Honda CRV 2015, amsoil CVT fluid, 85,000 miles

[meep]

this was also posted in the “what are you doing today” thread, but it will have more future value I think, over here. Copy:

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2015 CRV, (CVT), 5 qts of ATF drained/filled. 85k miles. This was interesting.

CVT had drain/fill at 50k with Honda hcf-2. No issue, no change in any characteristic. this winter, we noticed a rattle sound when cruising neighborhood decorations at low speed. It sounded a lot like a cranky AC compressor, but then realized it wasn’t. It happened consistently around 1300-1700 rpm, but only at creeping speeds. Very repeatable, and very easy to hear (obvious) and very much like an ignorable aging compressor.

4.5 quarts of hcf-2 sucked out. It was dark, but reasonably dark; nothing to be alarmed about.

5 quarts of amsoil CVT fluid went in. I drove it around a few miles and then sucked out the extra half quart.

um, even my wife noticed the change. Now, this vehicle hasn’t missed a beat and drives great, so we weren’t chasing a problem. But it is slightly quieter, feels more direct, feels surprisingly sporty-ready to go. And, the transmission is *almost* silent in that low rpm neighborhood creep mode. It has a notable change in feel, more than I would have expected. Will keep an eye on this. Good stuff.

 

[KGMtech]

Interesting benefit. Why did you overfill then remove the 0.5 quart? just curious.

 

[bbhero]

this was also posted in the “what are you doing today” thread, but it will have more future value I think, over here. Copy:

************

2015 CRV, (CVT), 5 qts of ATF drained/filled. 85k miles. This was interesting.

CVT had drain/fill at 50k with Honda hcf-2. No issue, no change in any characteristic. this winter, we noticed a rattle sound when cruising neighborhood decorations at low speed. It sounded a lot like a cranky AC compressor, but then realized it wasn’t. It happened consistently around 1300-1700 rpm, but only at creeping speeds. Very repeatable, and very easy to hear (obvious) and very much like an ignorable aging compressor.

4.5 quarts of hcf-2 sucked out. It was dark, but reasonably dark; nothing to be alarmed about.

5 quarts of amsoil CVT fluid went in. I drove it around a few miles and then sucked out the extra half quart.

um, even my wife noticed the change. Now, this vehicle hasn’t missed a beat and drives great, so we weren’t chasing a problem. But it is slightly quieter, feels more direct, feels surprisingly sporty-ready to go. And, the transmission is *almost* silent in that low rpm neighborhood creep mode. It has a notable change in feel, more than I would have expected. Will keep an eye on this. Good stuff.

My Nissan Altima VQ with the cvt did the SAME exact thing as your Honda… When I changed out the fluid with Eneos CVT fluid the first time… Noticeably quieter especially at low speeds…

Trust your ears and observations meep. That new fluid does make a difference in those CVTs.

 

[troymcclure]

There are so many Amazon reviews for the Idemitsu Nissan CVT fluid that read like this. A few that also said a fluid change fixed belt slipping; that’s pretty wild. I’ve always exchanged my fluid every 30k mainly because I’ve been hyperaware of the Nissan CVT ****ting the bed prematurely. I have read that CVT fluid provides the frictional component between the belt and pulleys so it makes sense that when it’s toast, the symptoms are noise. Glad to hear it worked.

 

[hrv]

this was also posted in the “what are you doing today” thread, but it will have more future value I think, over here. Copy:

************

2015 CRV, (CVT), 5 qts of ATF drained/filled. 85k miles. This was interesting.

CVT had drain/fill at 50k with Honda hcf-2. No issue, no change in any characteristic. this winter, we noticed a rattle sound when cruising neighborhood decorations at low speed. It sounded a lot like a cranky AC compressor, but then realized it wasn’t. It happened consistently around 1300-1700 rpm, but only at creeping speeds. Very repeatable, and very easy to hear (obvious) and very much like an ignorable aging compressor.

4.5 quarts of hcf-2 sucked out. It was dark, but reasonably dark; nothing to be alarmed about.

5 quarts of amsoil CVT fluid went in. I drove it around a few miles and then sucked out the extra half quart.

um, even my wife noticed the change. Now, this vehicle hasn’t missed a beat and drives great, so we weren’t chasing a problem. But it is slightly quieter, feels more direct, feels surprisingly sporty-ready to go. And, the transmission is *almost* silent in that low rpm neighborhood creep mode. It has a notable change in feel, more than I would have expected. Will keep an eye on this. Good stuff.

probably would have done the same with Honda OEM fluid change...

 

[IveBeenRued]

I noticed a similar change in my 2012 Subaru Impreza back when I switched over to AMSOIL CVT fluid. Much quieter.

 

[meep]

Interesting benefit. Why did you overfill then remove the 0.5 quart? just curious.

Splitting hairs, but i wanted to get as much new fluid in there as possible. That extra 0.5 qt in allowed me to afterwards vacuum 0.5qt of mixed fluid out.

probably would have done the same with Honda OEM fluid change...

the first change at 50k used oem hcf-2 fluid and there was no discernible change between before and after. Not saying this would have been the same, but it’s a pseudo-data point. It’s possible the amsoil fluid is a touch thicker.

 

[bbhero]

Splitting hairs, but i wanted to get as much new fluid in there as possible. That extra 0.5 qt in allowed me to afterwards vacuum 0.5qt of mixed fluid out.



the first change at 50k used oem hcf-2 fluid and there was no discernible change between before and after. Not saying this would have been the same, but it’s a pseudo-data point. It’s possible the amsoil fluid is a touch thicker.

