Does Honda have their own synthetic?

I bought their coolant, at about $20 a gallon. That's pre-mixed, so it's really two quarts of antifreeze and two quarts of water for $20. I figured I play it safe and use their stuff. Their special CVT fluid is also more expensive than name brands, but I don't want to take a chance. At least I don't have to change a filter.

 

Honda has regular, semi synthetic and full synthetic all in their brand.

Interestingly the oil they said came in the GD is the semi-ynthetic blend not full synthetic, I know their bike oil thats trade named Honda-Blend is good stuff..

 

For warranty purposes you are not required to use Honda oil. That was decided in a famous United States vs General Motors Supreme Court Case in the US many decades ago where GM got it's butt kicked by the court for trying to enforce mandatory use of their brand of oil (and other products) in their cars. For warranty purposes you can use any oil that is equivalent and meets the same standards.

You will note that as a result of that court decision the car makers will imply that you should use their products and state their products are highly recommended by them and they strongly urge you to use their products but they're very careful not to cross the line in what they say and use terminology like "mandatory" and the like.

 

They can also give it a certain specification, something that no one else makes, whether it's different or not. Take Honda's CVT fluid, for example. I don't know if the generic "Japanese Cars" fluid would be okay but I don't want to take a chance, out of warranty or not. The same with the coolant.

 

Yup. If they can make it significantly unique and avoid tying it to industry standards then they can make their brand pretty much compulsory for their cars. And yes, CVT and radiator fluid get changed so infrequently you might just as well stay with the Honda product.

One has to wonder how much sales/profit Honda is going to lose as electric cars come in. They don't use all these fluids and maintenance items that Honda (and others) make so much profit on.

 

Update: The dealer replaced the clips at the back of the splash guard and secured it to the skid plate. No charge.

 

Good.:hy per:

 

No splash guard issues, ever. Removed and stored in the garage since the first oil/filter change.

 

there's a skid plate on the GK?

 

Written that way on the service ticket and also what the service writer told me. Just passing along the info, who knows if it's correct.

 

Label on Zerex "Asian" coolant specifically says it meets Honda specs. Unfortunately, Honda doesn't actually seem to publish their specs, so there is really no way for Zerex to know for sure. That said, the worse case scenario, if you use non-silicate non-Honda coolant, that is labeled pHOAT (phosphates plus hybrid organic acid technology) which is what Honda does specify, is that you'll have to change your coolant a little more often, in order to prevent corrosion. Honda admits that when it says it is ok to use non-silicate coolant "temporarily." Also, it appears that the same company that makes Honda pHOAT coolant, CCI, also makes the pHOAT coolant used by toyota, kia, and hyundai. While I don't know for sure if it is exactly the same coolant, they label their coolant as being appropriate for toyota hyundai and kia, and they label the same coolant as being appropriate for Honda. So it seems that if you put toyota hyundai or kia coolant in your Honda, you are putting in the same coolant as Honda coolant.

The CVT fluid however, is a different story. As far as I can tell no other company, except the company that makes it for Honda, makes any claim that their fluid is appropriate. Furthermore, there are more things involved with the CVT fluid than corrosion protection. The nature of the fluid used will determine whether the belt segments will be able to push the driven pulley without slipping, and without excessive wear. The pulley surface has a patented surface etched by lasers, that is made to work in the situation created by the combined effect of shape of the belt segments, the surface of the pulleys, and the nature of the fluid. If the fluid is not exactly correct, it may have an immediate deletorious effect, as opposed to gradually developing deleterious effect that becomes significant only after many years. Suburu cvts have a chain-like belt. But toyota and nissan have belts that are similar to honda's belt. Does toyota and nissan have a significantly different kind of surface etching on their pulleys? Will toyota or nissan fluid be ok for a Honda?I still wouldn't take a chance. The worse case scenario for wrong cvt fluid is worse than worse case scenario for wrong coolant.

 

I would bet that Aisin makes all their CVT boxes, including Honda's. Stands to reason their fluids would be similar, but there is still specs by the purchasing company that adjust the end product.

You can tell a lot if you request the MSDS on any fluid you buy, they have to give it to you by law.

 

Yes! If you accidentally drive too close to tall grass, that skid shield will protect the engine from damage. : )

 

Thanks dwtaylorpdx, that is new information to me, that Aisin makes CVTs. Acc to wikipedia aisin makes transmissions for 55 car companies. Web site at AISIN AW CO., LTD. : The world's No.1 manufacturer of AT and car navigation systems

 

According to car and driver article 2013 december "Audi, Honda, Hyundai, Subaru, and Toyota all make their own CVTs. Nissan owns a controlling interest in JATCO, the firm that supplies 49 percent of the world’s gear-free transmissions to Chrysler, GM, Mi*tsu*bishi, and Suzuki. In addition, nearly half of Nissan’s current U.S. models offer a JATCO-supplied CVT."

 

Easy enough to spot, Aisin stamps their logo on parts.... All the car companies are inbred... GM owns a big share of Isuzu, Ford owns a chunk of Mazda and Mitsubishi..

Toyota used American made CV's in their solid axle trucks,,, LOL Like cousins marrying cousins..

 

Yeah, this happened to me somehow. I know for a fact I didn't hit anything. I was on the freeway and all of a sudden I hear a scraping noise. I just ended up removing the cover since it was all beat up.

 

About 3 weeks after a dealer oil change the front 4 screws fell out

 

I bet he'll be willing to sell you a new one.

Confront him, and he should give you one for free.

 

It happened to me a while back.

Now the dealer changed it's policy and replaces all teh clamps and screws new on each oil change for FIT.

I pull over a few blocks away after the change and always check the work.

It's always a good policy to check the work after a dealer because there are so many techs coming and going you never know.

I also use a Sharpee to mark the filter to make sure its changed.

One time on FIT and years ago on a Nissan (at pep boys) they did not change it and I called them on it. You never know--mark your filter when the engine is cold before the change.

At the Honda Dealer they explained to me, after reviewing a video of the service bay and the tech working on my car, that he just plain forgot because he was as they told me "chasing hours," car dealer jargon. The techs need to work fast to get their hours in to make the most commission for work that day. The Dealer compensated me with $300.00 credit for future work for the mistake but cautioned that it can happen again because that is how techs are compensated and they get pulled in different directions.