Your car is one of the most important investments you will make in your lifetime. That’s why it’s important to be able to identify when there is a problem with it and take care of it as soon as possible. One of the most important parts of your car is the transmission. If it starts going bad, it can cause a lot of expensive problems down the road. In this article, we will discuss 5 signs that your auto transmission is going bad.
1. Leaking Fluid
One of the most common signs that your auto transmission is going bad is if you notice fluid leaking from your car. This could be a sign of a crack, which can be caused by the constant heat and pressure that transmission fluid is exposed to. If left untreated, it can lead to other problems such as gear slipping or grinding when shifting.
2. Burning Smell
Another tell-tale sign of a bad transmission is if you smell something burning when driving your car. This could indicate either an overheating transmission or an excessive amount of friction in the gears. Usually, this burning smell will come with other signs such as difficulty shifting or sluggishness when accelerating, so it’s important to pay attention to any changes in performance when this smell arises.
3. Slipping Gears
If you find yourself having difficulty shifting gears while driving, that might point to a problem with your transmission. It could mean there’s not enough lubricant between the gears or that something else inside the transmission has gone wrong. You may also experience jerking movements when trying to shift gears, which can be dangerous on roads and highways where speed is essential for safety.
4. Noises When Shifting
Strange noises coming from under the hood are never a good sign and can often indicate a problem with your auto transmission. If you hear grinding, clunking, whining or humming sounds whenever you change gears, it’s time to bring your car into a mechanic for inspection before more serious damage occurs.
5. Check Engine Light Activation
The check engine light being activated on your dashboard can be one of the first warning signs that something isn’t working well within your vehicle’s engine system — including its transmission system — especially if it fails to reset itself upon multiple attempts at restarts in different intervals of time or shifts in different temperature levels outside their normal ranges of operations.
6. Gear Slippage When Accelerating
Another tell-tale sign of an unhealthy auto-transmission is gear slippage during acceleration; this occurs when the vehicle fails to accelerate rapidly due to an inability by both the manual and automatic transmissions (in some cases) to engage properly — resulting in a lack of power being sent through via an inefficient transfer process from cylinder firing up until wheel spin/rotation; this leads to decreased acceleration speeds and overall performance reliability over longer periods of time (if left neglected).
7. Unresponsive Transmission Fluid Dipstick Reading
Last but not least, one should always check their transmission fluid dipstick reading from time to time — especially during regular maintenance service intervals — as this helps identify any potential issues related with low functioning amounts; if too little oil/fluid is found upon inspection, then it might be indicative of poor circulation due specifically towards internal component wear/tear and /or improper lubrication leading up towards complete breakdown/failure if left unattended for long durations at hand!
If your vehicle is experiencing any of these issues, it’s best to take it in to a mechanic soon. transmissions are complex systems, and once they start showing signs of trouble, the damage can compound quickly if left unaddressed. No one wants to be stranded on the side of the road with a broken-down car, so it’s important to be proactive about transmission maintenance. If you think your transmission might be going bad, don’t hesitate to take your car in for a checkup. A little preventative care now can save you a lot of headaches down the road.
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