Did some maintenance on my Pilot today

[mclasser]

Car has 21,000 miles. Weather was nice so I did the following:

-OCI using Mobil 1 Advanced Fuel Economy 0W20 & Honda filter
-ATF D&F with DW-1 fluid
-Turkey bastered PS fluid
-Rotated tires

There were metal shavings on the ATF magnet but they were from the initial break in of the vehicle I presume. Fluid was a darker red but not bad for 20K miles. With Honda's finnicky transmissions, I'm going to keep this same change interval like I do with my Accord. I have to say, though, that the fresh ATF and M1 have really smoothed out the VCM operation. It wasn't too bad before but the rumbling and shuddering were noticeable. Now the engagement/disengagement is less perceptible. I was happy with the Quaker State Ultimate Durability I ran before but if the M1 continues to keep the VCM happy, I'll gladly pay the premium to use it every time.

 

[dblshock]

don't forget the pumpkin every 30k $100 PIA.

 

[dblshock]

I remember my '10 VTM, junk.

 

[gregk24]

Good for you on keeping up with the maintenance. Hondas really do like fresh ATF. When I did a drain and fill on my new to me Accord it made a huge difference, and the factory fluid only had 32K on it.

 

[Hokiefyd]

Originally Posted By: dblshock
don't forget the pumpkin every 30k $100 PIA.


$100? The fluid is 30 bucks and it's a 15 minute change at home. Both of our vehicles have VTM-4. Super easy.

 

[Kira]

In another 20K you can do a coolant refresh with Honda coolant.

The radiator in my brother's Odyssey, a 2007 bought with 46K, let's exactly a gallon drain when you pull the plug. Gee, I wonder if they designed it that way? Kira

 

[Hokiefyd]

Originally Posted By: mclasser
Car has 21,000 miles. Weather was nice so I did the following...


Good for you for keeping up on stuff like that. I do a lot of stuff every 25k miles on ours.

- ATF
- VTM-4
- Transfer case
- PS fluid
- Brake fluid

It's all about 100 bucks in materials and some quality time out in the man cave--er--garage. Hard to beat a nice fall or spring day out in the garage with a beverage of your choice and the smell of fresh oil.

 

[Donald]

At 21K your PS fluid certainly did not need changing.

 

[mclasser]

I'll be doing the VTM-4 and transfer case fluids in the next few thousand miles..

Originally Posted By: Donald
At 21K your PS fluid certainly did not need changing.

I know but I had some Honda Power Steering Fluid laying around and it only took a few minutes. Can't go wrong with fresh fluid.

 

[Hokiefyd]

Originally Posted By: mclasser
I'll be doing the VTM-4 and transfer case fluids in the next few thousand miles...


It's easy-peezy. Just get yourself a little 5 dollar fluid transfer pump. Pics below of the transfer case (honey colored fluid) and the rear differential case (red colored fluid). Access is very easy. You really don't even need ramps, but they do make it easier.

My little fluid transfer pump's straw doesn't go to the bottom of the VTM-4 gallon jug, so I washed out the gear oil's gallon bottle, filled it with VTM-4 fluid, and finished the job with that.

 

[CT8]

Awesome !!! maintenance is good !!!

 

[mclasser]

Thanks for the pics, Hokiefyd. Glad the process will be easy.

Changing the ATF in these cars is a bit annoying. There is an ATF fill bolt deep in the back of the engine with stuff in the way. It's on VERY tight and requires a 20 in extension on a 1/2 in breaker bar to access and break loose. A regular long ATF funnel doesn't get down in there because of random hoses in the way so I had to attach some vinyl tubing to the funnel. The manual says 3.6 qts is needed for a D&F but I had 4.25 come out and that's with the level already on the lower side from the factory. Dealership was closed by the time I finished so I ran there the next day and got an extra ATF bottle. I didn't want to deal with the fill bolt again since I dropped it twice before and it took 30 min to find it deep in the engine. Did I already mention the fill hole's a PITA to access?

Honda engineers decided to put the ATF dipstick, you guessed it,deep in the engine bay as well. Anyone seeing a theme here? The opening is too small for any funnel to fit into so I had to go to Lowe's and get 3 different sizes of vinyl tubing to join together. The bigger end fit over my funnel and the tiny 1/4'' end just fit into the dipstick tube. Luckily there were no leaks and I finally got a bang on reading after several pulls.

Fun times.

 

[HangFire]

For ATF fill, I just use a funnel with a clear plastic tube over the dipstick tube on my '05 Pilot. Easy-peasy.