There is no transmission fluid level dipstick on any car. The dipstick would be torn to shards and destroy the transmission. There's usually a bolt on the side of the transmission about 2 to 3 inches up from the bottom that you can unscrew (with a special kind of automotive wrench) and reach your finger into the transmission. If you can feel oil at the bottom edge of the inside of the bolt then you have enough transmission fluid. If you have to curl your finger down then there isn't enough and you should top it off. If he's burning tranny fluid, which usually smells like raw eggs, than that's bad and he should either check and refill as necessary or take it in and have the dealership look into it.

Or it could be something totally different. The tranny fluid was my first guess because it's the easiest for a person to check on their own.