Adventures in Parts-bin Engineering: The Saturn Vue Transmission Fluid Change

Last week, I noticed a new stain on the driveway in the spot where my wife parks our Saturn Vue Hybrid. A quick sniff test revealed it to be automatic transmission fluid and an inspection of the Vue showed a leak at the transmission pan gasket. The car has just crossed the 100,000 mile mark and the worn gasket decided to accelerate my plans for a transmission fluid change.

Like many modern cars, the transmission dipstick is absent on the Vue, so checking the level is not a quick task. Adding fluid is even more time consuming and requires removal and disassembly of multiple components just to get to the fill plug.

I went out and picked up a filter, gasket, and some ATF and decided to tackle the convoluted process of this transmission fluid change.

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  • Lou_BC “We are always listening to the customer. "You sayin' the baller/gangsta types don't want Escalades on 24's that don't make vroom vroom rumbly sounds?
  • AZFelix I shall fully endorse the use of autonomous cars on public roads once they have successfully completed my proposed Turing test for self driving vehicles. This test requires the successful completion of an at fault incident and accident free 24/7 driving session in Buffalo and upstate New York from October 1st until March 31st, and throughout the city of Jakarta, Indonesia for one consecutive year. Only Level 1 and Level 5 vehicles are permissible.
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  • Steve Jacobs I've got a bright Red Kia EV6. Easy to find in a parking lot.
  • MKizzy Gently used EV6's under $30K aren't hard to find and have the range and style to almost intrigue me into taking the EV plunge. However, I'll wait for a mid-sized non-luxury EV sedan or wagon which is not a tablet housing a car (Model 3) or sacrifices too much usable space for the sake of style (Ioniq 6) before I go electric. I'm not holding my breath.