2013 Accord V6 ATF Change Intervals

[David_Corbett]

Hello BITOG forum.

I have a 2013 Accord V6. It's a great car, and it's got about 32,000 miles on it now. I have one of those fantastic 125,000 mile/eight year warranties that Honda was selling, so I'm not too concerned about anything happening to it any time soon.

My question therefore relates to what happens after the warranty has expired. I really like my car and plan, at least at the moment, to drive it until the wheels fall off.

So I'm thinking about ATF. Now, as has probably come up on this website a million times before, Honda has made some automatic transmissions that were prone to premature failure. This was about ten years before they built my car, and I have seen no indication that the six-speed auto on my car has that same problem (it certainly isn't the same transmission), but it's on my radar in a way that something like the engine wouldn't be.

I was thinking I might accelerate the ATF change interval if it's too long - maybe a first one at 30,000 miles or so and then every 15 or 20 thousand miles thereafter. (Pulled that one straight out of thin air.)

The problem I have right now is that Honda uses a "maintenance minder" these days and I'm not sure how frequently the thing'll have me changing the ATF anyway.

Does anyone here have any idea how frequently, on average, the 9th generation Accord V6 maintenance minder actually calls for an ATF change? And does anyone have any information to suggest that doing so more often would actually be good for the car in the future?

Thanks a lot. I know this is a bit rambling, but I'm conflicted on whether to spend the money to have the ATF changed early. Because I'm still under warranty, I'm inclined to have the dealer do it.

 

[slacktide_bitog]

Wait until the minder tells you to change it. Maxlife is good stuff.

 

[Jimmy9190]

I have a 2013 Civic, not an Accord but I would think the transmission maintenance recommendations are the same. I did a lot of reasearch on the transmission fluid change interval and just about everything I found said do not go by the service minder and to change it at 30,000 miles. A lot of posts I read were either from Honda service guys or other Honda owners who had consulted the service guys. And they all said use the Honda DW1 fluid. Non-Honda fluid may work for a while but can cause problems later after you get some miles on it. I am not a Honda service guy myself but I followed their advice and did a drain and refill with DW1. I just bought my car about 3 weeks ago, it was used and had 31K on it. The transmission shifts super smooth now. It was ok before the drain and fill but is even better now.

 

[mclasser]

I do ATF drain & fills on my Honda's every 20-25K. The VCM V6 is hard on oil which is why I do oil changes every 5K. The MM is a bit optimistic, IMO.

 

[David_Corbett]

Originally Posted By: mclasser
I do ATF drain & fills on my Honda's every 20-25K. The VCM V6 is hard on oil which is why I do oil changes every 5K. The MM is a bit optimistic, IMO.

Interesting perspective, mclasser. I've heard that the old second-generation VCM units could be problematic, but I haven't seen anything to that effect about the third-generation VCM in the J35Y1 engine on my car. All I've heard was the usual bit about how Honda cars are usually pretty easy on oil.

Do you have any evidence that points to the newer VCM engines being hard on oil?

 

[CT8]

Clean oil is happy oil. It really would matter on how long you keep the vehicle

 

[Old Mustang Guy]

The AT on my 01 Escape is known for breaking at or before 100k. It's been serviced every 30k and is good as new at 221k, it's cheap insurance.

 

[bernie165]

As a fellow Honda owner - do your self a favor and change before the MM tells you. I shoot for 20-25K per change. Think of it this way, you are only getting a portion (less than half) out with each change and you get to clean the magnet so it keeps grabbing wear metal out of the oil. Aside from cheap insurance, Honda continues to make this routine task super easy unlike everyone else. Pull plug, clean magnet, refill with 3.1 to 3.3 quarts, check dipstick (be excited you have one) and done.
$24.00 for three quarts.
Some may say you are wasting money - on average the MM will go off around 30-40K, so over 120,000 miles you are adding one extra change. I feel more importantly is getting one early one in (say like at 10K) to get the magnet clean, so in that case two extra changes - $50.00

 

[David_Corbett]

Alright, I've had them change the ATF along with the rest of the service. It certainly won't hurt anything. Thanks for the advice, folks.

 

[LotI]

My 8th gen Accord automatic called for a change at 58k via the MM, with the K24 4cyl.

Search for forum member MolaKule's posts on fluid changes in automatics. In summary, he recommends a very early change because the majority of wear occurs when new.

 

[dan_erickson]

I just changed mine on my 2015 right before 20,000 miles

 

[NothinToSeeHere]

Maybe I am missing something here? I have a 2013 Honda Crosstour. V6, automatic, all wheel drive. It is essentially an Accord with a different rear end. My manual says to drain with the drain plug at every B Maintenance event (every other oil change). 3 / 3+ quarts of oil are required to bring the level back to the proper reading on the dip stick. I do not think that my maintenance minder has a reading specifically for the automatic transmission.

I changed mine the first 4 service events - both A and B. The maintenance minder shows 10% oil life left around 9,000 miles. Now I do it every B event as recommended.

BTW...I use the Honda fluid. I expect the drive train to outlive the body and electronics. Time will tell.

 

[Bill_G]

Originally Posted By: ChadHubbard
Maybe I am missing something here? I have a 2013 Honda Crosstour. V6, automatic, all wheel drive. It is essentially an Accord with a different rear end. My manual says to drain with the drain plug at every B Maintenance event (every other oil change). 3 / 3+ quarts of oil are required to bring the level back to the proper reading on the dip stick. I do not think that my maintenance minder has a reading specifically for the automatic transmission.

I changed mine the first 4 service events - both A and B. The maintenance minder shows 10% oil life left around 9,000 miles. Now I do it every B event as recommended.

BTW...I use the Honda fluid. I expect the drive train to outlive the body and electronics. Time will tell.


I don't believe it's "every" B event - only B3 - at least that's what my manual states. However, I'm like you - I drain and fill with DW-1 about every 15k miles - it's only about 20 bucks and the fluid stays nice and red.