Valvoline Restore and Protect ATF

[BeepBeep2]

Just received my order of 3 gallons. I have a 2016 Chevy Cruze LT at 88.5K miles that has never had an ATF flush or drain. In our cold Ohio weather, I noticed a lagging shift from 2nd to 3rd under moderate acceleration, and some slipping in 2nd/3rd/5th on the way to work around -10 to 10F temperatures. It's had a small intermittent issue going into 3rd the whole time I've owned the car, mostly hard shifts.

Valvoline Restore and Protect 5W-30 has been good to me so far. 3.5K miles into my first change, going for 5K OCI. I've had this car since 47K and had always done 8-10K OCIs with Castrol Magnatec or Edge. At 84.5K, I got a P1101 for a clogged PCV orifice, which is under the valve cover, and the car began drinking oil (1 qt / 3.5K). Seafoam flushed last 500 miles before changing oil, reset the code and switched. Came back at 800 miles and reset code again. Hasn't come back now for 2700 miles and manifold pressure is normal. Valvoline Restore and Protect appears to have unclogged it.

These cars appear to drain about 5 qts ATF (9qt capacity) from the pan for a drain and fill. I commute 1800 (90% highway) miles / month in this car. If my PCV issue doesn't come back, that will be another 8-10K OCI on Valvoline Restore and Protect. I plan to do a drain and fill at 90K and then a second at the next OCI at 98-100K, which should put me around 75% "fresh" Valvoline Restore and Protect ATF, then hoping to ride that to 140-150K.

I'll try to post back with updates on how it's doing.

 

[vipergg]

Funny you should mention the ZF 8. I emailed Valvoline last night and asked them. I have attached their response:

View attachment 312209

Wow interesting . A lot cheaper than ZF fluid at about $8 A QUART UP ON AMAZON .

 

[vipergg]

Where is it for sale? I didn't release it had been hard launched.

Amazon has it . $34 for a gallon .

 

[vipergg]

I've had an alert set on RA for seemingly time eternal. They still don't have it. I don't understand why AutoZone and NAPA can get it but O'Reilly and none of RA's warehouses can. I don't know if it's production capacity, demand, marketing agreements....something else?

If you really want it you can order it from amazon , $34 a gallon .

 

[Jordon]

Wow interesting . A lot cheaper than ZF fluid at about $8 A QUART UP ON AMAZON .

Indeed. Unfortunately it is not yet available in Canada, so i just completed my second drain/fill of the Q7 with zf8 using maxlife atf. Results since the first drain/fill have been fine, so i decided to do another to get out more of the old fluid. If/when Valvoline Restore and Protect ATF becomes available in canada, i will likely make the switch.

 

[vipergg]

I didnt see this in perusing the posts here so here is a list right from valvoline that it says you can replace it with .Certainly a cheaper option for anyone who has a ZF 8 speed auto that a quart is $20 plus . Pretty
extensive .
https://sharena21.springcm.com/Publ...3bcc26b5/40f96d44-dab8-f011-b824-9440c99fa601

 

[vipergg]

Since many/most people don't have a transmission fluid filter that gets changed with any regularity, I really doubt they'd design a fluid that is going to grenade transmissions if you don't change it. Do they recommend more filter changes with it? I can't imagine anyone is adding filters to the transmission fluid lines. They can't expect people to do that. It's got to be dummy proof. BITOGers must represent a tiny fraction of people who do their own car maintenance.

But that is really impressive you're thinking about adding your own in-line filter.

There are some transmissions like the 9 speed in the Chevrolet Traverses where this no pan you can pull and the only service you can do is drain and fill with no filter change .

 

[BuckleSpring]

Did the fluid change. Old fluid was still nice cherry red; small amount of clutch material in the pan, but nothing unusual for a healthy transmission with 120k miles.

After 4-5 heat cycles (while working on other issues) and ~10 miles of driving to circulate the fluid, the 4L80E's delay/slow engagement into reverse is completely gone. All gears now engage immediately, and reverse feels stronger than it ever has during my ownership.

Is this from Restore And Protect, or just fresh fluid? I don't know, but it's a data point.

It would seem the "restore" portion is perhaps doing something?

I've put maybe 4-500 miles on it since the fluid change, and it's just continued to get smoother. When I took it out to the store earlier (first time I'd driven it in about a week), I put it into gear, and had a minor panic attack for a second because I thought I lost all gears... It's so smooth that I legitimately can't even feel the 4L80 go into gear any more.

