Gearbox oils

Enhance and maintain your vehicle’s performance with gear oils. Discover FUCHS’s range of gear oils - and protect your transmission systems.

Gear oils and transmission types

Automotive vehicles contain transmissions of different constructions, to perform different tasks. Gear oil plays a fundamental role in:

speed adaptation between the engine and drive axle
speed compensation between axles and wheels
or for changing direction in the powertrain

When choosing the right gear oil for oil change or gearbox repair, it’s important to understand what role the oil will play. You can categorise into manual transmission, automatic transmission, double clutch, steering gear and hydraulic systems and between gears of cars and commercial vehicles.

We have a wide range of gear oils to meet the important lubrications requirements for the specific type of gearbox.

What makes a high-quality gear oil?

Lubrication / wear protection
"Synchro“-compatibility
High friction stability
Oxidation stability
Excellent foaming and air release behavior
High fuel-efficiency
Good properties of shifting / low cold viscosity
Corrosion protection

High thermal stability
Long drain intervals or even fill-for-life
No noise, chatter damping
High shear stability
Compatibility with electric components/elements
Loadcarrying capacity (EP = Extreme Pressure)
Release contaminant and deposits

Choosing the correct gear oil

Modern transmission has diverse requirements on gear oil. In order to meet such requirements, the correct gearbox oil must be used in the required quantity and in the correct operating condition of the transmission. Therefore, it is important to pay close attention to the relevant gear oil specifications and specifications and OEM approvals for gearbox repairs and gear oil changes.

Gear oil types

Due to its special position as one of the leading lubricant developers and suppliers in the automotive industry, FUCHS offers the largest range of gear oils.

Manual Transmission Fluids (MTFs)

In modern manual transmissions, in addition to classic wear reduction, the lubricant performs a wide variety of tasks and has an impact on ride comfort, as the quality of shifting is decisively influenced by the lubricant.

Drivetrain oils

Axle transmissions require particularly high-wear protection (AW) and extreme pressure properties (EP). This is only possible with highly concentrated sulphur additives, which is why axle oils are not suitable for clutches or synchronisation. In addition to high-wear protection, axle drive oils must have good aging properties. Additionally, longer intervals between replacement and fill-for-life have to be achieved. With stricter directives and regulations concerning emissions , axle oils are becoming even more focussed on optimising drivetrain efficiency.

Automatic Transmission Fluids (ATFs)

ATFs are important gear oils for the function of the automatic transmission, ensuring coefficient friction when opening and closing the oil-lubricated lamellar clutches and applying brakes in automatic transmissions. This is what automatic transmission gear oils need to be exactly tuned to. Especially as there are different requirements from certain manufacturers of automatic transmissions concerning the coefficient friction characteristic, and therefore no general classification has prevailed. In order to decide on an automatic transmission gear oil, consult the OEM specifications.

Transmission oils for continuously variable transmissions (CVTF)

CVTFs are very similar to ATF gear oils, but in addition to the ATF properties, they are specially tailored to the friction properties required for contact between the metallic friction partners (variator to chain / transmission chains). Since CVT transmissions usually use strong hydraulic pumps, CVTFs must have particularly good foam properties and air release properties to prevent cavitation in the pump.

Double clutch transmission fluids (DCTF)

Double clutch transmission fluids are the compromise between the characteristics of an outstanding MTF gear oil and a high-performance ATF gear oil. In addition, the use of hydraulic pumps increases the foam resistance requirements.

Central Hydraulic / Power Steering Fluids

Modern central hydraulic and power steering systems require special gearbox oil products to ensure best performance, durability and especially safety. The TITAN CHF range of gear oils meets these requirements and covers the highest OEM quality standards and a wide application and approval profile.

How to find the right lubricant for your vehicle

Get an overview of our wide range of automotive lubricants for passenger cars and commercial vehicles in our product finder.

Or if you’re unsure which gear oil is right for your vehicle, search via the Oil Chooser from FUCHS. Search with your vehicle registration plate or make and model to discover unique gearbox oils relevant to your specific vehicle. This step-by-step process is simple to use and helps you find the right gear oil in less than a minute!

Are you looking for further lubricants? Please use our Product Assistant.

Automotive Oil Chooser Enter your registration number, make or model to find the right oil for your vehicle.

Good to know:

"Fill-for-Life" with automatic transmission oils

The first-filled automatic transmission fluid usually remains in the engine over the entire life of the vehicle. Only in the event of a repair of the gearbox there will be a gear oil change. FUCHS recommends a regular check of the oil level - preferably with every engine oil change in a specialist workshop.

However, automatic transmissions and the used automatic transmission fluids are often exposed to difficult and severe conditions. High operating temperatures e.g. can lead to increased wear of the gear oil and to significant losses in shifting ease.

In this case a change of the automatic transmission oil can lead to a significant improvement. But it is quite important that all the remains of the old filling are flushed out. FUCHS offers special equipment for all interested workshops.

In any case, on the one hand the drain intervals of the manufacturer as well as the exact quantities are to be considered exactly. After all, automatic transmissions are very sensitive to both over- and under-filling. The FUCHS oil chooser offers you exact information about suitable automatic transmission fluids and the right quantities.