2008 Pontiac G8 GT: Dipstick? What Dipstick?

Dunno. This has changed from an owner's manual-level job to a shop-manual job. And I don't have the shop manual. Or a lift.

And the dipstick tube was always the way you added fluid. I'm not even sure where it goes in now, or if you have to pump it in. My transmission funnel is obsolete, I guess.

These long life fills are pure bull.. they are NOT long life! You should replace your ATF fluid every 40K/50K regardless of how you drive.

Well, when the parts are good enough that they last longer than they used to, you have to come up with a new way to drive the need for replacements. That's just my conspiracy-theory view of the matter, but look at the "free maintenance" programs you get with some cars now. Not only are they not really free, since the cost is almost certainly built into the price of the car, but they also magically increased maintenance intervals. They get to do the minimum maintenance to keep your car trouble-free while under warranty, but then it's anyone's guess how well it will fare after that.

As I get off my soap box, I'll ask if anyone has done a study of how adhering to the free maintenance schedule compares to a more regular maintenance schedule. I suppose it would be pretty hard to do in any manner approaching science, but I want 10,000 mile oil change intervals in performance cars explained to me.

My Cobalt has no ATF dipstick either. Drives me nuts. The manual says the only reason for fluid loss is a leak. Well how are you supposed to confirm a leak leading to fluid loss without being able to check the level? This is nothing more than a favor to the dealers to drive more traffic to them and prevent DIY maintenance. You would think a manufacturer trying to improve its reliability image would make it easier for people to check these things, so they can keep everything in top shape.

@nealibob,

A bunch of Bimmerfest members have posted their Blackstone oil analyses and to date I have never seen anything of concern for the 10-15k changes. As far as I'm concerned, anything less than 10k on BMWs is unnecessary. I can't speak for all the others out there.

At least BMW's free maintenance program has NOT resulted in longer service intervals. My 2000 328Ci had the CBS system and that was long before free maintenance, and it asked for oil changes around 12-15k. My 2008 335i with CBS and free maintenance is asking for its first change at 12k. I've owned multiple BMWs in between that corraborate this experience.

Manual transmissions, there's a fill plug as well as a drain plug and you'd check the level by putting your finger into the fill plug (during filling, you'd fill until it overflowed the fill port).

I'm wondering if the G8's ATF procedure is similar. But as Dan says, this is no longer in the realm of the owner's manual and is now in the shop manual domain.

Stupid stupid stupid stupid. I didn't even realize that. Thanks Dan.

And I have to ask: Are you the only one in the office who uses MS Paint for your pictures? I really like how you use it whenever you do them (namely the suspension walk-arounds) but I think it is odd no one else does.

Actually, I use a freeware program called Irfanview. It's been around for over 10 years, and it's a compact program that loads in a snap. It's distributed through CNET, so it's legit.

I only discovered the paint dialog box that resides within Irfanview a few months ago. It's the "Show Paint Dialog" command under the "Edit" pull-down.

Ah yes, I used to use irfanview. I found it way back when I used myspace and they had really small picture file size limits. They linked to it, and actually it is pretty good.

Sadly, my Charger has the same problem. And I am a compulsive fluid level checker. I think transmission fluid is the only one like this though. All the others at least have reservoirs I can see and add myself. I still don't like it though.

I think this is also to prevent idiot screw ups related to not knowing the difference between the ATF dipstick/filler and the oil.

Not to mention most drivers wouldn't check it properly (warm, idling in neutral for most cars).

I suppose the most egregious flaw on Pontiac's behalf was not offering a manual transmission on the G8 GT. AT's a dealbreaker for me, as is the $40k++ price on the GXP.

I don't like the dipstickless trend either. And BMW doesn't use dipsticks on some of its newer engines now, such as the 3.0 twin turbo used in its x35 badged cars. Do they really expect that the electronic sensors to display the oil level on the instrument panel are going to be 100% reliable, all the time, for the life of the engine?

That first picture reminds me of the "If it's not Scottish, it's CRAP!" skit from SNL in the '90s.

My 300e requires that after checking the transmission fluid, you wipe the dip-stick with a lint-free towel, preferably leather. There's something I really like about that.

My e46 doesn't have one either. I hope GM hasn't gone down the lifetime filling route as well. Lifetime means either the lifetime of the transmission without a fluid change or until the day the warranty expires.

