2018 VW Atlas ATF Question (Aisen 8-spd FWD)

[audirt]

Greetings everyone,

I'll try to be brief. I need to change the transmission fluid on my 2018 Atlas with the FWD 09P Aisen transmission. (It's pretty overdue because my dealership sucks, but that's another story).

I purchased a kit through ECS Tuning that came with 7 liters of Liqui Moly Top Tec 1800. But as I've been reading, I discovered a quasi-religious debate concerning ATF fluids: seems like half of the people say, "OEM fluid or bust" and the other half say "any decent brand that's rated for your vehicle is fine".

To make things even more confusing for me, the VW docs say I need to use "G 055 540 A2", whereas the Liqui Moly only lists "G 055 540" (no A2) under its specs. (I've heard the A2 is simply a notation for the size of the container???)

So which should I use? The Liqui Moly I have on-hand? Or OEM? And if OEM, do I have to buy the VW brand (currently running about $35-$40/liter) or can I go with the Aisen equivalent (about $11/liter)?

 

[slacktide_bitog]

Welcome to BITOG

Aisin/Toyota transmisisons usually aren't picky. The OE fluid is likely the same as Toyota WS. You can use the Aisin fluid or any LV synthetic multi like Maxlife, Castrol Full Synthetic, or even a house brand LV

 

[K.Aoi]

Any toyota-WS compatible fluid is fine, which includes the Top Tec 1800.

 

[Deleted member 89374]

Mobil 1 LV ATF HP - if you enjoy quality ATF and crisp shifts. If you're willing to spend a bit more, then @High Performance Lubricants Green ATF CC is an even better choice. Skip Valvoline, Castrol, Amsoil, Red Line, and the rest, as these two fluids have the most up-to-date additive packages and friction modification chemistry.

I wasted a lot of money on Amsoil and Red Line ATFs, and was never satisfied with how my transmissions shifted.

 

[blufeb95]

Mobil 1 LV ATF HP - if you enjoy quality ATF and crisp shifts. If you're willing to spend a bit more, then @High Performance Lubricants Green ATF CC is an even better choice. Skip Valvoline, Castrol, Amsoil, Red Line, and the rest, as these two fluids have the most up-to-date additive packages and friction modification chemistry.

I'd only recommend M1 LV ATF HP at your own risk, Originally Dex HP and the black bottle version claimed backwards compatibility with previous Dexron fluids but on the new blue label version they removed that recommendation, I'm not sure why,

 

[Deleted member 89374]

I'd only recommend M1 LV ATF HP at your own risk, Originally Dex HP and the black bottle version claimed backwards compatibility with previous Dexron fluids but on the new blue label version they removed that recommendation, I'm not sure why,

The black label fluid was blended with an additive package from Afton Chemical, and it caused a lot of issues. The blue label ATF is blended with an additive package from Infineum. This information is on Wikipedia, believe it, or not.

They removed the compatibility recommendation because it would have made the Mobil 1 LV ATF HP the ideal Multi Vehicle ATF, effectively making everything else just about obsolete. I suppose that someone in Mobil's marketing department was a bit too eager to promote their new product.

Enjoy some pictures of me installing this new ATF in my 2016 RAM 1500. I did a complete replacement of the fluid and installed a new PPE aluminum pan with an oversized and replaceable oil filter. The transmission in question is a German built ZF 8HP70. Yes, it says "Made in Germany" on the valve body.

Bye-bye AMSOIL:

Hello Mobil 1 LV ATF HP (I did two drains and fills with the Mobil 1 LV ATF HP before pulling the old PPE pan - I cleaned and repurposed the old pan for a different vehicle):

 

[audirt]

Thanks for all the feedback everyone!

 

[edyvw]

Thanks for all the feedback everyone!

You will be fine with Liqui Moly.

 

[Stimp]

Havoline Full Synthetic Multi Vehicle is another good one that meets Toyota WS and VW G 055 540 A2.

https://cglapps.chevron.com/sdspds/PDSDetailPage.aspx?docDataId=470377&docFormat=PDF

It's popular in the Touareg forums, and seems many have had good luck with it. Shifts nice in my Cayenne's Aisin 8 speed (TR-80SD/OC8) which is the same as the Touareg. Understanding that I'm comparing your transverse oriented aisin transmission (09P) versus longitudinally oriented Aisin transmission (OC8) that utilize the same fluid.

