Honda Genuine Dual Pump Fluid II 08200-9007 (Quart)

Honda Genuine Dual Pump Fluid II 08200-9007

If your AWD CR-V or Element has started groaning, shuddering, or binding in tight parking lot turns, this bottle is almost always the fix. That noise is the rear differential's clutch pack running on tired fluid, and a drain and fill with genuine Honda Dual Pump Fluid II (part number 08200-9007) is the cheapest drivetrain repair you'll ever do.

What It Is and Why It Works

Dual Pump Fluid II isn't gear oil. Honda's Real Time 4WD system drives the rear wheels through a hydraulic dual-pump coupling in the rear differential, and this fluid does two jobs at once: it lubricates the unit and it produces the hydraulic pressure that actually engages the rear wheels. That's why the friction spec matters and why this isn't a "75W-90 is close enough" situation. Generic gear oil in a dual pump diff is how the system ends up noisy, and aftermarket "compatible" fluids exist, but the engagement behavior of the clutch pack was developed around Honda's formulation. At this price, run the real thing.

This is the current version of the fluid, factory fill since 2008 and fully backward compatible with every earlier Real Time 4WD model that came with the original Dual Pump Fluid. One bottle is one US quart, and most rear diffs take about two quarts for a drain and fill, so grab two per service.

Specs

Fitment

Some newer AWD Hondas also spec this fluid for the rear differential, so when in doubt, your owner's manual settles it. Two systems it does not serve: front-wheel-drive models have no rear diff to fill, and VTM-4 equipped trucks like the first generation Pilot and Ridgeline take VTM-4 fluid, which is a different product. It's also not a gear oil, so it doesn't belong in an S2000, NSX, or Type R differential; those take Honda hypoid gear oil.

What to Know Before You Buy

The job itself is a fifteen minute drain and fill with a 3/8 ratchet for the drain and fill plugs, and Honda specs fresh sealing washers on 2012 and newer models, so add those to the order. If the diff is shuddering in turns, some owners do a second drain and fill after a few hundred miles to flush the last of the old fluid through the clutch pack, and it usually finishes the cure.

On intervals, follow the Maintenance Minder when it calls for rear differential service, and don't trust the diff to warn you politely. Owners who tow, go off pavement, or just live somewhere with real winters tend to change it more often than the reminder asks. It's a ten dollar bottle protecting a differential that costs four figures to replace, so when you're doing an oil change on high mileage and can't remember the last diff service, that's the answer.