Was also going to mention: I did find that the previous-generation Odyssey 6-speed transmission did have recommended fluid change interval of every 30,000 miles. I wonder if they haven't updated their maintenance recommendation settings for their computer printouts that they give to customers (or maybe they're just greedy).

 

With my 2014, 6 spd I’ve found the honda transm oil DW-1 has a short life. Those of us 4th gen owners in the know, know that it needs to be changed far more freq than per owners manual..... it needs at least one drain and fill (~4 qts) every other oil change or more if doing towing. You should be checking the quality of the transm oil at each engine oil change (if the 5th gen has a dipstick!). Who knows if the new honda 3.1 transm oil is good?.....the two previous transm oils were badddd.

 

Unless the maintenance minder tells you to change it, I wouldn't worry what the dealer tells you. Maybe he's got service quotas he has to meet. You never know peoples' motivations.

 

All you have to do when told that is ask to see feel and smell the transm oil.....if gritty or dark or smells slight burnt smell then by all means agree with them and change it!

 

As grating as it feels and sounds, I would let a dealer or other qualified shop do a tranny fluid change. Reason: don't they pump the old fluid out with new - sort of as a flush process, unlike just draining engine oil? I'm unsure of my facts here. Just draining the tranny fluid leaves a bunch of old behind. You must actually flush the tranny fluid out. Can anyone comment or confirm my thoughts? Thanks...

 

Hodna, just to be clear, a "Honda flush" in the past was a 3x drain/refill. If not that, just draining 3.3 quarts and refilling was what Honda recommended in the past.

With this new trans, I'm not sure. Did a quick search and can't seem to find much info on it so far.

 

Also, Madacan - does your 9-speed have a rattly sound on acceleration? A lot of us 9-speed owners are having this issue and are waiting for Honda to come up with a fix. I don't wish to steer your post elsewhere . If you could just type Yes or No, I'll be on my way back to your topic. Thanks...

 

Hodna: I haven't heard a rattly sound from the tranny, and am about 37,000 miles now. I live in a hilly area and notice that the engine/transmission keeps the rpm rather high when climbing and going down hills, but it remains smooth. I figure this is just some overly-aggressive shift programming from Honda (even though I keep the van regularly in Eco mode). I just shift up to a higher gear with the steering wheel paddles and prob is fixed. When engine-braking down hills, I notice a slight high-pitched whine that has a faint harmonic beat from third gear when the speed reaches 35-40 mph. I figure this is probably a characteristic of that particular gear within the planetary gear sets and clutch brakes within the tranny. Other than that, the transmission has been fine. I personally think more than 6 gears is overkill, in that the excessive quest for efficiency by the manufacturer is a bad trade for decreased durability and complicated maintenance. This adage seems to always hold true: more moving parts = more chances for mechanical failure. This seems to hold true for every vehicle, old or new. However, the spouse likes the Odyssey so that's what we have.

As for a transmission "flush," all I've ever seen for the Odyssey trannys within the last 15 years (as in: those transmissions that don't have replaceable filters), the dealer only ever does a drain and fill. Flushes, whether pressurized or passive, are discouraged because excess sediments can be stirred up (at least what I've read from manufacturer and experienced board commenters). I could be wrong, but luckily I've only done manufacturer-recommended transmission fluid changes and have been blessed to never need a tranny replacement in 25 years of driving.

 

I have a 2018 EX-L with about 13K miles on it, no issues so far. Had the oil changed twice by the dealer and am planning on a drain and fill service for the transmission at 20K miles. I have a 2000 Accord v6 with about 300K miles on it with the original motor and trans, with the Accord once I stopped going to the dealer and started servicing it myself every 20K miles I would do a drain and fill for the transmission. I have had to replace some solenoids but the drain and fill have seemed to keep the transmission in working order. Last time I had the Accord at the dealer for a seat belt recall he asked if I wanted to have the transmission flushed, I declined but didn't know that there are two services for the trany. Drain and fill and the flush, I am planning on following the same service schedule with the Odyssey.
Just my 2 cents.

 

Your accelerated fluid change schedule seems excessive, but it's hard to tell whether this is "insurance" against failure or not.

 

Thanks for the info, Madacan .

 

New Ody owner here and I feel your frustration. Worked in a few automotive shops in the past and know what goes on in the bays by some bad techs, so I'm not really trusting when it comes to taking my vehicles in for service - rather just do it myself. Had a serious "WTF Honda?" moment after spending, what seemed like, hours looking for some kind of maintenance schedule for the wife's new Ody only to find that the only thing available is the infamous maintenance minder. Really?

As for the trans service specifically, I'd be curious to what ZF says about maintenance procedures for their 9 speed. I know Chrysler has been using the ZF stuff for a while and claims that their ZFs are filled with "lifetime fluid", but ZF seems to disagree with that... Curious what they recommend for the trans used in Hondas (I did a quick search and couldn't find a whole lot)...

