You need to fix the poll so that it's possible to vote for DW-1 AND Something Else.

 

I don't want to scew the poll with ones who are not solidly for one ATF.

 

A combination of over 800k miles on Honda vehicles with only DW-1 being used (and formerly whatever the older fluid was). Only one transmission failure and the vehicle had 225,000 miles on it and had NEVER had the fluid changed.

Sure Valvoline MaxLife is cheaper and easier to get, but I'm happy going to my dealer and spending a few extra dollars to maintain my transmission. We drive our cars hard in a lot of stop and go traffic. The fluid has been reasonably clean every time I've done a drain and fill. If I determine DW-1 is not doing an adequate job protecting my transmission, I would consider switching over. But I'm just not there yet.

It's great that there is an alternative to DW-1, and I'm sure if I used it in my 2 Pilots it would be fine, but again...I'm not interested in changing what seems to be working well.

 

DW-1. The guy who replaced mine does lots of Hondas. His advice was "run low until you can get more DW-1 instead of putting in something else".

No data behind that, and my experience is limited, but even obscenely expensive DW-1 is cheap enough for me to use it "because he said so".

Full disclosure: I use MaxLife in other cars. The Honda 5-speed is special, I suppose.

 

I re-read your post again on your transmission replacement. As stated on that thread, if your warranty specifically stated you must run with "Honda DW-1 ATF," I get it. What your transmission replacement guy (or who wrote the warranty) needs to understand is that your Honda transmission was originally specd for "Honda Z1," a fluid no longer produced by Honda. The language used was that you should use DW-1 before using a "foriegn" fluid. DW-1 is a "foreign" fluid to that transmission.
The transmission you originally had obviously was abused by the original owner, having never changed the old Z1 fluid. I hate to say this, but anytime I hear of someone changing old Z1 for new DW-1, the transmission troubles begin. IMO, The only possible chance of saving an old Z1 transmission with old fluid is with Full Synthetic Valvoline MaxLife ATF. It does what it says on the back label. But now, with a fresh start on your newly rebuilt transmission on DW-1, and doing 10k mile drain and fills, you'll likely be just fine.

 

here's my vote
Idemitsu type H-Plus

recently did a drain & fill on my 2007 Pilot awd automatic after having previously done a dw-1 drain-fill last summer and I think after neglect by the previous owner it is finally starting to shift better again !

 

I've been using Maxlife. Works well, easy to get, known quality product. I would like a bottle of Wolf's Head as a decoration on my shelf though.

 

done Maxlife X 2 so far and car shifts better than it did with the Honda Fluid it came with. Next time MM tells me to do it it will get a 3rd Maxlife and be 100% or close to 100% new Maxlife. It's good fluid. I run Mobile one in the engine and I get 10-15K miles between MM changes. I run Honda fluid in the rear diff because I have not found any other with the right or same spec. I work in the trucking industry and have oil industry contacts. We buy direct from refineries and they can tell me when and if the label matters. A LOT of oils and fluids are just re-branded identical fluids. Some are not.

 

So do most people chose MaxLife due to cost and ease of getting it? Because if that's the only reason, I can't imagine why you would want to cheap out on something so important as your car's transmission.

 

It's a known quality product. And Honda 5 and 6 speeds have proven to like it.

 

I don't do it for cost cutting. I do it becuase it's = to or even better than DW-1. Honda doesn't make DW-1, they have a refinery do it. The Maxlife is made in the same place and has the same basic ingrediants with a few that make it better. Honda charges a premium for their fluids and sometimes you have to pay it but with the Maxlife you get a fluid that is as good or better for a better price, it's not cheap = lesser quality, it's just not marked up, look at what they charge for oil at the dealer and what walmart does for the same shit. I would love for someone to produce a less expensive but same version of the rear end fluid but it hasn't happened yet that I have been able to find so I bend over and take it at the dealer for that.

