Toyota Corolla 2011 1.8L ATF does it need to be genuine

[zillah]

Dear folk

I was trying to google for ATF for Toyota Corolla year 2011 1.8L does it need to be genuine ,,,,,the thread that i found back year 2015

How Much and Which Automatic Transmission Fluid Do I Need?

How much and which Automatic Transmission Fluid do I need?

www.corollaforum.com

I guess to be in safe side we have to use genuine ATF,,,,,,,,Is this applied to latest model only as they might be more advanced and computerized while mine is 2011

Thx

 

[CharBaby]

*Which tranny do you have...(4spd auto?)
*What is its requirement...(Toyota WS?)
IIRC, Toyota was still using a 4 speed automatic in the Corolla until 2013 before the redesigned 2014, which did get a CVT.

Anyway, the answer is NO. You do not need to use Toyota Genuine ATF(T-IV or WS).
However, price the Toyota ATF and aftermarket ATF. You may be surprised that they could in fact be closer in price than you might think. IDK that any one of them is better than the other but, other members will chime in with better information than I have.

There are others ATFs that will suffice such as:
*Valvoline MaxLife ATF, which is a full synthetic and meets Toyota T-IV & WS as well as many other MFGs ATF requirements
*Castrol TransMax Import Multi-Vehicle, which comes in both conventional & full synthetic and also meets Toyota T-IV & WS requirements as well as many other MFGs requirements.
*Then of course, there are the higher end products from Amsoil and others.

 

[billt460]

Before I retired, I worked with a guy who drove a Nissan Versa. (Mid 2000's that he bought new) He had his transmission fluid changed at a Big-O Tire Shop, and a few hundred miles later it started acting up. Finally it just gave up. He had it towed to the Nissan dealer he bought it from, and they said it had the wrong transmission fluid in it, and they refused to cover the repair under warranty.

Long story short. Big-O denied they did anything wrong. He had to get a lawyer involved, and finally Big-O lost in court, and had to pay for a new transmission....... $4,300.00+ with labor. Moral of story, use ONLY the genuine brand specific fluid from the dealer, and KEEP your receipt from the purchase.

 

[AKhan87]

However, price the Toyota ATF and aftermarket ATF. You may be surprised that they could in fact be closer in price than you might think.

I hope your kidding…

*Valvoline MaxLife ATF, which is a full synthetic and meets Toyota T-IV & WS as well as many other MFGs ATF requirements

Maxlife ATF is a lot cheaper then Toyota ATF, I personally have and won’t hesitate to use Maxlife ATF again, in the appropriate Toyota application.

 

[zillah]

*Which tranny do you have...(4spd auto?)

Thanks CharBaby
And yes its 4spd auto

 

[zillah]

Long story short. Big-O denied they did anything wrong. He had to get a lawyer involved, and finally Big-O lost in court, and had to pay for a new transmission....... $4,300.00+ with labor. Moral of story, use ONLY the genuine brand specific fluid from the dealer, and KEEP your receipt from the purchase.

Interesting story

 

[Gebo]

There are many ATF's that will "work". Your question was "to be in the safe side."

To be the safest, use whichever ATF Toyota recommends.

 

[billt460]

Interesting story

What surprised me was that the wrong fluid actually damaged the transmission in just a few hundred miles, to the point of failure, requiring replacement. I doubted that could happen until I heard this. These newer automatics really are that sensitive to the proper fluids. Based on that, I would NEVER allow anyone but the dealer touch it.

 

[Mackelroy]

My wife has a 2003 rav 4 , used super tech meeting toy specs several times, 190,000 miles on it.

 

[CharBaby]

I hope your kidding…

Maxlife ATF is a lot cheaper then Toyota ATF, I personally have and won’t hesitate to use Maxlife ATF again, in the appropriate Toyota application.

No, I am not kidding, I was only making mention of the two. Sometimes you may be surprised that prices can be closer than you may think. I haven't checked WS prices. However when I was using T-IV, it was very close to MaxLife here locally. Again, I did state to "CHECK" on the price. We don't know these prices out of thin air. Never assume.

Another example...In my area:
AutoZone sells gallons of MaxLife for ~ $50/gal
Walmart sells(or at least sold) the same ML gallon for ~$22/gal.
Toyota T-IV ~$28/4 qts.

I realize that ^^^ T-IV & WS are two different ATFs but I always call my local Toyota Parts Dept for pricing. Sometimes things fall in your lap. I've gotten many Toyota OE parts for right around the cost of AM parts. Not everything of course.

 

[CharBaby]

Before I retired, I worked with a guy who drove a Nissan Versa. (Mid 2000's that he bought new) He had his transmission fluid changed at a Big-O Tire Shop, and a few hundred miles later it started acting up. Finally it just gave up. He had it towed to the Nissan dealer he bought it from, and they said it had the wrong transmission fluid in it, and they refused to cover the repair under warranty.

