Which preventive maintnce schedule would be the best?

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Aug 22, 2009
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Pittsburgh,PA U.S.A.
I have a 2016 Honda CR-V AWD with the CVT transmission and so far it works without any problems at all, and gets very good gas millage for a vehicle its size with all the hills and stop and go traffic around Pittsburgh PA.

I did a drain and fill using Honda Hcf-2 fluid at 25,030 miles. And since a drain and fill only replaces 1/2 of the old fluid, and the 1/2 that remains in it mixes with the new, at 26,076 miles I did another drain and fill with Honda Hcf-2. So now approximately 1/4 of the fluid that is in it is the original old fluid.

The fluid flowing out the first time looked black, and the fluid flowing out the second time looked more like regular oil, but a sample of the second drain in a 3 inch diameter jar still has enough dark matter in it that the fluid appears black in the jar. I probably will do a 3rd drain and fill in another 1,000 miles or so. That will leave it with about 12.5 percent old fluid in the mix that will be in it.

I buy the fluid and crush-washers from OEMPartSource.com so it cost much less than what a dealer would charge. And I reuse the crush-washers twice before using new ones with the next change. All in all doing 3 myself cost about as much as having a dealer do one. And in the end I will be left with a much higher percent of new fluid in the CVT. It is not hard to do, it just takes some time.

The hills, stop and go, and changing of speed, often encountered around Pittsburgh PA are what could be considered severe service for a CVT, and I plan to keep this vehicle for a very long time. So preventive maintnce of doing drains and fills of the CVT fluid is probably a good idea. I have talked to an owner of a 2016 Honda CR-V who lives in Pittsburgh and had a lot of miles on hers and never changed the CVT fluid and had the CVT fail on her. So there is something to be said for preventative changing of that fluid.

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I am thinking that after this 3rd change, I probably will change the fluid once every 10,000 or maybe once every 12,500 miles or so.

Another option would be to change it twice every 20,000 or 25,000 with at least 100 miles and probably about 1000 miles between those two changes.

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So in the future, which of the two would provide the better protection and long life of the CVT? Once every 10,000 to 12,500 or twice around 20,000 or 25,000?

Or is the difference not that important and the important thing is that at least it gets changed?
 
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I’ve done 1 drain and fill every spring since new in my wife’s 13 Accord Sport Which wine up being 13k-15k a year. Honestly I fell like I’m wasting my money when I do the D&F . The fluid still looks brand new . And we do city driving NYC
 
I'd do another d/f now, then one every 20k miles or so. This way you'll still have clean fluid and magnet. There's a point of diminishing return and you can save yourself broke. It's great you're thinking about this, reaching out, and actually doing maintenance, but you can also overkill with no actual benefit.
 
I have a friend that owns an independent Honda and Acura repair facility. He recommends changing the CVT fluid every other oil change. Says is cheap insurance.
 
I’ve done 1 drain and fill every spring since new in my wife’s 13 Accord Sport Which wine up being 13k-15k a year. Honestly I fell like I’m wasting my money when I do the D&F . The fluid still looks brand new . And we do city driving NYC
Yep, if the fluid is coming out looking new, you are wasting your time....and money.
 
Or is the difference not that important and the important thing is that at least it gets changed?
I think the initial fill has more "stuff" due to break in.
Future changes won't look so dark.
I'd go at least 10k before the next spill-fill.
If that one looks better than the second change I'd stretch the next to 20k etc.
 
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