I bought an 08 TL with 100,809. I have the service records from the previous Owner from 60,000-95,000. From that time only one transmission flush was done at the Acura dealer at 80,382. My question is, I don't know how frequent the prior owner did trans drain, but is it safe for me to do another one at 100,809 ? If that was his only trans drain can another drain cause potential damage? Sorry for the noob question I'm new to this Acura scene and found out how important these trans drains are.

 

Do it

 

Ok, should I use Honda Z1 or redline?

 

Redline/Amsoil are superior products.

 

Copy..Will be doing my 3x3 soon with Redline. Thank you guys

 

Be aware there's the Redline Type F and Redline D4 fluids, I would stick with the D4 ATF as the Type F fluid has a lack of friction modifiers which could lead to problems down the road. Does your AT exhibit any irregular symptoms?

 

ATF-DW1 replaced atf-z1.


I'd just use the regular OEM stuff

 

I would use the factory DW1 ATF.

 

I've been wondering the same exact thing for my 2006 tl with 125k. Definitely have my doubts it has ever been changed. So it's just a pull of the drain plug and then top her off? What do you mean by 3x3? I have no idea if it's worth going the amsoil/redline route over the oem DW1 ATF and would like some opinions on that. I have heard nothing but good things about all 3 to my knowledge. It seems by some reading for the best performance the redline D4 is what to go with. Would love more people to chime in!

 

The 3x3 procedure has been discussed multiple times in multiple threads on both 2nd Gen and 3rd Gen, I even confirmed it in a thread on 2nd Gen. Drain it 3 separate times, that will remove a significant amount of the old fluid including torque converter this replaces the "flush" thats likely to cause more harm than good.

Lets not turn this into an oil thread, everyone has preferences your not gonna get a consensus just stick to what meets specs and move on

 

Fwiw, I used valvoline max life for a while after my trans cooler blew mixing the atf and coolant.... Worked ok, but I did a 1x3 a few weeks ago using the dw1 and the shifts and car are noticably quicker and smoother.

 

That's the answer.

 

OK I get the 3x3 but I have lots of people telling me that flushing my trans would probably make it worse than it already is and from what it sounds like I just need to "drain and fill, don't flush"

 

Yes drain n fill....x3 is an Acura TL "flush". Do not flush with a machine.

 

The "average" automatic TL owner doesnt care or seriously doesnt even know that the transmission fluid should be changed at a regular intervals. I have met many many non car people who have told me with a straight face that they didnt know you had to change your transmission fluid or that it was good for the lifetime of the vehicle...

 

I use the OEM DW-1 and it's a great ATF. 189k now and great shifts.

It's MUCH more important to change/drain ATF regularly than always go for more expensive, aftermarket that's supposedly better. As a starting point just go with the cheaper and easier to obtain (hint: Go to a Honda dealer, $7 a bottle.....vs Acura dealer which is more expensive).

When you are more knowledgeable about these cars and your car, you can start playing around with the ATF later.

At your situation, it's not worth it to buy supposedly better ATF than the OEM DW-1. It's much more important to change out the fluid and drain it 3 times (each time 3 quarts comes out, and the 5AT holds bit more than 7 quarts, so you should do at least 3times 3 quarts drain, hence 3x3, to get most of the fluid out).

Sure I think the Redline/Amsoil people are great and the process is likely more refined/engineered towards certain performance audience but there is absolutely no solid dataset to say that, all else equal (same change interval, same driving habits, etc.) that Redline/Amsoil is "better" than OEM DW-1. What is fact is they are more expensive, not as easy to obtain (if you need to get 3 quarts on a saturday afternoon at 3pm....can just pop into a Honda dealer to get OEM stuff) People can feel shifting feel difference in the "butt dyno" test if you mix racing ATF but I am not knowledgeable about specifics of transmissions to say if it's "better." There is a huge thread on mixing racing with D4 and theory/research/practice/etc. But I think this is for advanced owners who are tweaking the car and all maintenance are up to date (and likely part of it is the fun of modding).

I save my hassle/money and just go down to the Honda dealer for the OEM stuff and my 5AT shifts great so far at high mileage.

Also look at updating the pressure switches link: https://acurazine.com/forums/third-g...2006-a-729149/

ATF DIY guide: https://acurazine.com/forums/third-g...f-pics-745892/

ATF filter DIY guide: https://acurazine.com/forums/third-g...t-pics-787078/

Those things are much much more important than simply doing a 1x3 with Redline/Amsoil's "better" ATF. Learn more about the process/car itself/technical info on ATs before jumping into aftermarket things for critical components like a AT.

 

Got my trans fluid drained by an Acura dealership yesterday before driving 216 miles out to visit family. Today I checked the fluid level using the dipstick and it is above the two hole markers. I even checked the fluid cold since its usually lower at colder temps and it's still above the 2 hole markers. I still have to drive 216 miles back and that's before I even see the dealer. How bad is this for the transmission and how much damage could it cause?

 

You should be fine. IIRC the transmission will just push the extra oil out of one of the seals. Basically they either filled it without taking out the plug that releives the oil when it overfills OR they filled the trans on an uneven surface. Really sorry if this info is incorrect, someone teach him right if I am wrong!

 

100% agree with you. Great post IMHO. I know other people will disagree, but I personally prefer frequent changes with a quality trusted component over infrequent changes with a more expensive and marginally better component. However I have heard really good things about the GM syncromesh for the manual cars.

 

I do a drain and fill with DW1 every other oil change (which works out to be every 15k miles). Have about 220k miles on my 05-original owner/tranny. I do the pressure switches and tranny filter as noted above every 50k miles.