VW, ruotan 2012, v6.
Families car, always had issues with both engine and transmission. So I decided to help out with the weather being warmish In an attempt to change the oil, I drained transmission fluid by accident. I caught it pretty quickly and closed it back up before it drained all the way.
I measured 2 quarts estimate emptied. It's an estimate because of course some of it has to spill and drip anywhere but the draining pan. I filled it back with 2 quarts. Followed some tutorials online to use the oil dipstick to test the level after a 30 minute suburban drive.
The level is higher then the videos indicate it should be.(As though the engine is off and cold, uncycled gears). What's weirder is, it's super clean. The fluid in the car is very dirty however. Shouldn't the fluid cycle through the system? Why does it seem like what I poured is isolated? This is my 4th time doing a drain and fill so I understand the basic protocol for it. what is going on with this car? Every video I check makes it seem like it's over filled but I returned what came out. Furthermore it doesn't appear to be mixing with the rest of the fluid in the transmission system. It looks so clean on the dip stick but the fluid was so dirty.
It's winter and cold. Did I simply not drive it fast and long enough? Usually 20-30 minutes is good enough for a tranny fluid check.
According to specifications in the repair manual at charm.li when refilling the transmission the capacity is 5.2 liters.
@chucktobias so because I realized the tranny fluid quickly I plugged it back up before it dropped all 5 quarts. Which makes the stick reading even more perplexing to me. I drove it around for a good 30 minutes, cycled through the gears and the stick comes out with a teasing that doesn't make sense. Not only does it look super full like it's never been running, but it's also crispy clean and red. As though it's not mixing with the old dirty fluid that remains in the car. It just doesn't make any sense.
@skmiles_away I'm not familiar with that transmission so cannot say from personal experience. However, the repair manual states that refilling the trans (presumably after fully draining what's in the pan) takes 5.2 liters. So in theory if you drain the pan and then refill with 5.2 liters of fluid it should be the correct amount. (You might be able to verify this information at a VW dealer.)
The other issues would probably be best addressed in a VW-specific forum where there is likely a better chance of finding people that have specific experience with your vehicle.
Here's the thing. The only way you'll ever find out if the stupid thing is correctly filled is by going to a Volkswagen mechanic who has a bunch of specialized equipment where he can do all kinds of testing and then telling you whether it's too full or not. You guessed on what you put in and who knows if that was even correct in the first place since they don't have dipsticks on them. That's the hassle with modern transmissions. You're guessing if it was full in the first place correctly. Since there's no dipstick you can't measure it correctly. Is the old ones did. Forcing you to go to a dealership. Now if you had a brand new car and then say a 30,000 mi you drained it measured it exactly and put the same amount back in. Yeah it would be correct. But once they age who knows what's been done to it and even if they leak or not. And the only way to tell if it's wool is with a dealer scan tool and a bunch of crazy driving instructions you have to do in order to check it. And it also need a lift to fix the vehicle up perfectly parallel to the ground because if it's jacked up crooked that gives a false reading too
