Fluid change on my 2015 Accord

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I have recently noticed that when cold the first couple shifts were some what harsh, like it really suprised the heck out of me. I stopped at the Honda dealer and asked if that was common or if any one else has complained about this and the service guy said that was perfectly normal and not to worry. I told the service department that when the car was brand new last year it did not do this. I went ahead and bought fluid from the dealer to do the cars first drain and refill. Nothing really appeared out of the ordinary except I thought the magnetic drain plug had quite a bit of material on it that I wiped off with a paper towel. Anyways, I'll find out tomorrow or the next day when the car sits out side all day in the cold if a simple fluid drain and fill fixed anything.
 
Could be temperature, could be programming... I wonder if removing the battery cable and letting it forget everything would change anything?
 
I thought I would add that I went to O'reilly to get some washer fluid and a bottle of import trans fluid just to have on hand if I needed to top of fluids. I also have another car the trans fluid would work on as a top off. I was walking around the store looking for the fluid and the kid at the counter asks if I need help, he walks me to the trans fluid and asks me what kind of car this is going in. I happen to just say Honda and he is trying read the back of a Dex/Merc bottle and then tell me that they do not have Honda fluid. I grab the Valvoline import fluid that clearly states compatible with Honda, Toyota, ect. I tell the counter guy that if I am doing a drain and refill on a Honda I will always use OEM fluids but this is fine for a top off if needed. Then after I pay he tells me to always check the fluid with the engine running. I had to correct the counter guy and say "Not on a Honda, always get the fluid hot and check with the engine off." The poor guy looked at me like I was crazy lol.
 
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You guys are RIDICULOUS. Seriously.

Yes, the harsh shift on a cold morning is very common. Nothing to be concerned about. There are a ton of vehicles that experience different shift dynamics when it's freezing out.

Honda had some bad transmission in 2001--2004. That was corrected 12 years ago fellas!! Jeez.

I bet with drain and fills every 30,000 miles, any Honda transmission NOT abused by a kid, can go 300-400k miles before a rebuild.

As a side note dan_erickson, does your 2015 have the remote tranny fluid filter that sits on top the transmission? It's a little round filter (like many fuel filters) that if if you have the hood up and looking at the engine, it will be on the right hand side, sitting on top of the transmission with a strap over it. My Honda has almost 80k miles, I'm about to change mine out and cut it open and have a look see.
 
Originally Posted By: Phishin
You guys are RIDICULOUS. Seriously.

Yes, the harsh shift on a cold morning is very common. Nothing to be concerned about. There are a ton of vehicles that experience different shift dynamics when it's freezing out.

Honda had some bad transmission in 2001--2004. That was corrected 12 years ago fellas!! Jeez.

I bet with drain and fills every 30,000 miles, any Honda transmission NOT abused by a kid, can go 300-400k miles before a rebuild.

As a side note dan_erickson, does your 2015 have the remote tranny fluid filter that sits on top the transmission? It's a little round filter (like many fuel filters) that if if you have the hood up and looking at the engine, it will be on the right hand side, sitting on top of the transmission with a strap over it. My Honda has almost 80k miles, I'm about to change mine out and cut it open and have a look see.



I know! They will just not let stuff go from over a decade ago.

I know exactly what you are talking about. My 2010 also had a filter right on top of the transmission, but I do not see on one my 2015 unless it is hidden in a different location.
 
It is the programming as mentioned.

If it is really cold out, the programming might apply more pressure on a clutch or band to compensate for thicker (when cold) fluid.

My Honda Fit does this once in a while. Usually if I get in and drive off from work, the first sequence of shifts really grab.

Nothing to worry about. The grabbing is more noticeable for a car that was programmed for the older Honda fluid such as my car, when using the DW-1 Full Synthetic up in Canada on a cold day, it grabs a bit.
 
The larger than normal amount of particles on the drain plug is completely normal for the first change.
So is the harsher shift when cold initially. I have a 2008 Pilot that does it. Not a CVT, however.
 
I had planned to do a drain and refill 1 year after I bought the car anyways. Then Christmas came, then I got lazy. The harsh cold shift made me get off my arse and do the first drain.
 
My sentra could probably use a drain and fill soon as well. Its been about a year now since I've had the car. Peace of mind I guess, plus OE manual trans fluid from Nissan is fairly cheap. About $36-40 for about 3-4 quarts.
 
What made autotrans weak was the transversal configuration. In the past the layout was longitudinal, they were huge and heavy and strong. In the 80s pratically all compact and medium size cars became front wheel drives in transversal mode. To fit in the compartment it had to be downsized. To be efficient they got lighter and smaller. That mafe them weak.
 
Originally Posted By: Chris Meutsch
The larger than normal amount of particles on the drain plug is completely normal for the first change.
So is the harsher shift when cold initially. I have a 2008 Pilot that does it. Not a CVT, however.


The OP's Accord has a V6. These are paired with a conventional automatic, not a CVT.
 
Originally Posted By: dan_erickson
I have recently noticed that when cold the first couple shifts were some what harsh, like it really suprised the heck out of me. I stopped at the Honda dealer and asked if that was common or if any one else has complained about this and the service guy said that was perfectly normal and not to worry. I told the service department that when the car was brand new last year it did not do this. I went ahead and bought fluid from the dealer to do the cars first drain and refill. Nothing really appeared out of the ordinary except I thought the magnetic drain plug had quite a bit of material on it that I wiped off with a paper towel. Anyways, I'll find out tomorrow or the next day when the car sits out side all day in the cold if a simple fluid drain and fill fixed anything.


All normal. If you do a drain fill every 25000 miles your trans should last a long time. A "Honda flush" is 3 drain fills. All of their transmissions shift firmly until at operating temp. Toyota transmissions are known to whine and flare until at operating temp. Honda matches their friction material and ATF closely so be careful using aftermarket ATF.
 
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Just wanted to add, that I did an 3 drain and fills this past summer and used Honda DW-1 fluid plus 12 oz. of Lubegard Red.

The ATF probably doesn't need the Lubegard additive, but I have a few big 32 oz. bottles of their Heavy Duty additive and wanted to use it.

There has been ZERO change in shift quality (it's always been good) and I still get a hard first shift when it's really cold.
 
Dealer says its normal, you guys say its normal, I just do not recall the car doing this last winter. I also do not recall my previous 2010 Accord ever doing cold hard shifting. Regardless it did one firm shift on lunch break as soon as I left work just like it has been doing cold. I know if I let the car warm up for a min or two it will not do the hard shifting. Must be the nature of the beast.
 
Remember that todays automatic transmissions use fuzzy logic, and can learn things about the environment and your own driving habits over time. It is possible that the transmission has learned certain things about the environment and your driving habits that make it operate the way it does.

It is totally true that the Honda type of automatic transmission is basically a manual transmission with automatic assist NOT the same design as most other brands auto boxes. (NOT talking about CVTs at all here only the traditional multigear auto box)
 
Originally Posted By: GiveMeAVowel
Remember that todays automatic transmissions use fuzzy logic, and can learn things about the environment and your own driving habits over time. It is possible that the transmission has learned certain things about the environment and your driving habits that make it operate the way it does.

It is totally true that the Honda type of automatic transmission is basically a manual transmission with automatic assist NOT the same design as most other brands auto boxes. (NOT talking about CVTs at all here only the traditional multigear auto box)

Could be driving habits, I did change jobs and I now do 100% city driving.
 
Today the car did the harsh first shift so hard that the whole car bucked in the middle of the intersection and felt like it missed a gear. It was weird.
 
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