 

Did and drain and refill (3.5 quarts) at 15,000 miles on our 2019 EXL-Nav 9-speed. It was surprising to me how dark the fluid had become (see old and new fluid color comparison pics below). The dealer wanted an impossible $48/qt for the 3.1 fluid so I paid an improbable $37 per quart to Bernardi Honda Parts (along with some other items, like a new drain plug, to dilute the shipping cost). Using my dealer’s method (NOT the ridiculous service manual procedure) I drained the old fluid from the bottom drain, and replaced the plug with a new one. I then filled from the port on top: 3 full quarts one at a time, then, after shaking the 4th quart bottle well, I measured out exactly 0.5 quart into a dollar tree measuring cup, then poured that in. I then reused the plug on top since it is a splash seal and not something permanently immersed. Easy-peasy. That was 13,000 miles ago and it still runs like a dream.

I plan to do a drain and fill every 30k from now on even though we live in a rural area that’s easy on cars. The old fluid here was probably fine but I am glad I changed it and also am keeping in mind that I only changed about half of it doing a straight drain and fill, hence the 30k interval. After visually examining the sealing surfaces/threads of the old drain plug I am probably going to reuse that thing the next time; it is overly German and anal to replace those every single time.

 

Thank you for posting this information! Although I have a 2019 Pilot it has the same transmission and the same procedures to change the fluid. Just a few questions

1) You mention you did the change the way your dealer does, not the way the shop manual says to do it. Did you dealer actually tell you this is how they do it?

2) Before draining, did you remove the middle plug (the one used to determine the level of the fluid) to see how close it was to the bottom of the hole? If so where was it and did you check it after putting in the new fluid? Or did you just do the equal exchange amount of fluid out/fluid in?

3) When you did it, were the temperatures of the replacement fluid going in close to what the fluid coming out was? I have read that this fluid is very sensitive to heat and expands a lot. One of several posts I have read suggest to have both the car and the new fluid sitting in the same area (such as a garage) for several hours to have the temps pretty much the same.

4) Just the other day I checked the cost of this fluid online with some of the better known dealers and even Bernardi is now showing this fluid (3.1) at around $26.00. That's a good thing even though shipping still has to be added to it! I live close to College Hills Honda and they also have a lower price on the fluid ($25.54). In the past they have honored their on line prices if I picked the item up at their store so I will check with them if that is still an option.

5) I agree about the drain plugs not really needing to be replaced. I will just make sure to use some type of pipe dope or sealant on the threads to prevent any leaks, especially on the bottom oneand the one used to check the level. As you mentioned the other one is really only subjected to splash inside the case. If the plugs were just a few dollars I would replace them, but they are around $10.00 or so from what I remember last time I had checked.

 

Thank you for posting this information! Although I have a 2019 Pilot it has the same transmission and the same procedures to change the fluid. Just a few questions

1) You mention you did the change the way your dealer does, not the way the shop manual says to do it. Did you dealer actually tell you this is how they do it?

2) Before draining, did you remove the middle plug (the one used to determine the level of the fluid) to see how close it was to the bottom of the hole? If so where was it and did you check it after putting in the new fluid? Or did you just do the equal exchange amount of fluid out/fluid in?

3) When you did it, were the temperatures of the replacement fluid going in close to what the fluid coming out was? I have read that this fluid is very sensitive to heat and expands a lot. One of several posts I have read suggest to have both the car and the new fluid sitting in the same area (such as a garage) for several hours to have the temps pretty much the same.

4) Just the other day I checked the cost of this fluid online with some of the better known dealers and even Bernardi is now showing this fluid (3.1) at around $26.00. That's a good thing even though shipping still has to be added to it! I live close to College Hills Honda and they also have a lower price on the fluid ($25.54). In the past they have honored their on line prices if I picked the item up at their store so I will check with them if that is still an option.

5) I agree about the drain plugs not really needing to be replaced. I will just make sure to use some type of pipe dope or sealant on the threads to prevent any leaks, especially on the bottom oneand the one used to check the level. As you mentioned the other one is really only subjected to splash inside the case. If the plugs were just a few dollars I would replace them, but they are around $10.00 or so from what I remember last time I had checked.

1) Yes this is how the dealer said they do it. They never open the side plug nor do they ever replace the plugs with new ones.

2) No i did no measurement when draining nor tried to match up with what came out because what if that level was wrong? The dealer said they measure and pour in the stated capacity (3.5 quarts), which is what I did with my trusty Dollar Tree store calibrated 1-qt cup.

