Honda of North America Recommends NOT Flushing Honda Transmissions

Yes, Honda is against the flushing of their transmissions using flushing machines.  This comes as a big surprise to a lot of people being that transmission flushing is such a popular service offered by transmission repair, general automotive and express lube shops.  Below is copied text from two Honda factory bulletins.  These bulletins are given to Honda technicians as guidelines when servicing Honda vehicles at the dealerships.  These bulletins are also provided to general automotive and Peoples Transmission Certified Shops that use proper repair software.  This is why Peoples Transmission makes sure that the repair shops that we certify are up to date with training, so that you can be assured that procedures offered for your vehicle won't affect warranties or damage your vehicle.

The second bulletin offers a procedure to "flush" the transmission without the use of aftermarket flushing tools.

Consult your owners manual or contact Peoples Transmission to find out when you should service your vehicle.

Here is the first bulletin titled: Flush Systems: A Big Taboo

FLUSH SYSTEMS: A BIG TABOO

HONDA SERVICE NEWS

Reference Number(s): HSN0206-07, Date of Issue: February 1, 2006

HONDA: All Models

CATEGORY: Honda Service News

APPLIES TO:All Models

Related Ref Number(s): HSN0206-07

ARTICLE BEGINNING

SERVICE INFORMATION

In Honda vehicles, the transmission, as well as the systems that handle lubrication, cooling, fuel,

and power steering, are designed to give thousands of miles of trouble-free service if you follow

the maintenance schedule to the letter.

Flush systems are a popular aftermarket offering these days. These products look impressive and

make lots of claims, but American Honda strongly recommends you avoid using them on any

Honda vehicle. Here's why:

The maintenance schedule neither requires nor approves of aftermarket • flush systems.

• Flush systems take time to do; this adds to your service customer's wait time.

• Flush systems haven't demonstrated an improvement in vehicle performance or reliability.

Flush systems using solvents may leave solvent in the system you're flushing. This will

dilute the fluid or lubricant and degrade its performance.

•

Flush systems using filters can filter out vital additives and degrade the fluid's or lubricant's

performance. This is particularly true for coolant.

•

• Any damage caused by flush systems isn't covered by warranty.

Here is a copy of the second bulletin titled: Check Out the Latest Word on A/T Flushing Service News

not listed in the S/Ms, and ifThe term "flushin" refers to repeatedly draining and refilling the2,500 rpm .won't shift past 2nd gear, keep the engine speed at 2,500 rpm and shiftfour more times .two more times .

CHECK OUT THE LATEST WORD ON A/T FLUSHING

SERVICE NEWS

Reference Number(s): 08010A, Date of Issue: January 1, 2008

Affected Models:General Information

Related Ref Number(s): 08010A

ARTICLE BEGINNING

SERVICE INFORMATION

Some A/T repair procedures call for flushing the trans using Honda Genuine ATF-Z1 (and no

substitutes). Problem is, where do you find the info to do that? It's

you do an ISIS search, you'll find a few ServiceNews articles on this subject, but they're rather

dated, and none of them say the same thing. Even the most recent one (see "Revised A/T Flushing

Procedure" in the December '00 issue) still mentions that old work horse-the PGM Tester-which

we stopped supporting when the HDS first came on the scene.

NOTE:

trans with Honda Genuine ATF-Z1. Don't confuse it with aftermarket

flush systems. American Honda still strongly recommends that you

avoid using them on any Honda vehicle.

The original procedure was written for simpler A/Ts that readily upshifted when you ran the

vehicle on a lift. But A/Ts have come a long way since then, and most of the newer ones balk at

shifting past 2nd gear when on a lift, unless you work the shift lever a certain way.

In light of all this, we thought it was high time that the A/T flushing procedure got a facelift. So

here's the latest word on flushing that works for all A/Ts:

Set the parking brake, and raise the 1. vehicle on a lift.

Drain the trans, and refill it with Honda Genuine ATF-Z1. Refer to the applicable S/M or to

ISIS for details.

2.

3. Start the engine, shift into Drive, and release the parking brake.

4. Push down on the accelerator pedal to raise the vehicle speed to

• If the trans shifts past 2nd gear, go to step 5.

If the trans

from Drive to Neutral and back to Drive. Then go to step 5.

•

Make sure that the trans shifts through all the forward gears and goes into torque converter

lockup.

5.

Let off the accelerator pedal, and press the brake pedal to drop the vehicle speed to zero.

Shift into Reverse and then into Neutral.

6.

7. Shift into Drive, and repeat steps 4 thru 6

8. Set the parking brake, and repeat steps 2 thru 6

10. Refill the A/T with ATF-Z1.