So, I feel foolish, as I always take care of my cars. But today I learned my 2016 Honda Fit should have it's CVT transmission fluid changed between 30-60k. I am at 61k original miles.

I read then about the Maintenance Minder which I have assumed it was just for oil changes. But apparently that is not true. But why has it never popped up for nothing else but oil changes??

I would have been alerted to the need to change the transmission fluid it the light and codes came up. Am I missing something??

Figure I will change both the fluid and filter at this point.

 

Have you ever got a 3 with the A or B service alert? That's the code for transmission fluid service.

 

To be the best of my recall, no. Only time I have seen the yellow key pop up is when the oil change is due (I don't recall it coming up any other time).

So it does not pop up at around 30K or 60k for a transmission change?

 

No. My guess is that you will see it pop up sometime between 50K and 100K. I totally ignore the Maintenance Minder nonsense and manually determine my own schedule. I changed my CVT fluid at less than 25k miles. Regular oil changes twice a year at less than 5k each time.etc.

Honda has their own selfish reasons for setting the MM to long intervals for service. They want to go to fleet customers and say "Look! You only will have to change the oil every xx,xxx miles and the CVT fluid at xx,xxx miles. And this is only going to cost you $XXX in the first 3 years. Please buy a fleet of cars from us!!! Maintenance is cheap!"

Low maintenance cost is just a marketing tool that Honda (and probably every one else) uses to sell cars. They really don't care if longer intervals cause more wear on your car It's not like you're under warranty any more.

 

Good information. I know I can watch a video, but would you say changing dropping the pan, changing the filter and fluid, and re-adding it is a straight forward job? And is it fine to use a non-honda brand of fluid? IE other brands like Valvoline CVT full synthetic ATF? Or is the dealer the only way to go for quality?

I see there are two filters that come up for a search. One is small and cylinder looking with orange filament, the other is called a strainer assembly. Surely the strainer assembly isn't replace each time? It costs quite a bit more than the filter. Honda 25450-P4V-013 Filter vs. Honda 25420-5T0-003 Strainer Assembly.

The Honda 25450-P4V-013 Filter apparently needs an O-ring too?

 

I have never seen any recommendation - from Honda or YouTube mechanics - to drop the pan and change any filters. Maybe something you might do in a couple hundred thousand miles. I've strictly done drain and refill. That's fairly easy if you use the middle level plug instead of the top fill plug to refill. (There are three plugs on the CVT, top fill, middle level and bottom drain. The middle plug which is very accessible can be used for the fill since the true fill plug on the top is under a whole bunch of crap which would probably have to be removed.)

I use only Honda CVT fluid and can't comment on other brands.

 

I think I did mine the first time around 55k, then around 30k later. I was due for the next at around 115k, but then my Fit was totaled. Each time the MM came up with the code 3

 

Do you use a 'quart' pump then to fill the transmission from the middle plug? Not sure how you could do it otherwise.

And do both plugs need a new crush washer? 18mm I believe.

 

After fluid has been drained from bottom plug and plug replaced and tightened:

Car has to be level - Then just take a funnel with a long hose attached to it, run it down to the opening on the front side of the transmission after removing plug and stick it in. Pour fluid into the funnel. You actually don't even have to measure the amount because that middle opening is designed to overflow when the exact right quantity of fluid is poured in. Put the plug in but don't tighten it too hard. Start the car and slowly move the shifter through back and forth through the gears to get rid of any air bubbles in the CVT. Turn the engine off, open the plug again and stick your finger in to see if the level has dropped below the opening. If so pour more fluid in until it comes out the opening. Then you're done. Take the hose out, put the plug in and tighten it to the torque spec with a new washer. The aluminum washers are available from Honda or Amazon. Fill quantity: 3.4 Liters Honda HCF2 CVT fluid (Your manual will list US quantity in quarts.)

