I tried to buy some ATF T-IV for my 2003 Corolla today and the dealer's parts guy said they were out and when I asked him if I could order some, he said, "It's just Dextron 3. You can buy it anywhere."
I know the guy a little from past experiences with him, and I'm pretty confident he knows exactly what he's talking about, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to check with you guys to be doubly sure.
What's your take on this?
It's not the same stuff - T-IV is a totally different beast than Dexron family fluids, and you'll end up with big trouble if you substitute something else. The only aftermarket replacement I've seen that meets the specs for Aisin-AW (Aisin-Warner) transmissions is from Mobil Oil - ATF-3309
If a few people blow up their trannies and they can prove they broke because the dealer put in (or sold them) the wrong fluid (not that difficult) the dealer will be buying those people rebuilt transmissions. And that gets expensive real fast.
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Amsoil claims their Synthetic Universal Automatic Transmission Fluid is Toyota Type IV specs:
Thanks, I may just do that.
Not to diss you, but AMSOIL has a long history of rather grandly inflated claims with no apparent basis in fact, and I don't know if they have cleaned up their act - if a corporate representative told me it was 8:30 AM and sunny, I'd check my watch and look out the window to verify.
Fluid compatibility is a very black and white item - it either is the right stuff or it isn't. And it has to be verified by an independent laboratory, a little detail that AMSOIL has been extremely reluctant to do - which is why many of their items do not have an API rating or carry the mark, samples were never submitted to the API for independent testing.
But if you believe them - and you believe they'll stand behind the product in case it /isn't/ the right stuff and something bad (and expensive) happens - that's another source of aftermarket T-IV compatible ATF.
If they have to buy a few customers new transmissions because their parts guy sold the wrong stuff and claimed it was correct out of ignorance (to steal a police term "under color of authority" provided by the corporate logo on their shirt), that comes right out of the dealership profits - that should provide the owner with sufficient incentive to get the problem fixed.
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Not a diss at all--I appreciate information like this. I probably wouldn't have used Amsoil anyway, but it's good to know these things.
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