Firehawkniko

Aamco tells me that the tranny fluid is burned. The car has 113k miles and I don't think that the fluid was ever flushed, just topped off at best. I want to flush the fluid, but here's what Aamco tells me...

There's a slight delay in shifting between gears indicating something is wrong. If I change the old dirty fluid with new fluid, the new detergents will break down the parts that are on their way out faster, and force the issue of a problem. I personally don't feel anything wrong with the shift pattern, and I would like to change the fluid bc it probably was never changed. Thoughts?

Firehawkniko

ZOMGVTEK

Pull the dip stick and take a look at the fluid. Wipe it off on a white towel and observe the color. If it has 113K on it and was never changed, it will most likely look very deep black, and potentially have visible particles in it. New fluid typically is quite translucent and bright red. You really should never need to top off the fluid.

A power flush is likely a bad idea, and Honda does not recommend it. Personally, I would do a drain and fill, but some people might argue to leave it alone. A drain and fill is easier than changing oil.

carz0159

I would just leave it at that point, as it will kill the trans faster

cipdagr3at

Dude, Just change the oil.. Very easy process.. Im about to hit 195k in my 04 and the tranny was starting to slip on me up hill. I did a 3x2 and changed the filter and put in new sensors, now I feel like its a new tranny all over again.. Overall changing the ATF itself is easy..

350

iTrader: (4)

Do it but do it gradually. 3 qts with a few hundred/thousand miles in between, 3-4 times.

pohljm

yup, a 3x3 over a period of time, and new pressure switches

I hate cars

Agreed with the last couple posts. Do a drain and fill and drive it for a few hundred miles then change again. In reality you can probably do a 3x3 all at once and 1 out of 100 might experience a problem. This is being very conservative to ensure the new fluid doesn't break up or break off any debris that's going to stick valves and solenoids. All you're trying to do is not clean too much too quickly. A drain and refill will give roughly 50% new fluid so the new fluid and it's detergents are diluted which is what you want.

About the shift pattern, I used to do advanced drivability testing. Cars would come to me when others could not feel a problem. I've gotten cars where the owner swears the transmission feels perfectly normal and they look at me funny when I tell them it's on it's way out after a test drive.

The best shift is the one you can't say anything about. It's quick and crisp but it's not harsh and it doesn't jerk you back. It can be near instant but you don't feel a thing. There should be no bump-shift and a bump-shift is something that most people don't recognize and it's what does a lot of damage. The cure in the TL's case is new fluid and especially new pressure switches.

I'm going to start a thread soon but now that my "new" switches are over 3 years old I'm starting to feel the symptoms of not only a bump shift but something new I didn't catch the first time. I need to find out of the switches are an input for the DBW. We know the computer closes the throttle when the transmission shifts so it's not shifting under power which saves tons of wear and tear. As my switches are getting old and out of calibration I'm noticing a difference in the throttle to shift timing. It feels like the throttle is being opened before the shift is completed so in essence it's shifting under power and it's not supposed to. This might be one of the reasons the switches have been so successful in fixing transmissions that were on their way out. They not only improve shift timing but they *might* be critical in keeping the throttle shut until the shift is completed which can be hard to feel by the driver yet cause so much more wear. I'm going to start doing mine every 2 years.