United Tire and Service News

Your car’s transmission is one of its most critically important mechanical components. It turns energy created at the crank shaft into useful power to your drive wheels. The transmission is connected to the engine and either CV axles up front, driveshaft to the rear, or both, if you have four-wheel-drive. The transmission contains metal gears and other parts that need fluid to keep them from overheating. The fluid also helps them to engage smoothly and deliver power to your drive wheels.

 

When your transmission is slipping initially, you often will notice it while accelerating. The tell-tale sign is a sudden increase in engine RPM and a slight revving sound. That means the gears are not engaging properly. Another obvious signs happens when the transmission slips while in gear. When that happens, you often will notice a loss of power while maintaining speed, accompanied by a slight revving sound. If the transmission completely fails, you lose all power to the drive wheels, the engine will rev, and you will go nowhere.

 

Your vehicle’s transmission needs regular maintenance, often not until 75,000 to 100,000 miles of use, though. The long maintenance interval makes it easy to forget and overlook simple transmission maintenance. The most common problem is low fluid level. That leads to excessive wear on gear. It also causes more heat, which accelerates the wear and tear. If ignored too long, you will see obvious signs your transmission is slipping.

 

 

If your transmission is slipping, you need a complete transmission service done. The mechanics will remove your transmission, replace any faulty seals and gaskets. They also will check the clutch, flywheel, gears and other internal parts. If any are faulty, immediate replacement is in order. Fortunately, with the transmission already removed and many places having parts on hand or fast delivery of parts available, you can fix even the worst of transmission problems. In the worst-case scenario, you will need to replace the transmission. That usually means buying either a certified used, rebuilt or brand-new transmission.

 

Many locations that provide multi-point inspections will include checking and topping off your transmission fluid as needed. Eventually, though, you need to take your car in for a transmission fluid exchange service. That removes the old fluid, replaces it with new, and ensures all seals and gaskets are in good shape to prevent leakage. Ignoring that common and relatively affordable preventive maintenance often results in fluid level that is too low. When your fluid level gets too  low, your transmission suffers damage that you could have prevented with simple maintenance. The simple truth is, good fluid and eventual replacement of worn seals and gaskets is the best way to prevent transmission slippage.