ATF overfill

I just brought home my Accord from a reg. maintenance where the ATF was
also replaced and when I checked the ATF level right after stopping the
engine (still hot!), I found the fluid level about a 1/4 inch above the
top mark. I'm pretty pissed by it but I wonder if this is an ignorable
issue or I should go back and get it fixed. I wish there was an easy way
to remove the excess fluid by myself but I don't know of any.

 

Nothing should be ignored--if they did it wrong, they should make it
right.

This could be an honest mistake, or they could be incompetent.

Regardless, you know it's wrong--you don't need to ask us for permission
to go back and make them make it right. That's why you went to them in
the first place.

You should never, ever feel like you have the responsibility to fix what
you paid to have done right the first time.

 

Did you check the fluid per the Owner's Guide. I've never dealt with a Honda
automatic, but all the other automatics I am familar with call for checking
the fluid with the transmission hot in park with the engine IDLING. You
indicated you stopped the engine. This would definitely lead to a high
reading on the dipstick since the fluid would drain back into the pan. Be
sure you are measuring the fluid correctly! See your owners manual!

Ed

 

Ed, I did it per Owner's Manual but that does not say that the ATF
should be checked with engine IDLING. Here is the relevant section from
the manual:

Check the fluid level with the engine
at normal operating temperature.

1. Park the car on level ground. Shut
off the engine.

2. Remove the dipstick (yellow loop)
from the transmission and wipe it
with a clean cloth.

3. Insert the dipstick into the
transmission.

4. Remove the dipstick and check
the fluid level. It should be
between the upper and lower
marks.

5. If the level is below the lower
mark, add fluid into the tube to
bring it to the upper mark. Use
Honda Premium Formula Automatic
Transmission Fluid or an
equivalent DEXRON® II Automatic
Transmission Fluid (ATF)
only.

6. Insert the dipstick back in the
transmission. Make sure the notch
fits in the dipstick guide and the
dipstick is down all the way.

 

As I mentioned, I've never actually done anything with a Honda Automatic
(both of the Hondas I have been associated with were manuals). My Nissan,
Fords, and Mazda all say to check it with the engine idling in park. I
wasn't sure of the process Honda used, I wanted to point out the
importance of following the correct procedure.

If you have access to a fluid pump it is relatively easy to snake a tube
down the dip stick hole and suck out a small amount of fluid. But since you
paid for a fluid change, I'd suggest that you take it back to the shop that
did the work and let them handle it.

Ed

 

OP did it correctly. Honda automatics are a bit weird: They require to have
the fluid level checked with engine hot, and within one minute of shutting
it off.

 

And that's exactly what I did. I drove back to the shop and the mechanic
took care of it. So now the ATF level is at the top mark.

 

My 02 Odyssey specifies it with the engine off.