Nah…. The difference between 7.1 Cst and 6.9 Cst is not going to make any difference. It’s exceptionally minuscule. Molakule on here as stated that in another thread on here.

It’s possible the Amsoil CVT fluid may well have a better additive package vs the oem fluid.

Or it’s also possible the additives in the fluid in the CVT in that transmission before you changed it were not as effective due to heat and oxidation. Therefore leading to it being louder before you changed it.

CVT fluid works on traction coefficient which is very different than typical ATF formulations based upon coefficient of friction. New fluid with better additives or just new fresh ones in that fluid likely led to the car being quieter.

 

[meep]

@bbhero - I didn’t know the numbers - data is good - thank you. Agree on all points.

 

[wlk]

Does the transmission not have a drain plug? I ask as my wife's 18 Civic had a plug and it was simple to drain and fill. Not familiar with that CRV transmission but figured it might be the same. I used Castrol and it was fine but it only had 30k miles on it. Not a fan of suctioning any trans or engine that has a drain plug, I feel you get more debris out when the fluid goes out.
Just me, not saying you did anything wrong as I do suction my trans that only has a pan with no drain plug. I drop the pan after I buy them and then just siphon fluid every 30k afterwards.

 

[Alain2]

CVT fluid works on traction coefficient which is very different than typical ATF formulations based upon coefficient of friction. New fluid with better additives or just new fresh ones in that fluid likely led to the car being quieter.

What about ATF/CVT universal fluid?

 

[bbhero]

What about ATF/CVT universal fluid?

Candidly… Don’t know.

Molakule who is a tremendously gifted, exceptionally intelligent and highly educated person who has formulated oils for some companies asked Afton for some more specific formulation information and they never did send it to him.

Afton is additive manufacturer which is actually located in my home state of Virginia.

I’m not telling anyone not to use these universal formulation transmission oils. They want to do that… Go for it. Their money, their vehicles , their choice. To me it’s like what Sylvester Stallone’s character Cobra said in that movie Cobra from 1986 to the crazy guy in that grocery store… Crazy guy says, “ I gotta bomb… I’m gonna blow this whole place up”. To which Cobra says, “ go ahead.. I don’t shop here anyway.”

Some people say and understandably so that’s these new additive packages and oils have been throughly tested… Which I know is true.

However… I know that a good number of pharmaceutical drugs that went through years of research and development and long clinical trials and get FDA approval get suddenly pulled from the market years after they were released. Those drugs went through all the hoops and years of testing too. Yet unforseen negative effects from those medications cause them to be pulled very, very quickly from the market. I have also seen certain medications have dosage adjustments many, many, many years after being on the market. This one medication has been available as a generic for a long, long, long time.

Given that experience and understanding…

Me, myself and I… In regards to a CVT especially. I would use only a CVT specific oil in my own vehicle. Whether it be OEM bought a the dealership or Amsoil CVT fluid, Eneos, Idemitsu, Valvoline CVT only, Castrol CVT and only transmission fluid etc etc.

 

[Alain2]

I do use oil specific to CVT (Citgo transguard and Irving transflow ), but if Castrol says CVT/ATF universel fluid works I find it hard to claim these fluids are ‘very different’.

 

[bbhero]

I do use oil specific to CVT (Citgo transguard and Irving transflow ), but if Castrol says CVT/ATF universel fluid works I find it hard to claim these fluids are ‘very different’.

They are very different…

CVT works via traction coefficient….

Regular ATF coefficient of friction….

Very, very different dynamics there.
Molakule knows light years more than me or you about this subject. He has went into great detail about those big differences. Go read about that. It’s extremely detailed.

You do what you want to….

I don’t care…. Your choice… your vehicle….

Just like those medications…. One that I had contemplated taking was suddenly taken off the market…. And for darn sure it’s happened many other times as well.

Time and numerous people using these magical universal fluids for a long time will tell the story.

Those long term beta testers will tell that story. Could there be very good results ? ? yeah absolutely. Could there be ok results ??? Absolutely possible. Could there be bad results with long term use ?? Possible too.

Way, way too early to say at this point.

 

[Alain2]

…

Castrol the magical fluid with special traction coefficient of friction!

 

[bbhero]

Castrol the magical fluid with special traction coefficient of friction!

Read up on those differences….

Then you may just learn how complex all of that is.

It’s quite a lot to take in.

Again…. Do whatever you want to. I don’t care.

And I’m not telling you to not run it. I’d say go for if you want to…

I’m just saying what I have done. And what I would do now if I still had one. What I did with my own Nissan Altima 3.5 with a CVT.

 

[ARB1977]

Not CVT related. I like Amsoil ATF in my WS and DW1 spec AT’s.

 

[hrv]

Does the transmission not have a drain plug? I ask as my wife's 18 Civic had a plug and it was simple to drain and fill. Not familiar with that CRV transmission but figured it might be the same. I used Castrol and it was fine but it only had 30k miles on it. Not a fan of suctioning any trans or engine that has a drain plug, I feel you get more debris out when the fluid goes out.
Just me, not saying you did anything wrong as I do suction my trans that only has a pan with no drain plug. I drop the pan after I buy them and then just siphon fluid every 30k afterwards.

yes it does have a drain plug..a very easy job to do on hondas..

 

[Pablo]

What about ATF/CVT universal fluid?

??

Amsoil doesn't make such a product. Not sure what your question is.

 

[Aredeeem]

I’m at 110k on the Versa. On my third D/F. My trusted Indy is happy to do it for me but will only use Nissan CVT fluid. I’m sure other choices would work but it’s his shop, his call. I’m ok with it.