Idemitsu ns2 fluid?

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I'm going to service the (2nd Nissan replaced) cvt on my 09 altima and had heard that Idemitsu makes the Nissan oem fluid. Can anyone verify this? I used castrol in my wife's 07 Murano with no issues on drain and fills, but figure that if I can get the same fluid that Nissan has in their bottles, then why not. There's no warranty on this tranny anymore so no issues there.
 
FWIW this tranny now has 30k on it and Nissan recommends every 60k. There's a drain plug and I've done them may times on the Murano so it's good cheap maintenance.
 
Originally Posted by D1dad
I'm going to service the (2nd Nissan replaced) cvt on my 09 altima and had heard that Idemitsu makes the Nissan oem fluid. Can anyone verify this? I used castrol in my wife's 07 Murano with no issues on drain and fills, but figure that if I can get the same fluid that Nissan has in their bottles, then why not. There's no warranty on this tranny anymore so no issues there.

It is immaterial who makes the fluid for Nissan, like most Asian manufacturers they do not license their proprietary fluids. Idemitsu claims their fluid is "engineered for", "meets the requirements" of and is "recommended for" those applications requiring NS-2, but it is not genuine NS-2 fluid.

Doesn't mean it won't work just fine but it is not the same.
 
bhero just used this Idemitsu fluid in his high mileage Altima CVT and swears by it. If you can get it cheaper than OEM fluid go for it.
 
Originally Posted by JTK
bhero just used this Idemitsu fluid in his high mileage Altima CVT and swears by it. If you can get it cheaper than OEM fluid go for it.

I think he used the Eneos Universal CVT Fluid.
 
Originally Posted by The Critic
Originally Posted by JTK
bhero just used this Idemitsu fluid in his high mileage Altima CVT and swears by it. If you can get it cheaper than OEM fluid go for it.

I think he used the Eneos Universal CVT Fluid.


Ahh! I think you're right. Either way, there's 2 options for fluids.
 
There are more than two, there is also a Castrol, a Valvoline, an Amsoil and a Redline fluid which all state they are compatible with the NS-2 requirement.
 
I'm more than positive Nissan doesn't own a factory to manufacture cvt fluid so someone has to make it. Idemitsu claims to be an oem supplier. Eneos, castrol and valvoline are all different colors than the Nissan fluid, Idemitsu is the same. I serviced the original tranny rligoisly with genuine Nissan fluid and it made it 95k. I used castrol in the 07 Murano and it had over 200k on it when I sold it and still ran great. Maybe I just answered my own question on what to use. The Idemitsu is $43 for 5 quarts versus $100 for the Nissan.
 
Originally Posted by D1dad
I'm more than positive Nissan doesn't own a factory to manufacture cvt fluid so someone has to make it. Idemitsu claims to be an oem supplier. Eneos, castrol and valvoline are all different colors than the Nissan fluid, Idemitsu is the same. I serviced the original tranny rligoisly with genuine Nissan fluid and it made it 95k. I used castrol in the 07 Murano and it had over 200k on it when I sold it and still ran great. Maybe I just answered my own question on what to use. The Idemitsu is $43 for 5 quarts versus $100 for the Nissan.

No one said they don't make Nissan NS-2. Idemitsu is also likely the manufacturer of Honda ATF DW-1 but the Idemitsu branded fluid is not the same as Honda ATF DW-1. Like Honda, Nissan does not license the specification to be sold under a different label.

But again, that doesn't make it a bad fluid to use in the application. If I had a Nissan CVT I would have no problem using it myself.
 
Originally Posted by kschachn
...No one said they don't make Nissan NS-2. Idemitsu is also likely the manufacturer of Honda ATF DW-1 but the Idemitsu branded fluid is not the same as Honda ATF DW-1. Like Honda, Nissan does not license the specification to be sold under a different label.

But again, that doesn't make it a bad fluid to use in the application. If I had a Nissan CVT I would have no problem using it myself.
+1 to all that.

Price being right, I'd have no problem using it. That goes for others mentioned in this thread too.
 
