2012 Chevy Malibu ATF D&F

[2K2AcuraTL]

Greetings Gents,
Just did a drain and fill on wife's 2012 Chevy Malibu, with the 4 cylinder engine, this was my M-I-Law's and last drain and fill was in 2016 at the dealer.... well overdue..
Fluid drained out like engine OCI, no magnet on this plug, unable to tell how much material was in suspension.
Here is my dilemma... manual says its a 5lt D&F........ 3.5L came out.. so 3.5 L went back in..
YouTube videos all point to a oil level check plug behind the left wheel.. it just was nowhere to be found...!?!?

Do i leave it as is... or add the missing 1.5 l..???
What would you do in my shoes??
TIA,
J

 

[JTK]

Is this the 6T40 six speed auto? I have two of those in my personal fleet. I do ~4.5qt drain and fills on them. They're not that sensitive. The level check plug is identical to the drain plug, it's just on the side of the case near where the front left axle inserts into the case.

 

[2K2AcuraTL]

Is this the 6T40 six speed auto? I have two of those in my personal fleet. I do ~4.5qt drain and fills on them. They're not that sensitive. The level check plug is identical to the drain plug, it's just on the side of the case near where the front left axle inserts into the case.

yes its the 6 speed.. ok 4.5 qt is 4.25 L, so i could be good for another 750ml..
yah.. I spent some time with a strong flashlight looking for that plug.... ill look again on a nicer day, I suspect it could use another D&F, that oil was nasty.. Good to hear its not that critical.
Cheers

 

[Hall]

That's the same transmission that Ford uses but calls it a 6F35. Even with Ford, they moved that check-level plug in different years. It's a rather small hex head fastener, as I recall, like 8 or 10mm. You can reach it if you crank the steering wheel fully right or left (can't remember), otherwise if you remove the wheel, you have to make sure it's level (easy on a lift, not as easy on a jack or jack stands).

 

[2K2AcuraTL]

Alright folks.. A slight update.. did another drain & fill.. fluid better but still nasty..
so... pic 1 is what I see right off the bat, so pull up the drapes and looked deeper.. not where I expected to find it.
This time, leveled and dropped ~ 4.5 liters... so I filed 4lt. and started the car... looked underneath and there is 1 lt of fresh fluid on the floor... arrrrrrgh.....
The manual sais 5lt.... from what i can estimate... D&F is 3.5...again.

 

[Silverado12]

Did you have the motor running when you made your fluid level check? It's supposed to be running and warm.

 

[2K2AcuraTL]

yes, I added fluid [lost some ATF ] then started the car, as I didnt want to start the car with trans empty,
Then, i added maybe 2-3 oz of ATF, it all came out as well.