Question on Transmission Fluid Color
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Member
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 235
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From: Southern California
97 Lexus LS400, 04 Mustang, 08 Corvette Z51, 92 Honda Civic Si, 02 CL500, 03 E500
Question on Transmission Fluid Color
Hi there, has anyone done a transmission drain & refill on your W215? If so, what color is the old fluid? Mine is an 02 CL500 & the old fluid is greenish-yellow instead of cherry-red like the Fuchs Titan ATF 4134 which is recommended for the 722.6 tranny. I did some checking & was told MB back then at the factory often filled these transmissions with the honey-amber to greenish-yellow fluid & it's the same as the ATF 4134. Just wanted to double-check to make sure it's ok before I proceed. Thanks.
Thread Starter
Member
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 235
Likes: 23
From: Southern California
97 Lexus LS400, 04 Mustang, 08 Corvette Z51, 92 Honda Civic Si, 02 CL500, 03 E500
Since yours came out black then you should do a complete flush including filter change if you haven't already as drain & refill only replace a 1/4 to 1/3 of your old fluid.
Last edited by superfast; Sep 24, 2025 at 03:14 PM.
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Joined: May 2020
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From: Fort Worth
2005 CL55 AMG || 2005 CL65 AMG || 1989 560SEC
I've swapped the filter out, looked like it had never been changed going by the pan... I've drained the pan about 3 times, so the fluid is probably about 50-65% new. I'll do that a couple more times eventually!
Thread Starter
Member
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 235
Likes: 23
From: Southern California
97 Lexus LS400, 04 Mustang, 08 Corvette Z51, 92 Honda Civic Si, 02 CL500, 03 E500
I just did mine today & was able to drain 3.5L of the old fluid out after a long drive. The 722.6 tranny holds a total of 8L including the torque converter so with 3.5L of new fluid, the remaining old fluid is 56.25%. I plan on doing another flush & refill after a week or two & that will reduce the old fluid down to about 31% & that's good enough for me. Since you've done 3 times & assuming you were able to drain around 3L each time, your tranny is now contain about 80% of the new fluid so you don't need to flush & refill again. Just do a flush & refill at every 30k-mile interval going forward.
