Maxlife ATF now sates Honda 3.x compatible

Originally Posted by Trav
I totally understand where you are coming from with this but is not as simple as just a viscosity issue there are many other considerations to be taken into account.
Anti wear additives and seal compatibility can in some cases play a greater role. I can only share my own experience but many vehicle manufacturers recommend synthetic fluids but are adamant about running a mineral based transmission fluid.

Seal compatibility has been an issue in the past with some fluids. The other point to consider is if the fluid is not 100% compatible excess wear can be happening without you seeing any obvious signs like in an engine of it until the unit fails in some way, it may take a longer time and when it happens most people just contribute it to a blown transmission and accept it at that. In fact if spec fluid was used it may not have had any issues at all and may still be living a happy life.

I used to rebuild a lot of CV axles (still do a few here and there) using new joints from SKF and few others I buy in Europe, some joints take a very special grease that cost almost $50 for 7oz, the grease is really that special. After many hours of research and help from Mola I have found a few of what seems to be real alternatives, one really looks great.
Not cheap grease but cheaper. I will run 4 different greases in 4 joints for a year before accepting it as a replacement, for other peoples joints they will continue to get the super expensive stuff until I am 100% sure it will hold up.






In my opinion ^^^^^^^^^^ A great post here...
 
Originally Posted by bbhero
Originally Posted by Trav
I totally understand where you are coming from with this but is not as simple as just a viscosity issue there are many other considerations to be taken into account.
Anti wear additives and seal compatibility can in some cases play a greater role. I can only share my own experience but many vehicle manufacturers recommend synthetic fluids but are adamant about running a mineral based transmission fluid.

Seal compatibility has been an issue in the past with some fluids. The other point to consider is if the fluid is not 100% compatible excess wear can be happening without you seeing any obvious signs like in an engine of it until the unit fails in some way, it may take a longer time and when it happens most people just contribute it to a blown transmission and accept it at that. In fact if spec fluid was used it may not have had any issues at all and may still be living a happy life.

I used to rebuild a lot of CV axles (still do a few here and there) using new joints from SKF and few others I buy in Europe, some joints take a very special grease that cost almost $50 for 7oz, the grease is really that special. After many hours of research and help from Mola I have found a few of what seems to be real alternatives, one really looks great.
Not cheap grease but cheaper. I will run 4 different greases in 4 joints for a year before accepting it as a replacement, for other peoples joints they will continue to get the super expensive stuff until I am 100% sure it will hold up.






In my opinion ^^^^^^^^^^ A great post here...



Yes, outstanding and looks at the subtleties like the long term wear aspects, this is especially important if you keep cars like a lot of us here on BITOG do.

And the "art of science" when choosing a alternative to OEM items like grease and oils.
 
Originally Posted by Drew7a


I know this is anecdotal information and confirmation bias, but how can Honda just absolutely spec one fluid at the time of manufacture and then switch mid stream? Better engineering and design of DW-1? I know Honda does not make the ZF trans and they probably did not do much research on fluids and relied on ZF as Honda 3.1 and Lifeguard8 are identical.

I am however starting to doubt that maxlife is compatible with everything.
crazy2.gif



Because a lot of time Honda has to test one thing and another in parallel. Your 08 car is likely in R&D with Z1 when DW-1 is still in R&D itself, then when the car is released in 08 with Z1 it only has accelerated testing (i.e. driving 250k on a dino, 1 year in super hot desert and super cold tundra, but not 250k in mild climate in 20 years), and real life testing shows that the accelerated testing has some corner cases. So they move to a slightly different spec fluid or a better fluid to address that, thinking that it should be good enough to keep those cars on the road for long enough that customers are happy. (i.e. It last 20 years 250k instead of 10 years 150k)
 
Giving this post a bump.

Has anyone personally used Amsoil Fuel Efficient ATF in place of Honda/Acura 3.1 yet???
 
Max life is a joke.

Here is the truth of it.



I think he covers it starting at around 30:00, all the info is very good.
 
The truth is, that it will not mess up the transmission the first week or month, but it will in the long run, just check out Professor John Kelly and especially the end of his toyota fluid presentation. Max life has zero certifications by any transmission manufacture. Automatic Transmission fluid is as important as any other component in an automatic transmission, especially in computerized transmissions that are programmed for the recommended fluid.
Even old school hydro mechanical programmed valve body type transmissions require a certain additive package to perform correctly. Yeah use what you like and in time you end up with needed the transmission rebuilt or replaced, and then cry when it didn't last the 150,000 miles or more that you hoped for.


