Ranking of ATF Fluids?

[martinq]

Hyundai SP-IV replaced by Castrol Transmax Dexron VI Mercon LV multi vehicle.

Will not be removing transmission pan. Question still stands in regard to mixing two different fluids. Is a complete transmission flush the answer. Would have though choosing the correct fluid would be extremely important.

Using the correct fluid is critical and any multi-ATF will be the correct fluid for a SP-IV application (check the product information). If it was my transmission I would:
- remove the pan for cleaning and add magnets where possible / logical
- drain the ATF cooling lines & valve-body if possible
- fill with appropriate (correct) ATF
- drive 30 minutes or until ATF is up to operating temperature minimum, one month maximum
- drain & fill
- repeat the drive-drain-fill cycle at least once more or until the fluid looks clean / clear
- drop the pan again for inspection after ~ one year

I would use Valvoline Restore and Protect ATF if I could get it, otherwise I would use whatever is convenient & cost effective.

 

[nascarnation]

OEM's tune the transmission control module based on how the transmission performs with the OEM fluid inside. Small differences in viscosity, friction characteristics, etc, can affect how the transmission shifts.

Ever wonder how a fluid like Maxlife can claim to meet more than 100 different cars specs all with the same fluid? Either Maxlife is a compromise, or the OEM's are trying to deceive the public.

If your adaptive algorithms are designed right it should be able to work properly with everything from 15W40 motor oil to Dexron VI. At least that was what our criteria was at Allison

 

[Nessism1]

If your adaptive algorithms are designed right it should be able to work properly with everything from 15W40 motor oil to Dexron VI. At least that was what our criteria was at Allison

I'd love to witness some of the tests you guys did.

What I KNOW, is that using MaxLife caused my low-mileage Nissan Sentra F04 AT to perform poorly. It never behaved that way with Nissan Matic-D fluid. The Nissan FSM mentioned some flavor of Dexron fluid as an alternate, but I don't care what the manual or anyone says, using aftermarket fluid in that transmission messed it up. Ever since, I use OEM fluid. You can use whatever you want, but saying aftermarket fluids are superior, or even equivalent and acceptable, is NOT always the case. It's a gamble.

 

[daniel327]

I have tried Toyota genuine WS
Valvoline maxlife
But Penrite LV perform much better

I've tried all of those fluids in my Toyota and I also tried Castrol Multivehicle ATF and Castrol Dex VI/Merc LV ATF. Eventually I decided that Penrite ATF LV was the best of the bunch.

 

[daniel327]

Either Maxlife is a compromise, or the OEM's are trying to deceive the public.

I'd wager that both of those things are true.

 

[97prizm]

There's no reason to have concerns with aftermarket fluids as they are, in most cases, superior to OEM.

I've personally used five or more CVT fluids in our Nissan and they all work very well. The major issues with CVTs has been in their programming, lack of (recommended) maintenance and possibly overheating the fluid.

Amsoil is indeed a premium product but you can do very well with Valvoline, Castrol, Mobil, etc.

Does anyone make an aftermarket heavy duty transmission cooler for cvt's? It does seem like some CVT's were picky about fluid and on-time changes.

 

[skaughtz]

I have been wondering about people's rankings of transmission fluids. In my mind the top criteria would be:

1) Wear protection
2) Additive package
3) Longevity

I have 2 Honda's with the 5 speed and the OEM has a very unique additive package (lots of zinc and calcium). From my understanding the downside is the fluid breaks down fairly quickly. I don't know how this compares to other fluids. I see most other fluids use more of a phosphorus heavy approach. I think most of us have faith in HPL and Amsoil but l have not figured out how long the companies suggest they should last.

What is your preferred brand and if you want to rank sub-brands (like Valvoline maxlife, Valvoline Extended Protection, Valvoline Restore and Protect etc...) that is welcome too.

My 2012 Civic 5-speed has been running DW-1 for 135k miles and still shifts as well as new. 30k mile drain and fills and the ATF is still in good shape when I change it.

