Valvoline Maxlife 3309 vs. Toyota Type-IV

[oragex]

I'd like to give a feedback on this Valvoline ATF oil with the 3309 specification. I have been using it for one year in my Aisin transmission. I had a strange situation where I measured the right way the level during the summer, then on very cold days during the winter the level was so low, the car didn't move when put in D with a cold engine. There are no transmission leaks, which makes me think this oil is shrinking/expanding much more than other brands depending on the outdoor temperature.

I just recently flushed the Valvoline oil and went back to the Toyota Type-IV oil. The transmission has now a more 'composed' and smooth shifting.

As a conclusion, I would not use this Valvoline ATF oil again. The price difference with the Toyota or Mobil 3309 oils is not that big, and these oils - the Toyota and the Mobil 3309 - seem to give a better transmission operation.

What is also interesting, is that the new Valvoline bottle, as well as the Valvoline site, doesn't mention any more the 3309 specification. When I bought it one year ago, both the site and the bottle were mentioning the 3309 norm. The new bottle only mentions compatibility with the Toyota Type-IV norm.

MAXLIFE-DECMERC-ATF.jpg (40.3 KiB) Viewed 5497 times

[vtl]

The only major difference is viscosity: Maxlife is more towards Toyota WS than JWS3309. Also it can't shrink that much to cause pump starvation.

I tried to go back to Mobil 3309 (more viscous) in my XC70, transmission shifted worse with it. Wife's V70 with reman'ed valve body does not care if it's 3309 or Idemitsu or Valvoline. There's even no change in shift quality if ATF is replaced gradually. I guess, I'll replace worn VB in XC70 this spring/summer.

Also Maxlife does not change color that quick as other mineral based ATFs do.

[jimmy57]

I have been working on cars for more than 40 years. Auto trans fluid checking still bites me in the butt every now and then. Your problem was dipstick tube suction that pulls fluid up in the tube giving a false high reading. It happens when you pull dipstick, wipe it, re-insert and then pull it again to read. when you pull it out the dipstick can catch for an instant and when it release it "burps" fluid up into the tube and is splashes up on the dipstick.