I just changed all of the ATF in my wife's 2008 Fit Sport automatic at 35,000 miles with Honda's new ATF-DW1. The Maintenance Minder was not showing a change was required but I didn't want to mix the original ATF-Z1 with the new, superior fluid.

I purchased 7 quarts of ATF-DW1 plus a drain plug crush washer at a local Honda dealer. The dealer has a website with low prices and the parts department gave me the online price. Cool.

I was inspired by the December, 4 2010 thread posted by KyleB and expanded by Rocksnap. I did make two changes to Rocksnap's process to flush, rather than drain/fill, the old ATF that I want to share.

1. Clean the black, sludge deposits from the ATF drain plug magnet.


Because Roscksnap’s process did not drain the old ATF first, the drain plug’s magnet could not be cleaned. This is something I wanted to do.

A: Do a conventional ATF drain and fill as described in the User Manual and KyleB’s post.
B: Clean the drain plug magnet. There was only a little grime and no shavings but it's worth doing.
C: Collect the old ATF in a clean pan. Let it drip for 12 hours.
D: Replace the drain plug along with the new crush washer. Note: the washer has different surfaces; the flat surface goes against the transmission case.
E: Measure the amount of ATF drained; 3.25 quarts.


Tip: Pour the old ATF from the pan into an empty, translucent one gallon milk jug through a funnel. I had marked the milk jug in gallons on the outside. Let it drip for 12 hours

F: Fill the transmission through the A/T dipstick hole with the same amount of ATF that drained (3.25 quarts) with ATF-DW1
G: Replace the dipstick correctly.

Note: Do not start the engine during (1) and go directly to (2):


2. Flush the old ATF from the radiator


Rocksnap used the transmission line flowing to the radiator to drain the old ATF. This approach is the easiest but cannot flush the old ATF that’s in the radiator. I wanted to flush that ATF too.

A: Remove the lower valance behind the engine's radiator to gain easy access to the ATF's two hoses that flow in/out the radiator. It's held on each side by two clips at the top, two clips at the bottom, and a sheet metal screw ... a total of 6 clips and 2 screws.
B: Identify the black hose that flows ATF out of the radiator.

Tip: Lying on your back with your feet sticking out the front of the car, it's the aluminum tube with a dog-leg turn. It's next to the radiator’s white plastic drain valve.

C: Have a 1 quart jug ready
D: Remove the yellow clip from the hose you identified in (B) and slide it off the hose and over the aluminum tube.
E: Slide the ATF hose off the tube and catch the ATF that flows out … it's only a few ounces … in the 1 quart jug.
F: Slide an 18-24" length of transparent 10mm ID hose over the tube.
G: Put the other end of the hose into the 1 quart jug
H: Follow Rocksnap's directions to flush the remaining ATF but for 3 quarts, not 6, using the 1 quart jug
I: Remove the transparent hose from the radiator tube.
J: Replace the ATF hose onto the radiator tube
K Reset the yellow hose clip
L: Replace the lower valance and its 6 clips and 2 screws.

Congratulations. You have completely flushed all the old ATF and replaced it with new ATF-DW1!

Difficulties: I found it easier flushing the ATF with the lower valance removed. In particular, removing and replacing the hoses on the radiator's aluminum tube was greatly simplified. The only real difficulty was removing the valance's six clips. And, once removed, the clips' center pins have to be pushed all the way up ... or completely out ... before the clips can be replaced and the pins pressed back flush to lock the clips in place.

Go for a short drive … no more than a mile … and use the manual shift mode to use all five gears and reverse. Keep engine revs low. Return to level ground and check the ATF oil level as described in the User Manual (switch the engine off and check after 60 seconds but before 90 seconds). Check the ATF level again a few days later. This is surprisingly difficult because the new fluid is almost invisible on the dipstick; it's so clean!

 

I first changed my ATF at 15,000 miles. The fluid was pretty dark already. Now I change my ATF every 10,000 miles.

 

The new fluid is comparable with the old fluid.

 

Going to change out my fluid this weekend. Thank you for the DIY.

 

Thanks for posting the DIY

 

side note mixing Z-1 and DW-1 fluids is not dangerous. If you own a 2010 model or older the 2011 and 12 models all must use DW-1 as the transmissions are more sensitive. ATF DW-1 was designed to improve transmission performance when its cold. Just the same i'm picky and would not want to mix fluids either.

 

The one tool that made the job much easier.

Vise-Grip 6LN.

The spring clamp is very wide. Way to wide for for my cheap spring clamp pliers. The Vise-Grips were short and maneuverable enough that I did not have to remove the lower valance.

Also, Watts 3/8" ID clear vinyl tubing worked perfectly to attach to the cooler. The packaging on the tubing gave no reference to the tubing's 10 mm ID size in Metric.

 

Some responses to the various [positive] comments on this thread:

cici235:

I agree with your comments about releasing the Honda ATF hose clamps. The yellow-colored clamp is used across the Honda line for ATF hoses and is the one to get when adding new hoses.

I used a set of 90-degree needle nosed pliers ... which I find to be a great tool in general!


87g1teger:

Did you mean "compatible" rather than "comparable"?