 

[BeepBeep2]

Update on my 2016 Chevrolet Cruze LT:
Drained 5 1/4 qts from sump today at 89.5K miles (58% fluid exchange). Old fluid was dark silver, looked disgusting.

Initial 30 miles - shifts are faster (very noticeably faster), smoother, and all slippage I had previously noticed is completely gone right off the bat, despite it being 20 degrees F today. It was slipping in 3rd earlier in the day just prior to the change. Light acceleration, wide open throttle, downshifts, P/R/N/D Gear 1-6 changes all smooth as butter.

Of course it needed it and I'm sure I'd probably have gotten this result with any fresh ATF, but at least it's a positive result. At 100K I'll do another drain and fill, but my situation is promising.

Since those interested in this ATF have likely also heard about the oil, second change of 5W-30 today after the first 4.5K miles. I had a lifter tick or piston slap (hard to tell) in the cold which is now probably 80% better than it was. Oil consumption was a little over 1/2 qt over 4.5K vs. 1 1/4 qt for that mileage in the prior interval.

 

[CEHepp]

If anyone was wondering how it does in an Aisin 8 speed; I’ll be the guinea pig

 

[Brian123]

I assume they mean a cleaning of the clutch discs in the clutch pack, which can see glazing from overheated clutch disc material.

If you have a car that has an External Transmission Cooler and the ATF temps are lower than 200F or when you check the fluid it is Cherry Red you are fine?

If they mean it can remove the glazed material on the clutch discs, that in my view is a big order.

Yes!

In any case, I would assume this means frequent oil changes, as they did with their VPR engine oil.

I hope not!

Perhaps Valoline will further explain what they mean by these claim(s).

I really hope that Valvoline is not using the Restore and Protect name on this Transmission Fluid as well as their so-called new Fuel System Cleaner thinking we will just buy either product because of the success of Valvoline Restore and Protect Motor Oil.

 

[UGASpike]

Does Valvoline claim any mileage/date for the service of the fluid? I can’t see anything on the PDS nor on the bottle.

Has anyone reached out and asked?

 

[Mainia]

Looks like the SkyJack scissor jack at work will be getting a drain of it's 10 year old Valvoline ATF and getting a fresh batch of Valvoline Restore and Protect ATF next month!!

 

[Hohn]

For all we know this could be Maxlife in a new jug.

I agree that there’s no really an issue with deposits in most transmissions. It seems to be wear mostly that is the problem.

 

[CEHepp]

It's extremely similar smelling and looking to Extended Protection ATF. Reminds me of just regular Toyota WS. If I remember correctly, MaxLife was a deeper red and smelled more like older Dexron III fluid but I haven't used that stuff in a while.

 

[BeepBeep2]

Update on my 2016 Chevrolet Cruze LT:
Drained 5 1/4 qts from sump today at 89.5K miles (58% fluid exchange). Old fluid was dark silver, looked disgusting.

Initial 30 miles - shifts are faster (very noticeably faster), smoother, and all slippage I had previously noticed is completely gone right off the bat, despite it being 20 degrees F today. It was slipping in 3rd earlier in the day just prior to the change. Light acceleration, wide open throttle, downshifts, P/R/N/D Gear 1-6 changes all smooth as butter.

Of course it needed it and I'm sure I'd probably have gotten this result with any fresh ATF, but at least it's a positive result. At 100K I'll do another drain and fill, but my situation is promising.

Since those interested in this ATF have likely also heard about the oil, second change of 5W-30 today after the first 4.5K miles. I had a lifter tick or piston slap (hard to tell) in the cold which is now probably 80% better than it was. Oil consumption was a little over 1/2 qt over 4.5K vs. 1 1/4 qt for that mileage in the prior interval.

Another update at ~400 miles -
Had a hardly noticeable slip early in a drive cycle in 3rd about 100 miles in ~20 degree weather. Nothing really noticeable since. I would say in total it is subjectively 90% better which is great considering the amount of fluid exchanged.

While clutch wear is probably the largest factor in a transmission (ie. "Once it's gone, it's gone"), I hypothesize that it's possible for some clutch glazing to be "repaired". That area would be the highest local temperature in the transmission. Perhaps there is some possibility to clean up deposits on the friction material itself where old fluid can no longer protect the clutch surfaces and contaminants/old fluid contribute to further slip/glazing.

