How to Drain/Refill Automatic Transmission

Thanks for the answer, bro! The light came on for a few seconds and disappeared. I'm waiting for it to cool down so I can try again. But in some videos, when the light shows up and disappears, they tell you it's ready to check the amount of fluid. But you never see the solid light in their video. Should it be completely solid after the N-D sequences?

 

Not sure where you live but this procedure is really best done in the cooler months. When you do the shifter procedure, the AT TEMP light will appear once you have done the procedure correctly and then it disappears until the fluid is warm enough to then check the overflow plug. Once the fluid is too hot then the light blinks.

 

I suck at this

 

There are also magnets attached to the bottom of the pan for catching metal, which is another good reason to remove the pan occasionally (not necessarily every fluid change), so you can remove any metal shavings. Also, if you take off the pan and unscrew the filter, you will be able to remove more fluid since a certain amount remains in the filter housing, even after normal draining.

 

For those that did this, at the end when checking the overflow, are you seeing a small trickle or just drips?

Mine goes from a decent steady flow, to a smaller steady flow and then just drips. I’m not seeing a small trickle.

 

What you are seeing sounds about right. The purpose of the overflow is just that, to allow excess ATF to exit the transmission. As the level of the ATF in the pan decreases, the flow will decrease. Once the ATF gets to the same level as the overflow, the flow will slow down, drip, and eventually stop.

 

Thanks. My question is are the slow drips the point to which I need to stop or stop just before that, when there still is some flow? There really is no “small trickle” point.

 

A steady trickle to many drops is fine. No need to overthink.

 

Good morning. Doing a 60,000 mile drain and fill. ALMOST had an issue removing the level check bolt with the evil hex head. Can the drain bolt type be used in lieu of the OEM bolt? Threads, etc. look similar but need to check with TW/AI. Thank you all.

 

What does this even mean?

 

I think he is asking if any drain bolt with similar size/thread can be used instead of the factory bolt.

I would say yes, but I would be careful about not tightening it too much since the pan is soft metal.

 

Thank you both.

 

I used a small dental pick to remove any crud in that allen head area, worked like a charm! I also use a dab of copper anti-sieze in all those drain plugs.

 

the drain plug and the check plug look completely different.

 

@Dm93 thank you for posting this.

I installed a ScanGauge recently and want to use the trans temp to check the level after I install a new trans cooler next weekend.

It took me a few threads to find this info and it would be nice if the OP updated the initial post.

 

Hey guys, I have a 2012 and I'm getting ready to start the drain & fill process. I have a question about temp mode specifically. The a/t temp light comes on after the NDNDND, but I don't get it a second time when putting it park. From what I read, I'm not in temp mode unless the light flashes a second time after putting it in park. Any advice? Thanks!!

 

What is the ambient temp when you are trying this? Usually this procedure is not ideal to do in summer time due to the limited window of time for the temp check mode, but your description does not sound like it's too hot.

 

Thanks for the reply. Ambient temperature was approximately 75-80F and inside garage (shaded). I'm pretty disappointed LOL. I bought everything to do this and just isn't working out for me. I was thinking maybe the 2012 model year is different?? Or my jumper wasn't connected properly. I don't know.

 

I understand this doesn’t help your current situation, but I recommend you get the Fusion or Torque app and a Bluetooth OBD transmitter like this one:

Veepeak OBDCheck BLE+ Bluetooth...

$42 Veepeak OBDCheck BLE+ Bluetooth OBD II Scanner Wireless Car Diagnostic Scan Tool Check Engine Code Reader for iOS & Android

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B076XVQMVS?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

or you can get the ScanGuage. I’ve serviced my transmission many times and have never done the transmission temp procedure routine, I just didn’t think it was worth it and use the Fusion app and the Bluetooth adapter instead. I have absolutely no regrets.

 

Thanks for the recommendation. I'll look into it.