Leave it the alone.

My 2007 Pacifica (6AT) doesn't have a dipstick either... it does have the tube but just a plug. The owners manual say's nothing about checking the fluid. I asked the dealer about it, and I could get a "special tool" to check the fluid or request it checked during service. I was so mad that I had to pay extra for the dipstick I didn't even get a price.

@bimmerjay: that is good to hear. Maybe I will scale back my compulsive oil changes a bit, but I do not think I can talk myself into anything less than 5k. :)

All I know is that if Audi of America, who notoriously sucks at honoring warranty claims says I can go 10k between changes, then that's what I'm sticking with. Back in simpler times when I drove a few different American cars I would change the oil myself every 5k. Now that it takes 25 tools to loosen this and take off that there's no way in hell I'm touching anything because I don't have the tools.

on my g8 there was a service bulletin applied to the tcm/pcm that has greatly reduced the hesitation from a stop. edmunds might check with the local service department to see if they have all the electronic updates applied to their car...

Sucks..but i'm pretty sure auto transmission dipsticks are pretty much non-existent on cars from the past few years

Any car with an Aisin 6 spped autobox has one. And that's quite a few.

I saw this article and decided to check out my new car- a G37. It does not have a dipstick (auto) either. I looked in the manual and the stick does have a reservoir. So, there is one more to add.

On BMW, they are changing several things on their cars to force people to the service bay. I was intent on buying a BMW 3 series. I spent 6 months shopping and while I was at it, looked at used models as well to see how they age. Some of the bimmers were ticking badly ('07 certified models 23K-30K miles) so asked the mechanic about it and he said that I could have the valves bled under warranty if I bought one. He said that it was a regular occurrance! For that reason and more I bought the Infiniti. BMW has changed. I believe that they are focused on the "eternal lease" program versus ownership and reliability. The Infiniti drives every bit as well as the BMW IMO but I hope that the dependability is there as well.

bimmerjay,
I will mention that my wife's X3 requires a 7,000-8,000 mile OCI. By that mileage the TBN is always below 1 whether I use M1 0W-40 or 5W-40 TDT. Wear metals are below the universal averages and no coolant or fuel is found in the oil either. It's weird. At least it's cheap and easy to change the oil in my driveway...

I read that linked G8 thread and there were a few people in there saying that the transmission will only lose fluid if it leaks.

I'm not much of a mechanical guy, so can anyone comment on the validity of this? Will a normally operating transmission use up fluid?

I don't know if the answer to that question matters, Doug. The same concern exists whether it leaks or is consumed. If it leaks -- a drop here, a drop there -- how will you ever know if you can't check it?

At least some (but not all) of the other cars mentioned above provide an electronic means of checking the level. It's not ideal -- you still can't examine the color of the fluid or do a sniff test -- but at least it's something.

@emale: Thanks for the head's-up. I hadn't heard that. I'll look into it.

Out of curiosity, what are the factory recommended change intervals?

That is definitely weird, and I don't like it either. The Aussies do some strange things down there.

While many posters here seemed shocked about sealed transmission being used and I can certainly understand why because it's not their job to fully examine and understand most cars in the market, but you so called "Director" of Vehicle Testing was having trouble with this was certainly quite disturbing. After reading posts by several editors on Edmunds, my assumption was right. You guys really didn't have much knowledge about automobiles, and it must have been very easy to get a job as an editor now-a-day over at Edmunds.
Sealed transmissions have been used in domestic vehicles for AT LEAST five years now. Is it a scam by the car companies to use these transmissions, maybe or maybe not, since the dealerships have their own equipments to check and change fluid, and just about you cannot get them serviced anywhere else (independent shops).
I might be wrong, but my understanding is that these sealed transmissions do need to be serviced at a 100000 miles interval, and 50000 if deemed necessary (a lot of hard driving).

My 2002 Volvo C70 doesn't have one either. The only car I ever had to worry about checking the ATF fluid on was my 1st car, 1983 Buick Regal(V6 2-tone brown 4-door HOT! LOL!) But I must admit, I bought this car used and would have liked to have seen the fluid to see how dark it was.

I've pretty much got into the habbit of having the ATF service done on any car i've ever owned, every year, after 40k or so. Not the cheapest service to have odne yearly, but when it comes to ur AT, better safe than sorry!