Dealing With Transmission Problems In Your Car Or Truck

The transmission in your car may be starting to wear as the car ages, and there are some common problems that are related to that age. Automatic transmissions often begin to exhibit problems by not shifting correctly or slipping. The best option is to take your vehicle to a transmission repair shop that can diagnose and repair your transmission correctly. 

Transmission Service

Servicing your car is essential, but many times the transmission gets overlooked during the service routine. The owner's manual that came with your vehicle has some guidelines for transmission service that detail when the transmission oil and filter need changing. It may even recommend system flushes when the mileage starts to get high on the vehicle. 

Your local transmission shop can help service the transmission in your vehicle, but if it has been neglected, you may need some transmission repair work that goes beyond simple oil changes. If the transmission is not shifting correctly, you should take the vehicle to the shop and check to see if service will be enough or if more work is required.

Shifting Problems

One of the most common symptoms of transmission problems is the improper shifting of the transmission. Sometimes the automatic transmission will not shift up properly as you accelerate, and other times it might go into gear when you are first starting out from a stop. The transmission may go into gear and slip as you accelerate, but once you let off the gas peddle, the transmission may catch up with the engine and lock it. This is often a sign of low oil pressure inside the transmission. Fortunately, the transmission repair tech will do some diagnosis to determine what is causing the problem. 

The pressure drop can be related to a bad oil pump, a clogged filter inside the transmission, or a problem with the transmission cooling lines or heat exchanger. In some situations, simply flushing the entire system and replacing the oil is enough to correct the problem, but this is not a repair that you can make at home. 

The transmission repair shop uses a special system to force all the transmission oil from the system, clean the lines and oil gallies inside the transmission, and then replace the oil with the correct amount and type for your transmission. If the pump is bad or the filters inside the transmission are clogged, the tech will need to replace those parts before they can flush the system, but it is good to have the flush done after any work on the transmission. Contact a transmission repair service for more information. 

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