The A13 code just appeared on the dash of my 2014 HCHlll at around 93k miles, saying I need my tranny fluid changed. I pulled the dipstick, and the fluid is clear, clean and full. Do I still need to change the tranny fluid? I have never changed it in this car. I recently had the power inverter replaced under warranty. Do they change the tranny fluid when replacing the power inverter?
Ps: my tranny is the CVT type, and there are no issues with the tranny. There is a slight smell on the fluid.

 

Looks like p!ss.

You should be changing your CVT fluid every 15K miles (about every other oil change).

They are notoriously troublesome. Your only defense is fluid changes.

 

What color is it supposed to be?
Is it a complete change or partial change that should be done every 15k miles?

 

There's only one kind of change, drain and refill. Some old fluid remains and for this reason, some people advocate doing another change soon afterwards to get as much of it out as possible.

On my car, the manual says a change takes 3.0 qts but every time I've done it I've had to add a fourth quart to get the correct final level. Do check the level hot as described in the manual since trans fluid expands with temperature and an accurate measurement can only be done at the specified temperature. (the dipstick is marked "COLD" on one side, but that's only a rough indication and does not replace the hot measurement described in the manual)

 

Thanks for your input. Wow, that's a lot, more than I'm comfortable doing in my garage. I think I'll let the pros handle this one. Thanks again.

 

It's no harder than an oil change really. Only real differences are you need a long funnel to reach the filler opening on the trans case and you need to make sure you measure the fluid level the right way.

 

Thanks. I'll try it next time. I had the dealer do it yesterday. They installed 2 units of cvt fluid and 1 unit of "cleaner". Now my car is making an unusual, subtle, high-pitched winding noise with acceleration. Is all this normal? My car has 93k miles.
ps: if i jack up the front of the car to get under it, will that affect the fluid level reading?

 

Turns out the Honda dealership didn't know my car takes 3 quarts of cvt fluid for the fluid exchange, not 2. Good thing I took it in and showed them the owners manual. The mechanic was reportedly their expert on trannies. Caveat emptor.

 

WTF is 1 unit of "cleaner?"

 

Apparently, it's some kind of chemical cleaning solution. You haven't heard of it? Sounds like they don't know what they are doing, and I need to avoid this service dept in the future.