2019-2023 Chevy Malibu 1.5 Transmission Fluid Change and Level Check THE RIGHT WAY!

🔧 Join me in this hands-on tutorial as I dive into the RIGHT WAY to change and check the transmission fluid level on my 2019-2023 Chevy Malibu equipped with the CVT VT40 Transmission. I'll walk you through each step, share personal insights, and provide crucial tips to ensure a seamless process. Whether you're a DIY enthusiast or just want to understand your car better, this video is a must-watch. Let's keep our rides running smoothly-watch now and become a transmission maintenance pro with me! 🚗💡 #ChevyMalibu #TransmissionFluidChange #carmaintenancetips
VT40 Resource Manual
www.gzweix.com/article/sort025...

[@jasonbynum8216]

Hi thank you so much for your video because of it I serviced my transmission and now I'm waiting for the video about the transmission filter replacement. Can't wait...

[@CollegeMechanic]

I’m about 500-1k miles away for that service, I don’t drive a ton, so I should have it out in the next couple months

[@edenllaurie]

I LOVE MY 2020 CHEVY MALIBU!!

[@gamergoon-ox8sr]

thanks man this is awsome, ive been trying to find a good tutorial for a while now!

[@fredrickstubbs2798]

Great video.. Thanks. Please make more. You've taught and helped me greatly..

[@teknomanblade8913]

Thank you. Great video.

[@jongsunglee57]

Thank you 😊

[@Da_daddy]

Good stuff, man

[@hrgx1981]

Great video! I have this same transmission in my Buick Encore GX, so this info is good to know.

[@juliochingaling5824]

Excellent.God bless.

[@jackdelong8634]

Thanks for the video, I've got a 2020 Malibu. It's at 120,000 miles and I'm hoping the cvt can make it to 200,000.

[@jasonbynum8216]

Ok buddy thanks..

[@thevines6537]

Hello. Can you tell me the tightening torque for the variator drain and control plug?

[@hifiveguyy]

You mind uploading videos of any custom work you’ve done? I’ve been thinking of doing a chrome delete like your grill

[@CollegeMechanic]

For sure!

[@mikejautosandstuff3349]

🤣just bought a new 24 Mali LS as a daily as my 24 corvette c8 is just driven on Sundays lol. Seems like a hassle doing a cvt change. It seems like the cvt is higher maintenance than a regular tranny 🤷🏼‍♂️ nevertheless you seem like a knowledgeable Dude!! I have a channel as well. Nice to know how this is done, as I have a car lift in my garage. SUBSCRIBED 👍😀

[@CollegeMechanic]

Dude that’s awesome, I appreciate you helping a brother out. The new c8 is such a cool car and is super unique. Yeah the CVT is a pain to work on but overall the Malibu is everything you’d want for a good daily.

[@-OrangeTabby-]

Hi thank you for the video. Any idea if it is the same process and going to work with a 2017 Chevy malibu LT 1.5L? I have little over 64K miles on it and I have yet to have a transmission fluid change (as it suggest in manual to be done at every 45K miles). Thank you once again for the video and any guidance.

[@CollegeMechanic]

Unfortunately no, if you have the 1.5t your car is equipped with a Hydra-Matic six-speed automatic transmission, the process is different for a traditional transmission

[@2010blackwallstreet]

Liked and subscribed, and you're one of like only 3 people i'm subscribed to. I have the 2019 Malibu and I was having problems with reduced engine power- I was receiving codes. I replaced the throttle body, turbo boost sensor, accelerator pedal, MAF and turbo wastegate solenoid and the problems were gone for almost a year. I'm having similar issues, no codes, and no reduced power message. I get shuddering and little to no acceleration sometimes it would usually happen on hot days but has been happening more frequently but is still intermittent. Admittedly my transmission is overdue for service without question....i've read that this could be the culprit. Is this worth a shot? I'm at wit's end with this POS at this point bro.

[@CollegeMechanic]

I had similar shuddering and slipping issues, I was worried my transmission was done for, but I swapped the fluid and man it made such a difference. out of curiosity how many miles does your car have on it?

[@2010blackwallstreet]

@@CollegeMechanic 141,000. My fiance and I share it and drive it everywhere and it's a great car. I'm happy to report that I did change out the fluid (using your video of course) and everything seems back to normal. I'll be looking forward to your video on the filter change brother.

[@mrsirstinkybataaa]

Hey man, I have a 22’ Malibu due for a trans fluid change. I’ve seen that there’s an external and internal trans filter. Does the internal trans filter ever get replaced? Or is it only the external filter that gets serviced each time?

[@CollegeMechanic]

It’s just gonna be the external one, the only way to access the internal filter would have you tearing apart the transmission

[@dakotaspeicher6217]

Where’d you get your exhaust? Kits online?

[@CollegeMechanic]

Nope LOL, it’s a ghetto 5 dollar washers in the exhaust mod. I was curious how it would sound straight piped so I unbolted the exhaust immediately after the catalytic converter, it ended up having such a nice tone and low enough volume as to not be a nauseous to society. So I took a trip to Autozone and grabbed some nuts and threaded them into the studs in the catalytic converter, I put the exhaust back on, so it left around a quarter-half inch gap in the exhaust, long story short I created an exhaust leak. No exhaust leaks into the cabin, it doesn’t drone at highway speed, and most of the exhaust gases make it out the rear end unless under load, and it sounds good! I’d be interested in making a video if you’d like:)

[@GaryInHell]

This looks just like my 2017. I think that’s when they did the refresh

[@CollegeMechanic]

2019 was the first year, they lifted the grill a little bit and swapped the transmission for a CVT

[@jordanfrailey8397]

Manual says to replace transmission fluid every 45k miles. Would you consider doing this one time instead of three counts as replacing it or draining and filling then oil 3 times every 45k miles?

