Honda transmission fluid change dealer cost11/28/2023 ![]() ![]() You can ask your dealer's opinion on changing transmission fluid. If you want to keep your car longer, you want to make sure it's in good shape. My mechanic told me that the fluid is very dirty, but he warned me that changing transmission fluid at high mileage when it's that dirty is risky and sometimes can make it worse, so I decided to leave it.īoth opinions make sense. Sometimes when I shift into reverse, there is a little delay before the tranny engages, but otherwise it drives fine. ![]() It was at 55K miles, now I'm at 80K and my car runs fine.Įd: My truck has over 160K miles. He said there was no problem and he got it done for me. I visited my dealer where I bought the car and asked the technician that I know, who worked on my car before. I checked my maintenance schedule and it doesn't even mention transmission fluid. Joe: I drive a lot and I want to know for sure that my transmission is in good shape. Should you change the transmission fluid if it's not mentioned in the maintenance schedule? Is there any reason not to change transmission fluid at all? We spoke with two car owners with different views: Transmission rebuilding shops aren't going out of business anytime soon. The fact that auto manufacturers are striving to reduce the size and weight (and cost!) of their transmissions doesn't help either. Transmission problems, whether caused by wear and tear or other reasons, are still common in many cars. Yes, fluid quality and transmission technology have improved, but no, this did not eliminate mechanical wear. They want to show lower maintenance costs. If the transmission fluid change is not in the maintenance schedule, does it mean it's filled for life? We know that we have to take manufacturer's recommendations with a grain of salt. For normal driving conditions, the transmission fluid change is not included. I think it’s a bit premature to say the dealer is ripping anyone off without knowing one thing about what that 500 dollars entails or the locale where the service is to be done.In many recent cars, however, transmission fluid change is not even mentioned in the maintenance schedule, or included only for severe driving conditions.įor example, the Warranty and Maintenance Guide for the 2018 Toyota Camry says to change the transmission fluid at 60,000 miles when "Driving while towing, using a car-top carrier, or heavy vehicle loading" as well as when "Extensive idling and/or low speed driving for a long distance such as police, taxi or door-to-door delivery use." It's called Special Operating Conditions. The stupidity of that particular recommendation just amazes, or stupefies, me every time I hear it or read of it. The factory boys are also the ones who apparently can make a recommendation about an “audible valve lash” inspection without being even being embarassed over it. All car makers want to promote the perception their vehicles need little maintenance and they started this trend roughly back in the mid 80s to a somewhat minor degree and by the 90s it was becoming a full blown program. What the factory recommends and what is often really needed are 2 separate things. The shop flat rate charges easily run 125 dollars an hour in certain parts of the country.Ī 60k miles service is a major one on any vehicle and if one figured 2.5 hours on that service that puts the tab at over 300 dollars just on labor and excluding fluids/filters/etc. However, if you have an automatic transmission, I would use whichever one of these is appropriate. I use this power steering fluid and I use this oil in my manual transmission. I haven’t used Honda brand fluids in it in the last 100,000 miles. My 1998 Honda Civic has 207,000 miles on the odometer. Your independent mechanic can use Honda’s fluids too, especially if you find a mechanic will let you buy the fluids at a Honda dealership and bring them to the garage. You should use Honda’s automatic transmission fluid, but for everything else, it’s pretty easy to find fluids that meet Honda’s specifications. The line about Honda’s fluids is just fear-mongering. The 30,000 mile maintenance should be about $300-350, but they do a lot more at 60,000 miles than they do at 30,000 miles. Honestly, $500 for the 60,000 mile maintenance doesn’t sound too bad. After all of my warranties expired, I stopped going to dealerships. I was able to find dealerships in my area with reasonable prices, and it meant I didn’t have to save my maintenance records to maintain my warranty. I used Honda dealerships for all maintenance until all of the warranties (including the drivetrain warranty), expired.
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