1qt of Transmission fluid was missing but dealer is saying “there’s no leak”

[danielehoff]

So for the past 5 months I've been experiencing very harsh downshifts, mostly into 2nd and Ist gear. This wasn't the typical mild harshness you sometimes get from transmission "learning", these were much more aggressive, almost like suddenly dropping the clutch in a manual.
I brought the car to the dealer and they couldn't duplicate the issue at first. I later came back and drove with the mechanic myself, and after experiencing it firsthand he strongly agreed something was wrong.

A couple days later the service advisor called and said the transmission was 1 quart low on ATF. They topped it off and the issue completely went away. He also mentioned there was some ATF on the transmission pan, but they wiped it off and ran the car for about 20 minutes and didn't see any active leaks.

My concern is, being down an entire quart of ATF pretty clearly points to a leak, especially when you look at how the fluid had migrated along the pan. If this isn't considered a leak, then it indirectly implies I somehow caused it.. which literally makes no sense. I didn't drain a quart of ATF and smear it across the pan. That worries me because if I have future transmission issues, I don't want this to come back as "customer-caused" and be used to deny warranty coverage. They're keeping the car over the weekend to see if any leaks show up.


What do yall think?

 

[EdP]

So for the past 5 months I've been experiencing very harsh downshifts, mostly into 2nd and Ist gear. This wasn't the typical mild harshness you sometimes get from transmission "learning", these were much more aggressive, almost like suddenly dropping the clutch in a manual.
I brought the car to the dealer and they couldn't duplicate the issue at first. I later came back and drove with the mechanic myself, and after experiencing it firsthand he strongly agreed something was wrong.

A couple days later the service advisor called and said the transmission was 1 quart low on ATF. They topped it off and the issue completely went away. He also mentioned there was some ATF on the transmission pan, but they wiped it off and ran the car for about 20 minutes and didn't see any active leaks.

My concern is, being down an entire quart of ATF pretty clearly points to a leak, especially when you look at how the fluid had migrated along the pan. If this isn't considered a leak, then it indirectly implies I somehow caused it.. which literally makes no sense. I didn't drain a quart of ATF and smear it across the pan. That worries me because if I have future transmission issues, I don't want this to come back as "customer-caused" and be used to deny warranty coverage. They're keeping the car over the weekend to see if any leaks show up.


What do yall think?

Seems it took 5 months to lose a quart, so, his 20 minutes of watching is rather meaningless. If the car is just sitting over the weekend, probably not much will show. I'd drive it and check weekly to see what real life is doing.

 

[Glasman888]

You’re right to be concerned. A quart of fluid doesn’t just disappear. Finding residue on the pan confirms a leak, past or present. Their clean-up and short test won’t find a slow, intermittent leak.

They need to properly diagnose the leak source likely a seal, gasket, or cooler line. Without a fix, it will happen again and could lead to damage. Get their findings and the repair in writing to protect your warranty. Don’t accept “no leak” without solid proof.