I just recently bought an 08 Acura TL. It has 73,000 miles on it. The transmission fluid in it looks clean and fresh, but I'm not sure if it's the Z1 or not so I want to do a 3x3 drain and fill. I've read a lot of you guys saying good things about Redline D4, but I have a warranty up to 104,000 miles and I don't want to void the warranty by using the D4 should something go wrong with the transmission. I've been looking on line to see if I can find a deal on the DW1, and I have seen two different bottles. One has a green sticker on the front and the other has a gray sticker. Is there any difference?

 

Stick with honda fluid. When u mix different brand fluids together your are praying the two different oils don't reject each other which can cause a whole differnt slew of issues.

My mechanic who did my trans was working on a 06 tl trAns and said the guy was religious with redline fluid mixed with honda.

Well when he pulled apart the trans the clutches had he weirdest slim/film on them and basically the trans would slip in gear because of it.


He use to preach redline fluid with the honda fluid, but after that experience he quickly changed his mind and now never recommends to mix any fluids together period.

Maybe this is some weird fluke... But I can say after hearing that I would never mix fluids.

Just get the dw1 and when u do ur oil change just do a drain and fill on the trans as well.

U cannot get all the fluid out,u just drain it, fill it and then that mixes with the rest of the trans. So even a 3x3 will means there is still old fluid in there just mixed with new fluid several times.

IMHO you get the most bang for ur buck on the first change. And cleaning the magnetic drain plug is always a good thing to do as it prevents crap from guming up your sensors and switches

 

Thanks! That sounds like good solid advice. I was on eBay looking for a deal on the DW1, and I saw two different bottles by Honda. One had a green sticker on the front and one had a gray sticker. Is there any difference? Or, maybe just one bottle is newer than the other?

 

Just a new style container and new label, but the same fluid.

 

That's what I figured. Just wanted to be sure. Thanks Turbo! This may be a dumb question, but is there a filter for the transmission fluid? I'm not a guru diyer. I've done a drain and fill on a tranny before, but never heard if a filter.

 

I've read over and over about a lot of people on here with transmissions failing in them. I just want to everything I possibly can to keep this from happening to me!

 

stay on the safe side with DW1

 

Just because a transmission has issues one time and the owner used redline doesnt mean the fluid was the cause. There is couness people running it and ive never seen a bad review since now.

 

I completely agree with what you said, usually there's an issue beforehand and the fluid speeds up the failing process. I experienced this first hand.

 

I'm not opposed to trying the D4. I just don't know if Acura will be able to tell the difference in the fluids if my transmission fails and void my 36k/3yr warranty I got when I bought the car a few mths ago with 67k on it.

 

Don't know whether you want to get involved, there is a filter:
https://acurazine.com/forums/third-g...t-pics-787078/

 

All ATFs are more similar than different. You could put 5 different fluids in there with no issues.

The two biggest factors in choosing an ATF fluid are viscosity and friction modifier level. Mixing of two different fluids is usually to fine tailor FM level to get the desired shift feel.

To spread this stuff around while having no idea of the cause of failure is bad for everyone. Let's not forget the thousands of failures on straight Z1, many of which were before 50,000 miles. There are failures on DW-1 and Redline every day as well.

This "slime" you mention can be coolant contamination which will kill a trans quickly. These fluids do not "reject" one another, it's not an organ transplant lol. Do some research before spreading crap. It's just like those who say you can't mix syn and dino oils as if they know this for sure. The last time any motor oil was not compatible with another oil was in the early-mid 1970s with the first widely available synthetic. Since then there has been no issue yet that myth still carries on from it's 1970 origins because people blindly repeat what they hear without investigating.

The reason you can't get all the fluid out during a drain is because half of it is in the torque converter, not the trans. You do get all of the fluid out of the trans when you drain it but once the engine is started up the torque converter fluid enters the trans and mixes. You can easily prevent this by pulling a cooler line after you do a drain and refill and start the engine. The fluid from the converter is pumped out of the cooler line and into a bucket and does not mix with the fresh fluid in the trans. You add fluid to the trans at the same rate it's being pumped out. You get 100% new fluid with only 9 quarts used.

For the OP, don't worry about mixing fluids, there's absolutely nothing bad that can come of it. If you have Z1 in there now and want to go with DW-1, just do the standard drain and refill a few times. You don't even have to do them all at the same time, you can do one a weekend if you want.

If you want 100% new fluid right away without spending a fortune in fluid, use the cooler line method I described.

DW-1 is an all around better fluid than Z1 and most Dex III fluids are better in many ways. Just as important if not more important, make sure to replace the pressure switches every couple years.

It's always comical when a transmission with a horrible track record fails and the fluid gets the blame if it's running an aftermarket fluid. If it's on a factory fluid which make up the majority of the failures, it's the transmission, not the fluid.

 

How often should it be changed?

 

According to Honda/Acura, there is no maintenance required, but I believe that it's a worthwhile replacement. As far as mileage, I'll keep it simple and say 75-100k, but certainly wouldn't hurt to change sooner to see condition. Same as trans fluid, some like to do a change quite often to try and avoid any problems, so the same can be done with the filter replacement if one so chooses.

If changing the filter, one item I'd like to add, always use new crush washers.

 

OP I understand I got a good deal with carparts.com

http://www.carparts.com/details/Acur...3-1900444.html

9 qtrs for 62.xx shipped.. Got it in about 3 days.. The link shows an acura bottle but I actually got the green Honda labled bottle, check my thread in my signature if you want to see exact ones. I received..

 

Thanks EL BAN! Sounds like a great deal! Does anyone know when Honda/Acura made the switch from Z1 to DW-1? I'm wondering if the 08 TLs ever had the Z1 fluid coming out of the factory?

 

'08 had Z-1 as the DW-1 became available in late 2010 and was used in 2011 models.

 

I called Honda today, and they said they've completely switched from Z1 to DW-1 and it's backwards compatible, so that's what I'll be using on my 06 this weekend. The only problem I see is $13 a quart. Seems ridiculous to me, but whatever, it was was changed 29k ago and needs it.

 

http://www.carparts.com/details/Acura/TL/OES_Genuine/Automatic_Transmission_Fluid/2008/Base/6_Cyl_3-dot-2L/W0133-1900444.html

^Check this out Punkascii. EL BAN listed this on reply #15 of this thread.

 

I found out today from records that my 08 TL had two drivers before me. The first was a lease turned back in with 35k miles in Dec. of 2010. Acura serviced the transmission at that time with Z1 I'm sure. The next owner was a lady that had it from 1/11-5/14 and she put another 32k miles on it in those 3 1/2 years. I just bought it in June, and I've put 5k miles on it already. It now has 72,600 miles on it. As far as I know, the transmission hasn't been serviced since Acura did it at the end of that lease when it had 35k miles on it. I'll be doing a 3x3 drain/fill on it ASAP with the DW1.