Suitable substitutes for the Toyota ATF-WS transmission or transaxle fluid?

Here's a list compiled by someone I don't personally know:

Verified alternatives to Toyota WS ATF - Automaitc Transmission Fluid | Tacoma World

I know difficult to formulate fluids tend to have few if any substitutes, ie. BMW LL-01 5W-30 weight oil, but this list kind of demonstrates WS isn't quite as unique as claimed.

moto g(7) power ?

 

No vehicle manufacturer makes their own oil. They pay another company to bottle and label an oil that meets their specs. If you think just because it's not been specifically "blessed" by the manufacturer it will cause damage you're an idiot and exactly the kind of person every manufacturer hopes will buy their product and make them even more money selling parts and service at a premium.

SM-N960U ?

 

Again, I'm not smart enough to gamble on this.

Not quite sure how Toyota is gonna make a lot of profit, calling the fluid lifetime.

 

I have no doubt that equivalent WS ATF works in a Tacoma, it is not bathing a 550 Volt motor in the that application.

Toyota is skeptical of their clutch packs
"Using transmission fluid other than “Toyota Genuine ATF WS” may cause deterioration in shift quality, locking up of the transmission accompanied by vibration and, ultimately, damage to the vehicle’s transmission." - https://www.toyota.com/t3Portal/document/om-s/OM04025U/pdf/OM04025U.pdf

Compared to a new M/G 2, clutch packs will be cheap.

My doubt is that the WS equivalent ATFs are tested as an insulator in a Prius.

Toyota is less specific in the Prius "Using transmission fluid other than “Toyota Genuine ATF WS” may damage the transmission of your vehicle." but the two electric motors are almost all that is in there. - https://www.toyota.com/t3Portal/document/om-s/OM47D44U/pdf/OM47D44U.pdf

 

Or they just want you to purchase their stuff.....
Not trying to argue with anybody.... my Goldwing owners manual says to use Honda 10w 30 non synthetic motor oil only or it may cause damage and void warranty.... been using Mobil 1 10w 40 since new...never a problem
Run it for 4000 miles and never low.....110,000 miles all original.
Have a 1994 Toyota Previa..... 430,000 still runs great..manual says Toyota Oil only! Has had Mobil 1 since new.... Walmart Trani fluid changed every 40,000
To each his own..... I don't believe everything I read.... I use common sense when possible....
But I do have some Ocean front Property in Arizona for sale if interested....

 

Again, that's why they never mention a transaxle fluid change in the Maintenance Schedule? Good luck with that conspiracy theory, lol.

 

Ya...they make alot more on a new car.............

 

I think you could put 3 in 1 oil in the trani and it would be fine.
There has to be tiny bits of metal in there and that would short out everything if that was a real problem....
All I can say is change fluids if your going to keep a vehicle for a long time..... nice chatting with everybody........

 

Tim, in Gen 1 (before ATF WS) that was a real problem.

 

Statements like that are one reason I've always bought new, lol.

Yup, I've done the transaxle fluid 3 times, with Toyota ATF WS. It's 9.14 CDN per liter local to me.

And the brake fluid's just about due for a 3rd change.

 

The thing is, does the consensus not say, change this "exclusive lifetime WS" because it turns bad after a certain amount of miles? Yes, it turns bad. So that begs the question of how great it is....

Valvoline/Ashland is a multibillion dollar company, and why risk saying it's compatible, for a measly profit selling at Walmart?

moto g(7) power ?

 

Page 233 of a 2018 Honda GoldWing Owner's Manual, not seeing any dire warnings:

 

Right. It sanctions non-Honda oil, and requires detergent oil, contrary to rumor.

 

Comparisons with engine oil aren’t helpful: its grades and characteristics are well defined by industry standards, such as those set by SAE, API, and ILSAC, and automakers state clearly that any engine oil meeting those standards can be used. The situation is similar for coolant and gasoline, of course.

Toyota ATF WS, in contrast, is a proprietary product; in the U.S., it is (or was) made for Toyota by ExxonMobil, at least if the source of one safety data sheet (PDF) is any indication. Suppliers who claim to have equivalents probably took samples of Toyota ATF WS, measured their viscosity and other gross characteristics, read the SAE J311 information report, and decided that their products were sufficiently similar to be marketed as substitutes. Indeed, these products may well be satisfactory for many applications.

Without doing a controlled study, however, it’s difficult to measure small effects. For example, if Toyota ATF WS includes certain additives in low concentrations that increase a typical transaxle’s service life by a few percent, relative to a particular alternative fluid (or vice versa), this wouldn’t be discovered through anecdotal reports.

 

Everyone has their own viewpoint on this, I would just like to say the manufacturer wants to sell new cars and to that effect they want their cars to last at least as long as the warranty but not too much longer. Hence they are happy that using their approved oil and not changing it at all it will outlast the warranty. The warnings about using non approved Gearbox oils are in case lots of people put trashy oils in and their reputation for reliability is tarnished. Most people who deviate (myself included) do the research and put an oil in that is at least as good or better. If you are putting in the cheapest stuff available then maybe you shouldn't change it at all and look to change your car before warranty runs out. If you have to stick to anything the manufacturer says then do that, if you do change do your research and buy quality. I would of stayed with Toyota WS if it was still good when I first checked it on my gen 2 with 40K on it and the oil was like black soup. I have changed it every 50K since then and it still isn't black like the first check and about to change it for the 280K mile service. I am still looking after that car although it is my sons now.

 

I've done the same excercise, except with Toyota ATF WS each time, and at shorter intervals, and had the same experience.

 

Hmmm...

Well, if I didn't mention it before, Valvoline backs their product if professionally replaced at required intervals, I believe first by 50k miles:

Transmission Fluid Service - Valvoline®

moto g(7) power ?

 

This thread is a typical can-o-worms, maybe we should all just disperse, nobody's budging, lol.

 

No way! Subjects like these are fun because theyre never ending, just like which engine oil manufacturer is the best for the Prius.

 

Add transmission fluid to the "discussing this is like discussing politics, religion...or oil"...list.