Frontier Matic J or S?

[baitbuster]

Hello all,
I'm about to do another flush and fill on my 2013 Frontier w 5 speed auto trans. The manual specifies Matic S, but Matic J may be used if S is not available.

the S is supposed to be "fuel efficient" and as I understand, it is a thinner fluid.
Would there be any perceived benefit to changing to the J formula? (better protection, more positive shifting, or towing performance etc)
I posed this question to Amsoil and they tried to discourage use of the J formula (their red bottle trans fluid)

any input is appreciated.


manual excerpt:
"Use Genuine NISSAN Matic S ATF. If
Genuine NISSAN Matic S ATF is not
available, Genuine NISSAN Matic J ATF
may also be used."

 

[Boomer]

I had a Frontier for some years, Use the S.

 

[Hall]

Nissan 5-speeds technically are spec'd for Matic-J but Nissan moved to Matic-S for 7-speeds and seem to just want to deal with one fluid. S is backwards-compatible with J so that's why they list it this way. S is synthetic, while J was not, and S is also considered low-viscosity. No harm in using Matic-S and Matic-J is harder to get nowadays, I thought.

Castrol Full Synthetic ATF can be used in place of S or J. In fact, you should be able to use Castrol Import Multi-Vehicle ATF too.

 

[MolaKule]

Originally Posted by baitbuster
Hello all,
I'm about to do another flush and fill on my 2013 Frontier w 5 speed auto trans. The manual specifies Matic S, but Matic J may be used if S is not available.

the S is supposed to be "fuel efficient" and as I understand, it is a thinner fluid.
Would there be any perceived benefit to changing to the J formula? (better protection, more positive shifting, or towing performance etc)
I posed this question to Amsoil and they tried to discourage use of the J formula (their red bottle trans fluid)

any input is appreciated.


manual excerpt:
"Use Genuine NISSAN Matic S ATF. If
Genuine NISSAN Matic S ATF is not
available, Genuine NISSAN Matic J ATF
may also be used."


NissanMatic S is a virtual clone of the low viscosity ATF. DexronVI. Valvoline DexronVI, MaxLife ATF, Redline's D6 ATF or Amsoil's ATL meets the NissanMaticS specifications..

 

[bbhero]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^


If there is anyone who you should listen to on here it is... MolaKule. Seriously. Take that to the bank.

 

[Hootbro]

On my 2016 Frontier, I just used MaxLife ATF with no issue.

 

[arakele]

On my 2012 Xterra with the same tranny I used Castrol IMV, used it in my 03 Pathfinder as well.

 

[MaximaGuy]

Nissan transmissions especially the 5 speed are by far the most easiest and takes any fluid Dexron clones with very little fussing.
Any fluid that I threw at it when I owned one was always red when drained - beautiful transmissions.