Wilson77

I have an '04 TSX with 36k miles on it and I just had my mechanic flush it at his recommendation while I was having my rear brakes repalced. I drive my car pretty hard and he said it was dirty. He used a BG machine and replaced the fluid with BG sysnthetic atf. I have used him for years and he has saved me a ton of money by not only charging me less but not performing uneccssary repairs that the dealership has suggested for my car or my wife's Honda Accord.

I have heard from different people that you must use Honda Z1 fluid for all Hondas/Acuras and I asked him about and he said it would not affect the performance. I spoke with a BG technician in one of my sales territories in Virginia and he explained BG atf to me and said an Acura dealership in Gaithersburg, MD uses BG atf. I called the Acura dealership there and the guy I spoke to said they flush with BG and leave the BG fluid in there saying the same thing as my mechanic.

What are any of your experiences with transmision flushes and what have you heard about BG atf versus Honda Z1 and if there is so much warning against using anything but Z1 why would an Acura dealership use somethig else?

mickey513

Never heard of BG, appears to be another wannabe ZMAX. If you don't use the original Honda ATF, at least try to find a shop that uses the Universal ATF Fluid like the following:

http://www.pennzoil.com/products/tra...ultiVehicleATF

Compatible with Honda ATF-Z1

Wilson77

It is a universal atf which I was hesitant on but seeing an Acura dealership is using this stuff I am assuming it is up to standard since I cant see them knowingly using something that would damage the tranny.

LukeaTron

The flush should not be performed with a machine though. This can damage the seals in the transmission. The right way to do it is to drain, refill, short drive and repeat 3 times.

dlee74

Is a transmission flush really required? Can you go without it and can you just drain and refill with new oil?

LukeaTron

The problem is you can only drain about a third of the fluid so what you'll end up with is fluid that's only about 33% cleaner. By doing it 3 times you'll have fluid that's about 96% new.

jlukja

Check out the January 2008 Honda ServiceNews Bulletin. They are posted here: https://acurazine.com/forums/1g-tsx-problems-fixes-128/acura-servicenews-bulletins-669650/

link-> January 2008 Bulletin <-link

Wilson77

I have read all the reports and looked at opinions all over the place for 3 days now and the consensus seems to be drain and fill and use Z1 fluid. But it seems most opinions I hear from people are just opinions based on fears or what is "recommended" rather than real experiences. I hear a lot of what could happen or what someone heard about it instead of actual results.

Even though the January '08 report says what it does I still don't understand why my local Acura dealer would do flushes w/o hesitation and even why another Acura dealer I spoke to not only does flushes but uses BG universal synthetic rather than Z1 if if it was such wrong way to go about doing things. One answer I am sure I will hear will of course be $ but I don't see why they would risk the liability of ruining a transmission if they know it is so wrong?

As for using Honda Z1 fluid, if I were Honda I would not want anyone to believe you can use a different fluid either so I can keep the business more in house and charge more.

LukeaTron

As far as the fluid goes, anything that's chemically compatible should be fine. That is to say, just about any fluid should be fine as long as it doesn't have any special additives in it.

As far as not using the machine goes, I'm sure that most of the time it works out fine but it would seem that Honda has seen a rate of problems as a result that they'd just rather not be paying for. If it were me, I'd listen to them on this one. It's not as if they have anything to gain from doing it the long way.

jlukja

Its like using non-name brand ink cartridges on your HP printer. All is well when it works but if it breaks and you need to get it serviced under warranty then HP will say its not covered because you used non-name brand ink. I might take that chance on a $100 printer but do you want to take that chance on a $25K-$30K car?

Wilson77

You both make good points, thanks for your input.

So should Acura be made aware that there are dealers of theirs that are not going by their specifications? Not that I want to make a big deal about it but if a dealer is not going by what is recommended it puts people in a bind if they want a certified dealership to do work on their car. Or is it possible that Acura actually does approve of flushes as of now as well as alternative fluids?

Also, in regards to the BG service, BG has a 30k warranty for their machine service and fluid that cover up to either $2 or $4k in repairs to the tranmission, cant remember what my mechanic said. Basically if anything goes wrong my mechanic does the repairs out of his pocket and BG would reimburse him. I am sure as in most cases that wont be easy for him to get but in yeears of using it on Hondas, Acuras and other foreign cars he hasnt had an issue.

Since getting my car back I have been waiting for shifting problems, leaking or something to go wrong but the transmission actually feels smoother. I would recommend everyone do some sort of transmission fluid change, whatever service you feel comfortable with because it can help prevent problems down the road.

kvan2007

Wilson, I'm with you. I realize your post is nearly a year old, but I'm getting ready to drain/fill 3x the ATF on our '05 TSX and '03 TL, and I've been researching. I, too, have seen the Acura Service Bulletin indicating that flushing machines are not recommended. Then yesterday, while at a Honda dealership in Houston that says it's the second-largest Honda parts supplier in the U.S., I asked about flushing. The guy at the parts counter was very helpful and knowledgeable, and he'd already helped me figure out that we could use an American Accord part for my Japanese TSX and save $125 (not related to ATF). Anyway, he said that they use a flushing machine/system. Looking through the service records on my g/f's TL, I see that an Acura stealership in far west Houston used the BG Flush machine and additives for her car. They did charge for ATF-Z1, though, so I'm guessing they used that.

I just don't understand why--ESPECIALLY with a part that is so temperamental and prone to failure--Honda/Acura dealerships would disregard the manufacturer's recommendations.

Itchytoe

Most dealerships don't keep up with manufactorer's recommendations. Besides, neither do most people on this board. How many of us have modified our vehicles? Dealerships are made of people, and they don't all agree that Honda/Acura knows everything. I know I don't believe everything Acura tells me.