Long story short. Big-O denied they did anything wrong. He had to get a lawyer involved, and finally Big-O lost in court, and had to pay for a new transmission....... $4,300.00+ with labor. Moral of story, use ONLY the genuine brand specific fluid from the dealer, and KEEP your receipt from the purchase.

Hi Billt460
Do you know more about the case?
Did the Nissan Dealer find out through "analysis" that the incorrect tranny fluid was used?
Could it have been that Big-O Tire used ATF in the Nissan CVT?

 

[CharBaby]

Thanks CharBaby
And yes its 4spd auto

Does your owner's manual call for WS or since it's the antiquated 4 speed, to use the older spec T-IV?

 

[billt460]

Hi Billt460
Do you know more about the case?
Did the Nissan Dealer find out through "analysis" that the incorrect tranny fluid was used?
Could it have been that Big-O Tire used ATF in the Nissan CVT?

Not all of the details. Big-O showed the type of ATF they used, and it was the wrong type. Nissan said they had this issue happen before with other service centers doing much the same. This was back in the early 2000's. Before a lot of places realized how fluid specific many of these new transmissions are.

 

[slacktide_bitog]

You do not have to use Toyota WS from the dealer

Maxlife will work fine in your Corolla.
Castrol Full Synthetic ATF is another great choice.
Even the house brand synthetic multivehicle will have no problems

 

[xgmad]

What surprised me was that the wrong fluid actually damaged the transmission in just a few hundred miles, to the point of failure, requiring replacement. I doubted that could happen until I heard this. These newer automatics really are that sensitive to the proper fluids. Based on that, I would NEVER allow anyone but the dealer touch it.

who knows what type of fluid they put in it, if they put some antiquated dexron or some ford type F in it accidently, then yeah it probably would've did the damage, I'll still run castrol or maxlife rather than t-ws

 

[blupupher]

You should have the U341E 4 speed in your Corolla, which uses Toyota's WS fluid.

Many here have used Maxlife ATF with no issues whatsoever.
I have used Maxlife ATF (drain and fill at 30,000 miles) and Havoline Dex-VI ATF (dropped the pan and changed filter at 50,000 miles) in my Scion xB with the U241E with no issues (actually feel shifting is improved with the aftermarket synthetic fluid).

Just curious, how many miles on the vehicle, and has the fluid ever been changed before?

 

[JeffKeryk]

Before I retired, I worked with a guy who drove a Nissan Versa. (Mid 2000's that he bought new) He had his transmission fluid changed at a Big-O Tire Shop, and a few hundred miles later it started acting up. Finally it just gave up. He had it towed to the Nissan dealer he bought it from, and they said it had the wrong transmission fluid in it, and they refused to cover the repair under warranty.

Long story short. Big-O denied they did anything wrong. He had to get a lawyer involved, and finally Big-O lost in court, and had to pay for a new transmission....... $4,300.00+ with labor. Moral of story, use ONLY the genuine brand specific fluid from the dealer, and KEEP your receipt from the purchase.

I wonder if the transmission was already on its way out?
I also wonder what fluid was put in?

 

[bbhero]

Additives, additives, additives...

That's where the proverbial rubber hits the road when it comes to ATFs.

CVT fluid quite and vastly different additive needs vs traditional 4 speed ATF in say my lady's 98 Camry.

Dual clutch transmissions different in their own right.

Then the 6, 7, 8 speed and even 10 speed transmissions could easily have different additive needed to make them operate correctly too.

The base oils are typically synthetic in dexron VI, CVT and likely other later made 6+ speed transmissions.

It's the additives where it all comes down too. And the computer driven nature of them and how they are programmed to operate plus the metallurgy used in those transmissions has well.

 

[Rhymingmechanic]

Maxlife ATF will serve you well in that transmission. I used it for more than 50,000 miles in a 2010 Vibe with the same transaxle. The trans always worked flawlessly, but I did regular changes because the first drain (when new to me at 30,000) looked awful, and the next one tested high for aluminum. I changed with Toyota WS until around 79,000 and then used Maxlife until the car was wrecked in the 130s.

A pan drain should take about 2.7 quarts. If it has never been changed, you can probably reuse the factory drain plug gasket, but get a few from NAPA just in case. Part number ATM PB2403 is a nice thick washer that can be reused a few times.

 

[zillah]

Does your owner's manual call for WS or since it's the antiquated 4 speed, to use the older spec T-IV?

Yes owner's manual does state Toyota genuine ATF as per the attached page

Just curious, how many miles on the vehicle, and has the fluid ever been changed before?

125,000 miles on the car and I bought the car 2019 and I checked the service logs from 2015 and I didn't see ATF replaced