New Honda CVT fluid question

[86cutlass307]

We recently purchased a 2014 Honda Accord with the L4 & CVT. My question is - even though this is a 2nd generation CVT and uses Honda HCF-2 fluid is there an advantage to an initial drain & fill at about 1500-2000 miles to remove break-in debris? I have not been able to find any substantiated information on internal wear patterns for this tranny. I would of course do a UOA on the factory fill and compare to a VOA of the Honda fluid to get some data points out there and satisfy my own curiosity. Too soon maybe? Recommendations are welcome, thanks all.

 

[SatinSilver]

Havn't seen any reports about it on the Accord forum. Most owners wait till 30k miles which is still early compared to waiting for the MM system. The 30k miles would be a mix of hwy/city driving. For mostly city miles the earliest I'd do it would be 15k miles.

Watch out for the judder issue. Hopefully, it was fixed for the 2014 models.

http://www.driveaccord.net/forums/showthread.php?t=115601

 

[JOD]

I think this is a great question, but I don't know of any research out there which answers it. Traditional transmissions create most of their wear metals during the first few thousand miles of operation, but a chain-drive CVT is a much different beast.

I don't think you'll really know the answer w/o a UOA. If a drain and fill is easy on this car, it may be worth doing a single drain and fill at 3-5K and sending it out for analysis.

Quick question: is their a filter on this CVT?

 

[86cutlass307]

There is a "strainer" according to the parts breakdown. It looks like a rectangular plastic tranny filter in the pictures at DriveAccord from the link above once you drop the pan. My practice over the years has been to replace the filter at the first pan drop but it might be overkill this time.

 

[Kira]

Doesn't sound excessive to me. The drain and fill might be the way to go. Kira

 

[tommygunn]

Does Honda put any special break-in additives to the FF CVT fluid like they do in their motor oil? Because if so, then you should probably wait until the MM says to do it.

I'd probably just change it according to the MM while under warranty, and from then on every 15-30k.