2018 Honda CRV CVT

[Georgiey22]

Hi all. I maintain Moms 2018 CRV. She teaches special ed and commutes 80 miles per day so I am changing the oil frequently. This car has the 1.5L turn with cvt tranny.

The car now has 30,000 miles. Does anyone know the CVT service internal for the tranny? Also, has anyone serviced this cvt, is it a simple drain and fill? Finally. What oil should I use?

Thanks,
George

 

[henni]

 

[slacktide_bitog]

Honda uses the MM for that. So change it when the minder tells you to

It is a simple drain and fill, and Castrol makes a great CVT fluid at a good price. It goes on sale a few times a year at the major parts stores for $5/qt. Pick some up the next time it goes on sale. Amazon also has the same Castrol CVT for $35 for a case of 6

 

[Sayjac]

MM indicates when CVT fluid change required. However you may not want to wait that long. 30-40k miles not out of line imo to consider doing it.

As for CVT fluid to use, under warranty as topic vehicle is, personally I'd only use Honda HCF-2 as shown in the yt. Some searching with google and ebay will likely yield best price. Once out of warranty and want to use Valvoline or Castrol CVT fluid, have at it. Another member did the very similar procedure on his Accord, as shown in link. Also a useful link in second post.

https://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/4274529/1

 

[Gebo]

I have come to the opinion that I will only use the ATF that came in my cars. Might be dumb but it won't be wrong. I can't use an ATF that says it meets all these different transmission specs. I would stick with the HCF-2 for as long as I maintained the car. Hey, it's your Mom's.

 

[FordBroncoVWJeta]

Also don't forget the rear diff if its a AWD.

 

[meep]

^^^ good advice. do the '18 CRVs use that same "Honda Dual Pump Fluid" as the earlier ones? If so, the earlier ones had a pretty aggressive change interval, something like 30k. When I did our '97, it was justifiable- the fluid always came out looking pretty worn, and tight parking lot maneuvers would frequently cause it to engage. If the newer ones are the same, don't skimp.

 

[FordBroncoVWJeta]

Originally Posted by meep
^^^ good advice. do the '18 CRVs use that same "Honda Dual Pump Fluid" as the earlier ones? If so, the earlier ones had a pretty aggressive change interval, something like 30k. When I did our '97, it was justifiable- the fluid always came out looking pretty worn, and tight parking lot maneuvers would frequently cause it to engage. If the newer ones are the same, don't skimp.

At some point they switched it to Honda Dual Pump Fluid II. If I recall correctly some people on the forums had the MM go off for it in 15K miles when new. I've been changing all the fluids religiously at every 25k miles on it. Honda and the extended warranty won't be denied if I can help it

 

[MolaKule]

Originally Posted by Gebo
I have come to the opinion that I will only use the ATF that came in my cars. Might be dumb but it won't be wrong. I can't use an ATF that says it meets all these different transmission specs. I would stick with the HCF-2 for as long as I maintained the car. Hey, it's your Mom's.

Yep, Brother Gebo is one of our "Hardliners" here at BITOG.

 

[GenesisGuy70]

Originally Posted by MolaKule
Originally Posted by Gebo
I have come to the opinion that I will only use the ATF that came in my cars. Might be dumb but it won't be wrong. I can't use an ATF that says it meets all these different transmission specs. I would stick with the HCF-2 for as long as I maintained the car. Hey, it's your Mom's.

Yep, Brother Gebo is one of our "Hardliners" here at BITOG.

I agree with him. I'll only use OEM fluid. However, I am tempted to put in Amsoil CVT when I hit 30,000 miles in the Accord. Glad to have found this video for when the time comes.

 

[GenesisGuy70]

Am I wrong or should the level have been verified with the engine running?

 

[Sayjac]

Quote
Am I wrong or should the level have been verified with the engine running?
Not according to linked instructions.

https://www.bobistheoilguy.com/foru...:_Question_on_'13_Accord_CVT#Post4156769

As for use of Castrol or Valvoline CVT fluid after warranty period up, price point benefit being significant, even if my mom's car I have no reservations about using either. I keep it to HCF-2 during warranty period in an abundance of caution, keeping Honda satisfied in worst case. I know some here consider even that it an over abundance, and they may have a point. But it's likely one d&f only.

