2005 LX - 4cyl

Last time my mechanic used 2.75 qts of trans fluid but this time he used 3.25 qts. He's a family friend but I'm starting to wonder if he knows what he's doing. I checked the dipstick and its a little over the H line. Is this bad?

 

If he went with the Honda trans fluid I would not worry.

 

thx chris.

I made sure he used honda ATF by getting the fluid myself. The reason I have doubts about him is because he didn't think it was that important to use honda's own trans fluid.

 

Most times (other cars) the brand of tranny fluid isn't so important. That doesn't mean hes a bad mechanic, just means he's not all-knowing about Honda.

Check tranny fluid with the car all warmed up and TURNED OFF (at least for older Hondas so check your owners manual). Many other cars want you to check auto-tranny dipstick with the engine idling. Maybe that's it???

 

thks Jim, I'll try that.

 

What I meant was, maybe HE checked it (after filling) with the engine idling. If that caused him to over-fill it, then all you (or he) has to do is take some of the fluid out. That's not real difficult. If it's 1 or 2 mm too high on the dipstick, don't worry. If it's 5 or 10mm high, then drain some out.

Loosen the drain plug but hold it in position over the drain hole. It's a little messy, but you can do that to allow a few ounces of fluid to dribble out. Better yet, you can use some kind of suction device to suck some out from the dipstick hole.

Bottom line, don't pay any attention to how many quarts he put in. What's important is the reading on the dipstick. The total amount of fluid in the tranny is something like 7 quarts, and the torque converter doesn't drain. But more or less can drain out depending on how much slope is on the garage floor.