Just ordered up 2 gallons of it. Going to give it a shot in my 10R80....but not all at once. Next drain and fill will probably be 50/50 Valvoline Restore and Protect and Mercon ULV and I'll be keeping close tabs on the shifting.
Valvoline Restore and Protect ATF
- Thread starter Atalane
- Start date
3K (92.5K) mile update on my 2017 Chevy Cruze after 1 drain/fill (58% change) -
Last update I mentioned an issue cropping up where the torque converter failed to lock up in 3rd gear at idle under 2K RPM. That issue was happening consistently and has resolved itself within the last 500 miles. The weather has been warmer too, so might play in some... but we did have two cold days in the 30s-40s F and I didn't notice it. In all respects, the transmission is behaving normally and still not seeing any of the slipping I did before.
A+ result as far as I'm concerned. Could any fresh ATF have done the same? Perhaps. Even still, call me a believer.
Last update I mentioned an issue cropping up where the torque converter failed to lock up in 3rd gear at idle under 2K RPM. That issue was happening consistently and has resolved itself within the last 500 miles. The weather has been warmer too, so might play in some... but we did have two cold days in the 30s-40s F and I didn't notice it. In all respects, the transmission is behaving normally and still not seeing any of the slipping I did before.
A+ result as far as I'm concerned. Could any fresh ATF have done the same? Perhaps. Even still, call me a believer.
I went ahead and did a drain and fill with 3.75q Dexron VI and 1q Valvoline Restore and Protect. I chickened out on doing more. Only been a couple days, but so far everything running slightly smoother than before - but has also been warmer.
By my estimates, I now have about 15-20% original factory fluid in it. About 40% AC Delco Dexron 6 in it. .45q Valvoline EP, 1qt Valvoline Restore and Protect, and 3.75+qt Dexron 6.
So, total of 5+ quarts of Valvoline fluid
And about 4 quarts of OEM AC Delco (1.8qt of which is from factory fill).
Probably not a useful comment with just 1/9th of the fluid Valvoline Restore and Protect, but will update if I notice anything.
By my estimates, I now have about 15-20% original factory fluid in it. About 40% AC Delco Dexron 6 in it. .45q Valvoline EP, 1qt Valvoline Restore and Protect, and 3.75+qt Dexron 6.
So, total of 5+ quarts of Valvoline fluid
And about 4 quarts of OEM AC Delco (1.8qt of which is from factory fill).
Probably not a useful comment with just 1/9th of the fluid Valvoline Restore and Protect, but will update if I notice anything.
Small update on the XC90...
I don't see how fluid can affect this but something has and the fluid is the only thing that has changed. To save fuel and reduce parasitic losses, the transmission is designed to drop into neutral while stopped. For the longest time, this vehicle would drop into neutral -just before- I came to a complete stop. Because of this sudden change in torque/engine braking, smoothly coming to a stop was difficult. Now, it stays in gear till I have come to a complete stop. I noticed it this weekend. It's definitely a welcome change because it feels much smoother coming to a complete stop. I don't have to try so hard to suddenly change brake pressure to maintain smoothness.
I don't see how fluid can affect this but something has and the fluid is the only thing that has changed. To save fuel and reduce parasitic losses, the transmission is designed to drop into neutral while stopped. For the longest time, this vehicle would drop into neutral -just before- I came to a complete stop. Because of this sudden change in torque/engine braking, smoothly coming to a stop was difficult. Now, it stays in gear till I have come to a complete stop. I noticed it this weekend. It's definitely a welcome change because it feels much smoother coming to a complete stop. I don't have to try so hard to suddenly change brake pressure to maintain smoothness.
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Did you flush it or do a drain and fill? What percent of fluid in the transmission would you say is Valvoline Restore and Protect?
I did a drain and fill. I've actually done three. The first was with 4 quarts of Aisin ATF-0WS. The second was Valvoline Extended Protection. And the most recent was Valvoline Restore and Protect ATF. I think the entire transmission holds 12 quarts and doing drain and fills is obviously nowhere near the same as doing a full flush. Judging by the color of the fluid, I need to do three more for it to be like new -red-. It's still brown, just a light brown. To answer your original question; at best, 25%.
And you only noticed the shifting improvement after the Valvoline Restore and Protect was added? Or did the new fluid from the others make a difference?
