See ya'll I am not crazy! I used Mobil 1 since it is the best fluid we have available around here. I have heard of the Amsoil but they don't stock it on the shelves at the parts stores here in Kansas. Then i'd have to order it which would eliminate my cost savings over just buying Matic S at the Infiniti dealer.

 

I just bought 8 QTs of S-matic today at the Nissan dealership ($10 ea) today to do a tranny fluid change on my G and my friend's G. I posed the question to the guy at the counter, which is also my friend's dad that's run the Nissan parts dept for about 15 years. I asked Mike if running a high quality ATF like Mobil 1, that reportedly meets or exceeds factory specs, was a good idea. First question out of his mouth was the car under warranty. I said no. He okay, how money does your friend have? It's $4,200 for a JATCO 5AT or $2,400 for a rebuilt one. Right now he has two 5ATs in the garage, one out of a Titan, one out of a Z, that had toasted clutches and both were run with non-J/S matic fluid. Both trannies were voided of warranty when the fluid was drained. I asked how they could tell and he said color, odor, and a paper filter test (for dirty fluid). He said usually the owner admits to using something other than J/S matic and/or they say that they had an independant shop do the work of which the shop invoice doesn't state the usage of Nissan J/S matic or it states the usage of another fluid.

 

I respect your opinion, but you can be assured you will get no where if your tranny fails with another companies ATF. Nissan will claim you should have read the manual and under hood warning labels about the requirement for S-matic. Mobil, Amsoil, etc will claim their fluid meets spec and/or driver abuse.

Why risk it?

 

Neither Mobil nor Amsoil make a Matic S compatible ATF. They are only compatible with Matic J.

 

Were they using Mobil 1 Synthetic ATF? Or another ATF that specifically says on the bottle "APPROVED for transmissions requiring Matic-J?"
I would totally agree that you would be a fool to just try and use regular Dextron/Mercon ATF in a transmission requiring Matic J.

Then again you are using the Nissan dealer as a source here. OF COURSE they are going to say the other fluids are crap. He was in the process of selling you Nissan ATF!!! It also says in the owners manual to use only Genuine Nissan Windshield Washer fluid. I am sure he will tell you that stuff is way better than the $1 bottle of Peak that is on the shelf at wal-mart and how the Nissan stuff is formulated to protect the bearings in your fluid pump motor.

 

S Matic is the replacement for J Matic. J Matic is no longer sold nor made. The change occured early in the year.

 

It really doesn't matter what they used, it's not Nissan J or S matic (which look and smell exactly the same as verified a few minutes ago ).

Yes, the information is coming from Nissan, but this is a friend of mine who I've know for a long time. He is not a Nissan nutswinger and he won't BS me. He tells me all the time to buy NAPA parts because so many "NAPA" parts are made by the OEM supplier.

 

It doesn't matter? So you are essentially saying that anything that isn't Matic J or S is the same thing? A 30 year old bottle of Dextron I i found in Grandpas garage that he used in his 1948 Cadillac is just as bad for my 5AT as Mobil1 synthetic ATF that says on the bottle that it was formulated for use in Nissan transmissions requiring Matic J.

This thread is about using non-OEM fluids that SPECIFICALLY SAY THEY CAN BE USED IN TRANSMISSIONS REQUIRING MATIC-J. We are not talking about whether they can void your warranty if you use Milk or Hamburger Gravy or fluids that are not approved for Matic J. Saying those are the same thing is very rediculous. Please actually go to this website and read it.

https://www.mobiloil.com/USA-English...hetic_ATF.aspx

 

But man, what's your point? Saving $20 bucks once a year, proving Mobil1 is a great ATF manufacturer or maintaining your tranny up to specs? Dude, I like to argue but...

 

I just had the trans fluid changed in my 03 Sedan at the local Nissan dealership today. After I get home I look at the service paper and I noticed that they had put the Mobil1 ATF in their. The car has 66k on it and is not under warranty so Im not worried about that. I am however worried about everyone saying use nothing but Matic J. When I called to have this appointment set up the guy I talked to said that these cars use specifically Matic J, so I am wondering why they put this Mobil1 in there. I should have looked at the sheet before I left but like an idiot I didnt. Im gonna give them a call tomorrow and see what they say, also I am going to let them know that if this tranny screws up due to the fluid that they will be paying the bill for a new one, not me. I will give an update on what is said and done about this.

 

Mobil 1 ATF is now made to replace Matic J as you can read about in the thread. I have had it in my 2004 G Sedan for about 4-5k miles now and it works great. It's supposed to be better than the Nissan fluid and it's also available at your local parts store and for a reasonable price. The fact that your Nissan dealer used it just cements all the points I have made earlier in the thread.

 

Ya, after making that post I looked at the website and read all about it. Sounds like from your experience its holding up pretty well. I will also continue to run it and see what happens. At least if it does fail due to the fluid I know where to take it.