Do any vehicles have a low tranny fluid warning light?

just curious. and if not, do you think cars should?

No, there are none to my knowledge.
There are some cars that have a “high ATF temperature” warning light, but I have never heard of a warning light for a low ATF level.

No, I don’t particularly see a need for this, but…

I don’t know of any. But then I don’t know of any vehicles that have a low engine oil warning indcator. You have low engine oil pressure indicators. But by the time the low oil pressure indicator comes on engine damage is occuring.

Tester

Car people probably figured that it was unnecessary because the transmission would start to act strangely when the fluid is low. It can do this safely for a while. Then things changed a little, and transmissions are now worth a lot of money. Six to eight speed trannys have got to be more complex and expensive than the three speeds of yesterday, making a low fluid light a much better idea today.

I don’t believe a low fluid lights are common but the warning systems will light something up to keep you as misinformed as possible unless your cargo light is on or an engine oil change is due. My owners manual is in the truck and I hate trying to find anything in it.

“I don’t know of any vehicles that have a low engine oil warning indcator.”

Actually, there are a number of them at this point.
As far as I know, GM introduced this on some models several years ago.
BMW has had this feature for a few years, and I think that Mercedes also has it.

Even my 2011 Subaru has this type of warning light, but since I check my fluids very frequently, I don’t expect to see that warning light unless something…unexpected…and catastrophic…takes place.

It’s pretty common for engines to consume some oil, and with 10,000+ mile oil change intervals low oil warning lights probably should be on more models.
A transmission normally doesn’t use oil.
A friends '82 BMW (535?) beater had a low oil light and he relied on it on a regular basis.

Ah? Transmission fluid is straight 10 weight oil with different additives than engine oil.

Tester

I guess a low oil pressure light switch could be installed in the line pressure tap of the transmission. Just as with low engine oil pressure warning when the light comes on the car has to be parked immediately and the problem corrected. With the lack of fluid checks and the existence of sealed transmissions, this “idiot light” might be a good idea.

Actually it could be wired to the same light as the engine low oil pressure light and provide the same warning. If either switch grounds, the vehicle needs service immediately.

My 4runner has a tranny temp warning light. But NOT low fluid light.

Not really sure it’s needed. Your engine will use oil over time. Acceptable in the industry is 1qt every 3k miles. To me…1qt every 10k miles is acceptable. You keep tranny fluid in for 30k+ miles…if it had the same loss as what’s acceptable by the auto industry you’d be 10 quarts low by the time the fluid exchange service was needed. So I seriously doubt it’s needed.

No. But I found out that Subaru has a drain and a spin-on filter on the transmission, a good idea.

My Riviera(s) had low oil warning messages. When it got down a quart the message would display low oil level. Independent of the oil pressure warning. It was handy while I was trying to find the oil leak and otherwise would have caught me by surprise.

I’m not aware of any cars with a low trans fluid lamp or warning message and my personal opinion is that it’s unnecessary and just adds another dose of complexity to already over-complex cars. The schematics are cluttered up enough as it is. :frowning:

Lincolns have had the low engine oil level warning on the Message Centers for a long time but the only time it ever appears on mine is when I poke the “Systems Check” button. I never allow an engine to get a quart low and prefer that the low oil level message remain a moot point.

My 98 Olds Intrigue had a low oil level warning light and it shut off the engine if ignored. It almost killed me when I was having some fun on a very long sweeping turn and had plastered all the oil against one side of the oil pan ( apparently not the side with the oil pickup ) which killed the power steering. A lot of cars these days have no transmission dipstick. They should have a monitor but don,t.

not a bad idea some newer cars don’t have a dip stick any more for the trans fluid