Malibu has 280, 000 and the transmission was a little sluggish going into higher gears. Per the advice of a mechanic, I added a 24 oz can of Lucas stop slip. (Good idea? Bad idea? ) I was under the impression that there was no dipstick for the transmission fluid. However, when I unscrewed the cap to add the fluid I noticed that it was attached to a dipstick like cable. Can I pull it all the way out to check the transmission fluid level? Thanks

 

I know nothing about this "stop slip", but adding 24 ounces of liquid to the transmission fluid is a LOT if you don't remove some of the old fluid first... you don't want to overfill for sure.

I am not familiar with the "dipstick like cable" described. Maybe the manuals for your vehicle at this link will help you figure it out:

https://charm.li/Chevrolet/2012/

 

The filler cap has 'transmission fluid / use Dextron VI'. Attached to it is a cable about 12 in long which on the flat tip has the usual 'add/crosshatch/max' markings. Unless the cap/cable is not original to the car, I don't understand why it would have these markings if they weren't intended to be used. Thanks again.

 

My apologies. Somehow I did manage to find my owner's manual, and it confirms that it does have a dipstick. Oddly enough, in the next sentence it advises you to take the car to a dealer to have THEM check the fluid level. Obviously, it had never occurred to them that they could have made the dipstick fill tube a foot taller so people could have checked it by themselves in 10 seconds. So my question remains how long do you have to run the engine before you can check the dipstick yourself? And does the motor have to be running? Thanks