Why, Gm? Why?

[BlioKart]

Some BMW's have no oil or auto trans dip sticks. I think some Kia's too and others i forget

 

[Hog]

Tranny dipsticks are on the way out. Chrysler tells me this is to prevent me from putting the wrong fluid in it and then claiming a transmission problem on the warranty. Just got my van back, only 28000 miles and already a big issue. Many of the trannys are blowing up as is (see the complaints boards), many with as low as 15000 miles. Since the same supplier furnishes most of them, this affects many different brands of vehicles. I suggest weeks of research before buying any car anymore, you cannot believe anything the 'official' channels say, read up on complaints, issues, TSB's and recalls. At that point you will realize that virtually every brand has serious issues, so it then is time to roll the dice on the best choice.

 

[Elio Amazed]

A lot of the older vehicles with no dipsticks do not have warning lights for low tranny fluid.
By the time the tranny slips and tells you that you're low on fluid, damage has already been done.

GM is basically saying, "We think you're just a bunch of dipsticks that we don't trust to read a dipstick."

Nice.

 

[Ekh]

I bet some people will figure out the problem pretty much immediately...

So the transmission in my 2004 Saturn L300 started shifting rough on my way home from work tonight. After 125k miles, it's not too surprising. I check the dash, and there's an idiot light on. Check the owner's manual when I get home, and it's a "non-emissions warning, get service immediately". I may not be an auto mechanic, but I'm not an idiot under the hood. Time for some basic troubleshooting. Step one: Look for leaks. Driver's side of the transmission looks damp from a small leak somewhere. The slow weeping kind, not the arterial spraying kind. Doesn't look *too* bad, I can deal with dumping some fluid in every couple months. Step two: Check the transmission fluid! There's the oil, brake fluid, steering fluid, wiper fluid, but no transmission fluid dipstick. Grab the flashlight, find a little black cap way down inside the engine on the top of the transmission. Funny place for a dipstick, and it looks kinda funny, too. It screws in. Unscrew it and pull it out. It's not a dipstick. It's just a fill cap. Where's that silly dipstick?

****

Come on, Elio!

What a wonderful rant. It is hard to believe NOBODY who designed this car or approved the design thought about the need to monitor and change tranny fluid. It is beyond stupid bordering on criminal. Come on, Elio indeed!

 

[Elio Amazed]

What a wonderful rant. It is hard to believe NOBODY who designed this car or approved the design thought about the need to monitor and change tranny fluid. It is beyond stupid bordering on criminal. Come on, Elio indeed!

Nah Ekh, It's not stupid, except that it's not going to win anyone any converts.

You betcha they thought about it.
It's a win-win for the dealer chain and manufacturing cost.

 

[outsydthebox]

I dunno how you just found this out, unless you bought the car yesterday. I check all fluids the day I buy a car and no less than monthly after that.

You must own your own lift! That is the only way to access the "full level" plug. And to get a funnel into the "fill hole" ( where you would think the dipstick is...but isn't), several intake components must be removed.

 

[Muzhik]

You must own your own lift! That is the only way to access the "full level" plug.

No, it isn't. You could always dig one of those old-style "service pits" in your garage, so you can just drive the car in, pull out some boards, then climb down into the pit with your hanging light, and you're good to go!

 

[Rob Croson]

You must own your own lift! That is the only way to access the "full level" plug. And to get a funnel into the "fill hole" ( where you would think the dipstick is...but isn't), several intake components must be removed.

The fill hole on my Saturn L300 was quite conveniently located. I could actually pour the oil straight out of the bottle into the fill hole, if I was a bit steadier, and wanted to go real slow. As it was, the bottle kept "glugging" even though I was barely dripping it in. I sacrificed an old kitchen funnel. Maybe I don't have some particular option that would block it, or the engine model I have is a bit different than the one you had. I could quite easily see it getting blocked, as deep as it was inside the engine compartment.

No, it isn't. You could always dig one of those old-style "service pits" in your garage, so you can just drive the car in, pull out some boards, then climb down into the pit with your hanging light, and you're good to go!

That would be funny. More likely, given how often I would use it, if I were even inclined to do it, would be some kind of ramp onto some cinder block risers. Wouldn't really need much for the stuff I would be doing. But that's not something I'm all that interested in doing.

 

[CheeseheadEarl]

We've owned the car for 12 years. Change the oil whenever the light comes on. Add wiper fluid whenever the squirters stop squirting. Checked the brake fluid occasionally. Added some steering fluid when it started squealing while making sharp turns.

Other than that, nothing. My car is transportation, not occupation.

I confess. I'm a checker. Back when I was a kid, many of my beaters needed daily checks (and usually fills). In my world, a half hour a week checking fluids, tire pressures, etc. is as normal as taking out the trash or mowing the lawn.

You must own your own lift! That is the only way to access the "full level" plug. And to get a funnel into the "fill hole" ( where you would think the dipstick is...but isn't), several intake components must be removed.

No. I will someday though. If I had one of those cars, I'd check it while I had it up on jackstands when I rotated tires.

Some fills are a pain. My mower is like that. I use a gear oil bottle with a piece of rubber hose on the tip of it to get engine oil into it. A restaurant type ketchup bottle would be the same idea for those that don't know what a gear oil bottle looks like.

 

[BilgeRat]

Kind of sounds like we've hit the intersection of cost cutting and the majority of owners who just don't give a S@#$ about their vehicles... They're appliances, don'cha know...