Hello Scotty! My name is Andrei and I am a subscriber of your YouTube channel. I changed the CVT fluid recently on my Honda Fit 2017. I changed it @ 36K miles. I did the work by myself. I used HCF-2 fluid (per factory recommendations), and I purchased a warmer filter and a filter in the pan (filter assembly). I used the O rings ad a new gasket - all these parts were ordered and delivered from hondapartsconnection.com (they are selling OEM parts). All the filters were replaced and I added the same amount of the fluid as I drained - approx. 4.2Q. Cycling through the gears was performed after the fluid was replaced and I took the car for a test drive. During the test drive, I noticed that the transmission doesn't keep the RPMs on as it used to do while decelerating. So, it looks like you are "shifting" the transmission to the neutral. I know for sure that it used to maintain almost the same RPMs while cruising to stop (like wheels and Transmission were engaged) - now it's like going to a neutral with RPMs dropping to 900-1000 RPM. Idling RPM is around 750. And I get those on a full stop. However, if you are going higher than 65 mph and releasing the accelerator, the CVT stays engaged with RPM sticking around 2000-2200 RPM. But as soon as you get less than 65 mph RPM drops to 1000...And you physically feel like the car becomes "loose" while cruising/decelerating. Another issue is occasional "stalling" when from the parking you are switching to D or R, after 2-3 seconds, the vehicle is "punching" trying to move (while the foot is pressing the brake), sometimes the engine stalls due to that (the feeling is like if you are with a manual transmission and you release the clutch pretty fast). The MPG decreased though, I used to get 38mpg on average, now I am barely making 33-34 with the same driving routine. I addressed this concern to a dealership, they said no MIL (check engine) - no problem. Moreover, I agreed to pay them a fortune to get them to replace the fluid but it didn't have any success in fixing the issues. I asked the mechanic if they checked the filters, and he said: "No we do not do that. Filters are non-replaceable, we have no work associated with the CVT filter replacements". Moreover, they were trying to persuade me that the fluid he drained from my car is not original (the mechanic showed me a smelly/black thing saying that he found it in the transmission(didn't specify whose transmission)), despite showing them the proof of purchase and lab tests - so they just proved to be liars. As I made a laboratory sample on the original fluid (everything was ok) and on the fluid I replaced before sending it over to the dealership. I opened a case with Honda, they advised me to go to a different dealership, and I visited two more and none of them wanted to do anything since they :
1 - Didn't see the MIL to work with.
2 - They test drove the car and they decided that it is ok.
I asked them to ride a different car with CVT to see that it was not ok, so they admitted that it might happen. Also, I asked them to test the engine and they provided me with the test results with no issues found. Even the MPG ratio is within normal.
I do not know what to do. I know my car, I know how it should be driving, but nobody can help me with that issue. I was trying to research the WEB, I was trying to reset the start clutch system, with no results (the videos on the internet about that procedure is for the older generation of Fits). I do not think I could install filters improperly, or break something while replacing the fluid. Would you please think about this issue and let me know if you have any thoughts about that?
Thank you for all you are doing!
Honda Fit 2017 40K miles (no malfunction codes, scanned with the scanner Foxwell Elite NT510 with a Honda software in it)
Scotty, I have to be too shy to post the fix of the issue I found, as this would look extremely stupid. But, I am ready to get blamed. I decided to start troubleshooting from the upper filter (warmer filter) and I caught the issue right away. So, it turned out that the warmer filter (that orange paper thing) was installed upside down(or vice-versa), blocking the fluid flow the proper way. After re-inserting it the right way, the vehicle became the one I used to enjoy. So, I think this is good to know for those who are doing CVT fluid replacement as DIY. I learned a lot from this stupid situation. Thank you for your answer as you were a trigger for me to start taking everything apart to find the truth.
Congratulations on reporting back with such an easy fix! Next time, maybe take before & after pictures (or record a video of the entire process), to cross check your work.
Well change it to 36 mi shouldn't have damaged anything at all are you sure you have the exact right amount of fluid back in. How are you I'd go to a Honda mechanic with his fancy Honda computer to have them test the transmission fluid level with his equipment. Prince says it's the wrong amount of fluid in it or perhaps when you were changing the filter and took things apart something got knocked loose
