Can someone please explain where the fluid level should show on the dipstick? I've been checking it once a month for the last 3 months and it just doesn't seem like there's enough in there. Checked it today when I got to work, I drove about 45 minutes through city traffic, temp today was +1C (34F). Just the tip of the dipstick is red, no fluid (other then residue) on either the "cold" or "hot" sections. It's the same when I check it with everything cold (before I drive for the first time that day).

Either the Mercon V is incredibly stable and doesn't expand much with heat, or my tranny has been under filled since I bought the truck (3 years).

Yes, I have checked it off and on over this time but never really worried about it. Just want to find out if this is normal or not.

 

So nobody has an answer to this huh? This is a mystery worthy of Sherlock Holmes.

 

You are checking it with the engine at idle, hot in park, right?

It should be in the middle of the crosshatches, just above the first stepped portion of the stick.

 

Yes, yes, and yes.

That's what I thought, so I guess it is low. Thanks Quintin, I'll be off to buy some Mercon V tomorrow after work.