Update 1:
Just completed the first drain and fill with DW-1 and took the car for a spin. Noticeable improvement in shift quality and "the sound" only happened twice just as I was pulling out of my sub. Drove for about 10 miles and did not hear the sound again. I'm taking that as a very good omen since it seemed to happen every time I accelerated from a stop in the past. Tranny is draining for a second time as I type this.

Two observations - 1. Although the manual recommends adding 2.5 quarts after draining, my experience was that this left the fluid very low according to the dipstick measurement (done when warm as the manual specifies). Three whole quarts seemed much better. This makes sense because according to the lines on my drain pan it was about three quarts that came out of the tranny.
2. The fluid that came out was DARK brown. Having bought the car used with almost 90k on it, I'm assuming this was the first time the fluid has been drained. Being 30k over the recommended interval, I'm really hoping that this doesn't lead to future problems... There was absolutely no metal on the drain bolt magnet when I pulled it, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that no harm was done.

I spoke with a tech at the local Honda dealership and they said that their procedure calls for a 3x drain and fill when completely changing out the fluid. Planning on filling up a second time tonight and then driving to work and back tomorrow. I'll do a third drain and fill tomorrow and then update again.

Once more, thanks to all of you for your insight.

 

I have 114,000 miles of mostly city driving on mine. At 30,000 miles the shifting seemed to be different. It seemed to shift too hard and it felt much different then when it was new. So then I did a 4 times drain and fill then that cleared it up. When I changed my fluid at 30,000 miles it looked like it was very dark red and about to go brown. From that point forward, I now change the fluid myself in the driveway with a very large pan I bought at Walmart. 1 drain and fill every oil change which should equal 4 times drain and fill by 28000 miles. This technique works very well for keeping the transmission running smoothly. I find its very easy to change it out and only once did the plug on the transmission become stuck which I took it to a mechanic who got it off very quickly. I guess that is the only danger of doing it yourself...overtightening the plug.

I buy the DW1 off of Ebay in cases and you can find deep discounts there.

1 drain and fill should replace about 40% of the fluid. Therefore

1 times drain and fill= 60% of the original fluid

2 times drain and fill= .4 times .6= 24% of the original fluid

3 times drain and fill= .4 times .24= 9.6% of the original fluid

4 times drain and fill= .4 times .096= 3.8% of the original fluid

5 times drain and fill= .4 times .038= 1.5% of the original fluid

Therefore, a 3 times drain and fill will still have about 10% of the original fluid. You should do one more drain and fill which will get it down to 3.8%. A 5 times drain and fill would be a little much, but if you really want to get the transmission down to the least amount that would be it. I found a 4 times drain and fill to be the most optimal getting my transmission back to exactly as it was new.

When doing the drain and fill, drive the car around for a day before doing another drain and fill to ensure proper mixing within the transmission.

 

you're forgetting that when you do subsequent drain fills, you're also draining out the newer dw-1 fluid at whatever the previous ratio was. The progression is more like this:

 

sounds good. 60K is the recommended severe service (Honda's not the poster above) interval. Normally the first drain/fill isn't called for until after 100K by the MM. You should be ok.

The Honda dealership also is making up stuff. There's limited benefit after the 3rd so I'd probably stop there, but it's only about 80% refreshed.

 

Well, I completed the 4x drain and fill with ATF DW-1 two days ago and have not heard "the sound" since. For any others that find their way to this thread, a changing of the transmission fluid is definitely the solution to your problem. On top of getting rid of the grinding / rattling noise, there is a noticeable improvement in shift quality especially going into and out of park, as well as a modest increase in fuel economy.

Regarding the noise itself - There seemed to be some debate earlier in the thread about what type of sound we were talking about. Some said it was a short grinding sound, others said it was more of a heat shield rattle, and some thought it might just be the sound of fluid moving under pressure. My experience was that it initially started as a very short grinding sound, usually heard between 2nd and 3rd gear, (exactly the sound heard in DeySilver's video earlier in the thread) and evolved over a few weeks into more of a heat shield rattle that could be heard during almost every shift. The sound only occurred with a light throttle, for instance when coming out of a turn in traffic. It didn't seem to happen during hard acceleration. Some folks also said that they only heard the sound when the engine was cold. I, however, heard it all the time, and possibly more as the engine got warmer.

Regarding the process of changing the trans fluid - As others have noted, each drain and fill takes 3 quarts rather than the 2.5 specified in the manual. A 4x drain and fill will require a full case of 12 quarts. I bought a case at the local dealership for about $8 per quart. You will also need a pan to drain the used fluid into as well as a funnel with a long hose on it to fill the transmission. My total cost was about $115. The dealership told me they would do a 3x drain and fill for $300, so I definitely think it's worth doing yourself. As a person who has not typically done much of my own work in the past, I found the job pretty straight forward and not particularly difficult. Each drain and fill took about 30 minutes. I was able to reach the drain plug under the car with no problem without jacking the car up at all. Getting that bolt loose does take a fair amount of torque, but it is not impossible. I did not need a helper bar, but my ratchet does have a handle that extents by an extra 3 or 4 inches, which definitely helped. Be prepared for the fluid to come out FAST once the bolt is removed. I would highly recommend putting a piece of cardboard or something under your pan in case there is any spillage.

I guess that's it. Thanks to everyone for the input.

