2015 Honda Accord 6 spd.

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dfarr67

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Up to about 6000 km transmission shifted beautifully, since then it has become very mechanical- I'm unsure what 'notchey' refers to, but it seems to describe pulling the gear home nicely. Honda MTF seems to shear out of spec (or so I have read)- surely it should last more than it has in this car. Changed over the GM synchromesh FM marginal improvement, changed again to Pentosin- not impressed for the price. Any suggestions?
Honda MTF= dino
GM= semi synthetic
Pentosin- full synthetic
 
If it were out of warranty, I'd definitely switch to Redline - it's great in my Mazdas. If I were in the NWT in the winter, I'd definitely want a full synthetic in the gearbox. Back in the late-80s, my wife's '82 GLC would almost stall in the winter when the clutch was released in neutral. A switch to synthetic gear oil made a very positive difference.

But, there's no way factory fluid should degrade so quickly that it's breaking down @ 6K km! I would report this to the dealer so it's documented in case the transmission gets worse in the warranty period.
 
I would put Honda MTF back in ASAP. The transmission was designed to use that specific fluid as it has the proper qualities to allow the synchro's and gears mesh properly. Plus, you are under warranty at this point so you run the risk of being denied a repair or replacement if the transmission is indeed faulty.
 
Honda MTF2 does shear down , and it starts out pretty thin , it is a much thinner fluid than the older MTF it replaced. IMO it tends to go south around 7k kms, but that is just my opinion based on use in other Honda manuals.

I have run Honda MTF2 in my Honda S2000 transmission for a long time, while I thought it worked well I would usually change it out yearly to keep it operating best. For the past year I have been running Amsoil's synchromesh MTL, IMO it works better than the Honda MTF2, it is a tad thicker, and it works really well in cold temp conditions. I have also tried the GM synchromesh fluid but it starts going south quickly IMO. Very happy with the Amsoil fluid.

The Red Line fluids don't seem to work so well in cold temperature conditions as they are a fair bit thicker than Honda MTF2.
 
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I use Amsoil Synchromesh in my gearbox and it works great. I change it every two years.
 
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I'm well aware of the warranty- truthfully I would rather have it shift like it did as new. Dealer says it's 'normal'. Well in my view a manual trans is a manual trans no magic there. The oils I am using are as good or better than Honda factory fill. GM Synchromesh FM is used widely by the Honda community.
I filled what was taken out as there is no side fill hole, I'm now thinking I'm shy about half a liter.

https://0c281756c12507415a306e87917b46ac...2013_index.html
 
The old MTF was more like 10w30 motor oil with some additives. The new stuff is more like 5w20. In fact, those motor oils are allowed as substitutes in the respective transmissions.

Perhaps you could try Rotella T5
 
I heard those cars are super fast.
smile.gif
 
Not sure I want to go that far- it also says to do a proper fluid change as soon as possible if motor oil has been used. This has the MTF

Honda Manual Transmission Fluid (MTF):
Always use Honda MTF.
Using motor oil can cause stiffer shifting because it does not contain the proper additives.
 
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Originally Posted By: dfarr67
I'm well aware of the warranty- truthfully I would rather have it shift like it did as new. Dealer says it's 'normal'. Well in my view a manual trans is a manual trans no magic there. The oils I am using are as good or better than Honda factory fill. GM Synchromesh FM is used widely by the Honda community.
I filled what was taken out as there is no side fill hole, I'm now thinking I'm shy about half a liter.

https://0c281756c12507415a306e87917b46ac...2013_index.html


If I understand correctly, you're searching for a fluid that will produce a better "feel" for you. That seems subjective and hard to say what feels fine for one person would meet your needs for feel.

I think you're vastly overestimating what widely used in the Honda community means. How do you know it's not just a dozen or two vocal folks on the Internet? What percent of Honda manuals are using this fluid? The stock fluid is what is widely used by Honda owners.

I'd be more worried about the transmission breaking and as recommended, I'd use the stock fluid and deal with the notchy feel.
 
I ran Amsoil MTF for many years in a Honda S2000 and a Honda Civic Si. It's a great fluid and worth a try to see if it resolves the notchy feel.

My current vehicle is a 2014 Accord EX with the 6MT. I'm currently running Valvoline MTF and before that, Pennzoil Synchromesh. I don't have enough miles on the Valvoline MTF to comment on it yet. The Pennzoil fluid worked fine for 10,000 miles, it was somewhat stiff for the first few shifts in cold temperatures but otherwise it was very acceptable for shift quality. If you experience extreme cold temperatures I would suggest a full synthetic fluid such as Amsoil MTF or Redline MTL.

I would not recommend filling with motor oil. There are so many GL4 MTF choices out there today, don't waste time and risk the mechanical well being of the transmission by using motor oil.
 
I do not have a new Accord (would love one) but in my Civic SI the best fluid I have found has been Pennzoil Synchromesh. I tried Amsoil and this is the only application I've used Amsoil where I was not satisfied. I have used Amsoil in everything else I have owned and always preferred it. In this car, the Pennzoil is my favorite. Hope this helps.
 
Originally Posted By: SLCraig
I do not have a new Accord (would love one) but in my Civic SI the best fluid I have found has been Pennzoil Synchromesh. I tried Amsoil and this is the only application I've used Amsoil where I was not satisfied. I have used Amsoil in everything else I have owned and always preferred it. In this car, the Pennzoil is my favorite. Hope this helps.


Curious, where did you find the Total oil and Wix filter? Thanks
 
OP, don't forget transmissions shift differently in cold weather. Seems like you noticed a change as you ran into winter. I would not switch to a thicker fluid living in Alberta, Honda's factory fill is some of the thinnest viscosity fluid out there.

Have you noticed your clutch is grabbing at a lower point?
 
Thanks for the response, was hoping to see some more flexible opinions. I admit I know little about oils but I also know that oils are built to a spec not a brand name there are many options out there.

I've also read this, nice to hear from Molecule.

https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/1231182/3

Yes Canadians have a real balancing act between temperature extremes, before dumping on the Pentosin I'm going to increase capacity from 1.9L to 2.2L- too bad there isn't a proper 'fill level' plug on these trans at least they are relatively easy to deal with. I'm wondering if I didn't give the GM fluid a fair shake either due to an underfill condition- I did my homework and both fluids seem to be a quality replacement. If the top off doesn't meet with expectations I'll go from there. I actually felt it shifted better in winter- I bought the car last Jan took it home to Yellowknife so used the car during -30C weather and loved the shift, 7k rolls around with summer. Been looking at that Ford fluid.

I don't drive the car like a Sports car- it isn't, but if the clutch engages lower I don't notice it. I do know in the V6 models there is a delay valve in the clutch hydraulics, and there is also a throttle 'flare' introduced by the ecu- irritating but the cost of getting a tune isn't worth it.

As an aside, I had a 91 Camry AllTrac PITA, the front trans had three different fluids in it if I recall, do these transmissions have a separate differential fill (ring pinion).
 
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Originally Posted By: skyactiv
The best manual transmission fluid I ever used is the made in Germany PAO synthetic Ford Motorcraft XT-M5-QS full synthetic manual transmission fluid.
http://www.amazon.com/Genuine-Ford-XT-M5-QS-Synthetic-Transmission/dp/B000NUES82

It's what is in my VW GTI.


That fluid will be too thick for the Honda transmission since the Ford MTF is a 75W90.

Honda wants a "75W80-ish" MTF in this transmission.


Quote:
Redline MTL 75W80 GL-4 Gear Oil, or Amsoil MTF, or Valvoline MTF, or Pennzoil Synchromesh should work well.
 
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