2019 Honda Pilot 9 speed transmission fluid???

Joined
May 29, 2005
Messages
879
Location
Ozark Mountains
My manual says DW1 fluid and the dealer says ATF 3.1. Dealer wanted $128 for ATF 3.1 fluid and a gasket. 4 quarts

Went on line and two Genuine Honda parts sites say Honda ATF 3.1 is discontinued.

Got any experiances or recomendations?

Which fluid, ATF 3.1 or DW 1?
 
Didn't they offer the 6 speed around that time as well? Seems I recall reading something to that effect. The 6 speed uses DW1 while the 9 speed is the ZF box and takes the 3.1. Can't remember if that crossed over to one of the 'lifeguard' fluids or not.
 
9 speed takes 3.1fluid. I used to use the 3.1 fluid but have since switched to maxlife and am pleased with it. The 9 speed does not have a magnet and take 3.5 QTS. So using maxlife one D&F is less than the cost of 1 qt of Honda 3.1.
 
That's the ZF 9-speed, so you can use any ATF that any other ZF9 would use, including Maxlife :)

DO NOT use DW1 in the ZF9 or any other non-Honda transmission, as it has zinc in an amount toxic to non-Honda transmissions. Honda's in-house automatics, except for the new 10-speed, don't use planetary gears but are more like automated manuals.

Didn't they offer the 6 speed around that time as well? Seems I recall reading something to that effect. The 6 speed uses DW1 while the 9 speed is the ZF box and takes the 3.1. Can't remember if that crossed over to one of the 'lifeguard' fluids or not.

If there's a ZF Lifeguard 9, that would be it. ZF-branded ATF is usually called Lifeguard followed by the number of gears :unsure:
 
9 speed takes 3.1fluid. I used to use the 3.1 fluid but have since switched to maxlife and am pleased with it. The 9 speed does not have a magnet and take 3.5 QTS. So using maxlife one D&F is less than the cost of 1 qt of Honda 3.1.
I know Mopar folks are like Maxlife also in there ZF . But would u trust Maxlife for the Full Drain interval
 
They changed it to 150,000 km at some point, at least for ZF 8. Not sure when
zf.jpg
 
The ZF8 is actually a good transmission. The ZF9, not so much :cautious:
How did you come to this conclusion that ZF9 is not a good transmission? The transmission is actually more robust than the Honda made trasmissions. The early failures were poor programming by FCa/stellantis and Honda.
ZF provided these as OEM units and each company came up with their own programming
Granted it has a certain lag when caught between certain gears, it is actually a very smooth transmission. 140K trouble free miles on the one I am running a still feels like day one. Regular D&Fs keep it happy. Got the latest TSB 20-015 to reprogram the TCM for no other reason other than it is the latest software and it even made it smoother.
 
Back
Top