Originally Posted By: badtlc
Originally Posted By: ItsuMitsubishi
This is almost unbelievable. M-V is not a special specification at all, despite what some heads might say.
M-V as a "spec" was chosen because it can be loosely interpreted as Multi-Vehicle or MerconV, which all Multi Vehicle fluids inherently conform to. Mercon V is nothing special either, it's simply the new Mercon, which was identical to Dexron III, which no longer exists. Heck, Dexron VI (VI presumably boasts it's Viscosity Index, and doesn't mean 6) can be used in most Mercon V applications without an issue, only differing in an Afton Chemical addpack over say Lubrizol and being 1cSt thinner, but more shear stable. I mean, the mainstream fluids are pretty much standardized without being officially standardized, causing manufacturers "make up" their own specification names for the "not using a competing brand's spec" reason.
Everything you said is incorrect. Ford also uses, or did, the FNR5 ATX made by Mazda in a few years of the Fusion 2.3L production. Did they use MerconV? No, they had to blend a new ATF called Motorcraft FNR5 ATF for this transmission.
Nevermind the service bulletins from Mazda warning against the use of Mercon-V and that Mercon-V is not a suitable replacement. There are suitable replacements like Maxlife and castrol import multi-vehicle.
Come on bud, you can't tell me the entire post is wrong, and go on to corroborate the suitability of Multi-Vehicle fluids. Motorcraft's Mercon V is a 13 year old specification. I shouldn't have suggested people use Motorcraft Mercon V fluids, however Aftermarket MultiVehicle ATF's are suitable, despite meeting Mercon V specs. Dealers don't deal with MultiVehicle fluids, and would cobble up a new spec in a knee-jerk reactionary fashion upon realising that Motorcraft Mercon V is not suitable for the FNR5. Betcha Mazda didn't know that at the time they chose the otherwise coincidental and arbitrary letters of M and V for their specification. Service Bulletins aren't friendly reminders, they're notices of change