Maxlife or DW-1 in 98 Civic EX

[wing0]

Hey guys and gals,

I've been reading up on Honda ATF as we have recently acquired a well taken cared of 98 Civic EX and when I reviewed the previous owner service records, it is time for ATF change now.

The car is at 125000 KM and the last ATF change at the dealership was done with z1.

I am a little skeptical as to whether it is a good idea to start mixing DW-1 with the z1 knowing the transmission is 12-13 yrs older than what DW-1 was intended for. Especially as DW-1 just recently came out so full track record has not been confirmed.

On the other hand, I see many positive reviews of the Maxlife here and on other forums for older Hondas.

Which one would be the safer choices if we're just doing a simple 1x3 D/F and we currently find the shifting feeling to be quite lazy?

Any comments are welcomed. ATF will be changed in the next 1-2 weeks.

 

[The Critic]

Shifts are firmer with DW-1, from what my experience.

I did two drain and refills, 5,000 miles apart, on an 08 TSX. The transmission now shifts rougher and more noticeably than it did before.

 

[david_ES2]

I think max life atf is the better fluid, i wouldnt hesitate to mix them or just do one drain and refill.

 

[Hokiefyd]

I'd choose the Castrol Transmax IMV myself. DW-1 in our CR-V's transmission produces a very smooth/soft shift. On the other hand, Valvoline MaxLife ATF produces a very firm/hard shift. Castrol Transmax IMV does a great job splitting the difference, and is available everywhere for a reasonable price.

 

[bourne]

2 qts dw1 + 2qts maxlife . Drain and fill with this mix. You will love it.

 

[mshu7]

I picked up a '98 Civic DX with 165k miles earlier in the year. I'm not sure if the auto trans is the same as the EX's, but I did 2 drain & refills with Maxlife plus a bottle of Lubegard Red. Trans shifts great - not that it didn't before though. I have no idea what the service history on mine was before doing the drain/refills but the fluid was very dark. I kind of doubt it had ever been done before.

 

[rjundi]

I recently had DW-1 1x installed in a 5 speed 07 MDX. The shifts are better/smoother both up and down.

The only wild card though is they reprogrammed the transmission due to a shuddering torque converter but that only happened on 2-3 upshift previously.

For me bliss now with this vehicle after this DW-1 change and reprogram.

 

[VicVinegar]

I have DW1 in a 2000 EX with 198k, 1-2 is a bit harsh for the first few minutes but after that everything is smooth. I'd also note it didn't always have OEM fluid in it, nor was it changed on correct intervals. DW1 certainly isn't harming anything.

 

[wing0]

Thanks for the inputs!

The vehicle has always been serviced at Honda so I am pretty certain it has only been getting Z1. If I had to choose, I wouldn't mind putting Z1 in there again just at a more frequent basis than the manual recommendation.

I am also leaning towards Maxlife for now seeing how there are more track records with it than DW-1 in pre 2000 Hondas.

From the Honda service records, I see that when they do ATF change, they are only doing 1 D/F at around every 45k.
I see many people here change their ATF more often than that, is this 1 D/F or 3 x D/F?

Would it be better to do 1 D/F and then in about 4000km later do another D/F with the scheduled oil change or just wait another 2 oil change interval before doing another D/F? I am thinking of doing a D/F every other oil change at 12000km to bring more maxlife in the transmission. This car will see more city than highway driving and probably accumulate mileage quite slowly. Hence I am more worried about the transmission.

 

[Hokiefyd]

Unless the receipt from the dealer actually specifies Z1, you can't necessarily assume that's what they were using. Not all Honda dealers use the OEM fluid; the one from whom I bought my CR-V, for example, services all their vehicles with the MaxLife ATF.

This is partially what broke my requirement of OEM ATF. Even the DEALER doesn't use the OEM fluid. Of course they have a contract with Valvoline and likely get the fluid at a good price, but they said that it has an excellent service record with absolutely zero warranty issues with Honda.

Myself personally, I'd do a 1x D/F (3 quarts or so) at every oil change (or more often) until I'm sure that most of the old/unknown fluid is out of it. After that, I'd probably do a 1x D/F every 15k miles or so. That's what I'm doing with both of ours now: doing one 1x D/F every 15k miles...that's once every third oil change.

 

[wing0]

Originally Posted By: Hokiefyd
Unless the receipt from the dealer actually specifies Z1, you can't necessarily assume that's what they were using. Not all Honda dealers use the OEM fluid; the one from whom I bought my CR-V, for example, services all their vehicles with the MaxLife ATF.

This is partially what broke my requirement of OEM ATF. Even the DEALER doesn't use the OEM fluid. Of course they have a contract with Valvoline and likely get the fluid at a good price, but they said that it has an excellent service record with absolutely zero warranty issues with Honda.

Myself personally, I'd do a 1x D/F (3 quarts or so) at every oil change (or more often) until I'm sure that most of the old/unknown fluid is out of it. After that, I'd probably do a 1x D/F every 15k miles or so. That's what I'm doing with both of ours now: doing one 1x D/F every 15k miles...that's once every third oil change.


Thanks for your comments.

I actually checked the records and it specifies Z1 in the parts number used for the transmission service.

Even my personal mechanic said to watch out for the transmission in these civics. Now I have two transmissions to watch out for. One in the RX300(I D/F Type IV on it every other oil change too) and now this civic...

 

[Hokiefyd]

My co-worker had a '97 Civic that had 331,000 miles when it was totalled, with nothing more than a periodic transmission fluid change. He is not into car maintenance at all, so I'd doubt if it was changed more than every 100,000 miles.

With relatively regular fluid changes, with anything that has Z1/DW-1 applications on the bottle, you should be good to go!