Nissan leaf oil change

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by oil pan 4

I don't recommend putting motor oil in a leafs transmission.

The only type of motor oil I would take the risk of using as a transmission oil is motorcycle oil.

[Piotrsko]

Poop, I'm going to have to read the mil-specs again on hydraulic fluid to see what the difference (besides bright dyes) tranny and lubricating oils are. I recall vaguely that they were pretty much similar except for the additives on temperature and wear, only the pour points and upper temp limits differed.

[jjackstone]

I only asked the motor oil question because I had never heard ATF referred to as oil before. I'm not a mechanic but I've worked on a few cars over the years and it just struck me as odd that a transmission fluid change would be called an oil change.
JJ

[oil pan 4]

Most cars with manual gear boxes use automatic transmission fluid. All the GM cars I worked on with manual transmission called for ATF or syncromesh gear oil which appeared to be ATF.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Economics of scale might render ATF to be an acceptable replacement for gear oil on manual transmissions nowadays.

Originally Posted by jjackstone

I only asked the motor oil question because I had never heard ATF referred to as oil before.

It's not so unusual to see ATF being referred to as oil in my country.

[jakobnev]

My previous car listed different gear oils for different ambient temperature ranges. For the lowest temps it suggested ATF, and when i switched to that, it became easier to get it into gear in the cold, and it coasted better too.

[MN Driver]

I used to visit the BITOG(Bob is the Oil Guy) forum on a daily basis and read through oil analysis and used to post mine. There are tons of gearboxes(auto, manual, differentials) and it always seems like no matter how many miles you've put on a gearbox, the numbers always seem to suggest that the wear is very high relative to what's expected.

I have a feeling that this type of equipment is a bit more robust and can handle wear a bit better because I know so many cars that have 150k+ miles that have never had the transmission drained. I think the newer automatic transmissions are weaker is general though and I'd personally never want to have them go more than 100k miles on their fluid.

With all that said, I've changed my manual transmission oil every 3 or 4 years or so, which non-COVID times I usually drive 15k annually. I don't bother with analysis because if things look rough, I know I'll still drive the transmission until it fails, but I don't expect my manual transmission to fail because the known failures for the transmission in my Honda Insight are input shaft bearing failures and syncro ring clocking tab issues, which aren't really influenced by fluid changes. It's an easy fluid swap 1.5 qts for mine too.

Are there any known failures of the gearbox on the Leaf in the Nissan Leaf forum? I imagine most people don't really do much for maintenance on their EVs, whether or not the manual says you should.

I had a 1995 Geo Prizm that specced 75w90 gear oil, in the winter it shifted slower than I was happy with and I put Pennzoil Synchromesh into it, which is basically the generic version of the GM(AC Delco) manual transmission oil.

Automatic transmission fluid is an oil. It's colored red and has things like extreme pressure additives and friction modifiers to help the clutches grip and doesn't go into an engine but it's an oil.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by MN Driver

I think the newer automatic transmissions are weaker is general though and I'd personally never want to have them go more than 100k miles on their fluid.

Automatic transmissions may actually fare better under critical conditions, yet I don't trust the claims that some manufacturers do about the ATF never needing a change.

[oil pan 4]

Remember that the OEMs want you or someone to buy a new car eventually.

[oil pan 4]

I looks like I never uploaded my 2022 leaf oil sample.