 

FIlters are designed to last with the oil and they do as the synthetic oil doesn't break down and get dirty as fast as conventional and the engines run cleaner all over. There is some topup needed though as Diesels will use oil but it's not a huge amount. For reference I use Mobile 1 5W20 in my Yaris it's guaranteed to last 20K miles if you use their filter. So I do and I change my oil once a year as I do about 18-22K miles in that car. Been doing that for last 5 years and it saves me soo much time and money and I have to add about 1 quart over the year to keep the level between the dipstick lines. The oil still looks as good as when I put it in when I change it and the Car has 231K miles and counting on it. I am contemplating doing the same 20K interval on the Pilot but the MM tracks more than oil and so I kind of just use it and it gets about 2 changes a year so not too big of extra cost. I like not having to write down on a sticker and track miles between services. I just get the MM light and do what it says and that's been working well.

 

.........but only the highest quality pixie dust.

 

 

I thought maybe you were avoiding confrontation. 😀👍

 

Based on this thread and successes posted by others, I just completed the last replacement of 3 total (3x3) to see if a low speed/light throttle/high load occasional torque converter shudder would be corrected. So far, I've noticed that the tranny is downshifting sooner than it did before and upshifts are about half as lazy as before. I did have at least 3 occasions where conditions were ripe bracing myself for what was coming and... nothing. It's too soon to call this fixed but there is a definite improvement regardless.

The old fluid has 35k miles on it with at least one 3qt replacement somewhere in between there and maybe even two. It was still a good color but did have a faint burnt odor. The magnet had a bit of material on it but not excessive at all.

To sum it up - thank you, everyone, for sharing your wisdom, experiences and for being guinea pigs.

 

Yesterday, I did D&F transmission fluid in my other car, a Nissan, with MaxLife ATF. Based on test drive and feels today, I won't consider it for my 2005 Pilot.

 

Well, I/we have a 08 Pilot (same 5 spd trans?) that never had an ATF change AT ALL, in 184K miles!! Since I realized my errors, I've done a total of 3 x D&F's (about 2 weeks apart) w/ Valvoline MaxLife ATF. Much better, couldn't be happier. Sorry you Nissan trany doesn't seem to like it that much?

Based on this thread and successes posted by others, I just completed the last replacement of 3 total (3x3) to see if a low speed/light throttle/high load occasional torque converter shudder would be corrected. So far, I've noticed that the tranny is downshifting sooner than it did before and upshifts are about half as lazy as before. I did have at least 3 occasions where conditions were ripe bracing myself for what was coming and... nothing. It's too soon to call this fixed but there is a definite improvement regardless.

The old fluid has 35k miles on it with at least one 3qt replacement somewhere in between there and maybe even two. It was still a good color but did have a faint burnt odor. The magnet had a bit of material on it but not excessive at all.

To sum it up - thank you, everyone, for sharing your wisdom, experiences and for being guinea pigs.

Sorry if I missed it.

What fluid did you use on your changes?

 

I feel engine has to work harder at shifting gears. I bought 2 1-gallon. Used one and plan to go back to factory fluid. It did not work for me.

 

What kind of Nissan do you have?

 

I have Nissan Maxima which uses Matic D or equivalent.

 

On this Bob the Oil Guy thread, someone use MaxLife ok and another used Valvoline Dex/Merc as substitute for Matic D.

Nissan Matic D Automatic Transmission Fluid?

What Auto Tranny Fluid is equivalent to Nissan Matic D? I have a 2006 Nissan Altima with 4 speed automatic tranny with 160,000 miles on it. 2.5L Engine and its the Altima S model. They told me at the Nissan dealer I need to use the Matic D or this tranny fluid called Petra. I know surley there...

bobistheoilguy.com

But it looks like Dextron III is a better substitute.
Now if your Honda was originally specd for Z1 (a fluid no longer available), Your Honda will be fine on it. I've got an 2004 Civic on it and shifting great. Others here using it as a substitute for Z1. We've logged 100s of 1000s ov miles using Full Synthetic Valvoline MaxLife ATF.

 

Hmmm....while waiting in line at NAPA to pickup my online NAPA oil+filter deal I see MaxLife ATF is recommended for Hondas but MaxLife PS is not.

 

Yep, this is why I'm afraid to venture off Honda OEM PS fluid. Really had no reason to change.

