Transmission fluid change or flush on Chevy Malibu

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At the beginning of this year I bought a 2006 Chevy Malibu LS, 2.2 Ecotec 4 cyl AT, with 112K miles. As it sits now it has almost 122K miles on it. Since I have owned it I have driven it 80% highway miles to work, and the previous owner claims that the car was used for mainly highway travel also. I know that if I want this car to last a while, a transmission fluid and filter change is in onder at the minimum.

I was planning on taking it to the Chevy dealer since they have a special going on to flush the transmission and change the fluid and filter for $110. The filter alone is $60, so that doesn't seem bad at all to me for $110. I have heard though that flushing transmission fluid from a higher mileage car isn't a good thing to do. Is there any truth at all to this? IMO it seems that getting the old, broken down fluid out of the differential and transmission will be nothing more than a benefit.

What do you all suggest doing on a car with this kind of mileage, do it myself or let the dealer do the flush on it?
 
The filter is $60? Isn't this a 4T65E? I can get a generic filter from advance for $15 or so.

No matter what you do it's a good idea. IMO I'd rather do a straight pan drop and refill.

I'd corner the guy and make sure the filter change is in writing on the repair order, so they don't just flush via cooler lines and walk away from it.
 
The oem filter is $28 on rock auto. aftermarket are $12. I pay even less.
http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/x,carcode,1432073,parttype,8600

Either way is better than letting old nasty fluid break down in your transmission. If the transmission is shifting fine, it will do nothing evil to change fluid. That is an old wives tale.
would u leave old oil in your car because it might hurt a bearing if you took it out. Just use common sense.
If the trans is shifting badly or slips , that is a different matter.

You could do it yourself for $50-60. dextron 6 is readily available and fairly cheap.
 
When I had my tranny oil changed at around 63K , the guy did 3 drop & fills & the oil s nice now , it was dark before these 3 drops & fills , I would suggest the same but you re the boss .
 
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Here's what I'd do. Drop the pan and filter, [or have someone do it] fill with fresh fluid and drive a bit. Extract the fluid or drop a tranny line, get as much fluid out as you can and refill. Take a drive and do it again. Take a drive and look at the color of the fluid, repeat if necessary. Add a bottle of LG red at your final fluid swap. You should be GTG at that point.
 
Originally Posted By: demarpaint
Here's what I'd do. Drop the pan and filter, [or have someone do it] fill with fresh fluid and drive a bit. Extract the fluid or drop a tranny line, get as much fluid out as you can and refill. Take a drive and do it again. Take a drive and look at the color of the fluid, repeat if necessary. Add a bottle of LG red at your final fluid swap. You should be GTG at that point.


I do the same, works well.
 
I do a pan drop (and usually a filter change) on the wifes van every 10K miles. Transmission service is the best money you can spend on a car IMHO.
 
I had the previous generation Malibu (03) and it didn't have the tranny dipstick...part of the growing "lifetime maintenance-free" concept that ultimately helps the trans overhaul business.

To fill mine, I think you had to add from the side or something strange, almost like a manual trans. I haven't had the car for over five years now.

Yours may be different, which I hope is the case. Check that before pulling the plug and the pan yourself.

Mine wasn't something to do on my own, in addition to being a company car, so I used an outside shop.

To my knowledge, those trans are durable. A fluid change now is a good idea, and I agree with the LG red comment. But even without LGR, definitely change it out.
 
Originally Posted By: eagle23
To fill mine, I think you had to add from the side or something strange, almost like a manual trans. I haven't had the car for over five years now.


I'll be doing my wife's '04 Maxx very soon. Fluid/filter change and then pull a bolt on the pass side, while filling on the driver's side, all while the car is level and at temp.
I'm very experienced with driveline work and am not looking forward to it.

To the OP: If your tranny does not have a dipstick and is filled in this fashion, I recommend collecting all the old fluid and measuring so you can add the same amount. In my case, if the tranny is cold and you remove the "sight" plug, fluid will just pour out. It has to be warm, even after the change.
 
Originally Posted By: Zaedock


To the OP: If your tranny does not have a dipstick and is filled in this fashion, I recommend collecting all the old fluid and measuring so you can add the same amount. In my case, if the tranny is cold and you remove the "sight" plug, fluid will just pour out. It has to be warm, even after the change.


That's how I did my Jeep, but I would strongly recommend confirming that the fluid was properly filled before starting the project. Chrysler uses a special dipstick, I took mine to a buddy mechanic that was able to confirm the level was correct before I started the job. I made my own dipstick to eliminate the need for the dealer or a shop to check the ATF level in my Jeep. Cost cutting sucks for the consumer. JMO
 
I omitted in my post that the vehicle must also be idling when the level is checked.

