First ATF change, need some advice (Honda Odyssey)

[Kira]

As for supposed "unanimous" on using DW1, must be from a dedicated Honda site...

I said 'darn near' and by that I meant I could warp reality to my whim...not really.
Face to face was 100%. This site fell 55/45 +or- 5%.
If I had to restate it, I'd say it was, "overwhelmingly DW1".
Plus I wanted to have the option to say I used Honda fluid."

if you exchange the fluid you will ruin it,

There's a point where the unit is damaged and a fluid change won't fix anything. I've only experienced improvement or no-change in transmissions I've serviced. That is likely because it's always been my friends' vehicles and they don't drive litter boxes.

 

[JHZR2]

If it takes DW-1, I’d run that. Why change just because?!? Lubeguard red is good stuff.

Just pull the drain plug, drain, clean it, refill, and move on.

 

[skaughtz]

It's your car, but my 2012 Civic only gets Honda ATF DW-1. I'm not 100% certain about the CVT fluid, but the ATF is made by a company called Idemitsu and is branded as Honda and only Honda, meaning no one else has the exact formula for it. Since the transmission was engineered for it and it isn't that expensive at my local dealer, and my research routinely comes across the advice from former Honda technicians to only use Honda fluids in Honda vehicles, I am fine with that arrangement.

Meanwhile, I flushed out the Toyota WS ATF in my 2007 Camry when she was at 60k and have been running only Valvoline Maxlife in her since and that transmission is as solid as the day I got the car.

But I don't mess around with the Honda and that transmission runs tip top as well.

 

[Sayjac]

I said 'darn near' ....

Got it. Sorry I missed the semantics of "darn near" in the quote. That said, other than that doesn't change a thing about what I posted. My observation not the same as yours. Since neither of us has a scientific survey to back up the conclusion, guess we'll have to agree to disagree.

Since being technical here, the OP's 2010 Ody originally calls for the superseded Z-1 ATF. 'In my observation' Honda Z-1, one of, if not the most criticized ATFs on this subforum. It was known to shear quickly of viscosity. Also why after it was superseded, I had no hesitation moving to MaxLife Full Synthetic MV ATF going forward. What's known about DW1, best information says in the US, a syn blend fluid and like Z-1 before it high zinc content. The latter didn't seem to help Z-1's reputation.

That said, I get why some get some peace of mind with Honda name, in a warranty situation I 'might' too. Out of warranty as applies here, not at all.

 

[nicholas]

I prefer the shifting characteristics with maxlife and notice my transmission runs significantly cooler vs oem fluid.

Not to mention oem starts to degrade shifting after 30k miles. Max does not degrade after even 100k.

Just my observations.
5 different honda autos all were eventually switched to max. Over the last 30 plus years.

No negative issues to report over hundreds of thousands miles.

 

[nicholas]

From personal experience, Maxlife doesn't deteriorate as quickly as Honda ATF. D/Fs every 40-50k miles should be more than sufficient.

Totally agree.

 

[Fredxt]

people who recommend DW1 probably have heard old times horror stories about other fluids in Honda. If you go with DW1 please do not stretch it to 50k miles, it will come out like liquid tar

 

[dbias]

On my 2012 accord I would change oil every 5k, oil filter every 10k and drop the three quarts from the transmission and add back three quarts of OEM transmission fluid at 10 k. I felt that regimen kept the fluid in better shape than going the full distance and doing three times flush at one time. I even dremelled a hole in the bottom cover for easy access to the transmission drain plug.

 

[JeffKeryk]

I generally use the Idemitsu DW-1 equivalent. Of course it's pretty expensive now, like everything else. I like to do 25K to 35K spill and fills.

 

[Marcozi]

I drain 3 quarts and add 3 quarts of Honda ATF every other year. I change te ATF filter every 4 years. It's a 2004 accord so the filter is easy to reach, and it's cheap!

 

[I<3oil]

I would pull the plug and clean it on the 1st change and then use my MityVac on subsequent services. Probably during 5K oil changes until I completed 3. Then 1 every 25K miles. Easy peasey. Love Hondas for their sensible service procedures. Toyota and their stand pipe services is kinda silly and overly complicated.

That is one nice thing about the Hondas. ATF drain plug is right there, clear as day. I wish the Odyssey was a little easier to fill though. The CR-V has that little rubber stopper plug that comes out easy peasy.

 

[HyundaiAbuser]

I'm having success with the aisin dw1 alternative as well, iirc its synthetic and I got it on rockauto relatively cheap.

 

[AKhan87]

There's a point where the unit is damaged and a fluid change won't fix anything. I've only experienced improvement or no-change in transmissions I've serviced. That is likely because it's always been my friends' vehicles and they don't drive litter boxes.

same, an already damaged transmission is a different story, I was talking about transmission already functioning as designed.

