Elkins45
Site Donor 2026
Idemitsu TLS-LV is probably WS in a different bottle, as it’s said Idemitsu makes it for Toyota. It’s pretty easy to find. I’ve been running it in my xB for 10k miles and it seems to be fine.
Toyota ATF WS Lack of Availability
- Thread starter Gullible
- Start date
My Tacoma has 37,000 miles on and I decided to do a drain and fill last month and follow up with a second drain and fill this week, which I did today. Wanted to stick with OEM until the 60k drive train warranty runs it course. I've researched the cheaper alternatives and will jump on that ship when the time comes.
Like gasman & Astro said, the HPL WS-replacement fluid is both available and a serious quality upgrade.
Replaced leaky transmission lines on my new to me '08 Tacoma SR5. While doing that I spilled about 30seconds worth of ATF. So I had no clue about how much oil was in the transmission. I put in 3qts of Toyota WS and a qt of Valvoline WS rated stuff. Then I put about 10 miles on it driving 30-40 mph. Zapped the pan with the infared and it read 125F. I drained a bit more than a qt until it started to drip. I made a dump run today and it shifted fine.
Ditto. Works fantastic.
For my own vehicles, I’ll spring for amsoil. But yes, for friends and family who I take care of I’ll use Valvoline MaxLife and it definitely holds on to the original shift quality longer than WS. That first change to ML is like a miracle to the owner and surprising to me. Subsequent changes aren’t as dramatic, but still observable in shift quality, timing and feel.
Another thing I’ve noticed about WS is it’s a little dependent on how aggressive the driver is. On a school teachers 4-cylinder Camry, WS doesn’t age as poorly. On my sons 4Runner, which is undoubtedly driven much harder, the ATF refreshes are certainly noticeable.
- Joined
- Mar 17, 2024
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- 19
I am looking for an alternative to Toyota WS that is more geared to heavy duty use and prioritizes good bearing lubrication and viscosity retention over maximum MPG if anyone has any recommendations.
Also wouldnt thicker viscosity ATF generally result in firmer, more aggressive shifts? Or am I wrong there? If so I would definitely be down for more viscosity.
Specifics are I have a 2020 2.5L i4 ICE FWD Rav4 with ~65K miles I am setting up for towing a trailer with two motorcycles that weigh ~1,300lbs, plus whatever the trailer ends up weighing, and it is in rural South Texas, so high speeds, high temps, hours on end.
Also wouldnt thicker viscosity ATF generally result in firmer, more aggressive shifts? Or am I wrong there? If so I would definitely be down for more viscosity.
Specifics are I have a 2020 2.5L i4 ICE FWD Rav4 with ~65K miles I am setting up for towing a trailer with two motorcycles that weigh ~1,300lbs, plus whatever the trailer ends up weighing, and it is in rural South Texas, so high speeds, high temps, hours on end.
HPL green is my vote. Amsoil is also good hooch. If you want technical data, email HPL.
https://www.amsoil.com/p/amsoil-sig...ansmission-fluid-atl/?code=ATLQT-EA?zo=515729
https://www.amsoil.com/offers/pc/?zo=515729
It's your call if you want to run ATF over ATL, but ATL is pretty stout.
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- Mar 17, 2024
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- 19
Thanks, that looks interesting, now I just need to do some reading and figure out the differences in ATD, ATL, and ATD.
Confused. Maybe you meant ATF? I don't see a huge advantage with ATD over ATF if that's where you are going??
- Joined
- Jan 20, 2022
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- 87
Nope
ExxonMobil makes Toyota WS, Idemitsu makes TLS-LV themselves, Eneos makes Aisin ATF-0WS.
They are all different fluids
https://www.mobil.com/en-th/passenger-vehicle-lube/pds/ap-xx-mobil-atf-ws
https://www.idemitsulubricants.com/consumer-product/atf-type-tls-lv
https://aisinaftermarket.com/assets/blog/post/616ae440d6942977de7e7922f41d810e.pdf#:~:text=ATF-0WS is specifically engineered for,Lexus, Scion, GM, and more&text=Synthetic Automatic Transmission Fluid,ATF-0WS Formulated for TYPE WS.
Elkins45
Site Donor 2026
I wonder if the Aisin fluid would be optimal since they make the transmissions? Or is the difference not enough to care about?
- Joined
- Jan 20, 2022
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- 87
It seems to me the Aisin fluid is a little more durability focused while the Idemitsu fluid is the most cold weather focused.
I ordered two 5 quart jugs of Idemitsu TLS-LV for my 2017 Tacoma off Amazon no problem. I don't see a transmission service in the history records, it's gonna be interesting to see what it comes out looking like and I'm going to drop the pan when I service it. I really hope it was serviced once, it's got 102,000 on it.
What is WS fluid exactly? is it its own fluid entirely? I've seen some other transmission fluids that said they were WS compatible along with Dexron LV and Mercon LV. Are they all close to the same thing?
What is WS fluid exactly? is it its own fluid entirely? I've seen some other transmission fluids that said they were WS compatible along with Dexron LV and Mercon LV. Are they all close to the same thing?
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