Switching from Honda DW1 to Valvoline MaxLife

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Originally Posted by Jimzz
I've used Maxlife in hundreds of Hondas/Acuras with great results. It holds up better than the Honda fluid, esp for the V6 SUVs/Vans.


As a guy that owns a Honda this is good information to know.
Emergency or every day alternatives are always good to know about.

Can I ask how it is that you've done this on hundreds of hondas/ acuras?

Do you own or work at an auto/lube or trans shop or something like that?

When you say it holds up better - is that based on 3rd party data on like vehicles or some other metric?

Thanks sir!

UD
 
I guess my problem right now is that i can't really interpret the result of the UOA that i did get yesterday. I don't really know if 100ppm of iron accumulated over 11,000 miles on the fluid (changed at 19K on the factory fluid via 2xD&F with roughly 3.5qts being dumped each time) is too much or normal. Depending on this, I'd either have to continue what I do now (1xD&F at 10K intervals) or decrease the intervals or look into other options for the fluids.

Called the OA support and they said it's kind of normal amount of wear for Honda transmission. Searching online and on the forum gives a few UOA results but they seem to be quite lower on Iron compared to what i have. Really confused and looking for some guidance.
 
Those are useful discussions thank you.
So, I guess back to the original question how does Maxlife compare to Honda.
And even though not asked, for my curiosity how does H+ compare to Maxlife then. If it were a choice between those 2.

On the frequency. I would say 7,500 mi is way overkill regardless of what you're using.
I think the Honda recommendation is 30,000mi, so if you did 15,000 or 20,000 that would be more than sufficient. But I wouldn't be concerned with 30,000mi if you did that from the start.
 
Originally Posted by parshisa
I guess my problem right now is that i can't really interpret the result of the UOA that i did get yesterday. I don't really know if 100ppm of iron accumulated over 11,000 miles on the fluid (changed at 19K on the factory fluid via 2xD&F with roughly 3.5qts being dumped each time) is too much or normal. Depending on this, I'd either have to continue what I do now (1xD&F at 10K intervals) or decrease the intervals or look into other options for the fluids.

Called the OA support and they said it's kind of normal amount of wear for Honda transmission. Searching online and on the forum gives a few UOA results but they seem to be quite lower on Iron compared to what i have. Really confused and looking for some guidance.


Sorry cant be more help - I dont know this trans well enough myself to say what's normal or not, but its likely the analysis shop does.
Buffer that by the d&R and you should look better than " norm", but not necessarily.

Go pull down all the like trans UOAs you can find and take a look at where you are on the spectrum

Blackstone typically gives reasonable comparative data.

Trans detritus has a ton of iron it and isn't filtered very well - go look at anyone cutting open a magnafine.


UD
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted by UncleDave
Originally Posted by Jimzz
I've used Maxlife in hundreds of Hondas/Acuras with great results. It holds up better than the Honda fluid, esp for the V6 SUVs/Vans.


As a guy that owns a Honda this is good information to know.
Emergency or every day alternatives are always good to know about.

Can I ask how it is that you've done this on hundreds of hondas/ acuras?

Do you own or work at an auto/lube or trans shop or something like that?

When you say it holds up better - is that based on 3rd party data on like vehicles or some other metric?

Thanks sir!

UD




Use to be a mechanic, even ran my own shop at the end of that career. I used the Honda fluid when they got away from Dex3. But then saw issues in the V6 vehicles so looked for better fluids. Eventually Maxlife proved itself so I started to use it. Now I use that and most other LV Syn fluids with no issues.

Holds up better as did not burn up or break down, esp on the V6 accords, pilots, etc... that were burning their transmissions up under heavy usage.


I still use maxlife due to price point, but as said Castrol and other Synthetic fluids have seemed to catch up to maxlife in performance. But $18 for a gallon is hard to beat for maxlife.



Originally Posted by Davejam
Those are useful discussions thank you.
So, I guess back to the original question how does Maxlife compare to Honda.
And even though not asked, for my curiosity how does H+ compare to Maxlife then. If it were a choice between those 2.

On the frequency. I would say 7,500 mi is way overkill regardless of what you're using.
I think the Honda recommendation is 30,000mi, so if you did 15,000 or 20,000 that would be more than sufficient. But I wouldn't be concerned with 30,000mi if you did that from the start.


As someone else said H+ is not the same as what Honda sells. So I would lean toward it falling into similar performance as maxlife and most other Syn LV fluids.

30k seems to work for most Hondas. Only ones that may differ is the larger SUVs that tow/carry a lot of weight. Those I might do around 20k or so.
 
Originally Posted by mclasser
I used MaxLife in my Pilot (5 A/T) and didn't like it - weird flares and jerks. Went away as soon as I switched back to DW1.

OTH, ML is great in my Accord. Much snappier and positive shifts compared to lazy DW1. I'm of the opinion that ML is better suited for older Z1 applications, not DW1.
49.gif



same issue in my 09 CRV. I actually thought I had a transmission problem until I replaced it with OE stuff.
 
I heard Maxlife was good for Hondas, so I put it in my 2005 Odyssey at around 130,000 miles. It's at 230,000 now and still plugging along, not bad for a minivan transmission.
 
