Dexron 6 to Honda Z-1

Originally Posted by Brian123
Is ATF z1 the same as ATF dw1?
Answer: aft-dw1 is the replacement for atf-z1. If your honda specifies atf-z1 you can use atf- dw1. Both fluids are compatible with each other.

I would go with the dw1 and forget about using the Dexron 6



I agree 10000% ....
 
Originally Posted by Kbuskill
I know this may be a strange question but here goes...

I have a 2008 Honda Civic with an automatic transmission in it. Honda calls for Z-1 transmission fluid.

Z-1 has been superceded by DW-1 fluid.

I was looking at Rock Auto's website and they show Dexron 6 as being compatible with my Civic.

I also saw where RA sells a friction modifier (ATP brand AT-203) which supposedly makes "any conventional" Dexron fluid, such as Dex 3, compatible with the Z-1 fluid.

The main reason I am asking all of this is because I also have a 2008 Suburban and I have about a case of Dex 6 left over from the transmission service I did on it.

So if the full synthetic Dex 6 will work as a replacement for the Z-1/DW-1 then I would much rather use it instead since it is synthetic.

If I chose to use it do you think the friction modifier would be necessary.

Any help would be appreciated.


In our family we have owned Hondas and Acuras for 20 years... My Last car was a 2002 Honda Accord V6 3.0 that had nearly 260K miles on the orignal Transmission...

Trust me... Get Honda DW-1... Also you can get Idumitsu H Plus.. That is both Z-1 and DW1 .....

However its very good peace of mind to use Honda DW-1 fluid.

Now if you want to get fancy I have heard people use REDLINE D4 or D6... However Im telling you USE HONDA DW-1.... Your car will thank you later...
 
Just thought I would update this thread.

I ended up flushing all of the old ATF out by installing a clear hose on the pressure side of the transmission line that goes to the transmission filter (also installed a new transmission filter) and cranking the engine to pump out the fluid into a jug.

I would crank the engine and watch the fluid being pumped into the jug which had quart markings on it.

Start the engine and pump out 2 qts then shut off. I chose 2 qts because when you pull the drain plug you drain out 2.5 qts and I didn't want to pump the transmission dry.

I then poured in 2 qts of full synthetic Dexron 6 and repeated this process until the fluid came out clean and red... using the clear hose makes this easier to see.

I went through roughly 8 qts after topping off the transmission. Total capacity for this transmission is 6.2 qts.

So far the transmission shifts out beautifully. Smooth and buttery.

Car has 96k miles on it and I have only had it since 92k miles.

Ultimately, I guess, only time will tell whether I made the right decision or not. I will certainly keep you all posted if any issues arise.
 
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I do ATF exchanges with that method on all my vehicles as well. Keeping the fluid nice and clean there's less need to drop the pan for a filter. And when you do drop for a filter every so often you're putting it in clean ATF. Same as you would changing your engine oil filter. They sell a hose adapter that's similar to the pipe you can stick on the hose that fits in the hole. One of them is the Hayden 397. There are a couple others as well. I had the hose blow out on me once LOL so I started using the metal adapters.
 
Originally Posted by LeakySeals
I do ATF exchanges with that method on all my vehicles as well. Keeping the fluid nice and clean there's less need to drop the pan for a filter. And when you do drop for a filter every so often you're putting it in clean ATF. Same as you would changing your engine oil filter. They sell a hose adapter that's similar to the pipe you can stick on the hose that fits in the hole. One of them is the Hayden 397. There are a couple others as well. I had the hose blow out on me once LOL so I started using the metal adapters.


On my Civic there is a 3/8" metal pipe that the hose, leading to the external transmission filter, slips over. I simply slipped a 3/8" clear hose about 2-3" over this metal pipes barbed end... it worked great.

This particular transmission does NOT have a pan that you can drop. In order to get to the internal "filter" you have to disassemble the transmission case. It's a pretty strange design IMO. All the more reason to keep the external filter changed out I guess.
 
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Originally Posted by Kbuskill


...I also saw where RA sells a friction modifier (ATP brand AT-203) which supposedly makes "any conventional" Dexron fluid, such as Dex 3, compatible with the Z-1 fluid....



I would leave the AT-203 or ANY friction modifier on the shelf as you do not need any friction modifier if you use a compatible fluid.
 
Originally Posted by MolaKule
Originally Posted by Kbuskill


...I also saw where RA sells a friction modifier (ATP brand AT-203) which supposedly makes "any conventional" Dexron fluid, such as Dex 3, compatible with the Z-1 fluid....



I would leave the AT-203 or ANY friction modifier on the shelf as you do not need any friction modifier if you use a compatible fluid.


Well I didn't add any friction modifier but I'm also not running a "compatible" fluid since I'm using DeX 6... I guess time will tell.
 
In your original post you said Rock Auto said Dexron 6 was compatible??

I'm confused. Based on your last post, do you now believe it is "incompatible?"

Are you merely trying an "incompatible" fluid as an experiment? I'm not being a smart tail, I'm just trying to understand why you would put a what it appears you believe to be an "incompatible" ATF in your car's transmission.

Are you just pulling our legs?
grin.gif
 
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RockAuto says AC Delco (109423) Dexron VI ATF is compatible with various Hondas. For example, I have a '99 Accord and a '12 Accord in my RA profile and this fluid is listed as compatible with both cars.

