2000-02 Saturn L Series

If have had this problem many times on Mk4 vw golf.
The transmission oil must be fully drained, frop the gearbox sump and replace the filter kit (widley available). Make sure everything is really clean, especially the oil pickup pipe and screen.
I generally measure the oil removed and refill the same amount. you must use the correct transmission oil....so check. I think its dextron3 or similar..but all stockists will have a listing for it.
There is no dipstick , the only way to test is using a scanner or trial and error ( i do not recommend the latter).
Chech vw forums for diagrams showing the drain plug on the sump...you never get all the oil out due to height of the neck and the fact that the torque convertor and oil coolers still have oil in them.
good luck
Roger

Remove transmission pan, unbolt filter replace with new one. MAKE sure that new filter has o-rings on it. Use some oil to lube new o-rings. Reinstall pan with new gasket. Tough part now, depending on what transmission you have it may have to be filled thru pan (if no dipstick).

Yes.. Is it aoutomatic ?

Yes, that and the oil of course. Just to be 100% clear on this, i'll explain every step in am automatic transmission service. First, drain the oil from the transmission by removing the drain plug. Second, remove the oil pan from the tranny. Then comes the removal of the filter. Then, replace the filter with the new one. Then clean the oil pan of excess dirt and gasket residue if any, and put the new gasket on the pan. Then you just put the oil pan back on the tranny and top off the oil. For the exact amount of oil needed, call your local dealer, or local garage or parts store. Then just verify the oil level just to be sure everything is OK, and note that most transmissions require the engine to be hot to have the correct level on the oil gauge. It should say if it is needed in your owners manual, or on most oil gauges it says ajust when hot, or hot level and cold level. If in doubt, ask the local dealer, garage or parts store again.

Not very hard by all means if you have a few basic hand tools, a torque wrench and ramps or a jack and stand to lift the car up...

About 95% of automotive automatic transmissions do not have a drain plug, so you have to remove the transmission pan to drain the fluid, and the filter is up under the pan anyway. Remove all the pan bolts, drop the pan, make sure you have a container ready for the oil under it... If you buy the filter/pan gasket kit and you look at the filter it should be a pinch to spot. This is what your particular filter looks like (from the top)

Replace the filter, clean the pan/transmission mating surface with emery cloth, scuff pad, or whatever needs to be used to get the metal clean again (without removing too much material eg. a grinder would definitely cause a leak).

Reinstall the pan with the new gasket (do not use silicone or any type of fluid "gasket maker" Automatic transmissions have a lot of tiny oil passages which can easily be blocked by these products and cause severe transmission damage)

Torque the bolts to the manufacturer's spec (you don't really need a torque pattern, just start from the middle of the pan and alternate from side to side (this is to make sure the pan seats square with the transmission body)) 90% of the time you could tighten them anyway you want and wouldn't have a leak but you want it done right the first time so don't take any chances (you should be able to get the torque value from the parts store where you get the filter/gasket kit). I'm not able to pull out an exact spec for you right now.

Fill the tranny up, then drive th