ATF shootout: AMSoil vs. valvoline maxlife vs. OE toyota type-IV

ok time to flush transmission. 2004 V6 automatic transmission.

did a lot of reading and seems like any of the 3 oils mentioned in the title would "work just fine".

most of the threads are from 2015 and earlier just wanted to get an up-to-date consensus on what everyone is running and the reasons.

I have read that at some point in the past Toyota type-IV fluid was one of a kind stuff and amsoil and other aftermarket oil manufacturers did not list their fluids as compatible with toyota IV, but, "something" happened/changed and now amsoil and valvoline maxlife both claim compatibility with toyota type-IV.

was wondering if anyone can chime in on this fluid compatibility situation also.

any input greatly appreciated.

 

Nothing has changed. The same fluids that were fine then are fine now.

 

do you know anything about toyota IV fluid not being listed with amsoil and other aftermarket oil brands in the past but is not listed?

would you know the reasoning behind this

 

I ran mobil synthetic ATF in my truck.. never had an issues.
My fathers has the valvoline maxlife and it also has not had any issues.
No word on the amsoil as i have never ran it but i assume it'll also be fine.

The newer toyotas with WS fluid are the ones that are supposedly picky (its a lower viscosity fluid, usually black within 30k miles) but even that can get away with maxlife.
Type-IV is basically dexron 4 if i remember right (don't quote me on that)

Moral of the story is you'll be good with either amsoil or Valvoline. Hell the dealer i work for puts maxlife in the transmissions that call for type-IV

 

I've been using Amsoil since I purchased the truck new.

 

Agree on toyota type IV, works fine. I did a drain and fill and still running. Added a cooler and a external inline filter.