Mitsubishi Carisma 1.8GDi Auto, X-reg (2000), with 43,500 miles on the clock.
When cold, the engine revs (to about 2.5 or 3k rpm) in the automatic gear changes between 2nd to 3rd and 3rd to 4th gear - for want of a better description it's like someone in a manual not lifting completely off the accelerator when they depress the clutch. Reading the dipstick the tranny fluid is bang-on the "LOW" mark, so off I go to get some to top it up, hoping that will solve my problem.
According to the owners manual, the fluid needed is "DIA QUEEN ATF SP II" or "DIA QUEEN ATF SP II M" and, to cut the story short, none of the 5 different places I went to (including the local Halfords) could help, all suggesting I go to the Mitsu main dealer because it appeared to be a special fluid, not consistent with any other auto transmission fluid they had in stock.
Gets to main dealer - "1 litre of this ATF please"
"Sorry Sir, we don't sell it in 1 litre bottles. Minimum quantity is 20 litres"
"But I only want an eye-bath full, just to top it up a bit"
"If you book it in at the workshop, they'll top it up for you. It'll be about £25 to £30. Or, you could have it completely drained and renewed for about £85"
As we continue to chat (or rather, he chats while I stand there in gobsmacked awe) he's hitting keys on the computer and asked me the mileage (43,500).
"Ahh", he says. "According to the maintenance schedule the tranny fluid and all the relevant filters should be changed at the 54,000 mile service, along with the spark plugs, the timing belt etc. etc., BUT, it says here on-screen that it should be 54,000 miles *or 5 years*, whichever is sooner. You've not reached the miles but your car is 5 years old and so you really need to book it in to be done any time now." "Yeah, looks like it'll be around the £500 to £550 mark from the info I've got here".
I left the house about 2 hours ago looking for a litre of ATF costing somewhere around 6 or 7 quid and now I'm looking at a bill of potentially half a grand - and maybe even more if the auto box is suffering from something more sinister!!!!!
There's just no way I can afford that right now so can anyone suggest a source of the ATF I need - in a reasonable, topping-up quantity - or an equivalent?
Cheers,
Mogweed.