Why oh why do they do this? 75w85 recommended but not popular on the shelf.

It's not that difficult to source 75W85. There are at least 6 different brands outside of OEM. Castrol Syntrans or Fuchs Titan Sintopoid are the ones I'd go for. |

When you look at the viscosity specs these oils are not much thinner than 75W90 so there can be little advantage in fuel economy and little to lose if 75W90 is chosen.
 
You and I both know that the OEMs absolutely want you to buy their own lubricants. If there was a legitimate need for 75w85, the gear oil manufacturers would be making it widely.
There is a legitimate need; The legitimate need is for the OEM to make the highest MPG they can in the Fleet Mileage Test.
Sure they want you to buy their oil, but thinking they picked 75W-85 to make you go to the dealer is naive.
 
75w90 should be fine. When I’ve spoked to Toyota dealers, they utilize either 75w90 or 80w90 when servicing diffs calling out 75w85.
 
Make sure it's GL-5 for your diffs and you will be fine.
I run Valvoline 75w 90 in a Toyota that calls for 75w 85. I run it in my Gm front diff that calls for 80w 90 also.
My gm 10 bolt calls for 75w 90.
Good to know
 
There is a legitimate need; The legitimate need is for the OEM to make the highest MPG they can in the Fleet Mileage Test.
Sure they want you to buy their oil, but thinking they picked 75W-85 to make you go to the dealer is naive.
I guess it’s like how Ram recommends 10W30 but the factory fill is 5W40 the only reason is to squeeze out an extra 1tenth of a mile per gallon using 10w30
 
There is a legitimate need; The legitimate need is for the OEM to make the highest MPG they can in the Fleet Mileage Test.
Sure they want you to buy their oil, but thinking they picked 75W-85 to make you go to the dealer is naive.
Yes it’s part of the entire EPA certification for fuel consumption. A 75W-90 is more than fine in the vehicle. Better even.
 
What do you think is the other part?
Trying to sell their own oils more, because 75w85 isn’t all that prevalent. The OEMs are taking the whole picture into account. Do they need to squeeze every 0.1mpg due to CAFE? Yes. Do they also want to make as many people as possible use their OEM parts and fluids? Absolutely.
 
Using HPL 75W-85 Differential Life in the Ram’s front pumpkin and HPL 75W-90 Differential Life in the rear differential housing.

Very smooth and quiet operation. All PAO and mPAO for 100,000+ miles (if one wants to never change the differential fluid ever again 😛). I swap mine out every 30,000 miles on average.

The Differential Life products do come with a screw on cone “applicator tip” (think tips on a ketchup or mustard squeeze bottle) that is very easy to “pressure squeeze” the fluid into the fill ports. Very easy to use the product container.
 
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Trying to sell their own oils more, because 75w85 isn’t all that prevalent. The OEMs are taking the whole picture into account. Do they need to squeeze every 0.1mpg due to CAFE? Yes. Do they also want to make as many people as possible use their OEM parts and fluids? Absolutely.
Perhaps. But part of the EPA requirements is that the manufacturer must ensure that the oil grade used in testing must be made available, so the manufacturer must sell it. I’ve never had a dealer push their fluids at a Toyota nor a VW dealer so I personally doubt they are just trying to make a buck.
 
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