[ratchet]

So my 06 Forester manual states Pennzoil or Castrol - Js or Subaru. Parts person at dealership looks up my 06 and I purchase Subaru ATF - HP ($7.15, not a bad price) with IDEMITUSU on the bottom of the bottle. Now my 2010 Forester manual only states Subaru ATF or IDEMITUSU ATF HP. So my question, is "Subaru ATF" the fluid that was required before they began to require "J"? If so why are they back to an older fluid? Or, if I'd have to purchase fluid a year from now would the bottles only be labeled Subaru ATF? All very confusing! Nice thing is I don't have to worry about it for several years! Thank You

 

[moengel]

I agree. Wading through the different ATF "specs" is really confusing. Part of the problem is that there is no standard for ATF like there is for oil. Every manufacture/brand has their own standard. For example, Dexron is actually a GM proprietary blend. Luckily, most "new" ATFs are backward compatible. You can't go wrong with Subaru HP. I personally use Mobil 1 Synthetic Multi-Vehicle ATF.

 

[adc]

I personally would stick with the H. Subaru is using more friction modifiers or some other additive to prevent a Shudder problem. I have used the Mobil Syn in the past on my Nissan Auto tranny and an oil analysis showed that the Mobil 1 sheared down rather quickly. I now use the Subaru HP Atf for both my Subaru and Nissan.