Not agreeing with the modern trend of several car manufacturers specifying that the Automatic Gearbox oil never needs changing, I recently changed the oil on my car. I followed the procedure on Elearn but it's a little vague in that it doesn't actually specify whether the engine is running when the level is checked (i.e. it never tells you to turn the engine off).

So;

Perhaps someone can clarify this:-

Should the engine be running when the ATF level is checked, and;
Should the gearbox oil be warm?

Your help would be appreciated, thanks.:worship:

eLearn could be a little too detailed for what you are requiring.

Check the owners manaul. Oil levels are an end user/driver manual type of information.

For engine oil level it is "check after 5? minutes" after stopping a warm engine.

Auto gearbox level is probably the same/similar OR a cold level dip-stick measurement.

As with all gearboxes, expecially auto boxes, never overfill.

Sorry Nick, but in this case it's definitely not detailed enough. Most autoboxes are checked with the oil warm (Elearn gives precise temps) and the gearbox in question simply has an internal tube fitted to the drain plug so you overfill then leave it to drain out, then the level is correct. Some boxes have a dipstick and hot/cold oil marks but this one doesn't.

Problem is, there's a big difference between 'engine running' and 'engine stopped' oil levels, and this is the bit I'd like clarification of. Thanks for the reply anyway.

Hi DoIDon'tI

Understood. Interesting, as you are finding.

I've no experience of the Croma autobox. The nearest was my Stilo Abarth Selespeed box which I found (not mentioned in the user manual) had an "oil dip stick" on the back of the gearbox around the diff. area.

I'll try, no promises, to see if I can dig up any other info.

Thanks Nick, much appreciated.

so what was the answer then?