venomous

About 2 years and 20,000 miles ago, I flushed out my Type-IV fluid with Valvoline's MaxLife synthetic ATF that they say meets the Type-IV spec. Did the flush through the cooler lines to get all the old fluid out. Noticed that within a few days of driving that the transmission had an occasional shudder on the 2-3 upshift and the car wouldn't accelerate for a second or two when starting from a stop going uphill (like from a stop sign). I lived with it for a while since I planned on flushing the fluid again after 6 months but got busy with work and never got around to it. Well I finally flushed the MaxLife out 2 weeks ago with Mobil 3309 (exactly the same as Type-IV) and a new filter. The transmission is totally back to normal now. Super smooth shifts, no hesitation when accelerating from a stop uphill.

I thought the synthetic ATF would be better for my car, it was way cheaper than the OEM fluid, and Valvoline claimed it met the Type-IV spec. I know many of you have used MaxLife without issue - but for my car, a 2002 ES300 with 144k miles, it performed very poorly. I noticed also that the viscosity is quite a bit thinner than Type-IV. In any case, just wanted to share so you all can make informed decisions.

crwys

I have always said to stick with the OE recommended fluid.

No need to use this "superior" fluid because the old fluid works just fine. And has been around much longer.

"Don't fix what isn't broken."

HomerJay

Thanks for sharing. I am always hesitant to use any universal ATFs and coolants for that reason. It's usually best to stick with factory fluids,especially ATF.

DRACO A5OG

Lucky it did not cause any damage. I was not so lucky. had to replace fluid pump. Put in proper DexIII. smooth as butter now :-)

LeX2K

I find MaxLife too thin for the newer transmissions it seems fine in the A540E/A541E. I am not crazy about Royal Purple motor oil but their transmission fluid works excellent in the U140E and the others I mentioned.

808mcv20l

I've run Maxlife ATF in my sister's 98 Camry V6 and my mom's 99 Camry V6.

I've also done 2 changes with it on my dad's 2001 Odyssey.

I ran it for 100 miles in my 2000 ES before draining it and filling with Amsoil Signature ATF.

We had no shifting problems on any of those vehicles, but they're all older cars.

I'll probably continue running it on those cars in the future but for mine I will stick with the Amsoil as I noticed it is a thicker in viscosity.

gabzor

I had a great experience with maxlife also, I was planning on switching to amsoil atf too after flushing it with maxlife 2x, and dropping the filter and changing the gasket/orings for amsoil swap.. but its buttery smooth with maxlife, can't even recognize when it's shifting as is, can't imagine with amsoil..