Confused About Tranny Fluid Level Checking Procedure on a new '21 ??

I've read previous threads about this and found alot of owners reported their trannys were underfilled from the factory. But another group of owners thinks that maybe the fluid level checking procedure these "underfilled" owners used was faulty. So the matter still seems to be undecided.

Can this non-electronic geek procedure be used accurately?

1) Level truck
2) Idle motor until thermal IR gun indicates tranny pan temp has almost reached 95 degrees F and the tachometer reads around 750 RPM.
3) Shift slowly through all gears ending in Park.
4) Verify thermal gun now reads between 95-113 degrees F when shined on the pan.
5) Open the overflow plug with 5mm allen key and wait for the fluid flow deminsh to a trickle.
6) If no fluid comes out, add new fluid until a steady stream comes out and then deminshes to a trickle.

When I tried this procedure on a factory new '21 (2WD, no tow package so apparently no tranny cooler) no fluid came out. This makes me think my fluid checking protocol is faulty because it's seems highly unlikely any trannys in the 2021 model year would still be routinely underfilled from the factory. What do others think?

 

Assuming you have the V6 model. This should get you in the right direction.

 

Not sure if it matters but i believe all transmission coolers were removed during the 2020 MY refresh

 

Halfway through actually. Some 20's have them, and some don't.

 

Correct. MY refresh means mid-year refresh so only the early 2020s have them

 

add fluid until it comes out the overfill plug and be done with it.

 

1st of all, the thermal gun is not ideal for the measuring the temp.
Use basic cheapo OBDII app&reader or get techstream app that allows your to put the system into level check mode (previous models allow to jump pins and used shifter to put in level check mode)
2nd, you need to add extra fluid before starting the engine and warm up the fluid to 95-96°F
3.fluid level is checked while idling.
Your #3 step may not be accurate. I believe you need to put your system in the check mode.