Bought my TL not too long ago preowned and I'm in the process of doing a complete fluid change. So far I have listed oil, brake, coolant, transmission, rear differential. I was reading the service manual and also ran into the transfer assembly fluid. Does that need replacing often? What other fluids would you recommend replacing as well.

 

I might be wrong but I think the transfer case fluid change is in the same interval as the transmission.

I would suggest servicing your brakes as well.

 

How many miles are on the car? Changing every fluid in the car seems excessive if it's low miles. Same with the brakes which I'm assuming you've already inspected upon purchase.

 

The car has roughly 75,000km. So I guess 46,000miles. The brakes and everything was inspected at the time of purchase because it was purchased from an Acura dealership with it being CPO'd. I know it might seem excessive but I like to have my car's fluid monitored therefore I can service it when I believe it needs to be done.

From what I remember reading, brake fluid should be drained and refilled every 2 years and coolant should be done every 4 years anyways. It seems like it's about time. It's also never a bad thing to change the transmission fluid since this part of the car itself is generally the major part that goes and I'm not sure when all the other fluids were changed so I'd rather just have it done with.

 

I ended up skipping the brake fluid replacement. I did however switch from the conventional oil provided by Acura (since I got the car last week) over to Amsoil Signature Series 100% synthetic (about $12 a quart) and the performance has already improved. I also used the HAMP Honda oil filter (apparently better made)

Upon draining the rear diff, I noticed that the content wasn't or did not smell like ATF-Z1 as recommended in the service manual so that was a good thing I did it. Also, the transmission fluid had lots of build up and definitely seemed overdue (even though for some reason, the MID didn't say so) and the transfer case also needed a change (doesn't seem like that was ever changed since the beginning of the vehicles life). The coolant however seemed alright but I had that drained and filled up again just in case.

Again, this is another reason as to why I never trust MID's and systems built into the car to do my service. My tranny could have went due to all that build up but no update on having to be done on the MID and my transfer case definitely was never done.

I will be keeping track of my personal odometer reading and changing my oil every 6,000-8,000km (3,700miles to 5,000miles) along with the transmission fluid, rear diff and transfer case every 3rd oil change.

 

The transfer assembly (front) doesn't "need" to be replaced as often as the rear diff unit. The transfer assembly is just a set of gears in a bath of gear oil and generates very little heat. The rear is a different story. It has clutch packs that are almost always slightly slipping and generates heat witch over time degrades the fluid. The clutch plates also wear and slowly contaminate the fluid with metallic particulates.

 

Thanks for the heads up. I'll probably do the transfer case less often since the fluid for that uses Hyproid and was pretty expensive compared to the other fluids. Stick to the tranny and diff every 2-3 oil changes depending on km and climate.

 

Hmm... I think this is the second time I am hearing that the transfer case fluid was pretty dirty. Thanks for sharing the info.

As for the brake fluids, some people feel that it is sufficient to just replace the fluid in the reservoir without bleeding out the lines. Does anyone know how much fluid is actually in the lines compared to the amount that is in a topped off reservoir?

 

i dont think the rear diff fluid is atf z1 anymore, when i changed my fluid i used an acura rear differential fluid which was kind of honey colored, not any red to it at all

 

You should replace brake fluid once a year

 

I thought it depended on the rear diff and what was stamped on it. My car had ATF stamped so I figured I'd use ATF-Z1. I think both fluids can work regardless.

 

You should get your rear diff changed every 15-20k make sure it's synthetic too. Should be clear and not the red shit they used to use on our cars.

Was your transfer case that bad? I bought mine with 60k on it. Might get it looked at as well.

 

ATF-Z1 is discontinued too. Use DW-1 for the automatic transmission and then use DPSF fluid for the rear diff.

 

It's discontinued? What the. My dealership still has it and they still provide it for me when I asked for rear diff fluid and transmission fluid.

Guess I'll have to go back and yell at them... and get my tranny fluid/rear diff done again.

 

The dealer still has inventory but it's no longer produced.

"ATF DW-1 is the factory fill for all ’11 Honda models. Eventually it will be our only ATF, but you can keep using ATF-Z1 in all ’10 and older models for now. However, make sure that you DO NOT use ATF-Z1 in any ’11 and newer models."

 

More info on DPSF

 

Forgot to mention, most fluids can be purchased from Honda as well as Acura.
The "A" on the end of the fluid PN denotes Acura Labeling.
DPSF PN: 08200-9007 (Honda Label) & 08200-9007A (Acura Label)
ATF DW-1 PN: 08200-9008 (Honda Label) & 08200-9008A (Acura Label)
etc.

 

Hi Andrew.
I also bought my 2010 TL (base) from an Ontario Acura Dealer.
The car had only 58,000 km and is in great shape.
However the brakes were seriously in need of service, which I did myself.
Just because it passéd a safety in Ont. is no guarantee that the brakes are in good shape. This is a common misunderstanding.
My rear brake pads were seized in their holders and I had to hammer them out with a punch. The rotors front and rear were seized on the hubs and it took me two hours to get them off the car. I did not hit them with a hammer, I worked them off using the threaded "puller" holes. I highly recommend that you have your brakes serviced by someone who knows how they function. i.e. not CTC. e.g.
Now that I have them sorted out I expect the rotors to last the life of the vehicle. ( I have been driving and servicing cars and trucks with disc brakes for 35 years and I have never had to replace rotors on my vehicles, and I rarely have to replace pads.)

 

My car was CPO'd and brakes/pads have to be at least 50%. Upon inspection, the rotors and pads were recently replaced and are sitting at 90%.

 

I live outside the US owning a G3 2014 MDX imported from the US and as the Acura brand doesn't exist here, I have to get parts through Honda (the few things I needed till now were not a problem)
As my car now has about 38K mls, I want to change the ATF and asked the Honda dealer here about availability of DW-1 08200-9008.
To my surprise they couldn't find the number and researched further.
They found out the PN 08200-9008 is discontinued and told me the new DW-1 PN is: 08268-999-01HE
Can anyone confirm that this is indeed the revised correct ATF PN??

 

Holy thread resurrection. 3.5 years. Nice. It doesn't matter the part number, if it's Honda DW1, get it. That part number only shows it's the latest version of the fluid, and may even be different by country too. DW1 replaced the old Z1 fluid, so you're good.

 

You don't have to use Honda/Acura DW1, you can use an after market alternative such as Castrol Transmax or Valvoline Maxlife. It should say on the bottle that it's ok to use as a DW1 replacement.

 

I have a 2013 with 95k on it.

Here's my routine:

Oil changed with Mobil1 5w20 every 8-10k.
Brake fluid changed when replacing rotors/pads which for me happened at 54k. They need replacing again, so I will get close to 100k.

Transmission Fluid, Rear Diff, Transfer Case fluid all gets done at the same time. About once a year, every 20k-ish miles. It's relatively easy to do in your own garage, cheap, and doesn't take too long.

 

Guitarplayer: Your comment about brake fluid is nonsense. Unless you are racing regularly.
What is the basis of your expertise?
For normal driving it is generally not necessary to change brake fluid at all.
I understand that brake fluid is hygroscopic.
I have owned and driven many cars and trucks since I bought my first car 54 years ago. I have never changed brake fluid on any vehicle.
Several of my vehicles have gone over 300,000 km with few problems.
I worked on my friend's MR2 last year. Car is 26 years old. Original brake fluid looked nice and pale yellow. We did bleed it some.