Stick with Maxlife or go back to DW-1?

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About a year and a half ago, I did three separate drain and fills on my 2005 Odyssey with Valvoline Maxlife ATF, effectively doing a complete flush. In that year and a half the van has been running and shifting just fine. I'd like to start doing 3 quarts again every year or so but unsure if I should stick with Maxlife or slowly get back to DW-1. I know this is a big debate on whether you should stick with honda stock tranny fluid or if aftermarket is just as good maybe even better. Thoughts?
 
Originally Posted by jayjr1105
Thoughts?


Depending on how many miles you've driven...when you are ready to change it use this instead...or OEM DW-1.

[Linked Image]
 
Originally Posted by AC1DD
Originally Posted by jayjr1105
Thoughts?


Depending on how many miles you've driven...when you are ready to change it use this instead...or OEM DW-1.

[Linked Image]



Never saw this before. Wonder how it differs from the red bottle ATF.
 
I'm not going to go as far as Lotl... because millions of gallons of MaxLife ATF have been used without incident. But in Honda's case, because they are not a "true" automatic in the generally understood sense of the word, I would say if you notice any issues you should go back to DW-1. Search the forums for a thread by MolaKule about a MaxLife VOA, along with "real" DW-1 and Idemitsu "fake" DW-1 substitute. Mola shows the differences between ML and DW-1, and he and a couple other board members go through the WHY ML isn't recommended for Honda transmissions. It's a really good, informative, thorough read.

FWIW, I used ML in my '06 Odyssey for over 50k of its life (134k thru ~185k) with no issues, and now it's very near to 200k without problems. But.. it's hard to argue with such a thorough discussion as they had in that thread.
 
I've used hundreds of gallons of maxlife, many of them in Hondas. It works fine, even better in the V6s I have found.

Its easy ti find, not expensive, and works. Why change from a formula that works.
 
Originally Posted by Jimzz
I've used hundreds of gallons of maxlife, many of them in Hondas. It works fine, even better in the V6s I have found.

Its easy ti find, not expensive, and works. Why change from a formula that works.


That's good for you, but anecdotal evidence isn't valid for others.
 
Keep using Maxlife
smile.gif


Another very good choice is Castrol Full Synthetic ATF. It goes on sale a few times a year at the parts stores for $5/qt
 
Valvoline makes great fluids. I had not seen this ATF before; I was interested.
According to the back of the bottle and the Product Information sheet, for Acura/Honda it lists ATF-Z1 but not DW-1.
Z1 is the earlier Honda fluid, DW-1 is the current spec.

But I bet it is good stuff.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted by SubieRubyRoo
I'm not going to go as far as Lotl... because millions of gallons of MaxLife ATF have been used without incident. But in Honda's case, because they are not a "true" automatic in the generally understood sense of the word, I would say if you notice any issues you should go back to DW-1. Search the forums for a thread by MolaKule about a MaxLife VOA, along with "real" DW-1 and Idemitsu "fake" DW-1 substitute. Mola shows the differences between ML and DW-1, and he and a couple other board members go through the WHY ML isn't recommended for Honda transmissions. It's a really good, informative, thorough read.
Bruh, you just gonna leave us hanging with no thread link like that?
 
C'mon, max... do you know how many times in the past 3 years Mola has commented on threads containing the word Maxlife? I do. The list is four pages long. I can't remember the search terms, so I was hoping he'd pop in and satisfy your need for speed.... in finding the thread I referenced LOL. I'll keep looking.
 
Originally Posted by JeffKeryk
Valvoline makes great fluids. I had not seen this ATF before; I was interested.
According to the back of the bottle and the Product Information sheet, for Acura/Honda it lists ATF-Z1 but not DW-1.
Z1 is the earlier Honda fluid, DW-1 is the current spec.

But I bet it is good stuff.


I don't know what product information sheet you're reading, but the the one on valvoline.com says recommended for both Z1 and DW-1 (except in CVT's) as well as Honda ATF type 3.1 .

https://sharena21.springcm.com/Publ...bd3/3fa3136a-09bd-e711-9c12-ac162d889bd1
 
My bad, didn't notice he was talking about the more Dex III like Import M-V ATF rather than Maxlife.
 
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