So, level, idling, up to temp, sight plug on pass side, fill on drivers.

Only in a GM.
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After all the trouble we had initially (for those who remember us suing GM), the car has been pretty good. Good in snow, good mileage, and *knock on wood* not too many additional issues. I just did both front control arms and outer tie rods for about $180.00. The arms are typically $170 a piece. Oh, I did the pass-side wheel bearing too. At 101,000 miles, I guess that's not too bad for a commuter/go-getter living it's life on doo dee western Mass roads.
 
I believe you have a 4T45E (and not a 4T65E).
I recently dropped the pan and changed the fluid and filter on my 2005 Ion with this set-up.
There is no drain bolt so you have to be careful dropping the pan (to avoid a mess) but I got approx. 7 quarts out (of a 10 qt. system).

I cleaned the pan and magnets and added LG red with the new fluid (Shell 'formerly approved for Dex III').
It is important to measure what comes out because checking the level involves using a lift (the car must be level and raised).

PS: I bought the Saturn from the original owner with 25K and changed the fluid at 31K. I was surprised how clean and RED the old fluid came out. I do believe this is a well designed transmission and that you should service it for long life.
 
Originally Posted By: pbm
I believe you have a 4T45E (and not a 4T65E).
I recently dropped the pan and changed the fluid and filter on my 2005 Ion with this set-up..


Yep, it's the 4T45E. Good little engine/trans combo. Only marginally awful to do an ATF change on if you follow procedure to a "T". I normally don't bother with the level check. I just put in the amount I took out. I've seen aftermarket pans avail for the 4T45E with built-in drain plugs, but they were pricy. Installing a universal plug is an option, but is it worth the hassle? I dunno.

074T45MN5LoR-1.jpg


Joel
 
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Originally Posted By: Slick17601
Originally Posted By: demarpaint
Here's what I'd do. Drop the pan and filter, [or have someone do it] fill with fresh fluid and drive a bit. Extract the fluid or drop a tranny line, get as much fluid out as you can and refill. Take a drive and do it again. Take a drive and look at the color of the fluid, repeat if necessary. Add a bottle of LG red at your final fluid swap. You should be GTG at that point.


I do the same, works well.


I do the same and I have a near identical Malibu (05 with same engine/transmission) I currently have Supertech Dex VI and a bottle of LGR. Great combo. Shifts are crisp and never any hesistation or shift guessing
 
Yep, this car does have the 4T45E transmission. Its the same as the one pictured. IMO its really dumb how GM has it setup, no dipstick and no drain plug. Makes me miss how easy my 93 Saturn was to change the trans fluid.


I will probably just make an attempt to change it myself, no use paying the dealer. Since there is no drain plug, I am sure its going to be a challenge to keep from getting trans fluid all over the place. I am going to do like Zaedock mentioned, and drain what I can and refill with the same amout. Do you all have any suggestions on what I can use to collect all of the fluid and mesure it out with?
 
My wife's car is a 2006 Chevy Malibu Maxx. We bought the car a year ago as a beater to get her back and forth to work, about 8 miles a day. It currently has 188k miles on it and I would like to see it hit 200k before I scrap it, but I am not willing to put a bunch of money into it so I would like some constructive advice.

I am a computer repair guy with enough auto repair knowledge to make a real mechanic mad, so feel free to bash me for my obstinance and bad decisions before providing your constructive advice. I have included a lot of detail because I don't know what will strike a chord.

This adventure started when the car began lurching every once in awhile while accelerating. Not very much, but just enough to notice. Felt like the transmission slipping a little to me. It was also shifting a little hard into reverse and drive when sitting still. It has no dipstick. Sealed, dealer service, all that jazz. I will not go into my thoughts on that. So, I did my online research and found out that there is a sight hole on the tranny. Everything I read said that you make sure the car is running, at operating temperature, and level and add fluid until it starts coming out the sight hole. OK, sounds simple enough. I planned to top it off with LG Red, drive it for a week, then drop the pan, change the filter and refill it with new fluid.

I have a nice level spot where I can pull up over a depression and slide under the car. I ran it to operating temperature, shifted through the gears slowly several times, and crawled under with my trusty drain pan. I started loosening the sight plug and fluid started dribbling out. I figured someone had added an extra quart sometime, so I let it dribble... and dribble... and dribble.

After two quarts, I went back to the computer and reread all of the information I had found, thinking I had missed something. Again, everything indicated adding fluid until it comes out the sight hole, indicating that it is full. (All the web pages and diagrams are listed below.)