 

Gentlemen, please refer to what I'm still hoping will be the official Piloteers fluid list, added by a mod or admin as the second post to @Tacoma'03Pilot's equally thorough 1st gen buyer's guide soon-to-be sticky. A guy can dream, can't he?

What fluid to put in the rear end?

What gear oil do I need to put in old girls rear end? Attempted a few searches to no avail. So i turn to you.

www.piloteers.org

 

I'm still using a convenience store PS fluid for over 2 years after mine somehow got low once and starting whininig on steering while on a cross country trip.

Still full, no problems. I think it was Prestone- was in a yellow bottle. That's all they had. Saved me and still in there!

 

DW-1 for my wife’s Pilot. We haven’t had problems with it so don’t feel the need to make a change. The OEM fluid doesn’t cost me much more than Maxlife would since I prefer to stay away from Walmart.

In my opinion closer interval 1x drain and fills, with the fluid of your choice, is an important factor in Honda transmission longevity. Our Pilot gets a 1x drain and fill every 15k miles. It comes out to costing me about $35 every other year. Even if I switched to an aftermarket fluid I’d still keep the same fluid change interval for my peace of mind.

 

Based on your results, I won't consider a Nissan for my Maxlife ATF.

🤔
With all the CVT nightmares I'm hearing about, should any of my future used vehicle purchases be influenced by as to whether MaxLife ATF can be used as a substitute?

 

My mom bought a Rogue brand new that we inherited around 70k miles. Drove it until about 130k. Gutless but dead reliable. I don't love the feel of a CVT but can't criticize the reliability of it from my experience.

 

I'm sure driving style and good maintenance have much to do with it. I think the CVT is less forgiving. I had a 2016 Nissan Pathfinder that I sold for longevity fears.

 

Never liked the rubberband feel of the CVT transmission but two bad experiences was enough. ‘11 Outback had CVT related stalling at intersections and Subie quietly covered the repair at 100k. Nissan used to make good vehicles until they became known for bad transmissions...just ask Scotty. The ‘11 Altima CVT accelerated well with good mpg but had an intermittent case of no forward motion when pulling into a parking spot. Traded the Altima for a 6spd MT Jeep 🤞 and no issues since 2016.

 

Nissan used to make good vehicles until they became known for bad transmissions...just ask Scotty.

If you are taking any car related advice from that clickbait hack I can no longer be internet friends with you.

He also says Nissans have improved in the most recent years, since they ditched Renault.

But love him or hate him, or both, you're in luck. You can ask him yourself on his new forum.

Ask Scotty Community

To expect replies, incl. Year-Make-Model-MILEAGE-manual/automatic transmission, OBDII Trouble Codes (if scanned). If buying used car, specify from Dealership or Private Party

carkiller.com

BTW, he recently gave up the Texas Two-Step

for the Tennessee Waltz.

 

scotty is a clown show and I wouldn't necessarily trust anything he says to be reliable. just look at his work area it is an absolute mess.

 

By no responses here, I assume there are quite a few messy Piloteers, lol point self

 

Don't look at my shop right now. After a CV boot replacement on the Yaris and all the pilot work I have tools everywhere. It will all get put back but looks like a bomb went off LOL. As for CVT's I'll never own a vehicle with one. They are no good for anything needing torque. Belts and pullies cannot stand up to what real gears can. They are wonderful on a snowmobile that needs to rev to the moon and put the rpms to the snow, but when Polaris put them in ATV's and I watched all those shit the bed in riding groups and me and the other guys with gears have to tow them home after the belts snapped, or got wet and slipped etc. no thank you.

 

Better than his fuzzy reflection off a jar of black DW-1 ATF, I think we've found this rare photo of @Nail Grease.

 

Better than his fuzzy reflection off a jar of black DW-1 ATF, I think we've found this rare photo of @Nail Grease.

Similar dark stain spill or leak on the shirt we seen somewhere....

 

LOL 😂

 

LOL 😂 View attachment 142658

I think that in most instances, It's the wanting to believe your getting the best, because your paying more. Especially if DW-1 ATF service is being paid for at the dealership.