Honda transmissions are VERY sensitive to fluid quality. I have solved my
transmission hard shifting problems by changing the fluid (as much as I am
able to change) every other engine oil change. Many people still believe
that you should never have to change the transmission fluid, but those days
are long behind us with more plastic and lighter weight parts in automatic
transmissions. The additives in transmission fluid degrade and need to be
replaced.

There are only a few approved fluids you can use in your Honda transmission.
ALL of them are fully synthetic. If you have used anything else (like
dextron or mercon) you may have done damage to your transmission. You can
buy transmission fluid from your Honda dealer, you can use Amsoil ATF (beats
all the MFG specs) or anything that meets Honda ZL specs.

Even though I change my fluid about every 25,000 miles I can only change
about 4 quarts since that's all that will drain out. There is still another
3-4 quarts of used, dirty fluid in the transmission and in the torque
converter. I just had my transmission (now with over 206,000 original miles
on it) fully flushed for the first time. The flush cost about $150, half of
which was the cost of fluid, since it takes about 14 qts to do the full
flush. I have seen where mechanics charge that much just to drain/change the
fluid (there is no transmission fluid filter to change in a Honda, and no
"pan" to drop.) I was surprised at how filthy the fluid was even though I
change my fluid regularly! Now my tranny shifts noticeably smoother than
before and I noticed it was dropping into lockup (where the torque
converters specialized clutch engages) sooner than before (this is good.) I
use Amsoil ATF, but my dad uses BFG full synthetic in his van with similar
results.

Personally, I can't afford a new transmission and it seems to me to be
worthwhile to make sure the transmission is happy with new, clean fluid as
much as it is practical to do so. So far, so good.

Jeff







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Jeffrey L Miller
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