Only Honda fluids for a Honda?

Yep, just follow the owners manual. Use Honda coolant, trans, and power steering fluids.

Caddyman, if that’s what you really think, I think you should have a discussion with someone who rebuilds transmissions, like transman.

I have a 2004 exl accord. I put castrol multi vehicle ATF for foreign cars in for about 2 years now. change it every 7-9K max. I use prestone antifreeze for years, oil and filters from walmart, valvoline brake fluid, and on. Forget the dealer overpriced fluids after the warranty is gone. The aftermarket stuff is just fine.

Why does everyone keep stating that Honda hires somebody to make Honda brand fluids as if it is big news? Of course they don?t make their own fluids. GM doesn?t make Dexcool, and Ford doesn?t make fluids sold with the Ford name on the label. This isn?t a big secret. If you look at the label, you can usually find the name of the company that made the fluid.

Guess what! La-z-boy doesn?t grow its own wood either! (GASP!) Energizer doesn?t mine its own lithium! (GASP!)

Here?s the important thing. It doesn?t matter if Honda makes its own fluids. The Fluids with Honda?s name on the label are made to Honda?s specifications. If you buy another brand of power steering fluid and put it in your Honda, and your steering goes bad, you are going to have a really hard time proving the fluid was responsible to go after the company that made your fluid, and that?s only if the fluid caused the problem. Yes, you might have saved a couple dollars on the fluid, what do you gain for the couple dollars you saved? If something goes wrong, first you have to hire a mechanic to determine if the fluid was the problem, paying for the labor out of pocket. If your mechanic confirms your hypothesis, will that be enough? Will you have to get a second opinion to confirm? Next, are you going to file in small claims court and pay the fee or hire a lawyer? That?s more time and money you have to dedicate, all to save a couple dollars. Let?s say you win your law suit, was the couple dollars you saved worth the time it took to get your settlement?

Most of the people who come here for help with fluid issues actually have the opposite problem. Their warranties have been voided because they didn?t use the proper brand fluid. In that case, it doesn?t matter of the fluid you used meets the specs since these folks violated the terms of the warranty, which is an issue of contractual terms, not fluid quality. Is it unethical that their claims are being denied? That?s a matter of opinion, and you might be able to convince me it is. Was it worth the risk to save a couple bucks on fluid? I don?t think so.

Honda charges an arm and a leg for its brand of motorcycle oil. Everyone knows Honda isn?t in the oil prospecting or oil refining business. That should come as a surprise to nobody. To save a lot of money, I buy other brands of motorcycle oil. Before I recently moved, I was using Castrol motorcycle oil, but now I am using Valvoline. The oil meets Honda?s specs, and the motorcycle is out of warranty anyway, but even when it was under warranty, using a different oil had a significant reward of about $20 per oil change.

When there?s a lot of money to be saved, and there is minimal risk, like with brake fluid, motor oil, and coolant, there is no reason to use Honda?s fluids. When there is little money to be saved, and a lot of risk, or the Honda fluid is cheaper, you would be foolish to take the risk.

Who makes the fluid is irrelevant. If the same company makes Honda brand ATF, and another brand ATF that says it meets Honda?s specs, they might be the same product and they might not. You might never know, and to me, it?s not worth the risk.

If your warranty has expired, and you won’t be asking for “goodwill” repairs, go ahead and use whatever you want. It’s your car and it’s your risk. If something goes wrong through, and you want to blame the fluid manufacturer, good luck. It’s going to be an uphill climb.

Changing your ATF every 7-9k miles is like changing your oil every 1,000 miles. You could use the worst product on the shelf and probably never see a problem.