Your car's transmission is one of the most important aspects of your car, keeping it running smoothly and helping the engine switch into different gears as necessary. However, as with any of your car's many moving parts, there are all kinds of problems that can go wrong with a car's transmission—regardless of whether it's manual or automatic. Transmission problems, when ignored for long enough, can become very expensive rather quickly. This is why it's so important for vehicle owners to know what transmission red flags to look out for when behind the wheel.
Slipping Gears or Rough Shifts
When your car shifts gears—whether it's you doing it manually or the vehicle doing it on its own—it should do so smoothly and without hesitation. Ideally, you won't even be able to notice your vehicle shifting gears unless you're doing it yourself. However, if you find that your car is making loud noises (such as a thud) while shifting or is slipping gears altogether, this is not something you'll want to ignore.
Delayed Acceleration
Your car's transmission allows for the smooth and steady acceleration of your vehicle—especially from a stopped position. If you notice that your car seems to be struggling lately when you accelerate from a dead stop, this could be a problem with your transmission. This is likely to be the case if your car struggles to accelerate and then makes a clunking sound before picking up speed.
Odd Transmission Fluid Color
Once in awhile, it's a good idea to check your transmission fluid to ensure that it's not only at the right level, but that it's doing its job of keeping your transmission from overheating. You can do this by simply removing the dip stick of your transmission fluid and wiping some of the fluid from the stick onto a clean white cloth. Ideally, your transmission fluid should be clear or have a pink tint. If it has a brown or other dark tint, this is a sign that your fluids may need to be changed, as the fluid is no longer doing its job.
Leaking Transmission Fluid
Last but not least, always be on the lookout for signs of a transmission fluid leak. These often occur around worn gaskets, seals, damaged transmission pans, or even worn bell housings. If you spot a fluid leak, be sure to take your car into a local repair shop like Rolling Bay Automotive to have the source determined and repaired as soon as possible.
Share5 February 2016
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