Today I changed the oil in my '06 Toyota Matrix 5-speed at 21K miles. The owners manual calls for 75W-90 GL4 or GL5, so I used Valvoline 75W-90 GL5 oil. It really needed changing as the oil was dark with a metallic sheen, and these trannys have had a number of early failures (60-100K mi.) I…

GL4 vs GL5 gear oil

Caddyman August 9, 2010, 2:29am 4

GL5 replaces GL4. Failure of manual transmissions is seldom lubricant related. Did the drain plug have a magnet built in it? Gearboxes can benefit by having a magnet inside them…