3) It was Springtime (8 or 9 months ago) and fairly warm out and the vehicle was "cold" (after a brief start and run to stir things up a bit). So while I realize the factory procedure calls for a measurement of exactly 104-degrees (or some such) before measuring, I disregarded it.

4) YES! As I noted in a 10AT thread on this forum tonight, the prices have dropped into the $25s now, for which I am grateful.

5) I think the plug was close to $14 or $15 from Bernardi at the time, so...yeah. I mean if you want to replace that drain plug and you don't intend to even LOOK at it for 100,000 miles then I could see going with a new plug. But again, the dealer said they would just re-use it and not replace, unless it looked bad visually for some reason.

Obviously the ZF folks wrote what the procedure would be, in typically wasteful, over-engineered German fashion. This kind of thing (and production/availability) is likely why the German ZF-9 was eliminated from the 2020 Ody lineup in favor of the Honda-derived 10-speed for all trim levels.

 

I changed my fiancee's 2015 Chevy Cruze ATF- I can't remember the tranny if it's a ZF or not I don't think it is on the 2015. However, anyone with an Ody can follow this same procedure safely and change out all if not most all of their trans fluid, (i've copy/pasted from my post on Cruzetalk the following procedure) In essence you are replacing the exact amount that you have removed thus negating (assuming you have no trans leaks) the need for the complicated level checking procedure, which incidentally is the same for her vehicle!

As recommended by another outpatient in the Cruze forum, by removing the drivers side wheel and disconnecting the transmission return line right there as it goes back into the tranny case (a couple of inches just above the drive shaft), it just pops out after you undo the little bolt and it has a nipple on the end, just connect some clear hose about 3ft of it and put it into a clear gallon container. Mark it at quart intervals, and turn on the ignition and empty a quart, turn off the ignition each quart filled, then top up with a quart into the fill plug on top of the transmission, fresh fluid.

DO NOT try to fill through the top of the trans fill hole at the same speed it is coming out, you might not be able to catch up and if the trans runs low on fluid it may be damaged. Running just a quart low each time, before turning off the engine and re-filling is an entirely different procedure and suffice to say safe.

It flushes the entire transmission fluid this way, you'll see in the clear hose exactly when the clean fluid starts coming through.

No fluid drips out of the return line when you first disconnect it and if you are careful and nothing falls over, you wont spill one drop! Just sit with the driver door open (with a long clear line) and watch the gallon container fill up one quart a time.

It was the simplest and cleanest flush I have ever done. I think it was about a gallon and a half to three quarters of fluid all in, before I started to see the new clear fluid coming back through the clear line to the container.

Of course I am assuming that the ZF trans has a fill hole on top of the transmission bell housing, will some other OP's please confirm?
And also maybe someone can help streamline the disconnecting of the return line, I don't have access to the new Ody ZF transmission so don't have a visual.
Hopefully we can all work together on this and establish a step by step procedure just for us Od fellas...

 

Hello. Thanks. About to do this for the first time. Wha diameter hose should I be getting for this? Thanks!

 

@GromitFan
Thanks for posting the way you did the Drain/Refill. Definitely more garage friendly than trying to find a way to read transmission temperatures to determine fill level. I posted this awhile ago in a different thread but if you look at the PDF data sheet of Maxlife ATF fluid it shows it is compatible with Honda 3.1 fluid. Probably not a good choice while under warranty but might be worth a shot afterwards. The price cut on the genuine fluid is nice though.

 

To save a little money, as long as the green seal isn't damaged and is above the lip of the drain bolt, I see no reason to replace it. Install/reinstall wet with fluid for longivity. Pic of used drain bolt I'm reusing attached.

 

This is what I was told at the dealer. 3 x flushing is required to ensure full granny fluid x-out. At 600 cad per flush it gets expensive. Btw... for a 2018 9cvt, Honda requires at least 3x fluid changes before they will even consider replacing the transmission, if you happen to be experiencing any rough shifts at exactly 39 km/hr.

 

You need to look in the manual instead of taking the dealer's advice. Nowhere does it say that a 3X flush needs to be performed at each transmission service.

Also as the owner of (2) CVT CRV's, the transmission has a plug at the bottom and drains like an engine oil change. An insignificant amount of oil remains after the fluid is drained.

 

Thanks for your reply..I was told that before honda will entertain a transmission x out.. there is a process- the dealer need to have the customer do 3 flush attempts (to determine if the problem goes away). What ends up happening is the issue goes away with a flush, but only to return 3 months later. If you happen to push you out past the powertrain warranty, your sol. I was told by the service manager at the dealership that honda actually has a class action law suit filed against them for issues with the zf9 transmission issues.. but didn't ever check that out..in the end I paid for 1x flush, and the dealership paid for the other 2. The hard shift / noise is back at 39-40km.

Anyone know about a class action?

 

* ZF9 is not a CVT

 

You are correct