Did my second drain and fill. By my estimate I have about 35% AC Delco (15% from original fill), 50% Valvoline Dexron VI, 11% Valvoline Restore and Protect, 5.5% Extended protection. I was nervous about adding too much non-Dexron VI approved fluid. Hopefully the 11% will do something. Will probably do more Valvoline Restore and Protect in a couple years if the reviews continue to hold up well.
Yep. I noticed two things actually; first I noticed a smoother downshift a week after the Valvoline Restore and Protect went in. It has been a few weeks now and I just noticed the improved neutral response. Before that, there was zero difference. I was just changing the fluid because it had never been done in the vehicles 100K mile life.
4wd
$50 site donor 2026
What do you mean by neutral response?
The transmission is shifted into neutral when stopped. Since I've owned this vehicle, it has always gone into neutral just before I stopped. Which made smooth braking, especially just before coming to a stop, a little jerky. Now it shifts into neutral just after I've stopped. Which makes the vehicle feel a lot smoother because I don't have to try to modulate brake pressure to smooth the braking performance.
4wd
$50 site donor 2026
Interesting, never had an auto that moves itself into “N” …
There are a lot of vehicles that do it. It's supposed to be unnoticeable. Volvo was doing it back in 2001 but the 5 speed AW gearboxes were burning up the fluid and torque converters so they released a software patch that stopped the "neutral control" system from functioning and prevented issues.
This is interesting. Thanks for updating us. This would seem to correlate with some deposits being removed. I'd expect the benefits of fresh ATF to be immediately apparent, but benefits showing up in a delayed fashion seems to me at least that some cleaning happened.
After 3x drain and fills of DW1 in my CRV which is still coming out dark, I am going to switch over to Valvoline Restore and Protect ATF. Will likely do the same in our Hyundai.
I was working on my 2007.5 Silverado and decided to drain and fill my rear diff and I didn't pay attention to the previous owners maintenance records and I thought he had serviced the transmission at 72k miles but it was at 52k miles. I thought I might as well do the transmission. Now I'm at 128k miles and not sure if I should use Valvoline Restore and Protect and just use the Valvoline Dexron VI/Mercon LV Full synthetic that he used. I don't want to damage the transmission but I do want to service it. I planned to just change the filter and add 5-6 quarts. I know it isn't good to flush it but not sure if I was to keep pumping several quarts through it until I have 100% Valvoline Restore and Protect but not sure what would happen if I just add 5-6 quarts of Valvoline Restore and Protect.
How many quarts would I need to run through it to get to 100% Valvoline Restore and Protect?
Thoughts?
How many quarts would I need to run through it to get to 100% Valvoline Restore and Protect?
Thoughts?
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CleanSump
Site Donor 2026
You'll be fine changing the filter and adding the 5 or 6 qts. You're dumping old Valvoline for 100% compatible new Valvoline.
Then if you have a drain plug, another spill and fill down the road if you want a greater percentage of new fluid.
I think this is a myth. If a transmission fails after changing the fluid, it was already dead to begin with.
Lots of good reports here so far with the VRP ATF. Sounds like yours is a great candidate.
I know it's just one example, but this guy buys an old car with high miles and a neglected transmission and does a very thorough flush (12-13 quarts total), and it significantly improves the performance.
Yeah I tend to agree, and think the “don’t change the fluid on a high mileage transmission” is one of last hold outs of long ago wisdom that was probably a lot more true back in the day.
Any modern (last 20-25 years?) transmission I’ve serviced, generally all with high miles (150k+) have only had excellent results from fresh fluid. That would be Ford, Honda, Chrysler, Hyundai, GM, and Subaru in my family.
Any modern (last 20-25 years?) transmission I’ve serviced, generally all with high miles (150k+) have only had excellent results from fresh fluid. That would be Ford, Honda, Chrysler, Hyundai, GM, and Subaru in my family.
Great data point.
CleanSump
Site Donor 2026
Like the Guys have said, it isn't new fluid killing the transmission. People do a fluid/filter change hoping to fix slippage or hard shifts on a transmission that has never been serviced then blame the fluid when the transmission dies, which it was going to do anyway. If the problem is sticky valves or solenoids then the Valvoline Restore and Protect may clean them up and help. much like Lubegard has helped.
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