Should I Change Trans Fluid?
 

Hi,
A newbie here. I am looking for advice for my mom's 2001 Acura TL and the car is in NJ. The car has 85,000 miles and the transmission was replaced in 2007 at 19,000 miles. So about 65,000 miles have passed since that time. I have heard mixed answers about replacing the transmission fluid. Some people say it is ok to drain and fill and some say by doing that can cause more problems. I looked at the color of the fluid on the dip stick and it has a brown and dark red color to it.

Any suggestion would be welcomed.

Change it, The "Don´t change ATF" is an urban myth that affected mostly very old Domestic Cars...
In the case of Hondas though? You are doing way more harm than good... Hondas crave for fresh ATF fluid..

I think skirmich meant to say you are doing more good than harm by changing the fluid.

I agree, these transmissions like fresh fluid. And only use Honda fluid. Do not use ATF from the local parts store

Wow, talk about garage queen! You should definitely change the fluid if it's dark brown. It should be cherry red (keeping it that color isn't overkill for our glass trannies).
Just remember, don't use a "flush" machine on it. Do a 3x3 drain and fill.

The only time changing ATF will "harm" the transmission is if the transmission is already damaged.

Unless the fluid is black and burnt, you're likely fine and should change the fluid.

Thanks for your responses. Do you think the replacement transmission that the dealer replaced was more improved versus the original one. I noticed the owner's manual recommends replacing the fluid at 60,000 under normal driving conditions and 120,000 under severe conditions while the dealer recommends changing every 30,000. Since DW1 fluid is the only fluid available and DW1 is probably in the transmission now. I assume a drain and fill should not present compatibly issues. Thanks.

No, there is no real improvements unless you get an AV6 tranny. The dealer replacements are all guaranteed to fail sooner or later. Also, those service intervals for tranny fluid were made before they realized our transmissions are made of glass, so definitely follow the dealer recommendation here (rare that I would say that).

Also, a 3x3 drain and refill is super easy if you want to do it yourself and save some money.

Seconded.

My '00 TL had the "updated" design, replaced in March 2005.

It lasted about 130k miles before failing again. All of them will suffer the same fate. I also changed the trans fluid 20k miles before failure. It improved shift quality but it won't prevent failure.

Change the ATF ever 30k miles.

Hey Yikes,

Thanks for your response. When you had your transmission replaced how many miles did you have on the car at the tome. . Crazy about this "glass transmission".

Transmission will fail, but changing the fluid can delay the inevitable. Make sure you use the Honda fluid, though. My mechanic has had bad experiences using aftermarket stuff, so spend the extra few bucks to get the real deal.

How do we do this 3x3 tranny fluid replacement? Or is it the same as the video...

Didn't watch the video but here goes.

When you drain the trans on these cars only 3 quarts come out but the trans holds more. To get all the fluid out you need to do this 3 times. 3x3 means 3 quarts 3 times. Take it for a short drive between changes and run it through all the gears.

Some people myself included will change 3 quarts every time I change the oil. That way your keeping the trans fluid clean. Now if yours is already black/bad/old then you should do the full 3x3.