Around 38:00 or so
 
The truth is, that it will not mess up the transmission the first week or month, but it will in the long run, just check out Professor John Kelly and especially the end of his toyota fluid presentation. Max life has zero certifications by any transmission manufacture. Automatic Transmission fluid is as important as any other component in an automatic transmission, especially in computerized transmissions that are programmed for the recommended fluid.
Even old school hydro mechanical programmed valve body type transmissions require a certain additive package to perform correctly. Yeah use what you like and in time you end up with needed the transmission rebuilt or replaced, and then cry when it didn't last the 150,000 miles or more that you hoped for.


Around 38:00 or so

Pfft 150,000? I have over 450,000 on my old Sienna using one universal fluid or another. Sounds like a bunch of nonsense to me.
 
Pfft 150,000? I have over 450,000 on my old Sienna using one universal fluid or another. Sounds like a bunch of nonsense to me.
That YouTube guy is OEM fluid only type of guy. His whole argument is that the universal fluids don’t have any approvals
 
Hmmm, very interesting indeed! :unsure:

However, I have only used universal ATFs in my new(er) vehicles(since 2001) without any single tranny issues. Now, IDK when I'll have problems with my auto tranny's but, I don't currently have any from using Castrol Transmax IMV or Valvoline MaxLife ATFs in my vehicles from Honda, Lexus, Mazda, Nissan, Toyota. They've all performed as well as when then were new.
 
Didn't we beat this to death a few weeks ago?
Well, yeah - but, by site standards it’s time to “circle back” 😷

I stopped when he said MaxLife is all about making money … I’d say many others are instead …
The day this guy can teach Valvoline anything about ATF is the day I will start a run for the Senate …
 
Last edited:
Ya know, I don't believe in NOT using OE fluids, by all means, use them. But, do they have to be so ridiculously expensive?
Or dealer prices for that matter? I mean, if the dealers lowered their prices just a little bit on products & services(at least in my area), the lines to get in might be out the door(so to speak).

Getting back the ATFs. I don't know anyone who has used aftermarket ATFs that are having issues with their tranny's. And I mean, 200K-250K miles or MORE. And I know many who haven't done a single thing with or to their tranny and have gone over 200K miles without issues or that's about the time it failed...NISSAN CVT.

I hear of NISSAN CVT issues but, I don't personally know anyone(and I know a lot of CVT owners) with an issues with their's even though I read tons about their failures.

But again, back to ATFs:

I do however, know people who(no matter how much ATF service they've done...OE or AM), that have had tranny failures and it turns out that it's the poor designed tranny not the ATF used...And I'm not saying that there aren't people with poor driving habits. 🙏 :censored:
 
Last edited:
Ya know, I don't believe in NOT using OE fluids, by all means, use them. But, do they have to be so ridiculously expensive?
Or dealer prices for that matter? I mean, if the dealers lowered their prices just a little bit on products & services(at least in my area), the lines to get in might be out the door(so to speak).

Getting back the ATFs. I don't know anyone who has used aftermarket ATFs that are having issues with their tranny's. And I mean, 200K-250K miles or MORE. And I know many who haven't done a single thing with or to their tranny and have gone over 200K miles without issues or that's about the time it failed...NISSAN CVT.

I hear of NISSAN CVT issues but, I don't personally know anyone(and I know a lot of CVT owners) with an issues with their's even though I read tons about their failures.

But again, back to ATFs:

I do however, know people who(no matter how much ATF service they've done...OE or AM), that have had tranny failures and it turns out that it's the poor designed tranny, not the ATF used.
Sure. Conversely - if the price of MaxLife encourages somebody who is paycheck to paycheck to change ATF in their 2013 Cruze … that’s better that running spent Dex VI any day …
 
As some of you know-I just switch my wife's 2017 Hyundai Santa Fe XL w/the 6 speed to Maxlife Transmission fluid at 44,000 miles. The OEM was burnt, smelly, causing rough shifts, etc. I expect the transmission to last another 40,000 miles-at which time the car will be traded in and somebody else can worry about the long term compatibility, etc.

The Maxlife actually smoothed out the shifts.
 
I know of a very well respected local transmission shop that would have used Maxlife in a Mercedes transmission. The owner decided to go some place else. So yeah your all probably correct. I have known of transmission problems from using it, especially in a few Aisin trans.
 
I know of a very well respected local transmission shop that would have used Maxlife in a Mercedes transmission. The owner decided to go some place else. So yeah your all probably correct. I have known of transmission problems from using it, especially in a few Aisin trans.
Any transmission problems that were demonstrated to be a result of the fluid should definitely be reported to the manufacturer.
 
Back
Top