So I took my 2007 fit to the honda dealer yesterday because I was having issues with jerking and the check engine light came on turns out it was some type of sensor or whatnot. I have to talk to the guy more tomorrow cuz I only had a few mins to talk. Anyways he said I needed a transmission flush my car has 116000 miles on it. Is this a must?? I heard its not good to do so sometimes.

 

IMO, do not let them flush the tranny; I didn't know any Honda dealers were still doing that. Simple drain and refill is the way to go. Maybe that's what the dealer would actually do, and the service writer you spoke to still calls it a "flush"?

 

The dealer made me do that around 50 or 60k miles.

They also recommended a brake fluid exchange around 75k. I had never heard of it, and went ahead with it, then everyone I talked to afterward said they just screwed me out of $100.

 

Honda dealers recommend drain and fills to replace the ATF, not flushes, every 30k miles or 2 years (or if car is towed behind motorhome 60k or 2 years, then every 30k). IF that dealership is recommending an actual transmission flush, I'd go elsewhere for service.

The only time a transmission flush is done is when a transmission has failed and a replacement has been installed. This is just to clear the lines of ANY contaminated ATF remaining in the system from the failed transmission.

Did the service adviser/technician specifically tell you what code(s) came up, what tests were ran to verify that said "sensor" was the probable cause of the issue?

By 120k miles, what recommended to have done to the car is a coolant replacement (every 60k/5 years), brake fluid replacement (60k/3 years), automatic transmission fluid replacement (30k/2 years), spark plug replacement (105k/8 years), and a valve adjustment.

 

Nah, you were probably due for it, brake fluid does need to be changed every 3 years or so. I would definitely have changed mine by 75k miles.

To the OP, yes, just drain and fill the trans, it doesn't get all the old fluid out but enough of it to make a difference.

 

Honda dealers may recommend all sorts of things, since they get paid for it, but the owners manual says that the maintenance minder will tell you (code 3) when it's time to replace trans. fluid. And even the severe service interval is only at 60k then every 30k. NOT every 30k/2 years.

 

I see... AND did you see the spot where it said "If you tow your Fit behind a motorhome, the transmission fluid must be changed at 60,000 miles, then every 30,000 miles." for the 2007 or where it says for the 2009s, "If you tow your Fit behind a motorhome, the transmission fluid must be changed every 2 years or 30,000 miles, which ever comes first." which both used the same ATF-Z1 at the time their service intervals were written?

From the 2007 manual...


From the 2009 manual...


Admittedly, I had gotten some of my mileage info mixed up in my initial post BUT there is still a 2 year interval and the ATF will be recommend for replacement every 30k after the initial ATF drain and refill... Be it 60k or 30k.

In addition to that and from what I've seen through personal experience with my GD, ATF-Z1 (which was phased out and replaced by the current ATF-DW1) begins to break down around 22-25k miles into its "60k service life" and shift quality was noticeably different than before when driving around town at low speeds. Whenever I'd accelerate enough from around 20-25 MPH in 3rd gear to cause the torque converter to open, it didn't open nearly as smooth as it was 10k or less into that ATF's service life. Then same goes for the torque converter closing when passing at highway speeds when going from 3rd to 4th or 4th to 5th.

So long story, short... I personally would recommend 30k/2 year intervals for Hondas using ATF-Z1 still despite what the service information says in owners manual.

As for the new/current ATF-DW1, I can't say too much since I haven't had too much experience with it in my GD. I used it for my 2nd ATF replacement at 60k miles so far this stuff is performing better than Z1 (initially at least) and I currently have driven 8k with it... so far so good, shifts and still crisp and issues with the torque converter opening or closing smoothly as of yet.

 

No, because the OP never said anything about having the car towed behind a motor home.

The oil change is recommended by Honda as per the MM but at least once/year. The ATF doesn't seem to say that. It says to do it as per the MM (absent conditions like severe service or towing the car).

 

True, OP never said anything about towing their Fit... They also never said anything about routine/preventive maintenance they have done (IF any) prior to going in to have their check engine light diagnosed so why assume that they did and rule out any needed/recommended maintenance unless it was stated that they had done it?

2 years on ATF-Z1 is still 2 years on ATF-Z1 regardless of 30k, 60 or any mileage between and its still recommended to be replaced.

On the other hand, I understand were you are coming from when looking for the year interval. I was looking through some material from work trying to find an EXACT answer regarding the fluid changes for both ATFs Z1 and DW1 including the mileage and year interval but couldn't find anything in there except from the 2009 GE8 manual (which again was factory filled with Z1 like the '07/'08 GD3) at this time...

I'm still going to try to find an answer to that from Honda because I'm quite curious to see what they specifically say about their ATF excluding using the maintenance minder.