I think I've said this 3 or 4 times here, but whatever....I googled the MSDS / SDS for the Nissan NS2 fluid, the document I found showed that the maker of the Nissan NS2 is SOPUS, which is Shell Oil Products US. This means the green stuff is available from Pennzoil in their CVT2 product. I've used it, exact same colour as Nissan NS2 and a lot cheaper.
 
Originally Posted by JTK
Originally Posted by The Critic
Originally Posted by JTK
bhero just used this Idemitsu fluid in his high mileage Altima CVT and swears by it. If you can get it cheaper than OEM fluid go for it.

I think he used the Eneos Universal CVT Fluid.


Ahh! I think you're right. Either way, there's 2 options for fluids.


Eneos CVT fluid that is blue in color.... NS-3 and NS-2 approved...

Really runs great in my car... Definitely way, way quieter at high load low rpm situations...

This Eneos CVT fluid is NOT for use in "dry" CVTs and toroidal CVTs.

It has approvals listed from the PDS like NS-3, Honda HCF-2 and a Toyota FE, and Subaru CVT-II...
 
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Originally Posted by bbhero


..It has approvals listed from the PDS like NS-3, Honda HCF-2 and a Toyota FE, and Subaru CVT-II...


There are no approvals that I see in the PDs. It says it is "recommended for most Asian CVT transmissions."

Eneos CVT PDS

Two other sources are Redline CVT:

Redline CVT

and Amsoil CVT

Amsoil CVT
 
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Originally Posted by MolaKule
Originally Posted by bbhero


..It has approvals listed from the PDS like NS-3, Honda HCF-2 and a Toyota FE, and Subaru CVT-II...


There are no approvals that I see in the PDs. It says it is "recommended for most Asian CVT transmissions."

Eneos CVT PDS

Two other sources are Redline CVT:

Redline CVT

and Amsoil CVT

Amsoil CVT




Official "Approvals" are not out by Nissan.... True...
I was rather tired typing that earlier...

But that is just semantics....

For the record I actually went looking to purchase Amsoil CVT fluid in two nearby Napa stores... I do not buy stuff online... The Amsoil CVT fluid was not in them... The store is Smithfield I know had it on the shelf for sale about two years ago... I guess they stopped carrying it.



Amsoil does not carry an official "approval" either from Nissan... Neither does Redline have a official "approval".... "Recommended" is what Amsoil states just the same...

No one does carry an official "approval" that I can see...

But look at who is the parent company of Eneos.....

JX Nippon Oil and Energy company... Who is that I might ask??

Ohh a Japanese company who makes this CVT fluid.... Which on the Eneos website they claim to be the OEM fluid supplier to Honda, Toyota, Nissan... That I mentioned above is not a massive list of supposedly "compatible" CVTs.... Rather small in fact.... The ones I mentioned there... Is all that was that was listed on their website....

I'd trust and do trust a company that actually works with those Asian car manufacturers in formulations for a transmission like a CVT.



Nothing wrong with the others you mention....

Amsoil, Redline, Idemitsu, etc etc...



Just no where to be found in a store... And I don't buy stuff online.
 
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Eneos website claims that JX Nippon Oil is the factory fill supplier to Honda, Toyota, Nissan and Hyundai etc... Though that Eneos CVT fluid smells really, really unpleasant. Be ready for that if you buy it... It is enough to knock over a mule.


But seriously Molakule I really did go looking for the Amsoil CVT fluid based upon your recommendation...

That is the gospel truth... I drove by the Napa near me in Williamsburg off Rte 60 at a store that I knew carried Amsoil Signature Series oils... The complete lineup I might add... And that store did not have it. I drove an hour plus to the Napa in Smithfield because I had seen the CVT fluid in there. Which I certainly had seen it there, no doubt...And of course It was gone. That store had the Signature Series oils up there and other Amsoil transmission fluids... Just not the CVT fluid... go figure...

Cronk has run the Amsoil CVT fluid for a good while in his Nissan Quest... It has been great for his vehicle.

I think CVT fluid from Amsoil, Eneos, and Redline are all very good options.
 
