Hi all,

I just did a second oil change on my vehicle today. After I the oil change, I started and ran the car for 5 minutes to check for leaks.

After the 5 minutes I decided to check the oil level, break level, and Transmission Fluid Level. When checking the Transmission, I noticed there was nothing or barely anything on it.

First question: When checking it, I left my car on park with emergency break on, the car has been running for 5 minutes. The stick has a "COLD" and "HOT" section. Should the level I be checking HOT?

2nd: What color is the fluid suppose to be? Is it clear?

3rd: Is it normal to have to refill transmission fluid? Someone told me that is really rare to need to and I might have a leak (there was none as far as I saw when I put the car on a lift to do the oil change).

Thank You in advance.

Note: I will go to the dealership to buy their special transmission fluid and will ask them the same questions. But I figure it is better to ask the HCH Community here

 

I've changed my 06 CVT fluid twice myself, and I'm still confused about proper level. The Shop Manual specifies 3 US quarts as the quantity to put in after a drain. I did that, and it all looks good: level is around full mark on cold side. Then, if I follow the instruction for hot level check (within 60~90 seconds of hot engine shut down), I find there's barely anything showing on the diptstick. If I add some, say to at least bring it up to the low mark on the hot side, and then let the car sit overnight, the dipstick shows way overfilled when cold.

My take, for the present:

3 US quarts after thorough drain of CVT fluid will get the level where it needs to be, on the full mark on the cold side of the diptstick. Everything else is out-to-lunch, and Honda needs to review their instructions on how to check level: in practice it is contradictory.

What I would try in your case, and this is just my theory, but I think it's the best approach: let the car sit and cool down, say overnight, and check the CVT fluid level cold. If it's at full line of dipstick on cold side, you're good.

If it's high you can siphon a bit out with something like a coolant checker, saves you having to go underneath again. It just has to have a fairly long tube to get down into the fluid. When you first feed it in you will likely hit an obstruction before the tube gets below the fluid surface. Just move it around a little: there is a spot it will be able to get lower. Put a few rags around the dipstick tube to catch the inevitable drips.

 

Perhaps I did not read the original message correctly.

Contrary to what is common with American auto transmissions, the fluid level is checked with the engine OFF in Honda automatics including the Civic Hybrid's CVT.

The reason for the cold vs. hot level is because the fluid expands with temperature.

Cheers,

Roger

 

The CVT tran. fluid is clear and it is a bit hard to find the full mark. Get the correct angle and you will see it!
Cheers, H