Back under the car, I kept draining. I ended up with over 6 quarts of fluid. OK, I am questioning everything now, but figuring somebody just overfilled it since there is no dipstick and information is so hard to find. I shifted through the gears, and it was smooth as glass (not good as you will see). I put it in reverse and backed up a few yards, then pulled forward. It seemed sluggish. Back and forth just a few yards several times. About the fourth attempt to pull forward, it would not move. Engine revs, no pull. Well, obviously that amount of fluid was necessary. Not having planned well apparently, I did not have 6 quarts of new fluid and the wife took my truck to work while I worked on this. I added the quart of LG Red and the one new quart I had on hand, then used coffee filters to filter the old fluid before adding it back in. It is dark, but still red and no funny smell. (Drain pan was new and clean, so no weird contaminants.)

It started pulling again, thank God. I drove it slowly around the block a couple times, but it keeps dropping into limp mode. I have a BT OBDII scanner. The output is included below. (Ignore the P0401. That is for a different day.)

QUESTIONS:
1) What am I doing wrong on the fluid level check? I followed all instructions and when I get the level at the sight hole the car stops moving. (Photo of sight hole included just in case I am opening the wrong one.)
2) Is the P0756 something I damaged in this process, or possibly the original problem?
3) Why are there 6 quarts of fluid ABOVE the sight hole?

References:
http://www.chevymalibuforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11056
http://forums.edmunds.com/discussion/140...smission-issues
http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=2750030
http://www.automotiveforums.com/t705666-...malibu_lt_.html
http://www.cargurus.com/Cars/Discussion-c3744_ds535807
http://www.cargurus.com/Cars/Discussion-t2268_ds569421
http://www.2carpros.com/questions/chevrolet-malibu-1997-chevy-malibu-checking-fluid
http://www.fixya.com/cars/t3657212need_see_diagram_showing_location


Error Codes
P0401
Exhaust Gas Recirculation Flow Insufficient Detected


P0449
Evaporative Emission System Vent Valve/Solenoid Circuit
Ambient air temperature (AAT) 77 °F
Catalyst Temperature Bank 2, Sensor 1 (CT21) 58.0 °F
Distance traveled since codes cleared (CD) 0 mi
Accelerator pedal position E (APPE) 0.0 %
PIDs supported [41 - 60] 01111110110100000000000000000000
Commanded throttle actuator (CTA) 16.07 %
Barometric pressure (BP) 1.0069101678183614 Atm
Short term fuel % trim Bank 1 (STFT1) 0.0 %
Relative throttle position (RTP) 0.0 %
Commanded evaporative purge (CEP) 0.0 %
Absolute load value (ALV) 21.96078431372549 %
Engine coolant temperature (ECT) 71 °F
Intake manifold absolute pressure (MAP) 0.29615004935834155 Atm
Vehicle speed (Speed) 0 mi/h
Long term fuel % trim Bank 2 (LTFT2) -3.12 %
Long term fuel % trim Bank 1 (LTFT1) -6.25 %
Catalyst Temperature Bank 1, Sensor 1 (CT11) 58.0 °F
MAF air flow rate (MAF) 7.23 g/s
Absolute throttle position B (ATPB) 0.0 %
EGR Error (EGRE) 0.0 %
Calculated engine load value (EngineLoad) 25.09 %
Command equivalence ratio (CER) 0.86 N/A
Timing advance (TA) 8.0 °
Engine RPM (RPM) 1065 rpm
# of warm-ups since codes cleared (NWarmUps) 1 N/A
Short term fuel % trim Bank 2 (STFT2) 0.0 %
Throttle position (TP) 16.07 %
Control module voltage (CMV) 11.753 V
PIDs supported [21 - 40] 00000000000111111110000000011001
Intake air temperature (IAT) 77 °F
Fuel system status (FSS) Openloop:insufficientenginetemperature
Evap. System Vapor Pressure (VP) 0.23692003948667326 Atm*E-03
Accelerator pedal position D (APPD) 0.0 %
Commanded EGR (EGR) 0.0 %
Fuel Level Input (FLI) 67.45 %


P0756
Shift Solenoid "B" Performance or Stuck Off

2006_Maxx_Trans_Sight_Hole.jpg
 
The correct sight hole will be on the passenger side of the transmission, just forward of the output shaft. An 11mm or 7/16" socket is used.

edit: Bad description. Made sense to me when I typed it. It will be on the passenger side of the case, approximately 2.5" above the pan.
 
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You can also look on page one of this thread for a visual. The arrow is somewhat misleading, as it shows the check point as being just barely above the pan. The idea is right, just too low.
 
I have an 05 Malibu and for $110 that isnt a bad deal. I have done pan drops and filter changes myself but that is hard to beat for the money. I say go for it. Find out what kind of fluid they are putting in there. I switched to Dex VI and I felt like the transmission didnt shift as nicely as when I would flush it with III. Changed it back.
 
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