Should I change ATF at 30k for 06 Accord V6?

[06VtecV6]

does anyone know? The MMS is set for the change to alerted at 60k but for some cheap security, I was wondering if I should do it at 30k? I am at almost 27k now.
any comments on the topic that are helpfull would be helpfull.

 

[ConfederateTyrant]

It would be best to get the break-in metals out early. If it is as simple as pulling the drain plug, then go ahead and do it three times, with a week of driving in between each drain and refill.

 

[benjamming]

I would drain & refill every 15k miles and change the filter every 30k miles. I assume it only drains ~ 3 qt. just like it does on my '02 Accord V6. Yes, there's a serviceable ATF filter on your car unlike mine that has only a useless internal screen. Honda doesn't have the best reliability for their AT especially mated to the V6 producing a fair amount of power.

What fluid are you going to use?

 

[06VtecV6]

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I would drain & refill every 15k miles and change the filter every 30k miles. I assume it only drains ~ 3 qt. just like it does on my '02 Accord V6. Yes, there's a serviceable ATF filter on your car unlike mine that has only a useless internal screen. Honda doesn't have the best reliability for their AT especially mated to the V6 producing a fair amount of power.

What fluid are you going to use?

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Am I doomed because I didn't do it at 15k? 15k seems really early and I say that because I recall that I had not even changed out my air filter at 15k. Since this is the ATF, I guess you can never do it early enough but I have also heard that some who did it every 15k *still* had some fail but again, not a reason to *not* do it, per se. I am at 27k and want to do it now but since 30k is around the corner, it is an easier milestone for the future.

I plan on using the Honda ATF fluid. Why, I thought that was a cardinal rule, am I wrong?

 

[unDummy]

Honda does't have the best AT history.

Start a drain/refill regimen and stick with it. I would seriously consider the 10k-15k interval.

Since you haven't done any ATF maintenance, a full flush now would be good. Then start the regular partial changes.

 

[06VtecV6]

Hey unDummy,

just an FYI: Honda does not recommend ATF flushes so I am only doing drain and fills right now unDummy.

Do you know if the 2005 Accords ATF interval was 60k too? I believe they were like 120k before but I am not sure if that goes back to the 6th gen.

So you would go "against the grain" and do it way way early even on for the "new" 06, 07 Accords? They fixes the trannys internally with different parts namely the oil jet kit.

I think since they fixed it in 05 and failures subsided, wouldn't 30k instead of 15k be ok?

 

[MonumentOiler]

Should folks be dropping their ATF at 5k on a new car to get the break-in wear-metals out? I know thats the advice for diffs.

 

[Blokey]

I say to the ATF d&f now and every 30K, it won't hurt. Don't worry about your tranny failing if you don't change the fluid at some kind of reasonable interval; if it were to fail, chances are very good that it won't be because of the fluid. Yeah, Honda trannies haven't had the best reliability track record of late but it doesn't mean that every (or even a high percentage) late model Honda tranny's going to fail; there are lots of them out there with well over 100K that have never had so much as their drain plug removed.

Since 3 qts drains out of my 3.2TL's tranny, I do a d&f with Amsoil ATF every now and then just because it makes me feel better about maintaining my car's tranny. I'm at 80K on it's original tranny and no problems to report... for now

d&f&D! - drain & fill & DRIVE!

 

[06VtecV6]

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I say to the ATF d&f now and every 30K, it won't hurt. Don't worry about your tranny failing if you don't change the fluid at some kind of reasonable interval; if it were to fail, chances are very good that it won't be because of the fluid. Yeah, Honda trannies haven't had the best reliability track record of late but it doesn't mean that every (or even a high percentage) late model Honda tranny's going to fail; there are lots of them out there with well over 100K that have never had so much as their drain plug removed.

Since 3 qts drains out of my 3.2TL's tranny, I do a d&f with Amsoil ATF every now and then just because it makes me feel better about maintaining my car's tranny. I'm at 80K on it's original tranny and no problems to report... for now

d&f&D! - drain & fill & DRIVE!

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You think I waited too long now that I am at 27k? Am I doomed? 15k is too soon as many have done.. wow I had not even replaced an air filter at that time. But then I did do 2 oil changes by then. I was going to wait until 30k but could do it now since I just did an oil change yesterday.
hmm..back to work..

 

[PT1]

You are not doomed but should drain & refill now and every 15-20k. Honda transmissions & diffs will last a long time as long as the fluid is changed a lot. You are fine but don't go past 30k no matter what the book says.

 

[Laminar Lou]

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You think I waited too long now that I am at 27k? Am I doomed? 15k is too soon as many have done.. wow I had not even replaced an air filter at that time. But then I did do 2 oil changes by then. I was going to wait until 30k but could do it now since I just did an oil change yesterday.
hmm..back to work..

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Don't panic about it, but I would drain it. I am changing my ATF in the Odyssey at every other oil change. Which would be around every 15K. I did a sample at 10K, and there was a lot of breakin metal in there. I don't think the weight of the Accord beats on the tranny like the Odyssey will, but a quick pan drain every 15K to 30K is cheap insurance. I use an oil extractor and it is a breeze.

If the air intake is like the Odyssey, you might want to reconsider your air filter change intervals of >15K. It appears that Honda (as well as other manufacturers) are programming the fuel maps to dump a lot of fuel into the engine at startup to get the ULEV rating. Problem is, when the air filter loads up you start getting an overly rich mixture and fuel dilution can be an issue. Mine loaded up at 10K, I might be changing as often as 5K in the future.

