Checking CVT fluid level

[LPSISRL]

I checked my CVT fluid yesterday according to the owners manual. After driving home from work, about 17 miles, I let it sit for 30 minutes in the garage to cool down a bit before checking. I pulled the dipstick and wiped it off. Started the engine and went through all the gears pausing about 5 seconds in each gear. Then, with the engine running and in Park, I checked the fluid. First, it's very difficult for me see exactly where the level is on the stick. But it looked to me like it was above the Hot marking by quite a bit. By quite a bit I mean about a quarter inch. Now I've never added any fluid and have had no trouble with the CVT. I bought the car with 33K on it and it now has 70K. I don't know if there was any service on the CVT before I bought it.

Should I be concerned and consider draining off fluid so the level drops? I'm not even sure that it's really too high on the dipstick.

The fluid was brownish with a slight tinge of green. It smelled fine.

Thanks!
Tim

[nytq]

I checked my CVT fluid yesterday according to the owners manual. After driving home from work, about 17 miles, I let it sit for 30 minutes in the garage to cool down a bit before checking. I pulled the dipstick and wiped it off. Started the engine and went through all the gears pausing about 5 seconds in each gear. Then, with the engine running and in Park, I checked the fluid. First, it's very difficult for me see exactly where the level is on the stick. But it looked to me like it was above the Hot marking by quite a bit. By quite a bit I mean about a quarter inch. Now I've never added any fluid and have had no trouble with the CVT. I bought the car with 33K on it and it now has 70K. I don't know if there was any service on the CVT before I bought it.

Should I be concerned and consider draining off fluid so the level drops? I'm not even sure that it's really too high on the dipstick.

The fluid was brownish with a slight tinge of green. It smelled fine.

Thanks!
Tim

When I first bought the car, I too was confused with the CVT service and schedule. So I brought it into the dealer to physically show me how to check the fluid and when to replace. Which ironically cost me money.

Bottom line is if you simply check the fluid when cold, it should be around the very top hole just above the hot. The replacement schedual for normal conditions should not exceed 60K. Replacement amount was exactly 4 quarts. My level has never changed, and I'm just over 100K.

The service manual makes things even more confusing because it talks about the whole system which equals about 8 quarts, but if you do the service you see only 4 will come out. And according to the dealer that is all that you can replace.

Also for some weird reason, Suzuki omitted the service schedule, which is definitely wrong. The system cannot run indefinitely. And trying to figure out when the fluid is bad is practically impossible.

[bootymac]

Is it 8 quarts for a full flush and 4 quarts for a drain and fill?

[nytq]

The entire system can hold 8 quarts. But if you read the service manual, nowhere does it mention doing a flush. You simply drain from the plug on the pan below the CVT, and refill. What they fail to explain is only 4 quarts are going to come out when you do that.

Others have written about removing hoses and fluid coolers and so on. I would suggest following the service manual directions.

Is it 8 quarts for a full flush and 4 quarts for a drain and fill?