| hammermdx |
| I have 24K miles on the X and it's been about 8K since I changed the ATF fluid last. Much to my surprise, the fluid was still pretty red and there were hardly any metal shavings on the magnet. I decided to do the change now, because we'll be driving to Hilton Head the end of this week. I also changed the oil and filter and rotated the tires. Sorry, but I was out of batteries for my digital camera. Hopefully the X will treat me and my family on this trip as well as I've treated it over the years :-). |
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| Northern_MDX |
| :29: you are my kind of car owner, have fun ! |
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| hammermdx |
| Easier than changing the oil, do a search and you'll find some great posts with pics and instructions. |
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| centmamdx |
ATF change at 16K the first time? and only 8K this time? what's up with that? Are you towing or some other hard service? Seems like a waste of time and money to be changing so often.
I was surprised by the necessity to change rear diffy at every 7.5K. How often have you changed that? every 3K?
Or do I need to be informed about a problem that I'm not aware of as a newbie to MDX land???
Mine only has 900 miles on it and I'm feeling like I've neglected it already! :) |
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| hammermdx |
quote:
Originally posted by centmamdx
ATF change at 16K the first time? and only 8K this time? what's up with that? Are you towing or some other hard service? Seems like a waste of time and money to be changing so often.
I was surprised by the necessity to change rear diffy at every 7.5K. How often have you changed that? every 3K?
Or do I need to be informed about a problem that I'm not aware of as a newbie to MDX land???
Mine only has 900 miles on it and I'm feeling like I've neglected it already! :)
No towing and no hard service, I do carry a bike rack every once in a while. It takes 15 minutes to drain the ATF fluid, and I beleive in an ounce of prevention given some of the tranny failures. I also changed the VTM fluid at 7500 miles as per the 2002 owners manual. Haven't changed it again as of yet.
Hopefully, the tranny problems have been resolved with the 2005 models. |
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| jford62 |
| A long time ago, Deltajetfixer recommended a drain and fill at every oil change (I use Mobil 1 and change every 7500 miles). I thought that was great advice...it is easy to do (buy a turkey baster and use it to fill ATF through the dipstick hole) and I have not had any trouble with the transmission (yet!). Given Honda's transmission record, I think a little prevention is worth it. |
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| hammermdx |
quote:
Originally posted by jford62
A long time ago, Deltajetfixer recommended a drain and fill at every oil change (I use Mobil 1 and change every 7500 miles). I thought that was great advice...it is easy to do (buy a turkey baster and use it to fill ATF through the dipstick hole) and I have not had any trouble with the transmission (yet!). Given Honda's transmission record, I think a little prevention is worth it.
I agree, however, Deltajetfixer and his X went their own way....can't say I blame him based on his findings: http://www.acuramdx.org/forums/show...0904#post290904 |
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| jford62 |
| Wow! I, somehow, missed that entire exchange. I guess I will just keep my fingers crossed:( ! |
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| Fabvsix |
When is it FIRST due ? 7,500 or 15,000 ? Or should I just call Tim ?
Thanks for saving me a trip to the manual....... |
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| nightguy |
| Had mine done at 15. |
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| Fabvsix |
nightguy: does the manual tell you that ? I drive like granny and don't tow anything.......I have about 5,500 miles ytd.....just trying to forecast my budget etc......
Thanks !
Fab |
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| nightguy |
'04 Manual says 15k for normal service, 7.5k for severe. Theoretically the differential isn't doing a whole lot as you tool around town except when the rear tires are going different speeds. To me a year is the same as 15k because the fluids absorb moisture.
My neighbor was a tech at a Chrysler dealer and thinks I'm crazy for changing the differential already and that I'm obsessing about the smell of the tranny fluid. |
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| Fabvsix |
Nightguy:
I only use it on weekends, otherwise its in the garage. It will turn a year old this November, so should I apply your "one year" therory with ONLY 5,550 precious California granny miles ? :confused: :confused: :confused: |
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| nightguy |
I'm not an expert but everytime I'm in SF it's damp. But you baby the hell out of your cars so to me it's a tossup. I guess it depends on how long you think you'll keep it. The more I think about it the more I'm leaning toward waiting.
Mine cost a little less than $70 although they accidentally quoted me $40 so I got a good deal. I usually have a lot of service coupons around too. If I had to pick between differential and tranny, I'd do the tranny.
Good question for SuperTech. |
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| Fabvsix |
Nightguy:
I don't think I've ever taken it to SF. If I do SF I take the RL. .... no pun....I use this for running errands around my area which is HOT as hell for the most part. I plan on keeping it for a long time..... |
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| nightguy |
| Tell ya what....I'll be out there in a few weeks. Let me drive it and I'll tell you what I think. Of course I'll need it for about 4 days to be sure. :D ;) |
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| Fabvsix |
| R I G H T .........................;) ;) |
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| SuperTech |
On the '03-up trans...I really don't see much harm in waiting till 30k to change the ATF, but you should do the flush at that point and not just a drain and fill. Unless you tow, or have the MDX constantly loaded with passengers or cargo, then do it at 15k like you're thinking here.
Personally, I'd do it at 15k and triple flush at 30k regardless of what kind of duty I used it for, just for the peace of mind. And if I had one of the early '01-02 models...assuming I didn't just trade it and let someone else have that time bomb, I'd do a triple flush every 15k regardless of duty. And no matter what year I had...I'd put the cooler on. Even if I never leaded the thing down. It's just cheap insurance.
For you '03-up owners, in addition to the VTM-4 change, I'd also suggest you drain and fill the front differential at 15k too. You wouldn't believe how dark that gear oil looks when it comes out even after only 15k on an MDX even less than a year old. |
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| mdx03trnv |
Previous DIY service done at 15k.
ATF - color still looked good(red), smells normal too. Magnet did have some sludge in it but not much and not gritty at all(should have taken a picture before I wiped it off). Took a sample of the fluid for UOA.
Front Diff - the 75w90 Mobil1 looked good(light honey colored, just a bit darker that the new refilled fluid) - similar to the previous service.
VTM - looked like just a bit darker than new as well. Nothing on the magnet.
Changed the air filter for the first time too.
Other than oil/filter changes and above fluid changes, this suv has not required any other service. Did rotate the tires at 15k. Mileage seems to be getting better as well( 22/23 highway, 15.5-18 city). Sure the brakes clunck, but it would not be an MDX if didn't
:2: |
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| eternity4ever |
what is ATF Fluid ?
where is it locate? |
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| Fabvsix |
ATF=Automatic Transmission Fluid located in the Transmission !
LOL ! :rolleyes: |
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| DaleB |
quote:
Originally posted by eternity4ever
what is ATF Fluid ?
where is it locate?
Seriously, you need to crack open the owner's manual, and read end to end.
Don't rely on the forum to teach you everthing.
First of all, we don't know everything, and secondly, it will be very time consuming to reassemble all the info in manual by searching through posts. |
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