I included the link to the video I had to use in order to find my transmission dip stick because I kid you not the dealership made the following false claim:
"It's a closed transmission system so you can't check the fluids."
WTF?!
So I searched the engine compartment high and low for years, took it to various mechanics who couldn't find it and I stumble across the linked video while troubleshooting yet another problem that a competent engineer could have prevented.
You have to lift up the front end, put a brace or two under the engine - but not where the transmission fluid drain is located. Then you get to use no less than three different sized wrenches in order to remove an ENGINE BRACE in order to get to the &(%^%& transmission dip stick! The transmission dip stick is HIDDEN INTENTIONALLY. You have to gently leverage a flathead screwdriver to pop up a section before pulling up on the transmission dip stick or you risk breaking this plastic POS.
I have never experienced such rage since the engine trouble I had years earlier. What kind of idiot actually designs an engine where you can't even check the transmission fluid?! I'll even point out why this is so extremely stupid for someone who doesn't know the catch-22 when checking the transmission. The ONLY TIME you pull up a dip stick on an running engine is when you CHECK THE TRANSMISSION FLUID LEVEL. I think the moron who did this has never worked on a car PERIOD.
The guy in the video, while helpful more than any other expert, also infuriated me because he has a lift in his shop and I'm jammed under an SUV on a concrete ground with braces and a heavy one ton jack. Sure it's easy for him but not for me or for my father. This nightmare, coupled with the rest of the nightmare working on a Chevrolet has completely turned me away from purchasing anything remotely American on wheels UNLESS IT'S EXTREMELY OLD. American hot rod? That might be a strong maybe but I'm running far away from anything else American in design. This unbelievable stupidity in engineering makes for complaints like mine to be a dime a dozen. I'm just glad I didn't purchase a 2006 model with even more issues than the 2005 Equinox.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
I included the link to the video I had to use in order to find my transmission dip stick because I kid you not the dealership made the following false claim:
"It's a closed transmission system so you can't check the fluids."
WTF?!
So I searched the engine compartment high and low for years, took it to various mechanics who couldn't find it and I stumble across the linked video while troubleshooting yet another problem that a competent engineer could have prevented.
You have to lift up the front end, put a brace or two under the engine - but not where the transmission fluid drain is located. Then you get to use no less than three different sized wrenches in order to remove an ENGINE BRACE in order to get to the &(%^%& transmission dip stick! The transmission dip stick is HIDDEN INTENTIONALLY. You have to gently leverage a flathead screwdriver to pop up a section before pulling up on the transmission dip stick or you risk breaking this plastic POS.
I have never experienced such rage since the engine trouble I had years earlier. What kind of idiot actually designs an engine where you can't even check the transmission fluid?! I'll even point out why this is so extremely stupid for someone who doesn't know the catch-22 when checking the transmission. The ONLY TIME you pull up a dip stick on an running engine is when you CHECK THE TRANSMISSION FLUID LEVEL. I think the moron who did this has never worked on a car PERIOD.
The guy in the video, while helpful more than any other expert, also infuriated me because he has a lift in his shop and I'm jammed under an SUV on a concrete ground with braces and a heavy one ton jack. Sure it's easy for him but not for me or for my father. This nightmare, coupled with the rest of the nightmare working on a Chevrolet has completely turned me away from purchasing anything remotely American on wheels UNLESS IT'S EXTREMELY OLD. American hot rod? That might be a strong maybe but I'm running far away from anything else American in design. This unbelievable stupidity in engineering makes for complaints like mine to be a dime a dozen. I'm just glad I didn't purchase a 2006 model with even more issues than the 2005 Equinox.
- makeitstop, Dallas, US