I recently just bought a used 2006 Honda Accord with 133k miles from a local dealership. When I got it inspected by my mechanic prior to the sale, I was told the transmission fluid "smelled old", or something along those lines. They quoted me out the price to replace the fluid (I stated I did not want it at the time, but would consider, and that I did not want a full flush). My worry is that could changing the fluid mess up the transmission in the car? Or can it help it last longer. I am unaware if it was ever changed previously.
Also going to note that it seems to shift okay, maybe a bit late/hard but nothing concerning to me or my mechanic that inspected it.
Any advice is appreciated!
Well of course you're always gambling with that mileage if you don't know the history of the car. But if I had a Honda I would change the fluid in and every 40,000 mi cuz it's just so easy to do and that would keep it clean
Thanks for the response. I have the full CarFax for the vehicle, but can't see anywhere that it has been changed or serviced at any point. I want to get in the habit of replacing it out every so often, but not sure if I should on this one or just leave it how it is.
Carfax is not a reliable source of information. Only printed service records are.
See the FAQ for details on transmission fluid issues.
You may want to go to owners.honda.com
You can make an account and add the vehicle by the vin to you as owner. You should be able to see all of the records of service done by a honda dealership, I know you can with toyota. Hopefully it will show the transmission already having been serviced some.
Worth a shot anyway.
Either way, if it were me I would change it, at least a drain and fill. As far as I know, they don't shed clutch material like the domestic cars trannys do, so it is likely safer to do it.
