Hi everyone, so I have a 2006 Honda pilot with v6/5 speed auto and I was wondering which version of the valvoline ATF you would all recommend for my vehicle. I've seen several threads but none really specific to my model year and it seems the products have all changed.
You have valvoline maxlife (red), valvoline import multi vehicle (blue), and valvoline extended protection (gray)
I've heard people having good results with the maxlife red container, but apparently I've read that product changed to include CVTS and not many people may use that in an automatic.
I also have read that some people may think that the valvoline extended protection may be what the old formula of the red maxlife used to be before it included CVTS.
Apparently the 5 speed that is used in the 2006 honda pilot is not like a traditional automatic because it doesn't use a planetary gear set. Instead, it's an automated manual transmission that uses multiple hydraulic clutches to engage gears from a set of parallel shafts, similar to a manual transmission. This differs from most other automatic transmissions which use a torque converter and a planetary gearset to change gears.
All 3 valvoline products I listed show they are backward compatible with z1/d1 which is what the pilot recommended. But I've heard those 2 fluids break down very easily and don't hold up.
I've done several drain and refills with the maxlife red bottle and it seemed to shift better at first. I had a lot of metals on the drain plug.
Recently I've been noticing my pilot shifting being delayed, like it would rev really high before shifting from like 2nd to 3rd and 3rd to 4th. Usually if I let off the gas at the right time it would engage quicker.
Any thoughts or experiences any of you have had with any of these Valvoline products would be appreciated especially with my application - first generation honda pilots with the 5 speed autos known as H5.
Thank you!
You have valvoline maxlife (red), valvoline import multi vehicle (blue), and valvoline extended protection (gray)
I've heard people having good results with the maxlife red container, but apparently I've read that product changed to include CVTS and not many people may use that in an automatic.
I also have read that some people may think that the valvoline extended protection may be what the old formula of the red maxlife used to be before it included CVTS.
Apparently the 5 speed that is used in the 2006 honda pilot is not like a traditional automatic because it doesn't use a planetary gear set. Instead, it's an automated manual transmission that uses multiple hydraulic clutches to engage gears from a set of parallel shafts, similar to a manual transmission. This differs from most other automatic transmissions which use a torque converter and a planetary gearset to change gears.
All 3 valvoline products I listed show they are backward compatible with z1/d1 which is what the pilot recommended. But I've heard those 2 fluids break down very easily and don't hold up.
I've done several drain and refills with the maxlife red bottle and it seemed to shift better at first. I had a lot of metals on the drain plug.
Recently I've been noticing my pilot shifting being delayed, like it would rev really high before shifting from like 2nd to 3rd and 3rd to 4th. Usually if I let off the gas at the right time it would engage quicker.
Any thoughts or experiences any of you have had with any of these Valvoline products would be appreciated especially with my application - first generation honda pilots with the 5 speed autos known as H5.
Thank you!
, when I look it up. I would have suggested the EP variant had I not checked myself. 