AC Delco, on the other hand, doesn't specifically say it's compatible with Z-1. They do say it's fine for vehicles that spec "previous Dexron fluids", which Hondas typically did, with the caveat that it's "temporary". If you read Honda's wording though, they don't say it will do any damage, just that it will feel different.
 
Originally Posted by Gebo
In your original post you said Rock Auto said Dexron 6 was compatible??

I'm confused. Based on your last post, do you now believe it is "incompatible?"

Are you merely trying an "incompatible" fluid as an experiment? I'm not being a smart tail, I'm just trying to understand why you would put a what it appears you believe to be an "incompatible" ATF in your car's transmission.

Are you just pulling our legs?
grin.gif



What I'm saying is that just because a company on the internet (Rockauto) says its compatible doesn't mean that I believe it when nothing I have found from Honda or the Dexron 6 research I have done tells me that it is.

I do, however, believe that the full synthetic Dex 6 is a superior fluid to the Honda Z-1 and DW-1 so I'm not really worried about it.

These Honda 5 speed "Automatic" transmissions in these cars are kind of a strange animal from what little bit I have read about them. They are more like an automated manual transmission from what I understand. They supposedly don't have bands and clutches or something along those lines.

As I stated earlier, I guess time will tell. So far no issues.
 
Originally Posted by hallstevenson
RockAuto says AC Delco (109423) Dexron VI ATF is compatible with various Hondas. For example, I have a '99 Accord and a '12 Accord in my RA profile and this fluid is listed as compatible with both cars.

AC Delco, on the other hand, doesn't specifically say it's compatible with Z-1. They do say it's fine for vehicles that spec "previous Dexron fluids", which Hondas typically did, with the caveat that it's "temporary". If you read Honda's wording though, they don't say it will do any damage, just that it will feel different.


I wish there was a "like" button on this forum.
 
Originally Posted by Kbuskill
These Honda 5 speed "Automatic" transmissions in these cars are kind of a strange animal from what little bit I have read about them. They are more like an automated manual transmission from what I understand. They supposedly don't have bands and clutches or something along those lines.


The Honda transmissions are indeed different. They are more like a manual transmission in that they use normal gears instead of planetary gear sets. They don't use bands but they do use clutches. The various clutch packs activate the different gears.
 
Originally Posted by DeafBrad
Originally Posted by Kbuskill
These Honda 5 speed "Automatic" transmissions in these cars are kind of a strange animal from what little bit I have read about them. They are more like an automated manual transmission from what I understand. They supposedly don't have bands and clutches or something along those lines.


The Honda transmissions are indeed different. They are more like a manual transmission in that they use normal gears instead of planetary gear sets. They don't use bands but they do use clutches. The various clutch packs activate the different gears.


Again, wish there was a "like" button... thanks for the info.
 
If you want to try, email the Dex6 manufacturer and ask them if it is ok to use it in an 08 Civic calling for Z1. Don't guess based on 1 other D6 manufacturer's spec for another.

The reason is that D6 made by different manufacturer may use different formula, some may be compatible (i.e. if they are just blending the same maxlife formula and put it in another bottle) while others may be not. Get the word from the manufacturer, if it is good or not for them, to see if it is good enough or not for you.
 
Just thought I would update this thread for anyone interested.

I went ahead and pumped out all the old ATF using the transmission filter line.

I slipped a piece of 3/8" clear hose over the pressure side of the inline filter nipple and stuck the other end into a gallon jug that had quart markings on it.

I started the engine and let it pump out 2 quarts then shut the engine off and dumped in 2 quarts of the new full synthetic Dexron VI fluid then repeated this process until the fluid coming through the clear hose was fresh/clean ATF.

I then installed the new inline filter and proceeded to top off the transmission fluid.

After driving it around a bit to get it up to temperature I rechecked the fluid level and it was spot on


So far it has been about 2000 miles and it is shifting beautifully with no apparent issues.

I will try to remember to post updates periodically.
 
Kbuskill said:
Just an update. It has been about 1.5 yrs since completely flushing out the old fluid and replacing it with Full Synthetic Dexron VI fluid and there doesn't appear to be any ill effects. The transmission still shifts out beautifully with zero issues.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the update!
 
I've never used Dexron VI in a Honda but it worked great in a Corolla which spec'd T-IV.
I also agree that Honda Z-1 is nothing special.....I base that opinion on using it in my (sold) 2001 Accord with the BAXA A/T.
 
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Kbuskill said:
Just an update. It has been about 1.5 yrs since completely flushing out the old fluid and replacing it with Full Synthetic Dexron VI fluid and there doesn't appear to be any ill effects. The transmission still shifts out beautifully with zero issues.
Click to expand...
Thanks for coming back and updating, most of the time people will start a thread like this and never report back.

I remember back before Honda had a proprietary ATF that they even specified Dexron III for their cars back in the late 70s and up till the early 90s.
So it tracks that the later Dexron will work just fine.
 
Kbuskill said:
Just an update. It has been about 1.5 yrs since completely flushing out the old fluid and replacing it with Full Synthetic Dexron VI fluid and there doesn't appear to be any ill effects. The transmission still shifts out beautifully with zero issues.
Click to expand...
I am glad it is doing well, but I'm not really surprised. I used Pennzoil Platinum LV (Dex VI licensed, manufacturer recommended for Hondas) in my '12 Odyssey for a few years and it worked well. If you don't mine me asking, which brand of Dex VI did you use in the Civic?
 
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