[Crvtecteg]

Hi,

New to this forum. Wife and I just picked up a 2016 EX-L with Sensing. 30k on the odometer as we needed a large vehicle for our newest addition, Cadence, due on Halloween 2018.

I am an old fashioned maintainer in that I maintain based on mileage instead of some Gizmo i.e. maintenance minder. I have used forums my whole life and was surprised no one posted one for an ATF drain and fill on this car. That being said 30k is my usual time to change trans fluid. I own 4 cars this being my only automatic and automatics are a lot easier than manuals to drain and fill

Tools needed:
3/8" ratchet
Jack and Jack stands or Ramps
Wheel chocks
Long funnel
Drain pan
Crush washer
4 qts of Honda ATF ($38.11 for fluid/washer)
1 hour of time depending on skill ( I did mine in 30)

Doing this from my phone, so I don't know how the pics load, but I have loaded them so you can see some of the things I am referring too.

Step 1

Place chocks behind rear wheels and jack car up. There is a lift point up front, in the middle under the car. Place jackstands under front jack points located behind wheels where you will see pinch welds.

Step 2

Remove transmission dip stick located deep down between the battery and engine. Loosen drain plug with 3/8" ratchet. No socket required, ratchet head should plug right in and use some muscle to break loose. Beware of elbow as I rocked mine on the skirt and yeah, it hurt.

Step 3

Drain plug is magnetic and shavings are expected clean it off with a paper towel/rag and set aside.
Replace crush washer on drain bolt

Step 4

Tighten drain bolt after fluid is barely dripping. I follow the "nice and tight" torque specs for all my drain bolts, but if you're anal it's something like 19ft/lbs. Fluid will be a darker pink color and viscosity similar to oil. Should not be thick and or brown. Drain pan pic below has oil in it making my trans fluid look real dark

Step 5

Insert long funnel into dipstick hole. Requires a bit of maneuvering, but not hard (think Tetris)

Step 6

Fill with 3.3 quarts of ATF per owner's manual. You will see fresh fluid is very bright pink like cough syrup. So 3 full bottles and about 9.6 ounces. I don't know how to measure 9.6 ounces so I ballparked it using the measurements on the bottle. You'll see pic below where I stopped a little below the 20 ounce line

STEP 7

Replace dipstick and lower vehicle. Test drive till at operating temp and pull dipstick while engine is still hot. Inspect for leaks and you want to see trans fluid fill the two small holes of the dipstick.

Voila, you're done and you probably saved your self at least 50-100 bucks. And have prolonged the life of your transmission.

Hope this helps.

Anthony

 

[Tahoefever]

Congrats on the new "future" addition to the family ! The 2016 is still a newish Pilot ..so things are bound to come down the line Myself I also like to base a lot of Maintenance of mileage ..but others here like to be told when it's due.. what ever floats their boat Great job on the write up ...

 

[2hondas2]

Gotta love "old school"!

Like you I'm sitting on 4 qt.s of Honda trany fluid in the garage with a '16 EX that has 29,867 miles on it waiting for it to rollover 30K wondering where all the "how to" posts are on this simple little job. Thanks Crvtecteg. Great post.

 

[Crvtecteg]

Gotta love "old school"!

Like you I'm sitting on 4 qt.s of Honda trany fluid in the garage with a '16 EX that has 29,867 miles on it waiting for it to rollover 30K wondering where all the "how to" posts are on this simple little job. Thanks Crvtecteg. Great post.

Thanks guys. I was getting frustrated as I scoured this forum and YouTube and tried to hunt down some manuals to find it. And was shocked not to see it. I have done this thing on so many other cars and they are all relatively the same, so I hedged my bets and guessed everything. Turned out okay haha.

I usually do all the maintenance on me and my wife's vehicles, so if I don't see a DIY I will do my best to figure it out and post it. Looks like this forum could use it for the Third Gens.

I come from a Honda tuner scene background and DIY's is what keeps me coming back to forums. I lost faith a little, but then I realized that the people that buy these cars are usually not tuners, so I am here to help! And will probably ask for some along the way since this is my first family/larger vehicle

 

[2hondas2]

I did the deed today on my own EX. Posted a couple of pics to add to what Crvtecteg said. The drain plug came out very easily with a 3/8 ratchet. And it truly is magnetic. Mine had a fair about of gunk sticking to it. I did take a little different approach to refilling with new fluid. Ended up using just a hair over 3 1/2 quarts. Sorry about the pics being sideways. Not sure why that happened.

 

[road2cycle]

Nice homemade vehicle ramp!

