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Checking cvt fluid level

93K views 17 replies 13 participants last post by  Sandstone 
#1 ·
How do you check the cvt trans fluid level as there is no visible dipstick.
 
#3 ·
Jeep, in its wisdom, has made that a dealer only thing.

They treat the CVT as a sealed unit, not to be serviced other than the dealer fluid and filter indicated in your manual.

Any other thing wrong with it and they toss it and sell you a new one.
This has to do with the contract they have with the company that makes the tranny...or so I read.

Here is the thing, its a Nissan/Mitsubishi owned company, JATCO, so the trans could be fixed (out of warranty) by a Nissan or Mitsubishi dealer.

http://www.allpar.com/mopar/transmissions/CVT.html

The dealer does have a dipstick and, again, I read somewhere, probably here, that you can buy one for $60+.

But why?
 
#4 ·
Found some more:

Checking the fluid in the CVT
isn’t straightforward. In fact, the procedure
follows along the same lines
as the NAG (722.6) and even the new
62TE. There’s no dipstick; customers
are encouraged to take their vehicle to
a repair facility every 15,000 miles to
have a trained technician check their
fluid. A special tool, Miller part number
9336, is used to check the level, which
depends on fluid temperature. Since the
fluid level can change almost 12mm
from 70ºF to 190ºF, the level must be
checked with the 9336 dipstick and
cross-referenced to a chart or table.
From the bottom of the internal stop the
fluid level should be:
Temperature High Low
77ºF 38mm 25mm
138ºF 42mm 29mm
191ºF 46mm 34mm
The fluid is expected to last the life
of the vehicle, but maintenance schedule
B (which pertains to most vehicles)
would require the fluid to be changed
every 60,000 miles. According to
DaimlerChrysler, schedule B includes
vehicles driven under any of these conditions:
• At temperatures below 32ºF (0ºC).
• Stop and go.
• Extensive engine idling.
• Dusty conditions.
• Short trips of less than 10
miles (16 km).
• More than 50% at sustained
high speeds during hot weather,
above 90ºF (32ºC).
 
#5 ·
It's funny cause I was trying to check it today and I turned the plug out and I was like wtf where's the dipstick? It's pretty ridiculous that you have to bring it to the dealership just to check the levels. I feel like this is just another way for them to make money. It's completely unnecessary give me a f***in dipstick and let me check it when I want to, like how cars used to be made. This is a joke.
 
#7 · (Edited)
Yea, you can use the oil dipstick, but it's only going to tell you that it is staying the same. Whether it's low or high, you need Jeep to check it. Here's what I do though:

The CVT fluid is very temperature sensitive, so you want to always check it after a good long drive (like after your drive to work or some similar long commute). You want to also park in a level spot, and in the same spot each time you check it.

Leave the engine running and put the transmission in park. Set the handbrake as well for safety.

Pull the CVT fluid tube plug and pull your oil dipstick. I clean off the dipstick using a paper towel with some windex on it, just to make sure I don't add a little engine oil into the cvt fluid.

Insert the oil dipstick into the trans tube and fully seat the handle into the top of the tube (you can't push it down any further). Now pull it out and read the level. On mine, it came to just below the "low oil" mark on the dipstick. This was a few days after I took delivery of the Jeep, back in 2008. If it's very cold or warm outside, expect it to move slightly up or down on the dipstick, but it should still be visible.

Again, this won't tell you if it's at the correct level, but it will let you watch that it doesn't change drastically. If you notice a drastic change, get to a dealer and have them check the fluid level.
 
#9 ·
My bad! Yes that is how I check mine. I'll edit my reply above to include that.
 
#10 ·
If you scratch some measurements onto the backside of your oil dipstick, there is no reason it wouldnt work as well as the factory tool. Its calibrated in millimeters. Compare the level to the chart in the service manual. For an accurate temperature to compare too, let it sit 8 hours during the day and consider it ambient temperature.
 
#11 ·
see ww2.justanswer.com/uploads/ebrock63/2012-06-15_220310_2012-06-15_160155.png
see this chart.
I used flat stiff metal wire with a thermocouple from my fancy multimeter. Car was running and in park.
I measured 41mm of fluid on the wire and 143F so I was in range. Make sure the wire is at least 22" long so you can hit the bottom while still holding the wire. 2008 Jeep Compass with 2.4L
 
#17 ·
Sandstone, thank you very much for the information you provided in the previous thread that just was locked regarding the issue of the CVT2L transmission oil cooler filter. I just telephoned my Jeep dealer, gave them my VIN, and was told that for the 2014 Jeep Patriot FDII CVT2L transmission, the transmission oil cooler filter is permanent and to be reused. I should have asked for a part number. This might explain why everytime I enter my vehicle info for the paper type filter, I am told it does not fit my Patriot. Very strange. I cannot find a part diagram for the 2014 CVT2L that shows that filter.
 
#18 ·
Your welcome.

If the filter is permanent and to be reused there should still be a part number for it, as well as a way to clean it.

The 2014 service manual doesn't mention either, and doesn't call for the cooler filter to be replaced/serviced when the CVT fluid is changed.
The only filter mentioned in the fluid change procedure is the pan strainer/pick-up screen. The same is true going back to the 2008 service manual.

The only mention of the cooler filter in the 2014 manual that I could find is in the transmission disassembly / reassembly steps.

I checked an online dealer parts catalog and there's no cooler filter listed for either 2007, 2010 or 2014.

Perhaps this is why there's confusion among dealers.
 
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