IF I was going to switch her off of DW-1, I would go with MaxLife. My Camry transmission might as well have been designed for it with how well it has worked in her. But for Honda-made transmissions I prefer to stick with OEM. 3 quarts of DW-1 needed for a drain and fill is the same cost as four quarts of MaxLife, so I have no reason to switch.

 

[nbpt100]

Using the correct fluid is critical and any multi-ATF will be the correct fluid for a SP-IV application (check the product information). If it was my transmission I would:
- remove the pan for cleaning and add magnets where possible / logical
- drain the ATF cooling lines & valve-body if possible
- fill with appropriate (correct) ATF
- drive 30 minutes or until ATF is up to operating temperature minimum, one month maximum
- drain & fill
- repeat the drive-drain-fill cycle at least once more or until the fluid looks clean / clear
- drop the pan again for inspection after ~ one year

I would use Valvoline Restore and Protect ATF if I could get it, otherwise I would use whatever is convenient & cost effective.

I have a KIA Sedona(SP III) with about 220k miles and going strong. In order to change the ATF filter you have to remove the Transmission from the car. Needless to say it has never been changed. It does have a magnetic drain plug. I purchased it at 190k. The original owner took it to a quick oil place for service and it appears he was good about not putting things off. Who know what they used? I assume something like MAX Life ATF that covers a lot of specs. But I am only guessing. I looked at some KIA message boards and people have attested to MAX life working well in KIA's. So, I took their experience and have been using that with about 15k intervals. No issues at all. I assume SP4 is backward compatible and just maybe a little better in some way than SP 3? In other words it is designed to work on SP 3 and SP2?

 

[daniel327]

Does anyone make an aftermarket heavy duty transmission cooler for cvt's? It does seem like some CVT's were picky about fluid and on-time changes.

Mishimoto and Perrin market CVT fluid coolers for Subaru WRX. However, there's no reason any ATF or oil cooler (i.e Derale, etc) couldn't be installed to cool CVT fluid provided there's access to the OEM CVT fluid cooling circuit.

 

[4329]

Suitable for, recommended and meets requirements are not the same as approved or meets specifications. In my view some/all multi vehicle fluids are misleading in their claims for their fluids.

When one changes their old fluid, it may have changed its viscosity and partly depleted its additives and adding new brand x fluid will improve the function of the transmission but cannot perform the same as the OEM fluid as the viscosity and additive package will be different.

People will then take the view that brand x is the same or better than the OEM fluid compounded by the possibility that they may not remember how the transmission felt when new. I suspect using multi vehicle fluid could have an effect when the transmission is cold and possibly when hot due to the viscosity differences.

If for example a vehicle requires 5w30 C3 engine oil, any brand oil API or ACEA 5w30 C3 oil can be used even during warranty as per European directives.

Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of ATF and we need to decide to use multi vehicle ATF that does not meet OEM specifications or use overpriced OEM ATF, of course people will claim that brand x multi vehicle ATF works fine despite the fact that it does not meet the required OEM specifications.

In my view I look closely at viscosity differences for multi vehicle ATF as that may have the most effect on the transmission.

In an attempt to get more information, I emailed all major oil companies in Australia, and all suggested to use OEM fluid during the warranty period. Outside warranty they can only recommend their fluids.

 

[Volvo_Expert_Tech]

In my 20 years as a tech, I used maxlife and BG universal which I am pretty sure come from the same factory.

For my personal 2024 Audi S5, I will be putting Ravenol 8HP in the transmission and Ravenol in the diffs.

 

[ctechbob]

I have been wondering about people's rankings of transmission fluids. In my mind the top criteria would be:

1) Wear protection
2) Additive package
3) Longevity

I have 2 Honda's with the 5 speed and the OEM has a very unique additive package (lots of zinc and calcium). From my understanding the downside is the fluid breaks down fairly quickly. I don't know how this compares to other fluids. I see most other fluids use more of a phosphorus heavy approach. I think most of us have faith in HPL and Amsoil but l have not figured out how long the companies suggest they should last.

