Full ATF change for Honda Civic

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This thread on 8th Gen Civic forum claims to be safe as the warning against Honda flushes is directed towards pump assisted flushing. I would like you guys to weigh in. The concept is to open up the return line and fill in the proper amount via the dipstick as you drain from the return line. The hazard is obviously that draining too much before you fill and things get dicey...

If one is careful, is this a valid practice or are there other failure modalities not considered by the procedure?

8thCivic No pump full ATF change in one go.

IF I go this route, fluid choice is up for grabs. If I do conventional drain fill, I will likely go DW-1 out of the hope that if this were an issue for the other millions of Honda users, it would be in the news..."OEM fluid killed my transmission!"
 
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Just do a drain and fill. 3 quarts out, 3 quarts in. Use ONLY Honda DW-1 fluid. Doesn't get much simpler than that. You could do a few drain and fills after driving around for a bit if you want to get the most fluid exchanged. I've been doing this procedure every 30k miles on many Hondas with good results.

Sister's 2005 Civic - 220k miles
Sister's 2003 Acura 3.2TL - 120k miles
Mom's 2011 Fit - 70k miles

Friend's 2006 Civic - 215k miles
Friend's 2008 Civic - 150k miles

All shift perfect.
 
I believe and in my observation the Honda warning against pump assisted "flushing" was/is the concern about extra cleaning chemicals being added to some "flush" procedures in the past with the use of those machines. Otherwise I believe they are safe.

I you want to do a cooler return line 'exchange/flush' as linked, go for it. IME with two Hondas, d&f's every 25-35k miles gets the job done. And since Z1 discontinued, I've used ML on a 7th gen Civic, and 3.0L Accord, now 150k+ miles using it as described between the two. That said, if DW1 makes feel better use it.

There's an older 10 Minute cooler line exchange youtube using a Honda, that's been referenced often here too for the procedure.
 
My Honda dealer uses a BG "Power" Flush. The word "Power" is ridiculous. I went and look at the machine. It sucks ATF out, and as the old ATF fill a compartment in the containing, it pushes fresh ATF into the car. There's no "Power" flush being done. I've had this service done twice on my 2010 Accord.

I also "freshen" up my ATF on occasion by using a Mity Van. You can suck out 1.5 quarts of ATF if stick to the suction tube all the way to the bottom of the housing using the ATF dipstick. I remove 1.5 quarts, add 1.5 of fresh fluid, and then drive around for 15 minutes. I do this 3 times and end up changing out 4.5 quarts. Not bad. I usually do it on Saturday's or Sunday's where I'm working around the house and running errands. Every time I run to the hardware store or something, I come back and do the 1.5 quart swap.

It keeps my ATF minty fresh!!!

I only use Honda DW-1 and keep about 10-12 ounces of Lubegard Red ATF additive on board as well.
 
Here's the procedure i just used on my infiniti: Drain, fill, idle for 3 minutes. Repeat 3 times. On the last draining cycle, shift through all the gears while stationary then check levels. That should leave a negligible amount of old fluid in there.
 
I am starting out at about 79k on the car, and my original conservative plan was to change the Z-1 to DW-1 via a succession of drain and fills over the summer. As I like to read up on everything before taking action, this is just part of the fun leading up to the implementation. If I could have the effect of all the drain and fills in one short morning, I could wander off to my other fun summer activities that are crowding my schedule.
 
yeah, just do it in one shot and be done for the next however many tens of thousands of miles your atf is good for. Also, don't hesitate to use valvoline maxlife instead of dealer fluid and save yourself some money.
 
Sayjac, thanks for the other leads. It will probably come down to helper vs no helper unless another procedure does a full swap for a single person. If I do it alone, I will go drain and fill and likely with DW-1 under the assumption that Honda took this procedure into account for miscibility and the resulting hybrid fluid behavior. Knowing that others use ML with D/F, this is probably BITOG OCD manifesting.

If I can arrange a helper, I will simply flush through ~two gallons of ML. This would be just over the equivalent of 3 D/F within error. I just wanted to see if there were horror stories associated with a complete change quickly versus the gradual change over thousands of miles that most D/F practitioners enjoy.
 
The amount of old fluid left after a 3x d/f is negligible and ML is compatible with said oem fluids regardless. I know it's hard to tell this to people here, but don't overthink it.
 
Do a drain and fill every other year, or every 30k, with DW-1. It's what I do. 2001 Civic made it 227k perfectly before sold.
2005 CR-V has 247k currently, shifts perfectly.
2008 Pilot has 93k, shifts perfectly, if not sloppily (but that's normal for this vehicle it turns out).
 
The fluid decision is on another thread. The price for 8 qts of DW-1 is $45.83 delivered and cheaper per quart if I get another D/F for next time. The current ML promotion comes to $38.95 picked up.

I need to convince my helper that she wants to spend another fun filled morning working on a car with me...
 
Originally Posted By: jeepman3071
Just do a drain and fill. 3 quarts out, 3 quarts in. Use ONLY Honda DW-1 fluid. Doesn't get much simpler than that. You could do a few drain and fills after driving around for a bit if you want to get the most fluid exchanged. I've been doing this procedure every 30k miles on many Hondas with good results.

Sister's 2005 Civic - 220k miles
Sister's 2003 Acura 3.2TL - 120k miles
Mom's 2011 Fit - 70k miles

Friend's 2006 Civic - 215k miles
Friend's 2008 Civic - 150k miles

All shift perfect.


Yep, do simple drain and refills with Honda ATF every 30-40K miles, also clean magnetic drain plug.

I wish Honda automatic transmissions had a screw on oil filter similar to Subarus.
 
Originally Posted By: MarcS
Here's the procedure i just used on my infiniti: Drain, fill, idle for 3 minutes. Repeat 3 times. On the last draining cycle, shift through all the gears while stationary then check levels. That should leave a negligible amount of old fluid in there.


I don't think idling will circulate enough fluid to mix the new and old. I've done a similar thing but in between each drain I drove it hard up and down the highway which was about 8 miles
 
Originally Posted By: 901Memphis
Originally Posted By: MarcS
Here's the procedure i just used on my infiniti: Drain, fill, idle for 3 minutes. Repeat 3 times. On the last draining cycle, shift through all the gears while stationary then check levels. That should leave a negligible amount of old fluid in there.


I don't think idling will circulate enough fluid to mix the new and old. I've done a similar thing but in between each drain I drove it hard up and down the highway which was about 8 miles


Circulates just fine at idle. Your transmission has an oil pump just like the engine does and it doesn't need to be in motion to circulate. driving in between drains just means jacking up your car multiple times.
 
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