My 2009 Ford Escape owners manual states transmission fluid capacity 9 qts (8.5L). I saw a utube video where the mechanic only used 5 qts. When I drained I did not believe there was 9 qts of used fluid. So I refilled with a little over 5. Seems just enough after I checked fluid line. My major question is why would Ford tell you to put in 9 qts? I would think that much fluid would lead to transmission failure. Any help understanding this would be greatly appreciated.

 

When you remove a transmission drain plug you do not actually drain all the transmission fluid like you do in a oil change. You are only draining the fluid in the transmission pan.

The torque converter holds a surprising amount of fluid which does not drain, there are hoses to the cooler and the cooler which do not drain, there are also internal transmission passages that do not drain.

If you had a empty transmission then you would put the full 9 quarts in, I didn't double check this spec amount but it sounds about right.

 

just to confirm, total fill is indeed 9 quarts:

source (this site matches up with all my vehicles as far as capacity for both oil and transmission )

https://www.searchforparts.com/oil-c...-escape-3.0l-g