Honda ATF Fluid or Valvoline Maxlife Dexron III Fluid

Drained the tranny fluid from my 97 Accord this morning, but Honda
store is closed. The manual said I can "use Dexron III as a temporary
replacement, but it should be drained and refilled with Honda ATF as
soon as it is convenient." So I put Valvoline Dexron III Extended
Mileage fluid in.

I read the bottle annd it says: Valvoline has tested and recommends
Maxlife ATF in a broad range of transmission including DEXRON III,
III-G, Mercon V, ATF+3, ATF+4, Honda ATF-Z1, Toyota/Lexus type T,
T-III, and T-IV.

Should I keep the Valvoline Maxlife in and don't bother to replace it
with Honda ATF?

 

hmm, in my experience, honda fluid is _not_ the same as all the others,
regardless of whether valvoline says it meets minimum spec or not. on
my civics, any "dexron" fluid that is /not/ honda aft-z1 makes them
shift so harshly, it's like having the trunk slammed on you with each gear.

you may be ok-ish for a while because the transmission never drains
completely & majority of fluid is still honda's own special blend, but
you're likely to see a deterioration in shift quality. apart from the
minimal price differential, i see no reason /not/ to use the honda fluid
for the peace of mind.

one more thing; and sorry if this sounds bad, but why would you drain
the transmission /before/ you had replacement fluid ready??? you're now
stuck with 3 more changes to try & dilute the foreign fluid again.

 

Our '95 Accord started doing something my wife though was slipping but
hasn't since I changed to the Honda fluid. You may not want to wait until or
if something happens and change it ASAP. Honda ATF is definitely what you
want to use in the future. Ditto with their power steering fluid.

Personally, I would just wait and see how the Valvoline does. However,
that's mostly because I'd like to save the environment from the several
quarts of ATF you'll need to dispose of after changing the fluid three
times to get most of the Valvoline out.

HTH
WW

 

I plan to change the fluid 3 times anyway even with Honda ATF. The old
fluid is quite dark, and the magnet is full of debris.

Haven't notice any shifting problem yet. I will ping the Valvoline
technical service.

If Valvoline can make that kind of statement on the bottle, they must
have data to prove.

 

not necessarily. it meets the dexron III spec, & dexron III /is/
specified as acceptible for "emergency" use in a honda. honda
automatics are a totally different design to the planetary gearboxes
everyone else uses. it /is/ possible for the honda atf to be different
for this reason.

ping valvoline & see how they answer the question. i did that with
castrol & their initial "yes, it meets dexron..." eventually turned into
a "no, it's not suitable for honda". they weren't kidding either.

 

----------------------

Their 'verbal confirmation' won't pay for your replacement.:-(

Z1 is MADE to work specifically in your Honda. 'Nuff said.

'Curly'

 

It does not take long for Valvoline to answer, and also attached an
open letter to address this type of questions. Here is the excerp:

Dated December 21, 2004

To Whom it may concern:

Valvoline has received several inquires regarding the topic of Maxlife
ATF and its use in various vehicle beyond those requiring DEXRON III or
MERCON approved products. In response to these questions, Valvoline has
issued the following statements:

Valvoline supports the use of Maxlife ATF in a broad range of
transmission beyond those requiring DEXRON III and MERCON fluids
including those where the following fluids are recommended:

GM DEXRON II, Ford MERON V,..., TOYOTA Type T, T-III, T-IV, Honda
ATF-Z1 (except in CVTs), BMW LT1141 or LA2643, blah blah..

Valvoline has conducted in-house teting to support Maxlife ATF
performance in these transmissions. However, it is important to note
that these vehicle manufacturer have neither evaluated nor approved
Maxlife ATF.

Valvoline stands behind all of its products, including Maxlife ATF. Use
of Maxlife ATF in transmission where recommende by Valvoline WILL NOT
void the vehicle's warranty. In the unlikely event that any
transmission was to be damaged as a rsult of the use of Maxlife ATF,
please contact Valvoline at 1-800-Team-VAL.

While Maxlife ATF is designed to meet the special needs of higher
mileage transmission, new transmissions an also benefit from its
enhanced oxidation protetion, shear stability, seal compatibility, and
anti-shudder protetion and many consummer have chosen to take advantage
of this level of performance.

....Maxlife ATF is recommended for the new 5 and 6 speed transmissions,
except Ford 5R110, Ford 6RXX, and the Mercedes Benz W7A700 which all
require a low viscosity ATF fluid.

Undersigned, Technical director.


So, this is the strongest letter I could get from any company. My car
runs fine, no noticeable difference. If there is any problem, I will
come back and let the mass know. If I volunteer myself to be a
test-pig, OK let be it.

 

with respect, that letter is exactly what i said earlier - a
weasel-worded way of saying that their atf meets dexron III & that honda
spec dexron III. what they /don't/ detail is under what /circumstances/
honda spec dexron III & they /do/ use the all-encompassing disclaimer:
"it is important to note that these vehicle manufacturer have neither
evaluated nor approved Maxlife ATF". now, if you're happy with a
disclaimer like that, go ahead & be the guinea pig.

what others are telling you on this forum is that they /have/ tried
non-honda dexron III atf, it /did/ have a negative effect on shift
quality, and their experience of returning to honda atf was that it
restored original performance. believe it or not as you desire.

 

Why would any manufacturer recommend other aftermarket ATF brand to
undercut their own profit? It's money maker for them. Looks like every
car company is now specifying their own ATF fluid. The list also
includes

Allison C-4
Chrysler ATF+3 or ATF+4.
Mitsubishi Diamond SP-II or SP-III
Kia SP-II and SP-III
Hyundai
Nissan Matic-D,-J, -K.

Yes. Even KIA and Hyundai has figured this out.

 

hey, i'm a skeptic too, and first time out, /noone/ could tell me to use
honda atf either, pretty much the same logic you're using. but, when my
car started shifting like cr*p, and i mean bad enough to tear up engine
mountings, i finally got wise. ymmv.

 

forgot: check them out - those are all planetary gearboxes afaik.

 

Almost two weeks after fluid replacement. Absolutely no ill effect that
I could detect. Everything is gong smoothly.

bought 3 more quart of Maxlife ATF already, plan to drain and replace
the fluid again this weekend.