 

[nightguy]

Thanks Anthony. Is that the funnel with the slight bend in it or is it straight? I returned mine because I thought it wouldn’t fit but maybe like you said, it just needs some fiddling.

I’ve been doing this for years with my Accord and our old MDX. But those have taller dip tubes. It just required a turkey baster with a funnel on top to fill the skinnier tube.

 

[Crvtecteg]

Thanks Anthony. Is that the funnel with the slight bend in it or is it straight? I returned mine because I thought it wouldn’t fit but maybe like you said, it just needs some fiddling.

I’ve been doing this for years with my Accord and our old MDX. But those have taller dip tubes. It just required a turkey baster with a funnel on top to fill the skinnier tube.

Hey it's is just a long straight tube. But yes, roll it around a bit and you'll get it in there.

 

[Ikaros]

I recently installed the tranny cooler for my 2017 EX-L. The very last step is to check the fluid after install and top off if necessary. Since I won't be adding too much (fluid level was actually right in the center after install), I wanted to find a way to add through the dipstick like you did. Went to the local Ace Hardware to get some vinyl tubes, but found this semi-flexible plastic tube called "Funny Pipe" from Toro. I believe it is normally used for irrigation but it was the perfect fit! It fits inside the dipstick and because it is semi-flexible, it rests right above the radiator fan without me holding it. I also purchased the tranny fluid spout from Hopkins and that also fits into the other end of the Funny Pipe. Very pleased with this set up, it was done cleanly and no leak. I will use this method again when it comes time to flush the tranny fluid.

 

[asic_ant]

Do you guys drain and fill once only? I heard you have to do it 3~4 times and running the engine in btw?

 

[road2cycle]

A flush, at least for the 2005, entails 3x or 4x drain and fills with driving in between each one as you noted. Normal 30k service interval per 2005 Honda manual is 1x drain and fill.
I 1x drain and fill once every 15k miles since the one thing I’m wary about with Hondas are their trannys.

 

[ddbtoth]

I recently installed the tranny cooler for my 2017 EX-L. The very last step is to check the fluid after install and top off if necessary. Since I won't be adding too much (fluid level was actually right in the center after install), I wanted to find a way to add through the dipstick like you did. Went to the local Ace Hardware to get some vinyl tubes, but found this semi-flexible plastic tube called "Funny Pipe" from Toro. I believe it is normally used for irrigation but it was the perfect fit! It fits inside the dipstick and because it is semi-flexible, it rests right above the radiator fan without me holding it. I also purchased the tranny fluid spout from Hopkins and that also fits into the other end of the Funny Pipe. Very pleased with this set up, it was done cleanly and no leak. I will use this method again when it comes time to flush the tranny fluid.

Thanks Ikaros- I love the bottle attachment Idea, was the hose a single piece or did you have to get 20 foot extension that is a 1/2 inch-that can't be right-that I'm seeing on Amazon?

 

[Ikaros]

Thanks Ikaros- I love the bottle attachment Idea, was the hose a single piece or did you have to get 20 foot extension that is a 1/2 inch-that can't be right-that I'm seeing on Amazon?

Hello, that "funny pipe" was a single piece and it was less than $5 if I remember correctly. Try your local hardware store if you haven't or here is one of the listings on Amazon...

Toro 53265 Funny Pipe 24-Inch Sticks Sprinkler https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000LNX3UA/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_LQIMCb32E2221

 

[sequoiasoon]

Thanks guys. I was getting frustrated as I scoured this forum and YouTube and tried to hunt down some manuals to find it. And was shocked not to see it. I have done this thing on so many other cars and they are all relatively the same, so I hedged my bets and guessed everything. Turned out okay haha.

I usually do all the maintenance on me and my wife's vehicles, so if I don't see a DIY I will do my best to figure it out and post it. Looks like this forum could use it for the Third Gens.

I come from a Honda tuner scene background and DIY's is what keeps me coming back to forums. I lost faith a little, but then I realized that the people that buy these cars are usually not tuners, so I am here to help! And will probably ask for some along the way since this is my first family/larger vehicle

Did you also look into changing the transmission filter? 25430-PLR-003 - Genuine Honda Filter (ATf) If you follow the rubber lines it's bolted on. Small round filter like gas filter. The one on my son's CRV rusted and started to drip. Same part for '19 Pilot as '04 CRV. Some links had people replacing it with a Magnefine hoping to keep junk out of the "screen filter" that requires taking the whole tranny apart. The new Magnefine's are metal welded versions not plastic and unscrew. The links said they were able to reuse the original clamp to secure it. I would have done the magnefine but was time and weather constrained so new factory version was used.