[@CollegeMechanic]

Change your engine oil as you normally would(I do mine every 3,000 miles) If you were to completely flush your transmission you wouldn’t need to do a second and third fluid change. Since we are only draining and filling(not flushing) the transmission we will need to repeat this process a second and third time as to clear out as much of the contaminates as possible without flushing the transmission. I personally change my trans fluid every 30,000 miles, as cvt’s tend to be rather delicate transmissions. I did this service about 10,000 miles early(my last service was at 60k and I now have 80k on the odometer) I could feel it starting to shudder just a bit and figured I’d rather play it safe.

[@charlesk7687]

I haven't made the service interval for the VT40, blown 3 of them up, all in less than 40k miles.

[@CollegeMechanic]

Dude that’s gotta be some kind of record LOL, have they been replaced under warranty?

[@charlesk7687]

@CollegeMechanic all of them have been warranties, being the end consumer it still has cost me a lot of money in breakdowns and rides and shit. I've a new ford maverick on a train, less than a month and I'll be out of the Malibu

[@FreeAdviseCarsAndStuff]

Question? Do you level check while the car is on or off???

[@CollegeMechanic]

The car has to be on and running!

[@fredrickstubbs2798]

Can the sensors be cleaned.. How?

[@CollegeMechanic]

Only if you want to tear the trans apart! But flushing(or changing, that’s what we I in the video) the fresh fluid cleans those sensors, of course they can always be taken apart and removed to be further cleaned, but all the effort wouldn’t be worthwhile, keeping up on the general maintenance, like I did here, insures these sensors will stay clean and function as intended!

[@user-er7cd6yj1o]

I just got a Malibu with 80k miles. I don’t know if it’s had transmission fluid done should I do it?

[@CollegeMechanic]

I’d definitely take a look, if it’s pitch black and some very small metal flakes then leave it, it will do more damage changing the fluid, Chris fix has a video that explains this much better than I can

[@palmachese8242]

Why you don’t change the filter, I don’t understand very clear bc i speak spanish

[@CollegeMechanic]

Hey man! So you would want to change your filter after the 3rd(final) fluid drain and fill, at this point the fluid will be close to clear of debris, this is when you will change the filter because you will drive on this fluid and filter for another 30,000+ miles. If we changed the filter at the first drain and fill we would dirty it with the old and dirty fluid. We want the filter to be as clean as possible at the end of the job.

[@FDO777]

Hi, not used ramp ?

[@CollegeMechanic]

If you use a ramp you have to jack up the other end of the car, it’s very important the car is level during this whole process

[@jasonbynum8216]

Are these cvt transmissions known for shifting hard from park to drive first thing in the morning and then never doing it again afterwards. Because mine does and someone else i known malibu does the same thing.

[@CollegeMechanic]

Yes, mine does something similar, especially on a cold morning, but after I put it into gear and start driving it’s fine, I’m sure the fluid just needs to get moved around and get a little more heat in it, nothing to be super concerned about.

[@jasonbynum8216]

@CollegeMechanic thanks man.

[@anupbhimineni1564]

@jasaonbynum8216 Even my malibu 2023 does this every morning and after a little ride it goes and the shifting to drive feels so smooth. These days it shows evertime when the car is rested for a long period.

[@matthew-kg4um]

My friend says No but let run for a few let idle down to normal. Try that some people don't they just go. To each is own

[@anupbhimineni1564]

Yeah I've let it warm up for 15mins but still first time in the morning it jerks/hard shifts a bit and then everything is fine from there.. ​@@matthew-kg4um

[@jamesrabatin2879]

You don't need to measure.Just undo the overflow. I Fill till it starts coming out

[@CollegeMechanic]

Measuring the fluid is an extra precaution that all should take, measuring what comes out and what’s goes in, especially when servicing something as important as the transmission.

[@the8419]

Wow, crappy car.

[@CollegeMechanic]

It’s a crappy design not necessarily a crappy car. This whole process would be so much easier by simply adding a dip stick to measure fluid. When it comes down to the basics yes the design sucks but what sucks even more is the customers right to repair. Modern corporate America has rather quickly belittled a customers right to repair, we’ve seen this with companies like Apple, John Deere, and of course many car manufacturers, all this trickles down to money. If you can’t work on your car then you usually go to the dealership which means they make more money, it’s very unfair but that’s how the industry is.

[@EvoPortal]

You're out of your mind to be changing the trans fluid and oil ever 3,000 miles. Synthetic engine oil can EASILY do 6,000 miles in the malibu and the trans fluid is good for 45,000 miles. Lots of misinformation in this video. Absolutely crazy

[@CollegeMechanic]

You might not have caught it in the video but I mentioned to do a drain and fill for the transmission 3 times over the course of 9,000 miles since we aren’t doing a full flush. This transmission should be serviced every 40,000 miles, I do it at 30,000 just to be safe(and I live in an area where temperatures go above 110 in the summer and it’s pretty taxing on the transmission) As for the oil changes, yes, i do change my oil every 3,000 miles. Being a high compression turbo engine it relies heavily on good oil, that being said the hot side of the turbo tends to burn the “lighter oil” leaving heavy sludge behind when sitting after running the car hard or in a hot environment(again where I am temps are over 110). All I am doing is preventative maintenance. It’s different for everyone, for me I’m ok paying 40 bucks every 3,000 miles to do an oil change myself, it all comes down to the driver.