Numbers I have written down but double check info elsewhere:
Middle fill washer is 20 mm
Bottom drain washer is 18 mm
Both plugs get torqued to 32 ft-lb

 

Perfect, great information! Going to the dealer today to pick some up. Somewhere I read doing it four times is considered a full flush. So I am thinking about since this will be the first change with 61K miles, of doing it once now, and once again when my oil change is due, which is at 40% now. I guess a lot of the oil is in the converter which cannot be entirely replaced at once.

I did find a video where the person actually removed the pan and changed the two filters. He is still only removing the same amount of fluid it would seem. The question is how often those filters need to be changed.

 

The Honda fluid is expensive, On a CVT transmission I personally don't believe that much old fluid is retained when doing a drain and fill and it's not worth while worrying about it. I have however never seen the initial factory fill quantity mentioned anywhere.

 

This is a remnant from A/T in the second generation (2009-13) Fit, where draining the transmission only removed about half of the ATF. Maybe the first generation as well.

Your CVT is completely different so when you're reading or watching videos make sure they're appropriate for your third generation Fit with a CVT.

 

So I am baffled and a bit concerned.

Purchased 4 quarts from the Dealer. I added three, put the overfill plug in and back the car off the ramps. Ran through the gears several time for a few minutes.

Then even though I am small, struggled to check the overfill plug as the clearance is very difficult. (Not sure how others are able to get under the car, I could only barely reach in).

Loosed the plug and put my finger in the hole. None ran out and finger was just moist. So long story short, kept adding and after the entire four quarts, still not full or overflowing out of hole.

What again am I missing? I really figured after I poured the rest of the last quart in, when I plugged my hose out, it would be running out onto the garage floor. No such luck. I am sort of confused.

 

Did you do the work with the front of the car on ramps or with the car lifted and level? You always check the transmission level or do transmission work with the car level.

I don't know anything about the capacity of your CVT so can't speak specifically to whether 4 quarts should be enough for a drain and refill. Your owners manual should give you that information.

OK, here's a screen capture from the 2016 owner's manual (easily found online) that says the CVT fluid capacity is 3.6 US quarts. If you added 4 quarts and fluid isn't running out of the middle fill-level hole something seems to be wrong.

 

The over fill plug is easily reached from the front of the transmission, visible in front of you when you lift up the hood. Are you sure you poured the fluid into the right place?????

The car typically has to be jacked up in front to remove the bottom drain plug and drain the old fluid. Once that's done that plug can be fastened and torqued and the car let down onto a level surface. From then on you don't work underneath. You simply lift the hood up and the level plug will be clearly visible and accessible on the front of the transmission about mid way up..

 

I checked the level on the ground, off the ramps. Pretty sure indeed. I took the fill plug to the dealer, he saw it and matched the crush washer with the old one. 17 mm socket. I'll a picture right after dinner.

 

 

Just watched a video and it sure seems like I did everything right. Just not getting the overflow like in the video at 3.5 or so quarts.


If I have it in the right place, is it possible I may need to add more since it is now dripping out the overflow?

 

Apparently the fellow who made that video has never heard of the magical device we call a drain pan...

I'm confused about what you're saying. In your second sentence you say you're not getting overflow and then in your final sentence you say fluid is dripping from the overflow.

As several folks have stated, the proper fluid level is right at the level of the overflow plug (assuming the car is level). So if you have a very slow drip from the overflow hole you're done. If fluid is running from the overflow hole you have added too much and should wait until the fluid runs out to the level of that middle hole. If you're super OCD, you wait until the fluid stops dripping (again, assuming the car is level) and you will be perfect.

 

One letter made the sentence incorrect. The word Now should have been NOT.

"If I have it in the right place (the correct location of the overflow / fill), is it possible I may need to add more since it is NOT dripping out the overflow?

In other words, with the car sitting level on the garage floor, it is not running out of the overflow / fill. And putting my finger in the hole I do not feel the oil level.