart. Why this stuff costs $23/quart is totally baffling.

The change procedure is essentially the same process as the rear differential service (there's a DIY posted on that). You'll have to jack up the front of the vehicle to reach the fill and drain plugs because the transfer case is just out of reach from the front. You'll need a pump to get the transfer case fluid into the case since the filler plug is on the side of the case (just like you need a pump for the rear differential service).

 

My trans service indicator came on at 29K, RDX is 11 months old, since i change trans fluid every year I went ahead and had it done. Dealer charged 160.00 for tire rotation, oil and trans fluid change. I did both air filters.

 

Interesting. I just stopped by the dealer for parts, and they don't even carry this fluid for individual sale (only in bulk quantity in the garage) -- though now that I see the price, I'm kinda glad. Parts guy told me to use any 80/90 wt gear oil, but so much for that....

 

Mobil makes a 80/90 weight oil. I believe it is synthetic. I use this for transfer case fluid change on my MDX. You do need a pump. It's a straightforward procedure of just draining and refilling. I only have 7,000 miles on my RDX. So, I don't need to change the gear oil yet.

 

Did you refill it refill it one time or 2?

 

I want to do a transmission drain and fill in the next week or so, got to stop by the dealer and pickup some filler bolt and drain bolt washers... I plan to do the transmission drain and fill first and see if I can tackle the transfer case fluid change after that. I'm so paranoid about going under a car that's been jacked up. I'd rather all 4 wheels be on the ground before I even attempt to go under a car. I fear of being crushed


Is this the blue filler bolt you speak of? I will see if I can locate the drain bolt tomorrow.

 

I think you can also re-fill through the dipstick tube. Getting to that fill bolt is a real pain (you will need extensions).

The tranny is so close to the front of the vehicle, you barely need to get under it. Drive up on some 2X4's if you want some extra clearance to get to the tranny.

 

Does the filler bolt need to come out in order to get a proper drain? Or can I just lift up the dipstick and take out the drain bolt? Then just fill back through the dipstick tube?

 

OK just finished a transmission drain and fill.


4 quarts of ATF-DW1 - Automatic transmission fluid (Only 3.3 quarts will be used)
part# 08200-9008A
1 quart has 946ml of fluid
0.3 x 946 = 283.8
946 - 283.8 = 662.2ml will be left in one of the bottles (just for reference)

Filler bolt crush washer part# 90441-PK4-000
Drain bolt crush washer part# 90471-PX4-000
17mm socket for the filler bolt


bought a 20 inch craftsman extension bar and a breaker bar. Also used a piece of pipe to slide over the wrench as extra leverage. Filler bolt was a real pain to get loose





Breaker bar (Flex handle wrench) 3/8" drive





Extension bar 3/8" drive






Filler bolt, 17mm socket









This is the drain bolt, uses a 3/8" wrench to get loose, no socket required






And here is the fluid









And used this funnel

 

No.

Yes.

Yes.

You did a lot more work than was needed by going through the filler bolt. The proper funnel is all you need to refill through the dipstick tube.

 

Awwww sux. Oh well, mission accomplished


Next up, transfer case fluid change but will probably go to the dealer for that. What's the estimated cost on that?

 

Sorry, not sure about that one. I think I've seen wildly varying dealer quotes from people posting here. I think around $100 or so seems reasonable, but you never know what a dealer will charge.

 

good advice and discussion posted here will help me for next transmission oil change. If any one done transfer case fluid change, please post pics and steps.

 

I did transfer case fluid change at the dealer for $67 but would love to know how to do that one myself. If anyone does that on their own please post a DIY with pics.

 

How did you measure the amount of oil that drained out?
Also, can I just pull it from the dip stick hole with suction?

 

Sorry, I did not see your question until today.

I actually measured what drained out. I drained it into a standard oil collector, then dumped it into a graduated milk jug (home made of course ).

I have heard people pulling from the dipstick, but I like to clean off the magnetic plug after draining to get all of the metal filings out of the tranny.

 

How important is it to do the 3x drain and fill?

https://acurazine.com/forums/diy-faq...n-fill-794451/

 

How long do you want your tranny to last? I don't think it would be a problem though to put some miles (~3-5,000) between each drain and fill.

 

Just changed the transmission fluid on my 2013 with 26,200 miles and had same experience - measured 4.2 quarts that came out. Stupidly put 4.2 qts back in and it was way overfilled. Drained almost a quart out and good to go. BTW - getting an accurate fill level measurement on the RDX is a real trip. In addition to Acura's ritual of getting it hot, running it through the gears and then making the measurement at 60 to 90 seconds after turning off the engine, the dipstick is hard to get to and hard to read with new fluid.

 

I took off the scoop that attaches to the air intake. Then you can get to the dip stick a little easier. I re-filled through the dip stick. This really is an easy service.

 

I have a 2016 AWD w/Tech Pkg. At some point i would like to change the transmission fluid to get out the machine filings from when the vehicle was new. Ideally i would like to fill the transmission the traditional way via a long skinny funnel. But i notice that there is a panel in the way. So i have to figure out what tool i need in order to remove the panel to fill. Also i wondered if the filler tube is big enough to accept a skinny funnel? Does anyone have any experience on this?

Here is the panel link i was thinking of purchasing from amazon in order to remove the black plastic panel covering the transmission filler hole in the engine compartment.

 

Any cheaper place to get the HGO-1, GL-5, 75W-85 transfer case fluid than $22.93/quart?

 

The transfer case fluid is regular GL-5 gear oil you can pick up at Pep Boys or AutoZone. The rear differential fluid is something I'd stick with Honda/Acura brand.