shawn744

sup guys....im a major IDIOT. i was getting shit installed in my car, and mobile one synth engine oil change, and i changed the tranny fluid too. i put mobile one synth tranny fluid. now i'm hearing from you guys and also in the manual that not only should you ONLY use honda ATF, but you should make the first change at 120,000 miles, fuck me. now, before the ATF FUCKS up my tranny (will it?) i need to know if i can do the "drain 4 times method" as in the manual. (use honda ATF then drive for a lil bit then drain)....3 times. can i go back to honda ATF?


and one more thing....if i get caught up in this dreaded tranny problems, and they see that i have synth ATF, will they say i caused any tranny problems and tell me to go F off? i'm like shaking here.....what do i do? -shawn

TLMugen

1) Chill dude!!

2) I think once you do the d&f at least 3 times, you'll be OK. If you have a problem with your tranny and it's included in the extended warranty program, Honda would have to analyze the fluid (unless you told them) to know you had non-Honda approved ATF and prove that the failure was directly attributed to it's use in order to deny your claim for a replacement. However, if you're going to have a transmission problem because of the design flaw that the extended warranty covers, no fluid is going to cure it and a tranny failure is inevitable.

3) The use of non-Honda fluid may affect the operation of the trans in other ways (i.e. poor shift quality); these trannies are best suited for use with Honda ATF-Z1. Honda's ATF-Z1 is a proprietary formulation with a closed specification. No one else's fluid has been certified ATF-Z1 compatible because Honda has not released the specification. Some fluids may claim compatibility because they may be similar in a couple of physical properties but that's up to them. If a trans fails due to the use of non approved fluid and Honda can prove it, your claim for a replacement trans may be denied. Now it's up to you to chase after the ATF manufacturer to fix your tranny because they claimed it was compatible.

shawn744

hey thanks for the help, i really feel better now. just a few more questions. are you sure that i can go from synth to regular ATF? (HONDA) because i know that if you use synth motor oil you can't go back to regular. i would mess anything up if i go back to honda right? i've had the synth ATF for almost 2 weeks.

second question, since i need like 12 quarts, anyone know how much per quart?...couldn't find it online, i'm gonna have to call an autoparts store, until then if anyone knows, i'd apprecate it. thanks. -shawn

avs007

It's been a while, but I bought a case of 12 quarts of ATF-Z1 from the acura dealer, and I think it was like forty some odd dollars. I think it was actually a tad cheaper or the same price as when I bought Mobile-1 Synthetic tranny fluid for my other car.

fla-tls

Buy your fluid from a Honda dealer - not an Acura dealer. Many times the price is lower, and it's the same fluid.

car_lost

actually, you CAN go from regular engine oil to synthetic and back.

shawn744

yeah, i gave acura a call yesturday (not the same one i bought my car from) and asked them about the synth tranny fluid (and also about the ongoing tranny problems on the TLs). He said, oh yeah yeah, we're aware of all those tranny issues. when we're going to replace a tranny, we send an oil sample to American Honda, so there is a slight chance they might decline your request for a tranny replacement.


yeah, so next time i go to my mechanic for the round of stuff to get installed in my car (tomorrow) i'll tell him to flush out the fluid.

one question. i really don't care about going back to regular ATF, if something happens i'll tell em i never changed it. they can't find little traces of synth fluid can they?....it's not that deep of shit. later - shawn