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At what mileage should I expect MM to show its time to change CVT fluid?

11K views 34 replies 21 participants last post by  streetbumper1 
#1 ·
I have a 2014 Accord with the CVT. No harsh driving. It has 33k miles on it now and I basically follow the maintenance minder. At 16k miles..the Honda service tech recommended that I change the transmission fluid. I declined since the maintenance minder only asked for an oil change. At 30k miles..said thing. Now the dealership is sending me a notice indicating that they are recommending that I change the transmission fluid. It's not that expensive. I think $100 or so and I dont want to be too late. At what mileage should I expect the maintenance minder to show that its time for me to change the transmission fluid? Should I just have them change it now?
 
#5 ·
I'm almost at 50,000 miles on my LX, still not popped up on MM, yet! Not going to change it early, as I have a "Lifetime warranty" on the transmission...thought it was prudent to have since it's a relatively new transmission setup. And, Honda hasn't exactly had a great reputation for transmissions the past 15 years. I had one they had to replace at 2500 miles back in the late 90's, and they've had some other glitches with certain gears needing more cooling spray (Odyssey, maybe others?).
 
#6 ·
I did 3x drain and fill at 89k miles with Castrol CVT fluid. 12 quarts of fluid for roughly 75 bucks. Castrol CVT fluid meets and exceeds Honda specs for a third of a price of a Honda fluid. The transmission is silky smooth after 3x drain and fill.
 
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#17 · (Edited by Moderator)
I did 3x drain and fill at 89k miles with Castrol CVT fluid. 12 quarts of fluid for roughly 75 bucks. Castrol CVT fluid meets and exceeds Honda specs for a third of a price of a Honda fluid. The transmission is silky smooth after 3x drain and fill.
{bold added}

Unless you can post some credible evidence to substantiate that statement, I call BS.

Please don't mislead the members here with such unsupported statements that may not be true.

Its recommended that CVT fluid on all vehicles take place every 30k miles. That's what I plan to follow.

Apparently cvt fluid breaks down much faster than conventional auto tranny fluid.
Source of that recommendation?
 
#7 ·
45K, is when I got mine, and you can check my signature to see the pattern of when else it will come up.
 
#8 ·
Don't change it until MM, the dealer will not override the system to reset. Therefore the light will come on shortly after, because car doesn't know it was serviced. Honda corporate was the one who had told me not to, and if dealer recommend ask them why. It's on their website, about being OK with color, and scent.
 
#9 ·
Honda was notorious for having an extended amount of time within transmission changes.... for those of us who remember replacing the Z1 ATF fluid we did it VERY often... why? Cause Honda auto trannies can be time bombs.

I have already changed my CVT fluid and I have 25k on the car.. I plan on doing it every 40-50k.. cheap insurance on the CVT.
 
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#10 ·
Hi, For those who have changed the CVT transmission fluid on your Honda Accord I4 CVT Automatic, I would like to know what did you do to reset the Maintenance Minder (code 03) after replacing the CVT transmission fluid. I have tried but could not reset the Maintenance Minder after I changed the CVT fluid on my 2013 Accord I4 EX-L. Please advise and thank you.
 
#11 ·
I'm sure there will be different opinions, but if you are going to change the transmission fluid, before the Maintenance Minder code comes up, do not reset it. You cannot reset the MM just for transmission fluid change, so you would be resetting it for everything that next code would include.
I will see how it goes, but at this point I don't plan to follow the MM for oil changes or transmission fluid, so I will keep track of those in some other way.
 
#14 ·
Hi ypsibird, The code 03 was displayed on my car Maintenance Minder when it's odometer shown 46,xxx miles and before I changed the CVT transmission fluid. However, I could not reset the MM. I looked through the car manual but could not find the procedure on how to reset it. I hope that you don't mind to share with me on how to reset it or where can I find the reset procedure in the owner's manual. Your help or suggestions would be much appreciated!
 
#22 ·
Hi ypsibird, The code 03 was displayed on my car Maintenance Minder when it's odometer shown 46,xxx miles and before I changed the CVT transmission fluid. However, I could not reset the MM. I looked through the car manual but could not find the procedure on how to reset it. I hope that you don't mind to share with me on how to reset it or where can I find the reset procedure in the owner's manual.
I'm admittedly surprised that you can't find this in your manual. Here's a cut and copy from the manual:

"Resetting the Display

Reset the engine oil life display if you have performed the maintenance service.

1. Turn the ignition switch to ON.

2. Display the engine oil life by repeatedly
pressing the (Select/Reset) knob.

3. Press and hold the knob for ten seconds
or more. The engine oil life indicator and the maintenance item codes blink.

4. Press the knob for five seconds or more. The displayed maintenance items
disappear, and the engine oil life display returns to 100%."

It's really very easy and only takes a couple of minutes to do. It resets only the codes showing when you do the reset.
 
#15 ·
I suggest signing up on Honda owner's link, so you can access the owner's manual on the website. It has a lot more information than the paper owner's manual. The instructions for resetting the maintenance minder are on page 136, in my 2016 Accord (paper) owner's manual.
 
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#32 ·
Honda HCF2 retails for 11.65 and you can get it at Bernardi parts for about 10 bucks a quart. Lets say you could get the Castrol for 6 bucks a quart. So I'll just assume for comparison purposes the Castrol is half the price. A CVT fluid change requires 4 quarts I believe. That's 24 bucks per change extra cost to the consumer. So over the life of the car lets say 120k, and you change the CVT fluid 4 times, that's a whopping 100 bucks saving. No way I would use some universal fluid to save 100 bucks. The Castrol spec sheet says "product claims" it doesn't say that it meets the Honda spec. I've never seen Honda say to do do a 3x fill and drain on a CVT but even if they did that's 400 bucks over the life of the car. IMO, using the universal fluid falls out of the range of being rational but hey, it's everyone's right to use whatever fluid they want.:grin
 
#35 ·
Why wait for the fluid get bad when you can replace it early and keep the CVT in good shape?

In this case you can't lean on 60,0000 miles warranty, because yes, you can run the car without changing the fluid those 60,000 miles, but you might have been damaging the internal parts, and after 60,000 miles the problem is on you.

You can stay without taking a bath for months, and you won't die, but surely you are more exposed to diseases on the skin.

I replace the CVT fluid every 30,000 miles.

It doesn't hurt a few tens of dollars every two years. After all, on the dealer or eBay, the price is not bad, this is something that you don't change every month.

The car runs good and better with the changing of the fluid before a potential of damage is present when it is leaved without proper maintenance.
 
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