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My local napa carried Idemitsu for under $10 a qt so I grabbed 5 quarts. There's been lots of talk about how this stuff expands that I think I can squash. I ran the car to Costco and back which is around 100 mile round trip and is all 80mph highway, I pulled the plug and drained it hot which was just under 5 quarts. It's 17 degrees this morning and the jug has been outside all night, it didn't really budge from the mark I put on the bottle. I'll refill exactly what I drained this morning. I didn't wanna put 5 qts in just in case that would have overfilled it a bit, but that doesn't seem to be the case. The Idemitsu is exactly the same color and smells the same btw. The tranny was replaced so there's no issues I'm trying to solve outside of staving them off.
 
"JX Nippon Oil and Energy company... Who is that I might ask?? "



Eneos is the brand name for JX Nippon for their products and service stations.

Just like Mobil is to Exxon Mobil.
 
Originally Posted by bbhero
Eneos CVT fluid that is blue in color.... NS-3 and NS-2 approved...

Really runs great in my car... Definitely way, way quieter at high load low rpm situations...

This Eneos CVT fluid is NOT for use in "dry" CVTs and toroidal CVTs.

It has approvals listed from the PDS like NS-3, Honda HCF-2 and a Toyota FE, and Subaru CVT-II...

Just to be clear however, the Eneos CVT fluid does not have NS-2 nor NS-3 approval. Only the Nissan brand has that approval. It is "recommended for" just like every other fluid except the Nissan branded one.

But again, not to say it will not work in those applications.

Quote
ENEOS ECO CVT FLUID is recommended for continuously variable transmissions in most Asian cars (Toyota, Nissan, Honda, Subaru, Mazda, Mitsubishi, etc.). It can be used for an extensive array of both belt and chain types of CVTs and is compatible with many of the latest CVTs including Nissan NS-3, Toyota FE, Honda HCF-2, Subaru CVTF-II.
 
Originally Posted by D1dad
My local napa carried Idemitsu for under $10 a qt so I grabbed 5 quarts. There's been lots of talk about how this stuff expands that I think I can squash. I ran the car to Costco and back which is around 100 mile round trip and is all 80mph highway, I pulled the plug and drained it hot which was just under 5 quarts. It's 17 degrees this morning and the jug has been outside all night, it didn't really budge from the mark I put on the bottle. I'll refill exactly what I drained this morning. I didn't wanna put 5 qts in just in case that would have overfilled it a bit, but that doesn't seem to be the case. The Idemitsu is exactly the same color and smells the same btw. The tranny was replaced so there's no issues I'm trying to solve outside of staving them off.


I think there's more to it than the fluid itself "expanding".

Transmissions route fluid differently based on fluid temperature. I believe that has more of an effect on level checking.
 
Originally Posted by kschachn
Originally Posted by bbhero
Eneos CVT fluid that is blue in color.... NS-3 and NS-2 approved...

Really runs great in my car... Definitely way, way quieter at high load low rpm situations...

This Eneos CVT fluid is NOT for use in "dry" CVTs and toroidal CVTs.

It has approvals listed from the PDS like NS-3, Honda HCF-2 and a Toyota FE, and Subaru CVT-II...

Just to be clear however, the Eneos CVT fluid does not have NS-2 nor NS-3 approval. Only the Nissan brand has that approval. It is "recommended for" just like every other fluid except the Nissan branded one.

But again, not to say it will not work in those applications.

Quote
ENEOS ECO CVT FLUID is recommended for continuously variable transmissions in most Asian cars (Toyota, Nissan, Honda, Subaru, Mazda, Mitsubishi, etc.). It can be used for an extensive array of both belt and chain types of CVTs and is compatible with many of the latest CVTs including Nissan NS-3, Toyota FE, Honda HCF-2, Subaru CVTF-II.



Ahh... I covered that all ready Capt....

No one third party blender does have a blanking "approval" .. Except the "official" Nissan fluids. I said that earlier...

I typed that yesterday on little sleep.... I made a smoked ham and smoked hot dogs for my administration staff at work the night before... I got up to bring in their food for lunch... Therefore I was rather tired yesterday evening typing that....

Not trying to give you a hard time kschachn... Just saying what happened and why... Hope you have been doing good man... Always good to see you on here.
 
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