Gents,
I went and bought a Chevy Bolt. This is GM's all electric car (238 miles range).
It's transmission couldn't be simpler. It just a 2-stage helical reduction gear set, reducing the electric motor's output by a ratio of 7.05 to 1.
GM uses Dexron HP* ("High Performance," backward compatible with Dexron VI and Dexron III), about 3 liters.
The fluid is, as far as I can tell, what's used to cool the motor and lubricate the gears, bearings, and differential. It's supposed to be "lifetime" fluid. There are no clutches in the transmission, it's just all gears.
I've had Priuses in the past - they have a similar setup - gears and an electric motor, no clutches. The Prius uses Toyota's WS transmission fluid, and Toyota also says it's "lifetime" fluid. With the Prius, it's a good idea to replace the transmission fluid, as used fluid analyses have shown the fluid to be in bad shape at about ~30,000 miles. After this change, it appears the next fill is good for "lifetime."
So, what say you? Should I replace the Dexron HP fluid once early on? Will doing so get rid of metal shavings that occur during the break-in of the gear set? Or, has BITOG gotten under my skin, and should I just leave well-enough alone?
Love to know your thoughts!
* It appears that Dexron HP is a Full-Synthetic (in the German sense of the definition).
I went and bought a Chevy Bolt. This is GM's all electric car (238 miles range).
It's transmission couldn't be simpler. It just a 2-stage helical reduction gear set, reducing the electric motor's output by a ratio of 7.05 to 1.
GM uses Dexron HP* ("High Performance," backward compatible with Dexron VI and Dexron III), about 3 liters.
The fluid is, as far as I can tell, what's used to cool the motor and lubricate the gears, bearings, and differential. It's supposed to be "lifetime" fluid. There are no clutches in the transmission, it's just all gears.
I've had Priuses in the past - they have a similar setup - gears and an electric motor, no clutches. The Prius uses Toyota's WS transmission fluid, and Toyota also says it's "lifetime" fluid. With the Prius, it's a good idea to replace the transmission fluid, as used fluid analyses have shown the fluid to be in bad shape at about ~30,000 miles. After this change, it appears the next fill is good for "lifetime."
So, what say you? Should I replace the Dexron HP fluid once early on? Will doing so get rid of metal shavings that occur during the break-in of the gear set? Or, has BITOG gotten under my skin, and should I just leave well-enough alone?
Love to know your thoughts!
* It appears that Dexron HP is a Full-Synthetic (in the German sense of the definition).
