Which Honda Oils HAVE To Be Honda Specific
Posted in Steering Component | Asked on Jul 29, 2010
Honda vehicles require some of the oils to be specifically made for Honda equipment. Not MADE by Honda, but made FOR Honda engines. I’d like to know which ones they are.
I’d like to hear from Honda hobbyists or ASE trained folks, because allot of kids on here think this is a lie or just some way of getting ripped off’d. But it is true, some Honda engine components reqiure the oils to be made specifically for Honda engines, like the Power Steering fluid.
I understand the engine oil can be any oil in general as can coolant/antifreeze, but what about:
Brake Fluid and most importantly the Transmission Fluid?
I would like priority advice on the Transmission Fluid please, if anyone can help. Thank you.
Many cars have used Moonshine as gasoline and they made it to the next destination just fine too. So do the Diesel vehicles who use Off-Road Diesel instead of regular Diesel in everyday commutes.
This is a fact, this is why I’m asking for ASE trained personnel or REAL Honda hobbyists, not ‘ricers’ or kiddies.
There are 4 Answers
can’t be true…millions of Honda’s are running fine on non Honda lubricants
many manufacturers such as honda design the hydraulic fluids to be an integral part of the component design. most have separate fluids for the transmission and power steering. most have different, specific additives to keep seals pliable and prevent leaks, lubricate interal components etc that are not found in the ‘generic’ oils you buy at aftermarket.
hondamatic transmission fluid is honda specific as is the fluid for the VTM-4. both have unique properties and additives to keep the seals pliable that are not found in other fluids.
honda also has there own power steering fluid that I would recommend as I don’t know if there is or is not a difference and you really won’t use too much anyway so there won’t be a savings.
the engine oil is 5w20 and any premium oil witl do
brake fluid is DOT 3 or DOT 4 and any premium brake fluid will do
coolant is long life coolant and any commercial product will be okay to use
manual gear oil is manual gear oil, so for differential service any quality oil of the same weight is good
not sure if they have an additive for limited slip but there aren’t too many of them out there
manual transaxles use hondamatic automatic transmission fluid for most cases
hope that helps
You can use anything that meets the car specifications except the following:
Transmission – Honda requires additional additives. Without the additives, you can trash the transmission as little as 50K miles. This is true for both Manual and auto transmission
Power Steering – same as above
You can use anything that meets specification for:
Engine oil, brake fluid and coolant
As a honda tech I would say that engine oil is engine oil just make sure to use the correct viscosity recommended. Brake fluid is brake fluid make sure to use correct dot # most likely dot3 fluid. ATF I would recommend using honda fluid only I have personally experienced poor shift quality from other after market fluids. Honda rear differentials on the CRV’s, Pilot’s, and Ridgeline’s only use honda VTM-4 fluid no additives. Power steering fluid only use honda other power steering fluids and atf as can be used in other vehicles will cause leaks and noise the seals are not compatible. Coolant use any long life coolant that is green do not use dex-cool or other so called no maintenance fluids. Manual transmission fluid now I may get some arguments from others on this but I feel that the honda manual transmission fluid provides far superior shift quality over 80w-90 or engine oil remember the honda fluids may be mor expensive than the aftermarket fluids but in the long run may save you money using them as they were designed to meet the specifications of the components they are protecting and you may not have to repair problems caused by incorrect fluids.