It is up to you to keep your automatic transmission in good shape. There are easy steps that you can take, even if you don't know a lot about cars, to keep your transmission in good shape. Your transmission is what helps propel your vehicle down the road, and needs attention and care just like the rest of your vehicle.
#1 Change The Fluid On Time
First off, you need to make sure that you change your transmission fluid on schedule. Your vehicle's owner's guide should tell you the intervals for changing the transmission fluid on your vehicle. For most vehicles, you need to change the transmission fluid every 10,000-20,000 miles. Your owner's manual should let you know the intervals at which the transmission fluid needs to be changed.
It can be helpful to put a reminder or sticker in your vehicle that reminds when to take your vehicle in and get the fluid replaced. This is often referred to as flushing your transmission fluid, as all the old fluid is removed from the transmission, new fluid is pushed through the system to remove debris, and then more new fluid is added to fill up your transmission.
#2 Check on the Transmission Fluid
You are going to want to check on your transmission fluid in between the intervals that it needs to be changed. Those intervals can be very large, and you want to make sure that you check on the fluid more often than that. Make sure that the fluid level stays full and that the color remains consistent.
If some of the transmission fluid burns off over time, be sure to top off your transmission fluid. If the fluid changes colors, get your vehicle into your mechanic to figure out what is happening inside of your transmission.
#3 Take Care of Your Engine
You need your engine to be in good working order. When your engine is working right, it makes less demands on your transmission. Make sure that you are getting your oil changed on a regular basis, changing out spark plugs when they wear out, and pay attention to any check engine light that comes on. Taking care of your engine will help your transmission last.
If you want to take care of your transmission, you need to learn how often your transmission fluid needs to be flushed and changed. You need to make sure that you stick to the intervals for changing your transmission fluid. You need to check on fluid levels in between required fluid changes, and get your vehicle inspected if you suddenly start losing a bunch of fluid or the fluid changes color or texture.
Contact a company like Automatic Transmission Warehouse for more advice.
Share26 September 2018
After my car died and I was stranded on the freeway a few years back, I knew that I had to do what I could to avoid similar issues in the future. I began working hard to identify different issues with my car, so that I could prevent problems. I began working with a mechanic to get help, and he taught me a lot about going through my car and being able to evaluate different things that were problems. It was really interesting to explore the possibilities of different car failures, and before I knew it, I could tell when my car was struggling. Read more about the early signs of car trouble on my blog.