Toyota Owners: Spec for ATF?

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Getting ready to change ATF. What is allowable ATF's? Of course the owner's manual specifies to use Toyota ATF. Are there others that will get the job done without the visit and expense of the dealership? Thanks in advance. Hot Ajax
 
Ive heard Maxlife and M1 work well. I have only used OEM until now. I might switch to a full syn M1 or even Maxlife once my DD becomes a 2nd vehicle.

ATF from the dealer isnt too pricey regardless..i think its rebadged Mobil 3309 ATF. Im sure you can find it at Target or elsewhere.

Your Toyota spec T-IV or WS? That will be question 1. The above assumes it specs T-IV
 
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Originally Posted By: Rolla07
Ive heard Maxlife and M1 work well. I have only used OEM until now. I might switch to a full syn M1 or even Maxlife once my DD becomes a 2nd vehicle.

ATF from the dealer isnt too pricey regardless..i think its rebadged Mobil 3309 ATF. Im sure you can find it at Target or elsewhere.

Your Toyota spec T-IV or WS? That will be question 1. The above assumes it specs T-IV


Rolla: It specs for Toyota WS. Not too pricey? It's ridiculous. Last time I bot it was around $11 per quart. So what other brands does that conjur up? Thanks for jumping in. Hot ajax
 
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Maxlife is a well-matched, much cheaper, and higher quality substitute for WS. WS appears to have multiple global manufacturers that range from adequate to poor in overall quality. Get as much WS out via your preferred method and put in the LV Maxlife equivalent.
 
Originally Posted By: Hot_Ajax
Originally Posted By: Rolla07
Ive heard Maxlife and M1 work well. I have only used OEM until now. I might switch to a full syn M1 or even Maxlife once my DD becomes a 2nd vehicle.

ATF from the dealer isnt too pricey regardless..i think its rebadged Mobil 3309 ATF. Im sure you can find it at Target or elsewhere.

Your Toyota spec T-IV or WS? That will be question 1. The above assumes it specs T-IV


Rolla: It specs for Toyota WS. Not too pricey? It's ridiculous. Last time I bot it was around $11 per quart. So what other brands does that conjur up? Thanks for jumping in. Hot ajax


Ouch..didnt know WS was so pricey..T-IV up here is 6-7$ a quart. Go with the Maxlife per the poster above
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Originally Posted By: userfriendly
without the bother of starting a new topic... What ATF for a 2006 Highlander Hybrid CVT?


Maxlife will probably do well here, too. The Toyota CVTs do not use CVT-specific fluid. Toyota specifies WS.

The reason for the ATF variation is the design of Toyota's CVTs are different from most others. All are CVT, but how they go about accomplishing it is different.

I have a 2013 Avalon hybrid, and use Redline D6.
 
If you fear the warranty or don't want to DIY it, stick to the dealership + WS.

Post warranty, Maxlife ATF drain and fill's in all my Toyota's + family's fleet. Fraction of the cost and no problems to date.
 
Unless you've got some kind of pump, you'll have to pay someone to do the work on your probably-"sealed" Toyota transmission. I've used MaxLife in my wife's '11 Highlander, which called for WS. It worked fine, but I bought a stash of Amsoil LV for pretty cheap from eBay, so that's what's been in it for the last 65k miles, and it's shifting fine.
 
I get OEM fluids for not much more than MaxLife. With that said, I've had success with MaxLife and Castrol's IMV fluid. Some Toyota trannies are picky about fluid viscosity even though ML/Castrol IMV synthetic are the same viscosity as used T-IV. The 2nd gen Siennas are prone to this. But I've used MaxLife in a Lexus LS400 and it seemed to work fine...
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There are plenty of examples of Maxlife ATF being used in WS spec'ed vehicles without incident.
While this is anecdotal evidence, there is a lot of it.

I decided a while back after a lot of reading and research to use Maxlife ATF in my Scion that is a WS vehicle. ~4 qts drained from he drain plug and same amount of Maxlife ATF added. No problems in 10,000 miles (actually seems to shift a little better).



___________________________________

1994 Honda VT1100C: Peak 15w-40, Tough Guard, 3k mile OCI

2002 Ford F150: Havoline HM 5w-20, Ecogard Filter, 5k OCI

2012 Scion xB: QSUD 0w-20, Car Quest Blue (Wix) Filter, 5k OCI
 
I own a 2002 Tacoma. I called the dealership to inquire about what type of transmission fluid it used, and they told me to use Dexron. Does Castrol make Dexron? All I can find is Castrol Transmax DEX/MERC. Will this work? Thanks.
 
^^ Transmax Dex/Merc will be fine choice in that year of Tacoma. Dexron VI would work fine. Maxlife ATF would be fine too. Those older Toyota transmissions usually just took the current GM spec at the time (Dexron III) which was nothing special.
 
Originally Posted By: rideon
I own a 2002 Tacoma. I called the dealership to inquire about what type of transmission fluid it used, and they told me to use Dexron. Does Castrol make Dexron? All I can find is Castrol Transmax DEX/MERC. Will this work? Thanks.

I have an 01 Tacoma specing DexII/III, and have used several different ATFs and ALL have worked fine with simple d&f. I've used Mobil D/M from Target, Castrol Transmax Import Multi Vehicle, and MaxLife. DexII/III an easy spec to meet now. Many options out there. I'd probably choose MaxLife first, based on being full synthetic, and available at WM with online order store pick up for $17.87/gal.

Castrol Transmax Dex/Merc will work fine too.
 
The main reason I stick with M1 ATF for my 2002 Tacoma is that (1) I've used it since new and (2) it is closer to the original Dex viscosity than Maxlife. I've debated switching to MaxLife, but I only do a drain/fill every 30K miles so the difference in price isn't that significant to me and it has always shifted perfectly on M1.
 
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