A properly maintained transmission can greatly enhance the efficiency and lifespan of your vehicle. A transmission in working order is crucial to the overall health of an automobile. However, transmission maintenance is not always as straightforward as other types of vehicle maintenance, such as pumping your tires or topping up your windshield washer fluid. It can be difficult to know how to properly maintain your transmission. So here are four key tips to help you with transmission maintenance.
Not only is a sufficient level of quality transmission fluid vital to your transmission’s operation, transmission fluid can act like a canary in a coal mine. If something is amiss with your transmission, it will likely show in your transmission fluid. Proper transmission maintenance means regularly checking your transmission fluid. If you are below the proper level, top up your fluid. If your fluid appears to be opaque and has a harsh odour to it –as opposed to being clear with a reddish hue– this means something is wrong. Take your vehicle into a transmission shop to have your transmission inspected and your fluid flushed out and replaced.
This one should be obvious, but far too many people neglect this rule. As discussed above, good transmission fluid is integral to proper transmission maintenance. Therefore, if you see patches of reddish transmission fluid on the pavement underneath your vehicle, do not ignore it. Even if it’s just a small amount, you need to have your transmission resealed before you lose too much fluid. Otherwise, you risk doing considerable damage to your transmission.
This is one of which many of us are guilty of doing. When performing actions such as pulling out of our driveways or parking, we might be tempted to shift in and out of reverse while our vehicle is still in motion, but this is not a good practice. You should always come to a complete stop before shifting from drive to reverse. And, not that you would ever think to do this (we hope), but never try to shift from drive to reverse while travelling at speed. It would be essentially impossible in manual transmissions and many newer vehicles have built in sensors to prohibit such a move. But, in an automobile with an older automatic transmission, you’d probably just stall your engine.
There’s only so much you can do on your own. Sure, you can take care of topping up the fluid on your own (if you feel comfortable) but transmission maintenance is really something for which you need the pros. By bringing your vehicle into a transmission shop for regular maintenance, you are ensuring two things. First, that your transmission is running properly and you’re not ignoring any problems. Second, that you are doing what you can to extend the life of your vehicle as long as possible. And that’s a good feeling.
If you would like to bring in your vehicle for some transmission maintenance, or would like to learn more about how Mister Transmission performs transmission maintenance, please do not hesitate to contact us today.
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