We picked up our Certified '06 from the dealer two weeks back. When we test drove it (with the salesman in the back seat) at 3K rpm the loud clicking like spinning a ratchet would occur. Under 3K-- silent. He said it was normal so we paid our money and drove away. After reading that the TM fluid should be changed at 30K miles I am wondering if the noise has to do with the TM needing a fluid change. I called the service dept and the service manager said that this type of noise happens when the fluid gets dirty and should have a fluid change- but they did not change it since they are not allowed to change it even if they are certifying a used Honda if it has under 30K. Ours has 27K.

The dealer is an hour and half away (we live in the NC mountains) so I thought I would change it myself. But I wonder if it is better to drive it to the dealer and have them change it so they can drive it to be sure this is the problem.

Has anyone else had their HCH make a loud "card in the spokes" sound when the fluid needed changing?

How much is the fluid-- he said $40 so they were only charging $50 for labor.

Thanks--

 

If it was a "honda certified" vehicle - they have to replace all fluids and pay honda about $800 for the warranty. I bought a 2007 "honda certified" HCH II last August and every fluid was replaced and also low. the CVT was a whole quart low, the engine oil was a 1/2 quart low and the radiator was not full either. gas mailage went up a lot once I added the correct fuilds to the proper level. ( I found out that a Toyota mechanic did the work, I have a friend that is a Honda Mechanic and pull the records up. they put exactly what the owners manual said to put in and did not check the levels ).

My 07 made no noise at 30,000 miles when I changed the CVT fluid ( I did it myself ).

If it is a "honda certified" civic - I would take it to a different dealer and have them check out the card on spoke noise. To me I would guess that the transmission is low of CVT fluid. Do not use Automatic Tranmission fluid if it is low - only honda CVT fluid. You have to have a hot engine and check it on level ground within a minute of cutting the engine off to get the right level on the dipstick on the CVT.

I would guess that the CVT band is out of the fluid when your RPM's are high enough. and in the fluid at low RPM's.

 

L-

Thanks- not sure if I should press the point with them about the fluid change on their dime since they made a point about that it is Honda's fault that they did not change the fluid. I will check the level and/or change it myself. With the great tips in one of the posts it looks like a morning job. Still-- in the back of my mind I think I should throw it in their court and have them change the fluid and then take it for a drive so they take responsibility early. Unfortunately I still live in MD until I can sell my house and move down to my new home in NC where the car is. So I have to wait til I can get back to NC then decide if I need to drive both cars the 1.5 hours to the dealer in case they find a problem and want to keep the car for more work. Bit of a pain.

What is the cost of the Honda fluid. May just buy it so I have it on hand to add if fluid is low.

 

I paid $6.75 a quart. If you cange the CVT fluid yourself you need at least 4 quarts. (my change took 3.5 qts).

Many of the early 1.3 liter HCH II had fluid leaks at the point where the transmission fluid connects to the radiator for cooling the CVT. My 07 leaked there until I tightened the connections at the radiator. ( it is a tight fit but mine were about 3/4 of a turn too loose. It lost about 0.05 qt of CVT fluid per 1000 miles.) I figured it out because there was a drop of fluid on the underside of the bumper. you can get to that without removing the bumper. took about 2 weeks for all the fluids to stop dripping ( it was all in the underside of the bumper covers and you cannot wipe it all dry without taking the bumper off.)

 

I just changed the CVT oil and the noise went away. Pretty amazing how much noise that was coming from the transmission before the oil change. Now there is only a slight roar from the motor when you get past 3K rpm under acceleration.

I found that the car was too low for me to drive up my metal ramps so I jacked up the front end on each side and placed a ramp under each of the wheels. To completely drain the fluid I jacked up the rear end so it was a bit higher then the front. With 3 quarts I seem to be slightly low when hot. I am going to wait to a hot day to drive it to be sure.

 

3 quarts seems a good qty. at replacement, if you've drained thoroughly. Note, with any dipstick, midway between the low and high marks is optimum.

IMHO, Honda's instructions regarding "hot" check are not working. Everytime I follow that hot check instruction I end up with gross overfill when subsequently "cold" checked.

Also, the total fluid in the transmission is close to 6 quarts, 3 is all you can drain though.

 

Thanks Mendel-

I checked the oil before I changed it knowing that it was the original factory fill---it was slightly over the top cold mark when cold. After draining and putting in 3 qt I checked it and it was to the top of the cold mark--drove it about 10 miles on a cold day and checked it and it was in the same place. I figure that they mean Very hot when checking so I did not add any more.

Based upon this you may be correct--I will "hot" check once my wife takes some long trip on a hot day.

 

The Owners Manual instruction for for hot check spec's the check should be between 60 and 90 seconds of shut down, with fully warmed engine. Everytime I've done this the level is perilously low. But adding enough to get the level back between the 2 dipstick marks results in gross overfill when rechecked cold.

I think your observation of it being at the full mark when cold, from the factory, is all that needs doing.