What is your preferred brand and if you want to rank sub-brands (like Valvoline maxlife, Valvoline Extended Protection, Valvoline Restore and Protect etc...) that is welcome too.

3-Shaft or 4-Shaft 5 speeds?

 

[amateurbob]

3-Shaft or 4-Shaft 5 speeds?

To be honest I am not sure. How would l determine the number of shafts?

 

[ctechbob]

To be honest I am not sure. How would l determine the number of shafts?

Mostly after about 2006-2007 they are all 4 shaft, prior to that the Accords were 3 Shaft, I'm not sure what the Ridgeline and Odyssey's (And TL's) were. I'm getting a bit rusty at this point.

What year and model are they?

 

[50yr Street Mech]

Got burned for the amount of 3K using Aisin's version of Honda's DW-1 in my 13' CRV AWD. After a few days, I had just 1st gear left -(...No problems with transmission prior to the spill and fill of a lousy 3 quarts. Guess the transmission didn't like it..Off to the dealer it went for a re-man unit with a 3yr / 36K warranty. Went back with Honda DW-1, and put over 100K on it already. Spill and fills every 15K. Lesson learned. Tranny blew @ a measly 60K using Aisin.

 

[amateurbob]

Mostly after about 2006-2007 they are all 4 shaft, prior to that the Accords were 3 Shaft, I'm not sure what the Ridgeline and Odyssey's (And TL's) were. I'm getting a bit rusty at this point.

What year and model are they?

2011 crv and 2012 accord both with the 2.4

 

[ctechbob]

2011 crv and 2012 accord both with the 2.4

Lol, my fault. You said 5 speed and I immediately forgot about the I4 cars and assumed you had V6 cars. Ignore what I said. Was a long night.

 

[pbm]

Got burned for the amount of 3K using Aisin's version of Honda's DW-1 in my 13' CRV AWD. After a few days, I had just 1st gear left -(...No problems with transmission prior to the spill and fill of a lousy 3 quarts. Guess the transmission didn't like it..Off to the dealer it went for a re-man unit with a 3yr / 36K warranty. Went back with Honda DW-1, and put over 100K on it already. Spill and fills every 15K. Lesson learned. Tranny blew @ a measly 60K using Aisin.

I did a D&R of the ATF in my daughters Mazda using Aisin's version of Mazda FZ about 50K ago and could tell no difference from the OE. I added Lubegard red at the time. I will be doing it again next week as I finally will have access to her car while she's on vacation. I believe I read that Aisin makes the most transmissions of any manufacturer in the world so I would think they know what they're doing fluid wise.

I have used Castrol MerconLV exclusively in my Ford Escape changing it 3 times in the first 50K before settling on 25K D&Rs. The Castrol is MerconLV approved so I didn't expect issues and didn't have any.

My nephew just swapped out the CVT fluid in his (new to him) 2018 Honda HRV with 138K using Valvoline CVT fluid with no issues so far.

 

[amateurbob]

Lol, my fault. You said 5 speed and I immediately forgot about the I4 cars and assumed you had V6 cars. Ignore what I said. Was a long night.

No worries man... I live in that purgatory most of the time.

 

[Pablo]

I have been wondering about people's rankings of transmission fluids. In my mind the top criteria would be:

1) Wear protection
2) Additive package
3) Longevity

I have 2 Honda's with the 5 speed and the OEM has a very unique additive package (lots of zinc and calcium). From my understanding the downside is the fluid breaks down fairly quickly. I don't know how this compares to other fluids. I see most other fluids use more of a phosphorus heavy approach. I think most of us have faith in HPL and Amsoil but l have not figured out how long the companies suggest they should last.

What is your preferred brand and if you want to rank sub-brands (like Valvoline maxlife, Valvoline Extended Protection, Valvoline Restore and Protect etc...) that is welcome too.

I doubt you will find a straight up, meaningful, statistically valid "ranking".

So as you see here it just breaks down into two things. I think/know this brand is good and "universal" ATF's are good/bad.