45RFE Fluid Change Cost: Two Filters, One TSB, and What You Are Really Paying For

Ask three shops what a 45RFE fluid change costs and you will get three numbers that are not quoting the same job. One is pricing a pan drop with the sump filter only. One includes the second filter nobody sees until the pan is off. One is selling a machine flush and calling it a service. On this transmission the difference between those jobs is not just money. The wrong filter in the wrong spot is a documented cause of a no-engagement complaint that shows up the morning after the service.

This is the line-by-line cost of a 45RFE and 545RFE fluid and filter service in the Ram 1500, Durango, Dakota, Grand Cherokee, Liberty and Commander: how much fluid you are actually paying for, what the two filters cost and which one you cannot cheap out on, what Chrysler's own labor time says the job takes, and where the money gets wasted. The numbers come from Chrysler's capacity data and service bulletins, Transmission Digest, Sonnax and the filter manufacturer's catalog. Every source is listed at the bottom.

Recommended 45RFE parts

The consumables for a 45RFE / 545RFE fluid and filter service: the 4WD deep-pan sump filter and gasket kit, and licensed MS-9602 ATF+4. Ships from the USA, secure checkout.

45RFE 545RFE 65RFE 68RFE Transmission Filter Kit, 4WD

$30.99View part

Castrol Transmax ATF+4 Full Synthetic ATF 1qt, Case of 6

$59.99View part

What a Real 45RFE Service Includes

The 45RFE (the four-speed, sales code DG4) and the 545RFE (the five-speed built from it, sales code DGQ) service the same way. A complete service is five things:

• The sump filter. The pickup filter whose snout seals into the pump. It comes in a 4x2 version and a 4x4 deep-pan version, and they are not interchangeable. Chrysler lists 05015267AC for 4x2 and 05013470AC for 4x4 in the bulletin covered below, and tells you to verify the number for the specific vehicle.
• The cooler return filter. A small spin-on can that screws onto the valve body area inside the pan. It filters fluid on its way back from the cooler. Transmission Digest describes it as tied to the sump filter to keep flow continuous. This is the one that gets skipped, and it is also the one that has to be the right part.
• The pan seal. The factory seals the pan with Mopar ATF-RTV. Many aftermarket kits add a reusable gasket. Either works if the flange is clean and flat.
• ATF+4. Licensed to Chrysler MS-9602, not a jug that says it is suitable where ATF+4 is recommended.
• A hot level check on the dipstick. Not a fixed pour from a chart.

If a quote says "fluid and filter" in the singular, ask which filter. The 45RFE has two, and Chrysler's own bulletin says to replace them together.

How Much Fluid You Are Paying For

Chrysler's Ram Body Builder fluid capacity sheet lists the 45RFE and 545RFE on one row. The service fill is 5.20 L (11.0 pints, about 5.5 qt) for 4x2 and 6.20 L (13.0 pints, about 6.6 qt) for 4x4. The overhaul (dry) fill is 14.0-16.0 L (29-33 pints), roughly 15 to 17 quarts. Chrysler's footnote says the dry fill changes with the size of the cooler, the length and inside diameter of the cooler lines, and any auxiliary cooler.

That gap between service fill and total fill is where most of the price spread between quotes comes from:

The percentages are my arithmetic from Chrysler's capacities, not a factory number. Buy a quart or two over the service fill. The cooler return filter dumps fluid when it comes off and you want some on the shelf for the hot check. On a truck with a deep aftermarket pan, forget the published service fill. A deeper pan holds more, and the dipstick read hot is the only number that counts.

Do not save money on the fluid

ATF+4 is Chrysler Material Standard MS-9602, a licensed friction spec, not a viscosity grade. An approved fluid prints the approval. The Pennzoil Platinum ATF+4 technical data sheet, for example, states it is "approved against Chrysler specification MS-9602" and is intended where ATF+3, ATF+2 or ATF+ (MS-7176) is specified. The same sheet says it is not for the Chrysler 8-speed. A multi-vehicle fluid that is only "recommended where ATF+4 is specified" has not told you it passed that test. On an eight-quart job the price difference is small. The difference in converter clutch behavior is not.

