Kizashi Club

I just finished three drains and fills of my CVT. The first two involved removing the pan so as much fluid came out as possible, wiping it out and cleaning the magnets. The last was just removing the drain plug. I did lower the car to level while it drained the last time so not much could have been left in the pan. Each time about 6 quarts drained into the the catch container and 6 fresh quarts went back in. Except for the final fill. I stupidly miscalculated how much fluid I had on hand for the final fill. I needed 6 quarts like the first two times but only had one gallon left. I put it all in and then went out hunting for a couple more quarts of exactly the same brand. O'Reilly's had quart bottles so I bought two @ $10.99 each. Now here's the rub: Before putting any in I did a cold level check. Started her up, went through the P-D-R-P bit, pulled the dipstick and wiped it and then inserted it back in and checked it again. It was at the cold fill mark. Not what I was expecting at all. So I drove it to bring the CVT up to temp and checked again. Exactly between the hot marks. Now how could this be as I know I drained out 6 quarts and only put 4 back in? I also noticed that if I let the car idle for awhile and checked again, the level seems to drop. However if I check it right after the P-R-D-P, it's perfect. What's happening here and what should I do? I can't imagine that it's actually full.

Hey, I just wanted to refresh this question as I've not received any answers. To keep it short, I'm finding it very hard to accurately check the CVT fluid level. Even after running it and checking it hot, I've got different levels on either side of the dipstick. The level also seems to drop the longer I let it idle after going through P-R-D-R-P and checking.

BTW - the manual only says to slowly shift from P-D-P. No mention of including reverse.

You'll want to believe the lower of the two readings on your stick. I think you'll find as its filled there will be less difference of the readings. Error on the side of overfill if not perfect. The fluid level isnt that critical except when grossly over or under.

Thanks. It's just so weird. How can the level appear different on one side of the dipstick or the other.

LPSISRL wrote:Thanks. It's just so weird. How can the level appear different on one side of the dipstick or the other.

You don't see this with engine oil on the dipstick? I do, especially if the oil was checked in a warm engine, just a few minutes after turning off. I also go by Old Tech's view that the lower side's reading is the accurate level because you know below that point, the stick was fully immersed in the fluid. I always thought the reason for the uneven readings on the sides of the stick was due to fluid covering the engine or transmission case where the dipstick tube enters it, causing a smear fluid transfer. Checking warm fluid more likely results in this phenomenon as the fluid didn't all settle down yet but most engines and transmissions require warm fluid checks, not cold, for the most accurate reading. For the reasons above, I always check the fluid a few times to get a sense of the most accurate reading and rely on the lower side.

I thought the reason for running through the gears was to make sure that torque converter was full when checking. That's why you run through the gears which lowers the level by the amount in the converter and then you have to wipe the dipstick and check it again. What makes no sense is the the level drops as fluid drains out of the torque converter instead of rising. It's certainly possible I don't understand what's really going on here.