Honda Z1 ATF was supposed to be something special too, turns out just the opposite. Sheared quickly, nothing special. Been using MaxLife MV in Z1 applications since Z1 superseded, all original trans, shifting fine. Otoh, some folks believe Dex II/III better than Dex VI too even though science says otherwise, ie., sheer stability. In my observation, confirmation bias is the basis for their opinions and conclusions.

 

[FordBroncoVWJeta]

Originally Posted by Sayjac
Quote
Am I wrong or should the level have been verified with the engine running?
Not according to linked instructions.

https://www.bobistheoilguy.com/foru...:_Question_on_'13_Accord_CVT#Post4156769

As for use of Castrol or Valvoline CVT fluid after warranty period up, price point benefit being significant, even if my mom's car I have no reservations about using either. I keep it to HCF-2 during warranty period in an abundance of caution, keeping Honda satisfied in worst case. I know some here consider even that it an over abundance, and they may have a point. But it's likely one d&f only.

Honda Z1 ATF was supposed to be something special too, turns out just the opposite. Sheared quickly, nothing special. Been using MaxLife MV in Z1 applications since Z1 superseded, all original trans, shifting fine. Otoh, some folks believe Dex II/III better than Dex VI too even though science says otherwise, ie., sheer stability. In my observation, confirmation bias is the basis for their opinions and conclusions.

I have Castrol CVT in my CRV. Also Marco620 has it in his. He currently has 242,000+ miles on his 15 Civic with a very similar if not identical CVT. It should be a fine CVT fluid. Also its very cheap on sale, around $5 a quart. I'm sure the Valvoline fluid is just as good.

 

[Sayjac]

Originally Posted by FordBroncoVWJeta
….I have Castrol CVT in my CRV. Also Marco620 has it in his. He currently has 242,000+ miles on his 15 Civic with a very similar if not identical CVT. It should be a fine CVT fluid. Also its very cheap on sale, around $5 a quart. I'm sure the Valvoline fluid is just as good.
Significant anecdotes, and significant price difference.

 

[Georgiey22]

Thanks for the video and recommendations. The manual calls for 3.9 quarts. I drained 4.1 quarts of Honda HCF-2 oil and filled the transmission case with 4 quarts of HCF-2. Weird I know, guessing it was overfilled from the factory. I will change the tranny oil every 30,000 miles as it is a fairly easy job. I paid $10.80 per quart at my local dealership. I'm not convinced the non OEM stuff is specific enough for this tranny but I'll be monitoring how the recommended Castrol and others perform in this make/model via others on this forum. Also rotated Moms tires.

I'm gonna hi-jack my own thread. The car calls for 3.7 quarts of 0W-20, I filled it with Mobil 1 0W-20 AE at the last engine oil interval, 4 quarts even drained from the oil pan, this 1.5L Turbo is diluting the oil with fuel I assume. The vehicle calls for 10,000 mile engine oil intervals, no way! Going to keep the intervals at 5,000 miles. We are hoping to get 250,000 miles out of this powertrain, resulting in 8 years of service.

Did all this after a 10 hour work day, I'm beat. Night all.

 

[Georgiey22]

Thanks for the recommendation. This particular vehicle is FWD.

 

[ARB1977]

According to the MM on our 18 CRV it come on at 7500 miles. We're at 20K and I was going to wait till 30K to do the first CVT fluid change.

 

[Sdalton]

We just had ours changed by the dealer at 30K.. It is amazing how much smoother the CVT is now.

 

[Sdalton]

Does Honda use one fluid when the first make the cars and then use a different one for changes? I have heard rumors that they do this with the engine oil.

 

[Danh]

30k seems to be the interval, as others have said.

But here’s a piece of advice: on CRV forums I’ve been able to find one instance of a CVT failure, and this one was out of warranty. The owner had the CVT serviced by the dealer regularly using Honda fluid. At this stage, CVTs don’t seem to be repaired, but are replaced. And they aren’t cheap. But because of the car’s service history, Honda agreed to pick upmost of the cost for replacement. This was still a hefty (c. $1,800) out of pocket for the owner, but a small fraction of what it would have been without Honda’s help.

So it makes sense to me to have the thing serviced by a dealer for the 30 and 60k intervals at least. It seems unlikely to get Honda’s help after 90k so do whatever you wish at that point.