The Filter That Can Cost You More Than the Service

This is the part of the job that separates a $150 service from a comeback. In 2005 and 2006 Chrysler issued two bulletins on 45RFE and 545RFE filters: TSB 21-016-05, then its replacement TSB 21-007-06 (April 7, 2006). The complaint was a delayed or slipping engagement into Drive or Reverse on the first start after the truck sat overnight, often with a check engine light. Chrysler lists P0868 (line pressure low) as the most common code, along with P0944 (loss of pump prime), P0731, P0736, P0841 and P0876.

The cause Chrysler named was a cooler return filter with part number 04799662AB. The bulletin says a suspect AB filter can cause the sump filter to split at its plastic-to-metal crimp. Its instructions:

• Do not install a cooler return filter stenciled 04799662AB. Use 04799662 with no suffix, or any suffix other than AB.
• Replace the sump filter and the cooler return filter at the same time. Never replace one without the other.
• If the new filter comes with a separate threaded stud, tighten the stud into the filter to 165 in-lb (18.6 N-m), then tighten the filter to the transmission at 125 in-lb (14.1 N-m).
• Install the sump filter seal onto the pump first, then push the filter into the seal. Do not put the seal on the filter and try to install both together.

Transmission Digest covered the same failure in a 2006 Durango at 82,000 miles. It came in with inconsistent garage shifts and P0868 shortly after a fluid service. Road test, scan data and pressure gauge all looked normal, so the pan came off. The sump filter had split at the metal-to-plastic seam. The article points out that a filter is designed to see vacuum. If any positive pressure remains for even a moment after the pump stops, the filter can pop open. With the filter split or pulled off the pump, the pump sucks air, there is no line pressure, and the transmission does not engage. TD also notes that Filtran later added a blow-off check valve to the top of the sump filter so the split cannot happen, whatever the cause.

The drainback side is the other half. Raybestos Powertrain's catalog lists its replacement spin-on filter for the 45RFE, 545RFE, 65RFE, 66RFE and 68RFE, 1999 and up, as crossing to 04799662AB, 5179267AC and 5179267AD, with an updated anti-drainback valve that keeps fluid from draining when the engine is off. A converter that drains overnight is the classic "slips for a second after a cold start" complaint.

What this means for cost: the cooler return filter is the cheapest part in the job and the one where the cheapest choice is expensive. Read the number stenciled on the can. Buy one with a drainback valve. If a truck comes in with a morning delayed engagement after somebody else's service, drop the pan before you condemn the transmission.

The Parts Bill

Here is the parts side of a 4x4 pan service at our prices:

With two cases of ATF+4 and the sump kit, you are at about $151 before the spin-on filter. Add that and a single pan service done right runs in the high $100s in parts. A cooler-line exchange roughly triples the fluid line. If a shop's parts total is well under that, either one filter is missing or the fluid is not what Chrysler calls for.

What the Labor Is Worth

Chrysler put a number on it. TSB 21-007-06 allows 0.9 hour under labor operation 21-55-02-93 to install new cooler return and sump filters, plus 0.2 hour on 2005-2006 Liberty, 2005 Dakota and 2005-2006 Grand Cherokee models with a skid plate. That is warranty time for a trained dealer tech, so treat it as a floor. Multiply roughly an hour by your local posted rate and you have a fair labor charge for a pan service. A quote at three hours for a pan drop is padded. A quote at twenty minutes is not warming the fluid up, not cleaning the flange, or not changing the second filter.

The time that is worth paying for:

• Warming it up twice. Once before the drain so the dirt comes out with the fluid, and again after the fill so the level is set hot on the dipstick, engine running, in park. Fluid set cold is overfilled once it gets hot.
• A clean flange. RTV on a dirty or oily rail weeps. Raybestos lists 15 pan bolts on this pan. Tighten them in stages with an inch-pound wrench, not a ratchet.
• Reading the pan. Fine gray paste on the magnet is normal. Brass, aluminum or friction material means the fluid is not the real problem.

