1997 Honda Accord Transmission Fluid

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Some family members of ours are getting a used 1997 Honda Accord 4 Cyl Automatic. I have read here and elsewhere that the Honda automatic transmission are not the best. I reccommended that they service the transmission on it in short order. What is the best fluid to use for this application? I'm not sure what ATF the manual calls for on it, but I was thinking Valvoline Maxlife ATF with Lubegard black?
From what I understand flushes are not advised on hondas only a 3X drain/fill?
 
You are right...don't flush, just do the drain/fill x3. Actually, I would go with the Honda DW-1 ATF. I have used its predecessor (Z-1) in my Accords w/ no problems.
 
So Z-1 is no longer available and DW-1 is the replacement? I heard back from the people at Valvoline and they said maxlife ATF would would perfectly for this application, and is 100% compatible with the exsisting fluid.
I suppose as far as lubegard goes, the black bottle should be used if maxlife ATF is used, and the red bottle should be used if the DW-1 ATF is used correct?
From what I understand these hondas have a drain plug on the pan, which is fantastic too!
 
The Accord 1997 transmissions were pretty much bulletproof. It's the year after when they started to become awful.

If I were in your shoes, I'd probably do a single drain and fill, drive it for a week, then do a cooler line exchange to get out all of the fluid.

This guy does a nice how-to video, if you can get past the accent: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MsdPAadc9fY&feature=related
 
GW: There may be some places that still have Z-1, but DW-1 is currently what is factory fill and available in the parts department. As far as Maxlife, that is your call. Castrol makes a multi-vehicle import ATF that supposedly meets Honda specs, but I wouldn't use it. But that is just my opinion. I can't comment on the lubegard question as I have never used the product. All you need is a 3/8" drive socket wrench to loosen the drain plug. If the plug hasn't been removed in quite some time, I'd advise a breaker bar and some penetrating oil, otherwise you could bust your ratchet up. And JOD is right...the 6th gen Accords are when the transmissions started to go downhill.
 
Well thats great to hear that the transmissions went downhill AFTER 1997
smile.gif
I think I'll tell them to juse use the Honda DW-1 fluid, perform 3 drain/fills on the tranny, and then add a bottle of Lubegard Red ATF protectant. Thanks everyone for all the input!
 
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