After all, their marketing photo on the back of the bottle hints at this:

My last oil change was surprisingly very clean but the Valvoline Restore and Protect 5W-30 had a very red tint to it. It comes out of the bottle yellow, so one could question if the color change was due to varnish being dissolved and held in suspension or if else from normal oxidation. I've already noticed less red varnish up near the fill cap.

The ATF being an in-house product (unlike the new PEA-free fuel system cleaner, but who knows about that), I'd imagine they're applying learnings from the oil to this ATF; after all, it is a low viscosity lubricant.

Regarding a lack of mileage claim, one could guess that the reason there are none may be due to the amount of "dissolved" contaminant this ATF could trap in suspension. Perhaps you wouldn't want to use this ATF in a high mile transmission where said cleaning would occur and then expect it to last another 100,000 miles.

 

[4wd]

Another update at ~400 miles -
Had a hardly noticeable slip early in a drive cycle in 3rd about 100 miles in ~20 degree weather. Nothing really noticeable since. I would say in total it is subjectively 90% better which is great considering the amount of fluid exchanged.

While clutch wear is probably the largest factor in a transmission (ie. "Once it's gone, it's gone"), I hypothesize that it's possible for some clutch glazing to be "repaired". That area would be the highest local temperature in the transmission. Perhaps there is some possibility to clean up deposits on the friction material itself where old fluid can no longer protect the clutch surfaces and contaminants/old fluid contribute to further slip/glazing.

After all, their marketing photo on the back of the bottle hints at this:
View attachment 326724

My last oil change was surprisingly very clean but the Valvoline Restore and Protect 5W-30 had a very red tint to it. It comes out of the bottle yellow, so one could question if the color change was due to varnish being dissolved and held in suspension or if else from normal oxidation. I've already noticed less red varnish up near the fill cap.

The ATF being an in-house product (unlike the new PEA-free fuel system cleaner, but who knows about that), I'd imagine they're applying learnings from the oil to this ATF; after all, it is a low viscosity lubricant.

Regarding a lack of mileage claim, one could guess that the reason there are none may be due to the amount of "dissolved" contaminant this ATF could trap in suspension. Perhaps you wouldn't want to use this ATF in a high mile transmission where said cleaning would occur and then expect it to last another 100,000 miles.

I thought those needed 40k ATF changes? We had a 2013 - and at 40k - the ATF looked like I pulled the wrong plug. Started doing 30k. The fluid you drained was probably toast for many-many miles.

 

[BeepBeep2]

I thought those needed 40k ATF changes? We had a 2013 - and at 40k - the ATF looked like I pulled the wrong plug. Started doing 30k. The fluid you drained was probably toast for many-many miles.

It was absolutely toast - I bought the car used at 47K and it probably needed it then. The Cruze Gen 2 has the 6T35 instead of the Gen 1 6T40, probably even worse. That said, I barely drove (worked from home, no kids) post-covid for several years (other miles being put on my Focus RS), and an ex girlfriend ran off with this car for nearly 20K miles in there (long story, borrowing turned stealing, a lot of fun). It really only existed to keep miles off my Focus.

Last April I ended up with new employment and suddenly an 82 mile round trip commute, so a large portion of these miles have come in the last year of my now 5 year ownership - probably should have done so sooner than the middle of the coldest winter on record in Northern Ohio, but here we are.

 

[4wd]

It was absolutely toast - I bought the car used at 47K and it probably needed it then. The Cruze Gen 2 has the 6T35 instead of the Gen 1 6T40, probably even worse. That said, I barely drove (worked from home, no kids) post-covid for several years (other miles being put on my Focus RS), and an ex girlfriend ran off with this car for nearly 20K miles in there (long story, borrowing turned stealing, a lot of fun). It really only existed to keep miles off my Focus.

Last April I ended up with new employment and suddenly an 82 mile round trip commute, so a large portion of these miles have come in the last year of my now 5 year ownership - probably should have done so sooner than the middle of the coldest winter on record in Northern Ohio, but here we are.

Yep, might be worth flipping the ATF again soon …

 

[BuckleSpring]

For all we know this could be Maxlife in a new jug.

Has anyone done a VOA yet or...?

I will say, the smell of it is noticeably different than Maxlife though. No comment on the color, it's been a minute since I changed it and I can't recall.