Vaala

A lazy approach yes, but less work and less mess. Has anyone tried this? is there any sort of screen preventing getting a small tube in there?

thoiboi

yes i've done it with my mityvac

ryuflatron

Woke up this morning and found out my tranny fluid is low. Thinking about fill it through dipstick but I have doubt in my mind, now I read this thread.
So, is it okay if I fill my tranny fluid through dipstick for FWD

horseshoez

iTrader: (2)

While certainly acceptable, do you have a small enough funnel to accomplish this?

losiglow

iTrader: (1)

The dipstick hole is larger on this car than most others. Even the common oil fill funnel will work. However, if you pour the ATF too quickly, the air in the transmission pan has no where to go and will result in a big bubble pushing its way out the dipstick tube. You'll get gushing ATF coming back up, usually making its way between the tube and funnel resulting in it running down the tube and making a mess. Whereas if you do it through the 17mm fill bolt on top of the transmission, there's plenty of room between the hole and funnel for air to easily escape.

jjrphs

I would only echo losiglow's advice...the dip stick hole is large enough in diameter to accept an ATF fill funnel, but you're apt to make a mess for the reasons given.

jim_c

Well, ….not really.
The transaxle, like all transmissions, has a vent hole for air to escape.
In fact, one of the maintenance items you should do is to make sure the air vent is clear and functional.
It is perfectly OK to fill via the dipstick; this is the way most automatics were done for years.
As mentioned though, you should pour slowly.
I used to put a short tight section of rubber hose over the dipstick tube, then put the stem of the funnel into the hose.
JC

Unknownerror0010011

All you need to fill the tranny the proper way is a 17mm socket, an extension, a ratchet, a funnel, and maybe a breaker bar if its never been opened. The fill plug is ontop the transmission its really easy to get too. You could fill it through the dipstick tube if you really want but it would take longer and possibly make a mess.

losiglow

iTrader: (1)

^ This

I used to go the dipstick route but then changed my Pilot's ATF, which required removing the fill bolt due to the dipstick tube not being very wide like the TL's. I realized it was so easy that I should just do it that way for the TL as well. Never done it through the dipstick tube since.

Of course, you might have to remove/replace the plastic shroud to get to the fill bolt. I took all that crap off the same day I bought the car so I don't deal with it.

ryuflatron

Changed my tranny fluid yesterday using dipstick hole and used a DYI funnel made from a liquid dropper bought from Daiso. It took time to pour around 3.5 L but it worked