Ok, so not too long ago I took my dad 02 explorer to get the tranny fluid changed. Apparently some newer cars today have sealed transmissions, i.e. no dipstick, no drain/filler bolts. The shop hooked it up a machine that sucked the old fluid out and simultaneous poured in the new fluid.


I was wondering, would there be any benefit to doing this on a TL? The mechanic said this system is very good at getting all the crap out of trans, and it seems more efficient than doing a 3x3 change like the dealer recommends. They can do on any car, all you need to disconnect the trans cooler lines and hook them up to the machine.

All input is of course welcome!

 

Do not do that on the TL! There is a reason Honda says do it gently- or their procedure at the dealership would be a faster method using that machine

And the ~guy~ is feeding you a line about how it works. No fill or drain holes? cmon man~
Unless technology has gone crazy- the COOLANT in the radiator can be changed out with a system that attaches to the coolant lines - on regular cars-
just the other day a newer member posted link to Prestone radiator kit saying it was for transmission fluid!

The Vac suck machine for trans fluid and engine oil goes into the dipstick hole.
In the TL there is a plate that restricts just such an intrusion.
Its not like the 3x3 needs to be done that often- 30k miles or so if your trans hasnt crapped out by then.
Technology may have passed me by and rendered my info useless

 

Acura does not recommend any kind of flushing of the tranny. This question gets asked over and over again. Drain and refill.

 

Ok thanks for info, ill stick to the tried and true method.

 

It may not have passed you by, but it's on steroids and gaining ground on you fast! There are a number of "sealed transmissions" out there with no dipstick and/or fill tube. We typically service them with a trans fluid exchanger that attaches to the cooler lines. Ours is 1 out 1in sort of arrangement that avoids messing with the fluid level. Typically you need a scan tool and a hoist to properly ckeck the fluid level. On a different vehicle, we serviced the trans in this manner because we lacked a special tool even the dealer didn't have. It was a dipstick![not included with the vehicle] It also had a one time use dipstick cap. [ breaks on removal.] Somedays I don't think I can take any more "progress"!

 

Wow- I will stick with a car I can work on myself thanks~
They are really making modern cars to last x years/miles and then its off to the recycler

 

Dude i saw it with my own eyes, maybe theres a filler bolt somwhere but deifnately no drain bolt. And the only way to drain it is either to take it apart or to unhook the lines that feed into the radiator.

 

The drain/check/fill plug is in the trans pan. At least the last one I saw was that way.

 

I am driving a 2001-gen2, so things may have gone to Bizzarro World with the new cars.

 

my old 350 Chevy has no trans drain plug, you have to drop the pan-
Is technology going backwards, and soon everything will be back where I remember!

 

Well i think the reasoning behind it is to prevent leaks. Also to prevent stuff from getting into the transmission, when you do the vacuum drain there really isnt an opportunity for anything to get in there other than fluid. I listen to car show on NPR once in a while and they talked about like it was the wave of the future.

 

future indeed, but my car was built in the past.

 

Are you talking about the TL?

 

It's becoming more common. Many automatic VW's have this setup. My sister's 99 VW Passat has no dipstick. It does, however, have a fill plug on the side of the transmission. VW tech once told me the fluid was supposed to last the lifetime of the car. Only time you add any is if the car started leaking. Seems like total to me but who knows, technology is improving every day.

 

like I am saying: 100k miles and time to recycle these new cars into beer cans!

 

I hope he was right. The car has a 141K miles and it's still going. Gotta love that 1.8 Turbo.