Hi guys. I've mad an appointment to get my transmission flushed. The service manager told me that they take the cover off and lube between the gears or something like that. They do not use a machine to flush it in other words. I'm just wondering if anyone has had the dealer flush their transmission out and if there was any problems? I'm a little nervous. Is $150 for the flush reasonable?

 

The process is to drain and fill three times, running it in between. You can do that yourself, of course. The process is detailed in the owner's manual.

There is no accessible filter (it's built into the transmission) and there is no pan to drop that I know of.

After three drain and fills, you replace about 80% or so of the tranny fluid. Be sure and use the Honda ATF. It IS different from other ATFs.

Michael Wan is our resident fluids geek and will probably check in here shortly with his advice.

I don't think that any Acura dealer does a power flush. I haven't heard of any anyway.

 

My service manager said Acura does not recommend flushing the fluid.

The triple drain is a good way to go and gets most of the fluid changed out. $150 is about average price for this procedure.

There is a splash shield under the transmission, which must be removed to gain access to the drain plug. This may be what your dealer meant by a cover. But there is no such thing as oiling between the gears, unless he is thinking of the TSB for the 2nd gear inspection and installation of an oil jet, which is for early model 04's only.

 

thanks for the input guys.

 

So basically when the car has 200k miles on it you could still be running the same fluid that came with the car from factory? Is this true? Im interested to know. I was wondering the same thing about flushes.

 

It would if you didn't change it... which I don't recommend. In fact, I recommend a change of fluid early on... like 5,000 miles.... to be really safe and to get the production debris out as much as possible.

Then, I would say every 50,000 miles or 5 years thereafter.

When you do the draining, you can't get all the fluid out from the lines and the tranny cooler (small radiator). But you get most of it with three drain and fill cycles. There will always be a little bit of the old left in. But it mixes with the new and the "add pack" of friction modifiers, etc. is refreshed. So, at 200,000 miles, if you have drain and filled five times (5,000, 50,000, 100,000, 150,000, and 200,000, you might have a thimble full of the "old" factory ATF still in there. MAYBE.

 

In order to do this yourself, does the car need to be raised? Can one get to the drain plug without lifting the car?

Thanks.

 

The TL is so low that it is a tight fit. It's been posted here by some members that oil changes can be done without raising the car, but with the tranny fluid it might be harder since you have to remove a bunch of clips holding the splash shield on and they are not easy to get out even when you have room to work under the car.

If it wasn't for the splash shield, you probably could do it without raising the car. Have you tried crawling underneath to see how much (or little) room there actually is under there?

 

Well, looks like the car has to be raised. I believe ramps would be okay to use, correct?

I did read about people doing oil changes without lifting. I don't think it is possible for me, I cannot get in there because of the lack of clearence.

I need to do an oil change as well as an ATF change this coming weekend. I have hit 34K in the TL and it's time.

 

Ramps will be fine. People here say they have bought the rhino ramps. You need a low profile ramp because the front of the TL is so low to the ground normal ramps will scrape your bumper.

You should have a jack to raise the rear end so the car is level. Not so important for the oil change because the drain hole is near the rear of the pan, but on the transmission it is in the front of the pan, so it is possible you won't get all the fluid out.

Here's the link to the 3G Garage thread for the tranny fluid change.

C-012: DIY: 5AT tranny fluid change and fluid level check procedure
https://acurazine.com/forums/ramblings-12/anybody-good-xp-89064/

And here's the link for jacking procedures, in case you want to do it that way.

E-028: DIY: Where to jack
https://acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=85473

 

Its been a busy week and I just saw this thread.

Unless the fluid is discolored badly, usually 1 drain/refill with the Honda ATF Z-1 (or equivalent) is enough. I'd do it every 25-30K personally as its quite easy...

It is possible to remove all of the fluid from the transmission...I did talk with a GM engineer who told me that it'd be safe to completely drain the transmission by removing the return line, and running the car at idle until the fluid is drained. (most of it) He said that air in the system or lack of lubrication on moving parts isn't a problem as long as you shut it off immediately once most of the fluid is gone, as the oil film remaining on the moving parts is enough to keep things lubricated, and you won't suck in much air if you don't let it run dry for a long period of time. After all, I still wouldn't do this on my own car (as I don't need to).