Hey guys, brand new to this forum since I just got my 05 TL with 5at with 65k on saturday. I am a service advisor at a nissan dealership and I purchased from the same auto group I work for. After getting home and driving for a while, I noticed a somewhat harsh shift under slow acceleration, and discovered the service department put global fluid in tranny. I immediately drained and filled twice with z1 fluid, going to do it 2 more times. Am I "sol"? Do they have an aggressive shift through lower gears? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Love the car, but don't want to be stuck with a bad tranny.

 

Search is your friend. This is one of the most talked about subjects on this board.

Run a Type-F fluid like Redline Racing or Amsoil Super Shift. Z1 is about the worst fluid you can run ironically. Change the 3rd and 4th gear pressure switches. With these two changes is will upshift and downshift seamlessly and it will drastically extend the life of the trans.

Search for "racing atf" and "very interesting conversation with my trans builder" for more info and the reasons behind these changes.

 

Thank you, you don't think the global trans fluid did any significant damage? When lifted up and driving through gears on the rack, it made some concerning noises..

 

Driving it on the lift will make it seem like it's shifting super hard like the entire car rocking when it shifts and the noises are from the suspension being at full droop. Nothing to worry about. Now if you forgot to turn the traction control off, you were probably hearing the ABS trying to stop the wheels from turning since the ECU thought you were spinning the tires.

Is "global" a brand? If it's just a generic DexIII fluid, it's actually better than Z1 as far as transmission life is concerned. However, going to a fluid with less friction modifiers like this can result in harsh shift with old pressure switches. Z1 is loaded with friction modifiers so just about any fluid you put in there will have less. Less FM is better for trans life. I know it's counter-intuitive with all of the scare tactics Honda has used over the years but Z1 truly is the worst fluid you can use if you're concerned with trans life.

Transmission fluids are more alike than different. You can use pretty much anything made for an auto trans and it won't hurt anything.

Replace those switches and use at least a DexIII equivalent like Amsoil ATF, Redline D4, Mobil, or a ton of other fluids or preferably use a Type F equivalent that contains no FM like Redline Racing or Amsoil Super Shift.

The important thing is to replace those switches. These inexpensive little switches along with a crappy factory fluid cause sloppy shifting and are the cause of the reliability issues of the Honda 5at. Swapping to a non Z1 fluid and swapping out these switches every 2-3 years will result in a bulletproof trans.

Honda's scare tactics have worked for way too many years. Luckily thanks to the internet people are starting to see the light. I've been running a non approved fluid in my car since it had 20,000 miles and it now has 102,000 miles.

 

"I hate cars" so if I've only done a 1x3 with Redline D4, would you recommend I exchange the other 6 bottles of D4 for the Redline Racing Type-F + do pressure switches? (having an issue here https://acurazine.com/forums/2g-tl-problems-fixes-117/06-av6-tranny-issue-828511/ )