Pre-07, Transmission Fluid listed in Owner's Manual
08-07-2011, 05:14 PM
#1
Pre-07, Transmission Fluid listed in Owner's Manual Could somebody please do me a favor and check in their owner's manual to see what is listed as the fluid for Manual Transmission Fluid (CTS-V)?
Reason being is I'm looking thru a bunch of threads and people are saying not to run Dexron VI in any manual transmission and the transmission (including mine on the 07) has that orange sticker that states Dexron III only.
HOWEVER, the owner's manual for 2007 states Dexron VI (not that GM manual trans fluid I've seen mentioned)...There is a lot of conflicting information on the subject and can't seem to find anything 'official'. What worries me is not knowing what the factory put in and if VI and III are not compatible, then I don't want to take a chance.
I picked up a few quarts of regular Dexron III and ready to do the change. However, after reading all of this, kind of concerned. Say there is VI in there already don't want to add III and if there's III in there, don't want to add VI.
So, if you could please tell me what it shows in the '04 & '05 manual and also what it says in the '06 manual, I'd appreciate it!
Reason being is I'm looking thru a bunch of threads and people are saying not to run Dexron VI in any manual transmission and the transmission (including mine on the 07) has that orange sticker that states Dexron III only.
HOWEVER, the owner's manual for 2007 states Dexron VI (not that GM manual trans fluid I've seen mentioned)...There is a lot of conflicting information on the subject and can't seem to find anything 'official'. What worries me is not knowing what the factory put in and if VI and III are not compatible, then I don't want to take a chance.
I picked up a few quarts of regular Dexron III and ready to do the change. However, after reading all of this, kind of concerned. Say there is VI in there already don't want to add III and if there's III in there, don't want to add VI.
So, if you could please tell me what it shows in the '04 & '05 manual and also what it says in the '06 manual, I'd appreciate it!
08-07-2011, 06:36 PM
#3
Yeah, that's what I'm thinking (same transmission), although *thought* I read somewhere the 06 had some minor changes, but could be wrong (read thru so many posts, lol). It's possible there's an error in the owner's manual, but wanted to find out what the 04, 05 and 06 manuals read. I tried cadillacfaq, but the links are broke 
I'm going to wait until later to change the fluid, just to be on the safe side. What sucks ia a) Dexron III is harder to find and b) if somebody relies on the owner's manual, then they are going to put the wrong stuff in; if it's not compatible and/or eats up things, that's messed up.
I'm going to wait until later to change the fluid, just to be on the safe side. What sucks ia a) Dexron III is harder to find and b) if somebody relies on the owner's manual, then they are going to put the wrong stuff in; if it's not compatible and/or eats up things, that's messed up.
08-07-2011, 06:52 PM
#4
OK, found an '05 and '06 manual online and they BOTH state the following:
DEXRONŽ-III Automatic Transmission Fluid. Look for
“Approved for the H-Specification” on the label.
BUT - the '07 manual states the following:
DEXRONŽ-VI Automatic Transmission Fluid.
So, did they stop making III around 2006-2007 then, or does this mean that should be the requirement.
Problem with mine is it's an early 2007 (bought July '06), so it's possible mine does indeed require (or filled with) Dexron III still and later '07s switched to VI.
Normally I wouldn't care as much, but since it sounds like the two are not compatible with one another and/or the VI may cause premature failure, I *really* need to get to the bottom of this before I can change the fluid...ugh.
DEXRONŽ-III Automatic Transmission Fluid. Look for
“Approved for the H-Specification” on the label.
BUT - the '07 manual states the following:
DEXRONŽ-VI Automatic Transmission Fluid.
So, did they stop making III around 2006-2007 then, or does this mean that should be the requirement.
Problem with mine is it's an early 2007 (bought July '06), so it's possible mine does indeed require (or filled with) Dexron III still and later '07s switched to VI.
Normally I wouldn't care as much, but since it sounds like the two are not compatible with one another and/or the VI may cause premature failure, I *really* need to get to the bottom of this before I can change the fluid...ugh.
08-07-2011, 08:05 PM
#5
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This doc:
http://archives.media.gm.com/us/powe...56%20(MM6).pdf
suggests Dex VI was the factory fill in some '06 and all '07 CTS-V's. Though they do still have the Dex III sticker on them. I don't think you can go too wrong following the owner's manual. I also don't think you could go wrong using Dex III either, though how did you buy Dex III recently? No products can be certified as Dex III anymore.
