Gold (brass?) flecks in drained Honda ATF

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So I just did the first ATF dump and fill on my 2017 Accord Touring V6/6AT, at just under 52k miles. The fluid was definitely dark, but not burnt smelling and still had a reddish tint. The concerning part is the amount of brass-colored specs in the bottom of my drain pan. Does anyone know if this would be considered normal wear, or possibly from initial break-in? There was a little bit of metallic particulate on the drain plug magnet, but not too much, IMO. I've noticed that the trans downshifts from 2-1 and from 3-2 a bit harsh at times but it's always done that since new. I had the car at the dealer for what I know now to be VCM operation noises, and also a rattle while under light throttle application. No parts were replaced and the tech found nothing out of spec. They even sent a torque converter snapshot to Honda to determine if a judder TSB was applicable on my car. It was not. I plan to do another dump and fill this weekend when I do an engine oil and filter change. Hopefully it's nothing worrying!

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Willing to bet it's completely normal and fine. I'll also bet that you won't see any, or it will be less, in subsequent drains.
 
I believe my 2016 Pilot employs the same powertrain combo 3.5V6/6AT and first time i did d&f at 20K there has been no particulates noticeable in the fluid drain. Can you post more pictures? also, have you kept the fluid drained?
 
Originally Posted by parshisa
I believe my 2016 Pilot employs the same powertrain combo 3.5V6/6AT and first time i did d&f at 20K there has been no particulates noticeable in the fluid drain. Can you post more pictures? also, have you kept the fluid drained?


I have collected a sample to send to Blackstone, and I saved the remainder of the 3.5-ish quarts in a separate container for recycling. I guess I can do another dump and fill this weekend and see what comes out. Although, if something is wearing prematurely, that may be too soon to notice any additional particulate in the drained fluid.
 
I wonder if rigging up a coffee filter to screen such particles would help see them better and dtermine what they are. Like maybe an old thrift shop cone filter coffee maker to use as a filter stand.
 
Originally Posted by Farnsworth
I wonder if rigging up a coffee filter to screen such particles would help see them better and dtermine what they are. Like maybe an old thrift shop cone filter coffee maker to use as a filter stand.


Good idea! I might have to give this a try.
 
Probably just break in wear from brass bushing/thrust washers and probably not an indication of impending doom. PM member Clinebarger and let him have a look.
 
Originally Posted by Trav
Probably just break in wear from brass bushing/thrust washers and probably not an indication of impending doom. PM member Clinebarger and let him have a look.


Took your advice and sent a PM. Would love to get some insight on this. If it's a problem, it likely won't cause issues until just after then warranty expires
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That debris comes from the clutch friction discs too.
Your trans has only another 388k miles left till rebuild. : )
 
Originally Posted by vw7674
That debris comes from the clutch friction discs too.
Your trans has only another 388k miles left till rebuild. : )


Well crap! I was really shooting for 500k!
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This reminds me of that song on the Bering Sea gold show.... At the end of the shows beginning the last word sung is Gold !!! !!!!!

I had a decent bit of shimmering silver type material when I changed my CVT fluid the second time... First drain the fluid had nothing in it... Just looked like regular darker oil....

Second time I had shimmery silver colored flecks on my glove.. . Kind of spooky... Put in 4 and 1/4 qts of the Eneos CVT fluid back in... Car ran fine...

Did a third drain and refill. . Fluid came out dark brown color with NO shimmery silver colored flecks in it... I put 4 and 1/4 qts of Eneos CVT fluid back in it... Car has run better and quieter since...

Did those 3 drain and refills starting at 283,500 miles and did all 3 of them over a 6,500 mile distance... Now at 297,500 miles and the transmission has been very, very good. Glad I did that.

In this case here with the original poster... I agree with the guys that this was just from the break in running....
 
all that glitter in the factory fill is the reason why you should drain&fill as soon as you get home from the dealership. 52k miles with all that metal in the oil may not have done any harm, but it certainly didnt do any good.
 
I never saw those metallic flakes in my Ford, Hyundai or Toyota vehicles (I have owned many, right now I still have 5 in my family to take care of).
But none of my cars is CVT.
Personally I would drain and refill ASAP, a couple times.
 
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No external filter that I'm aware of. I think there's an internal filter, but it's only accessible when dropping the pan. Honda does not prove a maintenance interval or recommendation for changing the ATF filter. If I keep the car past the power train warranty (another 8k miles) I might consider dropping the pan and changing the filter.
 
Originally Posted by TNM6i
Originally Posted by parshisa
I believe my 2016 Pilot employs the same powertrain combo 3.5V6/6AT and first time i did d&f at 20K there has been no particulates noticeable in the fluid drain. Can you post more pictures? also, have you kept the fluid drained?


I have collected a sample to send to Blackstone, and I saved the remainder of the 3.5-ish quarts in a separate container for recycling. I guess I can do another dump and fill this weekend and see what comes out. Although, if something is wearing prematurely, that may be too soon to notice any additional particulate in the drained fluid.



Did you ask for a particulate count to see how many of what size particles may have been in there?

After three drain and refills let us know if any operational functions improved.
 
Originally Posted by Olas
all that glitter in the factory fill is the reason why you should drain&fill as soon as you get home from the dealership. 52k miles with all that metal in the oil may not have done any harm, but it certainly didnt do any good.

You're right I'd rather get that crap sooner rather than later, but give the unit enough time to break in a while. I waited until 10K miles with both my Jeeps. 10K was a number I arrived at after doing quite a bit of homework, and talking to people I consider experts on the topic.
 
Originally Posted by MolaKule
Originally Posted by TNM6i
Originally Posted by parshisa
I believe my 2016 Pilot employs the same powertrain combo 3.5V6/6AT and first time i did d&f at 20K there has been no particulates noticeable in the fluid drain. Can you post more pictures? also, have you kept the fluid drained?


I have collected a sample to send to Blackstone, and I saved the remainder of the 3.5-ish quarts in a separate container for recycling. I guess I can do another dump and fill this weekend and see what comes out. Although, if something is wearing prematurely, that may be too soon to notice any additional particulate in the drained fluid.



Did you ask for a particulate count to see how many of what size particles may have been in there?

After three drain and refills let us know if any operational functions improved.


I did not ask for a particulate count as I wasn't aware that was an option. I have 8 more quarts of fluid and plan to do another ump an fill this weekend and another next weekend. If I don't see any glitter in the fluid, I'm going to just move on and maybe do another dump and fill in 10k miles or so.
 
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