Ways to Take Care of Your Automatic Car's Transmission

The job of your car’s transmission is to give your tires adequate power according to the speed of the car. Different speeds require different power which is why your car needs to shift from time to time as you drive. In manual transmission cars, you have to do the shifting on your own while automatic cars have automatic gear shifters. 

Although your car’s transmission doesn’t require frequent checks like your tires and brakes, you must maintain it to keep your car in vital shape. Here is how you can do that. 

Check your transmission fluid

Your car’s transmission has parts that continuously move and therefore need lubrication to keep optimal performance. This is what the transmission fluid does. With your automatic car, the transmission fluid also acts as a coolant. Aside from lubrication, the transmission fluid also keeps the metal surfaces of your car’s transmission clean and safe from wear. It also increases rotational speed and regulates the temperature. 

Make sure that your car uses the right transmission fluid by checking the manual. To check if the transmission fluid level is enough, check the transmission dipstick. Pull it out, wipe the fluid, then put it back in and then out again to check the level.

Change your transmission fluid

The transmission fluid sort of “spoils” in food language. What affects its deterioration is how you use your car. When you frequently stop and go, the temperature often increases and the pressure for the fluid to regulate the temperature is high. When you carry heavy loads, it also affects the quality of your transmission fluid. You can also check your car’s manual to see when you should change your transmission fluid according to kilometers run. 

Transmission fluid is usually light red in color. It turns darker as it gets burned. A burnt smell is also a signal that it’s time to change it. Noisy shifting can also be a telltale sign.

You can either flush out or drain the transmission fluid. Flushing out means you pump in new transmission fluid to push out the old one. It’s better to drain transmission fluid if it’s dark and burnt. When you flush out fluid, some debris can clog the pipes. 

Change gears carefully

It’s not often that you need to change gears in an automatic transmission car since it does the shifting for you. However, when you do change gears, there are some things that can affect the health of your transmission. Limit changing gears when you are at a full stop. Do not drive in neutral when downhill. Don’t switch the gear to park while the car is not at a complete stop. 

Finally, when you notice a change in your transmission or when you feel it doesn’t shift as smoothly as before or it doesn’t change gears, contact a car service center to check on your transmission immediately.