 

[proveitwithdata]

how about tq ahudder? are those fluid saveable?

 

[Kira]

I don't know what causes torque converter shudder but I suspect clean fluid is the one thing any machine needs.

The only thing I've seen a trannie tech do to a TC is to gently feel some element of the center hub/bearing. He was checking for wear.
If they wear out, there's little one can do beyond using clean fluid.

 

[Sequoiasoon]

I think it also depends on the particular Honda transmission. My '19 Pilot 6 speed seems to trash DW-1 very quickly. Dark, burnt smell, wear metals on UOA. My dealer even said it when I had them change it as well as probably clutch material chunks that came out. I've done many D&F's over the 55k I have had it since new. I kind of regret that as I think I just postponed the inevitable. Hopefully any issues happen while under extended warranty. It's still on DW-1 and will stay that way until warranty ends or vehicle goes away.

In my Daughters '08 CRV, the fluid was changed regularly and had no issues. Originally spec'd for Z-1, dealer did most changes (it was my sisters) but I also saw some BG items on the receipts. The LG Red is a friction modifier that also helps with TC shudder (as well as their Shudder Fix). Shouldn't be needed if you use HG DW-1.

The CRV had a D&F with Maxlife red bottle last year as I had it on hand before daughter went to school. I just did another D&F a couple months ago using HPL Blue. Correspondence with David from HPL was it has a higher viscosity than the HPL Green and matches closer to original Z-1. I haven't noticed any difference in the CRV but I know it has good stuff in it. I also installed a Magnefine filter in place of the factory one.

Same scenario in my sons Forte. I did some D&F's with VML red bottle but the last couple months not thrilled with some shifting feel. Could just be wearing out tranny at 177k also. Going with the conversation with Dave, I went with the VML Blue bottle since it has a higher viscosity like originally spec'd Valvoline Import Multi-Vehicle (ATF) Full Synthetic Automatic Transmission Fluid 1 GA . It seems to be shifting better now with the blue bottle version.

Color is no indicator of fluid life as they say but with only 5-7k on DW-1 from Pilot with added factory extra cooler. Used left, new DW-1 middle, new VML right.

 

[RyanY]

I don't know if the OP made a decision yet, but I will add my limited experience just for reference. I have a 2012 Odyssey with the 5 spd trans, and started towing a small boat shortly after buying the van when it was new. Within 20k miles the DW1 appeared to break down somewhat, resulting in sloppier shifts. Towing undoubtedly taxes the ATF more than normal driving, even with a trans cooler; the OP did not mention towing, so this may or may not be relevant to the his situation. Regardless, because DW1 is not full synthetic (in the US), I switched to Pennzoil Platinum LV (3x drain/fill). The shift quality returned and remained good for 2 years and 30k miles, even with towing. I stuck with the Pennzoil for a few years until I could no longer find it locally, at which point I switched to other brands of synthetics that specifically stated compatibility with DW1. So far, I have used Pennzoil Plat LV, Amalie universal, Maxlife, and Lucas LV. All of these fluids performed exactly like fresh DW1, but did not break down as quickly. I'm now approaching 160k miles and the trans still shifts like new. I no longer tow very often but still do a single drain/fill each year (15k miles) just because. YMMV

 

[NormanBuntz]

A bit late with my reply, but it can pay to shop around for DW-1 fluid or its Asian equivalent. Last year I bought a case of Eneos Model H fluid for $3.50 a quart including shipping. The price was so low because Eneos had changed its bottles from the old gray to the new red. The formula stayed the same, and gray worked for me. My drain and fills in my Ridgeline now cost $12.25.

 

[hrv]

Working on my wife's 2010 Honda Odyssey with ~175K. I've just started doing stuff on my CR-V and have done the oil, ATF, and rear diff fluids. Nothing exploded so I'm going to do her car now.

She is almost due for an oil change so I'm going to take care of that. She said she had been using whatever's cheapest at the quicky lube so I'll be using something fully synthetic.

I'm not sure when the ATF fluid might have been changed last. Probably be a whiiiile. From reading it sounds like I can drain and fill, drive through the gears, then repeat as needed. The fluid on the dipstick doesn't look as bad as I was expecting. I can still tell it's red so figured that was a good sign.

I was planning on using something other than Honda ATF. I've read a bunch of threads and people are on both sides of the debate. Will this work: Valvoline ATF
It lists the Honda fluid in the compatibility list. OK to mix with whatever is in there? Will I know how many times I need to flush and fill? Didn't know if I should be going on how the stuff looks when it drains, or if I should just do one or two swaps and see how it drives?

Thanks for all the great info around here!

Stick to Honda OEM fluid....IMO