I also don't know why you say they are "incompatible" with each other? Dex VI can be used in automatic transmissions that have Dex III in them. The only thing I've read was that earlier T56's could have problems with synthetic, something about "paper blocker rings", but I have no idea what that means in real life.
http://archives.media.gm.com/us/powe...56%20(MM6).pdf
suggests Dex VI was the factory fill in some '06 and all '07 CTS-V's. Though they do still have the Dex III sticker on them. I don't think you can go too wrong following the owner's manual. I also don't think you could go wrong using Dex III either, though how did you buy Dex III recently? No products can be certified as Dex III anymore.
I also don't know why you say they are "incompatible" with each other? Dex VI can be used in automatic transmissions that have Dex III in them. The only thing I've read was that earlier T56's could have problems with synthetic, something about "paper blocker rings", but I have no idea what that means in real life.
08-07-2011, 08:13 PM
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Interestingly the '07 powertrain doc makes no mention:
http://archives.media.gm.com/us/powe...New/07_M12.doc
http://archives.media.gm.com/us/powe...New/07_M12.doc
08-07-2011, 08:32 PM
#7
Thanks for the information. Interesting...making more sense now and it sounds like along with the LS2 and differentials, GM (Tremec) also 'upgraded' the transmission, as well. I know there are always changes, many subtle, between model years and even mid-year runs, so it pays to be able to have 100% reliable documentation on these.
As for my mistrust in owner's manuals, that comes from my experience with the WK Grand Cherokee I had and it had a few errors contained within that I had to confirm on my own. I know GM is above Chrysler in most ways, but wasn't sure about their documentation. I haven't witnessed it so far with GM, but with the way they have done some things lately, I just never know any more. I cannot believe how much misinformation exists on the internet these days. What a shame. I've been on the "net" since about '97 and used to be such a great resource for trusted information and I'm learning more and more we have to be really careful on what we receive as valid information. It's a great tool, but how do we know what's what...Even on that PDF you linked (in this case, since it's archives.media.gm.com link it's more than likely official), say it got moved to a different server (URL), how'd we ever know if it's real or somebody just wrote whatever...I miss printed books on this sort of thing and guess should rely on those when in doubt. But, shame on GM for putting that sticker on, lol.
As for incompatibility, I'm just going off what I read off the internet 'hearsay' but thought somebody mentioned they read the label to that effect. And also, something to do with the synchros not being compatible with the fluid on the older T-56's, etc. If that's true (and wouldn't be surprised with all these weird 'green' blends they keep experimenting with), then there will be a lot of folks going thru transmissions prematurely, I'd imagine and there's no way to know 100%, as you can't rely on GM to issue anything and especially on the older, forgotten models (not really but you know what I mean), like our V1's.
In the past, the oems would always have compatibility on older stuff with newer blends for legacy purposes. Not sure now...Have had weird issues using incorrect fluids in various gear assemblies, so need to be sure.
But, in this case sounds like I should go for a Dexron VI compatible fluid then. I'll keep the Dexron III for the T56 that was going in the chevelle I guess (been sitting so long, should change it). Oh yeah, bought it at Big Lots.
As for my mistrust in owner's manuals, that comes from my experience with the WK Grand Cherokee I had and it had a few errors contained within that I had to confirm on my own. I know GM is above Chrysler in most ways, but wasn't sure about their documentation. I haven't witnessed it so far with GM, but with the way they have done some things lately, I just never know any more. I cannot believe how much misinformation exists on the internet these days. What a shame. I've been on the "net" since about '97 and used to be such a great resource for trusted information and I'm learning more and more we have to be really careful on what we receive as valid information. It's a great tool, but how do we know what's what...Even on that PDF you linked (in this case, since it's archives.media.gm.com link it's more than likely official), say it got moved to a different server (URL), how'd we ever know if it's real or somebody just wrote whatever...I miss printed books on this sort of thing and guess should rely on those when in doubt. But, shame on GM for putting that sticker on, lol.
As for incompatibility, I'm just going off what I read off the internet 'hearsay' but thought somebody mentioned they read the label to that effect. And also, something to do with the synchros not being compatible with the fluid on the older T-56's, etc. If that's true (and wouldn't be surprised with all these weird 'green' blends they keep experimenting with), then there will be a lot of folks going thru transmissions prematurely, I'd imagine and there's no way to know 100%, as you can't rely on GM to issue anything and especially on the older, forgotten models (not really but you know what I mean), like our V1's.
In the past, the oems would always have compatibility on older stuff with newer blends for legacy purposes. Not sure now...Have had weird issues using incorrect fluids in various gear assemblies, so need to be sure.
But, in this case sounds like I should go for a Dexron VI compatible fluid then. I'll keep the Dexron III for the T56 that was going in the chevelle I guess (been sitting so long, should change it). Oh yeah, bought it at Big Lots.
