Bought a blue hatchback to replace my blue hatchback

Source unverified, but for what it's worth:

----------------------
"From Honda Canada site:
Driving in mountainous areas at very low vehicle speeds or trailer towing results in higher transmission temperatures. This requires transmission fluid changes more frequently than recommended by the Maintenance Minder. If you regularly drive your vehicle under these conditions, have the transmission fluid changed every 40,000 km. "

"40K KM = 25K miles"
----------------------

It could be that Honda's Maintenance minder isn't quite as smart as we'd like it to be (transmission oil change intervals too long under some conditions) -- arguably we've seen this already with civic X engine oil intervals. ...And the mpg friendly (i.e. thin) oils aren't quite as durable as we'd like them to be (under some conditions).

https://www.civicx.com/threads/is-honda-mtf-that-bad.40317/page-3

/India-Japan- etc,.. etc ..sometimes I forget how big Honda is, .. trannys being built all over the world

 

Sorry to hear about all the issues you've had. Mine have been limited to the head unit (replaced) and the wiper motor assembly (also replaced) so far. I'm glad it came with the extended warranty from the first owner. My 2011 Golf wagon was shockingly trouble free for 7 years and 160000km in comparison.

 

Beautiful shots. It looks like you updated your rims too.

 

Decades ago, I drove from Salish Sea(Puget Sound) to Wisconsin to visit friends. I loved Wisconsin, with terrain similar to our western Washington. When stepping outside tho, I began to miss the view of mountains, at least, on the horizon, & at best, while looking up 3000 foot cliffs. While traveling across Wisconsin, I was excited to know that I would drive by the highest point in Wisconsin. As I drove, I kept looking for the highest point, stopping, once in a while, to view between the trees for the high point. Finally, I checked my maps to see when I would reach the high point in Wisconsin. I realized, I had passed the high point, TEN MILES BEHIND ME..... not even marked with a highway commemoration! Oh, well.

 

Sometimes you’re high and don’t even know it.

 

What is the actual fluid for the manual? Though mechanically a manual, the Prius transmission uses automatic fluid, which is not as heat tolerant as the gear oils usually used in manuals. The gen4 finally got a transmission cooler, but people were reporting the fluid in the gen2 was burnt smelling at 30k miles.

 

Altho I failed to see the high point of Wisconsin, I did get to the top of the highest point of Minnesota, which was ~ 400 feet higher than Wisconsin. It really had a clear weather, good vista, showing distant scores of miles of terrain, I believe, even into other states.

 

I just bought new summers as well. Did you stick with 18s?

 

57k km for me and that was with winters on winter tires. They did not last long at all. We'll see if the Michelin's last longer.

 

I see in the civicX forums, somebody (civic si owner) posted the Maintenance minder service codes page and it does include the "*4 CVT models ...." . I checked my owner's guide and the same '*4 line' does not have the CVT qualifier (and the "trailer towing words" have been omitted).

Looking through the Honda website, I had to go back to 2005 to find a schedule that was miles driven. The manual (or automatic) tranny fluid change doesn't take place until 120,000 miles. Have not seen the "under certain conditions" disclaimer there.

-- It's possible that Honda's "new" (green label bottle) MTF is significantly thinner than the original stuff (?) -- I dunno -- could be that "greener" is not always better

Now I'm seriously thinking about changing my mtf "early" -- might give amsoil synthetic synchromesh MTF a try

https://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/2006095/1
https://owners.honda.com/servicemaintenance/minder?year=2005&model=Civic-Sedan#mid^ES1555W

 

Or it may have nothing to do with the fluid. The manual seemed to have more reported problems than the automatic at the Sonic forum I used to frequent. Someone pulling a unit apart claimed a piece should have been a little more robust. And sometimes things just go wrong. A friend got a 25th anniversary Trans Am that needed a new tranny in a couple weeks; a manufacturing defect had deleted some fluid channels.

 

Yes, could be a fluke manufacturing defect. Forum searching -- I can find very few gen X manual transmission failures (or CVT failures) for that matter.

Still, .. it's only 2 qt of thin MTF fully enclosed in that mpg saving under body smooth paneling (with a few vents punched in) -- packaged in a very tight space with a turbocharged engine. I think it is possible that Honda (and the industry in general) may be sacrificing some durability in order to reach cafe standards. For 'normal' temperatures and 'normal' driving -- it's probably fine. But start working the car hard (track, towing, mountainous, high speed for long periods) -- decreased oil intervals or perhaps a heavier duty oil may be a good idea.

 

Yah, There’s also an si running a hot tune that’s shelled out a couple.

Some have modded shifter throws and different MTF say they’ve reduced the problem. The EPA inspired rev hang probably isn’t helping any.

 

That "rev hang " would push me towards getting a ninth generation Civic ,
if I do buy a manual car. Of course , I don't know if that car has "rev hang".

 

All these tranny problems that seem to haunt manufacturers today, may be a good reason that Electric Vehicles don't have transmissions. However, I still would like to see a two speed manual transmission for EVs, just to be used on highway distant trips to gain another 10+% of range.