Honda's auto trans "flush" procedure

found this in the Acura ServiceNews publication, Jan 2008:

- - -

Some A/T repair procedures call for flushing the trans using Acura
Precision Crafted ATF-Z1 (and no
substitutes). Problem is, where do you find the info to do that? It¹s
not listed in the S/Ms and if you do an
ISIS search, you¹ll find a few ServiceNews articles on this subject, but
they¹re rather dated, and none of
them say the same thing.
NOTE: The term ³flushing² refers to repeatedly draining and refilling
the trans with Acura Precision Crafted
ATF-Z1. Don¹t confuse it with aftermarket flush systems. American Honda
still strongly recommends that
you avoid using them on any Acura vehicle.
The original procedure was written for simpler A/Ts that readily
upshifted when you ran the vehicle on a lift.
But A/Ts have come a long way since then, and most of the newer ones
balk at shifting past 2nd gear
when on a lift, unless you work the shift lever a certain way.
In light of all this, we thought it was high time that the A/T flushing
procedure got a facelift. So here¹s the
latest word on flushing that works for all A/Ts:
1. Set the parking brake, and raise the vehicle on a lift.
2. Drain the trans, and refill it with Acura Precision Crafted ATF-Z1.
Refer to the applicable S/M or to ISIS
for details.
3. Start the engine, shift into Drive, and release the parking brake.
4. Push down on the accelerator pedal to raise the vehicle speed to
2,500 rpm.
€ If the trans shifts past 2nd gear, go to step 5.
€ If the trans won¹t shift past 2nd gear, keep the engine speed at 2,500
rpm and shift from Drive to
Neutral and back to Drive. Then go to step 5.
5. Make sure that the trans shifts through all the forward gears and
goes into torque converter lockup.
6. Let off the accelerator pedal, and press the brake pedal to drop the
vehicle speed to zero. Shift into
Reverse and then into Neutral.
7. Shift into Drive, and repeat steps 4 thru 6 four more times.
8. Set the parking brake, and repeat steps 2 thru 6 two more times.
9. Drain the trans, and reinstall the drain plug with a new sealing
washer.
10. Refill the A/T with ATF-Z1.

 

Huh.

My experience has been that Honda auto trans need new fluid pretty
often, or they start misbehaving, but even with this procedure
apparently you only clear about a third of the fluid, right?

About time Honda reengineered it so the total fluid replacement worked
a little better. Apparently its too much to ask that the tranny
should just work right with scheduled (30k miles) flush.

(I haven't had a huge problem with it since my 1999 Acura CL, but I
was talking to someone just yesterday, said her boyfriend's 2008
Accord was bogging and then shifting violently, he hated it, and so
tried to keep the revs up all the time. That's just the behavior I
finally learned was caused by bad tranny behavior and mostly fixed by
flushing the fluid. I told her to tell him to change the trans fluid
and thank me later.)

J.

 

oh, that's easy, simply remove the torque converter and cut a hole in it!

before you blame honda, do you /know/ it had oem fluid in it?

 

I didn't subject it to chemical analysis, but I've bought all my
Hondas new from the dealer and since I've been leasing had 100% of
service done there.

I think these tranny problems are going waaaaay underreported, people
assume as I did that it's a normal but unpleasant function, or somehow
their fault. Maybe it's better now, didn't Honda just change from dry
plate to wet plate or some other large redesign? I got through three
years and 45k miles on my 2007 without major problems. But I was just
relating problems with a 2008 - don't know if it was a 4 or 6 banger.

Actually, my 2010 is acting a little luggy already, not sure if it's
anything, yet. Not that big pause and then BANG! into lower gear that
characterizes the problem, just what may be a little hesitance to
downshift. So far. Not even broken in yet, a little too soon to
worry.

J.