Meaning of Lines on Transmission Fluid Dipstick

[EdR5150]

My dipstick looks the same. I hate trying to read it. It's bad enough we have to fill the ATF through the dipstick tube, then wait till all the fluid drains out of the curved tube... which is impossible! The dipstick always comes back out with fluid all over it. It's a long process of check, add too little, wait, repeat, but don't overfill!

Seeing fluid on that dipstick isn't easy either. I've read painting the end of it white helps. I might try that. Sorry for the rant, and thread hijack.

[Ron]

My fluid was up to the third line. Since there is a larger gap between the third and fourth line is this about 1 quart?

I don't know, but would guess it would be purely coincidental if it was. The distance between the two is just the difference in the warm and hot levels in the pan....

FWIW, I have noticed that whenever there only two marks on a stick (several different manufacturers), it usually says "check hot" right on it and often says "1 Qt" between the lines. But since the fluid's expansion rate is not linear over the temp ranges, it wouldn't be a good rule of thumb if there are more than two lines...
When in doubt, I just check them Hot and add ~1/4 quart at a time giving it plenty of time to drain off of the tube like Eddie. A little over will not hurt it and is MUCH better than too low. If you don't trust a stick, you can always drain it well and add the amount the manufacturer's specs call out for a filter change. If it's a 3rd party replacement stick, make a notch for 'Full Hot' with a triangle file.