| Dog Turd & Tonic » |
Innocence Lost
I like Hondas. They go, don't fall apart, and their ergonomics fit me.
Our '88 Civic went 234,000 miles before we gave it away to family. Parts wore out, but it never left us stranded. I was able to do most of the work myself. I was impressed after a lifetime of crawling under/over/through Chevys, Fords, and Chryslers.
The first big dent in my regard for Honda has been the transmission on our '03 Odyssey.
The 2nd-generation Odyssey transmission is a failure in execution and design.
Friends had work done under warranty on their '02. Consumer Reports says "Transmission problems were evident during 1999 to 2003 model years." If you look at their famous ratings matrix, you see nothing but black balls for the transmission from '99 to '02. Honda recalled our Odyssey because of transmission problems, installing a ridiculous Band-Aid retrofit called the "Oil Jet Kit".
All this would be bad enough, but I hate the basic design of the transmission as well.
I'm used to dropping the pan on a traditional transmission like the Chevy Turbo-Hydramatic 400, changing the filter, buttoning everything up, and pouring in new fluid.
The Honda transmission has no pan and, shockingly, no filter to change. Changing the fluid involves jacking the car up, removing a front wheel, draining about 3 quarts, and pouring in 3 quarts.
The transmission holds 8.3 quarts. You can only drain 3 because the rest of the fluid is trapped in the torque converter. This doesn't sound right to me. It also doesn't sound right to a lot of Honda owners and Honda mechanics.
The Internet is full of forums explaining how to do four drain-and-fills. You use an entire case of fluid, 12 quarts. Of course, you should only use Honda fluid. Only Honda makes Honda fluid. The local Honda dealer want $12 a quart. Luckily, Carquest parts stores sell OEM Honda fluid for around $7 a quart. Thank goodness for minor miracles.
Some folks disconnect the transmission cooler lines and use the transmission to pump itself empty. Sounds iffy to me.
Add to all this fun the fact that the blasted "Oil Jet Kit" occupies the transmission fluid filler hole. The only way to get new fluid into the transmission is squirting it down the dipstick tube. Joy.
My solution? I bought a tool, a big vacuum tool called the "Mityvac 7201 Fluid Evacuator Plus" that sucks the used fluid through the dipstick tube.
Last night I used my über-evacuator to do four drain-and-fills standing in my driveway. No sweat. No mess. No jacking. No thoughts of being crushed under the car. Nothing but nice, cherry-red fluid and a transmission that now shifts noticeably better.
I can't wait to latch my Fluid Evacuator Plus on to the oil and brakes.