Originally Posted by parshisa
What would be recommendation for "more agressive" drain and fill routine? every 7500 or so?


You certainly could and the transmission may go 300,000 miles without an issue, or at 90K you might total it and would have wasted all that time and money vs. the first change at 100K.
 
Originally Posted by PandaBear
MaxLife and Castrol Import Multi works fine in my Integra spec for Z1. It hasn't blown up yet at 265K miles.


Automatics rarely blow up. They usually start slipping or losing gears completely.
 
FWIW The Idemitsu is available on Amazon in 5Qt bottles for decent prices. I use it in my two V6's and Maxlife in the wife's 2000 I4. No problems out of any of them.
 
Originally Posted by ctechbob
FWIW The Idemitsu is available on Amazon in 5Qt bottles for decent prices. I use it in my two V6's and Maxlife in the wife's 2000 I4. No problems out of any of them.


Even if the Idemitsu H isn't "identical" to their made for Honda DW-1 it is so close that the difference in performance is negligible. I'd use that before anything else
except DW-1.
 
Quote
….Even if the Idemitsu H isn't "identical" to their made for Honda DW-1 it is so close that the difference in performance is negligible....
Idemitsu H says it's intended for Z1 applications, not DW1. It's the aforementioned H+ that says for DW1 applications.

As for H+ being so close to DW1, using the bitog VOA spreadsheet comparison posted here , B, Mg, and P are significantly different between the two.

As noted, I'd stick to DW1 under warranty, then go with an option of choice. I've used MaxLife in two Hondas since Z1 discontinued, one a V6 and one a Civic noted for trans issues. 200k+ miles with it, original trans, shift fine, no issues. Castrol FullSyn MV another option, caught on sale.
 
Originally Posted by LotI
MaxLife has no approvals, just recommendations. Universal isn't right in the world of transmissions.

I switched from Mercon LV to MaxLife and hated it in my E450. Switching to a licensed fluid made it normal, thankfully.



You are unique with your issues likely just in your mind.
 
Originally Posted by AC1DD
Originally Posted by madRiver
Still under powertrain warranty? If yes DW-1 otherwise do what you feel is good.

My 07 MDX running strong on DW-1 mostly over 200k.


NEVER ignore this advice. I'd recommend using a dedicated fluid that says it is designed to work with Honda DW-1/Z-1 specifically.
Castrol IMV Transmax is a good match for Honda automatic transmissions.


Don't understand Magnuson-Moss it's ok a lot of people don't understand it.
 
Originally Posted by Sayjac
Quote
….Even if the Idemitsu H isn't "identical" to their made for Honda DW-1 it is so close that the difference in performance is negligible....
Idemitsu H says it's intended for Z1 applications, not DW1. It's the aforementioned H+ that says for DW1 applications.

As for H+ being so close to DW1, using the bitog VOA spreadsheet comparison posted here , B, Mg, and P are significantly different between the two.

As noted, I'd stick to DW1 under warranty, then go with an option of choice. I've used MaxLife in two Hondas since Z1 discontinued, one a V6 and one a Civic noted for trans issues. 200k+ miles with it, original trans, shift fine, no issues. Castrol FullSyn MV another option, caught on sale.


Yes I realize that there are TWO versions of Idemitsu H and H+ I should have clarified but I believe the best NON OEM Honda automatic transmission fluid is
Idemitsu (H for Z-1 and H+ for DW-1)
 
Originally Posted by dave1251
Originally Posted by AC1DD
Originally Posted by madRiver
Still under powertrain warranty? If yes DW-1 otherwise do what you feel is good.

My 07 MDX running strong on DW-1 mostly over 200k.


NEVER ignore this advice. I'd recommend using a dedicated fluid that says it is designed to work with Honda DW-1/Z-1 specifically.
Castrol IMV Transmax is a good match for Honda automatic transmissions.


Don't understand Magnuson-Moss it's ok a lot of people don't understand it.


I understand it perfectly, however for a few extra bucks why not avoid that possible hassle with the warranty period? After that there is less riding on the $tealership or Honda playing games, and as you know all mfrs and $tealerships do this, the exceptions are RARE.
 
Originally Posted by ARB1977
Do it. Had 180K on a 2008 CRV with no issues to the tranny.


Even so some have switched to MaxLife and found that the shift feel and shift points changed just enough that it made them concerned or uncomfortable with the performance. Of course if you don't like the results you can change back and no damage is done 99.8% of the time.
 
Originally Posted by dave1251
Originally Posted by AC1DD
Originally Posted by madRiver
Still under powertrain warranty? If yes DW-1 otherwise do what you feel is good.

My 07 MDX running strong on DW-1 mostly over 200k.


NEVER ignore this advice. I'd recommend using a dedicated fluid that says it is designed to work with Honda DW-1/Z-1 specifically.
Castrol IMV Transmax is a good match for Honda automatic transmissions.


Don't understand Magnuson-Moss it's ok a lot of people don't understand it.



Magnuson Moss doesn't protect you if you use incorrectly spec'd lubricants/ fluids.

It protects you from the manufacturer forcing you buy their product or service exclusively as a condition of warranty.


UD
 
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