Power Steering Fluid ATF?

**scharnhorst** · January 2nd, 2010 01:55 PM

Originally Posted by oj88

Honda designed their equipment in collaboration with OEM fluid manufacturers so it will work as designed and for it to last a long time. They spend millions on R&D so I guess they're a lot smarter than we are. They know which fluid should go to which reservoir and they've listed it in the manual. Are we the wiser?

I'm not questioning the skills of the Honda engineers. They do design good cars and subsystems.

But I'd rather have it that there be OEM-spec fluids (by other manufacturers, or by the OEM itself) available for Honda vehicles on the market in the interest of cost and ease of maintenance

**oj88** · January 2nd, 2010 02:10 PM

Originally Posted by scharnhorst

I'm not questioning the skills of the Honda engineers. They do design good cars and subsystems.

But I'd rather have it that there be OEM-spec fluids (by other manufacturers, or by the OEM itself) available for Honda vehicles on the market in the interest of cost and ease of maintenance

Yes, there are alternatives. But it's the same argument.... why trust alternatives when there are already reports of A/T failure even when using supposedly "compatible" fluids? To save a couple hundred bucks? It's not like you're changing fluids every week or every month. That's all I'm saying.

To be 100% sure, use OEM fluids. The extra premium is peanuts compared to having it rebuilt or worse, replaced.

**scharnhorst** · January 2nd, 2010 07:30 PM

Originally Posted by oj88

Yes, there are alternatives. But it's the same argument.... why trust alternatives when there are already reports of A/T failure even when using supposedly "compatible" fluids? To save a couple hundred bucks? It's not like you're changing fluids every week or every month. That's all I'm saying.

To be 100% sure, use OEM fluids. The extra premium is peanuts compared to having it rebuilt or worse, replaced.

Good point. I did start to shy away from surplus and dubious replacement parts after non-OEM glow plugs got stuck in the engine's cylinder head some time ago.

Apparently, for Hondas pati fluids dapat OEM.

**voltscastillo** · January 3rd, 2010 10:46 AM

not all fluids naman dapat oem honda.

m/t trannies use plain 10w-40 engine oil. on my crv i used petron cheapo 20w-50, damn thing shifted like a 1970 tractor. switched to thinner 10w-40 (which was specced in the manual my fault for being tigas ulo) and it started shifting fine again.

brake and radiator fluids you can use any brand u like. but honda radiator fluid does offer a far longer service life than prestone.

uncle of mine insists on using atf from shell (donax yata yun). after about a year his civic now shifts horribly, at hindi makabwelo sa speed. mechanic has advised tranny rebuild (a/t sya). sarap sabihan na "i told you so..." kaso you know those 60 something guys, they always think they have more experience in these things.

nalubog yung civic a/t ko sa baha recently, water contamination sa atf. mechanic's advice was to just use cheapo atf. so great was my fear of destroying the tranny that i ignored this advice and went out and bought honda atf at 560/liter. i'm now at my 3rd atf change and despite severe water contamination during my 1st and 2nd drains, the tranny still shifted well. that honda fluid was unique stuff... any other fluid and water would have severely messed things up... baka hindi ko na nagagamit yung kotse.

**oj88** · January 3rd, 2010 11:11 AM

^ It was briefly mentioned above about the use of OEM coolants for your engine's cooling system. The reason they can be used longer (ie. Long Life) on the particular car it was designed for, is because of galvanic corrosion... or lack of it.

Galvanic corrosion can happen between two dissimilar metals, such as you'll find inside an engine's cooling system, and is accelerated by the heated liquid flowing through the engine passageways and orifices. OEM coolants are specifically formulated to, among other equally important things, prevent or delay this type of corrosion. Every car manufacturer may use a variety of metals that are exposed to the coolant. That's why it is important to use a coolant that is designed not to react with these metals.

Sorry for the OT.

**weisshorn** · January 3rd, 2010 11:17 AM

I just wonder why you can not use any other brand if it meet the honda specification especially if it is coming from a popular lubricants manufacturer. I believe there's always a corresponding equivalent honda oem oil, after all honda does not manufacture oil, I think they just pick it up from the oil company and re-label to whatever name they want.

Only my personal opinion and I don't argue the popular belief of posters above. Peace lang po tayo.

**oj88** · January 3rd, 2010 11:31 AM

Though, I don't have proof of this, it may just be possible that the Honda oils were designed in collaboration with reputable oil companies to meet the specifications of their engines. Now, probably due to license and IP issues, these OEM fluids cannot be sold by the same manufacturer as their own, rather, they need to modify it some so it will not infringe on Honda's claim of the oil chemistry. So they change a property or two then package these oils as "compatible" alternatives. It seems sensible enough... but not quite the "real" thing.

This could be especially true for Honda ATF-Z1 and CVTF. I do know for a fact that using any other tranny fluid than the proper one does affect transmission performance and life.

**OldSchoolHack** · January 3rd, 2010 11:41 AM

PS for ATF is generally not advisable. ATF for PS in some cars would be fine.

However consult your car manual. Something working for a few minutes may be bad in the long run (when it matters most!).

**speed unlimited** · January 3rd, 2010 12:20 PM

This is no big deal regarding power steering fluid if honda cars used only oem honda fluid why use other brand of power steering fluid if other say in the long run it will ruin something on the system.

**voltscastillo** · January 3rd, 2010 02:39 PM

Originally Posted by weisshorn

I just wonder why you can not use any other brand if it meet the honda specification especially if it is coming from a popular lubricants manufacturer. I believe there's always a corresponding equivalent honda oem oil, after all honda does not manufacture oil, I think they just pick it up from the oil company and re-label to whatever name they want.

Only my personal opinion and I don't argue the popular belief of posters above. Peace lang po tayo.

dude if i could find the manufacturer of the honda atf and buy their identical formulation i will buy from them instead of honda. ang mahal kaya sa honda? minsan parang gusto ko na lang mag mobil synthetic atf eh kasi parang pareho sila ng presyo.

may nagsabi idemitsu daw, pero wala naman idemitsu brand atf sa banawe. kung meron lang eh di sana mas mura yun, walang honda branding eh.