Where the Money Gets Wasted

A flush on a unit with a hydraulic problem

New fluid does not fix a worn bore. Sonnax's vacuum test guide for the 45RFE through 68RFE lists solenoid switch valve and plug wear against codes 841, 868, 871, 988, 1775 and 1776. The symptoms include bind-up, failsafe, wrong-gear starts and a burned overdrive clutch. The same guide ties pressure regulator valve wear to high line pressure, burnt clutches and repeat converter failures. If the truck has those codes, the money goes to the valve body first and the fluid after.

A fluid interval that ignores the tune

Sonnax documented what performance tuning does to RFE cooler flow. With stock programming in Drive at a stop, desired and actual line pressure sit at 60-70 psi at a 22-24% line pressure duty cycle, and cooler flow at idle is about 1.3 GPM. Tuned, line pressure goes to 100-105 psi at 5.1% duty cycle and cooler flow drops to 0.5 GPM or lower. The reason is the pressure regulator valve. At high desired pressure it strokes past the undercut that feeds the converter and lube circuit. A truck idling at a jobsite with that tune is cooking its fluid with almost no cooler flow. Its fluid money goes further on a shorter interval than on any additive.

A quick check before you price the interval: scan tool on, Drive, foot on the brake, idle. Read desired line pressure, actual line pressure and duty cycle. Near 105 psi and 5% means it is tuned, whether or not anyone mentioned it.

Replacing only the filter you can see

Half a service at full price is the most common waste on this unit. Pay for both filters or you are paying for a pan gasket and a pour.

DIY or Shop?

A pan drop with both filters is a fair driveway job if you can get the truck level and safely supported and you have an inch-pound wrench. The parts are the same either way. What a shop is worth is the warm-up, the clean flange, the correct filter part number, and someone reading the pan. A cooler-line exchange goes easier with two people and a way to catch the return flow.

Either way, write the fluid name, the filter part numbers and the mileage on the receipt. The next person to drop that pan will want to know which cooler return filter is in it.

Related guides

• 45RFE Fluid Type, Capacity and Service Interval
• Chrysler 45RFE and 545RFE Transmission Problems and Fixes
• 45RFE Torque Converter Shudder: Diagnosis and Fix
• 45RFE / 545RFE Valve Body Problems and Testing
• 45RFE vs 545RFE Differences

FAQ

How much does a 45RFE fluid change cost?

In parts, a 4x4 pan service with licensed ATF+4, the sump filter kit and the spin-on cooler return filter runs in the high $100s. Chrysler's own bulletin allows 0.9 hour to replace both filters, so roughly an hour at your local shop rate is fair labor. A cooler-line exchange roughly triples the fluid cost.

How many quarts does a 45RFE take for a fluid change?

Chrysler's capacity sheet lists the 45RFE and 545RFE service fill at 5.20 L (about 5.5 qt) for 4x2 and 6.20 L (about 6.6 qt) for 4x4. The overhaul fill is 14.0-16.0 L, roughly 15-17 qt. Buy a quart or two extra and set the final level hot on the dipstick.

Does the 45RFE have two filters?

Yes. There is a sump filter that seals into the pump and a spin-on cooler return filter inside the pan. Chrysler TSB 21-007-06 says to replace both at the same time and never replace one without the other.

Why does my 45RFE engage late after a fluid service?

Chrysler TSBs 21-016-05 and 21-007-06 tie delayed engagement after sitting, often with P0868, to a cooler return filter numbered 04799662AB, which can cause the sump filter to split at its crimp. Drop the pan, check the filter number and the sump filter seam, and install a cooler return filter with an anti-drainback valve and a new sump filter.

What fluid does a 45RFE use?

ATF+4, meaning a fluid licensed to Chrysler Material Standard MS-9602. Look for the MS-9602 approval printed on the label rather than a claim that the fluid is suitable where ATF+4 is recommended.