2018 equinox 1.5 turbo AWD transmission leak

[lucasjs1207]

I have a 2018 equinox premier AWD 1.5 turbo and i love it, it’s been good and now has 76k miles. i take good care of it and change oil every 5k miles and recently changed the transmission fluid. nothing seemed wrong with the transmission, i just wanted to keep it maintained. i had a trusted shop do it and later that night i smelled a burning plastic smell that night even though i didn’t smell it earlier after the fluid change. it went away for the next week but now i notice my transmission is leaking fluid. it seems to function just fine and no codes, but i noticed drops of fluid on my garage floor and it looks dark. it looks like it is leaking from the drain bolt but the area around it seems slightly soiled or damp. has anyone had this problem? i still have to contact my mechanic who replaced the fluid but i wanted to see if anyone has had this issue.

 

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They probably over torqued the Drain Plug. It's designed to be just snugged up to the Seal Washer.

 

[PoManNox]

There is no seal washer on the transmission drain plug or level check plug. They are a 1/4" pipe thread and you have to be careful not to overtighten. You can use thread tape or liquid thread sealer on them.

It looks like the ATF came from up high. Maybe the shop spilled ATF on top of the transmission when re-filling? I know I did that on my 2021 and it pooled into the nooks and crannies up top on the transmission.

I would clean the area up and see if it comes back. Any continual leakage is bad news and needs to be addressed.