I bought an 08 Accord EXL in March. The first time I took the car in for service at 31,000k miles, they wanted to do service on the transmission. I decided that wasn't neccessary at the time but decided to check the fluid level later that week. When I checked the level it was barely on the stick. I filled the reservoir at that time using Honda fluid. The maintenance minder has not come on but I just checked yesterday and noticed it has used a little more fluid. Has anyone else had this problem or anyone have recommendations on what should be done? Service manager at dealership is not helpful. This is our 2nd Honda and the older model had not used any fluid even at 100k miles.

 

Are you checking the transmission fluid correctly? This is an automatic, right? If you check the transmission fluid while it is not at normal operating temperature and not waiting like 60 seconds or did not insert the dipstick all the way, then your reading may be inaccurate.

Follow the instructions in the owner's manual: Check the fluid with the engine at normal operating temperature. 1. Park the vehicle on level ground. Start engine, let it run until the radiator fan comes on, then shut off engine. for accurate result, wait about 60 seconds (but no longer than 90 seconds) before doing step 2. 2. Remove the dipstick (yellow loop) from transmission and wipe it with a clean cloth. 3. Insert dipstick all the way securely. 4. Remove dipstick and check fluid level.

There is no transmission reservoir, per se. Additionally, the maintenance minder is not there to tell you if some fluid (e.g., motor oil, transmission fluid, etc.) level was low. The maintenance minder does monitor the engine oil life and gives indication of when to change it; however, for the other types of maintenance minders (e.g., B1 service - Rotate tires, B2 service - Replace engine air filter and cabin filter, B3 service - Replace transmission fluid, etc. services) are more based on mileage.

 

I did all the right things in checking the fluid level. at 31k miles it took 11 ounces of fluid to fill. Now at 40k miles, it is down a little and no sign of leakage. I was just wondering if anyone else is having this problem. Thanks for reply.