NO DIP STICK

[Robi]

Just had coffee with a bunch of guys and one has a new Chrysler and one other a VW. We got around to talking cars and I was suprised to hear that in both cars there is no dip stick for the transmission. The guy with the Chrysler said when he had to get an oil change he said he was lucky to have been at the dealership because the service tech signed one out to check the level. The guy with the new VW said that when he asked they told him it was only available with a service that would cost $200. I have a V with CVT and have only opened the hood once and never thought to look for the transmission stick. So there you go ... guess Chrysler and VW and maybe others are saving money on this piece of metal. Checking before a long trip some years ago I found that my Chev. was low on transmission fluid and the colour was somewhat dark. The fellow that serviced the transmission said I was lucky to have brought it in especially since I was going to pull a trailer. I still like to check things out for myself and like the idea of having a transmission dip stick. ... End of Sermon

[Clipsed]

a lot of the new transmissions do not use dip sticks as they are very clean and better designed, this is also so on my dads Ford Explorer. Ford could change the fluid for you, but they designed the transmission in a way that unless something REALLLLLY bad happens you never have to change the transmission fluid as it will always stay clean and never lose viscosity.

[motoguy128]

I think there are several issues here. 1) The transmissions are fairly well sealed, and you could damage the transmission by overfilling. The crankcase on the otherhand will push out excess oil into the airbox. 2) THe MFG is worried about the wrong type of fluid being used. Tey may also have special blends that formulated specially for that transmission. 3) ALL of these cars without disticks have sensors to detect low fluid level or erratic performance, prior ot permenent damage. 4) The seals are better and the service intervals are now 2+ years and as high as 120k miles under normal conditions.5) The VW 6 speed automatic is more similar to a manual transmission, than an automatic. I believe it's a sequential manual (like a motorcycle) but with 2 sets of clutches for smoother, faster shifts.

[BenzTech Gone Versa]

I think there are several issues here. 1) The transmissions are fairly well sealed, and you could damage the transmission by overfilling. The crankcase on the otherhand will push out excess oil into the airbox. 2) THe MFG is worried about the wrong type of fluid being used. Tey may also have special blends that formulated specially for that transmission. 3) ALL of these cars without disticks have sensors to detect low fluid level or erratic performance, prior ot permenent damage. 4) The seals are better and the service intervals are now 2+ years and as high as 120k miles under normal conditions.5) The VW 6 speed automatic is more similar to a manual transmission, than an automatic. I believe it's a sequential manual (like a motorcycle) but with 2 sets of clutches for smoother, faster shifts.

Very True,Benz is like this! No atf Repl lifetime,unless repairs done!