Are Honda Brand Fluids Necessary?
Put the Right Fluids in Your Honda for Maximum Reliability
Late model Honda vehicles call for the use of only Honda fluids with the exception of motor oil; but are Honda brand fluids really necessary? For those who work on their own cars, or have an independent mechanic care for their car, this is a very important question. For the Honda owners who let Fisher Honda care for their cars, rest assured that our mechanics use only Honda brand fluids.
Which Fluids are Honda Brand Fluids?
Honda brand fluids should be used for every fluid in your car with the exception of the motor oil, gasoline, and wiper fluid. Honda calls for specific Honda brand fluids for the following
- Honda coolant fluids
- Honda transmission fluid – manual and automatic
- Honda brake fluid
- Honda power Steering fluid
- Honda differential fluid
If you drive an older Honda this standard may not apply to your vehicle. Be sure to check your owner’s manual before changing any fluid in your Honda.
Do you Need to Use Honda Brand Fluids?
A corroded differential component
The simple answer is yes. It’s all about corrosion, and Honda fluids will be the best fluid to minimize corrosion and keep your Honda reliable. Different car manufacturers utilize different metal alloys and rubber compounds in vehicle components. Honda fluids are specifically designed around the metal alloys and rubber components used in Honda vehicles. This means that a Honda brand fluid will be the absolute best at minimizing corrosion on Honda components. When vehicle components corrode they perform poorly and are much more likely to fail.
Using Third Party Fluids in a Honda
Hopefully, you will be convinced at this point to use only Honda brand fluids in your Honda; consider some of the consequences of using another brand of fluid.
- Gaskets may fail leading to fluid leaks
- Decreased performance of engine, transmission, and steering components
- Failure of the engine, transmission, steering system, or cooling system
The bottom line is that saving a few dollars to buy a generic fluid is not worth risking a several thousand dollar repair down the road. Use Honda brand fluids for maximum performance and reliability, it is much more than a marketing gimmick.
8 comment(s) so far on Are Honda Brand Fluids Necessary?
Good luck finding the Honda fluid in an area that only has generic mercon ATF. Look at the labels to be sure the fluid interchanges with Honda Z! or D1. That when the Brand you choose has to stand up for what it states on the label. With so many different ATF brands just read the label carefully and sleep with “No Worries”.
I have a 2008 Honda Civic hybrid he has 260,000 miles is it a good idea to change the transmission oil or just ad transmission oil to it if it’s low will be the best decision
What production year did Honda specific Transmission fluid become mandatory?
Honda tranny fluid only. It’s magic, I swear that I tried ATF that said it’s good for Honda “car quest “ and it made the tranny feel like it was junk! Slipped, would not up shift or downshift right. Ordered Honda fluid and it was like day and night. $10 a quart but every 30,000 miles using under 4 quarts is worth it.
What kind transmission fluid use in my Honda Accord 2004 LX
I always use genuine Honda oil in our HRV
It has 80 K on it and CVT is as smooth as the day we got it,
My power steering fluid is low, I cannot get a Honda dealer when they are open due to crazy work schedule. Is it better to use another fluid or run it low? Are fluids available by mail?
We always would prefer genuine Honda fluids, that we you know you are getting OEM quality put in.
We can have our parts department reach out to see if its cost effective to ship it if you are not able to get to the store during business hours, if that would help?