Cvt fluid level check?

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dslatsh
Posts: 127
Joined: Wed Jul 22, 2015 11:22 am

Has anyone else had as much trouble as I've had trying to check.the level of.the cvt? I try doing everything stated in the manual and always get different readings. Today I got it to nominal temp drove for about 10 minutes may have been like 9-12 and parked in flat parking lot went through the shifter checked fluid and it was at the first dot above the c was a little thick. Drove to Walmart after that (maybe about 5 minutes) checked it there same procedure and it read almost perfect and was more thin consistency like transmission fluid is in an automatic.

After letting it sit at Walmart drove it home about 5-8 minutes and checked again and was in the same spot almost perfect.

Also before all this I checked it cold, the kizzy sat for about 4 days. The level I got when I did that was actually perfect was between the 2nd dot above the c and below the H.
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Woodie
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Fully warm would be at least twenty minutes driving.
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dslatsh
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Woodie wrote:Fully warm would be at least twenty minutes driving.
Is that twenty minutes driving AFTER the temperature gauge has reached it's nominal? The way I did it was I got it to the nominal temperature and then drove it for 10 more minutes.
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LPSISRL
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Location: Chesapeake, Virginia

Just driving. The engine coolant temp has little to do with the transmission fluid temp. You could have a failed thermostat and have your engine running cold all the time but the transmission would still heat up to operating in 20 minutes.
2011 Kizashi SLS CVT (silver)
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dslatsh
Posts: 127
Joined: Wed Jul 22, 2015 11:22 am

LPSISRL wrote:Just driving. The engine coolant temp has little to do with the transmission fluid temp. You could have a failed thermostat and have your engine running cold all the time but the transmission would still heat up to operating in 20 minutes.
Ah so the book is a little vauge in saying "to nominal temp" because they're referring more to the CVT fluid...which is hard for someone to know really. Okay so then does it not help the fact that I live in Western NY? Does the outside temp effect it at all? Would I need to drive it longer to get to the operating temp? Today I checked it when I drove home 80% of my trip is 55 mph then goes down to 45-35 about a 10-15 minute drive. I did let the car idle for a bit today before driving home as well. The reading I got today was actually lower then yesterdays was at the first dot above the C.

My dad was telling me about a video he watched on CVTs and how the fluid level can change based on the temperature outside? Not sure how true that is...
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LPSISRL
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Location: Chesapeake, Virginia

Just like any fluid, it will expand and contract with temperature changes. How much it will rise and fall on the dipstick would be dependent on the area in which the fluid is contained. In other words, if the area is small, are rise of fall in the fluid temp will have a more dramatic impact on the dipstick level than if the area was larger. With that said, the temp of the fluid itself will vary on outside temp, how hard the CVT is working, condition of the fluid and possibly more. How much is in the torque converter will have an affect as well. The book is more or less giving a standard method to get the CVT fluid to operating temperature. If you drive it normally (not up and down mountains or through an autocross) for 10-15 minutes under normal weather conditions (not in the Arctic or not in Death Valley) you should be able to get a basic read on the fluid level as it would be within it's operating range. Also consider that it is a closed system. So if you don't have any signs of leaks in the casing, hoses or cooler, there's no reason for it to change unless something really bad has happened and the leak is internal and not external.
2011 Kizashi SLS CVT (silver)
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Ronzuki
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Has anyone come up with a way to check the temperature via OBD port w/o using the Suzuki SDT or SDT2 scanner?
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KuroNekko
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Ronzuki wrote:Has anyone come up with a way to check the temperature via OBD port w/o using the Suzuki SDT or SDT2 scanner?
Would a Bluetooth OBDII device with a smartphone app work? I'd love to test it for you given I have a device and a few apps but my Kizashi is an MT. However, the app does read out a lot of different temperatures and readings so there's a good chance.
The device was $4 and the app was free so it's really worth trying out. At the very least, it will read MIL/CELs so it's worth it.
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bdleonard
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Ronzuki wrote:Has anyone come up with a way to check the temperature via OBD port w/o using the Suzuki SDT or SDT2 scanner?
To the best of my knowledge/recollection, no. Though I may be able to do some checking with my pseudo-SDT2 and figure out the right query, if nobody else has logged it
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