New Cars Don’t Have Dip Sticks – A Guide to Transmission Maintenance and Service
Remember the days when transmission maintenance meant you periodically checked your transmission fluid level by pulling a metal dipstick from a tube alongside your engine? Well those days are rapidly coming to a close. Many new vehicles are doing away with the transmission dipstick and easily accessible tubes for adding fluid to your car’s transmission. Here is the reason for the change: a vehicle owner can damage a transmission by overfilling or putting the wrong transmission fluid in the car. Transmission fluid is not a generic item any more. Various manufacturers are installing fluids with specific formulas to match the precision internal components of modern transmissions. Use the wrong fluid and the transmission can fail long before the car’s new car...