DCT fluid life/change

[jagtoes]

OK I just got back from my dealer and checked on when the DCT fluid must be changed. They looked through all of their service info and any bulletins on the transmission and we all came to this conclusion. This is for normal usage and not track activity. If the transmission fluid indicator has not been reset then you must change the transmission fluid no more then 600 miles past 45,000 miles. If you reach 3 years of the car in service then you must change the fluid before the end of 3 years. So if the life time monitor hits 10% then change it. You should also change the CANISTER filter. You DO NOT need to change the in PAN FILTER unless the transmission required internal maintenance. The pan filter is considered LIFE TIME which as I understand it is 100,000 miles. This is the requirement to maintain the warranty.
So in my case I will have the transmission fluid (11.6 Qts) changed in December of this year 2023. Looking at my filter life it is now at 43% at 26,000 miles

[jimmyb]

I assume (you know what happens then) that the trans fluid monitor is mileage AND/OR time based just like the engine oil life monitor.

[jagtoes]

I assume (you know what happens then) that the trans fluid monitor is mileage AND/OR time based just like the engine oil life monitor.

Yes I agree. My bet is I will time out by December.

[73shark]

I assume (you know what happens then) that the trans fluid monitor is mileage AND/OR time based just like the engine oil life monitor.

Or does it use an algorithm that considers temperature, speed, etc similar to the Oil Life Monitor also?

[2020Colorado]

Thanks for reporting back jagtoes, my 3 years is up in September and I already have the canister and oil to perform the service. I appreciate the info.

[pksjc]

Or does it use an algorithm that considers temperature, speed, etc similar to the Oil Life Monitor also?

Another question is if it's completely sealed, will it be based on time? What if the car is a garage queen and only accumulates 4K miles in 3 years? Do we know if the DCT is completely sealed or is there some release valve/opening?

[meyerweb]

Another question is if it's completely sealed, will it be based on time? What if the car is a garage queen and only accumulates 4K miles in 3 years? Do we know if the DCT is completely sealed or is there some release valve/opening?

There is a vent on the top of the DCT. Pretty much has to be to deal with expansion / contraction as the DCT and fluid heat and cool. The maintenance schedule calls for a fluid change at 45K miles or 3 years, whichever comes first, so I would guess the monitor will count down to zero at three years even if only 4K miles at that point.

What we don't know is if it takes factors other than time and mileage into account. The engine OLM is a very sophisticated algorithm that takes into account not just time and mileage, but also total engine revolutions, operating temps, engine load and a host of other factors that can reduce (but never increase) the speed with which oil life decreases.

[Top Off Action]

Thanks for reporting back jagtoes, my 3 years is up in September and I already have the canister and oil to perform the service. I appreciate the info.

How do you change the transmission fluid and canister? I have looked everywhere but can’t find a good explanation with pictures/video… thanks

[73shark]

A quick search yielded at least several YouTube videos that demonstrated how to add the two liters. I didn't look for videos delineating how to drain and change the filter. I do recall watching a video showing how to drain and change the filter sometime back so I'm sure it's still out there somewhere. FWIW, draining and changing the filter looked a lot easier than adding the two liters.

[jagtoes]

How do you change the transmission fluid and canister? I have looked everywhere but can’t find a good explanation with pictures/video… thanks

There is a drain plug in the transmission pan . So you just pull the plug and drain it. There is a fill/level plug in the side of the DCT case. The tech's usually will fill from here (mine has a small elect. pump) . This is OK for a normal fill but if you want to add the 2 extra qts. you need to remove the air box and fill from the top gold plug. This is a time and cost difference.

[jagtoes]

Thanks for reporting back jagtoes, my 3 years is up in September and I already have the canister and oil to perform the service. I appreciate the info.

Just an FYI on Corvette Conti's tech tuesday this week he mentioned in about 2 weeks they will do the 45K/3 year service on his car. They will post it when done so we should see the required service. I also would like them to post the costs in parts and labor but we'll see.

[meyerweb]

The canister filter is on the side of the DCT (blue arrow - ignore the black arrow, that is NOT the fill port. Loosening any of the wrong fasteners can destroy the DCT, so just don't mess with anything up there).




The filter housing is held on with 4 bolts that are VERY low torque. Don't mess with them without know the torque spec and have an appropriate inch-pound torque wrench.

[RKCRLR]

For whatever reason the DCT fluid life monitor doesn't appear to count down with time like the engine oil monitor does. The DCT fluid life monitor appears to be just based on mileage. In my 2020 the percentage doesn't corelate to time but it does corelate to mileage, and I've seen other posts with similar observations. It would be interesting to see what other people are observing.

The transmission does have a vent port so it isn't completely sealed. Another interesting thing is that the Ford Shelby GT500 uses the same fluid in its DCT and it doesn't have a time component for fluid change, it is just based on mileage.

[2020Colorado]

For whatever reason the DCT fluid life monitor doesn't appear to count down with time like the engine oil monitor does. The DCT fluid life monitor appears to be just based on mileage. In my 2020 the percentage doesn't corelate to time but it does corelate to mileage, and I've seen other posts with similar observations. It would be interesting to see what other people are observing.
Another interesting thing is that the Ford Shelby GT500 uses the same fluid in its DCT and it doesn't have a time component for fluid change, it is just based on mileage.

My 2020 only counts down on mileage not time on the DCT monitor. Another interesting thing about the oil is the label on the bottle. It appears to have been bottled on Feb of 2021 and Expires on Feb 2024. Maybe it has a 3 year life even outside of the transmission.

[16falcon]

And I thought food expiration dates were mostly a scam. Transmission fluid, sealed in a bottle has a 3 year expiration date? I find that hard to believe.