A541E - Use Toyota Dex III or something else (better)?

Twisted1

Twisted1

Joined
Jun 5, 2016
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My owner’s manual calls for Dex III to be used in my A541E (2000 Camry V6) and Toyota seems to still carry it under part # 00718-ATF00. Before making this thread, I spent about 2 hours looking up both new and old threads on here in search of some answers but some threads seemed inconclusive about which fluid to use..

I know Valvoline MaxLife ATF is a fan favorite around here and I also read that some people didn’t like the way it made their Toyota’s shift so naturally they went back to Toyota Dex III.

I’m also unsure if Toyota T-IV is backwards compatible with Dex III..
 
My 06 Highlander calls for T-IV but my initial few drain and fills were with Valvoline MaxLife and the trans did not seem to like it. But after another drain and fill with T4 then a filter change with more T4 it seems really happy. (The initial drain and fills were right after acquiring the HL with no trans service history. I did them about 100miles apart).

On my turbo Tercel which I had swapped in a 4spd auto to replace the blown 3spd. It called for D3. I used MaxLife initially and I would get occasional shudders and shift flares at WOT (amplified by the torque from boost). I switched to Toyota fluid...I did use T4 and the shift quality improved drastically over the Maxlife. I cannot recall if T4 is actually backwards compatible but its what I used.

That trans now lives on in a customers 4efte swapped AE82 Corolla I built and its been in it 4 years now. About 3 years ago I gave it a service (new filter and T4) and also shimmed up the 1-2 and 2-3 accumulators with 10mm spacers and it gave it firmer more positive shifts.

I know its not a direct comparison but that was my experiences. :)
 
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Best dex 3 value per dollar thats close to the below

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Thickest dex 3 synthetic that seems to be the best performer

Note, my search criteria is a bit hollow.

i look for the thickest fluid, thats synthetic. Most of the og dex3 formulas usually are really thick, not full synthetic, and tend to shear down. Dex Vi, is thinner fluid but is shear stable. Maxlife is the latter, while the import and m1 fluid are thick out of the bottle, and by my assumption should remain shear stable.

KV100 5.9 maxlife vs 6.9 import atf
 
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The threads were not inconclusive, its like beer basically. Valvoline MaxLife ATF will work fine in your Toyota. There are some transmissions that are truly finicky about oil, since its not a CVT or a Dodge you are fine and not a special use case.
 
jetman said:
DexIII is trash compared to any modern atf.
If you want a higher viscosity atf use an Allison TES295 or TES668 atf .
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DEXRON
Click to expand...

I agree with you there… But if my car called for it when it was built and designed with that fluid in mind, then I feel that I have to go with it.. I don’t want to over-do it with fluids and decrease the life of my trans..
 
This is what the Transtar catalog has and it just confuses the issue (3309 = T-IV). I would just stick with whatever your owner's manual specifies.

Untitled_48.jpg


 
Twisted1 said:
IIRC 3309 = Mobil
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yup 3309 is mobil.. but one thing you may not be aware of.. Mobil makes many of Toyota's fluids, such as the T-IV fluid and even their engine oil. Now of course it's most likely to Toyota's spec/recipe, but I wouldn't doubt that 3309 is T-IV you get at the dealer. When the price difference isn't that much, it's easier just to go to the dealer and buy the exact fluid, no worries.

EDIT: If you can get Toyota T-III then put it in and never have to worry if it's correct, I know captain obvious here, lol
 
researcher said:
yup 3309 is mobil.. but one thing you may not be aware of.. Mobil makes many of Toyota's fluids, such as the T-IV fluid and even their engine oil. Now of course it's most likely to Toyota's spec/recipe, but I wouldn't doubt that 3309 is T-IV you get at the dealer. When the price difference isn't that much, it's easier just to go to the dealer and buy the exact fluid, no worries.

EDIT: If you can get Toyota T-III then put it in and never have to worry if it's correct, I know captain obvious here, lol
Click to expand...

Haha thanks buddy. I actually ended up ordering a gallon of Valvoline Import Multi-Vehicle ATF at Amazon. It’s $17.98 a gallon right now
 
Twisted1 said:
I agree with you there… But if my car called for it when it was built and designed with that fluid in mind, then I feel that I have to go with it.. I don’t want to over-do it with fluids and decrease the life of my trans..
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Then a licensed DEXRON-VI fluid is what you should use.
 
ripcord said:
GM has said to use Dexron VI in it's vehicles where Dexron III was called for. Toyota never said the same about their vehicles.
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It doesn't matter. If Toyota is using that license in their manual as the proper fluid for their transmission then it's irrelevant. It isn't simply that GM may have said DEXRON-VI is the proper replacement for their vehicles, it's also that a DEXRON-III license is no longer available from the holder.

Sure Toyota sells a branded fluid but that isn't what's listed in the manual. Fluid with a DEXRON-III license is listed and per the license organization that has been superseded.
 
Dex III shears out of grade very quickly to that of dex VI. dex VI is a much more stable product. my vote would be either Maxlife as a few mentioned or any Dex VI on the shelf. if you want to go with a premium product, HPL sells a transmission fluid in two flavors. one meets/exceeds dex III and the other does the same with dex VI.
 
BrendanC said:
Dex III shears out of grade very quickly to that of dex VI. dex VI is a much more stable product. my vote would be either Maxlife as a few mentioned or any Dex VI on the shelf. if you want to go with a premium product, HPL sells a transmission fluid in two flavors. one meets/exceeds dex III and the other does the same with dex VI.
Click to expand...

I ended up going with Valvoline Import Multi Vehicle. It’s almost like MaxLife just a wee bit thicker like the old Dex III
 
BrendanC said:
Dex III shears out of grade very quickly to that of dex VI. dex VI is a much more stable product. my vote would be either Maxlife as a few mentioned or any Dex VI on the shelf. if you want to go with a premium product, HPL sells a transmission fluid in two flavors. one meets/exceeds dex III and the other does the same with dex VI.
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Would that be a problem with a multi vehicle dex 3s that are non synthetic only, or would synthetic multi vehicle dex3s suffer the same issue?

Mobil 1 atf has two synthetic variants. One that is recommended in older applications and meet dex 3H, while a newer model transmissions that meet dex hp.

For reference Kinematic Viscosity @ 100 C, mm2/s, ASTM D445 (valvoline doesnt publish astm only mobil)
Maxlife starts out at 5.9
import starts out at 6.7
Mobil dex3h starts out at 7.4
Mobile dex hp starts out at 5.7


For completeness sake i lack understanding of the differences between dex 3 vs dex 3h.
 
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