Transmission fluid brands

[daedalus]

My wife's 2004 XC70 seems to be downshifting a bit more erratically than it used to, so my first attempt to remedy that will be a drain and fill of the transmission fluid.
I have read conflicting info online regarding the necessity to stay with Volvo transmission fluid only or using an OEM whose name I forget.
The question, of course, is do we have to stick with Volvo (expensive!!... But cheaper than a transmission) or is there a viable alternative?

Thanks!

[FLXC90]

Toyota branded spec JWS 3309 is referenced a lot in the fora.

[Botbasher]

FCPEuro has Idemitsu Toyota Type TLS, which is the original fluid, on sale for $5.99 right now. Just flushed mine with it. Worked awesome!!

Cheers!!

K "flushed" S

[JRL]

Never heard of that
Toyota Type 4 or Mobil 3309 (You can buy a case Mobil on Amazon, it's reasonable.
You will need to do at least 3 drain and fills to get most of the old fluid out

[abscate]

Just be careful while you are doing the drain and fill. If you get too close to the hot transmission you can melt your wings..

[mrbrian200]

I'm a fan of doing a single drain/fill every so often (like three times over the course of a several months/several thousand miles) to lower the risk of tormenting the hamsters in their little cage than replacing all the fluid at one time.
If the fluid in your trans is black and burnt you might be better off doing it all at once though. If it's merely a matter of regular maintenance and the existing fluid looks normal, just old, you might consider spreading it out.
This also makes more incremental changes to the fluid properties/shift behavior and where the TCM can adapt without resetting/relearning. Many people have trouble performing the reset/relearn procedure. Sometimes the relearn may be necessary no matter how you approach it though.
This also gives you the chance to clear the particle debris that sticks to the magnetic plug three or more times instead of just once, as that stuff also has a tendency to stick to ferrous parts within the trans and gets continually stirred up over time.

[stoutlogic]

Ill second, the FCPEuro Idemitsu. Running it now

[vtl]

V70 with valve body one leg in grave shifted better with Idemitsu than with Mobil or Amsoil. However, if VB is worn, and it looks like it is worn, since you're asking about what kind of ATF to use in 2004 car, you need to replace a VB.

My personal experience Idemitsu is not the same fluid as Volvo 1161640, but this can be due to variations between batches. I've heard that up to 15% of deviation in properties batch to batch is normal in lubricant industry.

I'm going to replace VB in my 05 soon and will stick with OE, which it has right now (after about 50 gallons of different ATFs) - works best for me. If OE has prohibitive cost, go ahead with Idemitsu, I liked it a lot in V70 (it had a new VB too).

[volvovillian]

For everyone that has used Mobil 3309 over the years, the description and fluid has changed

I was buying Mobil 3309 and had done several drain and refills for both of my 2005's.

Transmissions always shifted great and no issues.

I stopped buying Mobil 3309 after the last time I purchased I noticed the bottles no longer stated that it met the requirements for Volvo / JWS3309 or Toyota T-IV and the description was changed on the bottle.

At first I thought maybe it was the same and they just had to change the description no longer having permission from Volvo or something but after I compared the fluid specs I noticed they also changed the fluid.

It now says "recommended" for the following applications and lists Toyota T-IV, which is the same as 3309.

The new Mobil 3309
https://a.d-cd.net/7107554s-960.jpg

Maybe it will still work OK but I no longer had the same feeling about it.

I just had this feeling that they didn't change the fluid to make it better.

I emailed IPD to see if they had any of the old Mobil 3309 in stock and told them about the change.

IPD apparently had the same concern and started carrying Aisin Type T-IV instead.

I did 4 different drain and refills on my 2005 V70 when I changed the fluid over to the Aisin Type T-IV. I have put about 35,000 miles on the Aisin fluid (now at about 160K total) and transmission still shifts great.

I now only use Aisin Type T-IV and figure it should be good since it has the manufacturer's name on it.
https://www.ipdusa.com/products/10543/1 ... nsmissions

[SuperHerman]

I have used Toyota Type IV bought at Carquest (now Advanved Auto) and I have also used more recently Valvoline Maxlife on another XC70. Both have worked just fine.

Were it me I would do Maxlife, 3 drain and fills. Way cheaper and available in more places.