I would go with the most cost effective full synthetic that meets those specs, and would not hesitate to use maxlife. At the time the havoline was less expensive than maxlife. Like @slacktide_bitog said above, the Aisin transmissions don't seem to be picky about fluid.

 

[TiGeo]

LM is fine...that's likely what I'll use when I do mine.

 

[MaximaGuy]

My personal recommendation would be not buy VW vehicles - they are very tough to upkeep and my auto guy swears to not work on European especially VWs (my neighbor had a front end bumper damage on his Audi A6 costing him $11K, wonder why). Now that you own one with Aisin tranny, get the WS fluid from Toyota dealerships and it will be just fine.

Having said that, in my Lexus with 128K miles I recently broke my own promise to stay OEM and put Pennzoil LV ATF and it has worked like a charm (full-synthetic and more expensive than WS). In the last 8 mo since doing the change the vehicle behave much better than the WS fluid.

 

[TiGeo]

My personal recommendation would be not buy VW vehicles - they are very tough to upkeep and my auto guy swears to not work on European especially VWs (my neighbor had a front end bumper damage on his Audi A6 costing him $11K, wonder why). Now that you own one with Aisin tranny, get the WS fluid from Toyota dealerships and it will be just fine.

Having said that, in my Lexus with 128K miles I recently broke my own promise to stay OEM and put Pennzoil LV ATF and it has worked like a charm (full-synthetic and more expensive than WS). In the last 8 mo since doing the change the vehicle behave much better than the WS fluid.

What is tough about them? Modern VWs are pretty well sorted without much in the way of maintenance/upkeep costs and not particularly hard to work on. The Atlas is not any different.

 

[racer12306]

Enjoy some pictures of me installing this new ATF in my 2016 RAM 1500. I did a complete replacement of the fluid and installed a new PPE aluminum pan with an oversized and replaceable oil filter. The transmission in question is a German built ZF 8HP70. Yes, it says "Made in Germany" on the valve body.

What did you think of the PPE pan?

 

[Deleted member 89374]

What did you think of the PPE pan?

It's nice, but when you get it brand new you have to take everything apart and give it a good cleaning.

Be patient when you install it, use the steel sleeves from the old pan (use Scotch-Brite to slightly sand the sleeves if they don't fit), use a brand new pan gasket and brand new bolts, and don't torque them over 8 ft-lb. Follow the PPE pattern, it works great, and go in two to three ft-lb increments until you get to 8 ft-lb, then go one or two more times over all bolts. You will never have a leak.

Finally, don't use the drain plug gasket that the pan comes with. It will not seal properly as they squish them during assembly and mess them up. Buy some spares and install a new gasket. Lube it with some ATF. Torque is 12 ft-lb, but go up to 14~15 ft-lb to make sure it's good'n'tight.

 

[RooflessVW]

My personal recommendation would be not buy VW vehicles - they are very tough to upkeep

Booooooo

 

[RooflessVW]

Anything T-WS ish will be fine.

 

[racer12306]

It's nice, but when you get it brand new you have to take everything apart and give it a good cleaning.

Be patient when you install it, use the steel sleeves from the old pan (use Scotch-Brite to slightly sand the sleeves if they don't fit), use a brand new pan gasket and brand new bolts, and don't torque them over 8 ft-lb. Follow the PPE pattern, it works great, and go in two to three ft-lb increments until you get to 8 ft-lb, then go one or two more times over all bolts. You will never have a leak.

Finally, don't use the drain plug gasket that the pan comes with. It will not seal properly as they squish them during assembly and mess them up. Buy some spares and install a new gasket. Lube it with some ATF. Torque is 12 ft-lb, but go up to 14~15 ft-lb to make sure it's good'n'tight.

Thanks for the info. I feel like I’d want a new mopar pan on hand just in case ha

Kind of annoying you have to put that much effort in it.