Has anyone used a universal fluid in their CVT?

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Deontologist

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Anyone ever put Maxlife universal ATF into a CVT? Results? It says it's suitable for most common CVTs on the market.

It seems like a scary concept, but it sounds like the dynamic coefficients of friction are the most important part for a step gear auto, and traction coefficients is the most important part for a CVT, and both of these can more or less be individually optimized within a single fluid. Because it seems that the dynamic friction is controlled by the additives, while traction is more of a property of the base oil.

So it seems that in theory, a fluid with a good base oil could satisfy a CVT and that same fluid could have the correct friction modifier additives to satisfy a step gear auto.
 
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I put a quart in ours when I did the second drain/fill at 16000 miles.

The first drain/fill at 15K miles I didn't feel I got enough out of , so I ran it a while and tried again. Then came up a quart short. So I put in the valvoline stuff.
 
I've used transmax in a mitsu with no issues. I think someone on here did use maxlife atf cvt without an issue.
 
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Remembered where I read that. Post #5
JTK

Post in thread 'What makes CVT fluid special?'

IMO, it's not as scary and unique as people make it out to be. Reason I say this is I've used Valvoline Maxlife ATF and Castrol Transmax Universal ATF/CVT fluid which are suitable for Nissan NS-3 CVT use and pretty much every other step-shift automatic on the planet. I've used these fluids in two different Nissan CVTs, collectively for around 100K miles. 2017 Nissan Quest and a 2019 Nissan Pathfinder.
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Deontologist said:
Anyone ever put Maxlife universal ATF into a CVT? Results? It says it's suitable for most common CVTs on the market.

It seems like a scary concept, but it sounds like the dynamic coefficients of friction are the most important part for a step gear auto, and traction coefficients is the most important part for a CVT, and both of these can more or less be individually optimized within a single fluid. Because it seems that the dynamic friction is controlled by the additives, while traction is more of a property of the base oil.
Click to expand...
You're always going to have people that fall into two categories: purist and it's fine.

Flip a coin if you don't know where you land.

While not in favor of UBI, I am in favor of mostly universal fluids, if for no other reason than on principle.

There's absolutely no reason every manufacturer needs to have their own "special" fluid, and the skeptic in me sees the potential for abuse, ie the manufacturer gets to set ANY price they want and you better bend over. Even if it is reasonably priced, it's never wise to have only ONE source for essentials, and I would think with recent supply chain disruptions about four years ago people would understand this.

Thus, I'm not saying a particular fluid won't hurt your trans, but I'm fully in favor of the aftermarket like Valvoline and Castrol continually trying to offer more affordable and more readily available (WM, AutoZone et al) options to the consumer.
 
I used Castrol in a family members Nissan Rogue. Seemed to work ok. About three years later she needed a new tranny. I chalk that up to that problematic group of Rogue trannys and not the fluid.
 
I will never use a universal fluid in any vehicle I own. Stick with OEM. If you do not use the correct fluid and the unit fails you will at least eliminated the fluid as a cause.
 
I've mentioned this before but...2006 Nissan F04 4-speed automatic in a Sentra. Use Maxlife AT fluid (not a CVT, obviously), and the transmission never shifted right again. It didn't fail or anything, just poor shift quality, some jerky shifts, late to shift out of first when cold, stuff like that. After that mistake, I use OEM fluid ONLY. It's not worth the risk.
 
I have always been in the NO WAY group, when it comes to using one-size-fits-all CVT fluid . . . until the last drain and fill on the TR580 in my wife's Outback. In fact, I have always used Subaru CVTF-II fluid.

But after doing some research into HPL CVT fluid, and having corresponded with David at HPL, earlier this year, regarding use of their HP CVT ATF fluid in the Subaru TR580, I felt very confident that it almost assuredly exceeds all OEM CVT fluid specifications, including Subaru specs. So I switched over, from OEM Subaru CVT fluid to the HPL CVT fluid. And I sleep very good at night. Well, except for the regret that I waited until the Outback has 150k miles on it, before making the switch. I wish I had done it sooner.
 
Deontologist said:
Anyone ever put Maxlife universal ATF into a CVT? Results? It says it's suitable for most common CVTs on the market.

It seems like a scary concept, but it sounds like the dynamic coefficients of friction are the most important part for a step gear auto, and traction coefficients is the most important part for a CVT, and both of these can more or less be individually optimized within a single fluid. Because it seems that the dynamic friction is controlled by the additives, while traction is more of a property of the base oil.

So it seems that in theory, a fluid with a good base oil could satisfy a CVT and that same fluid could have the correct friction modifier additives to satisfy a step gear auto.
Click to expand...

Yes, and a few other brands of CVT fluid but never the OEM (Nissan).

It's not really scary once you realize that CVT fluid is very similar to ATF. Both types of transmissions have:
- pumps
- solenoids
- valves
- sensors
- gears
- bearings
- clutch packs
- filters
- magnets

The difference is in the friction between the belt/chain and the pulleys, that's about it.
 
I've been doing CVT maintenance for about 5 years now and the only thing to worry about in a CVT is not the type/brand of fluid you're using, but the cleanliness of the system. Most all of the CVT failures you might hear about are due to lack of maintenance and much of that seems to be the result of the mfg recommendations.

If you don't know how clean the CVT fluid, pan or magnets is then you best start there. Then you need to check it again after a year or so and see what you've accumulated in the pan and on the magnets. Once the CVT is broken in, and the system is clean, you can probably follow the mfg service recommendations. For most of us that would fall under the "Severe" category.

Overpaying for OEM fluids should be a crime.
 
No way. I’ve used eneos and idemitsu and valvoline cvt in Nissans. I used lubegaurd last year in my rogue, which is pretty universal and my trans temps were about 10 degrees higher. I flushed it out and installed Nissan fluid and all is well. I don’t believe you necessarily need oem, but no way I’d use something that’s rated for anything other than a cvt.
 
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martinq said:
Most all of the CVT failures you might hear about are due to lack of maintenance and much of that seems to be the result of the mfg recommendations.
Click to expand...

Nissan lost millions in warranty costs, loss of reputation, and sales, because their CVTs were failing so frequently. You are nuts if you think changing the maintenance schedule would have solved the problem.
 
Nessism1 said:
Nissan lost millions in warranty costs, loss of reputation, and sales, because their CVTs were failing so frequently. You are nuts if you think changing the maintenance schedule would have solved the problem.
Click to expand...
I respectfully disagree. Sure Nissan had some defective transmissions, but telling owners that the fluid was fine at higher mileage based off a consult scan didn’t help. I had an 09 fail at 95k (under ext warranty) and never serviced it because the dealership said my fluid was good. I lived and learned and have had no issues since. The replacement trans is well over 100k and my 18 rogues is approaching the same. I just serviced my soon to nieces 17 Altima with 150k and was never serviced and is going strong. Heat is a cvt fluid killer so swapping out 4qts every 20-30k is a wise decision, but won’t prevent a bad valve body or another internal failure. I’ve gotten to know my Nissan tech pretty well and he says that cvt warranty work is way down the last 5 yrs. We had an 09 Chrysler mini van that I couldn’t get away from fast enough after the replacement trans started slipping at 40k, so things happen. At least Nissan stepped up and owned it.
 
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