Liqui Moly lists 1200 as "approved" for T-IV, but is only "recommended" for JWS-3309. Interesting. "1200G" appears to be the same approved list, but is yellow in color? No idea why, but I'd avoid that and use 1200 if that's the direction you're going.

Personally, I'd stick to anything strictly JWS-3309 approved, whatever you can find cheapest: Idemitsu, Aisin, Mobil, Ravenol, won't matter.

 

Liqui Moly lists 1200 as "approved" for T-IV, but is only "recommended" for JWS-3309. Interesting. "1200G" appears to be the same approved list, but is yellow in color? No idea why, but I'd avoid that and use 1200 if that's the direction you're going.

Personally, I'd stick to anything strictly JWS-3309 approved, whatever you can find cheapest: Idemitsu, Aisin, Mobil, Ravenol, won't matter.

ok
another member here used the Ravenol T-IV fluid which now has the word Synthetic printed on the bottle as where before the bottle said Semisynth on it in same place
hummmmm weird,..however he said it gave better shifts and overall performace after awhile of driving with it, 1000 or more miles I think

when it comes to trying new products you really wanna ask the community about them because there’s so much misinformation given by manufacturers for instance Valvoline max life clearly lists Volvo fluid for their transmissions And says that Max life is compatible with it but it’s all word games today so these companies play games with our cars because they don’t lose we do
And I checked only a week ago when I was at a parts store and it clearly says on the Valvoline max life bottle that it still covers the Volvo fluids,. the part numbers for the gallon or the Quart
it’s really really bad today I called Summit because they had the best price on the map sensor for my car I got it and it didn’t even look correct at all then I called back and then the next salesman said oh geez I’m sorry the guy sold you the one for the 3.2 not your engine the 4.4 I specifically went over it with this guy when I ordered the map sensor he said “yes correct it fits to 4.4 L V8 Yamaha made engine in your 2007 XC90 Volvo”
well guess ****ing what?

so today you gotta ask a lot of questions but then you got a filter out the answers
Because most of peoples answers are opinions they’re not facts
you have to call the company directly and talk to a technician there and hope and pray that they know what they’re talking about

 

This has been talked about extensively and what @Monocog007 is saying is true. The only thing I would add is that Revenol Synthetic is better after using it for over 30k miles.

First, stay with the exact spec T-IV/JWS3309. I have already posted about multi-spec fluids showing different viscosities here: Manual shift mode problem. You already had issues with multi-spec fluids, why go down that road again? Is Liqui Moly really good quality fluid, yes. However, rather than jumping into the deep end with a multi-spec, why not simply go with an original spec, but better fluid.

Second, conventional oil vs semi-synthetic or synthetic. Synthetic oils are better. No need to beat a dead horse. Fluids are also more trusted as the manufacturing and quality control are in a country with good standards, such as in Germany (Ravenol).

Third, stock photos sometimes can be switched for manufacturers. Manufacturers may also update their pics while old ones circulate. Please refer to the real-world experience of people here. Whereas I initially thought Ravenol was synthetic (but I threw away the bottles after filling), then a poster told me their gray bottles are semi-synthetic, I am here to dispel this theory. Below is my own pic of a bottle of Ravenol T-IV I had on my shelf since last year. The date of manufacture is 29.06.20, the American date is June 29, 2020. The bottle says Synthetic.

Ravenol has worked very very well for me and as a German Synthetic oil, you can see why I say it is very very consistent. With Mobil 3309 (conventional oil), I could feel the shifts change as the fluid would degrade in just 20k miles. It could be that Mobil 3309 shears faster thus the hot viscosity spec gets thinner faster, or the friction modifiers degrade. I don't have oil analyses on them, but the transmission shifting hundreds of times a day can give a real good real-world indication. With the Ravenol T-IV, the degradation of the fluid is much less felt as it is a very consistent fluid. More consistent at 30k miles than Mobil 3309 was at 15k miles. More consistent in cold temps and hot temps.

Lastly, @Paul1963, sometimes you have to be the one to jump into trying new things. If you did your search and didn't find anyone use the Liqui Moly fluid in an XC90, then you could try it yourself and report the feedback here. Or you can try the Ravenol T-IV based on feedback here.

 

For modern transmissions, don't get the "one size fits all" fluids. One fluid can't do all things, just like how green crayon doesn't replace the need for yellow and blue.

Ravenol's T-IV has been "synthetic" for at least 3 years now.

Parts tip: I like Summit, but don't buy parts from places that aren't Euro-specific like FCP, IPD, eEuro, etc.

-Ryan