Good afternoon Scotty,

After ten years and 75K miles I decided it was time to replace the CVT fluid in my wife’s four cylinder 2013 Accord Sedan.

I purchased 4 quarts of HCR-2 fluid, which would be enough for either of the conflicting specifications:

    Page 570 of 2013 Accord Sedan Owner’s Manual states 3.7 qt (3.5 Liter)

    Page 1.1 of the 2013 thru 2017 Haynes Repair Manual states 3.9 qt (3.7 Liters)

I watched several videos including yours.  Your video suggested measuring how much fluid drained out and putting  the same amount back in.  I was really careful with my measurements.  I measured 4.2 quarts and probably there was at least another 0.1 quart that I cleaned up with rags.  

After installing 3.7 quarts I performed the Haynes procedure but nothing came out of the check plug hole.  I installed the remaining 0.3 quarts and performed the Haynes procedure again.  This time about 100mL ran and then dripped out.  I figured that was close enough.

I’m amazed at the discrepancy between the Honda specification and what drained out.  And it looks like there was some seepage of the fluid on the bottom of the transaxle, which means that even more fluid was put in at the factory.  

Should I ignore that more came out than I put back?  Is the fluid level critical?  And what makes the CVT fluid level uncheckable with a dipstick?

I’d really appreciate your thoughts.

Picky Grandpa