 

[Throckmorton]

I thought the recommended interval for changing ATF in the V6 Accord was every 105K miles?

 

[06VtecV6]

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I thought the recommended interval for changing ATF in the V6 Accord was every 105K miles?

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yeah, I was thinking the same thing. In previous years or generations, I do not know which, it was a lot longer so I am not sure how in 2000-something it got cut down so much. All I know is Honda wants it done at 60k but most of the public "in the know" are doing it much earlier but I believe too fast. Cutting it in half is good but then they are cutting half by half again. I wish Honda would have let the MMS dictate the change through driving sytle and conditions like they do the oil as opposed to the quasi-dinosaur way with mileage. I do not know why they didn't just let the MMS dictate it. PITA. It just leaves you guessing when is the appropriate time and it undermines Honda's ability to guage anything properly when they are not clear about their product's capability.

 

[Laminar Lou]

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yeah, I was thinking the same thing. In previous years or generations, I do not know which, it was a lot longer so I am not sure how in 2000-something it got cut down so much. All I know is Honda wants it done at 60k but most of the public "in the know" are doing it much earlier but I believe too fast. Cutting it in half is good but then they are cutting half by half again. I wish Honda would have let the MMS dictate the change through driving sytle and conditions like they do the oil as opposed to the quasi-dinosaur way with mileage. I do not know why they didn't just let the MMS dictate it. PITA. It just leaves you guessing when is the appropriate time and it undermines Honda's ability to guage anything properly when they are not clear about their product's capability.

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Just to be clear, I am not talking about a full flush. Just a pan drain which is about half of the fluid. According to my manual, 30K is the change interval under severe service on my Odyssey. If the Accord is 60K in severe service, I would go with 30K pan drains. But that is just me. My neighbor has a Civic that is all highway miles and they said 120K on the fluid. He changed it anyway at 70K and he said it was a noticeable difference in shift quality.

I agree, the MMS would be a better way to do it.

 

[Laminar Lou]

Here is the info I have from Honda. They don't say "Drain and fill", they just say "have the fluid changed.". Your Accord is obviously a different beast:

Maintenance Minder 3 Scheduled Maintenance
Recommended service for your 2006 Honda Odyssey:

Replace transmission fluid: Driving in mountainous areas at very low vehicle speeds results in higher transmission temperatures. This requires transmission fluid changes more frequently than recommended by the Maintenance Minder. If you regulary drive your vehicle under these conditions, have the transmission fluid changed every 30,000 miles (48,000 km).

 

[g20ooh]

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It would be best to get the break-in metals out early. If it is as simple as pulling the drain plug, then go ahead and do it three times, with a week of driving in between each drain and refill.

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Just another voice - this is where I'd start first - after the third one I'd put a Magnifine inline filter on .

 

[g20ooh]

Quote:

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Honda does't have the best AT history.

Start a drain/refill regimen and stick with it. I would seriously consider the 10k-15k interval.

Since you haven't done any ATF maintenance, a full flush now would be good. Then start the regular partial changes.

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UD is telling you straight - just think of your "three fast" as a flush . Depending on how it looks , you might want to do four or do the next one at 5-7.5k to finish catching up .

On this one , the very least I would allow in my familly would be that 10-15k range - with the Magnifine something like 12.5-15k . If you want to be nice to your Accord on its birthday give it an extra partial .

What ever you do , without too much extra effort you can get another quart of AT out at drain .

 

[06VtecV6]

Quote:

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Here is the info I have from Honda. They don't say "Drain and fill", they just say "have the fluid changed.". Your Accord is obviously a different beast:

Maintenance Minder 3 Scheduled Maintenance
Recommended service for your 2006 Honda Odyssey:

Replace transmission fluid: Driving in mountainous areas at very low vehicle speeds results in higher transmission temperatures. This requires transmission fluid changes more frequently than recommended by the Maintenance Minder. If you regulary drive your vehicle under these conditions, have the transmission fluid changed every 30,000 miles (48,000 km).

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Yeah, I saw that too in the man a while back too. Thanks for the reminder. I am changing it at 30k because right there is a reminder that this tranny oil could be changed at 30k by this mandate if I fall into the "severe" use category similar to motor oil. Since ATF is similar to motor oil, I might as well do it at 30k or right now, really. Yeah, ok, I'm going to find a buddy who can help me do it. Thanks guys, I have decided to do it every 30k.

 

[wgtoys]

I recently did the second ATF change out on our 03 Accord V6 using factory fluid. This batch had about 30k miles on it. Transmission shift quality clearly improved with the fresh fluid, telling me that 30k miles was if anything too long.

Do not hook a flush machine up to the transmission and run solvents through it. That is what happens at most places if you get a "flush". Do it the factory way of drain-fill-drive; repeat four times.

 

[rotorray]

I have an '03 Acura MDX and an '07 Honda Ridgeline. On the '03 I do the 3 quart change at every-other oil change. This is because of the history of this tranny, especially with the '01-02 MDXs. I'll continue this regimen with the '07. For me it's just cheap insurance and will keep relatively clean fluid in the tranny at all times. This topic is discussed extensively on the MDX boards and there are several opinions. This is mine, and it works for me. It's all about peace of mind. In addition, Honda/Acura has not been up front on warranty replacements for this tranny, honoring some requests and not honoring, or partially honoring (parts, no labor or labor, no parts) other requests. In addition, ONLY use Honda fluids. You might avoid a sticky warranty problem down the road.