dug-mac

I'm on my second tranny, my first having been replaced in November of last year. My question is how good of an indicator is the transmission fluid color to the continued good life of the tranny? Since mine was replaced in Nov 05, I believe I have the latest design. I've gone 20K since then and the color still retains some of the initial pinkish/red color (but not as bright as new fluid). My first transmission's fluid turned brown within 5K of having a flush done and I had it replaced 10K after the flush was performed. Is it reasonable to conclude that a tranny should be okay as long as the fluid is still somewhat pinkish? I realize that this involves some speculation, but I'd enjoy getting some opinions on this... Thanks...

bkzjimmy

u should never flush it. a drain and fill every other oil change would be ok.

dug-mac

I've heard this before, but my dealership still did that with my first tranny. Why no flush?...

MikePA

Because Acura does not recommend them.

dug-mac

Thanks for the replies. Well, my tranny certainly didn't last long after they flushed it, but I'm curious as to what damage flushing the system could do? I did a search but couldn't find anything that said what damage might be a direct result of a flush. I don't know that much about cars so any input would be appreciated...

SodaLuvr

We have Acura ServiceNews .pdf files posted under a sticky in 3G TL, but in one of the issues, it listed the reasons why Acura does not recommend a flush: increased customer wait time, not required under the maintenance schedule, and the usage of solvents and cleaners may dilute the new fluid.

As stated, its quite evident that the primary reason Honda/Acura is not in support of transmission flushes is due to the inability to control the quality and composition of the pre-flush solvents used by some dealers. Some may be harmful and its difficult for Acura to test all the transmission pre-flush products available. But the ones made by BG, Wynn's, and Lubegard, as far as I know, are safe but have little or no effect.

Also, the dye used in automatic transmission fluid reacts with heat and fluid temperature. Many of the newer Honda units run quite hot, especially due to their small fluid volume, so the red dye may wane quite quickly under many driving conditions. Most of the newer fluids on the market are built to last a very long time, and will obviously outlast the dye. I wouldn't worry about it too much as long as the fluid doesn't smell acrid.

(I personally prefer to change my fluid before it turns dark brown because I'm old-school and paranoid, but also because shift quality improves when you change your fluid on a Honda)

bkzjimmy

i noticed that too.

SodaLuvr

Seems as though the TCM in Honda/Acuras do not monitor the "shift times" or control the actual shift feel, so any changes with the fluid are noticed immediately...for better or worse.

For one, I know that AMSOIL ATF retains its "shift feel" exceptionally well.

We just had a person run AMSOIL ATF for about 55,000 miles on his 2001 Civic. He had done three drain and fills (short drive in between) so he had approximately 85% AMSOIL in the system.

At the end of the 55,000 mile run with AMSOIL ATF, the fluid was still maroon. He used AMSOIL ATF again, installing it with the same three drain and fill method, and notice nearly no difference in shift quality.

I suspect that AMSOIL ATF contains more red dye than genuine Honda ATF-Z1, or the synthetic fluid may actually be running cooler in the transmission (and less fluid oxidation), so the red dye isn't disappearing so quickly.

dug-mac

Thanks SodaLuvr! That explained it well. I think I will drain and fill with my next oil change. I'm actually pretty happy that after 20K the fluid still looks pinkish...

Mr Hyde

My fluid was beet red, and new looking & smelling when I lost my tranny. I did a partial fluid change with every other oil change.