I change my engine oil (Mobil 1) every 3,000 miles. I change the
transmission fluid and filter every other engine oil change, every 6,000
miles. Since I am already under the car doing an engine oil change it not
that much more work to drop the transmission oil pan. My son-in-law asked
me if I would do the oil changes on his 2004 Chevrolet Cavalier if he bought
the oil and filters. I told him I would. I switched his Cavalier over from
the factory fill to Mobil 1, 5W-30 as soon as he got the car home. At his
second oil change (6,000) I dropped the transmission pan and changed the
filter. When I went to put the ATF back in the transmission I could not
find the dip stick. Up until now I had never seen an automatic transmission
that did not refill through the dip stick tube. So I got out the owners
manual out of the glove compartment and sure enough the owners manual says
there is no transmission dip stick. The owners manual says not to change
the fluid until 100,000 miles and there is no need to check the fluid level
before then. I swear to God I am not lying. The manual actually says there
is "no need to check the fluid level". I sat there and read that over and
over. I could not believe that GM actually put in writing that you never
need to check the fluid level in your transmission. The manual does not
even tell you how much fluid to put back when you do change it. So I
carefully measured how much I took out (7 ½ quarts) and put that much back
through a threaded plug in top of the transmission case.


This week I was looking at new 2005 Ford Explorers for my company. While I
had the hood up on one Explorer the salesman proudly pointed out that there
was no transmission dip stick and that you go 100,000 miles before a fluid
change. I know there are at least 2 vehicles that do not have transmission
dip sticks (2004 Chev Cavalier and 2005 Ford Explorer).

So as a word of caution, if you are like me and do not believe in 100,000
mile fluid changes, check and see if there is a dip stick. If there is no
dip stick you will have to accurately measure what you took out to know how
much to refill. I do not like not having a dip stick. If you had a small
leak you might not notice it and could be low on fluid. Without a dip stick
you would have no way of knowing how much you were low.