I just went through trying to check my cvt level in my 2014 Civic. No dipstick, just plug like discussed above. My concern is what is printed in the Owner's Manual. It states to have the cvt fluid level checked monthly (and by your dealer).

How many of you know that? And, can Honda claim we are not following recommended maintenance procedures if we don't. Assume my transmissions blows up at the 15,000. miles I have on it now, and I have never checked (dealer or otherwise) the fluid level. Sounds like my tough luck.

This owner's manual fluid level check has nothing to do with the requirements of computer alerts of fluid change intervals.

Are you worried?

Ralph

 

A CVT is a different animal than a traditional transmission. Service requirements are different. It doesn't need a dipstick because the oil isn't going anywhere. It's in Hondas best interest to have reliable cars, so don't be concerned with no dip stick and the like.

 

Corvair, I agree entirely that Honda makes great cars, this is my 7th one.

My concern is their putting something in their owner's manual that is impossible to comply with (having the fluid level checked monthly by your dealer, which I assume is not free). By not doing this you are not in compliance with their maintenance requirements, and therefore voiding the warranty.

I see you have a manual tranny, so this does not affect you. Would be curious what your manual transmission checking interval would be.

Ralph

 

Are we confusing cvt trannys with those that have a torque converter? I don’t think cvts have a torque converter, and, not sure how much fluid would be left in them after a fluid drain.
I found it strange that my local dealer insisted on a auto fluid change on my 2017 Accord V6,
at 30k, that still has a “normal” automatic (not Cvt). I asked why that change did not come up on my car computer monitoring system, and he was at a loss to explain. I suspect he thought my car had a cvt.
Fun and games.
Ralph

 

I wonder if the service people in some of these dealerships have been educated on what they are trying to sell to car owners. I recently went through a session with a service writer at our local Honda dealer about how all the fluid levels on our 2015 Accord were checked if they had no way to see what the level in the CVT was. I was told that they just look down the fill hole and if they see fluid it's at the correct level. Another answer was they usually can dip their finger down the fill port and if they get fluid on the end of their finger is ok.
I have since, after much time on the internet, found out how checking the fluid level can be done even though many, if not all, carmakers have eliminated the fill tube and dipstick on their engines.