 

A lot of folks have disagreed with me, but I believe the four times fill/drain should be done every 30,000 miles cutting in half the time it says in the manual. I do a single drain and fill each time I get the oil changed. I get a large pan from Walmart, buy DW1 by the case off of Ebay and buy washers at Honda.

I replace the oil pan plug every two years to get a new magnet which is the filter.

Im looking to get 300,000 miles before any major service.

 

no no, I disagreed with doing a drain/fill every 7k miles. Good luck with 300K no major service. I'll light a candle for you.

The manual says:

The shop manual says
So, what the manuals are actually saying (if I may be so bold) is at Maintenance Minder 3, perform a single drain fill. MM3 occurs somewhere after 100K miles (according to anecdotal accounts). If you drive up and down Pike's Peak annoyingly slow, then do a single drain/fill at 60K miles.

-or- If you drive in Metro NY, get a keg of the stuff with an IV line and do a medium drip.

Oh, and the Transmission filter is the filter. It's not a maintenance item and will last the life of the transmission. The magnet is the magnet and does not wear out. Just wipe it off.

There is a crush washer that should be replaced each time you remove the drain plug though.

Some of us have older Fits that came with Honda's whimsically named ATF-Z1 and have opted to perform multiple drain fills to replace it with the much tastier DW-1 by means of multiple drain/fills. Not only does it seem to shift smoother, but it eliminates annoying noises (not the ones from the back seat). If you bought yours after 2010, this doesn't apply to you.

I now return you to your regularly scheduled maintenance.

 

I know what the manuals say and they are all wrong. If you drive your Honda Fit in an urban area or really push your Fit to the limits, then you should change the auto transmission fluid...change meaning 4 times drain/fill... every 30,000 miles. Since I do not have the luxury of time, it is more convenient to do this at every oil change. Changing the fluid is the easiest thing you can do besides changing the headlamp bulb.


Now if you disagree with me that's fine, but as this thread has proven many people have had trouble with the transmission stating there is noise and problematic shifting after a while. When they look at the fluid its brown and has a funny smell. So its a simple deduction, they need to change their fluid more often. 60,000 miles doesn't cut it or they might be just doing an ordinary drain/fill every 60,000 miles.


Call any mechanic and ask them what the interval is. They will tell you the manual is wrong. You need to flush, meaning 4 times drain/fill, every 7000 miles.


My Fit gets driven a few hundred city miles each day through New York City and currently has 115000 miles on it. I know what it takes to keep my Fit on the road.

 

No mechanic is going to suggest $300 in transmission service every 30K miles, or $100 every 7,000. They'll talk themselves out of customers damn fast.

I have a lot of respect for car mechanics, but more for the engineers that designed, tested, and specified maintenance for the cars they created. And it's not like they have no experience to draw on...

 

The engineers do not drive the Honda Fit everyday or work as mechanics. I am telling you (we are telling you) the real world experiences we are having and how we are solving the issues. When I drain/filled 4 times my transmission at 32000 miles it went back to how it was when I bought the car. Before it was shifting funny, not how it shifted when I got the car, and the fluid was very dark red and looked like it was turning brown. After that experience, I now do 1 drain/fill every 7000 miles. That's what I need to do to maintain my car.

 

I disagree with you. What's even worse, you're encouraging others to blow their money on unnecessary service and you believe you know more than Honda's engineers. You've single handily taken one of the lowest cost vehicle's to own and made it one of the most expensive.

It's recommended by Honda to follow the MM. It's no more complicated than that to maintain your Honda Fit.

 

All you had to do is get the trans fluid analyzed from the first sample. Tests If there was a problem you would be the first to know it.

 

I have an automatic 2009 fit sport and it has the same problem. Weird one second grinding/rattling noise occasionally when it shifts from 2nd to 3rd. Has anyone had any confirmation from Honda about the problem? I called Honda today and the lady I talked to had never heard of the problem. I asked about changing to DW-1 and she said not to. I might just take it to the dealership and see what they say. Does anyone know if it really is a "problem"? If it is just a noise I can live with it, but if it is causing or could cause damage I want to fix it. A little nervous about going against Honda's advice though. Thanks

 

The noise bothered me. Besides eliminating the noise, shifting is smoother. This is after one drain and refill of 3 quarts. It holds about 6 quarts so it's not a complete change. Honda charges varying amounts for the drain/fill service but it shouldn't be more than $80. (I paid $110; it's about $12/quart*3 plus a crush washer for about $3 and easier than doing an oil change).

I don't think there are any Technical Service Bulletins on the topic, but there are enough anecdotal accounts here to warrant doing it if the noise bothers you.

DW-1 is fully backward compatible with the older Z1 fluid (they're both Honda products). I don't think they sell Z1 anymore, so all you're really doing is early maintenance, not going against Honda's recommendations.

 

I own a 2009 fit sport with navi automatic and i thought i was the only one experiencing this issue. Im actually qbout to change the tranny fluid again soon being that ive had the car for two years, got it at 34k and now im just over 89k (i did the tramny fluid at 60k as ive read was recommended and than every 30k after that). I think it has something to do with the automatic shifts if you're driving it too slow because if i step on it at a reasonable rate, it doesn't happen. Does anyone with a manual have this issue?

 

Did the drain and fill at the dealership. $80 and the noise is gone. Not sure if it was a real problem but nice not to hear it anymore.