2005 Honda crv transmission fluid change

[frisco]

Good afternoon,

I am planning to do one drain and fill on my 2005 CRV, 158800 kms. The previous owner gave me a log book, and the transmission fluid was changed Aug 2017 123,221kms. I've already purchased 3x 1L honda dw bottles.

The owners manual says to change at 96,000kms or 3 years, then every 60,000 kms or 2 years. So its been only less than 40k kms, but way over the 2 years.

Would 1 drain and fill be suffice, and continue to do that every 2 years?

 

[slacktide_bitog]

One drain and fill will suffice

 

[Hall]

Will repeat slack's comment - just do (1).

 

[ad244]

What does the fluid look like? Honestly the change procedure is so easy on these cars, I'd do it once a year to give the transmission the best chance of future years of trouble free operation.

 

[rob1715]

You'll need to define what the previous owner meant with "changed". What is a complete flush? Repeat drain and refills? One drain and refill? Personally, I'd do 2, with a few hundreds miles between. But one is good and is more than 99% of most drivers.

 

[nicholas]

What does the fluid look like? Honestly the change procedure is so easy on these cars, I'd do it once a year to give the transmission the best chance of future years of trouble free operation.

Do what he said......every 1-2 years depending on usage = happy trans.

 

[frisco]

Thank you for the replies. The fluid is a dark red color.

I will do 1 D & F once a year since it's the daily vehicle.

 

[doublebase]

Excellent choice to do this service once a year. For one thing it is probably the simplest and quickest transmission service you’ll ever do - it’s also the cheapest and it’ll do nothing but extend the life of that transmission.

I have a 2008 CRV and I do a simple drain and fill every year...I’m now at 160,000 miles without issues.

 

[Sparky16]

I'm pretty sure its factory fill for 2005 Civic was ATF-Z1, and not clear the PO had a complete flush or just a simple drain & fill. If your fluid looks dark, the chances are complete flush hadn't been performed.

If I were you I would do 3x3 with DW-1, a couple of hundred miles in between. Then drain & fill 3 qts every 2 years or 30,000 miles or however often you'd like to.

 

[Hall]

I'm pretty sure its factory fill for 2005 Civic was ATF-Z1

Yeap, almost certain it was Z1 in that timeframe. Don't think DW-1 started getting spec'd until around '09-10 or so. Son's '12 Accord calls for DW-1.

 

[gregk24]

I do a drain and fill in the 5 speed auto in my 2012 Accord once a year. Honda made these so easy to service. Transmission still runs like a new one!

 

[frisco]

I'm pretty sure its factory fill for 2005 Civic was ATF-Z1, and not clear the PO had a complete flush or just a simple drain & fill. If your fluid looks dark, the chances are complete flush hadn't been performed.

If I were you I would do 3x3 with DW-1, a couple of hundred miles in between. Then drain & fill 3 qts every 2 years or 30,000 miles or however often you'd like to.

I'm not sure if it was a complete flush either.

Should I also change the transmission filter? I wonder if the filter is in the pan like other manufacturers.

 

[Hall]

Should I also change the transmission filter? I wonder if the filter is in the pan like other manufacturers.

Hondas generally don't have a pan (speaking from '99 Accord, '12 Accord, '05 Odyssey, '12 Civic experience). Some models do have an inline filter that many people change and after doing the work, they realize the filter is clean and didn't need changed. On the other hand, they're inexpensive and apparently not difficult to replace so if you're able to do it, you won't be out much.

 

[Sparky16]

I've never owned any CRV, but my 2 Acura vehicles (2006TL & 2015 MDX) had serviceable ATF filter. They're a bit hard to access, but doable.
Again, if I were in your position, would do 3x3 spill & fill plus filter change and forget about it for 50k or 60k miles.

 

[Hall]

Appears that the '05 Civics did not have a (serviceable) filter. Honda seems to have started to add them on different models, engine/transmission combinations, etc over time. An '05 Odyssey had one but obviously a very different engine/trans than a Civic.

 

[Sparky16]

Honda/Acura has been using two (AFAIK) different type of filters on their AT since when? As early as 2003 Element or Acura 3.2TL had inline ATF filters, some Accords and Acura TLs (including my 2006 TL) have somewhat difficult to service filters.

Honda's service manual describes them as non-serviceable items, and most dealers never serviced them although they regularly stock both filters. Here are the two different type of filters from my 2006 TL and 2015 MDX. The inline filter was for the MDX which I found them used in 2003 Acura 3.2TL and some Pilots and Odisseys. These are located under battery tray area.

 

[Hall]

Yeap, that's them - I'm familiar with them. Doesn't mean an '05 Civic has one though. I looked through available transmission parts for that model and didn't see one. For a '12 Civic like we have, I found one listed.

 

[frisco]

Honda/Acura has been using two (AFAIK) different type of filters on their AT since when? As early as 2003 Element or Acura 3.2TL had inline ATF filters, some Accords and Acura TLs (including my 2006 TL) have somewhat difficult to service filters.

Honda's service manual describes them as non-serviceable items, and most dealers never serviced them although they regularly stock both filters. Here are the two different type of filters from my 2006 TL and 2015 MDX. The inline filter was for the MDX which I found them used in 2003 Acura 3.2TL and some Pilots and Odisseys. These are located under battery tray area.

View attachment 58046
View attachment 58045

Thanks,

I have a filter located near the bottom of the radiator. Looks like the first pic. Seems it can be accessible once the plastic guard is removed.

 

[Sparky16]

For some reason, I mistakenly confused OP's vehicle as Civic. If your 2005 CRV is similar to the same MY Element, here's the process of ATF and filter replacement. It's easily accessible either from top (remove battery tray) or from bottom as in YouTube video below.

 

[JTK]

Always loved Hondus for their ease of transmission fluid changes. Engine oil changes not always so much, but the ATs got a