Anyone using Amsoil ATF in their auto trannys? Heard it was the best?

 

Why not follow the manual and only use what won't void your warranty?

 

Because I can get the Amsoil ATF for the same price as the J-matic, why not use it if it's a better synthetic formula which will last longer and protect the transmission better? My warrant is going to expire in 15,000 miles anyway. I was asking if anyone has tried it before...

 

It's not just a question of warranty, it's an issue of proper operation. From your owners manual:


Use only Genuine Nissan Matic J ATF.
Do not mix with other fluids.

Using automatic transmission fluid
other than Genuine Nissan Matic J
ATF will cause deterioration in driveability
and automatic transmission
durability, and may damage the automatic
transmission, which is not covered
by the NISSAN new vehicle limited
warranty.

Nissan isn't claiming their fluid is better than anybody elses. It is a different formulation than what you can buy elsewhere. Nissan sealed the Automatic Transmission for a reason - to keep you and the corner mechanic from accidently putting the wrong fluid it.

That being said, if you feel you must experiment, once your warranty is up, please do try some Amsoil then let us know how it works out for you after a couple thousand miles.

 

J MATIC only!!!

 

Well the Amsoil ATF says it meets Nissan J matic specs.

 

Well, if they're willing to back that up, then go right ahead and give it a try. What's interesting is that every other fluid for the Z always includes the "or equivalent" phrase. The Nissan J Matic is the only one that doesn't allow for "equivalents".

I'm sure conspiracy theorists will say it's just so Nissan can reap the huge profit from selling you the fluid. After all, think of all the times you're going to be changing AT fluid over the life of the car - two, maybe three times. If they wanted to make money off of fluids they'd go with the higher turnover motor oil.

If it was me, I'd play it safe and let somebody else be the guinea pig and try some alternate AT fluid for a year or two and prove that it won't harm it and will still perform as expected.

 

don't have the manual around....what is the fluid change times for an AT?

 

The FSM doesn't call for the replacement of AT fluid at any specific interval. It only recommends inspection every 15K miles. Naturally, if there is a problem with it during inspection, you'd want to replace it.

 

I'd use the Nissan fluid until the warranty expires.

 

When I changed my 2004.5 5AT fluid at the Infiniti dealership after 2 yrs and 18k miles, they said that the service interval has been changed for the 5AT to a drain and fill *every* year or a full flush (using their special machine) every two years.

The tech said my fluid "wasn't bad" - whatever that means...

 

On the Nissan website, under the "Owners" Maintenance schedules, they recommend changing it every two years/30K for the "Premier" maintenance plan. The regular Schedule 1/2 maintenance only shows the inspection every 15K miles. I'm sure the Infinity service guy is just trying to get you to change as often as you can afford.

 

Last I checked, AMSoil suggested people use Nissan J-Matic. I called and confirmed with them.

Now, on another hand, Nissan/Infiniti Dealers are now offer/using BG ATF instead to cut down on their cost of Nissan J-matic.

That's something to think about.

 

how often do you need to change this?

 

Read the last six posts, that's what we've been discussing here.

 

just do it and then post how your trans went out on you one day...havent read one of those threads in a while

 

We make a lot of revenue replacing [$4,000] transmissions after warranty for people who ignored transmission maintenance [flushing ATF changes].

Please don't change your ATF or do any extra maintenace, we have children that need a college education.

 

If you go to amsoil.com, their ATF meets J specs and is a real synthetic forumla, not a synthetic blend like the J matic. It's good for 100,000 miles in normal conditions. If your tranny goes out when you swap to Amsoil for some reason, the dealership has to prove it was the tranny fluid which caused the damage. If they are really *******s, they will take a sample of the fluid and get it analyzed to see if there's anything wrong with it.

 

All the dealership will have to prove is that you didn't follow the required fluid (Nissan J-Matic) usage. Or they can claim that you didn't have it serviced regularly.

 

Nissan J-matic isn't some magical transmission fluid, it's a fluid that meets a certain spec. If an ATF meets or exceeds that spec, which Amsoil ATF does, Nissan/Infiniti can not void your warranty.