next time you do not have to jack up the car, you can get to the drain plug just by turning the wheel all the way to the right.

You did check the trans fluid level with the car sitting on level ground, right?

 

Yes, thanks for that tip. Raising it was necessary for me due to the height of my collection bucket. I don't have one of those dedicated oil pan things -- just a regular household bucket with a handle.

Yes I did, which brings up another question: when I originally checked it the level was actually HIGH -- i.e. the level was above the cross-hatchings. I drained around 3.75 quarts -- almost 4 -- when everyone here was saying it would be only 3 quarts. Now the level is in the low end of the cross hatching. So:

a) was my fluid originally overfilled? I'm thinking yes.
b) is 3 quarts to bring it up to the low end of the cross-hatching acceptable?

 

Are you planning on doing another drain and fill soon?

Typical procedure for a car with an unknown history is to do a D&F 3 times to ensure that the transmission is full of fresh Honda ATF.

From then on just one drain and fill per year is good.

 

To be honest, I was so pleased with just doing the D&F once that I hadn't thought of that.

Should I drive it for a while (i.e. a few days) and then D&F again or D&F immediately?

 

A few days will be fine.

BTW - if you have a DollarTree near you they sell plastic pans for a buck each that work great for catching fluids.

I bought a stack of them and I use them to hold parts in as I am working on the car and to drain fluids. They slide right under the car without jacking it up.

 

FYI - the auto trans holds apx 10 quarts of ATF but only apx 3 drains out.

That is why it is recommended to do a D&F 3 times.

 

I use the Blitz super funnel on older and newer Hondas without having to add any tubing. You can find them at Walmart, Lowes, etc. Even my local Honda dealership has them; but, not as cheap as Lowes or Walmart.

Shop Blitz Super, Modified Fuel Funnel at Lowes.com