On the way home from work while in my 2013 F150 5.0 Coyote with 133K I noticed a white cloud of smoke in the rear view. Before I could pull over a wrench symbol popped up then I could feel the tranny start to slip.Wonderful! I pulled over and by then that was it. I popped open the hood and the front of the motor as well as everything in front of the radiator was covered in tranny fluid. Ooooops sure looks like the line let loose to the cooler somewhere.I was about 4 miles from home so no big deal. I called the wife after walking 1/2 a mile before I had cell service. I figured I'd just add fluid to get it home then deal with it but.......No dipstick or fill tube.LOL......hahaha....Muhahahahaha. WTF!That's special. So a $75 rollback trip gets it to my son's house, I'll let him deal with the greasy leaking POS.I guess I'll need to drive my 15 GMC for a few days, which has a fill tube and dipstick.I can see why they (Ford) have that stupid arrangement. It may work well on a car or SUV but on a pickup? Come on, what a PITA situation.

Sorry to hear about your bad day. Also I have no idea why the manufacturers seam to think that it's a good idea to delete the transmission dip stick.

Dont know if you bought it new but if so, it seems kinda strange that its 4 years old, and you have put 133k miles on it, and apparently never checked the transmission fluid, or noticed that you couldn't.I check mine at least every 1000 miles or so, especially if its a tow vehicle. And yeah , it's sad that they dont leave that ability there for those that do want to keep tabs on the fluid levels.

Yep, when I bought my 2009, I didn't realize there was no dipstick either. But there's a spot on the tranny itself where you can check. I've just had the dealer do it when I get an oil change.clickoh yeah, plus the replacement interval on transmission fluid on 2009's and newer is 150k IIRC. I could be wrong.

There is a spot to check it and to refill it. A transmission doesn't "burn" fluid so if you don't have a leak then there is no reason to check it. The OP has a leak so he knows it's low. Fix the leak, fill it up and drive on. Pretty simple and a blown tranny line and no dipstick don't make it a POS.

MNGeeks61 wrote:Yep, when I bought my 2009, I didn't realize there was no dipstick either. But there's a spot on the tranny itself where you can check. I've just had the dealer do it when I get an oil change.clickoh yeah, plus the replacement interval on transmission fluid on 2009's and newer is 150k IIRC. I could be wrong.I guess I'm old school. I like haveing the ability to look at the fluid to see the color and to check for that "burnt smell" especially on a tow vehicle. As to the 150k change interval, that seems awful long, but I guess it's ok if you have sufficient filters and cooling for the unit. Sorry for him that the interval became 133k in his case.

Another reason I hate my F150 | Good Sam Community

fireman41
Explorer
Sep 27, 2017
Sorry to hear about your bad day. Also I have no idea why the manufacturers seam to think that it's a good idea to delete the transmission dip stick.
kerrlakeRoo
Explorer
Sep 27, 2017
Dont know if you bought it new but if so, it seems kinda strange that its 4 years old, and you have put 133k miles on it, and apparently never checked the transmission fluid, or noticed that you couldn't.
I check mine at least every 1000 miles or so, especially if its a tow vehicle.
And yeah , it's sad that they dont leave that ability there for those that do want to keep tabs on the fluid levels.
MNGeeks61
Explorer
Sep 27, 2017
Yep, when I bought my 2009, I didn't realize there was no dipstick either. But there's a spot on the tranny itself where you can check. I've just had the dealer do it when I get an oil change.

click

oh yeah, plus the replacement interval on transmission fluid on 2009's and newer is 150k IIRC. I could be wrong.
transamz9
Explorer
Sep 27, 2017
There is a spot to check it and to refill it. A transmission doesn't "burn" fluid so if you don't have a leak then there is no reason to check it. The OP has a leak so he knows it's low. Fix the leak, fill it up and drive on. Pretty simple and a blown tranny line and no dipstick don't make it a POS.
kerrlakeRoo
Explorer
Sep 27, 2017
MNGeeks61 wrote:
Yep, when I bought my 2009, I didn't realize there was no dipstick either. But there's a spot on the tranny itself where you can check. I've just had the dealer do it when I get an oil change.

click

oh yeah, plus the replacement interval on transmission fluid on 2009's and newer is 150k IIRC. I could be wrong.

I guess I'm old school. I like haveing the ability to look at the fluid to see the color and to check for that "burnt smell" especially on a tow vehicle. As to the 150k change interval, that seems awful long, but I guess it's ok if you have sufficient filters and cooling for the unit. Sorry for him that the interval became 133k in his case.
gbopp
Explorer
Sep 27, 2017
fireman41 wrote:
Also I have no idea why the manufacturers seam to think that it's a good idea to delete the transmission dip stick.

$$$$$$$$$$$$ :(
Iraqvet05
Explorer
Sep 27, 2017
Our Dodge police cars at work don't have a dipstick either...you are supposed to take it to the dealer so they can use a special tool to measure the level based on the fluid temperature. The Ford Explorers have one but you have to remove the air box to get to it....what a PIA.
Chuck_thehammer
Explorer
Sep 27, 2017
it may not have a standard dip "Stick" but there MUST be a way to install the fluid.. at factory or dealer...

and cars have been made without a dip stick since the year 2000.. maybe earlier.
a few Japanese cars have a transmission dip stick that is 3 inches long.. it WAY down there. and that was in the 1990's

maintenance and/or education.

my opinion.. a 1500 class truck is really a beefed-up CAR... not a truck.
Mortimer_Brewst
Explorer II
Sep 27, 2017
Ford doesn't give a mileage recommendation on flushing the brake fluid on our Explorer. Why? Ford wants you to bring it to a dealer to get the fluid tested. I've been happy with Ford on how they honored the warranty when a variety of problems popped up, but stuff like this annoys me. I'm going to be trading the Explorer off soon, otherwise I'd flush the fluid on my own schedule.
Fordlover
Explorer
Sep 27, 2017
My 2002 explorer doesn't have a dipstick, and still doesn't leak any fluid either. I'm guessing the lack of a dipstick also eliminates a path for contaminants to enter the tranny. Ford doesn't recommend a flush till 100K.