1997 Buick Park Avenue Owner's Manual - Page 285

Automatic Transaxle Fluid When to Check and Change A good time to checkyour automatic transaxle fluid level iswhen the engine oil changed. is Change both the fluidand filter every50,000 miles m if (83 000 k ) the vehicle is mainly driven under one or more of these conditions: 0 NOTICE: Too much or too little fluid can damage your transaxle. Too much can mean that some the of fluid could come out and fall on engine parts hot or exhaust system parts, startingfire. Be sure to a get an accurate reading if you check your transaxle fluid. In heavy city traffic where the outside temperature regularly reaches 90°F (32°C) or higher. In hilly or mountainous terrain. When doing frequent trailer towing. Uses such as found in taxi, police or delivery service. 1 0 0 0 Wait at least 30 minutes before checking the transaxle fluid level if you have been driving: 0 0 When outside temperatures are above 90°F (32°C). At high speed for quite a while. In heavy traffic -- especially in hot weather. While pulling a trailer. If you do not use your vehicle under any of these conditions, the fluid and filter do not require changing. See "Scheduled Maintenance Services" in the Index. How to Check Because this operation can be a little difficult, you may choose to havethis done atyour Buick dealership Service Department. If you do it yourself, be sure to follow all the instructions here, or you could get false reading on the dipstick. a To get the right reading, the fluid should be at normal operating temperature, which is 180°F to 200°F (82°C to 93°C). Get the vehicle warmed up by driving about 15 miles (24 km) when outside temperatures are above 50°F (10OC). If it's colder than 50°F (lO"C),you may have to drive longer. 6-21