Just changed my MT fluid for, I think, the second time in 35k miles. Man, oh, man, does this car love fresh transmission fluid! That shifter is slicky-slick once again (although it wasn't giving me any problems before the change). I think I'm gonna start changing it every 5k miles.


Marrk
'08 Fit Base Model

 

whoa i didn't know manual transmissions needed fluid to be changed... i was planning on leaving mine in there untill like 200k miles lol

 

Go ahead, Vash. Make fun of me like I'm a noob.

I change my MT fluid in my s2k every 5k mi., but, until today, I was too lazy to do same for the Fit. Now, I've had a change of fluid-changing heart.

 

The Honda MTF has friction additives that seem to wear out. So while 5K miles seems a bit obsessive-compulsive to me unless you are tracking the car, every 25 - 30K miles is beneficial for normal street use.



We noticed a difference in the '06 CRV the first time we changed MTF (~15k miles) but the second time the improvement was less noticeable (~ 45K miles).

We changed the '07 Fit's MTF at 22K miles, and didn't notice that much difference.

A friend let his '05 RSX go to 80K miles (!) before changing the fluid, that was night and day.

 

Yes, 'Buff, my information is more or less consistent with yours. I never heard anyone say that the additives wear out, but this makes sense.

With regard to the s2k: I recall seeing a YouTube where the guy who invented the s2k advised that the MFT be changed at every oil change. That was my first wake-up call on the matter.

 

Honda MTF is quite good stuff, but it does tend to go "dead" after about 10K miles, it is good for another 5K according to the intervals. I have found two solutions, one is adding Militec-1 to the new fluid when I put it in the car, the other is to use Redline MTL. Both options provide just about the same performance over the full 15K miles.

Changing MTF at every oil change is a bit of overkill, especially if you use products like Redline or Amsoil as they really don't breakdown over mileage, every other oil change is still a lot of fluid changes but wouldn't hurt anything. I will probably change my CR's tranny fluid at every other oil change as it is driven aggresively frequently.

 

I love that fresh feeling altho every 5k? definitely good for the car but dont kill that wallet

 

im at 36k miles, i guess i should change mine haha

 

i've changed mine at 30k and 68k but i never felt any difference. i do drive this car pretty weak though.

 

Thanks! Mine is about to hit 10k .. definitely gonna change it since I do tend to drive it pretty hard.

 

For anyone reading this thread who thinks "meh it still shifts fine I'll leave it in there" and fails to realize that it's just OIL (with special stuff in it now, honda used to use 5w30) without any kind of pump, filtration, or COOLING (and it gets HOT sometimes), and you leave it in there for too long-

well I'll tell you what'll happen. It'll get thinner and thinner and eventually (in the neighborhood of 100k-150k normally but sometimes sooner) the highest and least lubricated bearing in the tranny - the clutch housing input shaft bearing - will I repeat WILL self-destruct. That's not pretty especially when the balls find their way into the gearsets, splitting the casing in half...

On a honda, I would never ever ever run more than 30k to a tranny fluid change myself. Just extending to 50k tends to make noisy 4th and 5th gear roller bearings before the third change. Personally I'll try for every 15k-20k, but more often if I drive hard. The civic got it every second oil change.

I barely caught my input shaft bearing on my last honda when an axle seal leaked the level down enough to run it dry. Honestly it was so loud and loose in its cage I guarantee it was within minutes of grenading.

Cheap cheap cheap maintenance given the alternative.

 

CR! Dang . . .

Bought it new? How many miles were on that CR when you bought it?







(I have CR envy. It's an unattractive personality flaw, I know. I'm trying to get over it.)

 

I love that fresh feeling. Like walking through a meadow of daisies with, you know, a new feminine hygiene product in the appropriate place.

I love that fresh feeling. What can I say?

 

The Fit and the s2k are my first Hondas, so I never knew about this MFT fluid business. On all my other cars, they always told me to just leave it be, if there's any oil in there at all, you're good to go. (And this was from a transmission shop.)

 

i change mine every 12-15K. there's nothing wrong with changing before its recommended. but i would recommend staying with Honda MTF unless your trans is built or LSD equipped

 

Your point is well taken.


BTW, Honda recommends the same Honda MTF for the s2k, which has LSD.

 

Another option - switch to a synthetic transmission fluid. I use AMSOIL's . . . recommended change interval of at least 50k miles.

 

Yeah, but, Dae', that begs the question re additives.


Apparently, it's all about the additives. Unless the Amsoil has the same or similar additives, we're f*cked.

 

They've got a synthetic MTF specifically formatted for Honda transmissions.

 

what's the gd mt fluid capacity?