Im with Jetboy on this. If it doesnt meet the specs..it doesnt meet the specs. I have seen similar issues on Honda where supposively comparable fluids arent comparable and transmissions are crunched.
Hey you know best..use what you want. We will all setup a death pool gambling league on guessing the exact date when your tranny will grenade. Tickets..only $1 dollar...proceeds go to me and Jetboy for cheap women and liquor.
This guy did his homework on the Toyota WS vs Valvoline Synthetic Max Life. He's able to show that the WS breaks down badly with heat, while the Valvoline does not.
WS transmission fluid is garbage . Get it out of your transmission now | Tacoma World
Post #80 in that thread:
Not sure where the OP is coming from, but I can tell you where I am at, and how I got here.
I have owned and maintained a fleet of four cars for the last fifteen years, currently two are Toyotas and two are Subarus and all four are automatics.
When it came time to change the fluid in the Tacoma, at 60k not the 100k as originally sold, as there seems to be a problem with particulates forming in the fluid per Toyota, I was sticker shocked by the cost of this WS Toyota fluid.
Being the inquisitive type, I wanted to know what this expensive fluid was doing for me, and with an engineering background I was able to understand the properties of the fluid.
The short version is that I was unimpressed with the qualities of the product, especially at that price, so I looked at the alternatives.
I ran the properties of the WS and the Valvoline Maxlife past the experienced eye of an engineer at a hydraulics engineering firm that handles large hydraulics systems (like canal gates) and the response was that while the WS is thinner at low temperatures, the Valvoline has much better high temperature performance.
Nearly 10k miles later on the Valvoline and I am satisfied. Smoother shifting, better idle, and converter lock-up at lower speeds.
I can tell you that the WS was definitely showing 'particulate masses' when I drained it.
Good luck in whatever you decide to do.
We have 195K miles on the 2014 SR5 and trans and going strong. They say these transmissions go an average of 140K to 190K miles, so I guess we won. We'll be selling it at 250K and looking for a new 4Runner. At this point, it's not like a transmission failure is going to break me. I am a 0.5%er, yet I do all my own work. I'll never be on the bus. Suck on that.