sara

Hello freinds

I hv a 2004 TL- I recently got my car service form montclair acura & they informed me I need to change
transmission fluid $149.99, brake fluid $139.99, power steering fluid $139..99, & front brake pads $290.00. He also informed me all the fluid are acura so i should not try to take it to an outside vendor. My question should i get any fluid or brake pad work done outside as it will be atleast 50% cheaper. I thought people like midas or strauss do excellent job for these kind of work. Any recommendation in new york neighbourhood

ankur914

You can always buy the Acura branded fluid and have a shop that you trust do the work. Stick with Acura Tranny Fluid. For the Brake fluid, a lot of people have upgraded to Motul Synthetic with great results. The Power Steering fluid is one that should be Acura branded as well. You can purchase all these from a dealership or contact Tim at www.hondaacuraworld.com and im sure you guys can work something out. A lot of us deal with Tim for acura branded parts and other acura branded oddities. Best of luck to you!

P.S. Go to a shop that you trust. Touting to be a "Dealership" does not necessarily mean that they know wat they are doing. Many have posted DIYs for each of the aforementioned fluid change outs, so if you do it yourself, you know you're doing it right. Just a thought.

ankur914

Stupid 5 minute rule.

Also, if you go elsewhere for your Transmission Fluid changeout, make sure that they do not use a flushing machine. Acura has given strict and specific instructionst that a 3X3 method be used for changing out transmission fluid in the TL, where you empty out the 3 of teh 7.9 quarts, refill, drive. Empty out another 3, refill, drive. Empty out another three, refill, and drive, and lastly, empty out another 3, refill, and then go home. This should ensure that the 7.9 quart capacity of the transmission is at least >90% new fluid. Hope this helps.

ggesq

iTrader: (1)

Contact our vendors Excelerate or Mr.Heeltoe for great aftermarket alternatives for brake pads.

adrian_04tl

i had a major service done for $200 but my sister works for acura

millarduck

It's not that bad. I had a BMW and that would ring up to $1200, so Acuras cost less to own than other luxury brands. You could take it to a Honda Dealer, it could be less, and they use the same fluids and filters. Your car was made beside Accords.

SodaLuvr

Brake fluid is high, have Pep Boys or Sears do it. Both charge under $50 and any DOT3 or DOT4 fluid is fine.

The transmission can be serviced anywhere. Flushing is okay as long as you don't use any solvents or conditions, but most shops do not remove the drain plug and wipe off the metallic sludge, which is one reason why Honda frowns upon flushing (plus many shops like to use the aforementioned solvents or conditioners). Just make sure you use the ATF-Z1 fluid.

The power steering fluid does not need to be replaced. Maybe if you were at well over 100k I'd consider it. The brakes can be done at any independent shop for about 1/2 the price.

wasupdog

iTrader: (2)

take the info the dealer gave you, and have an independent honda/acura shop do the work. if you don't know much about servicing the car i'm going to assume you don't care about mods, so don't try and get aftermarket fluids or parts, just stick to oem. a honda/acura shop will have honda fluids which is the same as acura.

the price at an independent should definitely be lower, those prices are a rip-off. my guy at my honda/acura shop charged me $40 to change out the power steering and brake fluid. let the mechanic know that you want a 3x3 transmission fluid flush, and this might be expensive cus it's a total of 9 bottles of tranny fluid. the dealer is probably charging you 149.99 to change the tranny fluid out one time.

ask the mechanic how bad your brakes are worn down. if you just need pads have those changed. if the rotors are still smooth u probably don't need to have them turned which makes them smooth to mate to the new pads. generally, the rotors will last through 2 sets of brake pads before they need to be changed.

01tl4tl

Yes a private owned Honda acura specialist shop can be found in the real phone book under automobile servicing and repair- after the dealer ads---look for one with icons of an acura-
those tend to know the car pretty well
When you talk to a shop- they should be able to tell you the thingfs we said about 3x3 method and no machine flushing of the transmission- drain and refill

Brake fluid should be a flushed thru/ change, at 3 years and then every year after- its important!!!!
Steering fluid about the same time- moisture from the air gets in and turns to rust- bad news
Trans fluid is 6-7 bucks a quart-
Acuray says you only need to drain and refill 3 qts and that counts as a trans service,,,, if it fails later that was your trans service proof--
but IMO-- to do 1/2 of a fluid capacity change is not as good as all fresh fluid- over diluted fluid new/old mix
If you are going to do something.....
Would you change 2 qts of engine oil and not the filter and call it good, then a year later do the same thing - change 2 qts- still no filter- another year 2 qts,,,
Does that even SEEM like a good idea?
Thats what a 3 qt drain and replace on the trans fluid is doing!!!

Brakes- the rotors OFTEN/MAY benefit from a resurfacing the 1st time- makes the new pads work better on them, gives a smooth place for the pads to work, and not shake or shudder!

RacingBrake- from MrHeelToe, makes an excellent street pad ET300, or the more aggressive ET500 for spirited drivers- for both the automatic and 6 speed cars.
Comparable to hawk hps and better--I like them on my TL

When getting brake prices you have to state which brakes, as the 6 speed cars have Brembos in front- very pricey parts for the good stuff- dealer quote often 500$$
yes, you can get $60 pads- but will they stop your $35k car in a short distance when really needed? My brakes do all the time~!~~~

SodaLuvr

Why would you do the first change after three years? Why not do it every year from the beginning?

System is sealed. Moisture isn't going to get in. Changing it is a good idea, but that isn't the reason why.

Yup.

Will your pads give you better pedal feel? Yup. Better fade resistance? Definitely. But shorter stopping distances? I doubt it. Your tires are what stop the car.

http://www.teamscr.com/grmbrakes.htm

01tl4tl

Because the book says at 3 years on the brake fluid-
personally I would start at 1 year, and have changed the fluid on a 2 year old TL that was nasty.

Power steering fluid is also hygroscopic-
its NOT a sealed system!! - neither is the brake fluid- moisture gets sucked right out of the atmosphere, past the oring and into the fluid

Tires make a differance in stopping distance yes- shocks make a differance too,
BUT if your pads wont generate friction in a hurry and in a big way....thats the key to stopping--FRICTION also known as Brake Torque
Can I stop shorter on super sticky race tires- than basic cheap street tire on same brakes- of course!