I had a Magnefine one zip tied to solid part on my old Sequoia. Was real easy to replace as part of maintenance.

 

[nafterclifen]

The Toro "Funny Pipe" and Hopkins spout worked great! 10000% recommended.

And the drain plug torque is 36 ft lbs, not 19.

 

[Cneilson]

Hi,

New to this forum. Wife and I just picked up a 2016 EX-L with Sensing. 30k on the odometer as we needed a large vehicle for our newest addition, Cadence, due on Halloween 2018.

I am an old fashioned maintainer in that I maintain based on mileage instead of some Gizmo i.e. maintenance minder. I have used forums my whole life and was surprised no one posted one for an ATF drain and fill on this car. That being said 30k is my usual time to change trans fluid. I own 4 cars this being my only automatic and automatics are a lot easier than manuals to drain and fill

Tools needed:
3/8" ratchet
Jack and Jack stands or Ramps
Wheel chocks
Long funnel
Drain pan
Crush washer
4 qts of Honda ATF ($38.11 for fluid/washer)
1 hour of time depending on skill ( I did mine in 30)

Doing this from my phone, so I don't know how the pics load, but I have loaded them so you can see some of the things I am referring too.

Step 1

Place chocks behind rear wheels and jack car up. There is a lift point up front, in the middle under the car. Place jackstands under front jack points located behind wheels where you will see pinch welds.

Step 2

Remove transmission dip stick located deep down between the battery and engine. Loosen drain plug with 3/8" ratchet. No socket required, ratchet head should plug right in and use some muscle to break loose. Beware of elbow as I rocked mine on the skirt and yeah, it hurt.

Step 3

Drain plug is magnetic and shavings are expected clean it off with a paper towel/rag and set aside.
Replace crush washer on drain bolt

Step 4

Tighten drain bolt after fluid is barely dripping. I follow the "nice and tight" torque specs for all my drain bolts, but if you're anal it's something like 19ft/lbs. Fluid will be a darker pink color and viscosity similar to oil. Should not be thick and or brown. Drain pan pic below has oil in it making my trans fluid look real dark

Step 5

Insert long funnel into dipstick hole. Requires a bit of maneuvering, but not hard (think Tetris)

Step 6

Fill with 3.3 quarts of ATF per owner's manual. You will see fresh fluid is very bright pink like cough syrup. So 3 full bottles and about 9.6 ounces. I don't know how to measure 9.6 ounces so I ballparked it using the measurements on the bottle. You'll see pic below where I stopped a little below the 20 ounce line

STEP 7

Replace dipstick and lower vehicle. Test drive till at operating temp and pull dipstick while engine is still hot. Inspect for leaks and you want to see trans fluid fill the two small holes of the dipstick.

Voila, you're done and you probably saved your self at least 50-100 bucks. And have prolonged the life of your transmission.

Hope this helps.

Anthony

I should have measured the amount of fluid that came out of the transmission bec I’m having a hard time with the tranny dip stick. When I line the rubber stopper up with the notch and pull it out, one side will just barley be wet and then the other side will be well past the “full hole”. I added just a little over 3.3qts. My 4th quart looks about as full as yours does.( This is all after the engine is warmed up and turned off to check it.)

Any ideas on how to read the dip stick better?
The car runs great and shifts well. Just don’t want to cause any problems in the future

 

[road2cycle]

I’m guessing the side with little fluid in it is getting wiped off by the side if the dipstick tube. Unless you’re not on level ground I can’t think of a reason why one side of the dipstick reads significantly different than the other side.

 

[thompsje]

Thanks for this post. We just hit a B16 service on our new-to-us 2016 EX-L, and most of the writeups I saw involved removing the top fill plug on the transmission. That may work on older Pilots, but there's a lot of crap in the way even getting to the plug, and even if you got it out you'd have to play games with funnels and tubes to route any fluid back in. Glad to know that filling through the dipstick works.

 

[MtMan]

Thanks for this post. We just hit a B16 service on our new-to-us 2016 EX-L, and most of the writeups I saw involved removing the top fill plug on the transmission. That may work on older Pilots, but there's a lot of crap in the way even getting to the plug, and even if you got it out you'd have to play games with funnels and tubes to route any fluid back in. Glad to know that filling through the dipstick works.

B16 is Rear Differential fluid change, not transmission ATF.

 

[thompsje]

B16 is Rear Differential fluid change, not transmission ATF.

You're absolutely right... and my code is a B13. No idea why I typed a 6 there. Hell... rear differential I probably wouldn't have had to ask about. Thanks for making me double check.