Difficulty: Moderately Easy
Things You’ll Need:
- Rag
- ATF
- Long, thin funnel
Step1
Look in your car owner's manual to determine whether the engine should be on or off when checking the ATF. On most cars, the engine must be fully warmed up and running. On some, however, the engine should be warm but turned off.
Step2
Open the hood and locate the ATF dipstick at the back of the engine, on the opposite side of the belts. The top of the dipstick may be labeled.
Step3
Pull out the dipstick and wipe it clean with a rag.
Step4
Put the dipstick back in the hole. Make sure you push it all the way back in.
Step5
Pull out the dipstick and check the fluid level. All ATF dipsticks have lines indicating full and low levels.
Step6
Pour the ATF into the dipstick hole if the level is low. Use a long, thin funnel and add 1/4 qt. (250 ml) at a time if the level is not at the full line. Check the fluid level each time to avoid overfilling.
Step7
Push the dipstick back into the hole and close the hood.
Step8
Service your transmission every 24,000 miles (40,000 km) or every two years, whichever comes first. A transmission service includes replacing the filter, draining and replacing the ATF, and replacing the transmission-pan gasket. This service is not part of a regular tune-up; you must specifically ask for it.
Comments
Anonymous said
on 8/8/2006 It is vital that you use only MOPAR or Chrysler licensed (Valvoline comes to mind) ATF +3 or ATF +4, whichever that manual or dipstick says. On some models in the early 90's (K-cars, minivans, etc.) the manual or dipstick says to use Dexron when ATF +3 is not available, this is wrong and will cause damage to the transmission. Under no circumstance add anything but MOPAR ATF to a Chrysler vehicle. Generally, models after 2000 use exclusively ATF +4 while older models will use the +3. ATF +4 can be added to ATF +3 applications to top up, but do not add +3 to anything that already had +4 or came with +4 from the factory. This is the number one cause of failed transmissions.